Hot on Her Tail Read online

  He stepped away from her as he snagged a towel off the rack and wiped his face. Maxie withdrew with one last look at his mottled bruises.

  “I wasn’t…”

  “Sure you weren’t. Save it.”

  Maxie looked at him with big, blue guileless eyes and he wanted to kick himself. Was it all an act? Did she know exactly what she did to him? She made him feel alive. Alive in a way that he couldn’t ever remember feeling. Anger spiked inside him then and it worked its way to fury at the unfairness of life. Their situation made it impossible for him to explore a relationship with her. Although his body craved her, he wanted more than sex with Maxie. She made him want to lay her down on that bed and make passionate love to her. He wanted to stay in this room with her until the world went away. He wished he didn’t have to take her back, but he knew what his responsibilities were and he always followed through.

  He clamped down on the anger. It didn’t help his situation—to wish for anything involving her. Nothing had changed. Life wasn’t fair was something he’d learned when his father had died and his stepfather had treated him as if he was less than nothing.

  “Thanks, Austin, for being so gallant in the bar and saving me from…” She let the sentence trail off, and gestured towards his torso.

  “Why are you thanking me? You said you didn’t need anyone.”

  “I would be stupid to think that I could have fended off those men. If that chair had hit me, I would have probably broken ribs. Are you sure yours are okay?”

  She brushed her fingers over his ribs, pressing too firmly. He sucked in a breath at the pain.

  “I had no idea. No one’s ever been physically hurt before because of me and my schemes.”

  “I chose to step in front of the chair.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s my job to bring you in. That would have been compounded if you’d been injured.”

  “Right. I almost forgot. Don’t want to damage the merchandise.”

  “Maxie, that’s not what I meant.”

  “I know where I stand.”

  He tried to find a different subject since they were at an impasse. “So you’ve had other schemes?”

  She looked up at him. “Yes. After college, I got into credit card debt. My sister bailed me out. I wanted to travel and I didn’t think of the costs.”

  “Lots of college kids travel, Maxie.”

  “I went to Europe to escape.”

  “Escape?”

  “From my mother. She never thought I would amount to much and she had no problem telling me that. Made me want to screw up even more. Dorrie was kind enough to let me move in with her when I was sixteen. Your father’s dead and my parents have disowned me.”

  “So, you only have your sister to help you with this embezzlement problem?”

  “Believe me. If you met my mother, you’d understand. They wouldn’t even return my calls.”

  Austin’s protective instincts kicked in and he wanted to pull her into his arms because she looked so forlorn. But was she telling him all this to play on his sympathies? One look into those compelling eyes made him want to say no. She wasn’t lying. Yet, it wasn’t his decision. He was duty-bound to bring her in.

  “I never did what was expected of me. I was a great disappointment to my parents.”

  “I always did what was expected of me.”

  “No surprise there. Dorrie bailed me out a lot.”

  “I know about wanting to protect the ones you love, especially your sister. I’d do anything for mine.”

  She met his eyes and the determination there made him groan inwardly. “So won’t I. I’m not going to stop trying to get away.”

  “Thanks for the warning.”

  “It’s not a warning. It’s a promise.” She turned and left the bathroom. Settling on the bed, she started to apply the lotion to her wrists.

  He finished up, thankful that brushing his teeth gave him an opportunity to compose himself before he went out into the bedroom. He pulled the cuffs from his back jeans pocket where he’d stored them.

  “You don’t expect me to sleep with cuffs on, do you? My wrists hurt.”

  He felt a twinge of sympathy for her, but he knew what he had to do. “You just told me that you promise to escape. If you think I’m going to trust you while I sleep, you are crazy.”

  Austin lay down on the bed next to her, placed one of the cuffs around her wrist, and then locked the other cuff to his own wrist.

  It was quiet in the room. The only sound was the steady drip from the bathroom sink and the wind in the trees. Then Maxie spoke. “I bet you usually go to sleep about the same time every night.”

  “Like clockwork.”

  “Austin, sometimes it’s fun to buck the system.”

  “That’s what landed you in this mess.”

  “If I had stolen the money, then I guess I would be guilty of recklessness. But I didn’t.”

  “You’re on the run. That’s reckless.”

  “To you it might be. But to me, it’s my only alternative.”

  “You think you’re impervious to getting hurt? I’ve got news for you. You aren’t.”

  “I bet you’re so uptight no woman would be interested in trying to get past that tough, ‘don’t-touch-me’ attitude to really see what’s inside. Does that work for you, Austin?”

  “My love life is my business.”

  “Sounds like I hit a nerve.”

  “Good night, blondie.”

  She settled down and it wasn’t long before she heard his deep, even breathing. She sighed. Turning towards him, she spied his cell phone on the night table. She debated all of two seconds, and gently leaned over him. He didn’t even stir. What do you know? The big, bad bounty hunter slept like the dead.

  She dialed. After three rings, a sleepy voice picked up. “This better be good.”

  “Jake. Sorry to call so late, but it’s the only opportunity I’ve had.”

  “Maxie! How’s it going?”

  “Not too good. I got caught.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Only a day away from Sedona, at the most.”

  “You’ve got to give me more time. I’m really close to tracking the money. As soon as I have a name, you’re cleared. How many people had your account code to transfer this kind of money?”

  “No one. We’re supposed to keep that confidential and I didn’t tell anyone.”

  “Well, it was a good frame. It really looks like you did all these transfers, but I’m not giving up. I believe in you, kid.”

  “I can’t tell you how much this means to me, Jake. You are a true-blue friend.”

  “Not really. I want an introduction to your sister.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  “Try to give me a couple more days. Once you’re convicted, it will only be that much harder to win your release. God knows it could take years to get you out of prison.”

  “Thanks again, Jake. I’ll do my best.”

  She disconnected the call, and was even more anxious now that she’d spoken to Jake. She had to escape Austin and she had to do it soon. She thought about it, then dialed her sister’s number.

  “Hello.”

  “Dorrie, it’s me.” She looked at Austin, but he didn’t so much as move.

  “Maxie. Where are you?” There was concern and love in her voice.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Maxie said wryly.

  “Try me.”

  “Well, you know that guy who came into the bar a couple of days ago posing as a liquor license guy?”

  “That gorgeous Native American. Yowza.”

  “I’m handcuffed to him.”

  “What?”

  “He’s a bounty hunter.”

  “Oh, my God. What are you going to do?” Panic was working its way into her sister’s voice.

  “Get away from him, of course.”

  “You were always the wild one, Maxie. Please be careful.”

  “Is everything ok
ay there?” Maxie asked.

  “Sort of. The beer glasses are still not here. I’m still searching for a bartender, and the fire inspector isn’t really happy with our electrical wiring. He thinks it all has to be replaced.”

  “I wish I could be there to help you. I’m sorry I caused us so much trouble, but I swear, Dorrie, I had nothing to do with the missing funds from the bank.”

  “I know you’re innocent, Maxie. Has Jake come up with anything yet?”

  “No. He told me to stall. He’s confident that he can trace the money. He says a couple more days should do it.”

  “So is the bounty hunter letting you use the phone?”

  “No. I’m using his cell phone.”

  “Maxie, I should start calling you moxie.”

  “He’s asleep and he won’t even know I used it. He’s all gung-ho about dragging me back to Sedona to face trial for a crime I didn’t commit. It gives me comfort to talk to the people who care about me.”

  “Be careful, Maxie. I do love you. Bye.”

  Maxie returned the phone to where Austin had left it before he’d fallen asleep. She turned to get into a comfortable position and came face-to-face with Austin. His face was rough with dark stubble and there was a blatantly sexual droop to his full bottom lip. She thought of that moment when his lips had touched hers. It made her body hum. His dark hair on the white pillow, a sharp contrast. His long lashes, like crescent moons against his dark skin, looked soft and thick. She looked down the strong column of his throat to his heavily muscled chest and broad shoulders. Then the bruise caught her eye and she felt her heart soften that he had actually taken such a blow for her. Of course, the bounty on her was high, along with a large reward if he discovered where she supposedly had the money transferred. Money was all that was important to him, so what did it matter if she tried to escape him? What did it matter at all?

  He had a job to do, as he was so fond of telling her. So, she shouldn’t feel guilty about escaping or about the bruise on his body. She reached out and lay her hand on the mottled bruising on his ribs. She couldn’t help wanting more time with him. It was a yearning that seemed to grow each minute she spent with him.

  Glancing up at him to make sure she wasn’t disturbing him, she traced the outside of the bruise. He was taking her back to Sedona for profit, yet she did feel very guilty about what he had done for her. It made her uneasy because she didn’t want to care about this guy. It would be easier if he played the part of a villain. Easier for her to do what she had to do without thought to how her actions would affect him.

  It was pretty clear to her that the guy slept like a rock. No wonder he was adamant about her wearing the handcuffs while they slept. Maybe she could use that somehow.

  The remote was right on the nightstand and she reached over him and picked it up. She turned on the TV and smiled at the funny late-night talk-show host.

  She checked Austin every so often to see if he was stirring, but he slept on, oblivious to her movements.

  The bruise caught her eye again and she felt a tightness in her chest. He’d never hesitated when he blocked that chair from hitting her. A perfect stranger, one he knew as a fugitive from justice, and still he’d taken the blow for her, but she had to wonder if he was truly worried about his bounty being damaged. It would be much harder for him to get her across two states if she was injured. The incident only made her hunger for more information about this man.

  No matter what he said with his “don’t-touch-me” stance, she was convinced that deep down inside, he was as noble and honorable as the knights of old. She wasn’t sure how she knew that. No one, it seemed, had ever given him much of a chance to prove it.

  WHEN MAXIE WOKE, she eased onto her back, trying to slide away from Austin who had flung himself across her while he’d slept, his jeans pocket not far from her hand. Maybe he put the key to the handcuffs in there. It didn’t make much sense, but she would be a fool to pass up such an opportunity.

  She slid her hands between their bodies and went into the pocket and felt around. She glanced at Austin, but he was still asleep. She had to drop her shoulder to get in deeper.

  “If you’re looking for the key, I’d be pretty dumb to put it where you could reach it.”

  “I wasn’t looking for the key.”

  “Sure,” he said as he opened his eyes. “What were you trying to do then?”

  “I was trying to get you off.”

  It only took a moment for her to realize what she had just said.

  Austin’s mouth kicked up into a wicked, genuine, all-out smile. It was beautiful and made her heart skip a beat. Then she laughed.

  “I don’t keep it in my pocket, blondie, but you’re close.”

  She moved her hand slightly until she felt the hard heat of him and squeezed slightly. He hardened immediately in her hand.

  Austin gasped and rolled off her. He gave her a level look and she just shrugged. “Don’t dare me, sugar.”

  He flashed her a mocking smile.

  “Could I take a shower?”

  He eyed her for a moment. “Sure you can. As long as you know that trick won’t work a second time.” He reached down into his boot and came up with the key to unlock the handcuffs.

  As soon as he’d unlocked the handcuffs, she got her stuff and went into the bathroom. She stripped and wrapped a towel around herself.

  She pulled aside the shower curtain of the serviceable tub and let out a shriek and backed towards the door. But before she could go far, she came up against Austin’s wide, naked, hard-muscled chest.

  He grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Maxie, I told you not to try it again.”

  “I’m not. There’s a snake in the bathtub.” She simply couldn’t hide the hysteria in her voice.

  “I suppose it’s a diamondback.”

  “I think it is. I only got a glimpse.”

  Austin sighed with a weary heaviness. “Okay. I’ll look in the tub.” With one hand clamped to her arm, he pulled back the shower curtain. He snorted, reached into the tub, and came up with the snake. Maxie tried to back away from it, but Austin wouldn’t let her go.

  “It’s a rubber snake. Nice try.”

  “I didn’t do it.”

  “Sure you didn’t.”

  “Austin, I didn’t put that snake in the tub.”

  “Prove it.”

  His voice had a note of smugness in it that made Maxie ready to do anything to prove to him that this time, she had really been preparing to take a shower. “How?”

  “Drop the towel.”

  4

  FOR A MOMENT she hesitated and he thought triumphantly, Gotcha!

  But her eyes were full of mischief that suddenly made the mental triumph dissipate. Even before she reached for the knot of terry at her breast, the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He was, once again, in trouble.

  His gaze followed the towel to the floor. He prayed she was wearing clothes. Please let this be another lame attempt to elude him. But when he raised his eyes, he let out a ragged breath, half sigh, half moan. The sound of it hung in the still air of the little bathroom, as pure and clear as the echo of a bell.

  He should leave. He should obey his sixth sense and leave, except his sixth sense had ditched him just now. But he didn’t really need it to tell him that a smart man would walk away from Francesca Maxwell, and every dangerous thing she awakened inside him. Maybe he just wasn’t smart enough.

  “Austin,” she said softly as if he were held in some kind of mystic trance.

  “Shhh, stay there,” he said just as softly. “I’m looking.” His breath caught in his throat as he let his eyes wander over her. She shifted as if his gaze burned, as if her heart was on fire. He stepped closer, compelled, feeling a burning in his chest. Was his heart on fire, too?

  His hand rubbed at the spot where his heart was and her eyes followed his movement, making him want to groan again. Her hot blue eyes slid over him like silk over heated skin and he could barely breath
e. His knees turned to water and a part of his passion-packed mind knew that he had never experienced such a sensation. Ever.

  He breathed her in like she was delicate perfume. Exhaled her like heated breath. Absorbed her like skin absorbed the golden glow of the sun. Immersed himself into her like sliding into searing hot water.

  She glimmered and shimmered like a flame before him, dazzling and scorching. He reached out, lost in the beauty, the mystery. He touched her face with his splayed fingers. Trembling with desire, he feathered golden eyelashes, her soft, startled mouth. His thumb dragged gently across her lower lip.

  His gaze raked her body, his hand moving from her mouth to the tip of one pert, pink nipple. Gently he stroked the hot tip. It beaded up tight at the touch of his fingers, distending while the areola around it twisted and contracted until it all but vanished.

  A low, rough sound of arousal rumbled deep in Austin’s chest. He couldn’t remember ever being aware of this kind of heat, this urgent need to sink into a woman in every way he could.

  He shivered and stroked both hands down her sides to encircle her waist. His fingertips nearly touched. His gaze lowered to the deep indentation of her naval, the full, sweet swell of her hips, and lower still to the thick golden delta above her long, firm thighs.

  For one endless moment, time seemed to stop. Everything slowed as the need for her hung in the suddenly molten air between them. Silence rang in Austin’s ears, then through the paper-thin walls, he heard the sound of running water, and outside the breeze picked up, causing a wind chime to ring. The soft sound did nothing to alleviate the edginess in the room. He believed that it couldn’t have been disturbed by a hurricane. It only swelled and flashed hotter, closing out every sound, every movement, everything like a shielding wall.

  With a soft curse, he jerked her into his arms, and then hissed through his teeth at the feel of her breasts flattening against his chest. Gripping a handful of those soft, spiky curls, he tilted her head back. He watched her eyes, those deep blue, mischievous eyes, as they glazed over, the color intensifying and deepening to a blue hot flame that took his breath away.

  He wasn’t the kind of man who took anything for himself. Not because he wasn’t deserving, but because it so easily could be taken away.