by Annie Seaton
While she’d waited for him, Gracie had decided to be truthful with him…except for the canvas bags. Until she was one hundred percent sure he was on her side, she was not going to let him know she’d seen any drugs.
“Regan wasn’t there. They’d all gone up to some rainforest or waterfall place while the boat got cleaned. There’s another big party on board, but I’m not sure if it’s tonight or tomorrow.”
“So what happened?” His voice was gentle, but persistent.
“Those two guys—the ones I suspect broke into my hotel room. They were both on the boat and I picked up some bad vibes from them. Paulie and Mick, that’s their names.” She tried to play it down, because nothing had really happened. “Then the girl I was working with was pretty insistent that I go out with her after we finished. I’m probably wrong, but I think I was being followed by her and Mick when I was coming to meet you.”
As she explained what had happened, it sounded lame even to her own ears. “I think it’s just that I’m stressed and worried about Regan. Although according to Shannon—the girl I worked with—her name’s Carla.” Gracie shook her head as embarrassment filled her. “You know, I’m probably jumping at shadows. They were probably just going out for a coffee together.”
She tipped her head back and watched the high storm clouds building in the bright sunshine.
Anything to avoid Jake’s reaction.
She was feeling foolish enough as it was without him telling her. This whole week had been a huge overreaction to nothing.
“Maybe I need to accept Regan has moved on and I am simply overreacting,” she said bitterly, speaking more to herself than to Jake.
Anger surged through her at the thought of Regan’s behavior. All the times Regan had looked out for Gracie and suddenly, for some reason, her sister had abandoned her.. Gracie pushed herself to her feet and the hammock rocked wildly. Jake grabbed for the post at the side before it could tip him out.
“I’ll go and get the pizza and then I’m going for a swim before the storm breaks,” Gracie said. Pausing in the doorway, she glanced back at Jake. He was watching her, and his brow was wrinkled in a frown. Shrugging, she turned up her nose at the smell of burning bread as she crossed to the oven and retrieved the shriveled pizza before it burned to a crisp. She grabbed two more beers from the refrigerator and placed them on a tray with the pizza and some leftover salad.
“Eat out here?” Gracie lowered the tray carefully to the deck and sat back in the hammock. “Storm’s close.”
The wind had dropped and the air was still and heavy. An eerie quiet surrounded them. No birdsong, no rustling of palm fronds, no sounds from the ocean. Even though perspiration trickled down her neck as she reached for the pizza, a shiver ran down her back. She picked up a slice of burned pizza and held it out to Jake.
“Are you really going to eat this?”
“Sure am.” Jake leaned forward and bit into the slice she held in front of her and held her gaze while he chewed. He pointed to his mouth and lifted his chin, Gracie put the rest of the slice against his lips and let go as he bit into it.
She laughed as he chewed vigorously. “That’s disgusting. How can you eat it?”
“Good carbs,” he replied with a grin.
Gracie willed her heartbeat to return to normal. He hadn’t put a shirt on after his shower, and she watched as a drop of perspiration ran down his chest and headed toward the V of dark hair disappearing into his board shorts. She lifted her gaze to meet his. The skin at the edge of his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her and the tension eased from his forehead. He hadn’t relaxed with her since she’d first climbed onto his boat—well, except for in the pool the other night. Heat ran up her neck and she turned her head away, knowing her fair complexion would show the blush that was now heating her cheeks.
“Hot, Gracie?” His voice was low and husky and her stomach did a double flip. She was sure he could read her mind.
Lack of food, she told herself.
Nothing else.
Reaching down for the bowl of salad, she jumped when his warm fingers brushed her arm. Leaning back slowly, she watched with fascination as he placed the pizza crust back on the tray, wiped his fingers on his shorts, and then gently placed his hand beneath her chin. He cupped his other hand behind her head and pulled her face close to his. He lowered his mouth, keeping only a breath between them. His lips hovered over hers for a moment and she drew a shaking breath before the firm pressure of his mouth enclosed hers. A bolt of lightning flashed across the deck and Gracie ignored the clap of thunder that shook the deck shortly after.
Her mouth opened beneath his and the taste of him, the firm, insistent pressure of his lips as he demanded more, pushed everything else out of her head. There was only one thing she wanted and only one thing that mattered at this moment. Jake lifted his head and laughed aloud as the storm broke and the rain soaked them, before dropping his mouth back to hers. Their tongues tangled and a shaft of hot need throbbed between her thighs as his fingers gripped her wet hair.
Jake dropped his hands to her shoulders and dragged her up with him. Somehow they were standing in the drenching rain and he still hadn’t lifted his lips from hers. The beer bottles rolled away and the pizza tray was ignored as he bent down and lifted her, his arms firm beneath her legs.
“Jake, your knee…” she murmured against his hot mouth.
“Bugger my knee,” he replied gruffly.
Briefly lifting his head, he used his hip to slide open the screen door and then strode through the kitchen and down the long hallway to his room. He laid her almost reverently on the bed and stood looking down at her for a moment. A shiver of desire ran through her as his dark gaze raked her body and she reached up and pulled him down next to her. His skin was damp but warm against her.
“Are you sure?”she asked.
“I am,” he replied. “And I have been all along. It just took a while to admit it to myself.” He stretched alongside her and ran his fingers along her cheek, down her neck and chest, and lingered on the knot of her sarong. “I don’t want to take advantage of you. I’m supposed to be protecting you.”
Her body stiffened as a shaft of uncertainty overrode her desire. “Who says you’re supposed to protect me?” A frisson of worry rippled through her. Had he been in contact with Regan and not told her?
He looked down at her and his eyes were clear and direct. “I said.”
Gracie relaxed. She had read too much into his words.
He rolled over to his back and put one hand over his eyes. “It’s just me, Gracie. I’ve not been very successful in relationships, and I want…no…I need to be honest with you.”
She waited for him to speak but he still didn’t look at her.
“I’m not into commitment. I want to make that quite clear,” he said. “But I promise to be truthful with you and look after you while you’re around.”
The pain in his voice was obvious. Something had happened to him and it seemed he had the same reluctance to trust as she did. Gracie sat up and leaned over him before taking his hand from his eyes. He stared up at the ceiling and didn’t look at her as she ran a finger softly across his lips.
“Look at me, Jake. Tell me what you see? Do you see someone who’s asking for commitment?”
Gracie trembled as a gaze full of heat turned to her. No matter what he said, no matter what sort of conversation they were having, he was holding his desire in check. Warmth shot through her at his honesty, and she let go of any doubt still lingering.
Leaning over, she gently ran her tongue around his lips. “We’ll talk later, Jake. I have a more pressing need at the moment.”
With a groan, he rolled over and slid his body along hers. She moved under him and a quiver shimmied down her stomach as he slowly untied the knot on her sarong and brushed her breasts with his finger. Her hips arched and she clenched her fists in his short hair as his hardness pushed against her stomach.
His lips pressed against her throat a
nd goose bumps skittered down her arms despite the heat. Their wet skin slipped together in the heavy air as the storm broke violently outside. Gracie ignored the storm. Her focus was totally on the man whose fingers were now untying the bows of her bikini. The masculine scent from his skin, the earthy smell of perspiration filled her senses. His tongue lingered against her throat and her pulse raced against the warmth of his mouth.
“Your shorts…” she managed to choke out, tugging the waistband.
“No hurry. Let me enjoy you first.” His voice was husky and the words sent another tremble running down her spine. As he removed her bikini and threw it to the side of the bed, her body loosened. Trembling, she ran her hands over his shoulders, across to his back, and down the tight muscles beneath her fingers. She arched against him and whimpered softly at the barrier of his shorts. Wanting skin on skin, she tugged at the waistband and smiled when Jake rolled over and slipped out of his shorts. The heat of his flesh against hers mingled with the heat of the storm and sent her need spiraling out of control. Tension built inside her and began to break as he slipped a warm finger into the moistness between her thighs.
“Oh, God,” she cried and his mouth consumed her words as the intense sensations racked her body.
“Don’t fight it, Gracie.” His voice was a tormenting whisper against her mouth as exquisite sensations rolled through her in wave after wave.
She sighed, taking in a gulp of air, and her muscles relaxed as Jake reached for the drawer next to the bed and snapped a foil packet open. Gracie opened her eyes and held his gaze, the intensity not wavering from hers as he sheathed himself. His deep blue eyes darkened and he held her eyes with his as he slid slowly into her, inch by inch. Sensation replaced rational thought until he filled her.
She was lost.
Movement for movement, he held her close and she matched his pace until he thrust hard, his hands gripping the swell of her butt. With a deep groan, he buried his face into her neck, and she quivered against him until he was still.
The dream pulled her out of the depths of sleep. Her feet were tangled in the straps of a canvas bag and the weight was pulling her under the water. She tried to get her breath and stopped kicking but she drifted down beneath the hull of a huge white boat. The man from her last dream was still there on the bottom and this time it was Jake’s face that stared sightlessly up at her as small black fish darted around his face.
Gracie screamed and kicked her legs and opened her eyes to Jake’s concerned, and very much alive, face close to hers.
“Sssh, it’s okay.” Jake stroked her bare shoulders, and she drew in a huge gulp of air, trying to dispel the feeling of being under the pressing weight of the water. A light sheet was wrapped around her legs and she reached down and pulled it up against her chest.
“What time is it?” she asked when her breathing had calmed. She looked across to the bedside table for a clock. The room was dim and the sound of falling rain drifted in through the open window. A cool breeze fluttered the drawn blinds and soft light glimmered in.
“It’s almost five o’clock. You’ve been asleep for a couple of hours.”
Gracie sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m not used to working hard in the heat like I did this morning…and then you put me to sleep very nicely.”
She smiled at Jake as he lowered his fingers and drew lazy circles on her bare back and goose bumps rose on her arms.
“I slept too,” he said. “But I’ll have to hurry because I need to get down to the boat. I want to get a photo of everyone who goes on board tonight.”
“I want to come with you.” Gracie waited for his reaction but his response surprised her.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“As soon as I lay eyes on Regan, I’ll call it quits and go home,” she replied. The scene she had imagined of reuniting with her sister had dissolved and she had reluctantly accepted that Regan was all right even if she was involved in something shady on the boat and going by a different name.
“I’ll know you’re safe with me. That’s why I want you to come with me. I didn’t like what happened today,” he said.
“What…my overactive imagination?” Gracie laughed, but there was no amusement in the short sound. “I’m seeing problems where none exist, Jake. I’m just trying to make excuses for not being important to my sister anymore. She’s obviously met someone and moved on.”
Jake swung his legs over the edge of the bed and placed his feet on the floor without speaking. Gracie watched as he dropped his head into his hands, elbows on his bare knees. He sat there and didn’t answer her for a moment.
“The only person you can really depend on is yourself.” His voice was bitter. “You come into this life alone. You get let down by a lot of people and then you go out alone.”
“That’s a cynical attitude, Jake.”
“Maybe,” he said, “but show me something different? Did you play happy families when you were growing up?”
“No,” she said slowly. “But I believe I will find it one day. I can’t give up on trust completely. If Regan has made a choice in life, I hope it will be the right one for her and I trust that she still loves me.”
“That’s life, Gracie.” Jake lifted his head and the sadness on his face tore at her. “You’d better accept it will let you down time and time again.”
“Well then, I’d better get used to it,” she said. She slid over behind him and knelt, trying to ignore the thrill coursing through her as her breasts pushed into his bare back.
…
Exasperation filled Jake. She obviously had no idea of the danger she had put herself in today.
Or she was pretending not to realize.
Her hands rested gently on his shoulders and he knew his cynicism had bothered her. He turned slowly to look at her. Wide, guileless eyes looked back at him and he ran his hand through his hair impatiently.
“Jesus, Gracie. You are such an innocent.”
She slid off the side of the bed, holding the sheet and wrapping it around her as she stood. Guilt kicked through him as the tears shimmered in her eyes.
“That may well be the case,” she said. “But that’s the way I am. You won’t have to worry about me anymore. I’ll make sure it’s Regan on the boat and then, like I said, I’ll go home.” She turned away from him and took a step toward the door, but he reached out and grabbed the sheet and pulled her back.
“Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her and put his forehead between her breasts. It was time for honesty.
“I know there’s something going on. The police are watching the Midas.” She stiffened in his arms with a quick intake of breath.
“Who told you? How did you find that out? You’re not a cop anymore.” The suspicion in her voice was clear to him and it was like a kick in the guts. She’d homed in on that rather than his certainty that something was going down on the boat.
“I can’t tell you that. But you know I was a cop. I had to take a medical retirement and I received a bloody good payout.”
“So is this your house?” Her voice was still careful. “Or does it belong to the one who you said was in jail?”
He lifted his head. Her lips were pressed tightly together but the look in her eyes spoke volumes. She thought he was involved somehow and he wondered why it was suddenly so important to him that she knew he was one of the good guys. He dropped his arms from around her waist and raised his head.
“Go and have a shower and get dressed. We’ll talk more on the way into the marina.” He couldn’t think straight when her naked body was pressed up against him and he wanted to get this right. He wanted her to know the truth.
Nothing more.
Chapter Sixteen
Gracie was quiet as they drove into town. She’d slipped out of his room and packed up her bags and left them in the corridor after she’d showered.
He was determined to make her listen to him and was trying to find the right words.
To
tal honesty.
She might think he was a total jerk, but he was going to give it a shot. It was easier to get his thoughts in order when she was sitting away from him staring out the window. Christ, he had nothing to lose.
“All my life, I’ve had this need to protect.” He clenched the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “My mother threw it back into my face and took off and I failed miserably in my marriage. Then I had to leave the police force. Since then I haven’t had much of a chance to protect anyone.” He stared straight ahead, concentrating on the road, not wanting to see the expression on her face. “Until this little blonde bombshell drops on my boat and I decide she can’t look after herself.”
Gracie turned her head away from the window back to face him. It was dark in the car and he couldn’t see the expression on her face.
“So my protective instincts kicked straight in again. But I didn’t give you any credit for being able to look after yourself.”
She was silent and he looked across at her. Hope surged through him as she reached across and put her hand on his. He lifted his hand from the steering wheel and threaded his fingers through hers.
“I realized you might be small in stature, but you were feisty and determined and you were going to have a damn good go at finding your sister, no matter what I said, and no matter what you had to do.” He smiled and turned his attention back to the road. “And tonight I finally admitted to myself, it’s not just about protecting you.”
“What do you mean?” Her voice was soft.
“Gracie, I care about you. It’s not about protecting you, or trying to save you. You’ve gotten under my skin. You’re brave…and I see you’ll do anything to help someone you love.”
“It wasn’t all about finding Regan, you know, Jake.” Gracie hitched a breath and squeezed his hand. “All my life I’ve been the quiet one, the coward. Finally, thinking Regan needed my help gave me an opportunity to prove myself…to me. To prove I was capable of looking after myself and not relying on others all the time.”