Read Online Carved in Stone by Kate Douglas - Free Book Online Page A

the cut.
    “There are fire trails all over these mountains.” Nate glanced at the spare evidence of a man-made cut along one side. The other edge was lost in heavy growth. “That’s probably what this was. The Forest Service used to maintain the trails, but with all the budget cuts they don’t even come into this area anymore.”
    “It doesn’t appear many people do.” Alex reached for the water bottle clipped to her belt.
    “No. I’ve been coming up here with Roger since he was first stationed in Weaverville. I’ve never seen another person back here. Most folks seem to want more. Yosemite. Mt. Lassen. Tahoe.”
    “Indoor plumbing.”
    Nate laughed. “Exactly. Personally, I’ll take a bush in the woods anytime, as long as I can have the solitude and the quiet.”
    “I don’t mind the bush in the woods.” She popped open the top on the bottle, took a long swallow, wiped her lips with the back of her hand and added, “But if I’m gonna use a bush, solitude’s definitely a prerequisite.”
    “Amazing.” Nate grinned. “We finally agree on something.”
    “I guess it’s a start.” She watched him steadily, unblinking, but there was a decided tilt to her lips.
    He caught her gaze and held it. “Yeah. I guess it is.”
    A charged silence filled the air around them. The tiny bird noises, the whisper of the breeze through the treetops, the natural sounds that blend to create a harmonious forest hush all disappeared.
    Alex was the first to glance away.
    She pulled a large red bandana out of her hip pocket and wiped the bright sheen of perspiration from her brow, then took another drink of water.
    Nate stared at the long dark column of her throat as she swallowed. He clenched his fingers tightly, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her smooth, nut-brown skin.
    Her eyes were closed, a look of pleasure on her face. Nate swallowed, imagining the taste of the cool water, his eyes focusing on the line where her soft lips covered the open top of the bottle.
    Alex sighed, a sound of contentment that shivered along Nate’s spine. Spellbound, he watched as she carefully wiped the top of the bottle and tightened the lid, then turned and smiled at him.
    Nate reached out with one fingertip to catch a tiny drop of water that clung to the corner of her mouth. Still staring at her full lips, he rubbed the moisture between his thumb and forefinger.
    Startled by his touch, Alex raised her eyes to meet his, only to fall into the trap of his absolute concentration. His eyes were dark. She’d thought they were brown, but they were really a deep hazel, their centers chips of black obsidian.
    Endless and dark, drawing her imperceptibly closer, filling her soul with a sense of heated anticipation, a need that parted her lips and sent a deep shaft of longing to rage silently through her middle. She shivered.
    A mechanical throbbing rent the air, close enough that the vibrations rumbled through her body, distorting her unexpected reaction to Nate.
    “What’s that?” Startled into awareness, Alex blinked and looked wildly about.
    “It’s a helicopter. Roger’s not due back yet. Something must be wrong.” Nate captured Alex’s hand as she reached for her pack. Throwing his own bag over his shoulder, he dragged her along the rough trail. They rounded a large volcanic outcropping and burst out of the thick forest at the top of the plateau.
    Hand in hand, they raced across the uneven surface to the cliff’s edge.
    A small chopper crossed the airspace just ahead of them, then dipped below the edge of the cliff.
    It wasn’t Roger.
    Instinctively, Nate dropped to his belly at the cliff’s edge and pulled Alex down beside him. Together, they inched to the very brink of the precipice, dislodging a tiny cascade of pebbles that fell almost five hundred feet to the ground.
    In the small clearing far below and about half a mile to the south, Alex spotted their two brightly colored tents partially hidden by a copse of trees. They