Midnight Sacrifice (28 page)

Mandy gathered her trash and stuffed it back in the cooler. A wistful half smile tugged at her mouth—and Danny’s heart. He wanted to see her relaxed and happy all the time, not just for a single hour. “It’s such a beautiful day. I hate to go back.”

“There’s no rush.” He tugged on her hand, pulling her closer until their faces were only inches apart. Her eyes darkened, and everything inside Danny tightened. Need and longing filled him. She was so perfect. Wholesome and pure as the forest around them. Just being with her refreshed him. Yup. Axl Rose had it all right. Green grass and a pretty girl was all a man really needed.

He dipped his head and took her mouth, firmly this time, pouring his desire for her into the kiss. Instead of pulling away as he expected, she leaned in. Her weight toppled him. He fell backward. Laughing, she tumbled onto his chest.

“Oops. Sorry.” She smiled down at him.

Danny wrapped his arms around her and rolled until she was on her back. Her hair spread out behind her in a dark halo. “God, you’re beautiful.”

Her shy blush was a total turn-on.

He dipped his head and kissed her again. She opened her mouth to him, and his tongue plunged past her lips. The hot sweetness of her mouth made him want to taste other parts of her. And thinking of
that
threatened to short-circuit his brain.

Danny’s hand was on her breast before he could stop himself. Her soft moan surprised and delighted him. He slid his palm down to her waist and up under her shirt. More soft skin met his touch. He stroked up her back and released the catch on her bra. His hand swept around. Yes. Her breast filled his palm. She was perfect. Everywhere.

The next groan was his. “Let me see you.”

He tugged her shirt over her head and tossed the bra aside. Lying back on green plaid cotton, her nipples peaked for him. Sunlight played over her smooth, creamy skin.

“Don’t stop, please.” Her plea was breathless, excited, urgent.

No worries. Stopping was last thing on his mind. He started his tour of her body with his lips on her neck, paying attention to her soft, sexy moans to find all her most sensitive spots. Her pulse thrummed under his mouth on the delicate column just under her jaw.

Her hands pulled restlessly at his shirt. “I want to see you, too.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Danny peeled off his T-shirt. Her seeing and touching him was a fantastic idea. Her fingers were greedy on his chest. They roamed down his stomach. He sucked wind as she toyed with the waistband of his jeans. His erection practically jumped out of his pants toward her hand.

Need roared through him like a subway train, and his brain promptly shut down the whole thinking section.

He closed his mouth over her nipple. She arched toward him. He moved lower, hand skimming over her skin, mouth following. His tongue on her rib cage elicited a deep groan. Danny made a mental note. He unfastened her jeans. The quick catch of her breath urged him on. His hand delved inside to find her soft and slick and, God help him, totally ready.

A deep groan burst from her lips as he stroked her softest flesh.

Desire consumed him. He needed more. Her jeans slid off her hips. Danny pressed his face to her panties and breathed her in.

Still not enough.

His thumbs hooked her panties and drew them down her legs. He kissed his way back up her leg. Her body writhed as he licked the inside of her thigh to where he really wanted to be.

The taste of her nearly drove him over the edge.

“Danny…”

She didn’t have to say anything else. Danny was out of his pants and yanking a condom from his wallet in two seconds. He rolled onto her. The way she opened for him filled him with solid and steady warmth. Sliding inside her was like nothing he’d ever experienced. It was beyond sex. It was all-encompassing. Nothing existed in the world beyond the woman clinging to his body.

Danny moved back and pushed forward again. Mandy tightened around him. Pleasure pounded at the base of his spine.

This moment—with Mandy’s soft body under him, her passion-dark eyes locked on his, the sun warm on his back, the scents of the woods in his nose—was the closest thing to a religious experience he’d ever had. Everything but the choir of angels. He slowed his movements. He wanted this to last. Hell, he wanted this to last forever.

But nothing lasted forever. As he well knew, the best things in life were especially fleeting.

He made the attempt anyway. He slowed his thrusts, drawing out the pleasure in long waves that swirled and ebbed like the rushing river. But Mandy’s body was having none of it. She bowed back. Shuddering around him, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him even deeper. Bliss shimmered like sunlight. And that was it for him. He followed her over, helpless in the wake of her pleasure.

He fell forward, supporting his greater weight on his elbows. Her eyes were closed, her expression contented. A healthy flush colored her skin. Joy coursed through his heart. For the first time since he’d returned from Iraq, he felt healed, whole. No more ruined man.

Mandy’s eyes opened wide and turned horrified in one blink.

“I can’t believe we just did that.” Mandy looked around. The treetops waved at her. They were outside. Naked and outside. Naked and in a more-than-compromising position outside. She thought of the other things Danny had done to her in the great wide open.

“We’re outside.” She squirmed, but he pressed his hips against hers, pinning her down.

“Mmm. I know.” Danny pressed his lips to her collarbone. “It’s beautiful.”

“Someone could see.” She gripped the firm muscles of his shoulders with tense fingers.

He grinned down at her. “Like who?”

“Like anybody.”

“Honey, I doubt there’s another soul for miles. Relax. Enjoy.” Danny brought his mouth to her shoulder. The rasp of his chin brought a fresh round of delicious shivers to her belly. “You just made the great outdoors a whole lot more appealing.”

She craned her head over his shoulder. No one in sight. Probably no one anywhere nearby. Probably. “We have to get up and put clothes on.”

His traced the underside of her jaw with his tongue, bringing to mind other things he’d done with it. “Are you sure? Because I’d rather do it all over again.”

Something fluttered inside her.
Not now.
She tapped him on the back. “Danny.”

A sigh rolled through his body.

“All right, but I was really getting into this back-to-nature thing.” Danny levered his body off of her. She instantly missed the contact with his warm skin. Without the weight of him anchoring her, she felt adrift.

Clearly comfortable with his nudity, he stood and stretched. Muscles shifted. Mandy’s gaze swept up his strong legs to narrow hips and—oh—he wasn’t kidding. He was ready to make love again. Desire gathered fresh.

She lifted her eyes, past the broad chest and equally delicious shoulders to his face. His sparkling turquoise eyes and wicked grin said he knew what she was thinking.

“Are you sure you want to go back?” He lowered his voice and waggled his eyebrows. “I have another condom.”

At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to spend a week naked with him, preferably in some tropical location, but that wasn’t her reality. “I have to. I have responsibilities.” Mandy averted her eyes before she was tempted to give in to his obvious desires.

“OK.” But regret tinted his voice as he stepped into his jeans.

Mandy scrambled into her clothes. They gathered the fishing gear and hauled it back to the car. She closed the hatch. Danny’s hands grabbed her hips. He spun her around and pinned her to the rear of the car. “How about a little something for the road?”

But Danny didn’t do anything in a small way. He kissed her until she was breathless. When he raised his head, he gazed down at her with more than sexual desire in his eyes.

Mandy’s heart skipped. A pang of fear shut down her internal happy dance. Would Danny still look at her that way if he knew about her and Nathan? How naive she’d been, how she’d
let him play her. She pulled away. The passion and pleasure of the afternoon faded away. Instead, guilt and dread vied for space in her chest. The resulting shoving match brought those cold bubbles of panic welling back into her throat, like giddiness’s nauseating cousin.

So much for recharging.

She gently pushed him away. His brows knitted, but he moved back without comment. The sun dimmed, and a breeze ruffled Mandy’s hair. She glanced up. Clouds blotted out the warm rays.

Her time with Danny was as short-lived as the day’s warmth. He might understand why she’d slept with Nathan. After all, the man hadn’t been a crazy killer at the time. But Danny would never forgive her for lying about the affair.

No. What happened on the riverbank could never be repeated. As much as the thought of never being with him again made her shrink inside, it simply wasn’t fair. Mandy covered her sadness with movement. Tugging her oversize sweater back over her torso, she climbed behind the wheel and started the car.

Danny was right. It had been beautiful—too beautiful to soil with dishonesty.

“How far are we from where that angler and his son disappeared?” Danny shut the passenger door.

“A few miles.”

“Is the river deeper or swifter there?”

“Not really. It’s closer to Lake Walker and a bit wider, but the current is about the same. Why?”

“Because I don’t see how two people could fall in and just disappear.”

“The water’s very cold,” Mandy said without conviction. “It doesn’t take long for the body to shut down.”

Danny didn’t look any more convinced than she was. “Wouldn’t the body get caught on rocks or something?”

“Maybe.” She glanced back at the river, swirling past boulders that, yes, should snag two bodies floating downriver. “Stranger things have happened out here.”

“But not all of them have been nature’s fault.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Mandy loaded coffee cups and small plates into the dishwasher. The last hour had rushed by in a flurry of chores.

Danny carried the empty cookie tray into the kitchen. He stepped on the foot pedal of the garbage can and brushed the crumbs inside. “Have you seen the girls from Boston?”

Mandy recalled the small crowd in the dining room. She mentally ran through her guest list. Between what had happened on the riverbank and getting back to the inn late, she’d been flustered through the refreshment hour. “No, but I think I saw everyone else.” She squinted out the window. Dark clouds had steamrolled over the sunny day. “I don’t see their car.” Apprehension coiled in her belly. “And I don’t like the looks of that sky.”

“There’s still two hours of daylight,” Danny said.

“They’ve been back by this time every other day.” Mandy dried her hands on a dish towel. “I’m going to check their room. Maybe they came back, changed, and went out for pizza or something. Would you please check the weather report?”

“Sure.” He was already moving toward the little-used countertop TV.

She grabbed her master key and jogged up the steps. Staring at the door, her stomach crunched tighter. She knew as she put her knuckles to the wood that no one would answer her knock. The locked yielded to her key, and the door opened with the soft squeak of old hinges crying for oil. The room was empty. Inside, three suitcases appeared to have exploded. Clothing was strewn
across chairs. Toiletries covered the dressers. The three twins beds were neatly made, but the inn had a policy of not touching the guests’ belongings.

No backpacks. Mandy scanned a pile of shoes in the corner. No hiking boots.

The girls hadn’t returned.