Chinook, Wine and Sink Her. Morgan Q O'Reilly

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СКАЧАТЬ had picked the man he considered the least threatening as her hiking partner. When they’d returned, mission accomplished, the very same supervisor had refused to listen when she told him how sweet Billy James had doctored her tea, pulled her out of her sleeping bag and raped her. Repeatedly. All night long.

      They’d been a three day hike away from anywhere and she’d had nowhere to go. Hiking out by herself would have foolhardy. Unable to sleep and suspicious of their food and water supplies after that, she’d been an incoherent, dehydrated, hysterical wreck when they’d gotten back, her condition making her story more unbelievable.

      Billy hadn’t been violent about it. Hadn’t hit her or physically hurt her—at least not that she could remember. He’d just taken advantage of the situation. The pieces she’d eventually put together were fairly simple.

      The night they’d arrived at the lake, debilitating exhaustion had overcome her after dinner. She remembered thinking it odd that only three days of hiking and the altitude could have sucked so much energy from her. Supposing it was her period coming on, she’d downed the last of the tea Billy had made for her and crawled into her sleeping bag in everything but her boots, just as she’d been sleeping every night of the trip.

      Hindsight now told her he’d put a date-rape drug in her tea. What memories she had were vague and disturbingly erotic. The next morning she’d awakened groggy and sore... wrapped only in Billy’s arms. According to him, she’d come to him naked and needy, begging him to fuck her. All he’d done, he said, was take care of a lady’s needs. It didn’t feel right, and of course, he denied drugging her.

      Upon returning to Sacramento, she’d driven herself to the hospital, shaking from lack of food, water and cramping from the start of her period. They’d run the tests but more than seventy-two hours had passed and they could find no signs she’d been forced or drugged.

      Her fiancé at the time, Henry, had taken her home after a night of IV rehydration and reluctantly held her as she’d tried to tell him what had happened, or what she thought had happened. Though he’d said the right words, the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice had been doubtful, his hold reluctant and cold rather than comforting.

      If only it had stopped there. But no, Billy’d had to open his mouth. Whispers had followed her around the office until Linnet learned he’d bragged about how he’d made her come over and over again. As the story went, he’d been only too happy to play stud service and make the frigid bitch scream. Convinced he’d unearthed the fiery vixen within her, he’d continued to pursue her, making her life hell in the office.

      Unable to sleep, she’d suffered from sheer exhaustion until one day she’d fallen asleep at her desk despite several cups of coffee. Several hours later, she’d awakened on the sofa in her boss’s office. Though her boss was sitting in his chair behind his desk, he’d been watching her with an odd look on his face.

      After telling her he’d brought her there for her own safety, he’d told her one more incident like that and he’d insist on drug testing. As it was, she was to consider herself on probation and he’d be watching her. Her work performance had been slipping and she was in danger of losing her job. Confused and groggy, she’d felt ashamed and extremely uncomfortable as she’d stumbled from the office and home to revive herself in a hot shower.

      The next day she’d begun making appointments. A handful of lawyers had each sympathized, then advised her to quit and move. Taking it to court was risky at best. A case of he said-she said. No witnesses, no evidence. Nobody up the chain of command believed her or would listen.

      Billy had gotten a slap on the wrist for fraternization and she got a warning in her file for insubordination along with a reputation for being a snooty, but lively and exciting, lay. Everyone had hit on her then and it was either endure the comments and pawing or move on. No other option left, six months later, her engagement a memory, she’d quit and found the job in Alaska.

      She stopped her march at the creek and looked around. All was quiet and she set her supplies on a large dry rock. Manley’s yelp came through the trees and, as expected, a moment later, he bounded down the slope behind her and danced to a stop at her feet.

      “Well, hello, there. I thought you’d forgotten all about me.” Great, pouting to the dog now. Contrite, she bent and spent a moment petting him. “I’m sorry Manley. I know you like him, but not all men are honorable. They’ll take advantage of a woman every single time.” A tear of self pity slid down her cheek. Angry with herself, she wiped it away and stood. A long hot soak would feel great.

      One of the true prizes of this bit of land was the narrow creek before her. Now stripped of every flake of gold that had ever dreamed of settling there, the main attraction was the hot spring up the hill that fed into it. A remnant of mining days, a sluice funneled water from up the hill and allowed a bather to direct the water into an old cast-iron claw-foot tub. A genuine antique that made Linnet sigh with happiness.

      Countless times she’d blessed the woman who had most likely insisted on it. How it got there, she hadn’t a clue and didn’t care. What she cared about was it straddled a small stream feeding the creek that drained into the Yukon a hundred yards away and could be filled with the most delicious hot mineral water she’d ever come across.

      The spring wasn’t much more than a steady trickle, so she’d come here before dinner, plugged the tub and started filling it with the steaming water. A perfect one-hundred-five degrees when it came out of the ground, it usually hovered around a hundred-three when the tub was full. Completely full, right up to the brim until it overflowed. Like an infinity pool, the sluice poured the water over the side of the tub, continually refreshing it. When she was done, all she had to do was pull the plug, move the sluice away and let the tub drain. No icky, slimy growths allowed. To keep it clean, she had a bear-proof bucket nearby with baking soda and a sponge for scrubbing. The perfect system for cleansing and renewing her spirit.

      Listening to the woods, Linnet looked around again. Only a narrow strip of the river could be seen through the trees. Doubtful anyone could look up and see her as they floated past. A rocky cliff, about eight-feet high, that the creek tumbled over, provided a wall behind the tub. Once in the water, she had a clear view side to side and down hill. No one could sneak up on her. With shaking fingers, she began unbuttoning her shirt.

      The reasonable side of her, the one that hated confrontations, reminded her she’d have to face Creed. Maybe even explain.

      How could she? It wasn’t any of his business. She didn’t even know him. Only knew she was living in his cabin. What was to stop him from leaving his tent and moving inside? Her? Manley? What a mess. She was supposed to be out here alone.

      Sleeping in the truck again was always a short term option. An older Norwegian gentleman had stopped one night to sleep out of the rain. She’d waited until he’d turned in, loaded the woodstove to keep him warm through the chilly night, then bundled up on the back seat of her truck with Manley to sleep. Heinrick had never even known she’d left the cabin. Pretending she was coming back from the outhouse the next morning, she’d merely set about making a fresh pot of coffee. They’d shared breakfast and she’d urged him on his way.

      Still listening to the woods, she folded the shirt and removed her jeans. Each item of clothing was rolled together. With the bath bucket in reach, she removed the tie holding up her hair and carefully slipped into the tub. How long would Creed give her before he came looking? If this was his land, then he knew about the tub. Would he appreciate her improvements here as well?

      She’d been somewhat dismayed when she’d first spotted the tub. George had left the water spilling into it and some type of algae had been growing along the edges. Happily, he’d warned her and СКАЧАТЬ