Dreams: Part One (13 page)

Colby swore softly. He leaned back against the damp cavern wall, drew up one leg and draped his arm over his knee. He glowered at Diana.

“This is getting complicated,“ he said.

She gave him a tiny smile. “Not really. Just think it through logically. I have a hunch your son has gotten himself in an awkward bind. He likes Robyn but he isn’t ready to marry anyone, and deep down he knows it.“

“What’s he want from me?“

“What he came up here to do was talk to you. He wants the benefit of your wisdom, logic and experience so he can use it to pick a path through the brambles that surround him. But he doesn’t want to be yelled at. He doesn’t want to be forced to admit that you can still tell him what to do. Push him into a corner, and he’ll dig in and show you just how independent he is.“

“You mean, keep yelling at him and he’ll marry Robyn just to show me he can make his own decisions.“

“That’s the way it looks to me,“ Diana said softly. “I may be wrong. You certainly know him better than I do. But I definitely get the feeling he isn’t all that enthusiastic about marriage.“

“And if I calm down and stop yelling at him, I might be able to help him figure out how to get out of the situation?

You may be right, Diana. It makes a certain kind of sense. The trouble is, I’m not sure I can stay cool and rational about this. Every time I look at him, I see myself about to make the same damned fool mistake a second time and all I can think about is doing whatever I have to do to prevent it.“

“If he’s determined to make that mistake, there’s really not much you can do about it, Colby. Like it or not, at nineteen, he’s a man.“

“There ought to be a law against nineteen-year-olds being men.“

Diana laughed. “I can imagine how you would respond to that statement if you were nineteen again.“

“You’ve made your point.“ He ran a hand through his damp hair. “What a mess.“ Colby got to his feet and walked restlessly to the front of the cavern. Hands on hips, he studied the situation.

“It’s not getting any lighter out there, is it?“ Diana called from the back of the cave.

“No.“ He turned around and returned to his place on the rocks. “It’s worse than ever. Diana, if we don’t get out of here by nightfall, we may have to spend the night in here. I don’t want to take you down that ledge path after dark, even with flashlights.“

“What?“

“Don’t sound so horrified. It’ll be a little cold and a little damp, not to mention a little uncomfortable, but we’ll survive.“

But Diana was genuinely horrified. The thought of spending the night in Chained Lady Cave shook her to the core.

“We can’t stay here, Colby. We don’t have any food… or blankets, or matches.“

“Don’t worry about it until we have to make the decision.“

“I’m worrying about it!“ she yelped.

“Well, don’t.“

“Easy for you to say. Colby, I will not stay the night here and that’s final.“

“Honey, I’m trying to explain that you may not have a choice in the matter.“

“I’ll have a choice,“ she informed him grimly. “I’ve got a flashlight, and I’ll find my way down that path alone if need be.“

“The hell you will,“ he said far too quietly.

She slid him an uneasy, speculative glance.

“And turn off the flashlights. We may need them later. No sense wearing the batteries down now.“

An hour later, night descended with no letup in the storm. If anything the gale was wilder than ever.

At least there was no fading sunlight to turn the waterfall into blood this evening, Diana told herself morosely. One had to be thankful for small mercies.

“Looks like the decision just got made for us,“ Colby said mildly. He reached out and switched on one of the flashlights. “We’ll leave the other light off until this one burns out.“

Diana jumped to her feet and hurried to the front of the cave. She was greeted by impenetrable blackness and a spray of water. Just beyond the entrance she could hear the relentless roar of the falls. Colby was right. No one in his or her right mind would attempt to negotiate the waterfall path tonight.

She sighed, resigned to a night in Chained Lady Cave, and turned to troop unhappily back to the damp rocks. She ran straight into Colby who had come up behind her. His arms went around her waist, and he bent his head to drop a reassuring kiss on her hair.

“It’s going to be all right, honey.“

“I’m cold already.“

“We’ll spread your slicker and my windbreaker out on the floor. They’ll keep us reasonably dry. No fire, but never let it be said I don’t know how to take care of my woman.“ He reached into his windbreaker pocket and produced two plastic packets of cheese and crackers.

Diana instantly felt better. “Where did you get those?“

“I just stuck them in at the last minute thinking we might want to have a snack up here before we hiked down.“

“My hero!“ she exclaimed admiringly. “I have a contribution to make to the effort, too.“ She reached into her trouser pocket, and pulled out a few sheets of facial tissue.

“What are we going to use that for? To wipe our hands after we eat?“

“Not exactly. It occurred to me it might come in useful for other reasons.“

“You’re planning on catching cold?“

“No, I am not planning on catching cold. Really, Colby. Use that vivid imagination of yours. Do you see any sanitary facilities around here?“

Understanding dawned. “Ah, I get it.“

“Finally.“

They ate the crackers and cheese snacks in less than three minutes.

“What we really need is a bottle of good wine to complement this fine cuisine,“ Colby remarked as he swallowed the last cracker crumb.

“At least neither of us has to cook tonight,“ Diana pointed out, trying to look on the positive side. “Specter will be okay, I think.“

“Assuming he has sense enough to get in out of the rain.“

“He knows where the back porch is. He can sleep there. Brandon and Robyn will be worried about us, though“

“They’ll probably assume I got caught at your place in the storm and decided to spend the night.“ Colby paused and swore under his breath. “Which will leave them perfectly free to entertain themselves this evening, won’t it?“

Diana read his mind. It wasn’t hard to tell the direction of his thoughts. “Stop worrying about it,“ she advised gently. “If they’re sleeping together, they’re sleeping together. There’s not much you can do about it.“

“I know. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed that Brandon was paying attention during all those lectures on birth control I gave him.“

“Yup. Keeping your fingers crossed is about all you can do. Now stop fretting, and let’s figure out where we’re going to spread this rain gear.“ Diana jumped to her feet.

Colby looked at her, his eyes watchful in the faint glow of the flashlight beam. “I hate to point this out, but the fact is, it’s dryer in the inner cavern. Also warmer. That’s why I spent the night in there the last time.“

“I don’t like it in there,“ Diana said instantly. “I don’t exactly love it out here, but I prefer this chamber to that grotto.“ She peered at the floor of the main cave, trying to find a spot that wasn’t soaking wet. It was useless. “Maybe it will be more comfortable to sit up all night.“

“I doubt it.“

“Then
you
think of something, damn it!“

His brows rose. “You’re really on edge, aren’t you? Here, let me see that slicker of yours.“

Wordlessly she handed it to him. A few minutes later he had it spread across a fairly smooth stretch of stone. He used his windbreaker to add some width to the sleeping surface, and then he sat down on top of the slicker and began removing his damp shoes. When he looked up to see what was keeping her from following suit, he smiled and held out his hand.

“Honey, this is as good as it’s going to get tonight. Come on down here, and we’ll try to get some sleep.“

“I won’t be able to sleep a wink tonight.“

“Sure you will. Take off your shoes and get your feet dry. That will help.“

She let him remove her sport shoes, and he was right. Things did seem more bearable when her feet were dry.

When he was finished, he lay down, tangled her legs between his and cradled her, spoon-fashion.

“I don’t think I’ll ever go into a cave again as long as I live,“ Diana vowed.

“This wasn’t my idea.“

“Don’t remind me.“ She turned and gave him a quick kiss. “I’m sorry for having gotten us into this mess.“

“It’s not so bad and it’s not your fault. No one could have predicted that storm.“

“It was a surprise, wasn’t it?“

“Damn weird, if you want to know the truth.“

“Don’t say that. I’m nervous enough about this cave. Don’t start implying the storm is some sort of supernatural event. I already know I’m not going to be able to sleep a wink.“

Five minutes later, Diana was sound asleep.

Colby stirred beside her, trying to get comfortable. He stared into the blackness above, aware of how weak the flashlight beam was becoming. He wouldn’t switch on the other one unless Diana awoke. As long as she was sleeping this soundly, she wouldn’t miss the artificial illumination.

Never in all the years of growing up in Fulbrook Comers had he ever seen a storm as bad as the one that was blowing tonight. The wind seemed to have intensified in the past half hour. It was blowing with enough force now to send sprays of water off the falls straight into the main cavern. If it got any worse, he and Diana would both be soaked to the skin by morning.

Common sense told him they would both be dryer and far more comfortable in the back of the cave.

Colby sat up and looked down at Diana curled up beside him. Her tawny hair was tumbled around her shoulders and her lashes looked very long lying against her cheek. He was just beginning to realize how very important she had become to him lately. His obsession with her had not ended when he’d finally gotten her into bed. A part of him was starting to wonder if it would ever end.

Just what he needed, he thought wryly – an independent, assertive, opinionated career woman. A woman who’d never had children of her own but who felt qualified to lecture him on how to handle his own son.

But he wanted to know the rest of her secrets. He felt as if he’d only peeled away one thin layer of her complex personality. He needed to learn so much more about her.

First things first, however. His primary task tonight was to shield her from the storm. Another spray of water sailed in through the entrance.

Colby got to his feet and reached down to lift Diana into his arms. He picked up the flashlights and started toward the inner grotto.

Sometimes a man had to ride roughshod over a woman’s fears for her own good. With any luck she wouldn’t wake up until morning.

Diana came partialiy awake
,
dimly aware of a dream that was fading rapidly. She couldn’t remember any of the details, but she was awash in a gentle sea of wistful longing and deep, aching sensuality. She felt a little sad but did not understand why. She was also aware of a distant glimmer of hope, but she didn’t understand that, either.

She waited for the dreamy state to subside, and when it didn’t she shifted languidly, wondering why the bed seemed so hard tonight. Then she felt the weight of a man’s leg lying across her thigh, and a vague recollection of the day’s events surfaced.

She managed to get her eyes open just far enough to see the reassuring beam of the flashlight. It was definitely on its last legs, but she didn’t have the energy to reach over and switch on the backup light.

“Colby?“ she whispered sleepily.

“It’s all right,“ he murmured drowsily, cradling her closer. “I’m right here.“ His palm stroked over her breast and he dropped a kiss onto her shoulder.

Diana closed her eyes again, feeling safe and secure in his embrace. The wistful longing within her intensified, melding with the sensual warmth that was spreading through her limbs. She turned toward Colby, instinctively trying to get closer. Her arm went around his lean waist.

“You feel good,“ she muttered. Her hand moved along his back, savoring the hard, contoured muscles. “Warm and strong.“

“You feel good, too. Soft. Very soft. Sweet.“ He kissed her again, a sleepy caress on her brow and then the tip of her nose. She felt his body growing taut.

“Colby?“ She slid her foot between his legs, and he instantly tightened his thighs, chaining her.

“Sweetheart,“ he breathed just before his mouth found hers.

Diana parted her lips for him, inviting him into her warmth and then there were no more words.

Colby’s kiss grew suddenly fierce with a hunger that Diana responded to instantly. She welcomed the fierceness in him, knowing that it would never be used against her, knowing that with this man she was safe.

Passion flared without any warning, sweeping Diana into the heart of a swirling storm that seemed as intense as the one howling outside the cave. Colby’s arms tightened around her. He rolled onto his back and pulled her with him.

Then his hands locked in her hair.

She felt him lift himself against her, and her hands slid up under his shirt. She loved the feel of him. She couldn’t get enough of it. Her whole body was beginning to sing with the joy only his lovemaking could give her.

She wanted to join with him, become one with him, love him.

When he unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it aside, she reacted in kind. His shirt landed on the cavern floor beside hers. He fumbled with her pants, his hands gliding warmly over her curving buttocks as he swept the last of her garments from her body.

She slid down along the length of him, and he began to breathe heavily as she stopped long enough to drop tiny kisses here and there across his broad chest.

When she unfastened and unzipped his jeans, Colby’s hands tightened again in her hair. Wordlessly he lifted his hips against her, letting her know the full extent of his arousal. She reached into the opening of his jeans, cupping him intimately. And then her hair flowed over his thighs as she worshipped him with her mouth.