by Amelia Autin
* * *
Savannah gazed out over the rolling hills, then snapped a few photos. “The GPS doesn’t work in China, you know,” she told him, a trace of regret in her voice. “I bought this camera for this trip specifically because of that feature. I wanted a permanent GPS record of every place I visited. But...” She sighed. “I’m not exactly sure why, but it doesn’t work. It worked just fine in the US—I tested it. Do you think the Chinese government is somehow blocking the signal?”
“Could be,” he said cautiously. He knew the answer. But he wasn’t about to reveal to her that he knew or how he knew.
She chuckled suddenly, taking him by surprise. “And you couldn’t care less, one way or the other.” She turned within the frame of his arms, her face alight with humor. “Sorry. I’m babbling. I have a bad habit of blurting out what’s on my mind. Even worse, my mind tends to jump around a lot—that’s the engineer in me. So carrying on a normal conversation with me is a challenge.”
“A challenge?” he murmured. “I love a challenge.”
He would. She didn’t know how she knew that about him, but she did. He wasn’t talking about carrying on a conversation with her, of course. She wasn’t that naive. He was talking sex, plain and simple. She caught her breath, then shook her head. “I won’t be much of a challenge,” she said before she could think about how unwise it was to admit it.
He didn’t move closer, but somehow it felt as if he had. And instead of the choked-up feeling that always overcame her whenever she feared she couldn’t escape, this time her shortness of breath had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with excitement.
“You’re no pushover,” he told her, that tantalizing smile in his eyes matching the one on his lips. “Damned if I know what you are, but I know that much.”
Kiss me and find out.
Savannah was aghast at herself, until she realized she hadn’t actually uttered those words out loud. But then Niall’s head came down, shortening the distance between them, and his lips brushed hers. Just a delicate touch, but she trembled. Made an inarticulate sound deep in her throat. And her hands came up of their own volition to clutch his arms. To hold him right where he was. To keep him kissing her.
Then he deepened the contact, and Savannah lost any grasp she had on reality. Being kissed by Niall, feeling his body rock-hard against the softness of hers as he held her with male intent, sent her into an alternate universe, one where she could only cling to him for safety. She couldn’t escape but she didn’t want to escape. Not from him.
Suddenly, Savannah realized a little sound of arousal and surrender was coming from her throat. She tried to break away, to free herself from his powerful spell...and he let her go.
It was only a slight movement on her part, but he responded immediately. And that impressed the hell out of her. Most men she knew wouldn’t have. Most men would have tried to overcome what they thought was merely token resistance on her part. But not Niall. He had incredible self-control...and a will to match.
“Seen enough?” he asked eventually, after her heartbeat slowed...as if they hadn’t just spent the last few minutes not taking in the magnificent view at all. “We still have to fight our way back down to the gondolas and make it to the tour bus before eleven. And our tour guide warned us to allow forty-five minutes for that, to be on the safe side.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s ten after ten now.”
Savannah couldn’t believe how the time had flown. And Niall must have read her crestfallen expression, because his eyes held understanding as he turned her gently to face outward again. “We have five minutes,” he said in his deep voice. “Make the most of them.”
Gratitude washed through her. Not just that he seemed to get how much this meant to her, that she was actually here on the top of the Great Wall the way she’d dreamed of being since she was a little girl. But also for the fact that he was here with her. Holding her safe. Sheltering her from the crowd.
“It’s amazing,” she managed in wistful tones. “I’ve seen pictures of course. My mom and I used to—” She stopped abruptly, afraid she’d be overcome with emotion if she continued that line of thought. She sighed a little to herself, suppressing the pang, and said instead, “The sheer immensity of it is unbelievable.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Don’t you think so?”
He nodded slowly. “Unbelievable.” But he wasn’t looking at the view. And Savannah knew he was talking about her.
* * *
The steep walk back down passed in a blur. A comfortable blur where she didn’t panic once. The gondola ride, too. Savannah scurried into the slow-moving car when it was her turn, but Niall took so long entering after her no one else managed to crowd in with them. Then he sat down next to her, when he could have had the entire opposite seat to himself, and Savannah knew he’d deliberately maneuvered things this way, something he confirmed with, “I’ll bet you’re glad for a little privacy.”
She wanted to express her thanks, but the words wouldn’t come. She just gazed at him instead. But he seemed to get her message, because one corner of his mouth twitched upward in a half grin. “Yeah. Can’t say as I know what it’s like, being afraid of crowds. But I do enjoy privacy myself. At home—” He broke off suddenly, and Savannah wondered what he’d intended to say. And why he’d stopped himself from saying it.
Savannah and small talk in a social situation didn’t normally peacefully coexist. But she suddenly wanted to know everything she could about Niall, so she asked softly, “Where’s home?”
“Washington, DC.” That alpha male smile was back in full force. “And you?”
“Vail, Arizona. Just east of Tucson.”
“Born and raised?”
She nodded. “I’ve lived there all my life, except for my college years. What about you?”
He shook his head. “Denver. Then four years in the Marine Corps, stationed all over hell and gone.”
“What made you decide to settle down in DC?” The question tumbled out before she could stop herself.
His expression didn’t actually change, so Savannah didn’t know how she knew but somehow she did—this wasn’t a question Niall was going to answer in detail. And she was right. “Work,” he said briefly. “And you? Where do you work?”
“I don’t, actually.”
He raised his brows. “Lady of leisure?”
She shook her head vehemently. “I should have said I don’t work right now. Although I’m sure I’ll go back to it after this year.”
“What’s so special about this year?” When Savannah hesitated, he said, “Sorry, don’t answer if it makes you uncomfortable. I have a bad habit of asking questions I shouldn’t.”
She tore her gaze away from his and realized their gondola was almost at the terminus. “It’s a long story,” she finally admitted. “And—”
“And now’s not a good time for a long story,” he finished for her. “How about over dinner? Dinner tonight is at our hotel, as I recall. We can find a quiet spot and you can tell me all about it.” His hand reached out and cupped her cheek, gently turning her face to his. His gaze lingered on her mouth for a moment before he added, “And at the same time, you can tell me what’s lacking in the male population of Vail, Arizona.”
Bewildered, she let her eyes ask for elucidation. His voice was deep, male and sent shivers of awareness through her as he said, “You can explain how it’s even remotely possible a woman like you is traveling on an excursion like this alone.”
Chapter 2
Savannah surveyed the contents of the closet in her hotel room with disfavor. As if something incredibly eye-catching and seductive would miraculously appear if she stared long enough, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. She didn’t own anything incredibly eye-catching and seductive. And if she did, most likely she wouldn’t have brought it on this trip anyway.
Slacks, blouses, sweaters and jeans were all she’d packed. Not a single dress. Well, there was that dressy tunic to be worn over slacks, which she’d packed for the Welcome Reception on the river cruise portion of the tour. But it wasn’t nearly sexy enough for a dinner date with Niall Johnson.
Then she took herself severely to task. “It’s not a date. It’s just...dinner.”
But dinner with a man who looked at her the way she’d dreamed of having a man look at her. As if she was irresistible. As if he wanted to do unspeakably wonderful things to her body...all night long.
Her imagination immediately went into overdrive and her nipples tightened unbearably. Unexpected heat in her core sent the blood rushing to her cheeks, and all of a sudden she grabbed her purse off the bed and headed for the door. There were at least two elegant shops on the first floor of this five-star hotel. And she had time...if she didn’t dawdle.
* * *
Five hundred seventy-three dollars poorer, Savannah opened her hotel door at Niall’s knock, and he literally did a double take. “Wow. I mean...” He seemed at a loss for words, and the stunned expression in his eyes conveyed that every penny had been well spent. “Wow,” he said again.
“Thanks.” She thought about adding, Just a little something I packed at the last minute, but she didn’t think she could pull it off. Instead, she admitted, “I kind of got carried away in the stores downstairs.” Which she had. The peach-colored frock, with its frothy, layered-chiffon skirt and coyly plunging neckline, was one she’d never even imagined trying on. But the saleswoman in the shop had known her business, and before Savannah had realized it, she’d bought the dress, sheer stockings and silk-and-lace wisps of panties and a bra.
Then, because she’d already splurged, she’d headed for the drugstore and the cosmetics counter there. Peach lip gloss to match the dress, of course, and eye shadow to make her gray eyes smoky and mysterious—it was amazing what a little makeup did to change a woman’s appearance. Not to mention what it did for a woman’s self-esteem in a social setting.
She didn’t wear makeup as a general rule, because she’d always wanted to be taken seriously as an engineer. Not as a woman engineer. So she’d never worn it at work, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to apply it. She’d experimented in middle and high school like most girls, and she knew what suited her. But it had been a long time.
Niall looked fantastic in gray slacks and a long-sleeved white dress shirt, but then he had this morning, too, in much more casual clothes. His slightly-too-long brown hair would have looked ungroomed on another man, but on Niall...it was perfect. Out of the blue, she thought of Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp in the movie Tombstone, and realized she’d hit the nail on the head. She could so envision him as a gunslinger in the Wild West.
He was watching her mouth again. Something about that intent stare thrilled Savannah to no end. She would normally be flustered by male attention of that sort—not that she’d had all that much of it in her life, in large part because she’d eschewed it—but still...
It was different with Niall, though. He made her feel desired, but safe...in an unsafe sort of way. In other words, as safe as she wanted to be.
But she didn’t want to be. She’d spent all that money on this dress and everything else, for one reason and one reason only. She wanted to throw caution to the winds. She wanted to be reckless for once in her life. She wanted to be wild and wanton. And she had every intention of letting Niall teach her how to be wild and wanton, things at which she was absolutely sure he was an expert.
Which was why she’d bought something else at the drugstore. She’d hidden the little box in the nightstand by her bed, but she was acutely aware it was there. And if she played her cards right tonight, Niall would be using its contents. Multiple times.
* * *
Niall told himself it was just the dress and the makeup. Fine feathers make a fine bird, he reminded himself cynically. But he was lying to himself...and he never did that. Which meant it wasn’t the dress, and it wasn’t the makeup. It was the woman he was attracted to. He’d been entranced by her lips earlier today, and there hadn’t been a trace of lip gloss on them then.
Desire had tugged at his loins when he’d created that little space for her on the Great Wall, and he’d wanted to pull her into his arms and possess that mouth with a single-mindedness that made a mockery of his assignment. Desire that had flared out of nowhere. Desire that now threatened to get out of hand.
She’s your target. The reminder helped, but not enough. Not nearly enough.
* * *
“So tell me why this year is so special,” Niall invited. They’d filled their plates at the buffet, then reseated themselves in the secluded corner booth he’d charmed the hostess into seating them in.
He watched as Savannah swallowed a bite of the excellent shrimp in lobster sauce he’d already sampled. His brain took a quick detour as he considered pressing his lips to the delicate hollow of her throat, clearly visible in that temptation of a dress. He dragged his attention back with an effort when she said, “My parents died three months ago.”
He blinked. He knew that fact—of course he knew. He knew just about everything there was to know about her. But he’d never have thought their deaths would be something she—
“They were booked on a round-the-world cruise,” she continued softly, her eyes filled with shadows. “To be followed by a series of cruises along ancient waterways—the Nile, the Amazon and the Yangtze Rivers, among others. It was the dream of a lifetime for them. It’s not as if they’d never travelled before, but not like this for many, many years...mostly because of me.”
“Because of you?” He knew why, but he wanted to encourage her to confide in him. To trust him.
She hesitated. “My parents used to travel a lot during Christmas and summer breaks from teaching, mostly in the US. And they continued doing that when I came along. But...” She glanced down at her plate, then back up at Niall. “The summer I turned four, we flew to Hawaii—Oahu, actually. I loved it, right up until I got separated from my parents in a Waikiki open-air tourist market. Masses of people. All strangers. All crowding around me. And when I started crying, everyone tried to help. But that only made things worse. People kept coming up behind me, touching me. I panicked and began hyperventilating. I passed out eventually, collapsing into a little ball on the ground. By the time my parents found me...”
“So that’s why you don’t like crowds.”
“Not crowds so much,” she explained, “although I prefer not to be in them. It’s more people coming up behind me. Touching me unexpectedly. Like today at the Great Wall.”
“I understand.” He didn’t have to fake the empathy.
“I had therapy, of course. And I don’t panic nearly as often as I used to. But for the rest of my childhood and adolescence, we never traveled anywhere that might bring on one of my crowd-induced panic attacks. Which pretty much ruled out most tourist destinations. It wasn’t until my parents no longer had to worry about me that they were free to travel again, but...”
She paused as if her thoughts were a million miles away, and Niall asked, “But...?”
“Then my mom got sick. Kidney failure. Which meant she was tied to a dialysis schedule that wouldn’t allow her to travel far from home, especially overseas. You can arrange for dialysis someplace other than your home hospital here in the US, but she was also on a waiting list for a transplant. I don’t know if you know how that works, but when you’re on the list they give you a beeper. You have to be at the ready the instant a kidney becomes available, because there’s a very limited time window. Otherwise it goes to someone else, the next blood-and-tissue match on the list.
“And my mom had a somewhat rare blood type, which meant the odds of a match weren’t all that good to begin with. She wasn’t about to risk missing out on a kidney transplant, so they
never went anywhere they couldn’t return from at a moment’s notice.”
She sighed softly. “My mom finally got her transplant two years ago. But my parents had been planning for the day they’d finally be free to travel again long before that. They were going to take a spectacular trip to make up for all the trips they hadn’t been able to take over the years, first because of me, then because of my mom’s health. And they were going first class all the way. They’d planned what they would see and do at each port of call, in minute detail.
“They had to wait, somewhat impatiently, to make sure my mom’s body didn’t reject the donated organ, but the trip was all they talked about, especially toward the end, when it was finally going to be a reality. They’d both arranged sabbaticals so they didn’t have to worry about how long they’d be gone—they were professors at the University of Arizona, you see. My father in mathematics, my mother in ancient history,” she explained unnecessarily, although she didn’t know it.
“And...?” Niall prompted when she fell silent.
“And they were on the way to the airport to embark on their grand adventure, when a trucker fell asleep at the wheel. At least...that’s what the police theorized. His truck jackknifed on the I-10 freeway, then flipped over, pinning my parents’ car beneath it.”
Even though Niall already knew all of this, hearing the words from Savannah, hearing the grief in her voice, did something to him, and his brows drew together in a frown. He reached across the table and touched her hand briefly. “I’m so sorry.”
She drew a shaky breath before continuing. “It still hurts,” she said in a tight little voice. “But it’s not as bad as it was at first.”
“I lost my dad some years back,” Niall admitted before he could stop himself. “And yeah, it still hurts. It will always hurt. That old ‘time heals all wounds’ saying is a load of crap. But it does get easier. Trust me on this.”
She smiled mistily at him, and Niall had the sudden, eerie sensation of falling.
