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Kara stared out the atching the lights of the city grow faint as Alex drove the Porsche up the narrow o back hothy silence

"When I think it&039;s safe"

"When will that be?"

"I don&039;t know, Kara I&039; how he&039;d knohen it was "safe" Tall pines lined the winding road as they cli only to buy gas or to get soh Alex ate very little Their last stop had been at a grocery store, where Alexander had bought several blocks of ice and an ice chest, along with enough food to supply a small army Soon, they would arrive at his place And then what?

She was all too conscious of the physical attraction that huible How could they live in the same house day after day withoutA wave of heat flooded her cheeks at the thought of being in his arms, in his bed How could she feel this way about aasleep, but she ith a start when the car came to a stop Disoriented, she sat up and looked around

"It&039;s all right, Kara," Alexander said "We&039;re here"

Here proved to be on top of a mountain "But" Kara frowned at Alexander "Where&039;s the house?"

"It isn&039;t a house, exactly"

"What is it then, exactly? A cave?"

A faint s"

Without further explanation, he got out of the car and reh, Kara reached into the back seat Grabbing the packages that contained her new clothes, she slid out of the car and followed Alexander along a short dirt path that led to what looked like a dead end Her heart seee Onea thousand feet into the valley below

Shein silent fascination as he placed his hand over an oddly shaped striation in the rock face There was a low rumble, and then, to Kara&039;s astonishe cavern hewn out of the ht She stood at the entrance for a moment, then followed Alexander into the dark maw

She saw the ht flooded the antechalanced around The walls of the cavern were fashioned of s, but could not detect the source of the light

"Co her carefully "You are going to explain all this, aren&039;t you?"

"Later"

"Later? I don&039;t think so" She dropped her packages on the floor_on the ground, actually_and stared at him, her arms crossed over her chest

Alexanderto put this stuff away, then go back and get the rest," he said "Your rooe"

"Infernal es, she made her way down the corridor She passed a dark roo room, perhaps? Another few steps took her to the first door on the left There was no knob, no lock With a gri how Alex had opened the portal to the cavern, she placed her hand against the wood The entrance slid open, and after a moment&039;s hesitation, she stepped inside

It was a small, oval-shaped room There was a double bed topped with a dark blue quilt, an elegant three-drawer dresser made of antique oak, an oil lalass chi woven inelse A slass overlooked the valley below

She crossed the floor and touched the ondering how he had lass felt odd, hard and soft at the saain It was spartan, she thought, but what furnishings the room contained were exquisite

It took only a few minutes to unpack, and then she went to look for Alexander, deterh her mind

The room across from hers appeared to be the kitchen It held a sle chair, a Coleman stove, several ice chests, and a small sink Where, she wondered, did the water coer on the counter The water probably ca As for where it wentshe stooped and opened the door under the sink A pipe ran frorunted softly No doubt the water drained directly into the mountain There were several shelves cut into the rock wall, which held a few cups and plates and some pots and pans

Two steps carved froe sunken rooh the rock ceiling Clever, she mused No doubt it reappeared on top of the mountain where any telltale se oil lamp sat on a smooth-topped tree stuht froe oak bookcase along one wall Every shelf was filled with books What looked to be a bearskin was spread in front of the fireplace A small roundoffered a view similar to that in the bedroom

Kara shook her head Mountains that moved Windows cut into solid rock Glass that felt hard and soft at the same time What next?

"Alexander?"

She stepped into the corridor and headed tohat she hoped was the entrance, only to roceries cradled in his ar for one of the cartons "Let ers brushed his as he handed her one of the boxes, and she felt a frisson of heat shoot up her arm He felt it, too_she knew it by the sudden awareness that flickered in his eyes Face to face, neither speaking, they regarded each other for a long moment before Alexander stepped past her, headed for the kitchen

They spent the next twenty roceries away When the last can had been put on the shelf, Kara turned to face Alexander

"It&039;s later," she said

Alexander sighed "It&039;s quite simple, really," he said "I own the mountain I built this place as a sort of retreat"

"Retreat? From what? World War Three?"

"Why not?"

Kara shook her head "I don&039;t buy it, Alex Not for a minute"

"Believe me or not, Kara, it&039;s your choice But the truth is, I do own this mountain, and I did build this place"

Incredibly, she did believe hi her the whole truth "How does one install s in a lass?"

"What about it?"

"I don&039;t know, it feelsfunny And the light in the entrance to this place Where does it coh his hair She was too sood And his

Kara tapped her foot on the floor "I&039;y, Kara It&039;s as siht is recessed"

She stared at hi his answers "So, what do we do now?"

"Stay put, for a while at least We&039;ve got enough food to last several weeks There&039;s plenty of water Wood for a fire"

"Heat, food, and shelter," Kara said with a faint grin "All that primal man needed to survive"

"It has served me well in the past"

She lifted one finely arched brow "Is there aa rest room?"

"A se There&039;s no bathtub or shower, I&039;m afraid When you wish to wash, you can do so in the sink, or you can bathe in the hot spring located a short distance fro, and even though this wasn&039;t a tent outdoors, it was still far too rustic for her taste

"I&039; her obvious dis"

"Hopefully"

"It&039;s late," he said "You must be tired"

"Yes" She folded her arms, suddenly very much aware that she was alone in a cave with a man she hardly knew, a man whose dark eyes s for her peace of ht and went to her room Inside, she took several deep breaths She had to accept the fact that she ht be here for several days; weeks, perhaps She couldn&039;t contact Gail or Nana She&039;d surely lose her job

Standing there, it was hard to believe anyone wanted to do her harm Easier to believe that Alexander had kidnapped her and brought her to this strange place for his own ends She waited for some sense of fear, of terror, but none caht of spending her days and nights here, alone, with Alexander Claybourne

She rerandmother&039;s backyard His kisses had been randfather&039;s Irish whiskey, his voice husky with suppressed longing The attraction that had sizzled between them had been dampened by Dale Barrett&039;s attempt to hospitalize her, butit hadn&039;t dissipated, not co beneath the surface

Her stomach fluttered as she undressed, then slipped into the floor-length baby-blue nightgown Alexander had bought her She s what he would think if she went to his room and slid under the covers beside him

It was a pleasant fantasy and she dwelled on it for severalinto bed The blanket smelled faintly of Alexander She ran her hand over the pillow, i hers

Sleep was a long ti

Alexander paced the floor, hisin his bed, her head on his pillow He had not stayed here for any length of tie, of safety Now he came here only on rare occasions

He prowled the room for severalat Kara&039;s room, he pressedhis ear to the door, co away froe that overlooked the fertile valley below Lifting his arht sky, he absorbed the olden glow of the sun

Seconds lengthened into y deep within the core of his being The coolness of the light rejuvenated him; the faint whisper of the wind as it blew over the mountaintop filled him with a sense of peace Of hoht that? He had not thought of home in years Now, a flood of otten, remembrances that could, after all these years, still cause him pain

AnnaMaraAnTares

Their nah the corridors of his h the leaves of the trees His arms felt suddenly heavy and he lowered them to his sides

So many years had passed since he had last seen his home So many years since he had last seen the dark mountains that surrounded the city where he had been born, their jagged peaks like the teeth of a sloe-eyed boar He could almost hear the distant rumble of thunder as one of ErAdona&039;s many dry storms passed overhead And, if he closed his eyes, he could alarden Sweet, gentle AnnaMara

"Alexander?"

With a start, he whirled around to find Kara standing in the oddess bathed in quicksilver and shadow

"Did you need so?" he asked

"I had a bad dreaone"

"I was just getting somefresh air" He saw the curiosity in her eyes and wondered if she would put her question into words