"You'll have to hold on to me," he spoke gruffly over a shoulder.
She stared at his broad back, testing a hand full of his Jacket gingerly.
He grabbed her hands and forced them around his waist.
"I said hold on to me. I won't bite."
She gripped him around the waist, wishing she could crush the breath from him. It was a wicked though. He was helping, even if he did so grudgingly. Still, his attitude was nothing shy of annoying.
They left the main road on a narrow trail consisting of two ruts. Apparently this was a favorite haunt for Giddon . . . and how many others? Again she had allowed herself to be put in a precarious situation. What did she know about this man . . . other than the fact that he had a volatile temperament? Was it honor that forced him to put aside this time and effort to her gain, or was it something else? Instinct deemed it honor, but was that only wishful thinking? Were victims ever suspicious of their attackers beforehand? He was a big man, in good condition. He could easily overpower her in a struggle or outlast her in a chase. So why hadn't she thought of that before they left the comparative safety of his house? They were traveling deeper into the wilderness with every minute, and yet she clung to him as if he were a security blanket. Not that she would be any safer letting go. The ATV climbed over large rocks, threatening to unseat them both at any moment. And yet, its little engine hummed along with a surprising lack of noise. Even the birds could be heard over the sound of the engine.
Giddon swung his arm out and pointed to a patch of flowers. Such an unlikely spot for a home site, and yet, the remains of a chimney gave indisputable proof that one had existed at some point. The trail couldn't have been a road . . . more likely a wash. So who had lived here, and when?
Giddon exclaimed sharply and clawed a spider web from his face. Lisa giggled and he glanced over his shoulder at her. Far from the grouchy expression he had put on at the beginning of the ride, now his eyes flashed with humor, and his lips were twisted in a friendly smile. "I've been thinking about rigging up something on the front to catch the webs."
A little further ahead, they glimpsed a white flash of tail as a deer bounded crossed the trail no more than fifty feet ahead of them. By the time they reached the spot, the deer had vanished in the trees, though.