Under Cover Of Darkness

by Elizabeth White

  He slung his neatly pressed pants leg across the bike and smiled at her.

  Ah, there he was. My Jack.

  Panic set in. “Did you say hi to the aliens for me?”

  “What aliens?” Jack’s smile disappeared.

  “The ones who abducted you and held you hostage,” she said patiently. “I assume that’s why you disappeared without even saying ‘I’ll be back.’” Her Schwarzenegger accent was getting better all the time. She was going to have to take it on the road.

  Jack had the grace to wince. “Aren’t you glad to see me?”

  “Sure, I like having people tell me to go away.”

  Meg was enjoying the feeling of superiority that came from talking to the top of Jack’s head, but that sprinkler was driving her crazy. She jumped to the ground, waited until it slung its spray away from her, then dodged in to adjust it.

  Jack got off the motorcycle and approached, keeping a wary eye on the water hose. She turned around and watched him standing there looking sexy and classy and endearingly familiar. She glanced at her beautiful black formal hanging in the truck, then looked down at her grubby knees and the grass clippings that stuck to her socks. Ugh.

  She supposed she could at least be civil. “How’s your shoulder?”

  “Healing.” He lifted his sleeve, showing the edge of the bandage. “They took the cast off. Want to see?”

  “Sure.” She sauntered toward him as if her stomach weren’t doing handsprings. She got close enough to smell the subtle spice of him and stopped. “Well, maybe not. Why’d you cut your hair?”

  “So your father wouldn’t throw me out of the house when I asked him for the favor of his daughter’s hand in marriage.”

  “So my—what?”

  He suddenly looked insecure. “Well, he struck me as the kind of guy who’d appreciate the old-fashioned effort. He took it pretty well, all things considered.”

  “Wait just a minute.” Meg took an ill-considered step backward and felt a wave of water swipe her across the back of her legs. “Yow!” She leapt to the side. “Jack, are you telling me you’ve talked to my dad about—” She stopped. Maybe she’d misunderstood.

  He nodded. “I wanted to make sure your parents know I’m a straight-up guy with a good job. By the way, I just got a promotion.”

  Meg had the unstable feeling of having a rug yanked out from under her feet. “Okay. And just when did this interview take place?”

  “Last night.”

  “And my mother was there?”

  “Well, yeah. That was sort of the whole point.”

  “And she didn’t say one word to me when she called this morning—” Meg put her hands to her hair. “She let me dress like an extra from The Dukes of Hazzard, knowing you were coming over here looking like a movie star—”

  “A movie star? Really?” Jack’s face lit, and she almost forgot about the last few miserable weeks.

  Then she remembered just how unfair this whole setup was. She slowly began to walk backward until she was right in front of the sprinkler, letting the water splash the backs of her legs, zoom over her head, and whirl away again.

  “If you want me, come and get me,” she said.

  Jack watched the sprinkler shoosh its way back around to fling water over Meg’s shoulder. “You are so low.” But he took off his shoes and socks, leaving them on the sidewalk.

  Meg smiled. “I figure you’re better off knowing exactly what you’re getting into.”

  “Oh, believe me, I counted the cost,” Jack said. “Do you know how much this shirt set me back?”

  “About a week’s salary, I would say.” Meg grinned as water began to drip down her face. He was stalking toward her, with that intense, bad-to-the-bone look on his face, and her heart whirled around like the sprinkler. His shirt and pants were dark with wet splotches, but he kept coming. She danced out of his reach, arms flung wide, skipping in a circle that kept him in the middle of the spray.

  He followed. “When I catch you, you’re going to be sorry.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  He suddenly jumped across the sprinkler head, snatching her to him, water pelting them both up the middle. “You’re it,” he said, and kissed her.

  A few minutes later, they came up for air. “You can do that again if you want to,” Meg said breathlessly.

  He started to, then put his hand across her mouth as though removing temptation. “Wait a minute. There’s something you have to do first.”

  “What’s that?” she mumbled.

  “You haven’t said it yet.”

  “Said what?”

  “You know what.”

  “Oh.” Yes, she knew what. She moved his hand. “Why don’t you say it first?”

  “I love you, Meg.”

  “Jack, how many languages do you speak?”

  “Four. Why?”

  “I want one in each language, then I’ll say it. One down, three to go.”

  “No fair.”

  “If you want fair, go pester some other girl.”

  “I think what we have here is a Mexican standoff.”

  “Oh, you are so funny.”

  Suddenly Jack pulled her close again and put his mouth next to her ear. “Okay, you want French?” he whispered. “Je t’adore. Spanish? Te quiero tanto. Italian? Ti amo, il mio inamorata.”

  Meg’s knees were weak by this time. She went limp in Jack’s arms. “Oh. My. Goodness.”

  “You want to translate that?” he said, a pleased smile curling his lips.

  “You know I love you.”

  “I thought so.” Jack sighed and kissed her again.

  Look for the next book in

  THE TEXAS GATEKEEPERS series,

  SOUNDS OF SILENCE,

  in December,

  only from Elizabeth White

  and Love Inspired Suspense!

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