The Bronzed Hawk

by Iris Johansen

  “That’s different. My job doesn’t demand that I take on a roomful of toughs just to get a story.”

  “Granted,” Kelly replied with acid sweetness. “You usually do that just for entertainment. At least I had a logical reason for what I did!”

  “Logical! You don’t know the meaning of the word.” His blue eyes were blazing in his angry face. “You almost got yourself killed for a damn picture. Well, I’m tired of worrying what hell you’re going to get into next.”

  “Who asked you to worry about me?” Kelly cried. “I told you that I could take care of myself!”

  Nick straightened slowly, and his face was hard and set as granite. “Then I’ll leave you to do just that,” he said bitterly, as he strode swiftly to the door. “Because God knows I wish that I’d never let you into my apartment that afternoon in San Francisco!” He slammed the door behind him with explosive violence.

  Kelly stared at the door for almost a minute before she could fully comprehend that he had actually left her. “Oh, damn,” she whispered, feeling the tears brim over and run helplessly down her cheeks. “Damn you, Nick O’Brien. I hate people who walk away from a fight!”

  And damn her own unruly tongue, she thought miserably, as she stood up and padded slowly toward the master bedroom. Why couldn’t she have played it cool for once in her life and tried a little feminine persuasion instead of displaying her usual belligerent independence? What if Nick was gone for good? She wandered disconsolately into the gold-and-cream-tiled bathroom, discarding her clothes carelessly as she went. She pulled on her shower cap, stepped into the shower stall, and turned on the warm spray. Annoying tears still continued to run down her face despite her efforts to stop them.

  She’d certainly picked a fine time for making Nick angry, with that sultry nymphomaniac ready to leap on him. What if he was on his way to her right now? He knew where she was staying, she’d made quite sure of that. Oh, Lord, she wouldn’t be able to stand it if Nick had left her for good. Damn Nick O’Brien for having this power to tear her emotions to pieces. It wasn’t fair that anyone should be able to wreck another person’s life just by slamming a door and walking away.

  She stepped out of the shower, pulled off her shower cap, reached for a voluminous white bath towel, and proceeded to dry off with automatic thoroughness. She draped the towel around her carelessly and wandered back into the bedroom, her bare feet sinking into the plush cream carpet. She carefully folded back the gold satin spread on the bed and slipped between the sheets, tossing the towel carelessly on the floor. The silk sheets were cold and clammy against her bare flesh and only served to increase her feeling of being bereft.

  She had been perfectly right to stand up to Nick, she assured herself staunchly. He had been unreasonable, chauvinistic, and completely unfair. She didn’t care a tinker’s damn if he was with that big-bosomed bitch. It certainly didn’t matter to her if he never came back. It was totally illogical, then, that after all these firm self-admonitions, she proceeded to cry herself to sleep.

  The brush of his lips was petal soft against the throbbing hollow of her throat. Kelly arched her throat instinctively as those caressing lips moved lightly up her throat to her cheek and then hovered over her parted lips, nibbling at the lower one with incredible gentleness. She was aware of a delicious sense of well-being that only half pierced the veil of sleep that enfolded her.

  “Nick?” She sighed contentedly, not opening her eyes.

  “Uh-huh,” he growled softly against her lips, still toying with them with that magical tenderness, playfully tugging at their pouting fullness with his teeth. “Open your mouth, love. I want to taste your sweet honey.”

  He didn’t wait for her languid compliance. His marauding tongue entered and explored with leisurely enjoyment. There was no hurry, no urgency, and only a hint of underlying hunger as he garnered the sweetness he’d demanded.

  Kelly slid her arms over his bare shoulders to curve around his neck, vaguely aware that he was sitting on the bed beside her and bending over her, his arms cradling her. He felt so strong, so warm, so wonderfully here, she thought. She had a dim, frightening memory of a loneliness so terrible that she pushed the thought away. It must have been a dream. For here was Nick holding her in his arms and locking out all the loneliness and insecurity in the world.

  But it hadn’t been a dream, she recalled. “You weren’t fair, Nick,” she muttered drowsily, pressing her lips lovingly to the hard plane of his cheek. “And you walked out on me,” she recalled with languid indignation.

  “Shh,” he crooned, his hands pushing the sheet from her shoulders to bare the silky hollows to his lips. “I know, love. But you nearly scared me out of my mind when I saw that tough roughing you up.” His lips brushed against her still wet lashes. “You’ve been crying,” he said wonderingly. “God, I’m sorry, sweetheart. I know it wasn’t really your fault this time.”

  “This time!” Kelly opened her eyes, sleep suddenly banished. Nick was naked to the waist, and his golden, sinewed beauty robbed her of a little of her annoyance.

  “Well, you couldn’t expect a total surrender,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose. “We’re far too much alike for you to think that I’d let you claim a victory of that magnitude. You’d never let me live it down.”

  Her lips curved in a reluctant smile. “Beast,” she charged, trying to ignore the caressing movement of his hands on her bare shoulders. “I’d never be so ungenerous.” Her face clouded stormily. “And I’d never walk out on you in the middle of an argument! Where did you go?”

  “I had to get away and cool off,” he said, nibbling at her earlobe. “I just drove around for a while and then took a long walk on the beach.” His tongue darted with mischievous suddenness into her ear, sending a convulsive shiver through her. “Then I decided to buy myself back into your good graces by giving you a present.”

  “A present!” Kelly exclaimed, darting an incredulous look at the clock on the bedside table. “It’s almost four o’clock in the morning. Where would you be able to buy a present at this hour?”

  “Like the boy scouts, I’m always prepared,” he said smugly. “As it happened, I already had a bribe on hand in the hotel safe for just such a delicate situation.”

  “Do you always keep gifts on hand to pacify your women friends?” Kelly angrily pushed him away.

  He shook his head. “It was never necessary before,” he said breezily. “My strong, virile body and devastating charm were always reward enough before you came on the scene, Goldilocks. Now, close your eyes.”

  She obediently did so. She felt herself lifted into a sitting position on the bed and pillows banked behind her to support her. He was gone for a brief moment, and then the mattress sank beneath his weight as he sat down beside her and took her in his arms. He kissed her lingeringly, pressing her bare breasts to his muscled chest until she was melting like warm butter from the explosive friction they were generating.

  When their lips finally parted, Kelly was breathless and clinging to him with glowing passion. “Wow!” she said softly, nestling closer to him. “Is that my present? I’m beginning to believe that those other women may have been right about your fatal fascination, Nick.”

  He chuckled. “It’s nice to be appreciated, but as it happens that wasn’t your reward. It was mine. You looked so sexy sitting there all cuddly and bare breasted that I decided to accept your gratitude in advance.” Kelly felt something slip over her head and then the touch of cool metal on her throat. She started to open her eyes, but he put his hand over them swiftly. “Keep your eyes shut, woman. I haven’t finished yet.” Her right wrist was lifted from the sheet, and she felt again that cool metal embrace. Without dropping her wrist, he quickly slipped a ring on the third finger of her right hand. “Okay, you can look now.”

  He was still holding her hand in his, so the first thing she saw was the jade and gold ring with its dainty leaf design.

  “My ring!” Kelly exclaimed, her expression stunned. �
��But, how?” She touched the ring with a loving finger. There could be no mistaking that distinctive design. She had last seen this ring on the plump little finger of Carmen Rodriguez in the village of Matzalea.

  “As soon as we arrived at the hotel and Sykes arranged for a cash advance, I contacted Father Miguel and arranged for him to buy it back from Carmen.” He lifted her hand and kissed the palm lingeringly. “I had an idea that it meant more to you than you admitted.”

  “Yes,” she said huskily, looking down at the ring through a veil of tears. “My father gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday. He said that green was a lucky color and I should have a bit of it on my finger as well as in my eyes. I’ve always considered it my lucky piece.”

  Nick’s face clouded. “And you traded it for baths and meals for us,” he growled disgustedly. “Do you think I’d have let you do it if I’d known?”

  “No,” she said and gave him an impudent grin. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.” Her gaze had now shifted from her finger to her wrist, and her eyes widened in surprised delight. “It’s beautiful,” she said softly, staring at the exquisite slender gold and jade bracelet. “It exactly matches my ring. You must have had it specially made.”

  He nodded. “The jewelers here in Acapulco are decent craftsmen, and they’re fairly speedy.” He lightly touched the necklace at her throat. “There are some matching earrings in my jacket pocket. Would you like me to get them?”

  She shook her head, trying to swallow over the lump in her throat. She bent her head to brush her lips lovingly across the back of his hand.

  “No. I can’t accept them,” she said huskily. “It’s all too much, Nick.” What an incredibly touching thing for him to do, she thought. She felt as if every atom of her heart and mind were flowing out to him, and suddenly she loved him so much that it hurt almost unbearably.

  “Of course you can,” Nick said arrogantly. “The jewelers won’t take them back, and I don’t know any other woman whose eyes would match them.” His blue eyes twinkled. “Of course, I suppose I could give them to Cantina Carmen.”

  Her hand clutched at the bracelet in instinctive possession. “You will not,” she said sharply. “I’ll find a way to buy it from you. I probably can’t pay the entire amount at once, but I’ll arrange something.”

  Nick’s eyes were dancing as he assured her solemnly, “I didn’t think that galloping independence of yours would allow you to accept my humble offering without a fight, so I’ve resigned myself to letting you pay for them.”

  “You have?” she asked suspiciously. “That’s very sensible of you.”

  He nodded cheerfully. “I thought so. Now all we have to do is set a price. What will you offer me?”

  Kelly felt an odd melting tenderness as she looked into that mocking, reckless face. What would she offer him? All her love, a lifetime of loyalty and commitment, companionship, passion. “What do you want?” she asked huskily.

  Nick’s hand left her throat and wandered up to tangle in her blond curls. His eyes had darkened, and the amusement had been replaced by taut hunger. “That’s a loaded question if I ever heard one,” he said thickly, as his lips lowered slowly until they were only a fraction of an inch away from her own. “But it’s one that I intend to answer both explicitly and frequently tonight.” His tongue was lightly outlining the pouting fullness of her lower lip. “But for the moment, I can think of only one thing I really want, Goldilocks. Do you realize that I’ve never made love to a woman wearing only a jade necklace?”

  Kelly swiftly lowered her lashes to veil the sudden pain that shot through her. Well, what had she expected from him? Nick had no use for the other gifts she could bring to their relationship. He had shown her tonight just how ephemeral their affair was going to be. Someday soon he would slam out of a door in anger, or worse still, close it quietly in weary boredom and walk away for good. This heady passion was the only emotion that he wanted to invoke in her. “No, I never realized that, Nick,” she said lightly. “Is it one of your fantasies?”

  “Well, now that you mention it,” it is one of the tamer ones. We’ll go into the more erotic varieties later. Will you pay my price, sweetheart?”

  Suddenly her arms went around him, and she pulled him to her with an urgency bordering on desperation. Burying her head in his shoulder, she said, “Yes, I’ll pay your price, Nick.” There was a painful lump in her throat. She was paying a higher price than he dreamed possible, she thought miserably.

  It was almost unbearable knowing that this was all she would ever have of Nick. Perhaps it was stupidly old-fashioned of her to be unable to accept the physical magic Nick offered in such abundance and be content. But she wanted more, damn it! She wanted Nick to love her as she loved him, and she knew now that she wasn’t going to be able to stand the agony of staying with Nick and waiting for him to tire of her.

  “Hey! I appreciate your enthusiasm, but your nails are digging into my back, kitten,” Nick complained. He gently loosened her arms from about his shoulders and pushed her away, looking down at her. “Is there something wrong, love?”

  She shook her head, still not looking at him. “No, everything’s fine,” she said huskily. “What could possibly be wrong? I guess if I want to satisfy that fantasy of yours, I’d better get undressed.” She was conscious of the concern in his narrowed eyes as he watched her slowly unfasten the bracelet and take off her ring. With some effort, she painted a bright smile on her face as she handed him the jewelry. “Keep these for me, will you? I don’t seem to have any pockets.”

  “That’s not precisely accurate,” he said, his eyes on her face. “I don’t think you’re being honest with me, Kelly, but I want you too much right now to care.” He shoved the bracelet and ring carelessly into a pants pocket and drew her tenderly back into his embrace. “You’re sure that you want this, Goldilocks?”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” she said quietly. She wanted him in that moment with a hot intensity that was tinged with desperation. “I want you to make love to me, Nick.”

  “Good,” he said, reaching behind her and removing the pillow she was propped against and tossing it aside. “Because I don’t think I could stop now regardless of how you felt.” He lay her back on the bed. “God, I’m aching for you, Kelly.”

  His lips covered hers with a hunger that was almost bruisingly frantic. He settled himself beside her on the bed and impatiently ripped the sheet from her naked body. His hands were hotly eager as they ran over her soft curves. “You’re going to have to stop me if I hurt you,” he said. “I’m so wild for you I might not notice.” His lips were covering her face with a multitude of hot kisses. “When I was walking on the beach tonight, I was thinking about this,” he said, as his lips nibbled at one nipple. “How you tasted and felt.” His lips moved to the other breast. “How you fit me.” His teeth pulled playfully at the hard tip, causing her to moan sharply as a jolt of desire rippled through her. “I was half afraid you wouldn’t be here when I got back to the apartment. I was all set to start scouring Acapulco for you. Then I walked into the bedroom and saw you curled up like a woeful baby.” He gave her breast a final kiss and rolled away from her.

  He stood up, his hands working hurriedly at his belt while he looked down at her, with an expression of glazed intensity. “When I was in the Orient, I spent a little time at a certain house in Hong Kong studying the nuances and techniques of physical lovemaking.” He threw the belt carelessly aside and began to strip off his slacks. “My very capable tutor assured me that there were ways of making love to a woman that would bring her to such a pitch of ecstasy that it would spoil her for experiences of lesser intensity.” His lips curved in a rueful smile. “I thought she was crazy. Who the hell would want to sexually enslave any woman so completely that she was able to respond only to you? It would curtail my freedom even more than hers.”

  He was totally nude now. Slipping back into the bed, he gathered her into his arms. His face was strangely grave as he looked down at her, his hand
rubbing the softness of her belly with a sensuous rhythm that caused a shudder of desire to wrack her body. “I’ve changed my mind,” he said thickly. “I don’t want you to be able to let another man touch you without wishing he were me.” His knee nudged her legs apart, and he gently eased his body down on hers. “I don’t care about your freedom or mine.” The smile on his face was savagely sensual as he ended softly, “Let’s see if I learned my lessons well, sweetheart.”

  She thought later, as she lay in his arms in an agony of release, that if he’d learned his lessons any better, she would have gone out of her mind. She had always known that Nick was a fantastic lover, but tonight he had seemed to be driven with an obsession to bring her to a dazzling peak of desire that culminated in a hurricane of sensation. Even as she lay in his arms with her breath coming in gasps and her heartbeat gradually steadying, she could still feel her flesh burning and aching with remembrance of Nick’s fiery manipulations. She didn’t know whether Nick’s little Chinese madam would prove correct at this point, but she did know that she had just experienced the ultimate in sensual pleasure.

  Nick tucked her head in its accustomed place in the hollow of his shoulder and kissed her lightly on the temple. “Go to sleep,” he ordered gently, as he pulled the sheet over both of them. “We’re both exhausted. It’s been a hell of a night in a variety of ways, Goldilocks.”

  Kelly nodded drowsily, only half hearing the words as she nestled closer to him. Then she felt Nick’s fingers at her nape, and she asked sleepily, “What are you doing?”

  His soft laugh barely stirred the curls at her temple. “I’m finishing with your disrobing, love. The realization of my fantasy was infinitely satisfying in every way, but this blasted necklace scratches.” He drew the jade necklace away from her throat and dropped it on the floor beside the bed. “Besides, I want to be close to you tonight.” His lips brushed her closed lids tenderly. “I don’t want even a breath between us.”