of the mountain huts constructed by the 10th Mountain Division.”
Though she nodded in apparent understanding, he saw confusion in her rapidly darting gaze. Her lips worked before forming words. “I’ve always wanted to stay in one of these huts. It’s almost impossible to get a reservation.”
Though her words didn’t make sense—a reservation?—she was relatively coherent. He nodded toward a cup of water on a chair beside the bed. “You should drink something.”
“Right. I’m probably dehydrated.”
As she sipped the water, his gaze went again to those full, ripe lips. His temperature rose. The memory of her lush naked body lingered in his mind.
He reached for the opened pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes on the table. “Smoke?”
“I quit, but I don’t mind if you do. You’re Luke. Is that right?”
He nodded. “And you are?”
“Shana Parisi.”
“Nice to meet you, Shana Parisi.” He liked the way her name rolled off his tongue. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine, except for the headache from hell.”
“I assessed your physical condition. Your vitals are strong. I got you warmed up before you went into hypothermia, but you probably have altitude sickness. I’m guessing you haven’t been at this elevation for more than a day or two.”
“Your guess is correct.”
“Where are you from?”
“Most recently, Kuwait. Before that, Thailand.”
He hadn’t expected that response. Kuwait? Thailand? She was turning into a very interesting diversion. “What brings you to Colorado?”
With a frown, she rubbed at her temple. “I’m a geologist. I work for AMVOX Oil, and we’re looking into an oil shale operation on the western slope.”
A geologist. That explained the rock samples he’d found in her pockets. Luke finished off the dregs of his Jack Daniel’s, glad for the whiskey warmth that spread through him and lightened his mood. He sure as hell hadn’t expected to be smiling tonight.
She eyed him curiously. “You knew exactly what was wrong with me. Are you a doctor?”
“Trained as a medic,” he said. “But it wasn’t a complicated diagnosis to figure out that somebody who was turning into a human Popsicle might be going into hypothermia.”
“When does the headache go away?”
“After a couple of aspirin. First, you need to eat something to elevate your blood sugar.”
He crossed the two steps from the table to the bed and held out a Baby Ruth. When she took it from him, their hands touched. An electric spark shot up his arm.
She’d felt it, too. A gasp escaped her lips. Her dark brown eyes widened in surprise.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For the chocolate.”
Shana couldn’t quite believe the explosion of energy and awareness that came when they accidentally touched. That electric sensation was almost enough to make her forget that her head ached and her body was stiff and sore. Luke Rawlins was quite a man.
Immediately she knew that she needed to be careful around him. He reminded her of a lot of the guys she’d worked with on exploration and drilling sites. They fancied themselves to be superstuds, and she’d learned long ago to keep her distance. She didn’t want to be just another notch on the bedpost.
Purposefully, she looked away from Luke and concentrated on the tangible facts. She was glad to be here and to be warm, blessedly warm. A cast-iron potbellied stove stood near the door where their parkas hung on hooks. There were no extra frills in this small, one-room cabin lit by the amber glow of lanterns. A hut. She knew a bit about this system of simple log cabins that had been constructed in the 1940s by the 10th Mountain Division. In Leadville, there were dozens of memorials to these World War II heroes. “Didn’t you say that you were with the 10th Mountain Division?”
“That’s right.”
“Those guys were supposed to be the best skiers, mountain climbers and sharpshooters in the world. Elite commandos.”
“We still are.”
As she peeled the wrapper off her Baby Ruth, she dared to study this soldier in his army-green fatigues—kind of a weird outfit for somebody who was on vacation at a mountain hut. But she was willing to excuse this minor eccentricity. The man had saved her life. Also, he was remarkably good-looking with deep-set blue eyes and the tanned complexion of an outdoorsman. His brown hair was short in a no-nonsense military cut that worked for him. She guessed that he was in his early thirties. If she’d been in the market for a man, he’d be the right age.
But she wasn’t looking. Or was she? There was a sense of destiny about being here, being with him. Destiny? Yeah, sure. She believed in science, not kismet. Trying to ignore the twinges of pain inside her head, she nibbled at her candy bar and sipped the water. Rehydration was important.
He tapped a cigarette from the pack, flipped open a Zippo lighter and lit up. Though she hated the tobacco smell, she was pleased. The fact that he had at least one disgusting habit was proof that he wasn’t perfect. Not the right guy for me.
When he stood, she realized how tall he was—at least four inches over six feet. His body was lean but muscular with square shoulders, and he was obviously in excellent condition. Even in his poorly fitted fatigues, his muscular thighs bulged.
“I should thank you again,” she said. “You saved my life.”
“My pleasure.” He went to the potbellied stove, opened the latched door and laid another piece of wood on the fire.
His pleasure? A shiver of awareness rippled through her. Beneath the quilts and blankets on the bed, she wore nothing but an oversize olive-drab T-shirt. Near the door, she saw her ski pants and her turtleneck hung up to dry. But she didn’t remember getting undressed. Her fingers plucked at the cotton fabric of T-shirt. “Is this yours?”
“I had to strip off those wet clothes so you could warm up. But don’t worry. I kept my eyes closed.”
Stripped naked by a stranger. She should have been humiliated, wildly embarrassed. Kept his eyes closed? Yeah, right.
When she gazed accusingly into his coolly assessing blue eyes, she saw a hint of approval. Then he grinned. Apparently, he’d been pleased by what he’d seen when he changed her clothes.
In normal circumstances, she would have lashed out, making it very clear that he would never ever see her naked again. Instead, a lovely warmth blossomed inside her. She could do a lot worse than being swept off her feet by Luke Rawlins. “I’ll have that aspirin now.”
He tossed her a small glass bottle and returned to the chair where he sat and stretched out his long legs. Leaning back, he took a puff on his cigarette and exhaled a cloud of blue smoke.
Slightly
