A Man to Remember (10 page)

"Just some private business."

"Jake, I heard you talking about an army deserter and—"

"Shhh." Jake's fingertips pressed her lips shut. "Alyse, Aunt Myra is slipping fast."

"Then why isn't the whole place buzzing?"

"I told you, we don't want to alarm the staff. Or alert the authorities about her illness. It's being kept very quiet."

"Jake, I know you're lying."

"Please, Alyse. Don't complicate things worse tonight. Go back to bed."

"You're going into town, aren't you?" she said accusingly.

"Yes. For the doctor. Now come on. Let me take you back to the house. And I expect you to stay in your room. Understand?" As they started, Jake noticed she was limping and slid his arm around her waist. "Hey, is your foot all right?"

"Well, it does hurt a little." She leaned on his sturdy arm. "Jake, I don't like to be left out of whatever's going on. I love a good adventure, and I want to know all about this. I want to go with you."

"Don't worry about a thing, Alyse. There's no adventure. Come over here in the light and let me check your foot." He bent over to inspect her injury. "Hey, it's bleeding a little."

"Of course, it is. I stepped on a sharp prickly pear."

"Well, let's not take any chances of getting it infected." He swung her up into his arms and carried her all the way to the house and upstairs to her bedroom.

Alyse clung to Jake's broad shoulders, wishing she could hold on to him tonight. But she knew that was impossible. Jake had other business— whatever it was—and it didn't involve her. Obviously it was more important than even spend
ing the night with her.

He sat on the edge of the bed. "Before I leave, I'll send Lena up with some antiseptic and bandages. But please don't mention La Duena to her. She might become upset, and it'll spread around here like wildfire. We don't want that. It might alert the authorities."

Alyse nodded sullenly.

"I expect you to stay put, mi preciosa."

She clung to his neck. "And I expect you back soon."

He dipped his head and kissed her lips, lingering for a moment to savor the sweetness. "Will do."

"Jake, why do you have that gun?"

His expression feigned indifference. "Just a precaution. Not to worry. See you soon. Wait for me. We'll finish what we started . . ."

Alyse watched him leave, her mind whirling with the suspicious activities of the last few hours. She could hear his gruffly muttered "Wait for me" and wondered if he would return soon. Or if at all.

As she feared, he didn't make it back all night.

When morning came, Alyse was still alone in the bed. Lena brought coffee and sweet empanadas to her room and inquired shyly about her foot.

"It's a little sore. But not infected, thanks to you, Lena. You were wonderful to get up in the middle of the night to help me."

"De nada, señorita."

"Oh, Lena, is Jake—er, Señor Bronson here?"

"I don't know, señorita."

Alyse sighed and picked at the tiny fruit-filled pie on her tray. "Gracias, Lena."

Later Alyse wandered downstairs and found Emilio having coffee on the upper patio. "Buenos dias, Emilio. Please accept my apologies for biting your finger last night. I was somewhat upset when you hauled me around like that."

The dark-haired man stood up and smiled apologetically at her. "I understand, señorita. I hope I didn't hurt you either."

"No, I'm fine. No worse for the wear. Where is Jake this morning?"

"He sends his regrets that he cannot be here. Perhaps you would like to go swimming until he gets back."

Alyse's eyes flashed intently. "Emilio, what is going on here?"

"I am not at liberty to say, señorita. You will have to ask Jake."

"I see." She'd tried that, and could see where it got her. Nowhere but waiting for him with no answers. "Could you provide me a ride back to town, Emilio? I would like to leave now."

"Si, claro, señorita. Should I tell Jake where you're going? Give him a message from you?"

"No, thank you. No message. He'll understand."

Back on the boat, Alyse decided a quick swim would help to clear her mind and dampen her anger at being abandoned. She piled everything into a soft backpack and took the back road to Balandra Beach. She looked over the glistening stillness of the beach, the gentle waves folding over the sand. Memories of rough kisses and tight male muscles washed over her and she wished she hadn't stopped him – them. Wished she could feel him over her, in her. A woman's wish.

She dived directly into a cyclonic swirl of black grunts. The fish circled her, brushing against her arms and legs as if she were one of them. She imagined they viewed her as some strange sea creature with her purple swimsuit, long legs and snorkeling headgear. She swam underwater naturally and freely, finally breaking the surface for air. Immediately she plunged again into the crystalline waters. It was a good place to escape. And think.

Finally breathless, she emerged and dug her toes into the pristine sand as she strode to her beach blanket. She sat down and hugged her knees to her chest while she watched a tour boat glide past the remote and beautiful bay. Then she was alone on the beach to consider her predicament, to remember Jake and try to get a bearing on her emotions.

Alyse took a deep breath. If she didn't let Jake help her get back home, then whom would she get? Should she give in and call her father? Brother? Or worse, Evan?

No, those were her last choices. She had decided to handle this by herself and wasn't ready to give up yet. After all, it had been only a few days since Evan left her. But just look how much had happened: her attraction to and involvement with the mysterious Jake Bronson.

When her own solutions didn't come readily, she turned over on her stomach, got comfortable, and picked up her book. Soon Alyse was lost in Bristol Bordeaux's breathless adventures.

Bristol followed the black limo along Houston's dangerous Wayside Drive, one of the roughest places in the city for a woman alone. She'd been warned about this district along the waterfront where ships from all over the world docked. The limo she was tailing stopped next to a harbored Greek ship. Bristol hid her car behind a rusty blue van and watched three men board the ship. She followed fearlessly. After all, she had her snug Beretta tucked against her thigh for reassurance.

A male hand traced her naked backbone.

Alyse whirled around, heart pounding. Then she slumped back down on the blanket with a loud sigh. "Jake! You scared me! How did you get way out here?"

"Like you, I rented a scooter. I should have known you'd come to Balandra." Jake heaved himself down on the blanket beside her. "It took me awhile to figure it out, though."

She glared. "My, my, aren't you clever. And sneaky." How could he appear so casual after last night?

"So are you, my dear. You could have left me a message that you'd be here. It wasn't very considerate, you know. Why did you take off alone like that?"

"Because that's the way I want to be. Alone."

"So do I. Alone with you."

"Oh, yeah? Could have fooled me last night." She refused to look at him.

"Look, Alyse, I can explain about that. And I'm sorry. Truly."

She turned an angry face toward him, her blue eyes clear and questioning. "I'm all ears. But don't tell me it was your aunt. I know differently."

Jake's traitorous brown eyes flickered amusedly over her. "Not quite all ears, thank God! I much prefer your enticing feminine shape in this purple suit." He traced the tops of her breasts with one finger.

She shivered involuntarily. "I'm waiting for your full explanation, Jake, not your analysis of my body. It isn't often that I end up in a strange man's bed. Then to have him build me up with great expectations and abruptly leave and not return all night cools my passion considerably. And I won't even mention what it does to my ego!" Alyse had worked herself into fair lather during her speech, and her cheeks burned pink.

She was certain that Bristol would have left a guy high and dry after a trick like that. So why was she giving Jake a chance to explain?

Jake took a deep breath and raked a rough hand over his stubby beard. At any other time he would have thought himself crazy. Here was this woman of such beauty that she took his breath away. And here he was trying to explain why he'd slipped out of her arms last night. Of course she was angry and hurt. Undoubtedly he'd botched everything with her. "Would you believe it was a matter of life and death?"

She explored his serious face, and a tiny smile began to form. "No."

Jake's brown eyes squinted at her. What now? "It's the truth, Alyse."

"Jake, I'm having a hard time believing all this about your aunt. Seeing her would have helped, you know."

He pursed his lips and nodded. "Yep, I understand your doubts, believe me. Look, Aunt Myra is very bad now, Alyse. I had to go and get the doctor, wait for him to medicate her, then take him back. It took all night."

Alyse gazed mockingly at him. "And the gun? Did you have to force the doctor to come at gunpoint?"

"No. That. . . that's a carryover from my policeman days. I just feel safer with a weapon around, especially in a foreign country. It was foolish to have it, though."

Alyse grew quiet and let him ramble.

Jake looked away from those penetrating blue eyes of hers. "Aunt Myra's in a coma. It's just a matter of time. God, it's been hell. I think we ought to plan to leave any time now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, things are getting hotter for, uh, for me. The family isn't exactly on my side, you know. They're making it rough. I think we should consider leaving soon."

Alyse's gaze softened. Oh, God, how she wanted to believe him. But her doubts outweighed everything at this moment. "Well, I think we should get you some sporty clothes if you're going to make a boat trip, Jake. You look like you stepped right across the Rio Grande. Everything about you screams Texan. We need to go shopping before we depart."

He acquiesced willingly. "If you say so… "

"I'll help pick out your new image." She started up, but he grasped her arm.

"Most of the stores are closed this time of day for siesta. We have a couple of hours to . . . rest and relax. Besides I've got this problem…" He glanced down.

Her gaze followed his. She looked up quickly. "Why, yes you do, Jake. How can I help?" Alyse looked into his dark eyes and melted a little. Oh, she was so weak when it came to Jake Bronson. Something about him held magic for her that couldn't be denied. And they both knew it.

He moved closer and kissed her. "Don't talk, Alyse. This place is as good as any for . . . us to finish what we started last night."

His lips pressed firmly against hers, and all those defenses, all that anger that had built up all night and day melted away. One of his arms slid around her back and pressed her slender body to his. The other hand cupped her buttocks, molding her soft thighs to his tautening arousal.

"Jake," she murmured, realizing how weak she was but not caring. "Oh, Jake, I missed you last night. Worried about you with that gun."

Moist kisses trailed over her face while one hand slipped beneath her swimsuit to caress her breast. "Not half as much as I missed you. I wanted you so badly. Doing without you has been pure hell for me."

"And for me," she admitted, trailing her tongue around his lips. "Jake. . . Jake, you make me weak."

"Only the most dire of circumstances would force me from you, Alyse," he whispered, kissing her neck, then lowering his lips to the warm, throbbing valley between her breasts. His hand moved to the other breast, where he rubbed  erotically over the small, firm nipple until she wanted to scream.

Her voice came out tight. "Jake, I want to believe you. Everything. But I -- "

He put his lips to hers. "Believe only one thing, Alyse. I want you—"

"Not. . . not here, Jake."

"I'll find us a hidden place. Since the first time I saw you I wanted to make love to you on the sand. Just like this."

"I don't know. If that tour boat goes by…" She laughed nervously at the idea.

"I'll cover you," he said with great effort. "Come on. We'll find the perfect spot. For us."

CHAPTER SEVEN

"We're still in the sun."

"Grab the end. We'll move the blanket."

"Over here?"

"Keep on going." She motioned him farther.

"How about this?"

"Do you think it's far enough?" She squinted at the sky.

"Should I calculate the angle of the sun?"

She grinned, and her blue eyes danced merrily. "You don't want to get sunburned, do you?"

"Depends. It might be worth it." He tugged off his cowboy boots and left them in the sand beside the blanket.

"Then again, it might not."