by Linda Turner
“Rebecca…honey…”
Afraid he was going to tell her to stop, she pulled back slightly, but only so she could change positions and cover his mouth with hers. Nibbling on his bottom lip, she felt a groan rip through him and loved the idea that she could do that to him. With a soft sigh of pleasure, she slipped her arms around his neck and gave in to the need to tangle her tongue with his.
Heat flared deep inside her, fireworks exploded behind her closed eyelids, and Rebecca couldn’t think of anything but Austin and the way he made her feel. When they stretched out on the quilts in front of the fire, she couldn’t have said. It just seemed so natural. She was in his arms and lying down with him, and she wasn’t afraid! It was wonderful, fantastic. And she loved it.
Holding him close, not wanting to ever let him go, she dragged his hand to her breast. “Touch me,” she whispered against his mouth. “I need you to touch me.”
“Are you sure? Honey, I don’t want to do anything to frighten you.”
“You won’t,” she assured him. “You couldn’t. Austin, please…”
He couldn’t have denied her for all the money in Switzerland. Not tonight. Not when she kissed him without restrictions, as if she couldn’t get through the night without one more soul-destroying kiss. His thoughts blurring, he covered her mouth with his and gave in to the need that burned low and hot in his belly.
One soft, hungry kiss blended into another while the fire crackled in the fireplace and the candles burned low, and quiet intimacy settled over them. Their clothes seemed to melt away piece by piece and they discovered what made each other sigh, shudder, cry out in pleasure. Then, with their mouths they retraced the paths their hands had made.
Caught up in the taste and heat and wonder of her, Austin forgot his own name. There was only Rebecca. Sweet, giving, incredibly, surprisingly sexy Rebecca. With a touch, she stole his breath; with a slow, languid kiss, she made him want her more than any other woman ever had. And when she whispered his name in the dark of the night, she made him hers.
“Oh, honey,” he groaned, kissing her fiercely. “You don’t know what you do to me. I want you so much.”
“Then make love to me,” she whispered, and pulled him on top of her.
With that, he lost any chance of keeping his head. Shadows danced on the walls, but all he saw was Rebecca—her face, the flush of desire that turned her soft skin pink, the desire that darkened her eyes to midnight blue—as he slowly, carefully entered her. In the glow of the firelight, she was stunningly beautiful…and his. Murmuring her name, he linked his fingers with hers and began to move.
After that, there was no time to think of anything but each other and the emotions that swamped them from all sides. Need, desire, love. The fierceness of the storm moved inside, and within seconds they were caught up in its wild energy. Their hearts pounded and their breath tore through their lungs. The fierceness of the night was in their blood, driving them on and on. Just when they couldn’t stand the wonder of it another second, lightning flashed and thunder roared. And with a startled shout, they both shattered.
Cradling Rebecca close, Austin knew that for the first time since Jenny had died he hadn’t just had sex—he’d actually made love. When had he fallen in love with her? he wondered, shaken. How? He’d been so sure that it wasn’t possible for him to ever love anyone, not after the way he’d loved Jenny. But then again, he’d never met anyone quite like Rebecca.
Dear God, he loved her! Just thinking about her made him smile. And when he held her, kissed her, the pain of the past faded and all was right with his world. She made him feel whole again. How could he not love her?
The words trembling on his tongue, he almost told her right then and there. Love was meant to be shared, and he needed to tell her. But before he could say anything, she stirred in his arms and suddenly hugged him fiercely. “Oh, Austin, that was wonderful! I never knew…never expected…”
Words failed her and when she drew back just far enough to see his face, he grinned. “I know. That was pretty damn special.”
“And I wasn’t scared! Did you notice? I didn’t get the shakes or anything, even when you held me tight. We made love and I was right there with you every step of the way. I still can’t believe it!”
She was bubbling with excitement and happier than he had ever seen her, and that, he realized, was why he couldn’t tell her he loved her. She’d never done this before, never thought she could do it, and if he told her how he felt now, it would be all too easy for her to confuse her own feelings for love.
That was the last thing he wanted. He’d waited years for her. She was the most precious thing in the world to him, and he wasn’t going to blow this. When he told her he loved her, he wanted to make sure she was clearheaded and there was no chance that she would mistake sex for love.
The words would come later, he promised himself. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t show her how he felt now. Especially when she was so beautifully, gloriously naked, and she didn’t even seem to realize it. Grinning, he reached for her. “Believe it,” he growled, and kissed her again.
Over the course of the next twenty-four hours, Rebecca lost track of how many times they made love. Sated, she slept in Austin’s arms, only to wake hours later and make love all over again. It was wonderful, fantastic, incredible, like something out of a fantasy that she didn’t want to ever end.
But they couldn’t hide away in the cabin forever. Sunday seemed to fly by, and before Rebecca was ready for it, it was time to return to the real world.
“Hey, don’t look so down,” Austin teased as they left the lake behind and began the long drive home. Taking her hand, he linked his fingers with hers on the center console and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll come back someday. Joe won’t mind.”
She desperately wanted to believe him, but as they drew closer to town, she felt more and more unsure of where she stood with him. Over the course of the last two days, he’d made no mention of how he felt about her or of the future. Had the weekend and their lovemaking meant anything to him? Did he care that once he discovered who tried to kill Joe, he would return to Portland and they wouldn’t, in all likelihood, see each other again except at rare family functions? Had he thought that far ahead at all? Or had the weekend just been about sex for him?
Confused and hurt, she wanted to ask, but she couldn’t. Not without sounding like a sixteen-year-old making a fool of herself over the first boy who’d kissed her. She wouldn’t do that to herself or him. She loved him, more than she’d ever thought it was possible to love anyone. She should have been laughing with joy and dancing in the rain. Finally, she knew what it was like to love a man! Instead, she’d never been so low in her life. If he loved her, wouldn’t he have said so?
Fighting tears, she stared blindly out the passenger window and said, “I guess it’s just the weather. Rainy Sundays always depress me.”
“Let’s put on some music then,” he said, switching on the radio, only to wince when nothing but static poured from the speakers. “See if you can find something decent.”
Thankful to have something to do, she fiddled with the dials until she was finally able to tune in a jazz station. But it did little to improve her mood. By the time they finally reached Prosperino and Austin drove her home, all she wanted to do was go inside, throw herself on her bed and cry her eyes out.
And she couldn’t hide it. The minute she turned to him and told him that he didn’t have to escort her to her front door in the rain, he got a good look at her face and knew something was wrong. “What is it? What’s wrong? This is a lot more than just the rain. Do you want to talk about it?”
Yes! she wanted to cry, but it was too late for that. When she’d accepted his invitation to Big Bear, she’d never dreamed she’d be gone all weekend. She had clothes she needed to wash for work tomorrow, not to mention lesson plans to prepare for the week. It would take what was left of the night just to do that.
“I can’t,” she said. “Maybe anoth
er time.”
He wanted to argue, but she looked so fragile, he was afraid she’d shatter if he pushed her. Still, he had no intention of sitting in the car like some kind of fool while she walked herself to her door. “C’mon,” he said gruffly. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
She didn’t, thankfully, give him a hard time about that, and seconds later, he unlocked her front door and handed her the key. “I’ll call you later,” he said, frowning down at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Stop worrying.”
He wanted to believe her, but as they’d drawn closer and closer to Prosperino, all the joy from last night had gradually faded from her eyes. And he didn’t mind admitting that had him worried. Something had definitely upset her, but she wasn’t ready to talk about it, and until she was, there was nothing he could do.
Frustrated, he forced a smile. “Okay. But if you need to talk, call me. I don’t care what time it is.”
He kissed her then because he hated to see her so sad. Because he loved her and couldn’t stop himself. Because he didn’t want to leave her. And if she’d said one word, just one—stay—he would have. But she didn’t.
And that hurt. Left with no choice, he said, “I’ll call you later.” Kissing her on the cheek, he turned and walked away.
He truly meant to call her. He could think of nothing but her all the way back to the hotel. But when he got back to his room, there were ten messages on his phone from Nate Thompson, an old friend in Portland. Surprised, he listened to one message after another and could make little sense of them except that Nate’s business partner had run off with half the company’s assets.
Scowling, he immediately punched in Nate’s number. “What the hell’s going on?” he greeted his friend. “What’s this about Dennis embezzling money? Are you sure? The guy’s a wienie. He wouldn’t have the guts to take a nickel that didn’t belong to him.”
“Don’t kid yourself,” Nate said bitterly. “The bastard was stringing us along, wanting everyone to think he was a numbers cruncher who was afraid of his own shadow. But it was just an act. He’s been draining me dry for the last two months, taking everything that wasn’t nailed down, then setting it up to look like I did it! Dammit, I was arrested yesterday!”
Austin swore and grabbed pen and paper. “Give me the details.”
Twenty minutes later, he had everything he needed…and enough work to keep him busy the rest of the night. “I’ll do what I can, man,” he assured Nate. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
“My butt’s toast if you don’t track down the money trail, Austin,” he said somberly. “He had all the access codes, everything he needed to take whatever he wanted. If you can’t find where he hid the money, I’m going to jail.”
“It’s not going to come to that,” Austin replied. “I know it’s hard, but try not to panic. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Confident of his ability, Austin meant every word. Nate was one of his oldest friends, and Austin didn’t stand by with his hands in his pockets when someone he cared about was in trouble. He’d do whatever he could to help. He booted up his laptop and began the tedious task of trying to track down money that Dennis LeRue had squirreled away God only knew where, he found himself chasing shadows. He worked long into the night, and as one hour gave way to another, then another, it became increasingly obvious that this wasn’t something he was going to be able to do from a distance. He had to go back to Portland.
Twelve
He didn’t want to leave Rebecca.
The thought nagged at him the rest of the night, making it impossible to work, to sleep, to do anything but restlessly pace his hotel room. When he’d first made arrangements to come to California, he’d known it was only for a limited time, and he’d been fine with that. He’d do his duty by the family, find whoever was trying to kill Joe, then head back to Portland where he belonged.
It had all sounded so simple. But that was before he’d known that Joe had more enemies than a con man. And before he found himself falling in love with Rebecca.
Dammit, he fumed, what was he supposed to do now? His life, his friends, his business, were all in Portland. And Rebecca was here. This was where she felt safe, where her roots were, where Joe and Meredith and the rest of her foster family was. How could he ask her to leave that and go to another state, another city, where she would know no one?
Frustrated, he almost called her in the middle of the night. They needed to talk. But even as he reached for the phone, he knew this was a conversation they needed to have face-to-face. But first he had to talk to Joe. He’d made him a promise he’d find the man who tried to kill him, and now he was going to have to renege on that promise. The least he owed him was an explanation.
It was barely seven when Austin showed up at the ranch, but he wasn’t surprised to find Joe already at breakfast. His uncle was one of those type A personalities who had too much energy to lie in bed in the morning like a slug. For as long as Austin could remember, the family had teased Joe about making his first million before most people were even out of bed in the morning. If he ever slept in, it was time to call the doctor.
Seeing him now, Austin could believe it. In the process of taking his first sip of coffee of the day, Joe smiled broadly at the sight of him. “Hey, what are you doing here so bright and early on a Monday morning?” With a nod of his head, he motioned to the buffet, where Inez had set out a tempting array of rolls, muffins and danishes. “Grab something to eat and some coffee and sit down and tell me what’s going on. I hope you’ve got some news for me.”
He had news, all right, but Austin doubted that he would see it as good. “Finish eating. This can wait,” he told him as he stepped over to the buffet and poured a cup of coffee. “Where’s Meredith? Sleeping in?”
“No, she took the boys to school,” he replied. “She spent the weekend in Palm Springs, so she felt like she needed to give them a little extra attention this morning.”
“No kidding? What was she doing in Palm Springs?”
“Pampering herself at a new spa. She said she needed a break because of the shooting.”
That was one way to deal with stress, though not the way Austin would have chosen, but he couldn’t blame her for needing a break. “She was standing right next to you when the shot was fired. That’s got to haunt her. Not only did she see you almost get killed, but she must be wondering what would have happened if the shooter’s aim had been off. She could be dead right now.”
Startled, Joe nearly choked on his coffee. “Do you think the shooter was after her instead of me?”
Taking a seat at the table, Austin shrugged. “Whenever you’ve got bullets flying around, you’ve got to consider the possibility that they could be meant for anyone. Meredith doesn’t have any enemies, though—at least not that anyone’s mentioned—so I doubt she was the target. You, on the other hand,” he added dryly, “have any number of friends and acquaintances who would like to blow your head off.”
Grinning, Joe didn’t deny it. “People shouldn’t be so damn sensitive. Everybody takes everything so personally nowadays. They don’t understand that business is business.”
Austin just rolled his eyes. “It’s that kind of arrogance that probably almost got you killed. You need to make peace with some of these people, Joe. You know it’s the right thing to do.”
“The only peace some of them want is a piece of me. But I’m trying,” he added when Austin gave him a hard look. “Rebecca suggested I might need sensitivity classes. So how are the two of you doing? I noticed she’s been helping you a lot with the case.”
Austin knew what he was asking—just how close were they getting?—but he had no intention of going there. Until he’d had time to talk to Rebecca and find out if she loved him as much as he loved her, he wasn’t discussing their relationship with anyone.
“She’s been very helpful,” he said easily.
Waiting for him to go on, J
oe prompted, “And?”
“And nothing.”
Irritated, Joe scowled. “Is that all you can say? I was hoping—”
Suddenly realizing what he was saying, he snapped his mouth shut, but it was too late. Austin was on to him. Giving him a narrow-eyed look that had made more than one guilty party squirm in his seat over the years, he said silkily, “Don’t stop there, uncle. Just what exactly were you hoping?”
“Nothing,” he said innocently. “Nothing at all.” Abruptly changing the subject, he nodded at the oversized envelope Austin had brought with him. “What’s that?”
Austin knew exactly what he was doing, but he was just as thankful for the distraction as Joe. “It’s my report on the investigation.”
Surprised, Joe reached for it eagerly. “You’ve finished?”
“Not exactly, but I’ve been called back to Portland on an emergency.” Quickly telling him about Nate and the money his partner had embezzled from him, he said, “Nate’s an old friend, and I can’t turn my back on him when he needs help. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not any closer to solving the case than I was the day I came to town.”
He hated like hell to admit that, but there was no getting around it. “I’ve got a list of suspects a mile long, some more suspicious than others, but nobody stands out in the crowd. And that irritates me. You called me down here to do a job for you, and I haven’t done it. I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Joe said with a scowl. “The police have had a whole team of detectives on the case for weeks, and they haven’t been able to solve it, either. So don’t you dare apologize. We may never know who the shooter was. Unless he tries again.”
Austin wanted to tell him that wasn’t going to happen, but they both knew it could. “Thanks for understanding,” he said gruffly. “I want you to know that just because I have to leave doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the case. I just have to put it aside for a while.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Joe said as they both rose from the table and shook hands. “Nothing’s going to happen fast around here, so go ahead and help your friend find his money before that bastard partner of his buries it in the Caymans and it’s lost to him forever. He needs you right now more than I do. And who knows? The police may turn up something while you’re gone.”
