Christmas Present Part 4

"That would probably be a good idea," he said softly.

She silently agreed. Everything feminine in her was responding to the blatantly masculine picture he made. Her fingers itched to stroke across his broad chest, to feel the softly curling dark hairs there and the strength beneath. "Remember those mountains I showed you today?" At his nod she went on. "I'd like to take you up there tomorrow in the Jeep."

"Why?"

"There's a spot that offers a great view of Killara. I thought you'd enjoy seeing it."

"You did?"

His question, devoid of intonation, threw her. It wasn't as if she had expected him to jump at the invitation, but she also hadn't expected this utterly cool indifference. She persevered. "Yes, I did."

"Are you really interested in what I enjoy?" "Yes, of course-"

"Then maybe I should tell you again-I enjoyed the h.e.l.l out of our kiss today."

"Yet you ended it."

"Guilty. I didn't see much point in continuing, and I told you why." He studied her for a moment. "But because I did end the kiss, you feel safe enough to ask me to drive up into the mountains with you."

She met his gaze with a directness that matched his. "A person would be a fool to feel safe with you, ever."

"Funny, I feel the very same way about you." "Why? I'm completely harmless."

"It's been my experience that no Delaney is harmless."

" Yes, or no, Kells?"

"Why, Briar .

"I told you-"

"That's not the reason. There's something else.

A minute ago I said you were remarkably candid. Prove me right and tell me the real reason."

For one wild moment she wished with all her heart she could. But after the reaction she had gotten from her mother and father, she didn't dare. She didn't want Kells to think that she was foolish, or, worse, mad. "The truth is, I can't tell you the reason right now. All I can say is that it's terribly important to me." There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was going to go, he thought. She could ask him to go to h.e.l.l with her and he probably would. He could only hope that a few hours' sleep would bring a return of his caution. "Your father may have something planned for tomorrow." "I'll clear it with him. Will you come with me?" He stared at her for a long moment. "I wouldn't miss it." She exhaled and realized she had been holding her breath. "Good. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." He knew he would, and that was what was troubling him. He was positive he was doing the wrong thing by agreeing to go with her, but only the promise of being alone with her again gave him the strength to open the door and let her leave.

Clouds scudded across the gray sky; wind glided through the mountain pa.s.ses, carrying the promise of

rain. "Don't worry about the weather," Bria said, guiding the Jeep up the twisting gravel road. "We should

be back before the storm breaks." "I'm not worried." "I guess you're used to our Southwest storms." "I've seen a few." She looked over at him. He was dressed in jeans, a royal blue sweater, and his black leather jacket. He looked overwhelmingly masculine and smelled of leather, musk, and a tantalizing hint of citrus. When she had come up with the idea of taking him to the place where, in the mirror, she had seen him standing, she hadn't considered the hazards of being closed up in a Jeep with him. "What happened to The Star?" "I own it. My grandfather left it to me. It was his dream. You don't sell someone's dream." "Yet you moved away from it." "Yes." "You don't like to talk about yourself, do you?" "I know everything there is to know about myself; the subject bores me. Besides, why talk about myself when I'm enjoying our little trip so much?" His sardonic tone drew a smile from her. "Yes, well, I told you I thought you would." "Yes, you did. You gave it as a reason for inviting me." "We're nearly there."

She glanced at him again and saw him looking at her with such concentration, her breath caught in her throat. She wrenched her gaze back to the road. It was with grat.i.tude that she saw the lay-by up ahead and was able to pull off and park.

The wind had died down for the moment, but the sky was low and the clouds rushing by were increasingly darker.

At the sight, his mouth curved wryly. "Looks like your weather forecast might be wrong."

"Then we'd better hurry." Too impatient to put on her jacket, she got out of the Jeep and walked to the cliffs edge.

He didn't give a d.a.m.n about the impending storm, Kells thought, following her. But he was extremely curious to find out what she was up to.

Killara spread as far as the eye could see-north, south, east, and west. In the valley below, the huge, rambling, red-tiled house sat-Killara's heart.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" he asked.

She nodded, observing him closely. "I know you said you've never been on Killara before, but does this view seem at all familiar to you?"

"Should it?" "I'm asking you."

"It's an impressive view," he said, "but no, it's not familiar to me."

"Stay where you are," she said, and moved behind him. He turned, watching her with a frown. "Don't look at me. Look at Killara."

"Killara doesn't interest me half as much as you do. What the h.e.l.l are we doing here, Bria?"

"Please, just look down at Killara."

With a shrug he turned back to gaze down on the land.

It was the same, she thought, feeling a little jump of excitement. His broad shoulders stretched against his leather jacket, his long, muscular legs were gloved in faded jeans. Her mental survey abruptly stopped. His hair wasn't gleaming in the sunshine as it had in the mirror because today was gray and overcast. Disappointment scored through her.

"Okay," she said, "you can turn around." He did look very hard, very dangerous, just as he had in the mirror. But he wasn't angry. His expression was one of puzzlement and glowing frustration.

"Are you going to tell me what this is about?"

"I can't," she said, feeling both stupid and helpless. Whatever the powers of the mirror were, she didn't have similar powers. She couldn't re-create an image she had seen in it.

"What kind of game are we playing, Bria?" he asked, walking to her. "If I know the rules, I'll have a lot more fun." She eyed him warily, for the first time noticing a dark tension etched into the lines of his body. "It's not a game."

"Oh, yeah? Then what is it? You bring me up here, ask me to face one way, then another. Excuse me if I think that's a little odd." She nodded. "You're right. It is." "Then tell me." "I'm sorry. I can't."

He stepped closer. "Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

His nearness, not the question, caused a tightness in her stomach. "Maybe. Probably. But if I did, you'd think I was crazy."

His teeth ground together. "I'd love to think you were crazy, Bria. At least then I might have some sort of defense against you. But I don't. I came up here all too willingly because you asked me, and I'm pretty d.a.m.ned unhappy about the fact."

There was a distant boom of thunder; it could have been the sound of the heavy pounding of her heart.

"Why?" The wind picked back up and sent her hair flying in wild streamers. His hands shot out and clamped on either side of her head, holding the silky strands prisoner. And her. She had no will to move.

"Because you're all wrong for me," he muttered, gazing down into her wide green eyes. They were suddenly onto another subject, the subject of the two of them, but she had no trouble following his train of thought. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of lightning streak from heaven to earth as around them the elements intensified. "You mean because I'm Burke Delaney's daughter? Because you don't want your precious deal ruined?" He was beginning to care less and less about the deal. "Those are pretty solid reasons in my book." "Nothing is going to ruin the deal. You're in the final stages." "So you're saying it's all right for me to feel defenseless against you? To want to kiss you again and this time not stop?" She wrapped her arms around herself. "No, of course not-" "There's something going on with you, Bria. Something besides what's between the two of us. I can feel it as surely as I'm feeling you right now. Tell me. Let me help you." A cold, misty rain had begun to fall; she barely felt it. She was totally focused on the heat in his eyes. Mutely she shook her head.

He uttered a curse. "Then help me, because right now, at this exact moment in time, I don't think it matters who or what you are. I'm d.a.m.ned well going to come apart if I don't kiss you." His lips ground down on hers, his tongue drove into her mouth.

With a moan of desire Bria surrendered She wound her arms around his neck, absorbing the raw s.e.xuality of the kiss with a need that caught her off guard and left her weak. It seemed as if his hands were everywhere on her body, skimming up her back, down her sides to her bottom, then sliding beneath her sweater to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

She was wearing a silk and lace bra, but the material didn't deter him. He kneaded the soft mounds with an authority and possessiveness that left her trembling. She clung tightly to him and returned the kiss with a pa.s.sionate intensity.

The rain fell harder and the wind picked up, but she didn't notice. Her entire body was radiating heat. She pressed into him, trying to ease the heavy ache that was glowing in her lower belly.

A growl rumbled up from Kells's chest. Yesterday's kiss had been only a prelude to this. He was so d.a.m.ned hungry for her, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to stop kissing her. He wanted to glide his tongue over every inch of her; he wanted to bury himself inside her. She was wild and hot in his arms, but he knew he was getting only a hint of what she could be like. In bed, he was sure, she would reveal untamed layer upon layer, like veins of gold in her being.

His thumbs flicked back and forth across the hardened tips of her nipples, then with barely conscious thought he closed his hands over her b.u.t.tocks, lifted her against his throbbing arousal, and carried her to the hood of the vehicle. He bent her back across it and laid his body over hers. He had nothing in mind other than getting as close to her as possible. He kept kissing her because he couldn't do anything else. He was being driven by something that had nothing to do with rational thought or cautious emotion. It was something that had taken possession of him and wouldn't let go. It was her-Brio.

He reached for the waistband of her jeans.

The Jeep's horn blared sharp and loud and shocking. He stilled, and beneath him he felt her do the same. The horn sounded again.

"What in the h.e.l.l?"

She put her hand to her forehead, vaguely surprised to find it cold and wet. "It's the phone," she murmured, her words short and breathless. "It's rigged so that when the Jeep is turned off and the phone rings, the horn honks. If you're on the range, you can hear it."

"No kidding." He muttered a string of succinct and colorful curses and pushed upright with an action that bordered on violence.

She moved slower, each blare of the horn activating jangling nerves. Pulling her sweater down, she made her way unsteadily around the Jeep. She opened the pa.s.senger door, sat down, and punched the speaker b.u.t.ton on the phone. "h.e.l.lo?"

Burke's concerned voice greeted her. "Hi, honey. Where are you?"

Kells opened the other door, chopped down on the seat beside her, and pulled the door closed after him. She strove to keep her voice normal. "We're still up in the mountains." "I was afraid you got caught up there. Ever since the storm broke, I've been worried." Storm? She glanced around her; the rain was coming down in sheets. Lord, how could she have not noticed before? She closed the door to keep the rain out. Kells took a handkerchief from an inside pocket of his jacket and wiped his face. The action drew her attention. His hair was plastered to his skull. His skin was pulled taut against his bones so that he looked as fiercely primitive as the storm sounded. Her blood heated. "There's nothing to worry about. We're fine."

"What took you so long to answer the phone?"

Kells was staring at her with eyes that held glints as hard as steel and hot as fire. She had never seen him look more dangerous. "We, uh, we were walking back to the Jeep." "Did you get wet?" "A little. Listen, Dad, don't worry about us. We're just about to head back." "Well, be careful, honey. You know how treacherous that road can be when it's wet. Use your own judgement, but it might be worthwhile to wait until the storm dies down."

"I'm not sure this storm is going to die down anytime soon," she said, and wondered if she was talking

about the weather. "But we'll be careful. See you soon. Bye." She punched the b.u.t.ton, disconnecting her father. And for the first time she began to feel the cold. "That was Dad," she said unnecessarily.

"You're trembling."

He was right, she realized. "I'm okay. Let's change seats and get out of here."

"No," he said with a decisiveness that carried over to the forceful way he turned on the ignition. "I'll drive

back." His body was tensed for action, and he couldn't simply sit and do nothing but be a pa.s.senger.

"But you don't know the road."

"What's to know? I'll just follow it down." But he didn't move. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her

mouth. Her lips were red, swollen, made that way by his hard kisses, and he felt absolutely no remorse. He wanted to kiss them again and then again. "You're soaked," he said curtly, and flicked the heater to high. ; "So are you." "Not as bad. I had on my jacket. Where's yours?" "In the backseat." "Take off your sweater and put it on." He pushed the gearshift into first. "That's not necessary." He slammed the gearshift back to neutral and applied the emergency brake. "Dammit, it is necessary.

Look at you, you can't stop trembling."

The trembling didn't bother her as much as not knowing if she was trembling out of reaction to what had just happened between them or because she was wet and cold. One thing was certain, she wouldn't like to place any bets on the reason.

She gazed down at her soggy sweater; it was icy against her skin and felt as if it weighed ten pounds. Why not take it off? she thought dazedly. It wasn't as if she had too many secrets left from Kells. He had held her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands, shaping and reshaping them through the material of her bra until she had caught fire.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

She peeled the soggy sweater up her torso and off her head and tossed it into the backseat.

"The bra too."

Her head came up. "No."

"It's wet, Bria. Take it off, and you'll be wanner." His voice was rough, the color of his eyes so dark there was very little blue left in them.

"I-" Her hands automatically went to the front opening of the bra, but her fingers were stiff with cold and nerves and she fumbled with the clasp.

He brushed her hands away and undid the bra himself.

She almost stopped breathing. Everyplace his fingers touched her, heat replaced the cold. Her pulse, temporarily normal, now began to race again.

He threw the bra into the back, then grabbed her jacket and pulled it around her, intending to help her into it. But suddenly he stopped. He had gotten too close to her-a huge mistake. He could see crystal droplets clinging to her long lashes, smell the rain in her hair and on her skin, see the desire that still simmered in her eyes.

He groaned. "Lord, Bria. What is it that you do to me?"

"I don't know," she whispered, and wondered the same thing about him. The cold and chill of the elements had done little to dampen down the heat inside her. She found that she couldn't sit upright one more second. Leaning back against the door, she allowed the softness of her fleece-lined jacket to shield her from its curves and k.n.o.bs.

"What are you doing?" he asked raggedly. Her high, firm b.r.e.a.s.t.s were completely exposed to him, and the rose pink of her nipples had hardened into tight buds.

"I don't know." She had never felt less in charge of herself or her emotions.

The storm continued to lash around them-wind, rain, thunder, lightning. The heater was blowing warm air into the interior of the Jeep, but it had little to do with the heat that was crawling over her skin. Neither the storm nor the heater air was touching her. She felt battered by a need she couldn't even begin to understand. Then she saw him slowly reach toward her, and she held her breath.

He cupped one breast with a gentleness that was in marked contrast to the fierce way he had kissed and caressed her before. But it seemed right. Outside, the storm might be savage, but in the Jeep a sensual languor reigned. He had no idea what would happen next, but he couldn't leave this place without feeling her, tasting her, one more time.

Time stood still; the windows fogged. Her breast was warm and full in his hand; her nipples were irresistible. He lowered his head and drew one into his mouth. A hard shudder shook his body.

He sucked and pulled at the tip with a concentration that implied he was empty and only she could fill him. He could actually feel the heat rising from her skin, smell her deeply feminine scent, taste the sweetness. His arousal pressed against his jeans, his control was in danger of dissolving.