License to Love (43 page)

It was truly beautiful here, untouched by man or the worries
of modern life. On the other side of the stream, lush greenery hung over the
water while water skippers skimmed across the stream, flying over the round pebbles
in the riverbed.

Through her peripheral vision, she noticed him watching her.
She quickly glanced in his direction, mostly to make him look away. He didn’t.

“I was born into that family, but I didn’t choose them.” He
spoke quietly. When she left him dangling, he said, “You hate me, don’t you?”

“I don’t want to.” She didn’t? Cora couldn’t say anything
more without getting herself into a pot of boiling water, which happened to be
how her insides felt sitting next to him. Everything she felt came crashing
down on her. She turned away, embarrassed.

He moved next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She
was surprised by his strong, yet tender, embrace. It was wrong, it had to be,
but she didn’t want to push him away or fight him.

Instead, she melted into him, glad for the comfort. He
pulled her head into the hollow of his neck. They fit together perfectly.

He brushed her hair away from her face and rested his face
against her head. She needed this; she needed him. The thought jolted through
her brain. It didn’t make sense that she felt such a strong pull to him under
these circumstances.

His hand ran down her back, sending a tingling sensation up
and down her body.

Suddenly, she vividly remembered her dad and how defeated
he’d looked in Keith’s study. Cora pulled away, her face red. “This is so
wrong!”

Nick quickly put a finger over her lips while gazing into
her eyes. His touch felt so personal. She suddenly felt as if he could see
every thought and emotion inside her. Looking into his eyes felt like trying to
look directly at the sun, but she still couldn’t drop her gaze. She wondered
how his soft mouth would feel on hers. Cora wasn’t sure she could muster up a
decent amount of indignation if he kissed her.

His gaze searched her eyes and took in her face. With an
earnest face, he asked, “If we weren’t in this situation, do you think you
could give me a chance?”

“That’s beside the point,” she told him sadly, “Because we
are in this situation.”

“That’s
my
point!” He laughed. “If we weren’t.”

She shook her head.

“You wouldn’t give me a chance?”

You don’t need it to win me over
, she thought, but
she said, “I can’t think like that right now.”

She couldn’t think about that possibility now because, in
any other time and place she would run into his arms.

How could she even think about romance when her father was
out there somewhere, trying to find a million dollars?

“I’ve been in this position before,” she told him softly.
Seeing the question in his eyes, she went on. “This is the point when I realize
I’m going to lose someone.”

Her mind raced back to a day in her childhood, a cold day in
January, when she realized her father didn’t tell her things were going to be
okay anymore. One day he stopped telling her that her mother was getting
better. She sat in the cold, on her front steps, and knew that her mother was
going to die.

Nick held her tighter. “He’s smart. He’s been involved this
long, so he knows a little something about handling these kind of men. But what
can I do to prove to you I’m on your side?”

The timing of his question threw her for a loop.

“Come on, you can’t be a reporter without being curious.
What do you want to know about me?” he asked, giving her direction.

She wanted to ask why he looked at her like he wanted to
know her, as if just seeing her made him smile. Her thoughts ran in circles and
finally pulled up a safe question. Here was her chance to find out something
about this man . . . if he told her the truth.

“What kind of career did you study for in college?”

Something came and went in his expression before he said,
“Law.”

“Law?” His simple answer brought Cora to her feet. “You’re
an attorney?”

Nick jumped up as well. “I’m one of the good guys. I help
people when a big corporation takes advantage of them.”

“You’re a lawyer and you’re helping your father with
something like this?”

“They follow a different set of laws.”

“You’re saying they’re exempt from the same laws the rest of
us live by?” Cora demanded, her hands on her hips as she faced him. “You’re
committing a crime for them. You must realize that.”

Wow, he looked good with the green brush behind him. He fit
into this wild, forest world. The sight made her pause but she quickly
remembered why she was angry.

“I meant to walk away from all of them, all except my cousin
Adam. I wasn’t going to move back to Eugene, either.”

“Then why did you?”

“For you.”

“How can you say that? You had never met me. I didn’t even
know you existed!”

He looked up at her. Sunlight came through the trees and
landed on his face. “Adam told me what he knew about the situation, and I
couldn’t let an innocent person be used like that. You’re right, I didn’t know
you, but I knew what Keith had in mind. I can’t stand injustice.”

While standing, she assessed him slowly and mercilessly. He
didn’t hide from her investigative eyes.

“You can help my father, then.”

Nick stood again. “The police aren’t involved in this.”

“They should be.”

“Let’s stick with reality here. We have no way of knowing a
crime actually occurred. I can’t view the evidence or question witnesses. I
have only my father’s version of events.”

“Are you saying my father has no way out of this?”

“Only if he plays by their rules. Maybe something can be
done later, but right now I’m concerned for your safety. That’s the one thing I
can control at this point in the game.”

Some game. “I can’t feel sorry for you because you’re stuck
in the middle.”

Nick shook his head and said, “I don’t expect or want you
to.”

“You can’t stay there long.”

“I have to.” His pleading face and focused eyes pulled at
her heart. “I can’t help you unless I’m on Keith’s team. If I hadn’t gotten
involved, you’d be out here with Alexander.”

She twisted a strand of her hair and gazed out into the tall
timbers surrounding them. “My father always kept to himself and worked hard. He
doesn’t deserve this. He only stayed there, working for Keith, because he
wanted to see me get ahead.”

“You’re sure your father is innocent?”

She jerked around to face him. “Of course.”

He gave her a nod and began pacing. Cora watched him while
he mused on his own thoughts. His long body had just enough muscle to keep him
from looking too skinny. He looked and carried himself like a limber athlete, a
quarterback in high school maybe. He had a tan, perfect neck. What an odd thing
to notice, she thought, but couldn’t pull her eyes away. 

 Her eyes slid up Nick’s body until she met his eyes, they
were looking right back. Heat swept over and consumed her, like an angry brush
fire eating up dry twigs. The look in Nick’s eyes, and that one raised eyebrow,
said more than any words he could have spoken. He boldly walked to her and took
her hand, lightly holding her fingers. The gentle touch sent a physical
reaction pumping though her.

Suddenly he leaned closer and kissed her softly on the lips.
It was a quick meeting that only allowed her to feel how soft and supple his
lips felt. She searched his warm eyes, looking for the truth. Instead, she
found him searching her as well. She saw need. Cora didn’t take a step back as
they both expected, and he brushed his lips across hers again. He stepped
closer, applying more pressure. She felt dizzy with delight when his mouth
slightly parted.

Push him away
, she thought as she kissed him back. He
made a sound,
hmmm,
when she met his eagerness. He reached around her,
pulling her against his flat stomach.

The contact ignited her desire. An ache started deep inside,
racing up through her. Her body, completely betraying her, pressed into him,
yearning and begging.

“No!” She pushed back away from him and turned to run back
toward the cabin.

***

“Cora!” He let her go, unable to move just yet. Kissing her
left him shaking from the sudden and sharp physical need. And yet, she’d run
from him.

How could he protect her while falling for her? Nick
couldn’t back up his suspicions about Alexander’s intentions, and that put him
in a static and unbearable position. He couldn’t make a move, not with Jerry
Evans still somewhere out there on an impossible mission.

He couldn’t help Jerry, couldn’t reveal Alexander’s personal
agenda to Keith, and he wasn’t sure if he could ever win Cora’s trust.

Alexander could be watching her right now. That thought felt
like cold water running through him. He jumped to his feet and chased after
her.

In the middle of the biggest crisis of her life, Cora had
given in to her basic, physical needs. She didn’t understand what was wrong
with her. She couldn’t deny the electricity between them, but hormones meant
nothing. Sexual attraction didn’t mean they could trust each other. The way he
looked into her eyes didn’t mean he actually wanted to help her find her dad.

“I will not fall for him!” The man, after all, could be
using her emotions to trick her into staying here with him. She felt
overwhelmed . . . she couldn’t trust herself when she felt emotionally
involved.

She rushed through the front door of the cabin and shut it
firmly behind her.

How could she help her father while stuck out in the middle
of nowhere? Did Jerry risk his life just so the Holloways could hold her right
where they could find her? She couldn’t stay here.

Nick gave a heartfelt and earnest argument, but she couldn’t
forget where he came from and who trained him. As a reporter, she needed to use
her head, not just her heart. She had to listen to more than the ache growing inside.

“Cora?” Nick called from on the other side of the door.

“I don’t know if I can talk to you right now.”

Imagine if he could look at her and read everything in her
mind.

“Please, Cora, don’t turn your back on me. I want to help
you. You’re stealing my heart.”

Stealing?
“I don’t steal, and neither does my
father.”

Her voice sounded icy cold, even to her. She needed that;
she needed to push him away. He didn’t answer right away.

“You’re right, bad word choice. Okay, starting over. I’m
falling for you and there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it.”

What if he really did feel something for her? So far he
hadn’t done anything to back up his feelings besides kiss her. If, however, he
did feel something, she should be able to convince him to help her.

She stepped away from the door, opened it, and faced him.
“Prove you’re on my side. I want information and I want it now.” 

He exhaled slowly, searching her face. “Keith gave Jerry one
week from last night to come up with the full missing amount.”

A week?
Cora backed away from the door and let him
come in. Nick was just too damn tall, and she didn’t like to look up at him
while trying to argue. He followed suit when she sat down on one of the wooden
chairs. They both left the door open for light.

“Is there any chance this is just an error, a mistake in the
books? My dad can fix something like that.” Cora knew she was grabbing at
straws, but that seemed to be all she had.

“They tore those books apart . . . your father wouldn’t mess
up on his worse day. He’s meticulous.”

Then how did he miss a million dollars? She wondered if
there was any way her dad was guilty; her doubt passed as quickly as it came.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. I’m trying to figure this out.”

“Worry me?” His judgment worried her. “Is there any possible
way that Jerry can get that kind of money?”

Nick’s doubtful expression revealed his answer. She asked,
“Can you really keep me here?”

Despair crossed his fine features. Quietly he said, “Let’s
not go that far.”

“We are that far. I’m leaving to find my father and help
him. Are you coming with me or not?”

The light went out. Nick and Cora both jumped as if a door
had slammed. Alexander was standing in the doorway.            

Completely ignoring Nick, Alexander looked at Cora and
asked, “Conspiring with the enemy?”

Standing with the sunlight behind him, Alexander looked even
more evil. Nick jumped to his feet. Cora felt sick, like she’d drank sour milk.
She had almost convinced Nick!

Alexander walked in and threw his bag on the table.  “I had
a feeling I couldn’t leave you two alone. So I’m going to join your little
party.”

She rose, slowly and quietly, and took off for the door.
Alexander grabbed her arm.

She screamed as he pulled her back. Suddenly Nick was right
on top of them. “Get your hands off her!”

“Sit down,” Alexander ordered while pushing Cora over to the
couch and tossing her down. Dust flew up in the air. “Both of you.”

He pulled out a hidden gun and waved it at Nick, and then at
her.

Nick took three steps to the couch and sat on the edge,
shielding Cora from Alexander.

“Keith doesn’t hold much trust for you, Nick, and rightly
so. I can’t believe I almost left.”

He noticed the lamp, lit it with the matches on the table,
and sat in one of the wooden chairs. She had expected to feel better with the
light shining, but now she could see his face. His eyes looked black in the
harsh light.

“Didn’t think to bring any magazines?” He laughed and lit a
cigar, sending sickening sweet smoke into the small shack.