2000 Kisses (43 page)

Heat poured through his blood, and he angled his mouth over hers to drink in her husky moans, sliding deep and deeper again.

Then her eyes opened.

She studied his mouth as if she had never wanted a man before and never would again. Her hand was
wedged against his chest, trembling in the moonlight that haloed her beauty in a way almost too painful to bear.

Through a haze of desire he palmed the tantalizing triangle between her thighs, where she cradled him and rose restlessly against him.

His fingers moved. He watched her cry out, watched her fall, lost and panting, then closed his eyes and let the magic grip him.

At that moment, taking spilled into giving and capture merged with surrender. His tody was hard with demand, harder with love as he drove home, claiming all the last, hidden places of her heart.

He felt her shudder, felt her open to him when the silver rush of desire leapt up to grip them tight.

Then he locked her against him and followed her over that jagged edge of madness and need, down into a shining oblivion that somehow felt as familiar and ancient as the rocks that brushed a turquoise sky.

T
ess awoke in dim gray light before dawn.

She stared at the silent room, remembering the heat and frenzy of the night before. They had tumbled and fought their way across his big bed, giddy from need and too little sleep. He had worshipped her, claimed her, turned her inside out and touched her soul until their desperation had finally been banked in sheer exhaustion.

The way he'd touched her had been like nothing she'd ever imagined.

Which made what she had to do now even more painful.

She watched him sleep, a lock of his dark hair against his forehead. She felt a sharp urge to brush it gently with her fingers.

But she didn't.

Reason and common sense had returned, and in the painful clarity of dawn Tess knew this was a time for endings, not beginnings. Suddenly she remembered Mae's words in die cafe. Almost was a place that people came for all the wrong reasons and stayed for all the right ones. But for Tess the situation was reversed. Her brother's sending her there had been the. wisest course of action, but now leaving was the only thing that made sense. Even one more night spent in the sensual haze that
TJ. had evoked so perfectly would make it impossible for her to leave.

No, it had to be today. That morning. Before she had a chance for second thoughts or before he could persuade her otherwise.

After one lingering, wistful look, she-carefully rose from the bed so as not to disturb him, swept up her clothes, and tiptoed from the room.

Fifteen minutes later, fully dressed, she sat on the front porch, waiting for Andrew to bring the Mercedes from town. After that they would go directly to die airport, where their flight left in a little over two hours. She stared at the gray clouds over the foothills, reminding herself this was the test choice.

The only choice.

It would be a disaster for her stay.

She stiffened at the sound of bare feet behind her. She had hoped to escape without having to brave this last encounter with TJ.

She didn't turn as he strode down the steps and braced one arm on the wooden porch beam. “It's a little early for you to be enjoying the sunrise.”

Her hands clenched on her lap.- “I'm leaving.”

“Look at me, Tess.”

She did. It was the worst thing she could have done. His hair was unruly from sleep, and his eyes were tense and smoky. He wore only a pair of well-worn jeans that rode low on his hips, unbuttoned.

She looked away, angry at die naked desire that streaked through her at that one glance.

“You want to run that by me again?”

“You heard me. I'm leaving. We've come to the end of the line, TJ.” She tilted her chin and forced her voice
to stay calm. “Last night was wonderful. I can't thank you enough for the memories you gave me.”

His hand opened, gripping the wood beam.
“Thank me?”
There was a snap of anger in his voice.

“You should go inside. It's cold out here.”

“We won't be cold for long,” he said hoarsely, sitting down beside her and pulling her onto his lap.

She twisted blindly, shoving at his chest. “Stop, TJ.”

“Like hell I will.”

She was wound up tight, but the worst part was that some part of her wanted him to rage, wanted him to hold her and tell her that she couldn't leave today or any other day because he loved her.

But he hadn't said the words or anything close. Not once.

And she hated herself for caring so much.

“We both know what was happening between us had to come to this, T.J.”

“What?”

“The part where I say good-bye. The part where you shrug stoically and let me go.”

“To hell with being stoic.” He pulled her back against his chest. She closed her eyes, remembering all the fierce pleasure he had brought her through the long, sleepless hours of night.

But memories or not, she was leaving.

She moved off his lap and turned her face away from him to the east, where the first tendrils of dawn curled over the mountains. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because you moaned my name about a dozen times last night, Tess. Because two hours ago you went to sleep with your chin tucked at my chest and your hand nestled right between my thighs. That particular position might
have kept me from sleeping if you hadn't already exhausted every muscle in my body.” His eyes burned. “I guess that entitles me to ask a few questions.”

She flinched. “We both knew this would happen. I don't fit in here, T.J.”

“Fit in? Hell, you already awn this town. Grady wants to give you your own column in the newspaper, and Mae is already talking about funning your campaign for mayor next year.”

She closed her eyes, swallowing hard. “I can't stay. I've got my work, my friends. All the life I know is back in Boston.” She took a tense breath. “Besides, there will be weeks of depositions and legal proceedings—things I can't possibly do from here.”

“Is this about depositions or is it about us?”

“Both. And there's no reason to shout.”

“I'll shout all I want to. After last night, I'm entitled. Look at me,” he said, forcing her face up to meet his gaze. “I want to see you when you lie to me.”

“I'm not lying. But it would be a lie for me to stay, can't you see that? Life goes on. We can't just—”

“Do you love me?” The words seemed wrenched from deep in his chest.

She dug her fingers into her skirt, How could he ask such a question, when he'd been so careful to keep his own emotions hidden? “No,” she whispered, but there was a broken note in the word. “Now let me go.”

“Not today, tomorrow, or the next thousand years, Tess.”

“Don't do this, T.J. I'm not up for arguments. “I didn't get too much sleep last night.”

“Neither did I,” he said tightly. “We were both too busy tearing off each other's clothes and causing grave bodily harm.”

“After
that, I meant.”

He laughed grimly. “As I recall, that part went on most of the night”

She angled her face, glaring at him in the filtered gray light. “I'm going, TJ. I have to.” Softening a bit, she added, “You can keep the cappuccino machine.”

A note of violence dug at his tight control. “To hell with the cappuccino machine. Don't you like Almost?”

“I like Almost I just don't belong here, not long-term.” She closed her eyes and shook her head angrily. “This isn't a fairy tale, and I'm no damsel pining away in a tower. I have a good life back in Boston and you have a good life here. We just aren't meant to have them together.”

“So that's your sage parting advice? I should stay here and forget you.”

“Precisely.” She ignored the stab of pain at her chest. “I want you to be happy, TJ. I want you to meet a wonderful, amazing woman and have wonderful, amazing children who—”

She didn't finish. He grabbed her in an angry movement and anchored her head between callused fingers. “Then tell me again that you don't love me, dammit. Tell me that you don't think about having my hands on you all night long. Tell me that, Tess. Then I'll let you go,” he said fiercely.

Their eyes held. Tess raised her chin, angry and determined. “We hit all the high notes last night, TJ. It can't get any better than that. Tilings will start sliding down from here, and one day—in a week or a month— you'll wake up bored, resentful, and trying to hide it, because you're the decent mam you are.” She took a jerky breath. “There's nowhere to go after an experience like last night, can't you see?”

“We've got a lot of high notes left, Tess.”

Car tires spun over gravel, headed toward the house.

“If that's Grady, I'll have to shoot out his tires.”

“It's Andrew,” Tess said tightly. “I called him to pick me up since I'm ready to leave.”

TJ. muttered a curse. “Just
when
were you going to say good-bye?”

“At the airport. I was going to call you.” Her face was pale but entirely resolute.

“How many cups of cappuccino have you had?” he growled.

“Not enough.”

The Mercedes came to a hissing halt. Andrew appeared at the wooden gate and took in the two of them side by side on the steps. “If I'm interrupting something, I can always come back later.”

“No,” Tess snapped.

“Yes,” TJ. said. “Come back next week. We're not done talking here.”

“Yes, we are,” Tess said. “You're not going to change my mind.” She pushed away from him and crossed the courtyard in tight, controlled steps, two suitcases in hand. Andrew started loading the rest of her belongings.

“If I stay, I'll end up hating Almost, and you'll end up hating
me.
That would hurt more than anything.”

He jammed a hand through his hair. “Dammit, Tess—”

“No. That's the only answer there is.”

He stared at her in the gray light, his shoulders stiff and angry. “I never took you for a quitter, Duchess.”

Andrew cleared his throat. “Tess, maybe you should—”

“We need to go, Andrew. We'll miss our flight,” she said.

Very stiff, very grave.

She didn't look back as she slid behind the wheel.

In the passenger seat beside her, Andrew crossed his arms. “McCall looks pretty upset.”

“He'll get over it,” she said as she drove away from Rancho Encantador.

“You look pretty upset, too.”

“I'll get over it, too.”
Maybe in another millennium or two.

“Hear him out, Tess. The depositions can wait. We'll be handling most of the proceedings.”

“Andrew, I—”

He plowed right ahead. “By the way, we finally managed to track down Richard. Your bonus wasn't an even million, but I'm pleased to say it was half, and Richard swears you were worth every penny.” His eyes narrowed. “So what will you do with all that money? Retire?” He sniffed. “No, not you. You'll work till you drop. Work and work and more work.”

For some reason, the huge size of her bonus didn't excite her anymore. “What's
wrong
with working?” she asked, irritated.

“Nothing. Not a single thing. After all, I understand if you can't wait to leave this wretched little town behind you.”

“It's a
lovely
town,” she snapped.

“And I can certainly see how you can't wait to see thelastofMcCall.”

“McCall isn't the problem.”

“Yeah, he's way too small-time for you. What kind of future does he have in a jerkwater town like Almost?”

Her hands gripped the wheel. “T. J. McCall is the
best thing that's ever happened to me,” she whispered. “We both know that.”

Her brother's hand closed over hers. “So go back. Argue, complain, rant. Tlien work things out. Don't let this chance get away.”

The road blurred for a moment, and Tess brushed at her eyes. “I can't, Andrew. He deserves someone who can be wholehearted. The last womanin his life wasn't, and I won't see him hurt that way again. And I can't just walk away from Boston and my career.” She blinked hard. “He's honest, stubborn, and absolutely wonderful. That's why I won't make him choose between me and Almost. Now shut up and stop toying to make me change my mind.”

“Who's arguing?” Andrew muttered. “I can't get a word in.”

They were on the main highway, racing toward the airport. Giant saguaros towered beside them in the canyons, silent and majestic.

A motor gunned behind them, and they both turned as an approaching siren gave two sharp bursts.

“I couldn't have been speeding,” Tess protested, slowing the Mercedes.

“Nudging ninety,” Andrew muttered “But who's counting.”

Tess shook her head as she pulled the car over to the shoulder. “I wasn't. I couldn't—”

A red Blazer with tinted windows cut in front of her, lights flashing. Tess stared at the tall, uniformed figure who emerged, a gray Stetson tilted low over his forehead.

“No,” she whispered. “He wouldn't. Not like this.” She drew a breath and rolled down her window, fighting for calm.

“Afraid you were speeding, Ma'am.” TJ.'s eyes
were unreadable behind his mirrored sunglasses. “Eight-nine in a fifty-mile-per-hour zone.”