Guardian Angel (15 page)

"Isn't it beautiful, Jared?" she asked, turning in the saddle to face him. She waved her arm toward the moun
tain range before them. "Wouldn't you give anything to just stay here and never leave?"

"It's tempting," he replied, watching her with a close eye. He was determined that when she appeared to show signs of tiring, they would head back to the house.

Their rides continued for the next few days. The eve
nings were spent quietly either talking or, a few times, Jared would put records on and they would dance before the large fireplace in the living room. Those evenings were the best, as far as Alex was concerned. She had come to enjoy those times Jared would take her into his arms even if it was only for the all too short moments when the music played.

As expected, Alex grew impatient to talk to Dena and find out what was going on, but Jared was adamant. No business phone calls until he said so. The one time she did sneak in a call to Dena, she was given the same set of instructions. She was just to relax and build up her strength.

"You've been living on nervous energy for a long time, Alex," Dena told her. "I'm just glad your illness wasn't more serious. Now, don't worry about anything here. Take advantage of everything," she chuckled. "Live it up, Alex. You're out in the wilds with one of the country's sexiest men. I'm sure you can take it from there." Still laughing, she hung up.

"Sure," she muttered when she left the study.

"Caught you!" A pair of arms snaked around her waist.

Out of reflex, Alex's hands snapped down to break the grip.

"Hey!" Jared yelled, grabbing hold of his pained wrist.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, turning around. "Old hab
its die hard, I guess."

"Remind me never to wake you out of a sound sleep," he muttered. "Is this what happens when a guy asks you out?"

Her head snapped up. "What?"

"Forget it. I don't think I want to take out a woman who could deck me if I decided to get fresh," Jared told her, pretending to turn and walk away.

"Jared." Alex reached out and lightly gripped his arm. When he looked down at her, she suddenly felt very shy. "Are—are you asking me out?"

"I had thought about it," he said off-handedly. "Noth
ing fancy—dinner and a movie, if you feel up to it."

Her smile lit up her face. "I feel up to it."

"Fine, then we'll leave here about six. And dress warm
ly," he said sternly.

Alex found herself looking forward to the evening and was glad there were only a few hours to fill before six. In dressing, she decided a pair of black cords and off-white bulky knit sweater would keep her warm enough under her heavy jacket. Jared had dressed casually in brown cord jeans and a gold-colored shirt.

They ate dinner in Santa Barbara in a popular restau
rant depicting the 1920s. After careful selection, a movie was decided on.

Sitting in the darkened theater, Alex hadn't reckoned on a touching love story that would reach the depths of her soul. The tale of two lovers separated by fate and later joined brought tears to her eyes. A hand reached out and gripped hers tightly while a handkerchief was pressed into her other hand.

"It's allowed, you know." Jared leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"It's only a story." Alex sniffed. "It's not real."

"No, but it could be," he murmured, lifting her fingers to his lips. For the remainder of the film he kept Alex's fingers laced through his, lying in his lap or pressed against his mouth. She shifted uneasily in her seat, vainly fighting the heat in her blood from his touch.

When the film was over they slowly walked out of the theater still under its spell. Jared kept an arm draped over Alex's shoulders as they walked down the street toward the parking garage where the jeep had been left. At one dark corner Jared suddenly veered to one side and pulled Alex after him.

"What—?" Her question was abruptly silenced by the insistent pressure of Jared's mouth.

"I've been wanting this all evening," he said, sliding his tongue over the parted softness of her lips. "Hell, I've been wanting this ever since that night before you got sick." He angled his body sharply against hers until they were mold
ed together.

"I'm not sick now," Alex breathed, running her palms over the hard muscles of his back.

"No," he groaned, plundering her mouth with his tongue, tempting her, seducing her with all his experience. His hands moved under her sweater to seek the warm skin of her midriff and upward. Inhaling sharply, he pulled away. "This isn't the place," he muttered roughly. "Damn! It's over an hour back to the ranch and I don't know if I can wait that long."

Alex couldn't speak, still entranced by the overwhelm
ing spell Jared had woven about them. At that moment she wouldn't have cared where he made love to her as long as she assuaged the growing ache in her body. "We should go before we collect an audience," she murmured, pulling her sweater down over her hips.

Jared chuckled. "In a few minutes." He dropped a light kiss on her nose. "No use in letting the world know how I feel about you." He cocked his eyebrows at her and grinned crookedly.

Alex had to grin back. "You enjoy trying to shock me, don't you?" she accused him playfully.

"Trouble is, old salts don't shock easily," Jared said mournfully, putting his arm around her waist. "Let's go home. I have plans to take up where we left off," he added meaningfully.

Alex shivered at the sensual undertone in Jared's words. She knew that once they reached the ranch there would be no turning back, and she knew she wouldn't want to.

They walked along the sidewalk, their steps now faster because they had a purpose to their journey.

"Hello, Alex."

She spun around to face a man not much taller than herself and a pregnant woman standing beside him.

"Dennis, what a surprise." She greeted her ex-husband in an even voice. "Hello, Laura, how are you feeling?"

"Eagerly waiting for the day when I won't look like a circus elephant." The bright glow in her eyes cut through Alex's heart.

A set of fingers against her spine reminded her of her manners. "Dennis, Laura, Jared Templeton. Mr. Temple
ton, Dennis Page and his wife, Laura." The expression in her eyes gave him the rest of the story.

"Very pleased to meet you, sir." The younger man ex
tended his hand. "I see your name in the business section of the newspaper all the time."

"Are you still stationed in San Francisco?" Alex spoke up, all the time wishing to terminate this conversation as quickly as possible and get away.

Dennis nodded, his eyes never leaving his wife. "We thought we'd come down for the weekend. Probably our last quiet one for a long time." His voice was warm and loving, indicating no regret.

"Dennis!" Laura reproved.

"I guess we should get back to the hotel. Laura doesn't like to admit she tires easily. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Templeton." He turned to Alex. "It was good seeing you again, Alex." Her answering smile was tight-lipped.

The two couples parted, but not before Alex saw Dennis put a protective arm around Laura.

A grim expression crossed Jared's face as he took Alex's arm in a bruising hold and practically dragged her down the street.

"Let me go!" Alex ordered between clenched teeth. "Let me go!" She raised her voice.

Swearing under his breath, Jared pushed her down a narrow alley between two buildings.

"Where's my cold-blooded Alex now?" he demanded, boxing her in against the wall and leaning over her like an avenging devil.

"What do you mean?" Her eyes were narrowed in an
ger.

"My God, your tongue was hanging out while you talked to them! You envy your ex-husband's wife," he accused her.

"No!" She pushed against his chest for freedom, but he refused to move.

Jared's hand twisted painfully in her hair and pulled her head back. "Maybe he didn't recognize that hungry look in your eyes, Alex, but I did," he jeered softly. "You're jealous that Laura is carrying the child you could have had. You ache to create a new life." His other hand slid with insolent ease over the concave stomach and upward to find its way beneath the thin fabric of silk and lace. "You feel threatened as a woman. In fact, you feel less than one because you didn't carry his child, don't you?"

"Damn you!" she sobbed, raising one hand to strike him.

With lightning speed Jared's hand had left her breast to grasp the offending palm before it hit him. Grasping her wrist, he twisted it up behind her back, forcing her body against him.

"You've lost control, Alex," he taunted, his lips a breath away from hers. "It's only at times like this that I can believe you're a flesh and blood woman instead of a statue."

"You wouldn't know a flesh and blood woman," she spat at him, her eyes shooting sparks of green fire. "You've only had hollow shells, fakes just like you."

"Fake, am I?" he snarled. "You, of all people, should know better."

His hand in her hair twisted farther until she thought her neck would snap. Then something else had her atten
tion. Jared's lips cruelly fastened on hers without any regard for the inner softness. He intended to prove to her who was in charge of this embrace. She was powerless to resist the searing heat of his mouth or even the hard length molded intimately against her. His tongue roughly assaulted her mouth while his hand released its grip on her hair and moved down to slide under her sweater, tearing open the front of her bra in order to reach her already swollen breasts.

A low moan rippled through Alex's throat, although no one could be sure if it was pain from Jared's harsh caresses or pleasure due to the small flames licking along her heightened nerve endings.

"Let go of my hand," she whispered against his lips.

Jared released her, knowing she wouldn't move away from him now. His other hand feathered over her waist, down over her hips, then back to press against her but
tocks and up against him. Alex's hands reached for the buttons of his shirt feverishly, needing to touch his heated skin. The grinding of his hips against hers expressed his need for her.

"I should take you here and now," he muttered hoarse
ly. His narrowed eyes took in her swollen lips with satis
faction. Her ragged breathing was no harsher than his own. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to leave his brand on her. He wanted the world to know she was his.

"I wouldn't let you," she lied, her breath still coming out in jerky gasps.

Jared's cruel smile cut her to the bone as his thumb and forefinger circled her nipple, making her tremble.

"It surprises me how much passion is under that cool exterior, Alex. You hide behind a mask, and I intend to find out what's underneath it."

"Don't be so sure of yourself." She lifted her chin, still refusing to give in.

Jared expelled a harsh breath as he realized their spot wasn't as private as he'd like it to be. "I never lose, Alex. I suggest you remember that," he stated matter-of-factly, pulling her sweater down over the waistband of her jeans and grabbing hold of her hand.

The ride back to the ranch was accomplished in tense silence. Their reason for a speedy return was now forgot
ten after the sight of Dennis and his wife. Alex stared out the window lost in thoughts of the past, thoughts that could only recreate pain.

When they reached the house, she hurried inside as soon as Jared unlocked the door.

"In a hurry, aren't you?" he jeered softly.

She looked up at him with narrowed cat's eyes. "Your seduction plan failed, Mr. Templeton," she informed him in a cold voice. "Sleep well." She headed for her room and firmly closed the door behind her.

Alex felt very weary as she undressed and slipped on a ruffled nightshirt. She knew it wasn't the unexpected meeting with Dennis that upset her. She hadn't loved him the way she now loved—she gasped in horror at this new turn her thoughts were taking.

"No!" she moaned out loud, collapsing on the bed. It couldn't be that she was falling in love with Jared. Love was a foreign word in her vocabulary. It was the memory that she had pushed to the back of her mind and kept there that upset her. Switching off the light and curling up under the covers, she now couldn't keep back her tears—tears that streamed down her cheeks and dampened her pillow.

Alex was so lost in her self-misery she wasn't aware when the other side of her bed gave way and a pair of arms slid around her.

"Shh." Jared's croon was soft in her ear when he turned her to him and cradled her against his bare chest. "Go ahead and cry. Get it out of your system."

"Wha-what are you doing here?" she demanded be
tween sniffs.

Jared rested his chin on top of her head. "This isn't the night to be alone," he murmured. "The best cure for you is a warm body to take away the hurt." He spoke slowly, as if the words pained him. "I can understand that it upset you to see your ex-husband again and that he appears happy, but you've done well for yourself too. Don't let your love for him tear you up, Alex. You have to give him up and live your own life."