Emilie Rose - Maverick / The Playboy's Passionate Pursuit

She was seated in a booth, a large glass of ice water set next to a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, working at appearing cool, comfortable and slightly bored, when Tanner entered the café. His sharp gaze locating her at once, he strode to the booth and slid onto the bench across from her. Removing his hat, he set it on the bench next to him. “Hi.”

His soft, almost intimate voice sent tingles dancing along her spine.

“Hi, yourself.” How Bri had found her impersonal yet friendly tone she hadn’t a clue.

“The coffee looks good,” he said, indicating her cup with a swift movement of his head. “It’s warming up outside.”

“I noticed.” Bri immediately decided that had to be the biggest understatement of her life. “That’s why I asked for the ice water.”

“Hmm…and I’m parched.”

You’re telling me? she thought, taking a quick sip to cool her drying throat.

“Hungry?” she asked, not able to think of anything else to say.

Tanner didn’t respond for a few tense seconds, during which he slid a slow, intense look from her face to her waist. “Er, yeah.”

He didn’t have to say any more; Bri felt his exact meaning in every cell in her body. Oh, boy, she thought, watching his eyes darken as she thoughtlessly wet her dry lips with a glide of her tongue. Oh, yes, indeedy, she was in deep trouble.

“You?”

“What?” Try as she would, Bri couldn’t control the slight tremor in her voice.

“I asked if you were hungry. Are you?”

“Yes.” There was no way in hell she was going to run her gaze over him, no matter how much she wanted to do so. “And, as you said, we may as well eat now. I have menus.” She handed one to him.

“Thanks.” He smiled.

Damn him. Keeping the thought firmly inside her mind, where it belonged, she opened the menu and pretended to peruse the lunch specials even though she had already made her selection.

They didn’t talk much or tarry during the meal, and within forty-five minutes of Bri having entered the café, they were back in the SUV and on the road.

Bri contained her patience until they were at last heading for the mountains.

“So what did you learn from your informant?” she asked when he remained silent.

He slanted a grin at her. “I thought you’d never ask. You surprised me by holding out for as long as you have.”

“You have no idea how long I can hold out,” she shot back at him, leaving it up to him to decide whether her response contained a double meaning.

He slanted a sideways, contemplative look at her, his eyes alight with devilment. “Is that a challenge?”

Bri raised her eyes and fluttered her eyelashes, her expression one of pure innocence. “Why, Mr. Wolfe,” she said, her voice as close to a purr as she could make it, “a woman would have to be very brave to challenge you.”

He gave a short bark of laughter. “Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

“You think I’m a brave woman?” Bri felt inordinately flattered even though she knew she was a brave woman. Her father had tested her, and she had passed his test of bravery and endurance. She had aced it, actually.

“Oh, yeah, you’re brave,” he said, sparing another glance at her. “You’re brave and a bit reckless and, I’m afraid, very, very dangerous.”

That last stopped her cold. She stared at him in astonishment. Her…dangerous? In what way? She had never deliberately harmed or intimidated anyone in her entire life.

“Dangerous to whom?” she asked, too bewildered by his remark to feel anything but puzzled.

Tanner sliced a smile at her that made her tingle all over. “I’d say you’re dangerous to every male between the ages of fifteen and a hundred and fifteen.”

Bri just couldn’t hold back; she laughed.

“You don’t think so, huh?”

“Of course I do,” she said as her laughter subsided. “I’m sure every male out there between those ages is just trembling in fear of running into me. Get real, Wolfe,” she said drolly. “I’m far from being dangerous to anyone of any age.”

He slowed down a bit to give her a dry look. “Does that include the man we’re on the hunt for?”

Bri stiffened. “That’s different.”

“In what way?”

“In the obvious way,” she retorted, getting really rattled. “He’s different. He’s a killer.”

“Yeah, he’s a killer and a rapist,” he agreed in an annoyingly reasonable tone. “But there are a lot of killers and rapists out there, and you’re not on the hunt, packing heat, for them.”

“No, I’m not,” she snapped, getting seriously angry. “And that’s because I’m not a hunter or a killer. But if we catch up to this…this monster, I will not hesitate a moment to use my weapon.”

“Wait a minute.” In an instant, Tanner practically stood on the brake, bringing the vehicle to a squealing, jarring stop. “You, me, neither one of us is going to shoot to kill him. Is that understood?” He didn’t wait for a response. “I’m warning you, Brianna, if you don’t give me your word on this, I’ll turn around, drive back to Durango and drop you at the Strater like you were on fire. I have never killed a man in my life and I’m not about to start now, and neither are you—not as long as you’re with me. Have you got that?”

Bri didn’t know whether to laugh or weep. She did neither; instead she calmly faced him. “I never so much as entertained the idea of killing the man, Tanner. I only meant I’d use my weapon to wing him, enough to bring him down. I don’t want him dead. That’s too easy.”

He frowned. “Then what do you want?”

She hoped Tanner could actually see the icy determination on her tight lips. “I want to see him rot in prison for the rest of his life, living with his conscience—if he has one—and the memory of every woman he killed or hurt. I hope he lives to be one hundred and every day is spent in fear some other convict will decide to mete out his own brand of punishment.”

Four

Tanner suppressed a shudder at the deadly, frigid tone of Brianna’s voice, her cold expression. Wow, he thought, when this woman hates, she puts every part of herself into the lethal emotion. On the spot, he found himself hoping she never decided to turn that emotion on him.

“You still haven’t told me what you learned from your informant.”

The change in her was startling. Her tone had thawed to conversational, her expression, while not exactly warm, had relaxed somewhat. Swallowing a sigh of relief, Tanner put the SUV into gear and drove forward once more.

“He was seen leaving town two days ago. Apparently he’s heading deep into the wildest section of the mountains. He left on horseback, leading a packhorse, and from the direction he was going, I suspect he’s making his way to the Weminuche Wilderness.”

Brianna frowned. “I vaguely recall having heard of it, but where and what is the Weminuche Wilderness?”

“The Weminuche is one of the largest designated wilderness areas in the country at somewhere around nine and a half thousand acres,” he said, keeping his eyes on the inclining road. “While many tourists hike and bike in it, there are sections that are nearly inaccessible. It seems our man is heading in that direction.”

“Well, if he is on horseback, leading a packhorse, I would think we could catch up to him in this SUV before he can reach one of those sections. Couldn’t we?” She sounded satisfied with her deduction.

Tanner hated having to burst her confidence bubble, yet he had no choice. “No, we can’t, Brianna. Even this vehicle can only go so far into the mountains. Later this afternoon, we’ll stop for the night and go on by horseback in the morning.”

She shot him a puzzled look. “But… How…I mean, where are we going to get horses out here?”