her passion and erased what few inhibitions she had left. Stephanie unbuttoned his shirt. She kissed his throat, then ran her tongue down his smooth chest. She liked the taste of him, the feel and heat of him. That was when a strange realization struck her. She stumbled back.
"What's the matter?"
"Your chest," she whispered.
Rick glanced down. "What about it?"
"T-the cut from the glass," she stammered. "It's gone."
Almost in an unconscious gesture, his hand lifted to his chest. He looked like a child trying to hide a secret. "I'm a fast healer."
Confused, she said, "That cut was fairly deep. It would take at least a couple of weeks to heal."
He took another step toward her. "It obviously wasn't as deep as you thought. Come here."
His command was difficult to ignore. With effort, Stephanie took another step back. Whatever force had driven her moments before weakened. She suddenly felt very much in control of her emotions, and totally embarrassed by her behavior. Cool air clashed with her hot skin. She crossed her arms over her bare breasts.
"There should be a nasty scratch there, even if the cut wasn't as deep as it looked," she insisted.
Rick ran a hand through his hair, bent, and scooped up her discarded clothing. "Would it make you feel better if I put one there?"
She wondered if he meant to hand her the clothes, or keep her from getting back into them. "We shouldn't have started this."
He lifted a brow. "You're the one who started it. Now you want to end it because I'm not mortally wounded?"
Reaching for her shirt, she answered, "I want to end it because it isn't right."
The lack of a cut on Rick's chest unnerved her. It was creepy. No normal person could heal that quickly. Her own behavior totally confused her. It was as if she'd become an animal. Rick stared at the hand she held extended toward him. For a moment, she thought he might not comply with her wishes. He sighed and handed her the clothing. Stephanie turned her back and quickly slipped into the shirt, wadding the undergarment into a ball before stuffing it in her pocket. She felt that she owed him some type of explanation.
"I'm not normally like this," she said.
His hands settled upon her shoulders. "You mean you don't normally work a man into a frenzied pitch and then leave him in agony?"
The warmth of his hands soaked through her shirt. She almost relented. So what if he should have a nasty gash in his chest and he didn't? So what if she hardly knew him? They both wanted the same thing. Men and women of her generation had sex together all the time without any emotional commitments. But Stephanie wasn't that type of person. She never had been. Not until tonight.
"I'm not acting like myself."
He turned her around. She expected his expression to be angry, but instead, he looked concerned. "What do you mean, you're not acting like yourself?"
She had trouble looking at him. "The old woman frightened me? and then I don't know what happened. I'm not into casual sex."
He smiled slightly. "I didn't plan on being casual about it."
Her resistance wavered. "Normally, I would never? I mean, we don't know each other that well. I really have no idea what got into me."
"You said you wanted me," he reminded.
"I wanted? something," she agreed. "But I'm not certain what exactly."
"Did you feel driven to mate with me?"
Her gaze shot up. His question made what she'd felt sound animalistic, dirty. "I'm leaving, and I think it would be best if we just stayed away from one another."
His hands tightened on her shoulders. "Why did you feel driven? Physical attraction alone? Because I'm strong? Because deep down, you feel I can provide for you?"
Stephanie struggled, pulling away from him. His suggestions sickened her. She had no dark motives for desiring him.
Humiliated, she shoved past him and left the bedroom. She only made it to the door before she remembered that her campsite didn't seem like the safest place to be tonight. Neither was his cabin.
"I'll go with you," he said. "Unless you trust me enough to stay the night."
She wasn't certain she could trust him, and wasn't at all sure she could trust herself.
"I'm not letting some crazy old woman scare me away from my campsite. Besides, for all I know, she's stolen my camera equipment and everything else. I need to check on things."
When he joined her, he'd buttoned his shirt back up. "Then let's go."