Freedom's Treasure (10 page)

Hunter’s hands wrapped around her butt and lifted her so she was no longer on the table. “Hold still or this will be over way too fast,” he warned but Anna didn’t want to listen, couldn’t. She strained and tried to use her legs to make him thrust. She needed him deeper, harder, faster; she didn’t know what she wanted except that she wanted it now.

Hunter turned, stumbled toward the door with the vague thought of taking her inside to the couch. He fumbled with the door latch but Anna blocked his view. She squirmed and bit his ear lobe.

With something resembling a roar he pushed her back against the door and slid up and down, in and out, faster and harder until with a final thrust he came deep inside of her.

Anna rode the waves of his orgasm, head thrown back and bumping against the door. Every sensation compressed to one throbbing nerve and she erupted, cried out against the nearly painful pleasure coursing through her body.

“Oh, Anna, Anna, Anna,” he sighed. “Can you stand?”  His forehead rested a
gainst the door jamb and he eased Anna’s now limp body towards the ground.

“Why would I want to do that?” She was still catching her breath. She tried to brace her legs for gravity.

“There are gnats buzzing my butt.” She snorted a laugh and pushed him away. Hunter straightened his jeans and grabbed his t-shirt before pulling the door open and following her in.

Anna returned from the bathroom a few moments later wearing a rose colored silk robe that slithered across her body. Hunter could think of no other description. She’d let her hair down and it brushed her shoulders in soft waves.

“’Hi, Anna, how are you? What are you up to today?’” she asked in a deep voice. “’Hi, Hunter! I’m great!” she continued in a falsetto.

Hunter was slouched on the couch, watching her. He cocked an eyebrow. “I didn’t exactly hear you complaining.” As she moved the robe slid open, revealing cleavage.

“Trust me, you won’t,” she gave a cat that caught the canary smile. “Being wordlessly ravished by a hot man in the middle of the afternoon is not on my list of pet peeves.”

Hunter grinned. “You think I’m hot?”

“Dork,” she laughed and slapped his arm. When she sat on the couch next to him her robe slid open along her thigh. The lapel gaped open, teasing him with the view of one breast.

“Before I forget, I brought you something. That was the original reason I came over.” He shoved her leg away from his and quickly stood up. He looked at the picture she made on the couch, “Don’t move. Please God, don’t move.”

He held his hands up in a stay position and went out to his truck. While she waited Anna crossed her legs and made sure her robe was draped to maximum affect. When she was satisfied with her cleavage and the length of thigh she’d exposed she turned expectantly to the door. Another session of bone jumping was a new priority. Or it was until Hunter returned and she saw the oddly shaped object behind his back.

He pulled the bag off and revealed a metal detector. She jumped from the couch, all thoughts of seduction fled. “That’s for me?”

“It’s the one we used when I was a kid. My mom still had it in her garage so I stopped over there and picked it up. I put new batteries in it. I had planned on going for a walk and maybe testing it out. I think that can wait,” he reached out to toy with the sash of her robe, “we may have found another way to pass the time.” He gave the sash a tug and the robe fell open.

Anna slapped his hands away and started turning knobs. The odd machine squealed at her before Hunter grabbed it and flicked a switch. “This is too cool, Hunter!” She checked the clock. “We have plenty of time before it’ll be dark. Let me get dressed and we’ll go. Just for a few minutes,” she added at the disappointed look in his eye. Her own fault, she knew.

“Do you have a backpack?” Hunter asked in resignation. He knew he should have waited until morning to show it to her.

Anna pulled a pack out from behind the table. Pack wasn’t the right word, Hunter thought, but he wasn’t sure what the right one was. She could have gone backpacking in the Amazon with that thing assuming she could hold it up for more than five minutes. He checked his laugh. She looked far too proud of her supplies.

“It’s got everything! Rope, flashlight, tent, emergency blanket, canteen and food rations which are really just candy bars because, hey, who wants to eat granola in the woods?”

Hunter was overwhelmed. The salesman had seen her coming from a mile away. If the Apocalypse came they’d use her pack. In the meantime he was pretty sure he had one in the truck with essential supplies meant for a nature walk. One of the items she pulled out and set aside caught his eye.

“What,” he asked, “is this?”

“It’s a book, Hunter, hello? You read them when you have spare time?”

He flipped it over and read the cover. “
My Lady Rejoices
? Seriously?”

Anna refused to be defensive. “It’s cotton candy for the brain. Besides, I consider it research. If writing mysteries doesn’t work out I can try a hand with those. It seems I may have some new inspiration in my life.” She batted her eyes at him.

“Now I know where you come up with words like ravished.” Hunter flipped through several pages of the book, stopping at one. His eyes widened. “Whoa! ‘He stripped the chemise from Gwyneth’s milky body as she writhed beneath his strong, powerful hands. “Say you’re mine, my Lady, say it!” and he thrust-‘ Holy crap am I blushing?” Hunter dropped the book as though it were on fire.

“What can I say?” she shrugged.

Hunter stalked toward her with a gleam in his eye. “You can say you’re mine, Milady,” he stopped. “That seems kind of rape-y, don’t you think?”

Anna laughed. “I’ve thought that before. I think it’s all about the context.”

“If it is context you want, it is context you’ll get. Milady.” Hunter scooped her into his arms and moved toward the stairs.

Later, much later, Anna’
s eyes shot open in the dark. She was on her side facing the large window with Hunter’s arm over her waist and his leg was tangled with hers. As she shifted he pulled her closer and she could feel his breath against her neck as he slept. That hadn’t been what woke her. What was it?

She scanned the darkness outside and almost missed it. Her eyes flicked back to a spot near the corner. There it was again! Was that a flash? She thought about ignoring it, that couldn’t be what had woken her, she thought, but then she saw it again. Her curiosity stirred.

Anna eased her legs from Hunter’s and his arm from her waist. She sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward, nearly pressing her nose against the window.

A flickering light danced in and out of her view. She grabbed her robe from the floor and quickly put it on while she crouched next to the window. She slowly eased it up and winced when the old wood let out a loud creak. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Hunter still sleeping soundly.

A warm breeze filtered through the screen and she thought she could smell smoke. It was faint but she recognized it from her own campfires. As she watched where she had seen the light flash she heard the crack of a stick breaking. She shifted her gaze to where she imagined the sound came from. Was that what had woken her? It seemed too faint but she felt hyper-aware. Was someone out there creeping around?

Anna remembered the stories Hunter had told her about treasure hunters coming and searching for Samuel’s gold. She’d read the local newspaper accounts and they hadn’t concerned her until this very moment. Surely she was being paranoid. After hearing and reading about it, of course that would be the first place her mind went.

Anna reached for her cell phone on the tiny table next to the bed. She held it below the window ledge to block the light of the display as she disconnected the charger and checked the time. 1:27 a.m. You’re being paranoid, she told herself. Most likely a stick had fallen from a tree and the flash of light was the moon’s reflection off the stream. She decided to watch for one full minute and if nothing happened she’d go back to bed.

“What are you doing?” Hunter’s thick voice startled her.

“I thought I heard something,” she whispered back.

“It’s probably just a bear. Go back to sleep,” he rolled to his other side and she heard his gentle breaths.

“A bear,” she repeated. “Hunter-“ she hissed as she realized he was deeply asleep again. “Yeah, that will help me sleep. Some protector you are.” Exasperated she turned back to the window.

Anna waited, motionless, for a full two minutes. When she didn’t hear anything other than the leaves rustling in the breeze or see any movement or other signs of life outside she forced herself to relax.

She eased around the foot of the bed and made her way carefully to the stairs. She had left the small light above the stove on as a nightlight and she used the soft glow to make her way quietly to the main floor. She was wide awake now and her limbs were tingling from the residue of the fight or flight reaction she’d had upon waking.

She poured some milk in a pot and while it heated retrieved a tin of cocoa from the cupboard. She’d never cared for the taste of warm milk and, though it was unseasonable, hot chocolate sounded equally soothing.

Anna settled into the recliner and curled her legs underneath her. With the hot mug cradled between her hands she sipped and pondered the strange twist the path of her life had taken. The road less traveled, she mused, was far more entertaining. Had she not followed the impulse to completely upend herself would she have truly found where she felt she belonged?

Two months ago she’d been living in a condo in Grand Rapids with a spectacular view of the flash and glitter of the downtown lights. She’d been surrounded by the latest and greatest in electronics, the trendiest fashions and the people considered the most interesting of the time.

Anna’s job at the newspaper had given her an in to the newest and most exclusive restaurants and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had to stand in line to get into a club. Her wallet was packed with VIP cards that opened nearly every important door in town. Her address book was filled with the direct numbers to the town’s movers and shakers and she’d never had to spend a night by herself unless she chose to, which wasn’t often.

She worked out at one of the best gyms with a personal trainer and had regular sessions with a gorgeous massage therapist named Johan. She remembered Johan quite fondly.

She’d never been lonelier in her life than she had been two months ago.

It had started with a general sense of restlessness. She had been sitting at a table at Easy Speak, a new club freshly opened in a building that had been an actual speakeasy during Prohibition. The owners had recreated the look and feel by restoring the original fixtures and searching high and low for period pieces. The menu had drinks like “The Bathtub Gin ‘Tini” and several awful puns Anna had chosen to forget right after she’d read them.

The owners encouraged the patrons to come dressed for the times. The women wore flapper dresses and the men wore flashy suits with wide lapels and hats they’d flip on and off. Everyone carried empty cigarette holders and flicked imaginary ashes after the smoking ban took effect in Michigan before sneaking outside to the cold porch to smoke real cigarettes.

“Marquadt is opening his new club Friday, we should go!” Stephan yelled across the table. Dressed in a red suit with white trim and a white bowler to top it off, Anna couldn’t help but think her friend looked like an emaciated Santa Claus.

“Where is it?” Anna shouted back.

“Just down the block. It’s going to be great!” Stephan nodded knowingly.

“What’s it called?”

“Does it matter?” Stephan winked and Anna laughed. “This place is packed!”

“What?”

“I said, this place is- never mind!” He circled around the table and the crowd pushed him into Anna. Three people swarmed toward the now empty chair he had left behind.