by Sharon Sala
She started the car, listening to the tape as she drove toward home, every now and then allowing herself a frown as she pinched off bites of the bagel and poked them into her mouth.
As far as assignments went it was unusual, although she couldn’t find fault with the location. She’d heard of the spa on Condor Mountain and had no problem at all taking advantage of some free R and R. And Easton Kirby, who was now the manager of the place, was a legend within the agency. Her curiosity piqued as Jonah’s spare remarks began to sink in. If she understood him correctly, and she was certain she did because Jonah was not a man to leave anything to the imagination, Jonah needed Easton Kirby on active duty and Kirby had refused. The tape ended with a final order.
Ally was to change his mind—in any way that she could.
She ejected the tape and tossed it back into the sack, well aware that within thirty seconds of it having been played, it would go blank, leaving no trace of ever having been recorded upon. She pulled into the driveway of her house and punched the garage door opener. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes snapping angrily as she waited for the garage door to go up.
“Change his mind?” she muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “And how am I supposed to do that…drive him mad with my womanly wiles?”
Seconds later she pulled into the garage, lowered the door and then got out, but only after the door was completely shut. Her house key was in her hand as she swept the garage with a casual gaze before making a move toward the door. Once inside, she dumped her sweaty gym clothes on the washer and the bagel sack in the trash, then downed the last of her coffee before adding the empty cup to the lot.
The red light on her answering machine was blinking, but her mind was on the new assignment. What in blazes did one wear to coerce a reluctant operative back into the fold?
Almost a week later and a year older, Ally pulled into the parking lot of the Condor Mountain Resort and Spa, then sat for a moment, staring at the magnificence of the building and grounds. The four-story mixture of Gothic and Victorian architecture seemed to fit the starkness of the geography. Lush was not a word that described this part of the California coast. The mountainous area of the region had steep, and often narrow, winding roads, and the forestation of the area was sparse, often leaving bare spots in the rocky terrain. But there was a beauty to the land that seemed to fit the power of the waters that pounded the coast. Overhead, seagulls dipped and swooped, riding the air currents while searching for food, and she could hear the harsh, guttural barks of sea lions coming from the beach below. From where she was sitting, she could see the beginnings of a long, descending series of steps leading down the side of the hill toward the Pacific. The view was breathtaking and the weather sunny and breezy, which was typical for this time of year. She couldn’t help wishing this was going to be a “real” vacation and not another undercover assignment.
As she got out of the car and went around to the trunk to get her bags, she had to admit, her job this time was hardly on a par with what she normally did. At least she wouldn’t be posing as some wayward teenager or wild child in order to infiltrate some crime syndicate. All she had to do was convince Easton Kirby to come back on active duty. How difficult could that be?
She popped the trunk on her car and leaned in to get out her bag. As she did, a large shadow suddenly passed between her and the sun and she knew she was no longer alone. She straightened and turned, expecting a bellhop, or at the least an employee of the resort.
It was a man.
He was tall, so tall, and standing close—too close.
Slightly blinded from the sunlight behind him, she saw nothing but his silhouette. And then he stepped to one side to reach for her bag and she saw his face.
It was Easton Kirby himself—the man she’d come to meet.
Well, this makes it easy. At least I won’t have to wangle an introduction.
“Ms. Corbin, welcome to Condor Mountain,” he said, as he lifted her bag from the trunk of her car.
She thought nothing of the fact that he would know her on sight. The agency would have followed procedure and notified him ahead of time that an operative would be arriving.
“Thank you,” Ally said, a little disconcerted by his height and the way he was looking at her.
She was five inches over five feet tall and he seemed a good foot taller. And, there was a look in his eyes that made her shiver. She shrugged off the thought that he would know why she’d come, telling herself that it was guilt that was making her nervous.
“This is certainly wonderful service. I only just arrived.”
“I know,” he said softly, then looked her straight in the eyes. “I was waiting for you.”
Ally’s lips parted in shock. But only a little and only for a brief moment. As she followed him up the steps and into the hotel, she couldn’t shake the notion that he wasn’t the only one who’d been waiting. She had a desperate feeling that she’d been waiting for him, too—all of her life.
Oh fine, she thought. Now is not the time for my stifled hormones to kick in. Just because he’s sexy, and good-looking, and I’m supposed to talk this man into something he doesn’t want to do, doesn’t mean I have to complicate this more than it already is.
They reached the registration desk. Before she could speak, he was bypassing it and leading her toward the elevators.
“You’re already checked in,” he said. “Follow me. I’ll show you to your room.”
The doors opened and they stepped inside. She watched as he stuck a key into a slot and gave it a turn. Immediately the elevator car started to ascend. She grabbed on to the railing to steady herself, then noted that they had bypassed the fourth floor.
“I thought this hotel only had four floors. Where are we going? Heaven?”
For the first time since her arrival he looked at her and grinned and her heart dropped right to her toes. Oh lordy. I am so out of my league.
“No, but some people tend to think the view might be similar,” he said. “There’s a penthouse suite on the ocean side of the hotel that’s not visible from the front entrance. It’s reserved for special guests such as yourself.”
“Oh,” she said, and then looked down at her feet so that he might not see the remorse she was feeling. He was being nice to her because he thought she was over the edge. Slipping. Burned-out. All the adjectives one might use to describe a SPEAR operative on the verge of a breakdown.
He looked at her then, reading her sudden silence as having been reminded of something terrible that must have happened to her on the job and remembered that when SPEAR operatives were ever sent here, it was usually for mental healing.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
“No, it wasn’t that,” she began, but the car had stopped and the doors were opening and Easton Kirby was already on the move. She followed, kicking herself for not knowing how to draw men into casual conversation.
They exited into what appeared to be a large foyer. East punched in a series of numbers on the security panel beside the door and then turned the knob.
“Your home away from home,” he said, leading the way inside. “I hope your stay will be comfortable.” He set her suitcase down in the bedroom, then handed her the key and a card. “The security code is written on the back. My number is on the front. If you need anything at any time of the night or day, all you have to do is call me.”
She took the key and the card and slipped them into her pocket. “Thank you, Mr. Kirby.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. Corbin, and please…call me East.”
“If you’ll call me Ally, it’s a deal,” she said, offering her hand.
When he took it, she felt as if she’d been treading water all of her life and someone had just offered her a line to safety. This womanly, helpless feeling was so foreign to Ally that she didn’t know how to react.
“Well then,” she said, quickly releasing his hold. “Now that we’re supposed to be friends, does thi
s mean I don’t have to tip you?”
East threw back his head and laughed. A deep-from-the-belly kind of laugh that sent shivers up Ally’s spine. She grinned, pleased that she’d gotten some sort of positive response from him.
Still chuckling, East shook his head. “No, you don’t have to tip me and we start serving dinner around seven. The restaurant stays open until midnight so remember, if you need anything…”
“Yes, I know,” she said, patting her pocket where she’d put his card. “I’ll use Ma Bell to reach out and touch.”
His smile stilled as he gave her a dark, unreadable look.
“Touching is good,” he said quietly, and headed for the door, leaving Ally to put her own interpretation on what he’d just said.
A shudder racked her as she watched him leave. What on earth had she gotten herself into? Then she gritted her teeth and headed for her suitcase. The least she could do was unpack. There were a good four hours of daylight left and a beach to explore.
Something told her that this operation was going to take time. Easton Kirby didn’t strike her as malleable. As she went to the closet with an armful of clothes, she couldn’t help wondering why Jonah hadn’t just ordered this man back to active service. What sort of scenario could possibly have occurred that Jonah would allow a man’s personal life to interfere with his duty?
As East was dressing for dinner, he caught himself thinking of Ally Corbin again. It wasn’t the first time it had happened since her arrival, and something told him it wouldn’t be the last. There was something about her that intrigued him. She was such a mixture of contradictions. Naive, yet tough. He knew what it took to become an agent for SPEAR, so he respected that her skills equaled his own. Yet there was an innocence about her that surprised him. He had no way of knowing that naivete came in not knowing herself. She was beyond book smart, but she didn’t have the vaguest idea of how to live a normal life. She’d never been in love, she’d never even made love. Had he known, it might have changed his attitude completely. But all he saw was a beautiful and intriguing young woman who had endured and survived, and was here to heal.
He debated with himself about wearing a tie, then decided against it, opting for the casual look. For some reason, his mind slipped to Jonah, wondering if he’d found someone else to help him out. It had been a week since he’d gotten the call, and he hadn’t slept well one night since. Then he reminded himself that was part of his past and he couldn’t let it matter.
With a last glance in the mirror, he grabbed his sport coat and exited his apartment. It was time to make an appearance in the dining room.
The Condor Resort ran on schedules, not unlike those of a cruise ship, and sitting at the captain’s table, or in this case the manager’s, was considered an honor. It was something the previous manager had instigated and East had simply followed suit. Tonight he was actually looking forward to the event because he’d sent a note to Ally’s room earlier with an invitation for her to join him. There was nothing personal about it. It wasn’t as if she’d be the only one there. There would be six others, not counting himself, and a good reason for her not to eat alone. If she was as troubled as he’d been when he came, he knew she would need to focus on something besides herself. And there was no better way to achieve that than to sit at a dinner table with six perfect strangers—seven counting him—and remember that there was a world outside the realm of SPEAR.
He told himself he was just doing his job. And he believed it, all the way to the dining room and right up to the point when Ally entered the room.
It was the traditional, little black dress—simple in style, skimpy in fabric—and on Ally Corbin, pure dynamite. East knew he was staring, but he couldn’t seem to stop. It wasn’t as if he never saw beautiful women, because he did—daily. And it wasn’t as if he didn’t have opportunities to enjoy their company. It was that he usually chose not to. But this time it was different. There was an urgency within him to connect with her on something other than this ephemeral, holiday basis. He kept thinking that if he let her leave without pursuing this desire, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Then he shoved back the thought and stood, smiling cordially as he pulled out a chair and seated her. He needed his head examined. She was here to recuperate. Period.
He touched her shoulder briefly. “I’m so glad you felt like joining us. The food is particularly exceptional tonight.” Then he added with a wink. “I know because I stole a couple of bites when the chef wasn’t looking.”
Everyone at the table laughed along with Ally as East took his seat at the head of the table.
“Thank you for inviting me,” she said, and pretended that her heart was not in her mouth as she gave him a surreptitious glance.
Mercy, but that man certainly knew how to fill out a dinner jacket and slacks. She’d heard of clothes making the man, but in this case, it was just the opposite. There was barely time for her to be introduced to the others before a waiter appeared to take their orders.
And so the evening began.
Ally sat through one course after another, smiling and nodding and offering small bits of herself into the conversation. But her heart wasn’t in it. Every time she looked at East, she fought rising panic. How could she possibly broach the subject of her mission without angering him? What could she say to convince him to go back on active duty that Jonah hadn’t already said? She watched the way his mouth tilted and curved as a smile tugged at his lips and the way his eyes glittered when something moved him to a passionate response. Every time he reached for his wineglass, she caught herself staring at the way his massive hand would curl so delicately around the fragile stem.
She glanced down at the napkin she’d wadded in her lap and sighed. Never in her life had she felt so inadequate. She sighed again and looked up, only to find herself pinned under the dark, watchful stare of her host. Heat rose up her neck to her cheeks, spreading across her face like water lapping against the shore. Good Lord. She was blushing and he could see. If he grinned, she was going to have to hate him, and that thought alone made her mad.
To her relief, he was the first to look away. Soon afterward, Ally made her excuses and left, fully intent on going back to her room. She never made it past the lobby.
“Ms. Corbin…Ally…wait!”
She pivoted sharply, surprised that he’d followed her.
“Are you all right?”
The gentleness in his voice was almost her undoing. He was being so kind and when he found out why she was here, it would ruin everything. Then her shoulders slumped. Ruin everything? What was the matter with her? There wasn’t anything to ruin.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Just tired.”
East hesitated, for some reason, still reluctant to let her go. “Would you like to take a walk? Maybe some fresh air would do you good.”
Her heart skipped a beat. The perfect opportunity to establish a little one-on-one rapport. For business reasons of course.
“Yes, I believe I would,” she said. “Should I get a sweater?”
His gaze raked her bare, slender arms and then up the length of her neck, to her mouth, before he made himself focus.
“If you get cold, you can use my jacket.”
“You’ve been far too kind already. All this personal service is going to go to my head and now you’re offering your jacket? Are we still on a no-tip basis?”
He grinned. Damned if he didn’t like her attitude as much as that dress she was wearing.
“Something tells me it would be hard to feed you a line,” East said. “To use one of my grandfather’s favorite phrases, you’re a saucy little thing, aren’t you?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. I certainly never thought of myself as saucy. My parents always said I was forthright. Alicia is a forthright child. Not funny. Not pretty. Not even cute. Just forthright.” She smiled, unaware of the poignancy in her voice. “What does it take to be saucy?”
At that moment, she reminded him of his son
, Jeff. At least the way Jeff had been when they met. A little wary of East and a whole lot unsure of himself. His heart went out to her then, in a way it might never have done, otherwise.
“I don’t exactly know,” he said gently. “Maybe a little extra gumption and a whole lot of guts.”
Suddenly, the conversation had gotten too personal for Ally and she didn’t know where to go with it. Teasing with the opposite sex in any form, whether it was flirtatious or sexual, was not something she could do.
She glanced toward the door. “About that walk?”
He took off his coat and draped it around her shoulders.
The warmth of his body was still on the fabric as it wrapped around her. She swallowed nervously. “I didn’t say I was cold.”
“Good. Now you won’t have to,” he said shortly, and took her by the elbow and led her out into the night.
Chapter 3
Despite the well-lit grounds surrounding the hotel, East headed directly for the shadows, taking Ally with him. In a way, she understood his need to walk in darkness. In their business, anonymity was often the difference between life and death, and even though East no longer put his life on the line on a daily basis, old habits obviously died hard.
“Is this the way to the beach?”
He stopped and turned, a shadowy silhouette against the night.
“No. Would you rather go down to the beach?”
She started to deny his question, then convinced herself that truth, at least as far as she could take it, would probably work better between them.
“Yes, actually I would, if it’s not too much trouble?”
From the tone of his voice, she thought he smiled.
“Trouble? To walk on a beach in the moonlight with a beautiful woman? Ms. Corbin, you crush my ego.”
Ally stifled a snort of disbelief. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kirby, but your reputation precedes you. From what I’ve been told, both your ego and reputation are indestructible.”
