Seeking Shelter (12 page)

This time, she took off the helmet more carefully, afraid that if he helped her, she’d do something stupid, like touch him. To remove herself from the temptation, she stepped back several steps.

“I’ll check us in.” Jace walked away without another word and disappeared through the rustic doors of the lodge.

Amy thought about following him, but something made her stay here. She blamed it on the beauty around her, but knew she needed space away from him.

“Here you go.” He returned more quickly than she’d expected, and he handed her a metal key attached to a battered plastic key chain, a similar key in his other hand.

He didn’t say anything else, just led the way around the old, log-cabin-style building to the two rooms on the end.

The shadows were thicker here, the sun blocked by the balcony overhead and a thick stand of pine. The playful sunshine was sinking away now and leaving behind a hint of the cool night to come. She unlocked the door.

There wasn’t any luggage to carry into the room, as this was only an overnight trip, and a spur of the moment one at that. Amy felt silly walking in just to look around. She heard the door of the room next door close and envisioned Jace doing much the same thing.

Now what?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Y
OU
WANT
TO
GO
TO
DINNER
or head to see the canyon?”

Amy spun around at the sound of Jace’s voice. He stood in the open doorway. She hadn’t closed the hotel room door, and really, there wasn’t any reason to. The evening was warm and they weren’t turning in just yet.

“I...I’m not hungry,” she replied.

Jace smiled. “Good. I grabbed one of those brochures you like so much.” He waved a paper trifold like the one she’d been looking at outside the restaurant in Phoenix. “It’s got all the trails. Come on. Let’s see what’s out there.”

Jace took her hand. After riding pressed against his back all day, it seemed almost natural to touch him, so she didn’t pull away.

They followed an unpaved path for several minutes. Dozens of tourists milled around them along the trail winding through tall ponderosa pines.

Finally, they reached a side path and he took it, moving away from the crowds and the noise.

The trail was smooth from the footsteps of all the hikers who had come this way made, not from any grooming process. It curved across the flat land, skirting a boulder or two before dropping downward.

Jace was soon several feet in front of her, his stride longer and his steps more hurried. They came to a fork in the trail where two large rocks lay ahead, with one path leading between them. He stopped and grinned back at her, humor dancing in his eyes.

“What?” She couldn’t help laughing at him, catching a glimpse of the boy he’d once must have been.

He pulled a worn silver dollar out of his pocket. “Call it.”

“Call what?”

“Heads or tails.” His laughter echoed around the clearing.

“Heads?”

“Heads we go left. Tails we go right.” Jace flipped the coin high in the air, caught it with practiced ease and slapped it against the back of his hand.

Amy wondered how many times he’d used this method to make decisions. Had he done so when he’d decided to stay in Rattlesnake Bend?

Curious, she leaned forward to see the results. He pulled his hand back. “Heads.” Before she could say anything, he dodged past her and hurried around the rock. “Jace?” She followed, as she reached the other side, she froze. There, spread out before her in all its magnificence, was the Grand Canyon.

Beautiful didn’t even begin to describe it. The layers of sandstone and the deep fissures in the earth took her breath away. Dusk’s shadows bathed the canyon walls in all the colors of sunset.

Amy didn’t want to blink, much less look away. “It’s amazing,” she whispered, almost afraid of shattering the beauty.

“Yeah.” Jace stepped up from where he’d been leaning against a giant boulder, drinking in the scenery just as she had.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in the rich scents of the high desert—sage, dust, pine and distant water. It all mingled together, sweet and open.

Jace again moved past her, his boots loud against the hard-packed dirt. As she watched him head down the trail, she realized how close they actually were to the steep drop-off of the cliffs. Nothing stood between them and the edge except a narrow metal rail. Though she could see where it was cemented to the rock, it didn’t reassure her. He didn’t seem at all bothered.

“Jace, be careful.” She didn’t move from where she stood. It was picturesque, but the canyon floor seemed miles below.

“Don’t worry.” He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her. “Come on.” The trail kept leading downward, and at the next turn he stopped and looked back. “Are you coming?”

Looking out at the view, she was fine, but as soon as she glanced down at the winding river so very far below, her heart seemed to stop. She couldn’t move. Her mouth went dry and she crossed her arms over her stomach, as if that might somehow keep her from falling. She shook her head, and Jace’s easy smile faded.

“What’s the matter?” He came back to her.

“Are you kidding?” She pointed at the cliff’s edge. “It’s too...dangerous.”

“No. If you’re careful, it’s fine. Come on. The view on the next level down looks like it’ll be even more breathtaking.”

Amy tried to take a deep breath, but it hurt to drag the air into her chest. “I...I can’t.”

“Sure you can. Come on.” He wasn’t pushing, but she knew he was disappointed that she wouldn’t go with him. She’d miss something special and important to him. Who knew when she’d ever get the chance again? Swallowing her fear, she put her hand in his.

He let her set the pace. She had no idea what lay ahead, and while she sensed his excitement, all she felt was fear.

The trail dipped down to the rock edge of the canyon and cut between more stones. Amy put her other hand out and ran it along the solid wall, hoping to calm herself. It felt stable. Safe. They rounded the corner and something was different. Cooler air buffeted her, and the breeze grew stronger. She let go of Jace’s hand, following the wall instead. He moved out into the open, where the path dropped sharply, and he seemed to disappear off the edge of the earth.

Amy bit back a scream when he vanished. She took a few tentative steps and found him again. Jace looked as if he were ready to leap off the ledge and take flight, the yearning in his face was so strong. She’d never seen him so still, so in awe.

“You have to see this,” he whispered, not taking his gaze from the view.

No, she didn’t. This was as far as she was going. She glanced back the way they’d come. The trail appeared solid and led up to even, safe ground. She longed to turn around. She’d seen enough. “Jace?”

The panic in her voice seemed to register and he turned around and frowned. “Hey.” He walked over to her. “I’ll take care of you.” He smiled reassuringly now, not the open, excited smile of before.

“I can’t get any closer to the edge.”

“I’m not trying to scare you.” He moved near enough for her to feel his body heat, standing between her and the drop-off, blocking the frightening view, and her panic eased. For the first time since leaving the top of the canyon, she managed a full breath.

She was being ridiculous. She was a grown-up. The park rangers wouldn’t let people come down these paths if they were unsafe. Right?

Jace reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I know what it’s like to be afraid. I won’t force you to do this. I just thought you wanted to see the canyon.” His knuckle was warm as he stroked her cheek.

“I do.” She felt stupid for letting her fears overshadow her common sense. Still...the edge was too close, too steep. “I’m being silly,” she admitted.

“No, you’re not. You’re being cautious. We’ll take it slow, okay?” He grasped her hand again, moving more gradually down the path.

They’d gone only a couple of feet when they reached the edge of the rock wall. The path was narrower here, and she longed to go back, but refused to give in to her fears. When her heel hit a loose rock, she stumbled forward. Jace’s grip on her hand tightened, but her hand slipped out of his, anyway.

She heard herself scream, heard how it echoed back at her. She tried to catch hold of something, but the scrubby vegetation along the path was short to give her any purchase. She hit a sharp-edged stone and felt her ankle twist. Not badly, just enough to scare her.

She scarcely breathed or moved as Jace rushed to her. He knelt in the dirt and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. His heart hammered against her cheek as she buried her face in his chest.

Several long seconds passed before either of them even took a breath, but finally it was Jace who moved. Not to get up, not to leave her, but to settle them both on a rock ledge several feet back.

Amy shivered.

“Here.” He shifted around and sat behind her, in much the same way she’d rested against his back all day on the bike. His arms came around her, his legs aligning with hers. Warmth surrounded her, sinking deep into her spine. She leaned back, savoring it.

“You’re safe,” Jace whispered. “I’m here.”

Amy could feel him breathing in the sage-scented air, expanding his chest against her shoulder blades. “I...yeah.”

He laughed nervously and the sound rumbled through her. She closed her eyes, taking comfort in his presence.

“Sorry. That edge scares the hell out of you. I know you hate it.”

“Yeah, that, too.” She tried to laugh, fighting to slow her racing heart.

“It’s...so open here,” he murmured.

He paused a long time and she wondered if he was going to say anything else. Finally, he did. “God, I love it. If I’d been born a few hundred years ago, I’d have probably hitched a lifelong ride with the Anasazi or maybe the Apache.”

“Any horsepower will do?” Some of her humor was returning. It helped to be planted firmly on solid earth.

“I need to be out in the open, Amy.” His words came out soft, rough. “When I was twelve, my dad was killed in a mining accident.”

“Oh, Jace, I’m so sorry.” She felt him shrug, but knew it must still bother him. She waited for him to go on, thankful that he was finally sharing something of himself.

“For years I’ve had nightmares about the cave-in that killed him. This openness just...” He trailed off as if he had no words to describe it.

Knowing that, she saw the canyon as he must. The wide sky, the bright stars just blinking on, the shadows on the ground from the trees and bushes. No walls. No restrictions. A thought hit her and she twisted around to look at his face—what she could see of it in the fading light. “That’s why you don’t sleep indoors...or wear a helmet...or ride in a car.”

She saw the nearly imperceptible movement of his throat as he swallowed. He stared out ahead of them as he nodded. “Yeah.”

And then he looked down, his gaze clashing with hers.

She knew his eyes were blue, and while the shadows made them look dark, they were very much alive and intense. She couldn’t glance away.

She felt his palm graze her cheek and his fingers brush softly against her temple. His fingertips were rough, worn from the work he’d done on her kitchen. “Jace?” she whispered, leaning back against his supporting arm so she could see him more clearly.

“Amy, what have you done to me?” He combed his fingers through her hair, then leaned in. His lips fit hers perfectly, warm, soft...yet wonderfully firm.

Her eyes drifted closed, shutting out everything but Jace.

* * *

J
ACE
COULD
SPEND
the night right here. With her. Amy, on the other hand, wasn’t used to sleeping outside on the ground. Pulling away from her was the hardest thing he’d done in a hell of a long time.

“Come on.” He struggled to his feet and reached a hand down to help her up. “We should go before we run out of light.”

Climbing up was much easier than going down. They made quick work of the walk to the lodge, and Jace stopped at her room, fully intending to go next door and watch TV, or something.

When Amy turned to him and slid her arms around his neck, he froze.

Despite the need that slammed through him, he held back, taking several deep breaths as he pulled away slightly. He could see her now, in the glow of moonlight filtering through the trees, and he waited an instant for her to look at him. When she did, the desire he saw in her eyes nearly did him in.

“I want you,” he whispered. “But I don’t want to hurt you or scare you.”

He wanted to make this special, and not just because she was Mac’s daughter, though that was part of it. The urge to protect her was nearly as strong as his desire.

A frown flitted across Amy’s face, and he knew she misunderstood him.

“I’m fine.” She smiled back at him and slowly ran a finger along his jaw. “Actually, better than fine.” She tried to draw him back to her, but he resisted.

“Yes, you are.” He kissed her temple. Words failed him. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been with women before, but never had his emotions been so involved.

“Stop thinking. Just kiss me.” Amy leaned against him. She burrowed her fingers in his hair and pulled him down to her.

Jace knew he’d lost whatever battle he might have been waging. She tasted so good. And her warm skin felt amazing under his hands.

The door seemed to magically open and they moved inside. Pale white moonlight spilled in through the sheers, splashing across the double bed, which seemed miles away. Until the door closed. Then it seemed to fill the room.

Slowly, torturously slowly, Jace released the top button of her shirt. And then the next. The gentle swell of her breasts beckoned, and he cursed the fabric that barred him from seeing all of her.

He finished the remaining buttons more quickly, and said a tiny prayer of thanks when he found a front clasp on her bra. Soon it was open and her pale pink nipple warmed his tongue.

Amy’s hands drifted down his back and she tugged at his T-shirt, loosening it so she could slide her hands beneath. Her touch was heaven, and distracting, especially when she reached the waistband of his jeans and came slowly around to the front.

He didn’t know how they got there, but he was lying on the bed with her. He stretched out alongside her, where he could touch her and her hands could reach him. The rasp of his zipper seemed loud and the brush of air against his lower belly made him gasp with pleasure.

He buried the sound in her lips as he claimed her more fully.

She tugged at his T-shirt, bunching it up until he paused and jerked it off over his head.

He didn’t give her time to think or move before he was back. The feel of her bare skin against his was sweet and hot.

Without his shirt, she found every inch of his shoulders and chest, greedily stroking and kissing. When her hands moved lower again, Jace resisted the urge to tug off his jeans, as well. Soon, even his deep calming breaths weren’t slowing things down. He didn’t
want
to slow down. But he knew he had to. He scooted lower, taking control away from that amazing mouth of hers.

With his head against her chest, Jace could feel her pounding heart. He kissed the valley between her breasts before he moved away.