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An Excerpt From: PEPPERMINT CREEK INN

? Copyright JAN SPRINGER, 2005.

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave, Inc.

Wincing at the blazing pain searing through his lower
back and the massive headache battering his brain, he slumped heavily into
the nearest chair.

Shit!

He shouldn?t have scared her like that with the gun.
Simply knocking on the door and walking in as nonchalant as possible would
have been sufficient.

Earlier when he?d first spotted the house and the storm
had first broken?he?d sought refuge on the swinging porch chaise. He?d
fallen asleep, or more appropriately passed out. He?d slept hard, real
hard, totally oblivious to the downpour hammering on the porch roof.

Eventually a noise had sunk through the soothing layers
of sleep and he?d awoken and seen the two pinpricks of headlights bursting
through the storm. Fearing the cops had found him, he?d quickly scrambled
for cover to the side of the house. Then he?d seen the pretty woman sitting
behind the wheel of the truck.

It seemed like an eternity that he watched her,
mesmerized by her natural beauty. Instincts told him he?d seen her before.
Somewhere.

But where? When?

He couldn?t remember anything before last night.

Why he wasn?t panicking about not remembering anything was
anyone?s guess, but for some reason, he felt as if he might be better off
not knowing his past.

What he did remember was the woman stepping out of her
truck and the fantastic way her long auburn hair had billowed around her
heart-shaped face in the rising wind. In the blinking lightning she?d
looked like a goddess coming out of the fiery heavens to fetch him and he?d
almost stepped out to greet her, but a silent warning to be very careful
had stopped him cold. Taking no chances, he?d pulled out the gun and
followed her inside.

When he?d first seen her slamming down the phone, her
cute face twisted in fury, he?d wanted to take her into his arms, to
comfort her, to kiss away her anger but then she?d seen him standing there
in the doorway and panic had raged in her eyes. He?d known she was about to
scream, to run away from him and he?d grabbed her, instantly drowning in
her wonderful, sweet, peppermint-scented body. He?d found himself
transfixed by her sparkling eyes, yet it was the seductive curve of her rosebud
lips that sent a scream of primal sexual hunger searing through his cock,
making him want to dig his fingers into her tumbling mass of silky hair and
kiss her ?til she begged for more. He?d almost done it, but thankfully
self-control had prevailed, and he?d stupidly let her get away and almost
allowed her to be killed by that damned tree.

When he?d seen the lightning strike, time had quite
literally frozen stiff. Then the tree began toppling toward them and he?d
been paralyzed by a hideous fear. Not for his safety, but for hers.

Thankfully, something had snapped inside him, and he?d
felt himself inch toward her.

He?d wanted to scream. Yell at her to move. But the
words had remained trapped in his paralyzed throat.

She?d just stood there, stiff against the railing.
Mesmerized by the spiraling timber. As if she?d been waiting for death to
strike.

Her earlier words hovered in the blackness of his mind
like a heavy dark cloud. Put me out of my misery, she?d said. Had
she in fact been waiting for the clutches of death to take her?

He?d grabbed her violently. Too damn violently. But he?d
been so scared. He?d pulled her away from the ugly clutches of death.
Hurling her toward safety. And best of all?back into his life.

?Thanks,? her soft feminine voice made him jump clear
out of his chair. The unexpected movement sent excruciating pain sizzling
throughout his back. He cursed under his breath. He hadn?t heard her come
back. Yet somehow he knew she would return.

She stood in the open doorway. Wild wind blew her auburn
trestles every which way. Her short ski jacket provided hardly any
protection against the bleak elements.

He cocked a teasing eyebrow.

?Thanks for what??

?For saving my life!? she said suddenly angry, as if
surprised he?d already forgotten what he?d done for her.

?My pleasure.?

?Was it?? she snapped.

Her voice bristled like a porcupine but the memory of
her soft body curving warmly beneath him on the kitchen floor was still
fresh in his mind. The intense fire shooting throughout him as he?d covered
her, made his balls and cock stiffen painfully against the god-awful prison
of his tightening jeans.

Through the lightning flashes, he watched her edge
cautiously inside the door. She peered around, as if searching for
something.

?The gun is over there,? he nodded to the weapon
swaddled by the dark shadows, where he?d dropped it when he?d run after
her.

?Don?t you need it any more??

?No. Take it. It?s all yours.?

She darted a curious glance his way as if not really
believing her immense luck. She reminded him of a child sneaking toward a
cookie jar and he was the bad guy playing a horrible trick on her, changing
his mind at any second and snatching the treasure from her hands. But she
wasn?t a child. Far from it. She was a woman. And in all the right places.

He tried to focus on her almost too-slim woolen-clad
legs as she eased gracefully toward the gun. When she bent over to pick up
the ugly weapon with her beautiful slender fingers, he was treated to a
glimpse of her full, shapely hips and wonderfully rounded ass. God he
wouldn?t mind driving his cock deep into her wet and warm pussy from
behind. Plunging and thrusting into her, hearing her gasps of pleasure as
he fucked her all night long.

Leaning wearily against the chair he was quite happy to
see the satisfied smirk flash over her beautiful lips as if she was the cat
and he, the helpless mouse. Then his stomach sunk a little as she raised
the gun in her trembling hands and pointed it at his face.

The gun was empty. But she didn?t know. The thought that
she?d pull the trigger on him left him feeling quite disappointed. What
else had he expected? That she?d embrace him for saving her life, even
after everything he?d put her through?

He felt lightheaded, wiped out. All his remaining
strength having been used saving her life. His eyelids felt as if heavy
weights were pulling them down and he closed his eyes.

His head lolled back onto his shoulders.

He?d run out of time. And he didn?t care anymore.

She was talking. He tried to concentrate on her words. Truly
he did. But she sounded so far away.

Her sweet peppermint scent wrapped erotically around his
fevered body, teasing him, coaxing him to move. To reach out and kiss her,
but he was totally wiped.

Cool feminine fingers traveled across his hot forehead.

?C?mon, wake up. Open your eyes, damn you. Don?t go
doing something stupid like dying on me.?

He lifted his heavy eyelids and her beautiful face
hovered like a ghost amidst the black fog. A burrowed frown zipped onto her
concerned face.

She was actually worried about him? A warm fuzzy kind of
feeling he really liked floated around him.

?Where?s your car? Is it nearby??

?No car. Walked in,? he managed to groan.

?What? How??

?Legs.?

She stood over him and studied him as if he were
seriously deranged. He was beginning to think maybe he just might be. Why
else would he have cops chasing him, an empty gun in his possession and a
beautiful woman staring at him as if he was nuts?

?Okay. First thing we have to do is get you to bed.?

?Only if you join me and keep me nice and warm.?

?