A Man to Remember (17 page)

Hesitantly she moved, and he moved with her, his knees falling between hers. She writhed as if trying to escape the confines of his body atop hers, restraining, dominating. His thighs wedged between hers, driving them apart. As his anatomy molded to hers, his arousal nestled hotly against her, giving her even more heightened sensations. Alyse was caught up in the whirl of pleasure Jake created for her, for them. And she couldn't resist the complete satisfaction she craved so wildly.

She squirmed against him and begged him to hurry, to finish what he'd started.

His large hands closed over her small wrists and pinned them to the mattress on either side of her head.

"Don't stop."

"I want you more than ever, Alyse." His hands released her wrists and slid down her arms to encompass her breasts. He found the nipples tight and puckered. "And you still want me."

"Yes… yes!" The whirlwind grabbed her, sucking her into its vigorous, passionate embrace. And her willpower to resist Jake was gone, leaving only her own flaming zeal to match his. "Jake, I can't resist you. I should, but—"

"Why?" He pulled the lace nightie over her head and admired her completely. "Why can't we just enjoy each other?"

She took his hands and placed them over her breasts. "Like this, Jake."

"I'm going to touch you and kiss you and caress you until you beg me to stop." His hands stroked her trembling body, circling her fair, untanned breasts, teasing the star tips until she arched them beneath his magical touch. As she writhed, his fingertips grazed the ecru skin along her waist, her flat belly, the downy juncture of femininity.

She opened to him, eagerly allowing, frantically begging him to please her. And he obliged, first with hands that relished every sweet, soft spot of her.

"Yes Jake, now!"

He rose over her, sliding between her legs, meeting her thrusting pelvis with his own, and a long, slow, wet kiss. He entered her slowly and they cherished the moment, loving the sensation and letting their senses soar.

Finally he began to move in the ancient rhythm of instinct and passion. And she rocked with him, rose to meet his thrusts, took his pounding, returned it with vigor. When the wild frenzy came, each peaked with an uncontrolled cry, and the world turned topsy-turvy.

Then all was quiet, save a small, kittenish whimper as she snuggled against him.

Later, she awoke in his arms and reveled in the warmth she felt. He provided a strength and security as well as sense of adventure that satisfied her completely. This was what she wanted in a man. They nestled together, snuggling, nuzzling, softly stroking fingers against their flesh.

"Alyse, I had to have you."

"Jake, I know. I tried to resist you, but couldn't."

He stopped her short with a kiss. "Don't say anything. Just enjoy. And don't deny either of us what we need right now."

She lay against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Did he really need her? Or was this encounter just a sexual relationship? Now was not the time to question because then she might have to examine her own reasons for staying with him. And right now she wasn't ready for that.

He shifted and placed his hand on her waist. "How about a nice warm shower together?"

"Okay. And then?"

"Check on the water pump."

"And then?"

"Lunch."

"And afterward?"

"Maybe a little afternoon delight."

"Let's hurry," she said.

He kissed her and rolled off the bed. When she heard the shower, she joined him.

Later Jake sent a birthday message to his daughter. "How's that?" Jake looked like a small boy seeking approval.

"She'll love it," Alyse assured him. "Little girls dream about their daddies, especially adventurous daddies like you with red beards and mysterious lives."

His hand rested at the small of her back as they moved along the boardwalk. "She's never seen my beard. And she has no idea I'm mysterious, as you say. She and her mother think I lead a pretty dull life in El Paso."

"Do you?"

His hand rose to her shoulder. "Yep. And I can't wait to get back to it."

Alyse didn't answer. She couldn't help wondering what would happen to them when they got back to the States. Would they go their separate ways, he to El Paso, she to San Diego? Then what?

They spent the afternoon shopping and took their prizes back to the Skye Command to store them. Then, during the heat of the afternoon, they found their passionate delight. Later, they went snorkeling in nearby Santa Maria Cove. Then, they went back to the hotel and made love again.

The next three days were spent in each other's arms, sometimes snorkeling and swimming, eating fabulous seafood, drinking beer, walking the shoreline hand in hand, watching each other sleep. Delighting in each other. Teaching and exploring and learning and sharing their passions, their lives.

Alyse told Jake about her beautiful mother, who had died at the young age of twenty-four in a freak car accident in France. Alyse had been an infant, and her brother, Greg, had been two. "Father was so grief-stricken, he poured himself into his work, and within a few years he was a self-made millionaire. We seldom ever saw him. He hired a nanny for us, and when we were old enough, he sent us to the best schools in the country. We took vacations abroad, had cars when we turned sixteen, went to the best universities. He gave us everything we needed. Everything but love."

"And now? Is he still a workaholic?"

"Yes. I suppose it's his habit now. But he still gives us anything we want. Including careers. Both my brother and I work for the company."

"His hotel company?"

Alyse hesitated shyly, suddenly reluctant to tell him. She was afraid it would somehow change this special magic they had just discovered, this joy of being together, just the two of them away from the world. It would set her apart as being different. It always did.

"Tell me, Alyse."

"My father owns the Skye Castle hotel chain along the West Coast." She let the impact settle on Jake, the knowledge of just who she was. Her father owned one of the richest hotel empires in America.

Jake turned his face to the sea and squinted as if he could see a great distance. "The ones that look like castles in France?"

She nodded. "Father designed them after the great European castles and perched them on the California coast as if they belonged there. He created them for a certain clientele."

"Yeah, exclusively for the rich." Jake sprawled back on the sand and studied the incoming clouds.

"It doesn't matter, Jake." Alyse turned to him. "Only what we mean to each other."

He shifted away. Nothing but the fact that I've involved the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in America in my dangerous activities. Jake groaned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what? That my father is rich? Would that have made any difference? All you ever wanted was my boat anyway." She turned away in disgust and started walking down the beach. The wind had picked up and tossed her hair wildly about her head.

Jake caught up with her, his hand catching her elbow. "Alyse."

She stopped and looked up at him. The breeze whipped the dark strands across her face.

He pushed the hair back and slid his hand around her neck, digging into the warm mass at her nape. Lovingly he pulled her toward him. "The boat isn't all I want. It's you. I care about you. And us. Surely you can tell that." As if to convince her, he kissed her, long and hard.

Dark clouds had moved in rapidly and, in typical tropical style, brought an afternoon shower. Alyse and Jake stood in an embrace, ignoring the weather. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered at the moment but them. However, when the rain fell in torrents, they ran back to the hotel, drenched and laughing. Still wet, they made love—in wild abandon. Alyse had never craved a man as she did Jake. She had never felt this way about another man, had never loved so strongly.

Afterward they shared a bottle of wine on the balcony and watched the rain pelt the world outside their window.

Jake's finger traced her cheek, sensually caressing her skin as if he constantly had to touch her. "I can't believe that in all this time and all we've shared, you never told me about your family and what kind of work you do."

Her blue eyes grew serious. "I don't really know you either, Jake. Don't you think it's time we did?"

"So tell me about Alyse Skye." His finger drew around her chin, stroking gently.

She laughed cheerfully. "I ski in Colorado. I ride horses in Montana. I get my life in balance in a resort spa in Arizona. I take shopping trips with my friends in New York City. I tour Seattle and San Francisco and Chicago for the best restaurants and try to hire their chefs. I go to Vegas to see how they're bringing Europe to the gambling world in the desert."

He pursed his lips. "What else?"

"You mean what do I do besides play?" She spread her hands to explain. "Believe it or not, that's all part of my work. I bring all these experiences back to the Castles so I can troubleshoot and make recommendations for my father. I investigate in-house complaints and travel between hotels, checking out problems, solving them when I can, bringing in consultants when I can't."

"What a busy life you have. It's fun to be a troubleshooter, huh?"

"Boring," she moaned.

"What would you rather do?"

"Oh, I don't know. Something exciting and independent."

"Like what?" he asked. "Surely you've dreamed of some other career you'd like, maybe a different life-style."

"No one's ever asked me what I wanted before. It was always expected that I would like Father's plans for me." She played with the stem of the wineglass. "But you'd laugh. It's really stupid. Anyone would love my job."

"But you don't. What is your dream job, Alyse?"

"To be independent enough that I wouldn't have to work for Father any more. That would give me a great deal of personal satisfaction."

"Then why don't you break away?"

"Not enough courage, I guess. Besides, his pay is too good."

"I can understand that. Why don't you establish your own decorating or consulting company and let him hire your company to do what he pays you for?"

Alyse took a deep breath. "Never thought of it. Good idea, Mr. Bronson."

He grinned. "Ideas are a dime a dozen. You need to figure it out. And do it. If you really want to."

"What about you, Jake? How does a boot business pay the bills? And why are you in Mexico? Buying cheap hides for your boots?"

"Not hardly," he chuckled. "We've built Bronson Boots into a custom boot business. Customers come from everywhere to buy our boots, and I'd like to expand into San Antonio. My business partner, Tate Garcia, has established data that indicates we could do better with a more central location that has more tourists."

"I've heard of Bronson Boots. Maybe you'd like to stock some in our castle shops. But you still haven't explained how being in Mexico can help you achieve your goal of expanding your business."

"Money, the source of all evil." He looked down at her and thought of the jeopardy they both were in. "Right now I just want to get you home safely and to get back to my business in El Paso."

"That didn't tell me a thing. You are the most stubborn man I've ever know, Jake Bronson. Except for my father." She pulled him down for another kiss.

Grateful for her eager arms, Jake lost himself in her tangle of hair and long legs and unquenchable passion. During the time he was holding her, or when she made love to him in her gentle way, he imagined he was in paradise. She was soft and eager for him and brought him a greater joy than he'd ever experienced. But somewhere in the back of his mind, Jake knew that people were chasing him. And now, chasing them both. The dark threat never left him completely.

The next day the trailing members of a sailing regatta arrived in port, and the rowdy group had a celebration party. When they discovered Alyse and Jake were Americans, they invited the couple to join in the festivities to toast the victors and comfort the losers. Alyse was eager to attend, and because of her enthusiasm, Jake reluctantly agreed.

He warned her not to reveal anything about them, where they were from or that they weren't Mr. and Mrs. Skye from Houston. They carefully drew on both their backgrounds to create the fictional couple and make-believe dual careers as his and hers lawyers. It was getting clumsy and complicated, but they couldn't blow their cover now. Actually Alyse reveled in the excitement of the deception. But Jake felt uneasy all evening. It would be so easy to slip up and reveal something that would put them in further peril.

They feasted on shark steaks and butterflied shrimp marinated in tequila and grilled over a mesquite fire. They pretended to be carefree and tipped Jake's favorite Mexican beer, Bohemia. But while the party was still going full blast, Jake insisted that they leave.

Alyse joined Jake on the small balcony overlooking the beach party and ocean. She inhaled deeply. "We were just having fun."