Stranger in my Arms (9 page)

Her heart pounding a runaway rhythm thundered under her breasts as a rush of giddiness swept over Alex. He loved her! He loved her and she had fallen in love with him! But it was something she wouldn't tell him—not yet.

Biting down on her lower lip, she attempted to bring her fragile emotions into some semblance of order. She closed her eyes against his intense stare. “You love me, but your timing's wrong.”

“What's wrong with it?”

“I have another four months before I return to the States. Long-distance relationships usually don't work.”

“We'll make it work, Ali. I didn't wait thirty-five years for someone like you to come into my life to concern myself with a few months or miles.”

A frown furrowed her forehead. “Do you realize how far it is between Mexico City and the East Coast of the United States?”

He smiled. “I know exactly how far it is. But distance doesn't matter if I have you here.” Merrick placed his left hand over his heart.

A flood of tears shimmered in her gold eyes. “Don't do this to me, Merrick.”

Burying his head against the side of her neck, he breathed a kiss under her ear. “Do what, baby?”

“Don't make me want you so much.”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

She sniffled. “It is when I can't have you whenever I want you.” Her hands curled into tight fists on his back.

Raising his head, Merrick saw her tortured expression. “Alexandra, please look at me.” She opened her eyes. “I'm not going to put any pressure on you. We'll see each other whenever it's convenient for you.”

“You don't mind waiting until June?”

“No. You're more than worth the wait.”

Blinking through tears, she smiled at him. “Thank you, Merrick, for making it easier for me.”

“Do you realize how easy it is for me to love you?”

Resting her head on his shoulder, she exhaled a soft sigh.

“When you get to know me better you may change your mind.”

“I doubt that,” Merrick said.

“I've been known to go from nice girl into bitch mode in one point two seconds.”

“That's your problem, not mine, because I don't argue or fight with women. So, if you go off, then don't count on me to entertain your tantrum.”

Sitting up straighter, she stared directly at him. There was no trace of laughter or teasing in his solemn expression. “What would you do?”

“Walk away until you come to your senses. And stop trying to scare me off, because it's too late. I'm in this for the duration.”

Alex's delicate jaw dropped before she recovered quickly. “What is your definition of duration?”

“Perpetuity.”

“You can't be talking about marriage?” The query tumbled from her lips.

Merrick saw the rapidly beating pulse in Alex's throat. His gaze lowered to her heaving bosom under a simple white cotton blouse. Not only had he shocked her with his surprise visit, but his declaration that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her had shaken the very foundation of her privileged existence.

There was a beat of silence before he said in an eerily quiet voice, “You mentioned the word, Ali, not me.”

A rush of color suffused her cinnamon-brown face. “I'm not going to marry you, Merrick Grayslake, so you can forget about duration and perpetuity. I've spent the past ten years with my life in flux wherein I've studied, traveled and partied like a girl gone wild.

“My last year of high school I told my parents I wanted to put off going to college for a year because I needed a break from the books. My mother issued an ultimatum, go to college or get a job and move out of her house. And there was no job available to an eighteen-year-old that would pay me enough to afford me the lifestyle to which I'd become accustomed.

“Bowing to pressure, I applied to the Rhode Island School of Design. They accepted me and I enrolled as a liberal arts major with a concentration in art and architectural history in their five-year degree program. Unfortunately I had an affair with one of my instructors in my sophomore year and…”

“What happened, Ali?” Merrick asked when she closed her eyes at the same time her words trailed off.

She opened her eyes. “I gave him my love and my innocence. Whenever I mentioned marriage he'd avoided talking about it before finally admitting he wasn't the marrying kind. That all changed when my parents came up to visit me. He did a one-eighty when he realized I was
one of those Coles.
He waited a week, then proposed, but at twenty-two I wasn't so in love that I didn't know that he was after my money. Once I told him that I wouldn't have control of my trust fund until my twenty-fifth birthday he dropped me like hot garbage.

“I graduated, secured a part-time position with a Boca Raton art gallery and during my free time partied like there was no tomorrow. I dated a lot of men but I refused to sleep with any of them. I saw them as someone with whom to pass the time. Then I met someone I believed was different from the others. We dated for five months.

“After this liaison I took a long hard look at myself, reassessing my life and what I wanted for
me,
not my parents, my brothers or my sister. I made the decision to return to school, and this time study abroad. Being on my own forced me to depend on Alexandra for everything, and I loved it.” Her gold-brown eyes filled with a gentleness that made her appear angelic. “Like any normal woman I want marriage and children, but that can't happen now.”

Merrick's arm tightened around her waist. “Are you finished with your soliloquy, Ali?” he asked in a soft voice she had to strain her ears to hear.

She blushed furiously. “Yes, I am.”

“I've heard you and I remember everything you've ever told me. And I've told you that I would never pressure you to do what you don't want to do. There's no reason why we can't enjoy each other without marriage and children becoming part of the equation. And if we go from being friends to lovers, then I'll accept full responsibility for making certain you don't get pregnant.”

Alex combed her fingers through her hair, holding the wayward curls off her forehead. She appreciated the fact that Merrick Grayslake hadn't tried to change her; he accepted her flaws and imperfections that permitted her to be Alex. Could she, she wondered, offer Merrick her heart? Would he be worthy of the love she'd guarded jealously since ending her first liaison?

Could she sleep with him and not want more?

Yes,
whispered the silent voice in her head.

“I know I've been doing a lot of talking—”

“That you have,” Merrick agreed, interrupting her.

Her hands came down and she hugged him. “Please don't interrupt me or I'll lose my nerve.”

A small smile played at the corners of Merrick's mouth as he gave her a lazily seductive look. “Okay, baby.”

“Do—do you think it's possible for us to stop being friends?”

Merrick's smile faded as he held his breath. “What do you want?”

“I want us to become lovers.”

A powerful relief shook Merrick as his chest swelled with a peace he hadn't thought possible. Angling his head, he touched his mouth to Alex's, increasing the pressure until her lips parted while his hands explored the curve of her waist and hips.

“Get your clothes and books and pack a bag.”

“Where am I going?” she asked between soft nibbling kisses.

“
We're
going to my hotel. There's no way two of us can sleep in this kiddie bed.”

She laughed. “It's big enough for me.”

“But I'm taller and bigger than you.” He kissed the top of her head. “Let's go,
querida.
”

A
lex walked over to the large window and opened it. Stepping out onto the balcony, she looked down onto a courtyard with a flowing fountain. A round table with two cushioned chairs near the wrought-iron enclosure provided the perfect setting for an early-morning breakfast or a late-night dinner.

Merrick had checked into a room at the Four Seasons Hotel containing all the amenities for work and relaxation. The spacious room was furnished with a king-size bed, desk, love seat, coffee table, flat-screen television, private bar and wireless high-speed Internet access. The full marble bathroom featured a garden tub, separate shower and water closet.

She felt the heat from his body as he came up behind her. Her slender hands covered the arms wrapped around her waist. “This place is spectacular. Do you always stay in upscale hotels?”

Merrick kissed the side of her neck. “Yes. There was a time when all I could afford was seedy motels. The one time I woke with bedbug bites I vowed to sleep in my car rather than check in to another flophouse.”

Turning slightly, she stared at him over her shoulder. “How long are you staying?”

“I'm checking out Monday.”

Merrick wanted to tell Alex that he was scheduled to meet with a former supervisor at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to discuss the possibility of his returning to the Agency. He'd spent two years as a virtual recluse, but now he looked forward to reconnecting with the Agency and those whom at one time he'd regarded as his extended family.

“That gives us three days together.”

“Four nights and three days,” he corrected.

Closing her eyes, Alex leaned against the solid wall of his chest. She was certain Merrick felt the flutters from her heart, her tightening stomach muscles. “I'm going out Saturday night, but I don't know whether you'd want to come with me.”

“Am I invited?”

She opened her eyes as a mischievous grin twisted her mouth. “You are if you don't mind viewing an art exhibit.”

“Ali,” he groaned. “What's up with you staring at paintings of dead people?”

“Are you going with me? If not, then I'll ask someone else.”

Merrick's hands went to her flat belly. “That's not going to happen.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don't intend to share you with other men.”

“Don't tell me you're jealous,” she teased.

Splaying his fingers over her belly, Merrick pulled her closer. “No, Ali. I'm crazy.”

Alex went completely still, her face clouding with uneasiness. His cold tone set alarm bells clanging within her, and she was suddenly anxious to put some distance between her and the man holding her to his heart. A warning voice whispered in her head that Merrick Grayslake was dangerous, that he would be a formidable opponent when confronted or crossed, that as a former CIA operative he'd probably committed unspeakable acts.

“Does this mean you're coming with me?”

“Yes, it does.”

Merrick's fingers inched down Alex's blouse, easing the hem from the waistband of her slacks. He heard her soft inhalation of breath as he searched lower, under the delicate material of her panties. This time she gasped aloud when his hand cupped her mound. A knowing smile parted his lips as moisture bathed his fingertips.

Alex was ready for him, and he'd been ready for her. Unknowingly he had been the first time he saw her arguing with a man who hadn't wanted to let her go. Now he understood why the frustrated man had taken the risk and crashed a private event to see her.

Merrick found Alexandra Cole an anomaly. Assertive and confident, she spoke her mind. He'd come to admire her tenacity, her ambition and her friendly outgoing personality. But she was also hot-tempered and stubborn, negative psychological characteristics that did not detract from her overall strengths.

She wanted to complete her graduate studies, and he'd promised to support her during this endeavor. However, like most women, she wanted marriage and children—two things he was unable to offer her at this time in his life. What he would offer Alex was his love and protection. These were more than he'd been willing to give the women in his past.

His free arm tightened around her waist as he lifted her and backed off the balcony and reentered the bedroom. His hand still sandwiched between her thighs, Merrick sat down on the bed, bringing Alex to sit on his lap.

He pressed his mouth to the nape of her neck. “Are you ready to take siesta with me?”

Alex couldn't respond because she'd bitten down on her lower lip when the slight flutters grew stronger as Merrick's fingers worked their magic. She nodded like someone under the effects of a powerful narcotic.

“Yes-s-s.” Her affirmation came out slurred as a long-forgotten passion rose quickly to engulf her in flames that refused to burn out.

Closing her eyes, Alex let her senses take over. It was as if she were viewing what was to take place between her and Merrick as a spectator rather than a participant. His fingers were deft, unfaltering when he released the tiny buttons on her blouse from their fastenings. She heard his breathing deepen as he viewed her breasts in a sheer white lace bra; his breathing became more labored with each article of clothing he removed.

She opened her eyes to find him kneeling over her, eyes shimmering like streaks of lightning, the nostrils of his aquiline nose flaring from the effort it took to control his respiration. No man had ever stared at her naked body with an expression mirroring awe and reverence. The heat pulsing between her legs spread throughout her body.

Merrick did not want to believe that clothes had artfully concealed a petite body so lushly curved that he feared spilling his passion before he joined his body with Alex's. High, firm breasts he'd only glimpsed on New Year's Eve were ardently displayed as they rose and fell over a narrow rib cage flaring out to a pair of rounded hips. Everything about her—the rich brown color that was evenly distributed over her body, the large gold-brown eyes that stared trustingly at him and the black shiny curls that were as wayward as the woman who claimed them—held him enthralled in a labyrinth of love and desire from which he never wanted to escape.

Moving off the bed, he removed his jacket and shirt, leaving them on the padded bench at the foot of the bed. His shoes, socks, slacks and underwear followed until he was completely naked. His footsteps were silent on the carpeted floor as he crossed the room, entered the bathroom and removed a condom from a small toiletry bag. He returned to the bedroom and slipped into bed with Alex, who'd turned on her side to face the window.

“Can you please close the window and pull the drapes?” Alex doubted whether the hotel guests across the courtyard could see into the room, but she'd never been one for public displays of affection.

Merrick kissed her shoulder. “Sure.”

Her gaze narrowed when she saw the thin, pale scar running along the left side of his back. He'd told her that he had retired from the CIA, and she wondered if it was an injury that had ended his career, forcing him into early retirement.

Extending her arms, she smiled as Merrick made his way back to the bed. There was enough light coming through the opening in the patterned peach-and-gold draperies to make out his face, but not the other small scars on his body.

“Veo las huellas de mi amor, querido,”
she whispered as he took her into his arms.

Merrick wanted to tell Alex that she didn't have to ask him to make love to her. Alexandra Cole had bewitched him and unknowingly she possessed what it took to destroy him emotionally.

Supporting his weight on his elbows, he lowered his head and kissed her. Not a soul-searching, deep passionate kiss, but one better suited for a fragile newborn. He kissed her mouth, the hollow of her scented throat, the curve of her shoulders, venturing lower to her breasts. The flesh between his legs grew heavy, but he didn't, couldn't stop until he explored every inch of Alex's satiny skin. She smelled of fruit, flowers and spice.

Rachel Singletary had teased him because he'd opted to remain celibate, but she didn't know that he'd been waiting for the right woman. And he knew Alex was the right woman the first time they'd shared a dance, a kiss. Moving down the length of the large bed, he alternated kissing with flicking his tongue over her belly.

Alex's fingers curled into tight fists at her sides as she clenched her teeth. Moans of frustration mingled with the rising desire she was helpless to control. The mat of crisp dark hair covering Merrick's chest and his marauding mouth threatened to take her beyond herself. She wanted to kiss him the way he was kissing her, her lips and tongue tasting flesh in her journey to communicate wordlessly how much she loved and needed him.

Her breasts rose and fell heavily as the pulsing at the apex of her thighs increased. “Merrick!” Her hysteria was evident when she screamed his name. Reaching for his head, she attempted to capture his hair, but it was too short for her to secure a grip. He'd spread her legs and his hot breath had become a raging inferno that threatened to incinerate her—body and soul.

Merrick heard the desperate cry, inhaled her rising passion, knowing if he didn't take her now it would be over. Reversing his position, he reached for the condom, sat back on his heels and slipped it over his rigid flesh. It was for a brief moment, but he thought he saw fear and indecision in Alex's eyes as she watched him put on the latex sheath that would prevent an unplanned pregnancy. What he thought he'd glimpsed vanished as she extended her arms, welcoming him into her embrace and into her body.

Reaching for her hand, Merrick guided it to his sex. “Let's do this together.”

Alex's tiny hand barely fit around his engorged tumescence as she positioned it to the entrance of her femininity. Merrick's hand covered hers as he eased himself into her body. Flames of desire rose quickly, overlapping her soft moans as he pushed into her; taut flesh stretched with each inch until he was fully sheathed. Then, in a rhythm that was as timeless as the beginning of creation, they offered each other all of themselves, holding nothing back.

Merrick established a slow, deliberate thrusting as Alex rose to meet him, pinpoints of gold in her eyes darkening with her rising ardor. Anchoring his hands under her hips, he held her fast, increasing the cadence, his hips moving with the velocity and power of a jackhammer. Her gasps and soft moans served to make the fire in his loins more intense.

He lost himself in the moment and the love flowing from the woman under him, not feeling the bite of her fingernails on his back. What he was aware of was the gurgling sounds coming from her throat that erupted into an unrestrained primal scream that sent him over a precipice wherein he surrendered all he had and was to the woman whom he knew he would love forever. They climaxed simultaneously, experiencing a free fall that made them one with each other.

They lay entwined, breathing heavily, waiting for their respiration to slow while enjoying the lingering pulsing sensations. Sated, they were loath to move. However, Merrick was forced to when he withdrew from Alex and went to discard the condom.

When he returned to the bed, he found her asleep, her face still flushed with passion. He lay beside her and within minutes Morpheus claimed him as they shared siesta for the first time.

 

Alex sat at a dressing table applying a coat of orange color to her lips. She and Merrick were scheduled to leave for Professor Rivera's soiree in fifteen minutes.

She hadn't made it a habit to wear makeup to the art institute, so she was certain the added color to her face and the dress would shock a few of her classmates. She'd decided to wear a minishift in a soft tangerine-orange with white orchids, reminiscent of a Japanese kimono with an empire waist and a halter top.

She'd come to the Four Seasons Hotel Thursday afternoon and left the hotel once to go to a nearby boutique and hair salon; she had her hair cut into a short and very becoming feathery style that flattered her round face.

She and Merrick shared brunch on the balcony outside their room that overlooked the courtyard and dined on exquisite Mediterranean cuisine at the hotel's elegant restaurant, Reforma 500. Earlier that afternoon she'd taken advantage of the services at the hotel's spa.

When she and Merrick weren't in bed sleeping or making love, she pulled out her books and studied for the upcoming exam. He'd surprised her when he offered to test her on her knowledge of the Mayans and their incredibly complex advanced society.

She'd asked him about the scar on his back and his response had been,
“Oh, that. It was an accident.”
She didn't believe his glib explanation but decided not to pry. Their relationship was much too new to coerce each other to divulge what they deemed personal. And not once did Alex forget that what she shared with Merrick was tenuous at best. It was he who wanted a relationship that would go on for perpetuity, while she'd asked for right now.

It was ironic how she'd changed. At twenty-two she wanted to marry her art history instructor, and now at twenty-nine she was willing to become a participant in a physical relationship that wouldn't result in a commitment.