Chapter 10

Dani looked into his face and saw the pain living there. "I'm sorry." It was obvious their deaths still affected him. She was sorry to have started down this road.

She didn't want to hurt him. She missed the levity of a few moments ago but realized she wanted to know all about the ranger now that he'd opened himself up. No more shutters blocking the emotion in his eyes.

Still, she wouldn't pressure him. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she said, but he ignored her words.

"One night, I think I was twelve at the time, and I was playing with a set of mismatched building blocks behind the couch while the folks tied one on. It didn't take long for the yelling to start, and I could tell my mother was spoiling for it just from her tone of voice. Brittle like ornament glass, her voice was. She started egging my father on, telling him what a waste of skin he was, telling him that we'd be better off without him."

"He just sat there for a while, taking what she was dishing out. It was nothing new; we'd both heard it all before. But Mom didn't like that she wasn't getting a rise out of him, so she had to twist the screws a little tighter."

Dani didn't like the look on his face, his features full of anguish. She wished she could stop him before the climax of his terrible tale, but it seemed he needed to get it all out.

"Mom started taunting him with other men. She told him old Sam behind the liquor store counter had propositioned her, and that she had considered taking him up on the offer. Well, that got my dad's attention and earned her a slap across the face."

"Funny thing is, she just laughed at my father. It was like she wanted him to hit her. She wouldn't shut up after that, having found the one button she could push to get his attention. She started telling him about the bartender at the local watering hole, about how good his ass looked in his tight jeans, and about how one night after my dad had passed out, she'd gone down to the bar after closing time and hooked up with the bartender."

"My father just sat there, quiet, and I remember I stopped trying to build anything and listened. I knew that Mom was in for it, but she just wouldn't stop, and I was too scared to move. She started telling him all these filthy details about what the bartender had done to her, how he'd felt her up and squeezed her butt through her denim skirt. She told him how she'd pulled off her shirt and wasn't wearing a bra, and how he'd sucked her tits while she sat on a barstool and wrapped her legs around his waist. Then she told him that the guy had fucked her on the bar and had made her come like he never did."

Dani was repulsed by the story, alarmed that a wife would say such things to her husband, and disgusted that a mother was willing to say such things in front of her son.

Caleb's face was like stone, a mask of pain, and she tightened her grip on his arm, bending in to rest her head on his shoulder. "I don't even know if it was true or if she was just trying to piss the old man off, but that was about all my dad could take. Suddenly, my mom's words cut off, and I heard a sharp bark. I leapt up from behind the couch and saw my dad standing in front of my mom, his hands wrapped around her neck. He was squeezing so tight her face was bright red."

His voice was flat, but the agony in his eyes made Dani's insides contract. "I jumped over the back of the couch and started shoving him, trying to get him to release her, but he kicked me in my chest. I fell down, the wind knocked out of me, unable to move as he tightened his grip around her neck until her lips turned blue. Finally, her eyes closed and she lost consciousness, but he kept squeezing. And the strangest thing was her face. She just wore this great big smile the whole time."

"At last my father released her and she fell to the floor. By now I was sobbing, balled up in a corner. I didn't know what to do, didn't think there was anything I could do. My dad just looked down at me for a few minutes, then walked to an old desk across the room. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a gun. Without looking back, he put it to his head and pulled the trigger."

Dani gasped, unable to believe the trauma that this poor child had experienced at the hands of the very people who were supposed to love and care for him. She wasn't surprised to see a tear slide from his eye and roll down his cheek. He dashed it away with the back of his hand and cursed quietly, then took another long pull on the scotch. She watched as the liquid drained from the bottle until there was nothing left.

"After their deaths, I moved in with my aunt. She was older, already set in her routines. Church on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. Other days she spent quilting or visiting with her neighbors. We mostly ignored each other."

His stare was distant. "Her property bordered a state forest, and I spent a lot of time hiding there. If she couldn't find me, she couldn't drag me to church. She gave up after a month or so of trying, but I kept going to the forest. It was quiet. Peaceful. It soothed some of the twisted feelings I had inside me. Anger at my parents. Confusion over what they'd done. Loneliness. So much fucking loneliness, so sharp sometimes, like a million tiny slivers piercing under my skin. The forest helped. It centered me. Helped me accept the pain.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"Well, are you happy?" he asked, his lips twisting into a grim grin. "You now know my dirty secrets. You know why I hide myself away in these woods. Why I can't have a relationship."

"What?" She was confused.

"How could I ever get close to someone, knowing that the same violence was in my blood? Knowing that at any moment I could snap and hurt someone? Better to stay away. How could I risk it?"

"No," she groaned, somehow sadder now. She'd hadn't known him for long, but this was something she felt an absolute certainty about. He might seem like an asshole, but he wasn't a violent one. "That's not true! You aren't your parents. You don't need to hide yourself away. You would never hurt someone you cared about."

"How do you know?" he asked suddenly, turning to grasp her arms in his large hands. "How could you know?"

Dani searched his eyes, which for the first time were not cold. No, they seemed lit by inner fires, fires that ignited echoing flames in her own belly.

"I just know," she said, climbing up on her knees so that she could be on his eye level. She put her hands on either side of his face and looked deeply into his blue eyes. "You're a good man, Caleb, a kind man, and you could never hurt anyone. You could never hurt me."

"I pray that you're right," he growled. "Because I can't resist you anymore." With those words he pulled her against him, pressing his lips to hers. This kiss was like nothing that came before. His soft lips were urgent, almost painful, but they brought her such pleasure that she felt like she could float to heaven.

His kiss was tinged with whisky and warmth, and she couldn't resist it. His fingers gripped her arms so tight she was afraid they would bruise, but she didn't care. She just opened herself up to his kiss and allowed him to sweep her away like a leaf in the flood.

Caleb groaned against her lips as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding into her mouth and rubbing against her own. He nipped at her bottom lip, and she gasped. Moving his big hands to her face, he slid them through her thick hair, pulling out the messy ponytail to free her dark locks.

Then he was murmuring against her mouth, saying words she'd always wanted to hear, whispering sweet nothings she prayed would turn into some things.

"I've never wanted anything as bad as I want you," he said, and she thought his hands shook as he spoke. "The second I got inside you, I knew I had to have you again."

She sighed, and he took the opportunity to move his lips down from hers, across her jaw, down to her neck. He licked and sucked at her pulse point, making her moan, sending little bolts of electricity surging through her nerve endings.

His hands slid from her hair and down to her t-shirt. He rubbed his palms against her body, down to the edge of her shirt, tugging it upwards. She raised her arms to allow him to pull it off. Caleb tossed it away and ran his fingers up her naked skin, tracing the edge of her lacy bra.

"I knew you weren't the outdoors type, Professor Greenhorn," he whispered against her throat. "What kind of camper wears lacy underwear?"

"The kind that spends her days fantasizing about a certain irresistible forest ranger."

He groaned at her response. "While I love looking at it on you, I can't wait to touch what's underneath." She didn't protest, so he moved his hands around her back to unhook her bra. She pulled it off, and her heart skipped a beat when he sighed.

Dani felt his hot breath against her chest, giving her goose bumps, making her shiver in delight. For a moment he just stared, and she thought he whispered "beautiful," before he moved his hands to cup her breasts. His thumbs rubbed against her nipples, and she moaned as they tightened underneath his touch.

She arched back, pressing more fully into his hands. Caleb moved his head down and captured one nipple in his hot mouth. He sucked fiercely, then gave the other the same treatment. His kisses streaked like fire down her belly and lower, until she could feel his breath against her panties and the fevered skin underneath.

Slowly, so slowly, Caleb slid her panties off, exposing her to his blistering gaze. "I can't wait to kiss you here," he murmured and blew against her, sending a shiver of electricity jolting through her.

"What's stopping you?"

His laugh was throaty and tickled against her bare skin. And then his mouth was on her, and she was lost in sensation.

His tongue teased her as his fingers opened her to his exploration. Dani couldn't hold still as he probed her, his finger replacing his tongue when her panting signaled her impending loss of control. Caleb sucked her clit into his mouth and pulled, and she lost it, her orgasm hit like a hurricane. She was consumed by the storm.

* * * * *

Caleb looked down at the incredible woman before him. Her lids were lowering, her eyes taking on a sleepy, bedroom quality. The shack reeked of wood smoke and wanton desire.

Bringing her to orgasm had made his cock so hard, he thought he could split wood with it. The thought of splitting wood brought his mind back to the fire, and he paused to pile up more wood inside of the stove's belly. He then brought his full attention back to his lovely companion.

"Stand up for a minute," he ordered, then stood himself and carefully arranged the sleeping bag on top of the mat before the fire. Sitting back down, he patted a place beside him.

Dani shivered, rubbing her arms with her hands, hiding her breasts but allowing him to notice their seductive jiggle beneath her crossed arms.

"Sit down, and I'll warm you up," he said with a smile, and he knew she caught his meaning when she scooted back into his arms.

He took her arms and guided her down to lie on her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he bent in to kiss her again. The kiss began softly, but it soon turned dangerous as his tongue invaded her mouth.

He forced her tongue to submit, to surrender, just as he wanted her body to surrender. Then he nibbled at her lips, sucking them into his mouth in turn and scraping them with his teeth. She tasted like warmth, like sunlight, like home. A home he'd never had but found in her.

He moved from her mouth to her neck, sucking, nibbling, as his hands slid to her breasts to begin their assault anew.

"I want to touch you," she said once he had released her lips. She moved her hands to his chest and began to unbutton his shirt. He moaned when she tugged the shirt from his belt and slid it off of his body. Caleb paused for a moment to pull off the t-shirt he wore under the khaki work shirt and returned to her embrace.

Then it was her turn to gasp in appreciation. She ran her small hands over his muscles, and he reveled in the feel of her touch. Danielle burned away his cool reserve and ignited such heat inside him, the only way he could extinguish it would be to plunge repeatedly into her warm and willing body. Even then, he doubted the feeling would go away.

Her fingers moved down to squeeze his backside, and he could no longer leash his desire. Caleb ground his member against her molten core, and she moaned into his mouth. He pressed again, harder. This time she gasped, and something in his chest tightened.

Suddenly he couldn't get the rest of his clothing off fast enough. He yanked down his pants, pulling his boxer briefs down with them. He kicked them free of his legs and then pressed against her again, this time with his bare skin rubbing against hers.

"Oh, please," she moaned, pressing back against him. If she couldn't wait, then he would no longer try to delay. Caleb wanted to sink into her, to feel her tighten around him, and with no more patience in him, he gripped his manhood, rubbing the head along her moist folds.

Reason chose that moment to show its face, and he groaned. "I don't have any protection," he whispered, penetrating her haze of heavy breathing.

"I'm on the pill."

"I'm clean, I swear to you. I've always used condoms. Always." He waited for her nod, then thanked the Lord for birth control.

His mouth returned to the tasty hollow of her neck, and he licked his way up to her ear to nibble on the lobe. Dani moaned in pure ecstasy. This was obviously a very sensitive spot. She rubbed herself against him, pressing against his cock, and he could no longer wait to be inside her. Slowly he pushed himself into her, giving her time to adjust to him.

"Jesus," she whispered in awe. "You're so big."
Caleb smiled. He wasn't even halfway in. As he pushed, she moaned and tightened around him.

"You're so warm, darlin'. So wet," he murmured. "You grip me so well."

His words seemed to get to her as she thrashed her head below him, whimpering her pleasure in little mewls. "Do you like the way I feel inside you?" he whispered and thrilled at the very positive response he received.

Caleb moved his head to the spot where her neck met her shoulder and gently bit her to keep her still. He inched his way inside her. His hands caressed her soft, supple breasts, toying with her nipples as he licked and sucked the smooth skin of her shoulder. At long, last he gave one final thrust and embedded himself completely inside her.

At that moment he felt her pleasure crest again as she trembled around him. The walls of her womanly center writhed against him, squeezing his manhood in its humid grasp.

He couldn't get enough of her. Thrusting into her, over and over, he saw that her climax made her shake, filling her face with such ecstasy that he lost the tenuous hold on his control.

He became a beast, lunging into her, harder, faster, unable to hold himself back. She cried out, tensing and reaching her climax again.

She gripped him so tightly that he yelled as his seed rushed out, and he crushed her to him, shuddering as he came down from the pinnacle of pleasure. Breathing heavily, he opened his eyes and gazed into hers. "You're incredible."

Caleb moved to the side and pulled her close to him, putting her head on his shoulder and wrapping his arm around her back. He then pulled the sleeping bag around them, creating a cocoon of warmth. The professor never once opened her eyes, and as her breathing returned to normal, he realized that she was asleep. With a kiss on her upturned nose, he wrapped his other arm around her and joined her in a gentle slumber.

* * * * *

Caleb woke to the sound of chirping frogs. He looked over and remembered the events of last evening. Danielle was curled around him, sleeping comfortably. He looked down into her face, relaxed in sleep, and was amazed at how young and carefree she appeared. A small smile touched her soft lips, and long dark eyelashes feathered her pale cheeks. Caleb grinned, remembering her touch, remembering the weight of her breasts, the generous heat of her core.

His eyes traveled downward, and his smile evaporated like dew on a hot day. On the left side of her neck where her pulse throbbed, he saw a purplish-red bruise. He remembered licking and sucking her neck with passionate abandon. He'd obviously left his mark.

Caleb's eyes traveled to the other side of her neck. The mark on this side was lower, where her shoulder met her neck, but it was just as dark and angry-looking.

Slowly he drew the blanket down, trying not to disturb the sleeping beauty. He stopped when he noticed the finger-sized bruises on the outsides of both of her arms. A further exploration exposed similar dark bruises on her hips. One night of passion, one loss of self-control and he'd marked her all to hell and back.

Suddenly she moved, her face signaling her upset. "It's cold," she murmured, pulling the sleeping bag back up to her chin and snuggling in deeper. He rolled away from her and rose, pulling on his underwear and pants. He located his undershirt and slid it on, then buttoned his khaki ranger shirt over it. Lastly, he put on his rain poncho and boots and made his way to the door.

The day greeted him with sunshine. Caleb walked around the shack, surveying the damage around him. While the mud hadn't reached the summit of the small hill upon which the hunting shack was built, it did cover most of the ground below him. The mud looked thick, heavy, and he knew there was no way he'd be able to get to her camp anytime soon. The muck would have to dry enough for them to walk in as the ATV would never make it through the thickest parts. She would have to stay somewhere else for the time being.

Caleb moved downhill, in the general direction of his cabin. The trail was narrow, but most of it was at a high enough elevation to have missed the mudslide. There was one dip, however, low enough to be covered by dark sludge. Caleb moved through the trees, picking up downed branches and small limbs. After gathering them, he began to lay them on the mud-drenched portion of the trail. Several minutes later he thought he had covered the trail enough to drive his ATV across it without getting stuck. He headed back up the hill towards the shack but hesitated before he opened the door.

Inside, the little professor slumbered, and he knew he'd have to wake her soon. But once he did, what to say? It was obvious they were attracted to one another, and to say that they were sexually compatible was the understatement of the year. Still, he couldn't drive out the thought of those bruises.

He'd marked her, not just once but in several places. She was so small, so delicate, and he'd lost control. And this was the second time they'd been together. That had never happened before, not when he'd kept all women at arm's length when he avoided them after the first time. It was all uncharted territory, and it seems he'd already started drawing a map of pain in bruises all over her. What happened later? Would he lose control again? Would he hurt her worse than he already had?

Unbidden, the image of his father's blank face staring down at him after killing his mother rose to his mind, and suddenly it wasn't his father's face looking down at him, but his own. He knew that uncontrollable violence was in his blood. He cared about Danielle, more than he'd ever cared about anyone else in this world, but he couldn't risk hurting her. He had to find some way to distance himself, some way to keep her safe, away from him.

Caleb re-entered the shack, kicking off his muddy boots before stepping over to the mat. She still slept, her face relaxed, a small smile on her lips. He hated to wake her, hated to confront her with his cold control, but he had no choice.

"Danielle," he said, shaking her. She groaned, burrowing deeper in the sleeping bag. "Dani," he said, shaking a little harder. At last, she opened her eyes. She saw him above her and smiled up at him, a smile that shattered his frozen heart into pieces. "We've got to get going," he said, releasing her and turning away. "Get up."

"Good morning to you too," she replied tartly, sitting up and wiping the sleep from her eyes. She stretched lethargically and then rose, shivering in the cold air. The fire had gone out while they slept and Caleb hadn't bothered to try to coax the coals back to life. They were leaving soon enough anyway.

He gathered her clothing from around the cabin and handed it to her without meeting her gaze. Packing in order to distract himself from her nakedness, he started shoving her things back into her duffel and repacking his own supply bag.

"All ready," she said finally as she rolled up her sleeping bag. He put on his boots, and she made to put on hers, then seemed to remember that she only had one. She decided to skip the boots and slipped the solo one in her duffel.

Danielle waited patiently while he moved their things to the ATV. Caleb then came back and picked her up, carrying her out and placing her in the cab. He got in, started up the vehicle, and began driving down the hill and over the patch of mud he'd so deliberately covered.

They came out on the other side without getting stuck, and Danielle looked around, confused. "This isn't the way back to my campsite."

"No, it isn't. There's no way we can make it back to your campsite until the mud has hardened enough to walk on. We'd get stuck in a second if I tried to head back downhill. You're gonna have to stay at my place while we wait for the sun to dry up some of this moisture.

Caleb thought he saw her smile when he mentioned staying at his place. That ghost of a grin caused a mini-war inside himself. Part of him wanted to stand up and pump his fist into the air in triumph. She wanted to stay with him!

The other half shoved his excited self away and scowled. He shouldn't want her to stay with him. He wasn't safe. Luckily the ringing of her cell phone distracted him from the internal battle.