LITMIR.BIZ

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she could be even better.

      KYLE MENTALLY BERATED himself as he maneuvered the bike along the mountain road down from the lookout. When he got a bit too close to the shoulder, he tried to snap himself back into focus by shoving Sara Montgomery out of his head, but it didn’t work.

      The heat of her arms pressed around his body and the memory of their kiss lingered on his lips. He’d kissed a lot of women in his day, no doubt about it, but no kiss had ever been quite like this one. It wasn’t that her pulling away had made it different. She had made it different. Plain and simple.

      Sara Montgomery ignited a sensation inside him that had never been ignited. She intrigued him. Genuinely intrigued him.

      She shifted against him as he pulled into a straight patch of road. Her soft curves pressed into his back, and if he didn’t know better, he’d swear the woman was trying to torture him.

      His body remained in a heightened state of awareness even now, at least fifteen minutes since their kiss.

      He ran their discussion through his head for the umpteenth time. The truth of the matter was he agreed with everything she said.

      He hated to see the sprawl that crept into the land at the base of the mountains. If he had his way, no one would ever be able to develop here again.

      Kyle couldn’t quite put his finger on why he’d lied in order to get Sara’s response. Maybe he’d done it to get a rise out of her, or to measure her response.

      He’d been pleasantly surprised when she hadn’t agreed with him, as most of the upper crust in the region would have.

      Land equaled power in these parts and oil was the Holy Grail. The more land you owned, the better chance you had of striking it rich. He should know. He’d watched several local power brokers find success after success in recent months with lucky land buyouts.

      The voice mail he’d received planted itself front and center on his radar screen again. Was that what the man had been referring to? Had he been accusing Kyle of taking part in some sort of investment scheme? If so, the man couldn’t be further off base.

      Kyle hadn’t taken part, out of his love for the area’s wilderness, but he had to admit the money was enough to tempt many an environmentalist to the dark side. He, however, wasn’t one of them.

      He shouldn’t have let Sara go on as he did without telling her the truth, but it had been a pleasure to see her passion when she spoke, her determination when she explained her stance.

      The woman was refreshing, a treat he intended to sample fully when she offered. And she would in time. They always did.

      If she thought the hard-to-get act was original, she needed to think again. That particular tactic was tired as well as ineffectual, at least where Kyle was concerned.

      He’d been surprised she hadn’t broken away from their kiss more quickly, but the biggest question bouncing around his brain was why she’d agreed to the ride in the first place.

      The action didn’t match the coolness she’d otherwise shown. He wondered what she was after. His money? His connections? History showed it would be one or the other. It always was.

      Before he could give the topic another thought, Sara leaned forward and tried to yell something to him. The noise of the bike’s engine and the thickness of the helmet he wore muffled her voice.

      He shook his head to let her know he hadn’t made out a word she’d said. He dropped a look to his rearview mirror just as she extricated one arm from around his waist and leaned forward, jerking her thumb toward the road behind them.

      Kyle knew what she was referring to as soon as she made the gesture. He was already studying the approaching headlights in the mirror.

      The vehicle appeared to be an SUV. Dark. Sleek. Heavily tinted windows.

      Not your average drive-in-the-mountains fare.

      The SUV moved dangerously close to the rear tire of the bike and Kyle accelerated, adrenaline surging to life inside him.

      Was the guy behind him nuts? Or was he challenging him to a little road race?

      The SUV pulled into the oncoming lane as they approached the next hairpin turn.

      What in the—?

      Kyle maneuvered away from the too-close black vehicle, yet still maintained control of the bike.

      “Hold on,” he yelled into the mountain air, knowing Sara most likely couldn’t hear a thing.

      Her arms tightened around his waist, bolstering his resolve to get them away from the maniac in the SUV.

      They cleared the curve, but the SUV swerved toward them in the straightaway, pushing Kyle and Sara dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.

      Kyle gritted his teeth, determined not to lose control. His father had been killed in an accident and Kyle had no intention of carrying on the family tradition.

      The next hairpin turn approached. Kyle knew they wouldn’t make it. They’d have to ditch, but how would he be able to warn Sara?

      The SUV swung toward them, brushing mere inches from their legs. Sara screamed something, but Kyle couldn’t make it out.

      Damn it. It would be bad enough if he were alone on the bike, but with Sara on the back, he was responsible for saving not just himself, but also the beautiful stranger.

      The SUV swerved again, and the front tire of the motorcycle nipped into the rocks and dirt along the edge of the cliff. They faltered, and the bike bobbled from side to side.

      The SUV accelerated out around the next curve and out of sight, as if the driver knew what was about to happen, knew he’d succeeded in his dangerous game.

      Kyle did his best to slow the motorcycle without losing complete control, but it was too late.

      The tires went out from under the bike and they were sliding, dirt and gravel flying, obscuring his view. They slid, and pain exploded through Kyle as the weight of the bike did its damage. Sara’s arms suddenly were no longer around his waist and fear ripped through him.

      Had she gone over the cliff? Had she been injured—or worse—because of him?

      That was the question haunting Kyle as the mountain fell away beneath him and he and his Harley went over the edge.

      Chapter Three

      Sara spit the dirt out of her mouth and reached for the strap of her helmet even as she launched herself into action.

      She’d been able to jump from the motorcycle as they wrecked, but Kyle hadn’t been so lucky. She’d tried to tell him to jump, but he’d no doubt been unable to hear her above the noise of the motorcycle’s engine.

      He and the bike were nowhere to be seen. When Sara spotted a telltale gash in the earth at the edge of the road, bile clawed its way up her throat.

      It would take a miracle to survive a fall over the cliff.

      She scrambled toward the edge of the roadway, ignoring the pain in every muscle in her body. She held her breath as she peered over the edge, utter amazement ripping through her at the sight of Kyle sprawled on a section of rock just below her. The bike, however, was nowhere to be found.

      “Kyle!”

      Sara yelled his name when she spotted movement in his arms and legs. To her amazement, he pulled himself into a sitting position, each move an obvious struggle.

      “You’re all right?” He spat out the words as he tipped his face toward her, pulling off his helmet as he did so.

      The arrogance so prevalent in his expression just minutes earlier was gone. Instead, he searched her face, sincere concern plastered across his features.

      Sara nodded, surprised by the absence of any hint of self-awareness on his part.

      “Are

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