by Karen Kelley
Adam’s gaze dropped to his hands. “I was scared.” He raised his head. “That’s a hard thing for me to admit, but it’s the plain and simple truth.”
“It’s not for me to judge if you killed your partner or not.”
“But you have an opinion.”
“You don’t look like a killer.” He didn’t add, but neither had Ted Bundy or a whole bunch of other murderers.
“So why are you getting married?”
Adam already knew the truth, but it still wouldn’t hurt to lie, and it might actually keep them out of jail. “We were combining business with pleasure—getting married and bringing you in. Your friend Hector wouldn’t hesitate to lock us up and throw away the key. We decided business didn’t mix.”
Adam was silent for a moment, as if he pondered the situation. “It’ll be interesting to see if you follow through. You could do worse. She’s very beautiful.” He nodded toward the stairs.
Cody and Maria were walking down the staircase, Maria in a plum-colored dress, Cody in a deep blue one. Two princesses going to the ball. He straightened, unable to take his gaze off her. Damn, she was something to behold.
Her hair had been swept away from her face, tendrils curling softly on each cheek. Her makeup was different, not that she ever wore much. Her eyelids were smoky brown and her lips deep red, bringing out the fullness.
It was all he could do not to rush forward and pull her into his arms, covering her mouth with his. How long had it been since he’d kissed her? It seemed like forever.
“I think you used getting married as a ruse to keep out of jail, but maybe it wasn’t so much of a scam. You have the look of a man in love with a woman. Maybe fate has stepped in.”
Josh dragged his gaze away from Cody. Adam was way off the mark. He admired Cody, but as soon as they returned to the States, they’d quietly end their brief marriage. He wouldn’t mention that to Adam right now, though.
“You going back? To the States?” he asked.
“I haven’t decided yet. I have enough money in a bank here that I would never want for anything. My sister will see that my partner’s cousin won’t cheat on the books. I could stay and not worry about a trial or jail time.”
“You could, but I don’t think you will.”
“We’ll see. Now go to her. Tell her how beautiful she is. Bring her over and introduce us before the night is over. I want to see if she hides her excitement as well as you.”
Josh hesitated. He’d never just walked away from a bounty.
“Don’t worry. I won’t run. At least not until after the wedding. It would be an insult to Maria and Hector if I left now.”
This was a test. It had to be. Adam was the bait. They wanted to see if either he or Cody would try to get him across the border.
Damn it, he didn’t know what to think anymore.
Josh had no reason to believe Adam when he said he wouldn’t leave, but he did. If he was wrong, they’d be passing up a sizable chunk of money.
His gaze returned to Cody. As he walked toward her, his heart began to beat faster. Damn, she stirred his blood like no other woman ever had.
This marriage is a farce, he told himself.
Then why the hell did it feel so real?
Chapter 20
As Cody took the last step, she looked up, her gaze locking with Josh’s. What was he thinking? Did he like the way Maria’s cousin had trimmed her hair, then pulled it up on top of her head, letting wisps of hair curl around her face? Did he notice the sultry shades of brown and mauve that Maria had brushed on her lids? Or the long blue dress she wore? Did he notice the changes?
And what did he think?
She and Maria stopped in front of him, and apprehension filled her.
“Maria.” He nodded, then turned toward Cody.
He took her hand, stroking his thumb lightly back and forth across her palm. She ached for more than this small caress. Her hand began to tremble.
“You look more beautiful every time I see you,” he told her.
They were only words, she reminded herself. Words meant to convey the message they were madly in love. He meant none of what he said. He enjoyed making love to her as much as she’d enjoyed making love with him, but they weren’t in love. Big difference.
She could play the game, too. Hell, she’d invented games a long time ago just to survive. She was damn good at playing them.
“And you look very handsome, my love.” Her voice was throaty. She lowered her lashes, but covertly watched his reaction. His pupils dilated, and he leaned closer. He was a damn fine actor. For a second, she could almost believe he wasn’t unaffected by her appearance.
“There eez Hector.” With a knowing wink, Maria hurried to join her husband.
Adoncia stayed a few steps back. The other woman didn’t say much. She didn’t have to. One look from her narrowed eyes and Cody knew whatever she was doing wasn’t allowed.
Like sleeping nude. When she’d gone to her room earlier, a white cotton nightgown was draped on the bed. Hint, hint? Well, she certainly didn’t want to cause old eagle-eye to have a coronary, so maybe she’d wear it tonight.
Josh, on the other hand, was quite a different story, and she wasn’t thrilled with the new developments. She smiled sweetly. “They drew my fucking blood this morning,” she said between clenched teeth.
He glanced around, then guided her to the courtyard where some of the couples were dancing a slow waltz.
“They drew mine, too,” he said, pulling her into his arms. His fingers ran lightly over her bare back.
Just a simple caress, but it made her legs weak. She wanted to lay her head against his shoulder, to touch his smooth cheek. She wanted to feel the warmth of his lips on hers.
Instead, she drew in a shaky breath and kept her back straight. Keeping a considerable amount of space between them was a good idea.
“That will make the wedding legal,” she told him.
Her smile was frozen in place as she nodded at a cousin who danced past. She had no idea what the woman’s name was, but she was certain it was a second cousin. Maybe. There were so many cousins, if she threw a stick, she’d hit at least three or four.
“We can get it annulled when we get back to Texas.”
“You’ve got that right,” she said.
“Unless we consummate the marriage.”
His grip tightened when she stumbled.
Consummate? Her mouth went dry just thinking about slow, sensuous sex with Josh. Visions filled her head of their naked, sweaty bodies entwined, straining toward the ultimate release.
Oh, lord, she could almost feel his hands cupping her breasts, his thumbs tweaking her hard nipples.
Take a nice, slow breath. Don’t hyperventilate.
She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed. She could deny that their lovemaking wouldn’t happen, but she damn well couldn’t stop the flood of heat that spread through her like a forest fire.
Besides, whatever she said would be a lie, and they’d both know it. Making love again was inevitable. It was the when that was driving her nuts.
“Then we’ll get a divorce,” she informed him.
“That costs more, and they can get really messy. I mean, what if you decide you want my autographed Playboy? We didn’t sign a pre-nup or anything.”
She met his gaze. The man was seriously deranged.
But his eyes twinkled in a way that made her feel like they were sharing a joke. She bit her lip to keep from smiling. It didn’t do any good. A bubble of laughter escaped, drawing knowing smiles from people close enough to have heard.
“Now that’s the way an about to be married woman should look and sound.”
Pain ripped through her. That was his game? She apparently hadn’t looked in love enough? Damn it, for just a moment she’d felt—oh, hell, what did it matter. This wasn’t real.
“By the way, we have a very special guest,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.
“Did more relatives arrive? Wow, that would
be a big surprise. As if I’m not tripping over them now.”
“Not a relative.”
She eyed him with more than a little suspicion. What was he trying to pull now?
“Who?”
“Adam Sinclair.”
She stumbled again. He caught her to him. She wasn’t sure what affected her more—Josh’s body pressed intimately to hers, or the fact that Adam was here. Unless she’d misunderstood him.
“Could you repeat that?” Her glance swept the room.
“Adam Sinclair is here. He’s a friend of Hector’s. A nice guy.”
Adam Sinclair. Here? No, she wasn’t falling for his attempt at humor. She met his gaze. He looked sincere, but she’d discovered with him it was hard to tell.
“He’s here, and you’ve spoken with him.” She still didn’t believe him.
“I swear.”
Oh, lord, he was telling the truth. “Does he know we’re bounty hunters?” She scanned the room once more, but more slowly.
“Yes, to your question.”
Her gaze swept past a man in a gray suit, then jerked back. He smiled and saluted her with his beer.
“That’s Adam Sinclair,” she whispered. “But…but…”
She caught Maria’s eye as they danced by. Hector’s wife smiled. She smiled back, hoping it didn’t come off as sickly as she felt.
Trust had never been her strong suit. It hadn’t improved in the last day or so. “It’s some kind of trap. They want to see if we’re on the up and up. If we make a grab for Adam, we’ll spend the next thirty years in some rat-infested cell.”
“That’s what I thought, but now I’m not so sure. Remember, Hector said Adam contributed a lot to the community. It would stand to reason they’d be friends. I told Adam our plan had been to combine business with pleasure, but we decided to forget about the business side and just get married.”
“He bought it?”
“Doubtful, but his hands are tied as long as we keep up the pretense.”
Damn, so near yet so far. Adam had a hefty bounty on his head. Her palms began to itch. “How the hell can he look so blasted casual when he’s a fugitive? He must know there are at least a dozen or more recovery agents after him.”
Josh laughed. “You going to handcuff him?”
She glanced around the room. Josh had a point. They wouldn’t make it out the front door. No wonder Adam didn’t show any sign of being worried.
“And that would be minus one bounty hunter.”
“Hmm?”
“You said there were at least a dozen bounty hunters after him. Minus one. Turbo is sitting in a cell as we speak.”
“I can’t say as I’m broken up by that bit of news. I never have liked him. He has a real ego problem.” She arched an eyebrow. “So, are you going to introduce me?”
“Will you be good?”
His words sent a rush of heat over her. Adam, everyone at Maria and Hector’s estate, might as well have not been there. There was only the two of them. Just her and Josh. A slow smile curved her lips. “I’m always good,” she said with a husky drawl.
He drew in a deep breath. “And when you’re bad, you’re even better.” He massaged her earlobe. She closed her eyes, letting his touch consume her. An ache began to build inside her. How could his touch set her on fire so quickly?
“Have you ever had sex in the middle of a dance floor, surrounded by strangers?” she asked.
“That would be a new one for me.”
Even though she wasn’t looking at him, she could still hear the smile in his voice.
“You’re about to find out if you don’t stop what you’re doing,” she warned.
He sighed with regret, but before he moved away, he kissed the top of her head.
“Come on,” he said, taking her arm. “I’ll introduce you to the bane of our existence.”
As they neared Adam, he glanced up.
“When Hector told me how he’d arrested you,” Adam began. “I told him you were lying about coming to Mexico to get married. But watching you on the dance floor…” He shrugged. “Now, I’m not so sure.” He ran his thumb over the rim of his beer bottle. “If you hadn’t spoken with my sister, I might believe you were in love.”
Man, was he wrong. Love only caused pain. They were good at acting. It came with the job. Still, Cody couldn’t stop her pulse from speeding up when she looked at Josh. And why not? He was a sexy, virile man. What woman wouldn’t have a fantasy or two about him? And so much worse for her because she’d already experienced more than the fantasy. But if Adam wanted to believe they were in love, that was okay with her.
“We were mixing business with pleasure,” she said, going along with what Josh had told her. “I’m sure you’ve done that once or twice.” She shrugged. “It didn’t work out, so we decided to take business out of the equation. No harm, no foul.”
As if he were reinforcing her words, Josh lightly caressed her bare arm. At least, she thought he was trying to prove they were really in love. She didn’t really care. His touch sent tingles of delight up and down her arm. It was something she could get used to.
She bit back a groan. No, she couldn’t get used to having him around. He’d leave. Like all the others. She squared her shoulders, promising herself she wouldn’t care about him—or his touch—vowing she wouldn’t let him hurt her.
Adam set his beer bottle on the tray of a passing waiter. When he turned back to her, he smiled. “You have a very good outlook on life. You’ll find it easier to get by if you accept the triumphs with a grain of salt, and the failures with a shrug. There’s always tomorrow.”
For a moment, she wondered if he’d read her mind, but no, he wasn’t talking about her relationship with Josh. He couldn’t know they’d end the marriage as soon as they returned to the States. He’d only meant life in general and the fact that they’d lost the chance to take him back to face trial.
She raised her chin. “I would think you might be a little worried. They won’t give up. Someone will always be looking for you. After all, you are accused of murdering your partner.”
“Touché.” He grabbed a beer from another waiter and downed half of it. “Excuse me, but I think I’ll find a bed somewhere. You know, when I was younger life was much less complicated. I knew what I wanted. I thought if I could just get my company off the ground, I’d have it made. Now this.”
Cody studied his face. There were tired lines around his eyes and he looked much older than he had on television. More haggard. She almost felt sorry for him as she watched him walk away.
“Don’t get emotionally involved,” Josh told her. “Adam is a fugitive. If we don’t bring him in, someone else will.”
“Of course I don’t care about him. I was only thinking about what a great story this would make. Think about it, someday you can tell your kids you spent your first honeymoon chasing a fugitive.”
“Do you want to have kids someday?” he countered.
Kids? She’d never really thought about it. For a moment, she envisioned herself cuddling a baby in her arms. Josh’s baby. Butterflies tickled her belly as an unfamiliar warmth swirled inside her.
She glanced up, her gaze meeting his. “No. Why the hell would I want a kid?”
“No motherly instinct? No need to reproduce?”
“Not at all.” But that didn’t stop this new sensation from enveloping her in a cocoon of soft fuzzies.
Good, lord. Where had these thoughts come from?
Her, a mother? Hell, she wouldn’t know how. Damn it, why did Josh have to open up this subject? Make her start feeling things she didn’t want to feel.
“And you?” she asked, wanting to redirect the conversation away from her. “Do you want kids? Isn’t that supposed to be the measure of a man? Being fruitful and multiplying or some such crap?”
“Maybe someday.”
Josh, a father. She could actually picture him bouncing a kid on his knee. A little Josh.
“I don’t want to chase crimina
ls all my life,” he said.
“What do you want to do?” Strangely, she wanted to know what the future held for Josh Pierce.
“I want to open my own P.I. agency. Go into business for myself.”
“You mentioned that before, but aren’t you doing that already? I mean, technically, we don’t have a boss. We answer to ourselves. If we work, we make money. We don’t bring anyone in, then the bills don’t get paid. It’s as simple as that, but it’s still our decision.”
“Yeah, right, living out of the back of a car ninety percent of the time. I wouldn’t call that my own business.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’d like something a little more stable than this.”
“You two look very serious,” Hector said as he came up beside them. “Are you excited about the wedding tomorrow?”
“Very,” Josh said, then smiled.
“Si, much better than a cold, dirty office. You will have much luck in your marriage because you are starting off right.”
“We are very grateful,” Josh said.
He spoke with a sincerity that made her believe he might be telling the truth. No wonder he’d been one of the best at undercover work. The man was a consummate liar. She’d have to remember that in the future.
“If you’ll excuse me, I think I’d like to dance with my fiancée,” he said.
“Ah, yes, believe me, I do understand.” Hector nodded toward Adoncia. “It was the only time I was able to hold Maria in my arms with her chaperone hovering so close.”
Good move on Josh’s part. The less they had to talk to their hosts, the better off they’d be. If Hector suspected the marriage was a farce, she had a feeling he’d be really ticked off. She could see them languishing in a cell for a very long time.
Josh led her to the dance floor and swept her into his arms, their steps matching the slow seductive strains of the mariachi band. Odd how they fit so well together.
“Did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?”
Now what was he trying to pull? They didn’t have an audience so why was he pouring on the charm?
“Do you question every compliment?” He stared into her eyes. “What the hell kind of upbringing did you have?”
