Rogue Diamond (23 page)

Alex gasped as his fingers slipped in
si
de to the moist softness awaiting him.

"Oh, God, Alex—"

"Nick," she murmured unevenly. "Don't stop. Don't ever let me go." Her hand closed over his arousal and his great body trembled with anticipation and agony.

Even as he l
owered her to the bed, Nick won
dered if he would hurt her worse by holding on
to this joy they had
or letting go now.
It seemed inevitable that letting go would be the end result.

But it was too
late to contemplate. With a com
pelling urge beyond his control, Nick immersed himself in Alex's softness, plundering relentlessly with each frenz
ied thrust. In the distant dark
ness, he heard her cry out
his name
in ecstasy.

"Nick! Nick!"

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Morning came softly.
Hands touching soft places. Gentle kisses on eyelids. Warm breath on cool skin. The sensuous smells of hibiscus and sage.

She turned to him, wordlessly.

"I love to run my fingers through your hair. It's like
si
lk. Yellow
si
lk that smells like fresh flow
ers." He placed several kisses along her hairline, ending with soft, sensuous nibbles along the top edge of her ear.

"For someone so big, you certainly know how to be gentle." She shifted to plant indulgent kisses along his
muscular
chest, pau
si
ng to taste the two hard, budding nipples. Her blond curls brushed across his bare skin, and she
heard his breathing accel
erate. With a satisfied smile, she laid her head on his chest.

"With you, mi vida, it comes naturally." He caressed her head then buried his large, bronze hand in her
si
lken tangles. "Ahh, if you keep th
is
up, Alex,
we may never get
out of bed
.”

“I want to stay here forever.”

“Then stay.”

“I have to go to work
this morning
.”

“Me, too. But later. . . much later. . . ” His hand softly traced her body.

"You tempt me
. Wicked man.”

“You intoxicate me, Cherie.” And he stretched himself over her, legs along the inner part of her legs, spreading them. He braced on his elbows but his palms pressed hers into the bed. “I’m drunk with desire.” He kissed her long and hard, pushing her legs further apart.

"
Oh you w
icked man
,
" she giggled and squirmed
until they fit together nicely
. "U
si
ng your brute strength against me is taking unfair advantage, you
know.
"
S
he
arched her back and hummed a sigh
.

"
I see you aren’t trying to escape.
"
He moved and continued to tease her
.

She
rocked her hips
.
“Come on. . . don’t wait.”

“Like this?” And he
thrust himself inside her.

“Yessss… Nick, I love you. . . ” She clutched his lower back fiercely and rode the erotic climb with him, thrust for thrust.

His small pushes slowly grew into powerful lunges until they both reached the pinnacle of sexual satisfaction with sounds of joy and
exhilaration
.

Later, they moved away from each other, slowly. . . reluctantly.
"I really do need to go soon
,” she said
.
“
I only ha
ve a few more days of work left
. There are some projects I need to finish. And I'd like to make one last check on the two pre-schools in the field. I hope they can make it on their own without Univer
si
ty supervi
si
on."

"You want e
verything tied
neatly
in a bundle. " He propped himself up on his elbows and his head swerved slowly from
si
de to
si
de. "My g
olden,
golden girl who plays by the rules.
Too bad the world doesn’t always do that.
But I shouldn’t complain, It
gives me a job.
Because I, too, want things to be done right, without harming anyone.
" Dark, unruly hair edged his forehead and a
slow grin broke beneath his mus
tache.
“I admire your principles.”

"
Are you the fixer
, Nick
?
"

“Hope so. Sometimes I am.”

"
I believe in you, Nick
.
Even though we
almost bought a baby in Guaymas a few days ago
, something that still sends chills down my back
.
With you,
I helped smuggle exotic birds across t
he border without
spilling the beans
to any
one
.
I'm
si
nfully infatuated with a rogue of a man I met in a foreign country, even to the point of knocking on his door in the middle of the night
, saying ‘please take me
in
’.
Worse yet,
this man
may pos
si
bly be hiding from the law. That means
I am,
too
.
And, all this without a question, or at least without a question answered
from my rogue.
" Her blue eyes danced spiritedly.

H
e kissed her nose and murmured with a hint of seriousness, "Seno
rita, when this is all over, we’ll
have a long talk."

"I know." She smiled sadly. "You aren't the infatuated type. It's all right, Nick. What we have is enough for me. I'm a big girl. I know the risks."

He
si
ghed heavily and pushed her away. "It's not
you
, Alex. It's just
that
, sometimes things get out of control
in my world
."

"I understand, Nick." She
sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed
. "
Do you have an idea about w
hen . . . when
all this
will it be over?"

He
stood up and gazed out the window
. "Probably when we find Jenni."

"Am I foolis
h to keep cha
si
ng her? And hop
ing
she’s safe and all right
?"

"
Not foolish at all.
It would be a
si
n to stop at this point, Alex.
I have confidence we’re going to find her. Sooner than later.
"

"
Thank you, Nick.
"
She took his hand. “I needed to hear that.”

“You must know that I’m in it for the long haul, no matter what, Alex.” He kissed her fingers, then gave
her with a guilty grin. "
We’re both too d
amn per
si
stent
to quit now
."

“I appreciate everything you and Jose are doing.”

His dark eyes flickered with something close to viciousness
. "I won't stop until those bas
tards are caught. All the way up the ladder too. Not just the fool who snatched Jenni off the street, but everyone who's connected along the way."

"I guess I never con
si
dered the others," Alex admitted thoughtfully. "I just keep thinking of the guy in the photo with half a face. And how much I hate him."

"He's just a link, but an important one. He's probably already passed Jenni on to another link and is back on the street again. We figure he doesn't know anyone has a photo of him or can connect him in any way, so as soon as he gets rid of her, he may feel free enough to
try
again. That's what we're banking on— that he'll feel sa
fe enough to let himself be ex
posed. And
ultimately
caught
.
"
He punched his fist into his other palm.

She angled her head. "You and
Jose
really have this thing figured out, don't you?"

He shrugged b
are, broad shoulders. "Only fig
uring the angles. If this doesn't work, we'll try something else. You can see by what happened in
Guaymas, there are various ways these baby rings work. Sometimes direct. Sometimes down a chain. We intend to track the chain all the way to the end, even when it leads into the States."

"When? Then, you think it will lead into the States?"

"Eventually.
Yes.
"

"Is that your cold, calculating mind at work, thinking like the enemy?"

"
Yep. Trying my best.”

"
It’s been lovely, but I have to report to
work, Nick.
Too much to do, too little time.
Do you have a
warm
shower in this place?"

"Sure. A warm shower. A kitchen. And a bed. All the comforts of home."

She stood by the window. "I
never noticed before
, but you even have a
great
view of the city."

"It's prettier at night. You can't see all the shacks."

"But in th
e daylight you can see the moun
tains. One of my field projects is a pre-school near there, in a small village. I hope they can keep it going after—"

"Alex, stay with me."

"What?"

His hands framed her bare shoulders. "Stay here with me. Until we find her and you decide what
you’ll
do."

"Thanks for the invitation, Nick, but my rent is paid until the end of the month."

"That's only a couple of weeks away."

"I know, but I expect to find her by then." She turned abruptly and began picking up her clothes, discarded so carelessly on the floor. "Now where is this wonderful shower with the warm water?"

He nodded toward the small tiled bathroom.
"In there. I'll start the coffee while you test the water."

She gave him a tea
si
ng grin. "You can even cook too? My, my, what amazing skills go with a calculating mind."

He laughed. "W
ait'll you taste my fabulous
veggie
om
elet
.
"

"And I make great toast," she claimed as she stepped into the shower.

By the time she was dressed, he had prepared a small omelet and coffee
.
Just as he poured them
a sec
ond cup of coffee, someone knocked. Nick
headed for the door.
"Must be
Jose
. No one else vi
si
ts
me
."

"Are you
say
ing that no other women knock on your door at odd hours?" she teased with a grin.
“And end up spending the night.”

Nick didn't an
swer but let his hand affection
ately trail her shoulders as he crossed to the door.

"Sorry to interrupt,
Capitan
, but this is imp
or
tant."
Jose
's dark eyes edged past Nick's shoulder to glimpse Alex
si
tting at the breakfast table, her hair still wet from the shower.

"Sure,
Jose
. I'm just late getting started. What's up?"

The two me
n huddled as information was ex
changed. Alex strained to hear their words but their voices were too low. She almost slid out of the chair in her
efforts and was tempted to
si
m
ply join them. Then she realized their discus
si
on might not concern the search for Jenni at all. Maybe they were planning ano
ther airlift of ex
otic birds. Or something worse
.

Jose
left
abruptly, without even acknowl
edging Alex's presence. Tactful, she thought. Wonder how many times he's found Nick with a woman who obviously spent the night.