Worth the Risk: (A Contemporary Bad Boy Romance) Read online

  He didn't respond, just nodded, and she could no longer meet those ice-blue eyes. Instead, she focused on the shallow dimple on his chin. "I can explain." She risked another glance into his eyes, but they had moved off to the horizon, focusing somewhere off in the middle distance. "You see--"

  "You ready?" he interrupted, standing but still not meeting her gaze.

  "Uh, yeah, I guess," she said as he walked down the steps and headed toward the ATV. She followed, dry washing her hands as they went. He climbed in and started the motor, seemingly impatient to be gone. Dani slid in beside him and braced herself as he pulled out onto the trail.

  She decided to try again. This was just a misunderstanding, and he'd soon realize that fact. "Look, Caleb--"

  "Not really in the mood to talk today," he said, his voice flat. He seemed to be purposefully avoiding her gaze.

  Dani was confused. Although she'd only known Caleb for about a week, he'd seemed like a reasonable man, if a bit of a cocky prick. His attitude had softened when he'd had her in his arms, and when they'd parted that night, she'd thought that they at least had the beginnings of a decent working relationship, maybe even a friendship.

  And now the cold-shoulder. He refused to let her explain, and so was refusing to learn the truth. She felt the familiar rise of anger and held it back, not wanting to resort to rage in order to plead her case. It probably wouldn't help matters any, if she knew him at all. They'd just end up fighting.

  Dani sighed, realizing that even though she probably didn't matter to him, even though he was no doubt trying to avoid an awkward situation, she couldn't just let things rest. Not with him holding a negative opinion of her, although it was her own actions that had led to that conclusion.

  Dammit, she wasn't a slut!

  "You don't understand--" she began again, but he interrupted her once more.

  "What is there to understand?" he asked, and this time she caught a hint of cruelty in his tone. He continued to try and shut down the conversation, but she wasn't going to allow it.

  "Dean Fischer--"

  "Look," he said, finally meeting her eyes. "What does it matter to me who you fuck? I've told you I'm not in the mood for conversation, and I meant it. Or perhaps you'd prefer to walk the remaining miles back to camp?"

  Dani felt like she'd been physically assaulted -- a slap across the face wouldn't have been more alarming. "What does it matter who I fuck?" she shouted suddenly, no longer able to hold back the tidal wave of fury that roared to life inside her. "How dare you!"

  She sputtered, unable to put two thoughts together because of her rage. He stared at her, his eyes displaying an icy calm that drove Danielle's anger to even greater heights. "Stop this thing," she screeched, and when he did, she immediately hopped out.

  Dani stormed toward the path that led to her camp, utterly furious, in shock that Caleb could be such a cold-hearted bastard. But that last comment had pushed her overboard and into a sea of her own rage. And the waves were big enough to capsize a cargo ship.

  The nerve of him, assuming that she would have sex with him one night just to go off and screw her boss the next. She wasn't some loose woman whose legs spread for whoever happened to be walking by at the moment.

  And even if she did have a more open sexuality, the ranger certainly shouldn't hold it against her. Talk about a double standard! He probably laid everything with a pulse, but he had the nerve to hold it against her when he thought she did the same thing!

  Dani frowned. She didn't have one-night stands, and she certainly would never sleep with someone to advance her career.

  But you're willing to let the dean think that you did.

  Shut up, she shot back at it. She had tried to make the best out of a bad situation.

  And look what it got you. Or more precisely, look what it lost you.

  Dani huffed. She was disappointed in herself, which just served to ratchet her rage up even higher.

  He wasn't mine to lose.

  * * *

  Caleb sat there, staring but saying nothing, as the professor started off toward the woods. She stopped suddenly, whirling back to snarl, "And don't bother stopping by camp anymore. As far as I'm concerned, we're not friends and are barely occupational acquaintances."

  With a huff, she turned back to the woods, but only got a few steps before she spun around again, scrunching up her face to add, "And you're an asshole!"

  With that, she plunged into the woods on the old hunting trail and disappeared from sight.

  Caleb sat for a moment, breathing deeply, pushing down the emotions that welled up inside him. Despite being enraged by her preference for another man (especially such a pompous little snot), a flare of warmth still shot up inside of him. She was really adorable when upset, and even more so when aroused. He remembered holding her, remembered how warm and willing she'd been in his arms.

  The ranger growled in anger as his thoughts circled back to her betrayal. The idea of that bastard putting his hands on her made him quake. He wanted to destroy something, to smash something, or someone, to bits, just to make this feeling go away.

  As always, guilt followed close on the heels of his angry desires for violence. With a quick shake of the head, he banished all thoughts of the delectable professor and the lengths she drove him to and concentrated on getting the ATV turned around.

  Part of him wanted to regret his decision to refuse to let her "explain." He hadn't wanted the hurt he was sure to feel when she revealed her relationship with the dean.

  But what if you're mistaken? a small voice inside of him inquired.

  It didn't matter. She still unlocked passions in him that were better kept under tight control. He could not risk unleashing them, on her or anyone else. Best to avoid her for the remaining weeks, and soon she would be out of his woods, and out of his life.

  He clutched his chest at a sudden pain. He hadn't expected that thought to hurt so much.

  * * *

  The next week the rainy season began in earnest. Rain was as integral to the Willamette Valley of Oregon as coffee is to a balanced personal life. At the moment, Dani had way too much of one, and nowhere near enough of the other, as she still couldn't get her percolator to make a decent cup yet. As for the rain, so far her arrangements of tarps was keeping most of the wetness at bay, but she wondered whether she could really stop the moisture from affecting her equipment and precious notes for long.

  She started keeping her logs and papers in plastic bags, as well as wrapping her few books in plastic sheeting. Her laptop was kept in a waterproof case, and her battery-powered cameras and the propane generator claimed to be waterproof. Still, water, like its coastal companion sand, had a way of getting into everything.

  Her specimens seemed to be thriving, however, as she'd manage to trap a few frogs before the rain got too heavy. She'd also set up cameras at five different locations. Two were low to the ground, near crowded waterholes, and Dani was amazed at the traffic she was able to pick up. The other three were perched in trees at various heights. Here she could catch the frogs at rest, or in more intimate social situations.

  The data she was collecting was fantastic, and it already hinted that her hypothesis might be true. However, more tests needed to be run on the particular frogs themselves. So far, she had been capturing specimen, tagging them, then releasing them in order to chart their movements. Soon, however, she'd need to reserve a few for more drastic tests.

  Although Dani had always been able to lose herself in her work, she found her thoughts straying at odd times. And these wandering thoughts inevitably ended up at the doorstep of one handsome but thoroughly frustrating park ranger.

  Every time she remembered being in his strong arms, she reminded herself of how cold-hearted a bastard he could be. She forced him out of her mind and pushed herself harder, blocking out everything but her work, and working herself to near exhaustion every day.

  The asshole still had the nerve to call her up daily. At first, she refused to answer.
The incessant ringing of her phone had made her turn it off. Not long after she'd heard the familiar sound of the ATV and turned around to see Caleb pull up across a narrow stream from her.

  He held up his cell phone, then nodded at her, but did not say a word before turning his vehicle around and departing. It seemed he would persist in checking up on her, and she figured it must be easier to hear his voice than to see his toned but rigid body every day. She surrendered and turned on her phone.

  By the next day, she had figured out a method that would avoid even having to hear his voice. When the phone rang, she checked the number. Knowing it was him she would answer, blurt out, "I'm okay," then hang up immediately.

  Apparently, her short response was good enough in Caleb's book because he continued to limit contact to that scant phone conversation each day. Sometimes she wished he wouldn't. Sometimes she considered saying something more before hanging up.

  Sometimes she wanted to hear his voice.

  The days passed, and the rains continued. Although the water generally flowed downhill from around her camp, as the groundwater soaked up its fill and had no room left to absorb more, she noticed that puddles were lingering in her campsite. Still, she ignored her worries and focused on her data. It helped keep her resolve from breaking, one day and one piece at a time.

  * * *

  The rain did little to inhibit Caleb in his duties. He cleared trails, marked up his plans, and most importantly searched for signs of illegal mining, all while ignoring the never-ending rainfall.

  Despite his constant vigilance, he'd yet to find any sign of Masterson's miners. As the days passed, the rains continued, suiting Caleb's bleak mood perfectly. However, as the water levels rose, so did his anxiety. The rain in Oregon was generally like a gentle shower, so light that most natives didn't bother with umbrellas. But this week the rain had come down with unusual force, fat drops drenching the forests and turning the trails to mud.

  Even the ATV was struggling by the end of the week, and as Caleb steered down an overgrown and abandoned logging road, he wondered if he'd be able to travel the trails at all by this time tomorrow. He slogged through the increasingly deep mud, heading toward the nearby Alsea River just a half-mile down the road.

  He found the river before he expected to, however, and felt confused. It seemed the river had jumped its banks, but there was no way it could have flooded nearly a half mile, not yet, even with the heavy rains.

  Caleb pulled up the hood on his rain poncho and stepped out of the vehicle, his boots squishing in the almost ankle-deep mud. He plodded along the water, attempting to determine the cause of the flooding. Across the wide expanse of rushing water stood steep rock walls, some climbing to over twenty feet.

  He knew that these cliffs stretched for a mile along the opposite bank, and held an intricate cave system that had yet to be explored, according to antiquated survey maps. In fact, the caves were slotted to be surveyed by a geological team in the next fiscal year, when additional portions of the budget could be allocated to cover the costs.

  The bank on which Caleb currently stood, if it could be called a bank, since it was really just a flooded portion of the forest, held some of the pine trees that covered most of the park. The area the water currently occupied contained mostly smaller pines, as it had been logged a few years prior and although replanted, had yet to reach full growth. Right now several of the shortest trees were completely covered by the rapid brown water.

  The situation was beyond Caleb's expertise, so he decided to call a colleague for advice. Dialing his number, the wet ranger headed back to the ATV and the slight shelter of its small roof. It didn't take long for his friend, Jeb Fielder, to answer.

  "Jeb, it's Caleb, out in the new parkland."

  "Sure, how's it going out there? Wet enough for you?"

  "Well, that's just what I called to talk to you about. It seems the Alsea has jumped her banks, but not in the typical fashion. A portion of land about three miles downstream from the southern split has flooded up the bank nearly a half mile. The flooding is confined to an area about a mile long, then the river seems to go back to its business. Strangest thing I've ever seen, so I figured I'd call an expert."

  Jeb Fielder worked for the state Forestry Service in Portland as a research hydrologist, and he was the go-to guy for anything concerning floods. "Sounds like a man-made problem, Caleb. You messing around with anything? Moving some earth? Digging any kind of large holes near the river?"

  "No." Caleb realized suddenly who the likely culprit was. How else do you mine for gold but to dig holes? "How much earth moving would we be talking about?"

  "Well, it would have to be a pretty fair amount to make such a large impact. And someone would have to have hit an underground river flow and diverted it, either intentionally or unintentionally. That's the only reason I can think of for such an isolated overflow."

  "So it couldn't be natural causes," Caleb asked, wanting to be sure before he formed his conclusion.

  "Not likely. You'd be surprised how many floods are a result of man's mistakes."

  "Thanks, Jeb. You're a genius." Caleb was about to hang up, but his friend stopped him before he could.

  "One thing you'll want to be alert for," he said, his voice taking a serious tone, "is mudslides. Any new divergence of water can lead to soil displacement, and if such a large portion of new land had flooded, it's likely there will be some kind of slide activity, especially if the river land is higher than the forest around it. I'd haul ass out of there, Caleb, and wait for these rains to stop. Slides are dangerous, and it really doesn't take too much to set them off."

  "Thanks for the advice."

  "Don't mention it."

  Caleb started the ATV, his face a mask of anger, but underneath a thin tendril of fear uncurled in his belly. As he drove, he noticed the increasing flow of water down the old road, turning everything to mud. The mud itself was also starting to move, and the flow almost outran his vehicle.

  He pulled out his phone again, praying for an answer. If Fielder's prediction was correct, a slide could happen at any time. Mudslides were not as fun as they sounded. In fact, they were very dangerous. If enough earth moved fast, enough people could become trapped beneath it and die. And right now, one particular person's camp was directly in the path of the possible slide. He punched her number and held his breath as the phone started ringing.

  * * *

  The endless rain was putting a damper on Dani's spirits. She'd holed up in camp all day, ostensibly to work on her data, but in actuality didn't want to face another gloomy, wet day in the field. Her tent was as cozy as things got out here in the woods, and she was happy to bury herself in her sleeping bag and watch the playback from her cameras.

  Her phone rang, and she checked the number then groaned. Yet another call from Ranger Rick.

  Or should I call him Ranger Dick? He certainly enjoys acting like one.

  Despite her pessimistic emotions, she couldn't dispel the thrill that ran through her body when she thought of him. She struggled with that feeling of desire, ordering herself to continue to ignore Caleb, and the reactions he provoked.

  She accepted the call, mumbled "I'm fine" into the phone, and ended the call with the push of another button. Almost immediately her phone rang again. It was the ranger again. Dani sighed. It was her day of leisure, or "working on data," and he couldn't even respect that! Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

  She shouted, "I said I'm fine!" into the phone this time and thought she heard him try to reply but she ended the call before she could be sure. If she heard his voice, it would rub salt into her too-raw wounds. He didn't feel like making conversation with her, fine, the feeling was mutual. He could rot before she'd say more than two words to him.

  The phone rang again, and Dani groaned, turning her cell off and throwing it across her tent. She then covered her head with her pillow and breathed deeply.

  What was it about this guy that set her off so? She'd known
plenty of assholes, but none had ever gotten to her this quickly.

  Maybe because you thought he wasn't an asshole, at least not while he was inside you.

  Yes, that was true, he hadn't seemed so bad, especially when he'd been making her feel so good.

  Desire, that's the problem. You want him. Bad.

  Dani pursed her lips and blew a raspberry at her inner voice. So what? She'd wanted James Franco after she'd seen the Spiderman movie, but that didn't mean she would ever date a super villain. She liked nice men.

  Like the dean?

  It seemed like her inner voice was really being a bitch today. Dean Fischer wasn't a nice man. He was a narcissistic, sexist egotist who wasn't above trapping a woman into spending the night with him. If only Caleb knew it had been a trap. But the arrogant prick wouldn't even give her a chance to explain.

  The rain hit the roof of the tent with a muffled patter that relaxed her. As Dani laid in the dim gloom of the tent, listening to the soft drum of the raindrops and remembering a certain ranger chopping firewood, she felt some of the tension leave her body. Before long she drifted into sleep, lulled by the rhythmic beat of the rain and the memory of the warmth of strong arms.

  "Wake up," a rough voice said. She thought she was still in her dream. A dream in which she and the ranger had been making love in the rain. His big hands had framed her face, his soft lips pressing into hers, his tongue stroking hers in a way that made her shiver clear down to her toes.

  The warm rain had been sliding down their naked bodies, his skin like a furnace where it touched hers. She'd run her hands up his muscled chest and locked her fingers together behind his neck. As he'd pressed into her, she could feel him rigid against her, ready to take them both on a journey that led to the ultimate in pleasure.

  She'd licked the raindrops off his jaw and then his neck, and he'd moaned and proceeded to the do the same thing to her, sucking the raindrops off her aching breasts. The sensation sent hot tingles to her nether regions, and she clenched her legs in desire, hoping to relieve the pressure.