Prelude and Promises

by Barbara Baldwin

  “Are there usually…wild animals in it?”

  “Nothing’s in season or there probably would be.” The ranger grabbed his hat from a peg by the door. “If you put the pups in the box on the porch, they should be fine for the time I’ll be gone. I don’t go often so I usually spend most of the day in town when I do.”

  Jake swung his gaze to his friend, wondering at the message behind his words. When he winked, Jake understood perfectly.

  The minute the door closed, he hurried into the bathroom, borrowed his friend’s razor, and used his finger to rub toothpaste across his teeth. It would have to do. He came out to find her nowhere in the house. When he went out on the porch, the puppies were in their box, the larger dogs lying quietly in the shade. His gaze moved out across the small yard where he found her, barefoot, wiggling her toes in the grass and looking toward the tower. Inspiration struck.

  “Would you like to see the island from up there?” he asked coming up behind her. Even in the same clothes she had worn the night before, she smelled of sunshine and sweetness but he didn’t dare touch her. If he did, he would take her right there in the yard. He wanted her that badly.

  She turned to smile at him; her eyes alight with avid curiosity. “Could we?” she asked and Jake’s knees threatened to give out. He only hoped he could make it up the ladder to the tower. That task became an almost insurmountable feat as he let her go ahead of him to insure her safety. Her long legs stretched from rung to rung, calf muscles bunching but it was her fanny, barely covered by her dress from his vantage point, that had him sucking for oxygen when they reached the top.

  “Oh, my, what a spectacular view,” she said, slowly walking the perimeter of the small room, her gaze soaking it all in.

  Spectacular was right, thought Jake as he watched her draw a deep breath, her breasts threatening to overflow the bodice of her dress.

  “How can one island have everything—lakes, mountains, forest?”

  He managed to pull his gaze away from her. “You’ve never seen any of that before?” Off to one side was a crystal blue lake, the water sparkling in the sun. He could see Mount Lockabee to the south. Everything else within view was forest, the thick canopy of trees concealing the streams that were part of the landscape and the spots where campgrounds stood.

  She shrugged carelessly. “I grew up in west Texas, it’s pretty flat and dry.”

  “Ah, the elusive Miss Tucker leaks a fact.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “It was no secret. I had to put everything on my job application.”

  “Which I have never seen.” He definitely didn’t want to talk about her job. He slowly came toward her. “I find it interesting how little I really know about you, and yet how much I want you.”

  He watched reluctance flair ever so briefly across her features but he was not to be denied. He knew what would happen when they came together. He stepped close, raising a finger to trace the criss-cross straps of her dress, ending at the very center point where her breasts pushed up. He replaced his finger with his lips, but the instant he tasted her, fire consumed him.

  He fumbled while finding the hidden zipper to her dress. She tugged his shirt out of his trousers and when she couldn’t immediately get it unbuttoned, he jerked it over his head. She stood before him in bra and panties and his hands shook as he reached for her.

  “You are gorgeous.” His palms slid across her shoulders and down her arms. She smiled almost shyly. “Tell me you want this.”

  At his comment, her gaze flew to his. “Why would you even ask that?”

  He gave a shrug. “Insecurities?”

  She gave a small laugh. “The great Joseph Donovan has performance insecurities?”

  He shook his head. “It’s Jake, and I want you so badly, I’m afraid I’ll hurt you in my frenzy.”

  “You could never hurt me,” she replied as she reached for his belt, then unbuttoned his trousers.

  He found a sleeping bag in the corner and spread it out on the floor. She came to him without hesitation and he lay down beside her, pulling her close. There was no more talk, the only sounds were her sighs as he kissed her from head to toe and back, lingering at her stomach to lick her belly button before making his way up to her breasts. She was full and lush and his hands caressed her reverently.

  She did not lie quietly beneath him, but continuously ran her hands up and down his back, delving beneath his trousers to squeeze his butt. He managed to tug his pants down and kicked them across the room before settling between her thighs.

  “Now,” she gasped as he rubbed against her mound.

  “I want this to last.”

  She shook her head, urging him on with hands on his butt as she slid her feet up his thighs and planted them on the pad beneath them. “Kiss me, Jake.”

  He almost smiled at her demands but he was just as impatient. He took her mouth, and she grabbed his head, slanting her lips across his. He lifted his hips and unerringly found her center, sliding deep inside. Her legs came up to wrap around him and fireworks started.

  Cheyenne practically came unglued the moment Jake entered her. Her muscles clutched and though she wanted to relax and take him deeper, her body refused to obey. And then he began to move and she opened to him. All her senses came alive from her breath taking in the scent of him to the feel of him moving against and in her. She welcomed the weight of his body pressing her down.

  The rhythm changed, quickened as he braced on his elbows and gazed down at her. His hips came to hers again and again and she felt the tremors begin. Before she could gasp a breath, her body tensed and released, sensations shooting through her from the center of her to the very tips of her fingers and toes.

  She tipped her head back to find him watching her. His hips slowed to a stop, his gaze never leaving hers.

  “I am beyond words, watching you, feeling you.”

  “Then show me.” She caressed his cheek as he bent to kiss her, her heels digging into his back to urge him on.

  Almost frantic, Jake lifted her hips to thrust deeper, pumping fast, then slow, pushing her up the peak again. When her gaze widened and her mouth opened, he dropped his head, lightly biting the tender flesh between her shoulder and neck and she bucked beneath him, crying out his name as she came. Her release triggered his and he throbbed within her for endless moments. Even when he could catch his breath, he continued peppering kisses along her chest and breasts. He couldn’t get enough of her, and the thought amazed him.

  “Stop,” she giggled, as he licked the bud of her breast.

  He ignored her and sucked it into his mouth, molding the shape of her with his hand.

  She pushed against his shoulders. “Stop, please. It’s too sensitive.”

  He raised his head to meet her gaze.

  “I’m sensitive,” she corrected. “Every nerve in my body is screaming.”

  He grinned, enjoying the fact that he had turned the reticent Miss Tucker into a quivering mass of nerves. With a sigh, he rolled to his back beside her, utterly replete.

  “You sound very pleased with yourself,” she said.

  He could only manage to turn his head, but when he found her smiling at him, he wondered how long it would take before he could make love to her again.

  “I think the feeling is mutual,” he replied, only to watch her eyes shutter, blocking him from sensing her thoughts.

  Cheyenne definitely concurred with the pleasure they had shared but now she felt a sense of disquiet. Time was running out. As she felt Jake relax beside her, she thought perhaps he might be open to persuasion.

  “What’s the date?” she asked cautiously, although she well knew there were only fourteen days to her deadline.

  Jake lifted his arm to look at his watch, a rather plain Timex on a leather band instead of the Rolex he had always worn.

  “The fifteenth,” he answered. Then she heard a change in tone as he added, “Why?”

  She turned to him, propping her chin on his chest. She breathed him in, t
he scent of their lovemaking lingering on his skin. “Would you please consider returning to Chicago?”

  The moment she uttered the words, she knew it was a mistake. He stiffened beneath her, his eyes darkening. She watched his jaw clench before he roughly pushed her aside and got to his feet.

  He jammed his legs into his trousers, his movements jerky, his back taut with anger. She needed to explain.

  “Jake? I—”

  “Shut up! Just shut the hell up!” He rounded on her and she leaned back, frightened by the fierceness of his expression. “I should have known,” he muttered as though to himself, running his fingers through his hair.

  Cheyenne tucked her knees under her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs, suddenly aware of her nakedness. She didn’t say a word, hoping he wouldn’t come to the wrong conclusion before she could explain.

  Her hopes were dashed with his next words.

  “I can’t believe my uncle would use you,” he paused, then rephrased. “No, that’s not true, he would. I guess what I can’t believe is that you would use your body to lure me into his trap.”

  She gasped at his cruel words.

  He then gave her such a look of disgust she cringed. He turned from her as though he couldn’t bare the sight of her.

  She scrambled to her feet, picking up his discarded shirt and pulling it on. “Jake, please. It’s not what you think.”

  “Shit.” He had been looking out the opening but now turned back. “Where’s my phone?” He jerked the sleeping bag up, dug through his pockets and scanned the floor. “Where the hell is my phone?”

  She didn’t understand the swift need to call anyone, especially when she was trying to make amends, but offered the only suggestion she could think of. “Maybe in the coat you left in the cabin?”

  He headed for the entryway but when she tried to follow he put up his hand. “Stay away from me.” His eyes still blazed with anger. “In fact, get the hell out of my life.”

  She crumbled to the floor, tears obscuring her last view of him as he disappeared down the trap door.

  In minutes, she heard the roar of a motor and dragged herself up to the window opening in time to see Jake fly by on a four wheeler. It would appear he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. As she watched him disappear into the trees, smoke came into view and she raised her gaze to see a tell-tale stream of gray lifting into the sky.

  That’s what Jake had seen, she thought, but suddenly gasped, her gaze dropping to the point she had last seen him, then up again to the line of smoke. Jake was driving straight toward a fire.

  She curled into a ball, sobbing. What had she done?

  Chapter 12

  It was hours before Cheyenne heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. In that time she had gone from remorse to anger and back to remorse. Jake’s words had hurt her terribly and she kept telling herself he didn’t mean them. Then anger surfaced and she blamed him for not listening to her. Finally, depression set in. She knew from the look on Jake’s face as he left that he would not believe anything she had to say. She curled tightly into a ball on the couch, pulling his shirt closer around her. She inhaled the scent lingering in the fabric and cried.

  The truth was she felt compassion for both Mr. Donovan and Jake, two stubborn men who refused to back down. Jake wanted control over his own life, and Mr. Donovan was trying desperately to find the fame through Jake that had eluded him all his life.

  Somewhere in the approaching darkness, she realized it wasn’t about her job anymore, or the responsibility she felt toward her employer. She wanted the two to reconcile because she had never had the opportunity to do that with her own mother. She knew if something happened to the elder Donovan, it would eat at Jake forever.

  When the vehicle stopped outside, she rose and opened the door. A bare-chested Trevor was on the porch with a similarly clad Jake slumped against his side.

  “Oh, dear lord, what happened?” She raced to Jake’s other side to grab his arm in support only to find his hand wrapped in what appeared to be a blood soaked shirt.

  “Long story,” Trevor replied, shuffling Jake to a chair at the small table by the kitchen. “Grab some towels and the first aid kit from the bathroom.”

  “We’ve got to get him to a doctor,” she cried, barely able to think. Why did it have to be his hand?

  “I called but Doc’s on the mainland until tomorrow. Besides it was closer to bring him back here. Get the kit,” he reiterated, as he began running water in a basin at the sink.

  She turned to go but Jake grabbed her wrist. His eyes were unfocused and his speech slurred, but he still managed to growl, “What are you doing here? I told you to go away.”

  She heard Trevor swear but couldn’t force herself to look at him as she hurried away.

  She returned to hear Trevor say, “This is going to hurt,” just as he plunged Jake’s hand into the basin of water. Jake jerked and batted at his friend with his free hand, but Trevor held on. Cheyenne dropped the towels and kit on the table and hurried around to grab Jake’s arm.

  “He’s trying to help,” she said softly. Jake struggled another minute before slumping forward in the chair.

  “Did he faint?” she whispered.

  Trevor gave her a slight smile. “Guys don’t faint. We pass out, which he may have done but that’s not good. He got hit on the back of the head so he may have a concussion.” He turned to look at the basin, now dark pink with blood. “I’ll worry about that after I see to this cut.”

  He lifted Jake’s hand out of the water and placed it palm up on a towel. A long gash sliced across the heel of his hand, blood still seeping from the wound. He spread the ragged edges and Jake groaned but didn’t stir.

  “It’s not as deep as you’d think, given the amount of blood,” he said. “Luckily there doesn’t appear to be any muscle cut, but it’s going to need stitched up.” He looked over at her. “How strong is your stomach?”

  Cheyenne’s legs grew weak, but when she looked at Jake’s face, bruised and covered with soot, she knew she would do whatever it took to help. Even if he didn’t want her help, even if he wanted her out of his life.

  “You should know,” she started.

  Trevor interrupted. “The bump on his head caused him to mouth off.”

  She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut as tears threatened. He lifted her chin but didn’t say anything until she looked at him.

  “It can be fixed, whatever it is, but first we have to fix him.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

  “This is going to sound bizarre but it’s the only way I can think of to get it done. Unconscious or not he’s going to fight me when I start on his hand. If I leave him in the chair, he’ll end up on the floor anyway, so he might as well start there. Besides, it will give us leverage.” Carefully, he lowered Jake to the floor, stretching his left arm out on the towel.

  He returned to the table and opened the first aid kit, taking out a bottle of alcohol, salve, several bandages and finally a threaded needle, which he held out to her.

  “God, no. I can’t sew him up.” She bit her lip to stop the trembling.

  “It’s okay. I’ll do the honors, but I need you to sterilize it with the alcohol as I pour it over his hand.”

  “That’s going to hurt, isn’t it?” Stupid question.

  “Oh, yeah, like demons from hell chewing on you. That’s why I need you to sit on his legs to help hold him down. I’ll have my knee on his arm, but it might not be enough.”

  It wasn’t. The minute alcohol hit the gash, Jake bucked and jerked. Cheyenne braced her knees on either side of him and grabbed the table to keep from falling over but her weight was hardly enough to hold him down. She could see Trevor clench his teeth as Jake pounded on his back.

  “Damnfuckingsonofabitch!!!” Jake railed. Cheyenne blushed and Trevor snorted.

  “Wish I could drown your hurt in whiskey, buddy.” The hurt in his voice echoed Cheyenne�
��s thoughts.

  “Get ready again. I want to make sure it’s disinfected.”

  Whether it was due to the concussion or sheer pain, Jake didn’t even twitch the second time Trevor doused his hand. She handed him the needle, her hand shaking.

  “Don’t watch,” he cautioned and she turned her head to the side. “How about I take your mind off things by telling you what happened?”

  “That will take my mind off things?”

  He laughed. “Probably true.” He was quiet but Cheyenne didn’t dare look at what he was doing.

  “Do you think there will be any lasting damage?” she braved the question.

  “If you’re asking whether he’ll still be able to play the piano, I’d say probably, though we’ll get him into Doc’s first thing tomorrow.”

  She didn’t hear anything past the first part of his comment. She swiveled to see him.

  His gaze remained intent on his work. “Yes, I know who he really is; he told me. No, not everyone on the island knows but even if they did, they’d respect his privacy.”

  Cheyenne breathed a sigh of relief until his next words. “That was another reason I brought him here instead of into town. From what I know, someone’s looking for you, or him, or both of you seeing as you’re tangled together somehow.”

  “I work for his uncle.”

  “So he said.” He frowned at his work. “Good thing this isn’t his face. I’m not much for sewing other than patching a pair of jeans now and again and nobody sees that except for the deer.”

  Cheyenne stared at Trevor, a friend keeping a secret, a man willing to do whatever needed done for his friend. Jake was truly blessed to have found this place.

  “Tell me what happened,” she said when the silence lingered and all she could think of was a needle piercing skin.

  “Jake called me about a fire and I asked him to bring the four wheeler, which has a large water barrel, and I’d meet him at the location. It would have taken useless time if I had to come back here, then out again and all I had in the truck was a small extinguisher. Anyway, he got there before me and whoever had lost control of their campfire was trying to get away. Jake chased him down while I doused the fire, but he got hurt in the process.”