She chewed on her lower lip. “I hope so.”
Matt smiled. “Don’t sound so worried, Babe. It will all come out in the wash.”
Shrugging in an almost painful gesture, Alanna murmured, “I want it to…for your sake, Matt. I really do.”
His eyes darkened. “Our sake,” he corrected gently.
Something blossomed within her injured heart. There was such a confidence and sureness about him and the belief he held in their future together.
“I know so little about you,” she whispered.
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
He smiled. “I was born in Kittery, Maine, and grew up there.”
“Any brothers or sisters?”
“One brother, John. He’s a lobster man at a place called York Harbor.”
Alanna smiled. “I would never have thought you a fisherman.”
He poured them both more coffee. “I’ve never outgrown the love of fishing. As a matter of fact, that cabin I told you about is a little ways inland of Kittery on the Piscataquis River. I usually take two weeks in the fall to go up there and fish my fill of black-backed flounder.” He looked up. “I still want you to join me after this tempest in a teapot is over with.”
Her green eyes crinkled with humor. “I’ve never picked up a fishing pole in my life, and I refuse to bait a hook with a poor, defenseless worm.”
“We don’t use worms to catch flounder. I’m afraid if I tell you what we do use, you’ll turn my invitation down.”
She grinned carelessly, thinking of what a joy it would be to share that time with him. No military or Hill politics to interfere. “Where is Kittery?”
“Just above Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I suppose you don’t travel too far from D.C.?” he asked, teasing.
Alanna gave him a scowl. “I may be a city girl, Colonel, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t traveled a little.”
“I see. That means within the state of Maryland and Virginia?”
“I’ve gotten as far as New York City and points west.”
“Well, that’s a start.”
“To you it probably seems like a drop in the bucket. Traveling all over the world like a cosmopolitan jet setter.”
Matt grinned. “Hardly in jet-setting style, believe me. More like the ride you took on that C-130 Hercules to get down here, packed between sweaty bodies and cargo crates for sixteen hours.”
She joined his laughter. “So much for the image, then,” she said.
Sipping her coffee, she studied him in the muted light surrounding them. Despite the outer garb and his military bearing, Matt’s face was devoid of its usual stoniness. Instead, his gray eyes were lively with a silver sparkle in their depths. He smiled readily and often, the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes deepening, the harshness gone from his features. Across the table sat a man whom she felt herself responding to with effortless ease. The aura of sensitivity and gentleness around him left her breathless and wanting to explore more of this hidden side to him. When he talked of Maine his eyes lit up and his voice took on a wistful note.
“Did you mean it?” she asked suddenly.
Matt studied her. “About what?”
“Going fishing?”
“Of course. The best time is in mid-October, when the leaves are turning. There’s no place like it, Alanna. I think you’ll fall in love with Maine.”
She shivered inwardly at the huskiness in his voice. “I want to see it because it’s a part of you,” she explained.
“Ahh, explore the lion’s den.”
“Carefully,” she assured him, watching his eyes widen with silent laughter.
“I don’t bite.”
“Ohh, is that an understatement!”
“Only when I get my tail stepped on,” he amended. “Like that first time we met.”
Alanna tilted her head. “You had me so scared I was ready to fly back to D.C. under my own power.”
Matt reached out, recapturing her hand and holding it gently in his own. “Do you have any idea of how beautiful you are?” he asked softly. “For two days before you arrived we had fought the Costa Ricans on the proper way to set up the relief plan, and I was ready to rip anyone’s head off. And then, out of this C-130 comes the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I didn’t know what to do: whether to kiss you or turn you over my knee for bumping my radioman.”
Her heart was pounding furiously, and she felt heat rising into her face. She frowned, unable to meet his tender gaze. “Please…” she whispered tightly, “don’t, Matt, I—”
He raised her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. “Why not? You deserve to be flattered.”
A lump grew in her throat until it squelched any words that she might have thought it. But under the circumstances, she couldn’t think coherently anyway. Living with Paul for four years had effectively numbed her sense of her own attractiveness.
Matt rose after he released her hand and moved around to her side, slipping his hand beneath her arm. “Come on, it’s time to turn in,” he urged gently.
As she walked silently at his side, Alanna tried to understand the varied emotions Matt Breckenridge had released in her. They halted at her room, and he captured her shoulders, turning her to face him. Lips parting, Alanna moved her gaze upward, meeting the silver flame smoldering within his hooded eyes.
“Lady, you’re very special to me,” he whispered huskily as his head descended.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she automatically closed her eyes, hungering for his nearness. His mouth brushed her lips in an earth-tilting caress. Alanna leaned forward, wanting, needing further contact with his mouth. A low groan came from him as he pulled her hard against his straining body, his mouth fitting perfectly against her awaiting lips. A soft cry echoed in her throat: one of pleasure, one of surrender to his masterful, guiding touch. He moved his hand down her spine, pinning her hips against him. Fire caught and exploded violently within her aching body, and she moaned, returning the heated kiss with unleashed intensity.
Gradually, ever so gradually, Alanna became aware of Matt gently pulling her away from him. Her eyes must have betrayed her disappointment because he slid his fingers through her hair in a caressing motion.
“You’d better get inside, or I won’t keep my promise to you,” he growled thickly. “Go on. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Alanna lay awake for a long time afterward. No matter how she tried to ignore the awakened desires of her hungry body, she could not sleep. Finally, she slipped into her blue robe and walked out to the patio, staring up at the stars overhead. A slight breeze ruffled her hair, and the scent of citrus wafted on the air. She inhaled unsteadily, gripping the railing. Suddenly, her well-ordered life was crumbling before her very eyes. It was a continual agony to be with Matt. The hotness of tears scalded her eyes, and she shut them tightly, her fingers whitening against the wrought iron. She loved him. God, she loved him so much it hurt! And never in her life had she felt the anguish of awakening love like this.
Finally, she opened her eyes, the tears streaming down her cheeks making silvery paths in the moonlight. Was it love or just a strong sexual attraction between them? When had any man made her body feel as though it were a singing, throbbing instrument to be played? She released her grip on the railing, trying to stem the flood of tears without success. She wanted to trust Matt…her heart did. But her head was more cautious. If Matt were brought up on charges and she let it be known she loved him, Thornton would have her fired in an instant. Matt had never said he loved her. But she sensed that the trembling huskiness of his voice had betrayed his feelings when he’d told her she was special only hours ago….
It was his utter honesty that totally unstrung her. She was used to the games that the men around her played. Was Matt’s honesty a game in itself? No, her heart whispered. If it were, why hasn’t he gone against his word to keep the relationship neutral until the outcome of the investigation is known? Alanna knew he was
restraining himself for her sake.
Matt could have taken her to bed tonight, and she would have gone willingly. She recalled with poignant sweetness the trembling of his hard, lean body against her own. It had been only his iron-willed control that had finally separated them. In his arms, she was clay to be molded to his desires. Turning, she stared in at the darkened bedroom, her lashes wet with tears. What heaven it would be if Matt were in there, waiting for her to return to his arms….
* * *
Alanna awoke early the next morning. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, she was ready when Matt knocked on the door. Opening it, she gave him a smile.
“Come on in, I’m almost ready.”
He stepped inside. “I probably should have warned you last night, Alanna, where we’re going today, you’ll want to wear some clothes you can afford to get dirty.”
She made a half-turn, disappointment written on her face. Well, so much for looking feminine. She noticed he was in a pair of well-worn jeans and a short-sleeved shirt of light blue. “I was wondering why you weren’t in uniform.”
He grinned. “Only wear that thing when I have to, lady. You have one of those pairs of jeans you used up at the base camp?”
She made a wry face. “Okay, I get the drift. Can you wait five minutes?”
He nodded, amusement in his gray eyes. “You’re worth waiting for,” he returned.
She glanced up sharply, a slight blush tinging her cheeks at the compliment. He looked terribly handsome standing there, his weight shifted to one foot, his hands resting against his hips. This time, Alanna didn’t try to fight the fluttery feeling in her stomach. “Thanks,” she whispered, and then disappeared into the bathroom to change.
Matt led her downstairs to a small cafe for a quick breakfast. Alanna sat opposite him, giving him a questioning look.
“What are we up to today?” she asked.
Matt poured coffee, handing her a cup. “We’re going down to the docks to do a little searching for a certain truck that’s got a slash mark on its left rear wheel. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”
Alanna lifted the cup, sipping the fragrant, strong coffee. “Somehow, Matt Breckenridge, anywhere with you is exciting.”
He returned her smile. “Hasn’t been dull since we met, has it? Back on the Hill you probably cause just as much commotion.”
“Not really. I sit quietly in my office with stacks of information piled all over my desk doing statistics and surveys for the senator.”
“That sounds positively boring.”
“Compared to your life-style, I’m sure it does.”
“Didn’t that set of papers you showed me the first day mention you were his South American specialist?”
She shrugged. “Supposedly. I haven’t really had a chance to stretch into that area as I thought I would. The senator keeps an iron-clad grip on everything that involves South America.”
Matt gave her a strange, unsettling look. “So he doesn’t trust anyone with his former territory? I’m surprised he didn’t come down here himself to investigate me.”
“He would have if he hadn’t had a filibuster the following Monday,” she assured him.
Alanna detected a certain uneasiness about him and remained silent. She was amazed at the sharpness of expression that appeared in his gray eyes. One moment he was human; the next, a predatory hawk circling his prey. She shivered, setting down the cup. “I’ll be so glad when this is all over,” she muttered fervently. “I feel like I’m walking on thin ice with no hope of rescue.”
Some of the hardness went out of his eyes at the frustration in her voice. “I’ll always be there to rescue you, no matter what the circumstances. Just remember that.”
She felt buoyed up by his huskily spoken promise. Hesitantly, she moved her hand forward. Immediately, his warm strong fingers clasped her hand, and she felt her pulse pounding in response.
As if he were reading her mind, or perhaps the strain on her features, he said, “This will be over very shortly, Alanna.”
Compressing her lips, she avoided his gentle gaze. “I-I don’t know Matt. I keep getting a horrible feeling here, in my heart. Call it instinct or whatever, I just know this isn’t as simple as it all looks.”
He released her hand, sitting back as the waiter brought them a breakfast of eggs and toast. “Thornton may try something, but as usual, it will be a bluff. Remember, he’s tried it twice before on me.” He scowled, studying her face. “I worry more about you in this mess than anyone. You’re the one who is open to hurt, Alanna. I’ve seen Thornton put the screws to people before, and I don’t think he’s above doing it to you if push comes to shove. Just make damn sure that you log in your reports and keep a copy of them under lock and key somewhere other than your office.”
She picked at the eggs, upset. She no longer believed Matt would lie about his skirmishes with the senator. But she had never seen that side of Senator Thornton…only his ready smile, his sometimes raucous, off-color office jokes and his ability to manipulate lobbyists for what he believed was right. Putting down the fork, she rested her hand in her lap, looking up to meet Matt’s eyes.
“I’m frightened, Matt,” she admitted. “I-I don’t know who to believe anymore. You’ve had terrible experiences with politicians. I work for one, and he seems so friendly, extroverted and sincere in his desire to help the American people.” She gave a little shrug. “God, I’m scared for both of us….”
Chapter Ten
Having no more than landed at Washington International Airport, Alanna received a call from Peggy as she entered her apartment. The senator’s secretary began a point-by-point discussion of Alanna’s report, which was expected on Senator Thornton’s desk within twenty-four hours. Tiredly, Alanna agreed and hung up the phone. She gazed around her cheerful Georgetown apartment. Walking over to her spider plant, she caressed one long green and white leaf. It needed water, she decided, trying to shrug off the irritation of the phone call.
Her heart wasn’t in her work. Saying good-bye to Matt had been more wrenching than she cared to admit. After snooping in and out of warehouses for nearly two days and finally discovering what had become of the missing medical supplies, she was exhausted. But that hadn’t made their parting any less agonizing. Matt had insisted on maintaining his military bearing and demeanor. He didn’t trust Thornton not to have a spy following Alanna’s every move. And because of that, he never touched or even kissed her when they said good-bye.
Sighing softly, Alanna determinedly set to work on the report. It was nearly two in the morning when she completed the first draft. Well, she thought dully, the senator is going to be disappointed. Matt was clear of any scandal, thank God. Putting both canisters of film, the report and a report filed by the police department in her attache case, Alanna went to bed. She slept poorly, nightmares, lurking in the recesses of her mind. Despite Matt’s vindication, she sensed that the situation had not yet been fully resolved. She awoke the next morning groggy and ill-tempered.
Her colleagues welcomed her back to work as she entered the spacious office complex. Peggy was waiting with her usual primness, hand outstretched for the report. Alanna clamped down the urge to make a few catty remarks to the blond-haired woman but decided against it, silently handing her the packet. Peggy gave her the standard cardboard smile.
“The senator gave orders to send you in to see him the moment you arrived back, Alanna. Let me tell him you’re here.”
Alanna pushed her fingers through her hair in an aggravated motion, then dutifully went to sit in the outer office. It was almost ten minutes before Peggy reappeared.
“He’ll see you now.”
Alanna rose from the chair, walking briskly into his office. The senator looked up from the desk, a smile on his lips.
“Welcome home, traveler!”
She returned the smile wearily, suddenly feeling all her apprehensions vanishing beneath his beaming appraisal. “Thanks, Senator.”
He cocked his
head, studying her. “You still look bushed. Rough down there?”
Alanna stood uncomfortably. “Very rough,” she agreed. She noted the opened packet beneath his right hand. “I wasn’t prepared for the kind of living they have to endure down there.”
“If we had had more time, we could have briefed you more carefully, Alanna. I’m sorry if you were caused any undue discomfort. Please, sit down, you look terribly nervous.”
She gave him a quick smile. “Just incredibly tired. Remember, Senator, I’m a city girl. That was pure country living at its worst down there. Not to mention the hiking around I did all over that jungle looking for evidence.”
Thornton patted the packet gently. “I briefly scanned your report, Alanna. And it sees that Colonel Breckenridge is cleared of any wrongdoing. Is that true?” His eyes bored into hers, and his voice took on a razor edge.
A warning bell went off deep within her. Only a few seconds flew by, but Alanna remembered Matt’s description of that intuitive alarm that always sounded when there was danger. She scrutinized the smiling, relaxed senator. Where was the danger? Her stomach was tied into knots for no apparent reason. It would be so easy to shift back to her logic…but she cared deeply for Matt and couldn’t afford to ignore the advice he had given her. Licking her dry lips, she sat up straight in the chair.
“I had to work at Colonel Breckenridge’s side almost all the time, Senator. We discovered parts of some crates deep in the jungle south of San Dolega. They ended up being supplies that had been stolen off the dock, but they were not bound for the relief effort. At the docks we found the truck that had moved them.”
Thornton nodded his massive head. “And the crates at San Dolega? You said five of them were only partially filled with medicine. What happened to them?”
“The colonel had the police commissioner looking into it, checking the names of the Costa Rican personnel who were ferrying those supplies up to the base camp. We found two men who were responsible for the disappearance of the medical supplies. Both are in custody now and awaiting trial in the capital city.”
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