Strangers In Paradise

by Heather Graham

  She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe I want to believe in magic and forever and I'm just a little too world-weary to really take the chance."

  His touch, his voice, grew tense. “You just said that you knew I would never hurt you."

  "But you don't trust me, either!"

  He released her, his eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about?"

  "You're not honest with me. At least, if--if you care you're not."

  "Meaning?"

  "You said that I should go. That I should go back to New York. You made me feel as if what we had was nothing more than a brief affair between consenting adults. Either you want me to go--or you don't want me to go."

  Rex laced his fingers around his knees and stared out at the water. Then he swung around to her, heatedly intense again. "All right. I don't want you to go. Is that going to change anything? I can't really do that, Alexi. If I ask you not to go--and you don't do it because of me--you'll resent me for it in the long run."

  "But I don't know if I even want to go back!" Rex inhaled and exhaled slowly. He touched her cheek softly. "You just said it, Alexi. You don't know. I can't hold you back--"

  "You could come with me."

  "If something can't be solved about all these things that keep happening," Rex said harshly, "you can bet I'll come along." "What?" "I said--"

  Alexi didn't let him finish. She laughed and caught his cheeks between her hands and kissed him. "You'd do it? You'd really do it? You'd leave all your privacy behind and come with me?"

  He caught her hands and held them tight between his. "I'd do it because I'm afraid for you," he told her sternly. "I haven't changed my mind. I like the peninsula. I like the peace, and I like the privacy."

  She still smiled. "But you'd leave it for a while." "Alexi--"

  "You started this! You gave out the ultimatums."

  He watched her, then slowly shook his head, drawing her to him, ruffling her hair, speaking very softly. "Ultimatums don't work, Alexi. That's what I'm saying. I can't force you to live my way; I couldn't promise to stay in New York. We're on dangerous ground, you know."

  Alexi felt his fingers against her hair. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of him and felt the warmth of his body next to hers. "I thought you wanted me to leave. You'd have your whole peninsula back."

  His arms tightened around her. "I've decided that I like you there."

  "Sometimes I think you've decided that I'm insane."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "I know you think I imagined footsteps the night I ran into you on the sand, and I know you think I imagined noises in the house when we came in from the beach. I wonder if you even believe I was hit on the head yesterday--the police, I know, think I fell down the stairs and invented the intruder."

  "You're wrong. I might have doubted you once, but I believe you now."

  "Because you think that John is out to--to do something." "Yes."

  "I might not be a very good deal, you know," Alexi warned him. "I could very well be neurotic myself, and I seem to come with a half-crazy ex-husband." "I'm not worried." "Oh?"

  "No. I'm a big boy. I can handle it." “But do you want to handle it?'' "Yes." "Rex?" "Alexi?"

  "I think I'm falling in love with you." His arms tightened around her so much that for a moment she couldn't breathe. Then she discovered that she was falling in his arms to lie against the deck and he was over her, his eyes afire, a smile on his lips.

  "Let's hear that again." His hold was fierce; his words were full of a harsh command. She twisted against the force of his arms.

  “Rex, damn you--'' "Alexi, please!"

  "I said..." She paused, watching the blaze in his eyes, watching that small smile that curved his lips. "You're just terrible!" she said accusingly. "Every time you want something, you just decide that if you sit on me--''

  "Not every time," he protested. But he was straddled over her and she inhaled sharply, feeling all her senses begin to swim again beneath the dazzling command of his eyes and the easy feeling of him against her--his hands upon her, his chest, muscles rippling in the golden heat of the sun, his thighs tight around her own. "Alexi!" He lowered himself against her until his lips hovered just above hers.

  "I'm falling in love with you, too, you know. And you're right. It's very, very frightening," he said.

  "We're both afraid of the future," she whispered in return.

  "Yes," he told her, kissing her lips.

  “What do we do about it?'' She opened her eyes to him, very wide, very blue, trusting and innocent. She curled her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.

  "Maybe we could take a chance," he murmured, moving slightly to the side to stroke the length of her. The sun was gloriously hot upon their bodies.

  "Maybe," she murmured.

  "Let the feelings grow."

  "For now, at least."

  He tensed, staring down at her. "Sure. For now," he murmured bitterly. He rose over her again, lifting his arms to the sky. "For now. We've got the sun and the sea and a warm Atlantic breeze. What else could we possibly want?"

  "We could pretend," Alexi told him. She placed her fingers on his shoulders, then let them run over the rippling muscles of his chest. She drew them lower, so that he sucked in his breath as he watched their progress. "We could pretend that this is never going to end. That there is no future, no worry over it. We could spend these few days forgetting to argue or wonder what can and can't be. We could just talk about the water and the day and the night and the sun and the moon. And laugh and relax and--"

  He caught her cheeks between his palms and tenderly massaged them with the callused tips of his thumbs. He cut off her speech with a slow, deep kiss, cradling her breasts, stroking the nipples to high peaks with his fingertips.

  "Make love?" he suggested.

  "It's a wonderful way to explore one's feelings," she offered solemnly.

  He stretched out carefully atop her, distributing his weight along her legs, moving against her hard and erotically.

  "A wonderful way to explore," he repeated. He caught her lower lip between his teeth, then kissed her deeply, exploring her mouth with a sweep of his tongue and the intimate recesses of her body with his fingers.

  She gasped his name, amazed at the molten fire spreading throughout her, tantalized...

  "Sweetheart," he murmured, staring into her eyes, "I do think that I love you." He thrust himself deep inside her, shuddering at the feeling of the velvet encasement of her love. She wrapped her limbs around him, and he whispered all the things about her that he loved.

  The sun started to fall, but neither of them felt the chill as the warmth left the sky. Beautiful pinks and mauves stretched out over the horizon as twilight made a gentle descent.

  Alexi saw stars streaking the heavens in a splendid outburst. She whispered to Rex that she had seen them bursting out all around her.

  He laughed and told her that it was night. They rose lazily at last and made spaghetti and salad for dinner in the galley, then sat out beneath the stars. They talked about the sky and the sea, and he tried to tell her exactly where they were, pointing out the islands and the coast, which were alive at night with a glow of light.

  They didn't challenge each other anymore. They had made an agreement. They were going to take a chance.

  But Rex couldn't stop worrying. Eventually, they were going to have to go back. And nothing could ever be right between them--Until he found out what was really going on at the Brandywine house.

  Chapter 12

  By the time they came back in, three days later, Alexi had grown fairly adept with the Tatiana. The sails were furled when they approached the dock, though; the motor was softly humming to bring them in at a slow, safe speed.

  Alexi--ready to jump onto the dock and tie the Tatiana up in its berth--started, openmouthed, when she saw that Gene was waiting for them farther down the dock.

  "Alexi!" Rex yelled.

  "What?"

 
"Now! Hop off and secure her."

  She obeyed him mechanically. She slipped the little nooses over the brackets just as he had shown her. When he leaped off himself to check her work and tighten the ropes, Alexi pointed down the dock. "Gene's here. Did you plan this?"

  His quick look assured her that he had not. "Run and see if there's a problem while I rinse her down," Rex said. Then he abruptly changed his mind. “No. Wait. Start making sure that the boat's all in order, and I'll go tell Gene we'll be with him as soon as we rinse her off."

  Hurrying off, he didn't give Alexi much of a chance to protest. She muttered something under her breath, then paused, smiling. He was darker than ever now. Striding down the dock, barefoot and in cutoffs, he was agile and smooth and dark and sleek and muscled, and, being in love with him, Alexi had to take a moment to admire him and determine that he was a perfectly beautiful male. Then she muttered beneath her breath again and hopped back onto the Tatiana to crawl below. She thought she'd start in the galley, making sure that the pots and pans and dishes were secured.

  Approaching Gene, Rex looked back to assure himself that Alexi wasn't trailing right behind him. She was gone from the deck; below, he hoped.

  "Gene!" Rex caught the old man's hand, instantly worried about the way he was standing there in the heat. “How long have you been out here? What's wrong?"

  "Not that long out here in the heat," Gene said. "I've been here all morning, though. Long enough for breakfast, Bloody Marys and lunch. I knew you planned on coming back in today, and I didn't want to miss you." "What's up?"

  "John Vinto is what," Gene said worriedly. He gazed at Rex keenly. "I'm glad you came up to me alone, Rex. Vinto has called her mother, her cousin, and me--three times. He insists he has to see Alexi. He's determined to make an appointment to talk to her." He looked down the dock and lowered his voice, even though Alexi was still nowhere in sight. "I think he's going to show up at the Brandy wine house. He knows she's there."

  "I think he's already shown up at the Brandywine house a few times," Rex muttered.

  "Maybe. Maybe not. Amy--that's Alexi's mother—is certain she saw him nosing around Alexi's apartment in New York just last week."

  "One can come and go easily these days," Rex insisted, "let transportation. And between here and New York there are nights just about every hour."

  "I don't know," Gene said. "I just don't know. And since I don't know quite what happened between them, I didn't know how worried I should be."

  "I'll be there with her," Rex said grimly. "And Samson will be there, too." He didn't want to say any more to Gene. He wasn't sure whether John Vinto was a dangerous man or had just been dangerous to Alexi because she hadn't been as physically strong as he.

  He thought of how she had screamed that night in the car in front of the house and what a trauma it had been for her to tell him what had happened. John Vinto had hurt her in many ways. She had stood up to him after that--but then she had run away. Rex wasn't sure Alexi should see him again.

  "I'm going to take her to my house," Rex said. "I'll leave her there with Samson, and I'll meet John Vinto, see just what it is he wants from her."

  "Good," Gene said,- indicating with a nod something slightly past Rex's shoulder. "She's on her way over to us."

  "Alexi!" Gene stepped past Rex and threw his arms out for a big hug. Alexi returned the hug and kissed his cheek.

  She was in white shorts and a red-white-and-blue halter top, with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail. She had on very little makeup, and her cheeks were tinged from the sun. Rex thought that she seemed exceptionally appealing, fresh and young and innocent and stunning all at once.

  And delicate, slim--and vulnerable.

  He tensed, thinking again that he did love her, thinking of the things he'd said to her and the things that she'd whispered to him. He was falling in love--hard. Like a rock. And he could even begin to believe in a future for them.

  He couldn't let her face Vinto again. Not without him there. Because if Vinto so much as touched her...

  "Gene, what are you doing here?" Alexi asked him, smiling, and quickly added, "not that I'm not glad to see you, but it's so awfully hot out here!"

  "I, uh--lunch! I knew you were coming in, and I thought I'd meet the two of you for lunch again."

  Alexi cocked her head, watching him suspiciously. "What's up?"

  "Nothing." Rex, safe behind Alexi's back, arched a brow as Gene flatly lied to her. "Well," Gene hedged, "I was just hoping that you weren't mad at me, after the way you left and all. I mean, Rex there was acting just like a caveman and I didn't do anything to help you."

  "You both have atrocious manners, and neither of you seems to be aware that women did earn the vote," Alexi told him sternly. She was smiling, though, and Rex breathed a little sigh of relief. She had fallen for it. Rex knew Gene. He wasn't a bit sorry for letting Rex stride out with her over his shoulder. Gene had decided that the two of them were good for each other. When he made a decision, that was it. Good or bad, he never regretted it. "Can't go back," he always told Rex. "That leaves you with forward, boy. No other way to go."

  "Why don't you two go ahead and have lunch?" Rex suggested. Alexi swung around, ready to insist that they all have lunch together. Rex caught her shoulders, dazzled by her smile, and shook his head regretfully. "Seriously. You're both dressed, and I'm a mess and I want to hose down the Tatiana."

  "But, Rex--"

  "Please, Alexi." He lowered his lips to whisper in her ear. "It's too hot for Gene to stand around out here. Go on in with him! I'll join you a little later."

  "Oh!" she murmured quickly. She turned around and slipped her arm through Gene's. "Let's have lunch, then. How are their Bloody Marys?"

  "Wonderful. Tall and cool and wonderful." "Oh, Gene!" Alexi told him, full of bright-eyed enthusiasm. "I've been reading Eugenia's diary. Oh, it's so sad, the way she would wait for Pierre, wait and wait and watch the beach! It's been wonderful, Gene. I feel like I know her--and Pierre through her. She loved him so much!"

  Rex waited until they had disappeared into the yacht club restaurant; then he hurried down to the pay phone by the ice and soda machines and put a quick call through to Mark Eliot. Mark came on the line and started a long dissertation about the latest mystery he had read. Rex tried to listen politely, but he had to cut Mark off.

  "Mark, great, we'll get together soon and talk. Right now I need some help."

  Mark told him he'd be happy to do anything he could. Rex explained that he wanted to know anything that Mark could find out about John Vinto. Was he in town? Had he been in town? Anything Mark could get.

  Mark whistled. "That's a tall order, but I'll see what I can do. Where are you now?"

  Mark told him he was at the public phone at the dock and that he'd be around there for at least a half an hour. "Then I'll be in the club, then back out at my house." Rex thought grimly that it made good sense to keep Alexi away from the Brandy wine house until he'd had a chance to see Vinto. He thanked Mark for his help then and hung up.

  He hurried back down the deck and got a hose to start rinsing down the Tatiana. He'd barely started, though, when he heard the public phone he'd used ringing down at the other end of the deck. He dropped the hose, ran toward it and answered it.

  "Rex?" Mark said.

  "That was quick."

  "I didn't have to go that far. I checked the airlines. Your friend Vinto is around here somewhere. He flew into Jacksonville yesterday morning."

  "I see," Rex murmured. "Thanks, Mark."

  "I'm still checking on the rest of his activities."

  "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

  "I'll call you tonight, at your house."

  "Great."

  Rex hung up. Vinto was very near--he could feel it. And he didn't want the guy anywhere near Alexi. He was growing more certain that Vinto had been in the Brandywine house. Rex didn't know what the man's motives were, but he was sure Vinto had stalked her--had even struck her down.
/>   And none of it was going to happen again.

  He hurried down the dock and hastily finished rinsing down the boat. Then he went down into the cabin, changed into street clothes and joined Gene and Alexi in the restaurant.

  He gave Alexi a kiss on the cheek and slid into the chair beside her, smiled broadly and asked them what they'd eaten.

  Rex studied the menu quickly, noting that Alexi was watching him, then smiled at her and ordered.

  He was acting very strange even for Rex, Alexi decided, and she couldn't quite put her finger on the problem. He was being very sweet and charming--he just seemed tense.

  "So," Gene said to her, "it's all starting to look really good, huh, young lady?"

  Alexi nodded eagerly. "I do love that house, Gene. And the window seat came out perfectly. Why don't you come out with us now and see it?" Alexi suggested.

  "What?" Gene murmured uneasily.

  "He can't!" Rex told Alexi quickly.

  "Oh?" Alexi leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why can't he?"

  "Chess championships," Rex supplied. Alexi gazed at him skeptically. He'd already drunk half of his Bloody Mary, and he was merely picking at his food. She looked over at Gene. "Do you really have chess championships today?"

  "Oh, yes, yes."

  "You're a liar. You're lying because Rex wants you to lie. What I want to know is why."

  Rex made a sound of impatience. "He doesn't want to come out now, Alexi, all right?''

  "No, it isn't all right--"

  "Dammit!" He threw his napkin down on the table. "Do we have to make a major production out of everything?''

  Alexi went dead still, staring at him in sudden fury. Gene cleared his throat, then looked at his watch. "Wow. I'm going to miss those chess championships if I don't go back. Now."

  Alexi stood up. "We'll drive you--"

  "No, no. I have a driver waiting," Gene assured her. He kissed her cheek, waved to them both and left. Alexi stared at Rex. He wasn't looking at her; he was glaring down at his plate. Ignoring her, he raised his hand to ask for the bill. They maintained a tense silence while he signed it. Walking out of the restaurant, Alexi jumped when he slipped a hand around her waist. She drew back from his touch and hurried ahead.