better get going if we’re going to beat the rain,” he said, and walked around the house. He stubbed the cigar out and put the stump in his shirt pocket. Miranda followed quickly, ready to find a warm, comfortable place.
Luke stashed her grocery bag in the back seat of his Suburban and helped Miranda into the truck. The courtesy was one that he usually didn’t bother with, but this lady looked tired. She smiled her thanks, but lines of strain bracketed her mouth, and he sensed she didn’t want his company.
He suspected her tiredness went beyond the fatigue of a long car drive or overwork. She had an air of vulnerability about her that was at odds with the elegance of her appearance. Bruised, he thought, as though even her bones ached. Shapely bones, his libido reminded him, as he walked around the truck.
Miss Colby was stacked. Though he’d sworn off women, he couldn’t help noticing the way her silk T-shirt clung to her generous curves and her designer jeans molded over rounded hips that invited a man’s touch. His palm actually tingled with the need to pat her backside.
Suddenly Luke was glad that the woman had the good sense to be leery of him. He didn’t want to play the games that women inevitably played with men. He’d moved to the mountains to escape all of that.
Luke downshifted the Suburban as he navigated the twisting dirt road. Maybe, he thought, she was just embarrassed at needing someone’s help. A lot of women these days liked to think they were self sufficient. Whatever the reason, it was none of his business. He’d come to the mountains, not to play the knight to some damsel in distress, but to rid himself of the stress and temptation in the city. To find a place where he was content and at peace.
He drove in silence, the tension in the truck simmering between them, like a live wire downed in an electrical storm.
He rounded the bend and saw a battered green sports car parked on the side of the road. Mud from last night’s rain caked the wheels. Luke bit back an instinctive curse and slowed the Suburban. “That your car?”
“Yes,” she said softly, not meeting his gaze. “I had no idea the mountain would be...”
“So steep,” he finished for her. He wished old Edgar would give up trying to make money off his hunting cabin. Without fail, he rented his place to someone with no camping experience. Luke’s first impulse was to tow her car down the mountain to the fork leading to her place, so that she’d be out of his hair. But last night’s mud and the threatening storm worked against him. He knew her car wouldn’t make it, even with the Suburban doing all the work.
Well, hell, he thought. This is what came of being neighborly. He backed the truck up to the Mercedes and got out to attach the chain to the car. Rain started to fall, not a soft summer rain, but a harsh torrent. He stood there for a minute, sure that the Almighty was punishing him for his earlier thoughts about the woman. He’d had no right to think of her in purely sexual terms and now he was paying the price.
He attached the chain to the back of his truck before climbing into the cab. Cold drops trickled slowly down his neck. The earthy scent of rain mingled with the essence of Miranda Colby. The primitive scents teased his base instincts and he reacted like a man who’d forgotten. Forgotten that cold rain could lead to cuddling. Forgotten that cuddling could lead to bold caresses. Forgotten the soft feel of that one special woman in his arms.
Miranda stared at him—guilt pouring off her like the icy drops from saturated clouds. Desire hit him hard. He knew he could never have her for his own but that didn’t change the fact that he wanted her.
In spite of the fact that she was prickly—hell, that was part of the attraction.
Oh, damn, he thought, I’ve been too long without a woman.
He didn’t say anything, or even look at her. Rain always made him irritable. It wasn’t her fault he’d given in to the unusual chivalrous impulse to help her.
“I’m sorry you got wet,” she said quietly. The tone in her voice clearly stated that she hadn’t asked for his help.
He nodded in acknowledgment, but kept silent. After stepping carefully on the gas, Luke watched through the rearview mirror as her car lurched drunkenly out of the mud. It bounced on the rutted dirt like a pull toy in the hands of a giant.
He breathed deeply, trying to absorb the essence of her into the fabric of his being. There was something pure and innocent about the woman sitting next to him, despite her city sophistication. She didn’t have the tough veneer he’d encountered in city women before. He’d known more than his share of hardened independent women who wanted only one thing from a man. And while he had no doubt that this little lady was successful, he knew there was much of life she hadn’t experienced. Part of his jaded soul was challenged by that innocence. He’d almost forgotten what innocence felt like. He quelled the urge to corrupt her.
She didn’t look like someone who’d want to be isolated on a mountain. She had the sleek polish of a professional career woman. The humidity had caused her thick hair to curl around her face in a way that brought to mind pixies. But he knew the cut would fall into a sophisticated style just as easily.
Forcing his attention off Miranda, he eased slowly forward, gathering the speed needed to tow the car up the mountain. The Suburban could tow twice the weight, but her car had him worried. The body and wheelbase were battered from driving up the mountain. Frankly, he was surprised she’d made it as far as she had. It said something about her determination.
“Please, stop.”
Startled, Luke braked and glanced at her, arching one brow in question.
“I’d rather go to my rental cabin.”
“Darlin’, your cabin is on the other side of the mountain. You’re only about twenty minutes’ walking distance in this weather, but you’re about two hours in driving time.”
“I’ll be on my way then. Thanks.”
She had the door open before her words registered. Stepping out into the pouring rain, she reached back for her food. “Give me a minute to stash this in the Mercedes—”
“There’s no way that car will make it down the side of this mountain and back up the other. I’ll let you try it if you’re determined. But I’m not going to haul you out of the mud again until the storm lets up.”
The stubborn tilt of her jaw told him he’d made a mistake. His words had been taken as a challenge instead of fact. He bet she never turned down a dare. “Darlin’, it’s the car, not you.”
She just stood there making him feel big and mean in a way he hadn’t since Brett looked up at him with big weepy eyes and asked why Luke wasn’t his daddy anymore.
“I can’t stay with you,” she said, her voice heavy with raw emotion.
“I’m not asking you to move in, darlin’, but you can stay at my cabin until the rain clears.”
She hesitated, but she really had little choice. Relictantly, she nodded, “Just until the rain lets up a bit then I’ll walk over to the rental place.”
The rain slowed to a steady downpour that Luke knew from experience would last until dawn. Though the storm wasn’t an intense one, the ground would be slick and the night treacherous. Already the sky had darkened and in another twenty minutes it would be
