The Mighty Quinns: Eli (5 page)

“Thanks,” she said.

“Just don't use that on me the next time I try to kiss you,” he teased.

“Are you planning to kiss me again?” she asked.

There was the question, Eli mused. After their first kiss, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about his next excuse to kiss her again. There was no use trying to ignore the attraction. Now that he knew it was mutual, Eli didn't see any reason to keep his hands—or his lips—to himself.

It might have been different if it had really been a month since he'd last seen her. But Eli had hiked up to the meadow once a week just to make sure she was all right. At first, he'd tried to convince himself he was just checking on the cabin. Then, he'd convinced himself that the production company should have specified weekly visits and he was correcting their error.

But as he'd sat on the edge of the meadow, hidden by the brush, and saw her work on the cabin or practice her shooting, he realized that he just needed to know that she was safe. Lucy wasn't like his mother or grandmother. She was a city girl, and he'd glimpsed a vulnerability in her that he couldn't ignore. He'd witnessed it again and again over the years—amateurs who traveled to remote locations convinced they were prepared, but who ended up sick or injured. Even his father, an experienced climber, had made one mistake and had never come down the mountain. He wouldn't let that happen to Lucy. It had become his duty to protect her and one he would never shirk.

Last week, Riley had caught his scent and he'd had to run to avoid being discovered. And it was always difficult to walk away. He'd considered just hiking to the cabin and making up some excuse for his presence. But Eli knew better. When it came to Lucy, it was best to follow the rules—or the
guidelines
.

They walked along a familiar ridgeline, then dropped down to hike a narrow creek bed. It had been years since Eli had explored this part of his grandmother's world, but the landmarks he'd used were still deeply etched in his memory.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Haven't you been paying attention?”

“No, I was following you.”

He reached back and grabbed his water bottle, then took a long drink before holding it out to her. “I guess we're lost then.”

Her eyes went wide. “How could we be lost? I assumed you knew where you were going.” She stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head. “Oh, I get it. This is another lesson from Captain Safety.”

“Maybe you should get out that video camera of yours. This is important stuff.”

She slipped her pack off her shoulder and set it at her feet, then removed the camera. “I'm not going to be able to use this footage,” she said.

“No, but you can watch it when I'm gone.”

Lucy trained the lens on him. “Then take off your shirt,” she teased, focusing on the broad expanse of his chest. “It will make the video much more interesting.”

“I'm serious,” he said.

“So am I,” she countered.

He watched her as she toyed with the camera, his gaze fixed on her lips, his thoughts focused on the last kiss they'd shared. There were more than a few consequences that came along with kissing Lucy again. Especially kissing her for nothing but the pleasure of it.

She'd come to the mountain for some kind of feminist empowerment deal, and the last thing he wanted to do was interfere in her professional or personal goals. Then there was the whole guilt thing. If he ruined her life with romance, she'd blame him for wrecking her project. And he wasn't usually the relationship type—would she want that from him?

From Eli's experience, finding a man was like buying a car to some women. There were those who were constantly searching for a fast ride and willing to test-drive anything that got them to sixty the fastest. Then, there were those who took their time and compared features and quality before committing to it. And then there were women, like Annalise and Trudie, who preferred to take cabs.

He got the sense that Lucy was a cab rider, the kind of woman who didn't need a man to be happy and didn't waste a lot of time and energy searching. But it really didn't make a difference. A few kisses now and then didn't mean they were in a relationship.

He should be happy that she wasn't demanding more of him. So why did he want to give her everything she'd never ask for?

He glanced over at her. “What are you going to do if you get lost?” he asked.

“How could I get lost? I'm not going to wander around out here by myself. If I can't see the cabin, then I don't go there.”

“I used to think that, too. Until I got lost and spent a night out here by myself.”

“What happened?”

“I was spending the summer with my grandmother and we had a fight about something. So I decided to take off, just for a quick walk. But I got turned around. Just like that. One second I knew where I was and the next I didn't. So my next piece of advice is to always carry a compass. And spend some time studying the landmarks.”

Over the next hour, Eli gave her a lesson in navigating the wilderness. He tried to impress on her the dangers that she faced if she wasn't careful, but Lucy assured him that she wasn't planning to take any long walks, no matter what the cause.

By the end of his lesson, she was clearly overloaded with information and had begun to tune him out, just smiling and nodding at everything he told her. He'd have to stop for now. As he steered them through the woods and back to the meadow, he reached out to take her hand, helping her over rough parts of the trail. It was enough just to touch her, to feel that momentary connection when her hand was tucked into his.

When they arrived at the cabin, Eli stayed on the porch while she went inside to make lunch. But to his surprise, she opened the screen door a few moments later and invited him in.

“It's not against the guidelines anymore for me to come inside?”

“It's your cabin.”

He hesitated before walking in the front door. Eli was used to the cabin the way his grandmother had left it and he wondered if she'd done anything to alter the interior. But as he stepped inside, he noticed that everything was in its proper place, almost as if Lucy had treated the cabin like a shrine.

“I love this place,” he murmured.

“Me, too. I mean, I know it's not mine, but I can feel your grandmother's presence here. And I think she approves. And that's important to me.”

“Why don't you sit down and let me make you breakfast for lunch. I'm a pretty decent cook. And I used to make it for Trudie all the time.”

“I don't have real eggs,” she said. “Just the powdered kind. And powdered milk.”

“That'll do for pancakes,” he said.

She sat down at the table and watched him for a long moment, then picked up a small video camera and aimed it at him. “So what is it you do with yourself when you're not trudging up mountains with caramel lattes and making buckwheat pancakes, Eli Montgomery?”

“You're not really filming me, are you?”

“Yes, I am. But this is for my personal use.”

He chuckled softly. “Then wait a moment.” He reached for the hem of his T-shirt then pulled it up over his head, revealing his naked chest. “How's that?”

“Fine,” she said. “Flex, please.”

“I don't really have a regular job,” Eli continued. “I bounce from place to place. The last six months I've been in Nicaragua surveying the site for a new canal that a Chinese billionaire hopes to build. Before that, I was on a trekking expedition in Mongolia. I've traveled the world by freighter. An opportunity pops up and off I go.”

“And what's your next job?”

“I don't know,” Eli said. “I'm waiting to see what comes along.”

He mixed the batter for the pancakes and then stirred in some dried blueberries. When he found his grandmother's favorite cast-iron skillet, Eli set it on the stove and added some oil.

“Did Trudie teach you to cook?” she asked.

“A little. Buck, my grandfather, makes great food. I spent a lot of time with him while my mom was gone on expeditions.”

The scent of pancakes filled the cabin and brought Riley in. He sat down right next to the stove. Eli flipped a pancake to the dog, then stacked the rest on a plate for Lucy. He found a tin of maple syrup on a shelf above the stove and set it down beside her plate, then leaned close and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Enjoy,” he murmured.

“I do,” Lucy said, her gaze fixed on his.

He sat down across from her and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You're not going to eat?”

“I'd rather watch you,” he murmured.

She poured some syrup over the pancakes and dug in.

“Good?” he asked.

“Mmm. So good. I miss fresh food so much. I started digging a garden, but it's going to be forever until I actually have vegetables. We had frost just a couple days ago.”

“Plant cold weather crops first. Lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets. That's what my grandmother did.”

“More advice,” she said. She cut a bit of her pancake and held it out to him. “Eat.”

He smiled and swallowed. “Maybe I am hungry.”

Lucy pushed away from the table and took the chair next to him, then handed him her fork. As he ate, she scooped up some syrup with her finger and licked it off with her tongue.

Eli stopped chewing, stunned at the erotic undertones of her action. He didn't believe she'd done it deliberately, but being so close to her was having a powerful effect on his body. She did it again and he reached out and gently grabbed her wrist.

“Stop doing that.”

Lucy frowned. “Why?”

“Just stop.”

Tipping her chin up, she scooped up more of the syrup and licked her finger again, then slowly realized why he'd stopped her. “Oh,” she murmured.

“You do it again, I may have to kiss you.”

She grinned, then wiped her finger on the plate one last time. But she didn't put her finger in her mouth. Instead, she wiped the syrup on her bottom lip. Leaning across the table, she smiled at him in a silent invitation.

Groaning, he put down his fork and accepted her challenge, kissing her softly, lingering over her mouth.

He slowly stood and pulled her to her feet, then smoothed his hands over her waist. Pressing her back against the edge of the table, he deepened the kiss, his tongue invading the sweet warmth of her mouth.

Lucy reached back and brushed her plate aside and it clattered to the floor. Riley ran over and gobbled down the pancakes.

“Don't worry, I'll make you more,” he murmured, and bent to take her lips again.

* * *

L
UCY
WAS
BREATHLESS
, her thoughts spinning inside her head, making her dizzy with desire. She wasn't sure whether to stop him, or to grab his broad, naked shoulders and pull him down onto the table. This was supposed to be wrong but it felt so wonderful that she didn't want him to stop.

His chest was smooth and rippled with muscles and her fingers danced over the tanned skin, the nerves alive with excitement. He was so strong and sure of himself that she hadn't thought to deny him—or herself. But as they arched against each other, Lucy realized where they were heading.

She'd invested so much in this cabin experience and it was meant to be about solitude and introspection. Now, she was putting the entire project at risk. How was she supposed to spend the next month focused on the tasks at hand when all she wanted to do was seduce Eli Montgomery?

“Stop,” she murmured, gently pushing against his chest.

He drew back and stared down into her eyes. It only took a few seconds for him to see the determination in her request and he stepped away. “Sorry,” he said.

“No, don't apologize. It's my fault. I started it with the syrup. I shouldn't complicate things. I have a job to do here and you are a very dangerous distraction.”

He chuckled softly. “And I'm against the rules.”

“Well, yes. That's a big part of the problem. I'm supposed to be alone. Except for one day a month.”

“Trudie had lots of male visitors. She was known for her...hospitality.”

“And so you think I should sleep with any man who wanders by?”

“No! Of course not. I'm just saying that it's only normal to have desires, especially when you're so isolated like this. And Trudie did.”

Lucy shook her head. “No. I'm not going to put this project at risk just because you're hot and I can't keep my hands off of you. All I need is for the media to find out what was happening up here and it would turn a serious show into a joke.” Lucy pushed against his chest and slipped out of his embrace. “No, no. I don't want anything from you. You need to leave and I have to stop acting like some love-starved fool.”

Eli reached out and smoothed her tumbled hair out of her face. “You're not a fool. If you are, then so am I. Do you think I expected this? I expected to hate you. I was angry at Annalise for renting you the cabin. I was angry at you for taking advantage of my grandmother's memory and putting yourself in danger. I wanted you gone. And then I met you.”

“This is all Annalise's fault. If she wouldn't have sent you, we never would have met each other.”

He took another step back and she fought the urge to reach out and grab him. In her entire life, she'd never experienced this kind of desire for a man. But there were choices to be made. “It would be best for you to go,” Lucy said. “And don't return.”

Eli nodded. “So, I guess I'll see you in ten months,” he murmured.

Lucy groaned inwardly. A month seemed like a year. Ten months was going to seem like...ten years. How could she have been so stupid? She should have stopped this before it even started. “I guess so,” Lucy said.

There. She'd made a decision and she was going to stick to it. She'd stop fantasizing about Eli Montgomery—she'd put the man completely out of her mind and get on with the business of producing a great show.