Chapter Four.

James looked at Anna's sleeping form in the passenger seat.Her mouth , slightly open , pursed and her pink tongue flicked across her bottom lip. The scent of her perfume intruded on his consiousness. Lavender .He shifted uncomfortably as he felt a surge in his grin .He clenched the steering wheel and decided he'd better keep his gaze on the road .

''Is it still snowing?''Anna said in a sleep-tinged voice, starting James out of his thoughts . He glanced at her . she smiled at him , stretched in cat-like way that made his mouth dry , and adjusted the seat to an upright position.

He peered out the window and frowned .''Yes . It's getting worse too.''

''We almost there?''

''What should've taken less than two hours is turning into an all-dat trip. We just entered the mountain pass.''

''How long have I been asleep?''

''About an hour.''

''And we're just now getting out of Coscow?''

''Yep.''

The trees ,tall and staright , spread heir bare limbs upward , pointing to the gray clouds that strutted across the sky .The road twisted up through the thousnds of prayerful trees .He wished they could stop just for a minute .His bear wanted to go play in the snow and hunt in the forest.

Sorry , buddy. Maybe next time.

The next half hour was spent in silence as james maneuvered on the narrow road .The snow fell thick and fas .He slowed when the road curvrd like the coils of a snake. He glared at the unforgiving sky and felt as temperamental as the weather.They should have left much earlier. It was already late afternoon. Soon, it would be dusk .Donna's cottage was technically an hour and a half away, but the threatening blizzard would double the time it would take to get here .hell , maybe even triple it.

''I can barely see.''

James slowed , or tried to no avail .The car , skidded on the slick road,fishtailing. Before he could blink, they were doing 360s until the jeep slid backwards off the road , down a slight grade , and smacked into a pine tree. the screech of metal echoed in the thick quiet of the woods.

His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. his jeep was a classic, one that he'd restored with loving care. It didnt have air bags , but the seatbelts worked well enough.

He tugged the strap straining across his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

''Anna?''She looked whiter than the snow , but he couldnt detect any obvious bumps and bruises .She seemed dazzled .''You okay?''

She nodded.

James got out of the car and viewed the damage.The jeep's back end was caved in and the back glass was shattered. The back right wheel had blwn out .The only way his jeep was getting out of the ditch was with a tow truck.He looked up the hill, still able to see the road .he grabbed hus cell from his pocket and tried to dial nine-one -one .No signal

Damn it.

He returned to his door and opened it.''The jeep's toast .And my cell's not getting a signal.''

''Let's try mine .''She slipped her cell out of her purse and gave it to him.

He tried the emergency number again, but the call didn't go trough .He returned the phone to Anna .''We need to get to the road,maybe the signal's better there.And we might be able to flag down a car.''

Anna unhooked her seatbelt, grabbed her purse , and got out.He met her in the front of the mangled jeep.

They stared at each other .She looked tired , unsure , and shaken .

She rubbed her neck with one hand.Protectiveness rushed through James.He took her arms and turned through James .He took her arms and turned her around .His fingers slipped over her shoulders , kneading the tight knots in her muscles.

''Relax,'' James said softly.''Let me do this for you.''

She bent her head foward, exposing the soft , cinnamon-s pickled skin of her neck .Litle darts of fire erupted in his stomach as massaged her .James wanted to pull out the pins holding her hair and feel the silky texture of the red strands .A vision of her naked body pinned under his burned through his mind. He imagined her hair spread like fire-silk across her pale , freckled breasts as he took her.

''Anna,;; he whispered .She turned around,and he saw the spark of desire in her green eyes.This was crazy .They had a damnd good chance of freezing to death out here if they didn't find any help.But he couldn't stop touching her,couldn't stop wanting her.

James put his hands on her cheeks and stroked the fine bones of her face.Then oh so slowly , he lowered his head and nibbld her bottom lip .Urged by the desire roaring through him,James pressed his mouth against hers, demanding entrance. All James could hear was Anna's breathless gasp .All he could could feel was the throbbing of his heart as it crashed against his chest.He wanted this warm , beautiful woman who was destroying him inch by inch with her response.

James drew away reluctantly .It occurred to him that a quickie in the snow wasn't the best idea, though the heat in her gaze made him think getting frostbite might be wrth it.

She looked at him dazedly.''That was...nice.''

''Nice?''He though it was a fantastic , blood -boiling , melt-your-pants kind of kiss, and she'd thought it was nice?

Anna nodded , but he saw her lips tremble.''Yes . it was very nice.''

''I see. I suppose you could do better?''

''What?''

He shoved his hand through his hair then gestured at her.''I'm asking if you think you can do better than that kiss.''

She looked at him suspiciously.

''Probably.''

''PProve it ,''he drawled .''Kiss me''

He nearly lost his breath when Anna leaned foward and placed her palms against his stubbly cheeks .Taking a swift breath, she softly kissed his chin and each corner of his mouth against his. His lips allowed her entrance , and she tentatively tasted his mouth.

A low sound caught in his throat , and he pulled her closer . He thrust his tongue inside , mating with hers , before he drew away to kiss the underside of her jaw .He nibbled on her ear and trailed feathery kisses along her cheek before claiming her mouth again .Her sweet scent drugged his senses. Her trembling fingers thrust into his hair , and she pulled him closer , moaning , when he trailed a fiery path of kisses down her neck.

James lifted his head and looked at her, and found her eyes muddled with desire.He stroked her cheek with his forefinger then did what he'd wanted to do since the trip began ; he reached around and pulled out the pins trapped in her hair.Red curls rained down her shoulders .He took a strand and rubbed it along his jaw.

''James?''

She looked at his with such longing , his hard -on jumped inside his jeans .Frostbite be damned .He wanted her.He always wanted her.But he could see her doubts, her fears.But what was she afraid of? He shook his head, sighed , and dropped the confiscated curl.

''Let's go.''James gestured for her to walk ahead of him. She presented her slender back to him and climbed up the small hill. He watched her sweet ass , his gaze sweeping up her back to trail the curve of her spine with an invisible finger.

Anna watched the snow swirl from the murky clouds cluttering the sky.The frigid breeze nipped at their exposed faces , but she had donned a thick coat and gloves .As a bear shifter, Jmaes didnt't feel the cold or have the same reaction to it as a human.The fresh mountain air was tinged with scent of pine trees. When they reached the roadside, they looked around for any signs of cars or houses .She peered down the ditch and took in the crashed jeep.They were damned lucky to have walked away.

Anna spied a large rock under a shelter of trees and walked to it.

Were Donna and Joey okay? She contemplated opening her mind just a crack to see if she received any impressions , but what if she saw something she didn't want to face ? Besides, her abilities worked better when she touches objescts ownws by the victims .Victims. Guilt burbled to the surface .Anna shoved aside the excuses in a flash of self -recrimination .She didn't want to try because she was afraid . As much as she wanted to help the single mom and her young son ,she knew she was risking James life.She'd never forgive herself if she caused his death.

The rock was probably damp and cold from the snow , but the sorroundingg trees had kept it's surface from becoming too wet . Anna climbed the stone and sat down, pulling her legs up. She rested her chin on her knees and started at the snow -encrusted mountains rising into the gray sky. The highway ribboned through the flurry, a bare , black line in the unceasing white .It was too quiet . The wind whispered across Anna's face.

Why had she kissed James?

Well, duh. Because kissing him was amazing .All the same, it would've been easier to stick a aknife in her heart - it was the same kind of pain .Thwy had an explosive attraction, a deep need for physical intimacy that they'd experienced from the moment they met .She craved his presesnce like the desert craved the rain.She knew what it was like for someone to cae abaout her soul-deep. If he stays with me, he dies.