* * *
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 narrower, 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 toward 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.