* * *
Caleb had politely waited while she'd showered first, and had even offered her some of his clothing if she had wanted to change. She hadn't. She already felt too vulnerable and was sure she'd feel even worse if she replaced the protective layer of her familiar clothing with something that had been pressed against his warm and supple body.
It was all too confusing, and the air between them was so full of tension that she was drowning in it. Dani couldn't catch her breath, at the mercy of thoughts that swirled like eddies in a coastal tide pool.
She sat briefly on one of the wooden chairs flanking the table and put her head between her hands. How did this happen?
For once, her inner voice was silent. Events had tumbled out of control so quickly; she felt like her brain had whiplash. In the space of one night and one morning, she'd made love to the ranger after he'd revealed his past and fallen asleep in his arms. Then later she'd slapped and scratched the same man while they cursed one another before coming at almost the same time. He'd told her that she could stay with him, and in the next breath all but called her a whore. And in the meanwhile, she'd climaxed a handful of times.
He sure knows how to make a girl's head spin.
Steamy memories rushed in of them in the hunting shack, their lips glued together, his hands setting every part of her body alight with sensual fire. Then later, on the table, when he'd told her how wonderful she tasted. The table!
Her head flew out of her hands and her butt out of her seat. Her eyes flashed to the floor where she'd straddled him and ridden home to glory. A bright blush filled her cheeks, and she remembered how good he'd made her feel, how good she was sure she'd made him feel.
The bathroom door flew open, and Caleb walked out, his body enveloped in steam. A white towel was wrapped around his waist, and he was using another to dry his light brown locks. Dani watched as a bead of water slipped down from his neck, across his chest, and past his navel.
She wished she could trace its path with her tongue. The thought made her blush burn brighter.
Caleb ignored her, toweling himself as he padded to his bedroom, then closed the door behind him. Dani thought about opening a window to relieve some of the heat and tension that was nearly strangling her. Before she could make the decision to move the door to his room opened again, and he came out, dressed in loose-fitting gray sweats. His hair was wet and tousled, and she wanted to run her fingers through it while her lips pressed hot kisses on his neck.
He didn't meet her eyes but looked off somewhere in the distance when he spoke. "I didn't get much rest last night, and there's not much I can do today because of conditions, so I'm going to take a nap. Is there anything I can do for you before I turn in?"
"No." Her response came out in a nervous squeak. She coughed, then repeated herself. "No, thank you. I'm going to try and get some work done."
Caleb nodded, then returned to his bedroom. He shut the door behind him, and suddenly Dani felt it was symbolic, that he'd shut her out of his life.
The man was impossible to figure out. He ran cold, then hot, then cold again, in cycles so quick that she couldn't catch up. He'd opened up to her, spilled his darkest secrets.
It couldn't have been easy.
She thought he liked her, at least it had felt like it several times last night and this morning. He'd held her so tight; she'd felt so safe in his arms as she'd drifted to sleep. Still, his words this morning, their frenzied lovemaking, it was a complete contradiction to the tenderness of last night.
That was sex, her inner voice intoned, and Dani was amazed she finally had something to say. Sex is not love.
Who mentioned love? Dani argued with herself. Is that what's going on?
No, she shook her head. She didn't have time for love, especially with a man who would clearly take a lot of work to keep up with. And yet, when he'd opened up to her last night, when he'd held her in his arms as she'd fallen asleep, she could feel her heart responding.
I have to be careful. It would be too easy to fall in love with the handsome ranger. But like he said, it's dangerous. She wanted her career, wanted to prove her theory, to revolutionize the amphibian world.
Didn't she?
Dani pulled her laptop from her bag and turned it on, taking a minute to plug in. She pulled up her data screen and just stared at it. The rows of letters and numbers refused to come into focus. Instead, her memories forced her to relive his touch, his kiss, his smell -- like pine trees and mountain springs and pure masculinity.
His eyes haunted her, their cold blue tempered by warm desire. The feel of his morning-after stubble rubbing roughly against her cheeks, her breasts, her thighs. The memories drove a shiver down her spine, and she once again tried to focus on her work.
Danielle had had few friends during childhood. In the absence of age-appropriate playmates, she'd been forced to create her own worlds to keep the loneliness at bay. She'd imagined her life as an adult -- as a famous scientist who helped unlock the mysteries of the universe.
Her future world had consisted of successful friends and associates, impressed colleagues, enthusiastic students, and eager journalists who all wanted to hear her story. But never had she imagined someone to love, someone who stood by her side and looked on her accomplishments with admiration and satisfaction. Now her imagination wanted nothing more than to cast Caleb in that role.
In all her years of working toward her PhD, and now of working toward her tenure, she'd never really felt the lack of that someone special. She'd dated, had even gotten somewhat close to some of her fellow students, but never had she felt this fantastic rush of lust that fired her senses to such a degree.
Not only did Caleb blow her socks off in bed, but when he'd told her about his childhood she'd felt a connection to him that was unique. He'd never shared himself with anyone else, and she'd felt honored to be let in. When he'd looked at her, she'd seen the loneliness in his eyes, and it mirrored the loneliness that still lay hidden in her own soul.
Dani exhaled heavily, trying once again to drive her wayward thoughts back onto the path of science. She scrolled through her data points, searching for a pattern. But again, she was destined to be distracted. This time it wasn't by her own thoughts. Instead, she was surprised by the yell that came from behind Caleb's closed door.
At first she thought it was a fluke that perhaps she was hearing things. Then she heard it again, this time louder and more urgent. She ran to his door and hesitated. But she heard another scream and could no longer delay.
Dani flung open Caleb's bedroom door.