Summer Fire
Page 96
“Oh, indeed I am. I wanted to know what I was up against. So I read everything I could find including case histories of people who tried to fake it.”
“Geez, amnesia sucks. And blows,” she muttered. “Why would anyone try to fake something so awful. It’s like having your life stolen. You wake up and don’t know where you are, who you are, or where you’re supposed to be. You’re afraid to make friendships or do something as simple as go on a date for fear you’re being unfaithful to a husband you don’t remember.”
“Ah, that explains the honorable Deputy Conway’s resentment then.”
“So you noticed that.” Tessa gave him a searching glance.
“How long has he been that way?” David asked.
She couldn’t read his mood, but she noticed a small muscle in his cheek flex. She’d observed that before when he was upset. Like when Carl had challenged him. How neat. Her husband had a tell. She smothered a grin. Could he be jealous of Carl?
“Carl found me lying in the road. They think I fell in the river somewhere north of Hartman and floated downstream. Apparently, all the rivers were at flood stage last summer. My hair had twigs and other gross stuff in it when they took me to the ER.” Feeling chilled, she rubbed her arms. “I don’t know why I didn’t drown. Just thinking about being in the river scares me. Carl was really nice to me. Even before I woke from the coma, they told me he’d sit with me.”
“But he wanted more than friendship?”
Tessa gave an exasperated sigh. “Yes. I tried going to dinner with him once just because I was lonely, but he kept giving me these looks.”
“What kind of looks?”
“The way you looked at me when we first met in the hospital,” she said, deciding to be bold.
“Oh. Those looks. What did you do?”
She was disappointed that he hadn’t made more of her comment. “I started talking about inventions and patents and other stuff I’d read in that book. I just wanted to keep the conversation non-personal. I like Carl, but I couldn’t in good conscience offer him what he wanted even if I’d wanted it too so I tried to discourage him.”
After a few minutes, she said, “So back to the amazing world of inventions. Did you know that the rubber band was also patented in England?”
“Do tell?”
“Indeed. In 1845. The largest rubber band ball in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, weighs over nine thousand pounds.”
David laughed. “I actually didn’t know that. Maybe you should go on one of those quiz shows and win a million dollars.”
“Or I could be a champion at the next party if we play Trivial Pursuit. David, did we have parties? Did we play games?”
“We didn’t. But we were married only a short time.”
“Was that the only reason?”
“What else could it have been,” he asked.
Nice evasion, she thought. So far since she’d awakened this morning, she’d learned these things: her name really was Tessa, she had a husband named David who made her heart pound with desire, and David was a master of evasion.
Puzzled and a bit depressed over the little things that seemed “off,” Tessa fell silent. Perhaps she just needed to be patient. He probably had conflicting emotions about her and the situation, especially since he’d been accused of killing her.
“What do you think happened to me the day I disappeared?”
“What do you think happened?” David asked.
“Do you always answer a question with a question?” Tessa asked, forcing a grin.
“Do you?”
She laughed. “Okay. I give up. You win. I’ll answer first then you answer. I think maybe I was going to work. I think I got car jacked. You never got a ransom note, right? Maybe they were just after my car, and I got in the way. Maybe they hit me over the head, threw me in the trunk, and left Houston. Then for some reason, they dumped me in the river.
“You were driving an old Porsche. Not worth stealing. Plus, no back seat. I guess you’d have fit in the trunk, but I can’t believe they drove all the way from Houston to Louisiana before disposing of you. You’d have been twisted into a pretzel.”
“Maybe they felt sorry for me. I don’t know. What do you think happened?”
David didn’t answer. He slowed and turned onto an even more narrow blacktop road, and Tessa’s focus changed.
“Are we here?” She strained to see beyond the headlights, but the darkness was complete. “I can’t see anything.”
“Unlike most of the terrain in this part of Texas, this area is heavily wooded. Just a short distance on this county road then we turn again onto a private road.”
“Good because I’m getting too hungry to entertain you.”
David chuckled. “Is that what you’ve been doing?”
“I’ve been giving it the old college try. Hey, you said I worked in accounting. Does that mean I have a college degree in accounting?”
As usual, he hesitated. “That’s something we’ll talk about tomorrow.”
Tessa didn’t protest. She’d made progress and engaged him in a nearly normal conversation so she could wait a bit longer for answers.
Shortly, David turned again onto the smaller road he’d mentioned. He drove around a curve and stopped in front of a high wrought iron gate. Eight-foot tall deer fencing stretched into the darkness on either side of the gate. He pressed a remote clipped to the visor. The gate opened, and he drove through, stopped, and pushed the remote again. After the gate closed, he followed the lane around another curve. A few minutes later, Tessa saw deer grazing along the side of the road. “They’re amazing creatures. I see why you don’t drive fast along here.”
They rounded another curve, and an old Texas-style rock house came into view. A low stone wall defined the yard, and twisted branches of live oaks sheltered the house. Moonlight showed a hill rising somewhere behind the house. Landscape lighting gleamed from deep beds of shrubbery, and off in the distance, Tessa could see water gleaming. “It’s so pretty.”
“Welcome to Outlaw Ridge.” David followed the drive around the left side of the house.
“Why is it called that?”
“They say a gang of outlaws used to hide out here back in the old west. The area wasn’t as wooded as it is now. At the top of the ridge, they could look out over the valley and see for miles. If they saw the sheriff and a posse coming, they’d hide in the limestone caves up there.”
David stopped in front of a building that looked like a barn and pressed a button on the visor. One of two double doors opened, and an overhead light came on. Tessa saw a tractor and a four-wheeler sitting on one side of the building. David pulled in, cut the engine, and stretched. “We’re here. Let’s go find something to eat, and then we can go to bed.”
Tessa’s heartbeat soared. Forget food. She could think only of the going to bed part. She gathered her purse from the backseat as David got his duffle bag, briefcase, and her plastic bags.
Tessa following him from the garage and across what must be the back porch. She heard a coyote howl in the distance. He unlocked the door, and they stepped into what she was a kicthen. He flipped on lights and kept walking so she followed him. She’d have plenty of time to look around tomorrow. Now, she wanted to get to know her husband better.
Actually, it was odd that she had no misgivings about being with him that way. She grinned, feeling like a teenager with a crush. Just thinking about naked skin sliding against naked skin made her throb in all the places where she wanted his touch. A thrill chased up her spine. Anticipation.
He stopped at the first room at the top of the stairs and slapped the light switch. “This’ll be your room.” He tossed the plastic bags onto the bed. “I’m down the hall. You can come down to the kitchen after you’ve unpacked if you want. There should be food in the refrigerator.”
David walked away without a backward glance. Tessa’s jaw dropped. She stared at his back. With a soft, incoherent cry, she rushed into her
bedroom and slammed the door.
Why had he rejected her?
Chapter Four
Feeling foolish, Tessa stood in the bedroom designated as hers and stared at the queen size bed where she would be sleeping. Alone. Frustration filled her. She grabbed the bags from the bed and dropped them to the floor. Hurt, resentment, and a deep feeling of loss whirled together as if in some emotional blender. She felt foolish for the grand romantic fantasy she’d entertained.
They were going to fall into each other’s arms and make passionate love. That would trigger her memories to come flooding back. He’d hold her while she slept and keep her safe in his strong embrace.
Fat chance.
What was wrong with David? He’d certainly given every indication that he wanted her. She’d given every indication that she wanted him. So what was the deal? She considered every angle. Maybe he was trying to be sensitive and give her time to get to know him again. The truth was, she didn’t want time. She wanted him. In bed with her.
She might not consciously remember him, but her body remembered. It was as if he were imprinted on her cells. The way she responded to him—to his voice, his smell, his touch—all of that seemed to be embedded in her subconscious. There was no way he could have faked those heated glances, and he sure couldn’t have faked that erection. No. He wanted her. She wanted him. So why the hell had he walked away like that?
Tessa squared her shoulders. Why was she sitting here stewing about it when he was right down the hall? If nothing else, she could give him a piece of her mind. He undoubtedly needed one because his actions made no sense at all. She wasn’t going to waste another minute in analysis. Thinking wasn’t going to get her what she wanted.
She opened the bedroom door and peered out. The house was dark but she saw a sliver of light beneath a door down the hall on the left. She took a deep breath and started toward that bit of light. She didn’t pause to reconsider. She threw the door open. David stood there.
Naked.
Tessa gulped. Instant desire crowded out her anger and left no room for embarrassment. He held a thick white towel that contrasted sharply with his tanned body. Beads of water glistened on his skin. She swallowed to moisten her suddenly dry throat. She could not have looked away if her life had depended on it. Her eyes skidded down his body, and she felt a punch of desire between her legs. As she watched, he … grew. Lengthened. Hardened.
David wanted to tell her to get out, but the words wouldn’t form. Her gaze was locked on his dick, and he was instantly so hard he ached. His shaft jutted from his body.
Tessa’s face flamed. Her gaze moved upward and collided with his. To his surprise, she didn’t run. His cheeks flushed with ruddy color, and his breathing became labored as they stared into each other’s eyes.
Tessa heard his breath hitch and saw his eyes darken until they looked black. She knew he was as excited as she. This man, this marvelous man, was her husband. Her eyes traced over his shoulders, across his chest, down the corded muscles of his arms, over his ripped abs, and arrived again at the hugely erect penis that put to shame any marble statue she’d ever seen.
“You’re so beautiful,” she whispered. She didn’t know when she moved, but she found herself next to him, her hand reaching to clasp him.
When her palm met his hot velvet-over-steel flesh, he dropped the towel. With a soft growl, he reached for her and jerked her to him. His mouth crushed hers. His erection pressed almost painfully against her belly.
Tessa cried out at the sensation of his iron-hard erection against her softness. Her mouth was hungry for him. His tongue laid siege to her mouth, and she welcomed it. Desperate for his kisses, her tongue tangled with his. His hands cupped her buttocks and lifted her, fitting her against him so that his hardness pressed against her sex. She felt swollen there. Wet. Wanting.
She gave a keening sound of need. She gasped and clung to him, muttering, “Clothes. Too many clothes.”
David answered her complaint with another soul-shaking kiss. His mind reeled. This was a mistake. But he’d longed for Tessa to respond this way again. But it was too late. He should shove her aside. Reject her as she’d rejected him. But he was just a man. When he saw her sky blue eyes glazed with passion, hungry for him, the knowledge nearly undid him. This was the new Tessa of the light blue eyes. The Tessa who wasn’t rejecting him, but welcoming him with her body. God forgive him, but he wasn’t strong enough to resist when she was offering him everything he’d wanted. He kissed her again, his mouth seducing, his tongue stroking, thrusting, foreshadowing what would come next.
She met his passion with a passion of her own, giving kiss for kiss, touch for touch. She clasped his erection, her hands sliding up and down his shaft, making his heart pound so hard he thought it might give out before he exploded inside her.
He tore his mouth from hers. He stared into her eyes and held her gaze as he removed her dress and tossed it behind him. Beneath the dress, she wore a rose pink satin bra trimmed with black lace and matching panties. He smiled and stroked his hands over the creamy mounds of her breasts before leaning close and letting his mouth retrace that route, spreading fiery kisses. He felt her heart pounding against his cheek. He slid his hands down and beneath the satin of the tiny panties. Tessa groaned when he cupped her butt and squeezed. A shudder went through her body. “I think I’m going to expire if you don’t touch me.”
“I am touching you,” he teased.
“Not where I want you to,” she moaned.
“Where do you want to be touched?” he asked, his voice hoarse, his hands sliding through the soft curls below. “Here?”
Her breath caught. “Yes,” she managed. “Just a little bit lower.”
He slid one finger between the swollen lips, and her breath escaped in a ragged moan. She was wet. Slick with her desire. His finger slid out, and she gasped a protest. “We’ll play later,” he promised, reaching for her bra. He made short work of the sexy lingerie.
Without another word, David swept her into his arms and strode from the bathroom to the room next door. He didn’t bother groping for the light switch. He dropped her on the bed and covered her body with his. He positioned his erection so that he pressed against the cleft of her sex.
Tessa moaned and lifted her hips. “I want you inside me, but you’re so big. So hard. Do we fit?”
“You’re tight. Small. But we fit.” David found the spot on her lower neck where he’d once kissed her and had her gasping in pleasure. He bit softly there, and she responded by rocking her hips against his, making his dick feel as if it might explode.
“Oh, David, my breasts. Please. They ache.”
Her words made him ache. He levered himself up and caught a taut, pink nipple in his mouth and sucked. Hard. Tessa’s nails bit into his shoulders. “Yes. I like that.”
He was almost out of control. His mouth moved to the other nipple. When he sucked, he lightly pinched the other nipple, wet from his mouth, and Tessa’s hips bucked against him.
“You’re very sensitive, aren’t you?” That’s how she’d been the first time they’d made love. That’s when he’d known no other woman would ever satisfy him the way she did. He tormented her nipples until she was gasping incoherently.
Tessa’s eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness of the room, lit only by moonlight through the window. “You’re so beautiful,” she said again. He made her feel beautiful too. Tessa managed to put together words to tell him what she wanted. “I want you inside me. Now. Please. I want to be a part of you again.”
He pushed her thighs farther apart, and positioned himself at her moist, swollen entrance. He pushed inside her. She was so wet that he slid in easily, but he made himself stop and ask, “Am I hurting you?”
His face was inches from hers. His eyes searched hers. She felt his arms trembling. Her body hummed with anticipation. “No. I’m fine. I know it’s been a while. You’re big, but I love the way you stretch me.”
When he slid in all the way, gro
aning as if he were in pain, she asked, “Was it always like this with us?”
Tessa felt swamped by emotions. She’d almost lost this—this profound experience that was as emotional as it was sexual.
David began to move slowly, pulling out, stroking in. He seemed to grow even harder.
“When you slide into me, it feels … like the best thing I’ve ever experienced.”
He leaned down, his forehead touching hers. He lay still, breathing hard. This was what he’d craved. This connection. This feeling. Not her rejection that he’d never understood. In a hoarse whisper he said, “I’ll go slow. Make it last. At least I’ll try.” He raised up and held her gaze as he slowly pushed in. Inch by inch. They were both shaking with need. The pleasure of their joining mixed with the pain of going slow when all he wanted was to ram into her. Again and again until he climaxed. But, he wanted her right there with him.
After they’d married, their few couplings, and that’s what they’d been, hurried, unsatisfying couplings, she’d been dry, tight. Each time, she’d insisted that all the lights in the bedroom be on. He didn’t know why she’d changed, and he didn’t know what was going on now, but he was too enraptured with her to do anything but pump into her tight, molten core. She was wet with desire. Wet for him.
Tessa urged him on with her soft moans. Her palms cupped his face, her eyes locked on his. He knew he’d never forget this moment. This night. A shudder wracked his body. He moved faster. Harder. Tessa met him, stroke for stroke. She groaned, and her lips sought his. The touch of her tongue to his was like electricity arcing through his body. His movements became frantic. Sweat dripped from his body. He felt his balls drawing up. “Come with me, Tessa.” He pushed hard into her, grinding against her.
She stared into his eyes. Her voice was needy. “David. Help me.”
He reached between their bodies as if he’d done it a million times and found her clit, pressing the tiny bundle of nerves, and Tessa cried out. Her body convulsed around him, and he let himself go, pounding into her, glorying in the contractions that squeezed him as his wife had her first orgasm since their wedding night.