A white fog began to surround her. Oh, Lord, she needed air! Her lungs were about to explode. She stuck her head outside the door and drew in a quick, gasping breath before facing the interior once again.
She sprayed the inside of the outhouse with spicy apple air freshener for another good minute, then set the can on the floor, reached into the brown paper sack just outside the door, gasped another breath, and pulled out more ammo.
“I am The Barracuda and I don’t lose,” she said with fierce determination, except her words sounded like someone with a bad cold, since she still wore the nose clamp.
She peeled off the backs of the shiny foil stick-on scented fresheners to expose the sticky side and plastered them all over the walls. She’d bought every cinnamon-scented and spicy-scented room deodorizer they had in the store. She hadn’t even cared that the clerk had given her a strange look. Let him think what he would.
She slapped the last one on the wall. The outhouse looked as though an infestation of a new species of techno insects had infiltrated the walls. The smell was almost-almost-bearable if one didn’t linger, and she had no intention of staying any longer than she had to.
As she let the door slam behind her, she removed the nose clamp and scooped up the sack with the solar lights and the hammer. She walked down the path and hammered the lights in place. Three on one side and three on the other.
Let there be light.
And there was.
Well, there would be as soon as it got dark. Cal couldn’t find fault in her wanting to light the way to the bathroom. And if he did, so what?
She stepped up onto the porch and surveyed her handiwork. It almost looked homey. Yeah, right, as if she would ever feel like Suzy Homemaker. No way would she get used to a place this secluded. She liked the hustle and bustle of the city. The restaurants, the plays, the glitter of the nightlife. She didn’t care if she knew the people around her or not; at least there were people.
Not that she felt that alone here. She glanced over her shoulder into the dark interior of the kitchen. A cold chill ran down her spine. She didn’t think Cal had been joking when he’d said there was a ghost here. It was as though she could feel a presence.
Was there really such a thing as ghosts? Maybe her parents were wrong. Sure, there were special effects in the movies, but what about real life? There weren’t any out here in the middle of nowhere.
Maybe there was a ghost.
A series of guttural grunts made her jump. She slapped a hand to her chest and waited for her racing pulse to slow. Off to her right Bandit waddled toward a tree.
Okay, not a ghost, only the stupid raccoon, but she still had a creepy feeling about the old house. Probably because it was about to fall down around her ears; the wind whistled through it, making weird noises; and it had a musty smell that no amount of air freshener could get rid of.
Of course there was no such thing as ghosts.
There were only wild animals. Yeah, right. Now she felt a lot safer. She stayed on the porch but kept her eyes on the raccoon, curious to see what it would do.
Bandit was sort of funny to watch, the way his weight shifted back and forth like someone on a boat for the first time during rough seas. Not that she wanted to get to know the raccoon or anything. As long as he kept his distance, they would get along just fine.
Another sound drew her attention.
A vehicle.
Cal maybe?
She couldn’t see from where she was, but the pickup didn’t stop out front anyway. Whoever was driving kept going until he was beside the barn.
It was just one person, Cal, and he pulled a trailer behind the pickup. Nikki crossed her arms in front of her and frowned. Oh, goody, what does he have for me now? The excitement is almost too much, she thought sarcastically. She could barely contain herself, she could…actually, her body did tingle at the thought of seeing him again.
But she wasn’t all that enthused with what he might have brought her. She had a feeling whatever it was, she wouldn’t like it.
He still had no idea she wanted to do a story about him. No, he thought she really wanted to know about country living. Like that would ever happen-not in her lifetime.
She stepped off the porch and wandered over to the pickup. He didn’t even look up as he unfastened the back door of the trailer, even though she knew he’d heard her.
“Hi,” he said.
Hi? That was it? Just hi? Not that she wanted him to drop to his knees and profess his undying love or anything, but she’d expected a little more than a bland “hi.”
She drew in a deep breath and regrouped her thoughts. “Did you bring me another cow to milk?” she asked.
He stopped with his hand on the door. His gaze slowly traveled over her. Before the fire inside her could begin to sensuously burn out of control, he turned away and opened the gate.
“Just a calf to put on Bessie so you won’t have to milk at night.”
Had he forgotten the fabulous orgasm he’d given her? He acted as though nothing had happened between them. That bothered her more than she wanted to admit. She’d been taken to new heights, soared to the heavens on a hazy cloud of intense delight, experienced a sexual awakening.
She frowned.
Maybe it hadn’t been that good for him. He’d given a lot more than he’d received, but that wasn’t really her fault. She’d wanted to be more in charge, but that hadn’t happened. Cal had taken complete control of the situation-boy, had he. Her body sizzled as she remembered just how much he’d taken control.
She leaned against the side of the open trailer, pretending interest in the calf, but in truth, she needed something to hang on to as visions of them making love flooded her mind. The way he’d caressed her body, kissed almost every inch of it, the way he’d plunged inside her, in and out, in and out.
She was sweating. A droplet slid between her breasts. She hunched her shoulders when it tickled. What the hell was happening to her? Had Cal cast a spell over her like all the other women in his life?
Of course he hadn’t. Shake it off! Deep breath. She was The Barracuda.
Story, think story. Yes, that’s what she needed to do to take her mind off their lovemaking.
But the story didn’t interest her. She didn’t want to think about it or the fact that she had zilch information. It was a fluff piece. Besides, she was starting to feel as though she shouldn’t be doing it at all. Cal seemed like a nice guy, and what she planned to do wasn’t right.
Oh, God, she was developing a conscience.
No, that couldn’t be it. She’d been working too much on other stories. After she’d turned them in, she should’ve taken a few days off, but Marge had talked her into doing this story. The article about Cal and Cynthia was at the bottom of her list of things to do while Cal was at the top. And she so wanted to do him again.
Except the man seemed immune to her charms. Sure, she knew he’d enjoyed their morning romp, but apparently it didn’t mean nearly as much to him. She frowned as she wondered why.
But Cal once again drew her attention as he lifted the calf out of the back of the trailer, his arm muscles tightening before he set the animal on the ground. It bleated like a sheep and looked up at her.
Okay, so what if the baby cow was cute. She was more interested in the man. But the calf wobbled over to her. She stared down at it, wanting to tell the animal to go away, but she petted the tiny head instead.
Maybe it was a little more than just cute.
Nikki looked up. Cal was watching her. She blushed. She could feel the heat rise up her face. She never blushed. Dammit, though, she needed to know what he thought about their time in bed.
“I enjoyed this morning,” she pressed. She didn’t want an award for best sex or anything, but she’d like to know what he took from the experience, and maybe if he wanted to do it again in the future. Near future preferably.