Heart of the Hunter Page 21

  Tears flooded Casey’s eyes. She lifted her hand and wiped them away. “It’s been a long battle, Reid. You’re back. You’re alive and we’re home. A lot of people’s prayers have been answered, let me tell you.”

  Her words flowed gently through him. With each breath he took, he could feel strength returning to him tenfold. “How long have I been out? I remember the black mamba now.” His eyes narrowed upon her flushed features. “You okay?”

  “Me?” She smiled wryly. “I am now that you’re out of the coma.”

  Scowling, he muttered, “After you left the room I kept getting snatches of things, like photographs.”

  “Rachel Donovan-Cunningham, the homeopath, said that would happen.”

  He raised his brows. “Rachel?”

  “Yes. You remember her?” Casey felt hope thrum through her. It appeared, at least on the surface, that Reid was fine. His mental state didn’t seem to be impaired. Yes, he was weak, but that was to be expected. Her mouth tingled, reminding her how he’d returned her welcoming kiss. Just being here beside him, holding his hand and talking to him, made her world complete. Nothing else mattered.

  “Sure, she saved my brother Ty’s life. He contracted Rift Valley fever several years ago.” Giving her a quizzical look, Reid asked, “And she was here?”

  Casey laughed softly. “Let me start from the beginning and I’ll tell you everything.”

  He squeezed her cool, damp fingers. “I’m all yours, good doctor. A willing patient who is eager for word from the outside world.”

  Casey shook her head. Relief wound through her. The old Reid she knew and loved was back, humor and all. “You’re the first person to ever survive a black mamba bite and you’re still a Neanderthal at heart!”

  Her chuckle moved through him like a river flooding his chest. The heat and joy that came with it made him grin back at her. “It’s because I am a Neanderthal that I survived, good doctor, so let’s not take my name in vain, shall we? Give me the long version of what happened. I’ve been gone three weeks.”

  Gazing into his handsome face, Casey began the long, harrowing and ultimately happy tale.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Where was Casey? Impatiently, Reid forced himself out of bed, his feet touching the warmth of the golden-colored oak floor. In the past four days, he’d seen her only briefly between visits of his family from Colorado, and his brothers Dev and Shep. Ty was in Brazil and couldn’t be reached. Reid wasn’t surprised, given the fact that he was out in the middle of nowhere with an outbreak team from the OID.

  Morgan and Laura Trayhern had even flown in to see Reid. And there was a parade of medical people who poked, prodded and drew blood from him, literally, in the last couple of days, too. With amazed looks on their faces, all had pronounced him cured and a hundred percent healthy. He was the first human being to ever survive a black mamba bite. And Reid knew he had not only the heroic efforts of traditional medical doctors to thank, but Dr. Rachel Donovan-Cunningham, with her homeopathic knowledge as well. Most of all, he was grateful to Casey.

  Reid found out through Dev how constantly she had been there for him. Ty had told Dev about it in a phone call to the family before he’d left for Brazil.

  On top of everything, Reid had had to begin a lengthy report for the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the mission to Africa. Casey, fortunately, had helped him fill in some blank spots in his memory as he typed the report on a laptop computer. She’d told him that the OID had sent another three-person team to Grandfather Henri’s village to continue their active search for Ebola. Although there was no sign of Black Dawn around, the JCS had sent a fourth person, with a background similar to Reid’s, to guard the group during the ongoing scientific investigation.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, he smiled a little. All the tubes and IVs had been removed shortly after he’d regained consciousness. That was a relief to him. He’d gained much of his strength back in the last week because Dev and Shep had pushed and cajoled him into getting out of bed and mobile once again. His brothers didn’t tolerate weakness in any form, and Reid grinned a little, grateful for their assistance. He sensed that because of his brother’s good humor and care, Casey was allowing his family to be more help to him than she might have otherwise. He missed her by his side, damn it. And that was going to change very shortly.

  It was evening and the warmth of the early September dusk filtered in through the French lace across the window. Every time he’d seen Casey over the past few days, she looked sad. Why? Fear nagged at him as he stood up. Ever since her affectionate show of emotion, she seemed to have withdrawn from him. Normally her presence filled his life and his heart. He had eyes only for her—but she rarely visited him except to give him a tray filled with her wonderful home cooking three times a day. Why?

  Compressing his lips, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was five p.m. Casey usually brought him dinner at six. He’d surprise her today. There was enough time to grab a hot shower, shave, put on some clean clothes and make his way downstairs to eat dinner with her tonight, instead. With a careless grin, Reid headed for the bathroom. Yes, tonight was theirs. All the company had come and gone. They were alone—finally.

  Standing at the electric stove, apron tied around her waist, a fork in hand, Casey tended to the chicken frying in the skillet. She’d already made mashed potatoes, and the peas were warming up—all in preparation for Reid’s dinner. Hearing the sound at the entrance to the kitchen, she turned around to see what it was and her breath caught.

  Reid stood in the entrance of her sunny, yellow kitchen, staring at her. Wildly, her heart skidded beneath the heavy-lidded look that was charged with heat and longing—for her. Was she imagining his desire? How many nights had she dreamed of seeing that sexy gaze again? Her throat closed up. She stood there frozen, unable to speak.

  Reid gave her a long, delicious look. How enticing Casey was in the soft lavender blouse that outlined her proud shoulders and small breasts. The narrowed waist emphasized the flare of her nice, wide hips—hips that could comfortably carry a baby. His baby, if he had anything to do with it. A slow smile tugged at his mouth. He saw the surprise in her green eyes and he savored the way her full, lush lips parted beneath his deliberate inspection. He was touching her with his gaze and he knew it. He wanted Casey to realize just how much he missed her presence, her voice, and most of all, her touch.

  “Cat got your tongue?” he teased lazily as he leaned against the door jamb, his hands draped casually on the hips of the ivory chinos he wore.

  Swallowing hard, Casey jerked her attention back to the stove. She quickly turned off the heating element and removed the skillet. Placing a lid on it, she moved to put the fork on the drain board. Nervously, she wiped her hands on the front of her red-and-white checked apron. “Uh, no… What are you doing out of bed? And how did you get down those stairs?”

  His mouth curved more. “One step at a time?”

  She avoided his hooded look, his gray eyes burning with desire. “I see… .”

  “Do you?” He saw the sudden nervousness in Casey’s paling features. The way she rubbed her hands restlessly against her apron made him wonder if she was nervous about him. About what he thought they had together. Maybe they didn’t have anything? He had to find out. Pushing away from the jamb, he eased his hands from his hips and moved with deliberate intent toward her.

  “It’s hell not having you around very much,” he confided as he neared where she stood. Casey’s eyes were huge and shadowed. He saw fear in them. And questions. And longing. For him, Reid hoped. Only for him.

  Casey held out her hands and he reached for them. “We’ve had more than a little company,” she said, her heart beating swiftly.

  He gripped her hands. “Well, they’re all gone,” he growled in satisfaction. “Let’s go to the living room, shall we? I like all those antiques in there,” he told her in a conversational tone.

  His fingers were strong and firm on the hand he still clasped. Casey tremb
led inwardly as she walked with him into the huge, semicircular living room. The dusky evening light shot through the windows covered with French lace curtains, highlighting the interior of the room. On the floor was an old, maroon Oriental rag from Turkey. The furniture was Victorian, mostly made from warm cherry wood. The fabric covering the chairs and sofa was a soft pink color with burgundy and cream woven throughout it in flower designs. The lamps, their rainbow of colors playing over each end of the huge old sofa she led Reid to, were Tiffany originals that she’d collected over the years.

  “Sit down here,” she said a little breathlessly.

  “Sit with me?” Reid stood there looking down at her, and he refused to release her hand.

  Her heart thundered momentarily. ” Well… sure. Are you thirsty?”

  He gave her a slow, heated smile. “Only for you.”

  Blinking, Casey slowly sat down. Her knee brushed against his. Reid kept her hand in his and rested it on his thigh. He leaned back and slowly looked around the huge room.

  “I like all the live plants and palms you have in here. It makes it look like the room is breathing,” he said in a low tone. Indeed, the living room looked more like a greenhouse. Casey had at least ten orchids, of the same species but different colors, located near the many windows. Most of them were in bloom, the spikes containing many orchid blossoms on each of them. Four palms almost touching the high ceiling graced the areas between the four huge windows, their branches looking like soft fern fronds. Classical music—Chopin, he guessed—was playing unobtrusively, adding to the peaceful environment she’d created.

  His gaze came back to Casey, who sat stiffly and on guard next to him. “This room reflects you. And the peace I always feel whenever I’m in your presence,” he told her quietly. With his thumb, he brushed the soft, warm flesh of her hand. Her fingers were roughened from being in water and, he imagined, from constant washing at the lab to keep them infection free.

  “I remember,” he said. “Today, when Dev left, I lay on my bed and I remembered, Casey… “

  She tried to swallow the lump that refused to leave her throat. Her lashes swept down and she felt blazing heat in her cheeks. Did Reid know how much his touch affected her? She ached to kiss him, to simply lean forward and fall into his embrace. Feeling tears stalking her, she swallowed several more times. “What did you recall?” she whispered raggedly.

  His hand closed more surely over her cool, damp fingers. He saw the suffering so clearly on her face. “Princess?” he whispered, as he leaned over and cupped her chin with his hand. He felt her chin tremble as he slid his fingers along her flesh. He saw her lips part deliciously, and he smiled knowingly as his shadow fell across her. When he grazed her lips with his, she trembled violently. “I remember us,” he told her hoarsely, his mouth barely touching hers. “I remember telling you I loved you before I lost consciousness.” He brushed her mouth again. “Nothing’s changed between us. Death couldn’t take me from you, Casey. And I’m not leaving you now, even though I see the fear in your eyes that I will.”

  His mouth, warm and cherishing, closed once more upon her lips. Hot tears slid down her cheeks as he took her in a molten kiss. Casey felt his arm sliding around her shoulders and drawing her to him just as she’d dreamed about for so many nights. Oh! To kiss him in return! To relish his strong, hard mouth against her own! With a small cry, Casey flung her arms around his broad shoulders and pressed herself unashamedly against him. Craving him, needing him in every way possible, she forgot about everything except Reid and how much she loved him.

  Their mouths met with hunger. She tasted his strength, tasted him. His mouth was hot, cajoling, taking and giving. His breath was warm against her skin. She felt his heart thundering in his chest against her straining breasts. As his hand moved surely down her shoulder and cupped her breast, she gave a little cry of pleasure.

  “You taste so damn good to me,” he rasped against her open mouth. “I’m hungry… starving for you. I want all of you… in every possible way… .”

  “Yes… yes… ” Casey said, tearing her mouth from his. His eyes glittered like that of a predator in that moment, and every cell in her body blazed to life beneath that hooded look. Her lips burned with the brand of his mouth upon them. She rose unsteadily, her hand held out to him. “Come… to my bedroom… over here… .” She gestured toward the left, toward a hall directly off the living room.

  He moved to her side, his arm around her waist in a claiming gesture. She leaned wearily against him, all her fear, all her terror, draining out of her, replaced with the bright light of love that she’d been so afraid of never being able to express or share with Reid. He remembered telling her of his love for her, and her telling him. Relief shuddered through her along with a euphoric joy that made her want to shout. Opening the heavy oak door to her bedroom, she gazed up at him. “Do you know how many times I’ve dreamed of us walking through this door together?”

  He looked at the Victorian bed, the gauzy, pale lavender fabric stretching over the canopy and hanging down in feminine curls and coils around each of the thick mahogany bedposts. The sunlight was gone now, replaced with a dusky gold light that made the bedroom look as if it were covered in mist. Suddenly he felt as if he were in some mystical, sacred and magical place where dreams could come true. “No, but I do want to live out the dreams I had about you in Africa,” he said, smiling gently down at her. He saw the flare of emerald and gold in her eyes. There was no mistaking that look—the look of a woman wanting her man in all ways. Never had Reid felt so powerful as in that moment when they stood just inside the bedroom door, swathed in the dusky gold light of eventide.

  “Dreams are to be lived,” Casey whispered as she turned and faced him fully. “I had love stolen from me once,” she whispered brokenly as she began to undo his shirt, one button at a time, “and I won’t let it be stolen this time… .”

  “I won’t let it be stolen,” Reid assured her huskily.

  She smiled softly up at him. “And you have a heart, Reid Hunter. A great and wonderful heart. I don’t care what Janet told you. With me, you’re whole. Do you hear me? Somehow, you let yourself be vulnerable and you opened up to me. You’re the greatest gift a woman could ever have or want, believe me… .”

  Her fingers were like scorching brands sliding across his chest. Wherever she touched him, his flesh automatically tightened. Slipping his hands along her jaw, he lifted her face so that their eyes met. “Listen to me, princess,” he rasped, “you and I are going to grow old together. There’s nothing on this earth that’s going to take me from you sooner. I promise you that. I fought like hell to come back, and I’m here. I’m here because I love you. Love got me here. It will keep me here… .” Reid leaned down and brushed her lush, waiting lips with his. He heard her moan softly. Her hands flattened against his darkly haired chest, splayed out and moved across it with luxurious slowness. It felt so good to be worshipped by her. To be touched and explored by her.

  As he continued the sweet assault on her lips, she opened her mouth even more and he teased her with his tongue. When her fingers came to rest on the waistband of his chinos, she opened them with trembling, fumbling hands, and it was his turn to groan. Her fingers were warm and searching. A low growl reverberated through him as she discovered his male hardness. Sliding his fingers through her hair, he captured her commandingly against him and took her hotly, her mouth moist, opening and ripening beneath his. In her eyes, he was a man with a heart, with a soul. Someone who was whole. Someone she wanted. The joy of that discovery shook him as nothing else ever had and released whatever misgivings or worries he had left over from his past. His fears all melted away beneath her fierce, passionate kiss as she clung like the bold-hearted lioness she was to him. In every way she met and matched him, and it made him feel stronger and more masculine than he ever had before.

  With delicious slowness, she divested him of his clothes, dropping them in a heap around their feet. Now it was his turn to undress he
r. As he began to ease each button open, her lashes swept downward. The cleavage of her breasts was shadowed, caressed by the golden light that spilled through the windows. Easing off her blouse, he allowed it to flutter away as if on the wings of a bird. She wore no bra, he saw with pleasure, but a thin silken camisole of pale ivory. Moving his hands across the material, he cupped her breasts and felt her tremble violently. She swayed. He caught her.

  “Come,” he urged in a low voice, and drew her to the bed, where she lay down at his side. The apron was next. It fell to the floor. He eased her soft leather sandals off her long, delicate feet and then slid her white silk slacks off her long, beautifully tapered legs. The silken ivory briefs outlined her wide, curved hips, and he lightly traced his fingers across the top of them. Casey’s eyes closed and she moaned. As he turned on the bed to look at her, to ravish her with his gaze, Reid moved his hand slowly, lightly, up her right calf to her knee and her curved, firm thigh.

  “You are so exquisitely beautiful… .” he rasped as he eased himself to his knees. He placed one hand near her shoulder and continued his assault upon her. A soft moan escaped her as he moved his other hand across the top of her firm thigh to that intimate place between her legs. With a growl of satisfaction, he slid his fingers deeper into that moist, beckoning cleft. She arched against him. He felt her hands grip his arms in a pleading gesture. Giving her a very male smile, he absorbed the pleasure radiating from her—from her sultry, dark green eyes to her parted, lush mouth. “Yes… ” he whispered as he leaned closer “… just feel the pleasure, princess. It’s yours… all yours… . Don’t be afraid to take it… .”

  A sob broke from her lips just as he claimed them with his. He moved over her carefully, for he didn’t want to hurt her with his superior weight. Easing across her, he placed his knee between her thighs, resting his elbows on either side of her head. She opened like a hothouse orchid to the sun. There was such beauty, such promise in her gesture of utter trust in him. Gazing deeply into her cloudy, pleasure-filled eyes, he smiled a little.