Who said flattery didn’t affect her? She blinked the chlorinated water from her lashes and gazed up at the dashing, almost naked man. The boxer shorts didn’t do a good job of hiding his major assets, especially not when they were rubbing up against her, flaring to life. “You think I’m beautiful?”
“I wouldn’t say so if I didn’t. You’re very beautiful. Your husband’s a very lucky fellow.” Cody sighed, long and loud, and released her. Unsteady fingers pushed through his wet hair, slicking it back from his forehead. “One rule I don’t break, ever, is to get involved with married women.” He turned his back on her and tilted his face skyward so that his magnificent, naked shoulders flexed.
Mesmerized, her voice deserted her for several moments as she digested the meaning of his words. He wanted her. He was as attracted to her as she was to him. Like her, he was trying to fight it and was losing miserably.
She didn’t want to fight it any more, nor did she want him to fight it any longer. The only way to resolve his dilemma and free him was to admit the truth--that she was widowed.
She struck out in a slow breaststroke, stopping a close distance behind him. She curled her arms around his too-tempting shoulders and leaned her cheek against his back, listening to his strong, rhythmic heartbeat. When he tried to pull away with a mumbled curse, she mustered her courage and said in a husky voice, “I have a confession.”
“Lisa, you’re playing with fire. I want to kiss you and if you don’t move away this instant, I can’t promise I won’t.”
She was losing her internal struggle to stay aloof as much as him. Trailing angel kisses from his mid back to his shoulders, she murmured against his warm flesh, “I want you to kiss me. I want to kiss you.”
The hot man in her arms moaned and he tried to push her away. “What about the husband? Won’t he mind?”
She stopped what she was doing and gently, she pushed his arm, turning him to face her. Gazing deeply into his eyes, she said, “My husband wasn’t home and he won’t be coming to get me--ever.” She almost choked on the final word, its import still breaking her heart after all this time.
“Why not? Where is he now? Or did you make him up to keep me at bay?” He held his hands at his sides. His eyes narrowed to mere slits.
“Jesse was very real and very much my husband. He died two years ago.” Her voice began to wobble, and she admonished herself for her weakness. “I’m widowed.”
Inhaling deeply, hugging herself tightly, she looked up at the moon and stars that were Jesse’s home now. But it wasn’t hers and she couldn’t stay tied to him. “I wasn’t sure I could trust you. A lone woman is more at risk than one who has a husband. Even the pretense of a husband.”
“What do you need protection from? Do you know that creep that attacked you at the carnival?” Cody watched her with a cop’s skeptical, eagle-eye expression.
He must be in tune to every nuance of her voice as well which was highly unsettling.
Telling him about an unnamed husband’s death and divulging her true identity were two very different things. “I never saw that man before.”
“You mean to tell me that it was just a random attack?” Frowning, he shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. “You’re too skittish, too careful, for just one random attack. Is something else going on?”
Still debating with herself about how much, if anything, to tell him, she stared at him and ended up settling for more half-truths. Closing her eyes, she began to tell her story. “I was engaged to someone else before I married my husband. My ex-fiancé was a horrible, horrid man that wanted to control everything I did. My family adored him. Just about everyone thinks the sun and moon rise for him. He’s a very powerful, dangerous man.” She hesitated long enough to drag in air.
His eyes grew murky, unreadable. “So you married someone else? Wasn’t that the end of it? Is your family angry? Did they disown you?”
She laughed mirthlessly, on the edge of hysteria. “I only wish it were that easy.” She shook her head and pushed the sodden ropes of hair from her face. “My ex-fiancé wouldn’t give up. Suffice it to say, he kept trying to break us up--by any means possible.”
She turned away and in a whisper, she continued, “I’m afraid he still wants me back. I can’t let him find me.”
“So tell the creep to get lost. Report him to the police if he harasses you. Take out a restraining order.”
Turning around, she faced off against this incredibly naïve cop. No wonder he’d left the force. He still believed in good. They must have eaten him alive, or would have if he’d not escaped. “He owns the police. He’s got my family, the press, the government--everybody--fooled. But Satan doesn’t fool me.”
Cody closed the gap between them and folded her into his arms, rubbing her back and her hair. “You’re trembling. You think your ex-fiancé sent that caveman to kidnap you?”
Suppressing her shudders, she lifted her chin, looked up and nodded. “Yes. That wasn’t the first monster after me. I’ve always managed to escape them so far. But I don’t know how long I can keep running.”
Cody swore under his breath. “What the hell did he do to scare you so badly? To keep you away from your family?”
Ashamed that any man could treat her so, that she’d allowed it for as long as she had, she lowered her face and stared at her muted reflection in the water. Unable to stand looking at herself a second longer, she stuck her finger in the middle of her image and swished it away. “He, uh, struck me. More than once. But the worst thing was … I saw him murder his own father. He knows I saw it and now he wants me dead, too. He tried to kill me but he wound up killing Jesse instead. He scares me more than anything or anyone else....” She couldn’t go into detail without breaking down. As it was, shudders coursed through her at the terrifying memories.
Cody slid a finger under her chin and forced her to look up into his concerned eyes. “Why didn’t you report this? Get protection?”
“I reported the murder. I called the local police. They tried to kill me. They were on his payroll.” Reliving the murder, the abuse, she trembled uncontrollably and tightly hugged herself. “I couldn’t trust anyone … except Jesse. He’s the only one who believed me, that tried to protect me from him. He-he died trying to protect me.”
“Oh God....” Cody slumped, dragging her with him to the side of the pool where he rested his back. His legs provided a ledge for her to sit and he held her against his hammering heart as he stroked her hair.
Talking half to Cody, and half to herself, she continued, staring off into space. “My husband saved me from him several times but we had to stay on the run, live under assumed names. Nathan wouldn’t let us live in peace and go on with our lives. Of course he couldn’t let me tell the nation that he’d murdered his father, ruin his presidential bid. Stop him from world domination. So he put a price on my head and told everyone I’m the crazy one. Now no one believes me and those that do, want me dead.” Tears overcame her. Big, wet tears that she couldn’t hold back. She couldn’t believe she’d revealed so much about herself to him.
“What a nightmare. I swear I didn’t know.” Cody shook too as he held her and she wondered why.
Finally, when she’d shed all the tears within her, when she’d exhausted herself, she gazed up at the man who held her so gently. “So you see, I’m free. But I’m not free. I can’t have a normal life, I can’t commit to anyone else as long as he’s looking for me. He’d want to kill them, too. He’s obsessed with me. Anyone who gets close to me is doomed. I can’t let anyone else sacrifice themselves for me.”
Cody latched onto the word, pronouncing it sharply. “Are you accusing your ex-fiancé of murdering your husband?”
In her heart, she knew Nathan was responsible, but not in a way that a jury would ever convict him. “He didn’t pull the trigger, if that’s what you mean. Not that he wouldn’t have if he’d caught up to us face to face. No, my husband died as we were trying to escape more of Nathan’s fiends. Our p
lane went down and … and Jesse died as a result of the crash. So did one of our passengers, a young woman we were giving a lift to. A lot of people assumed she was me and it seemed a God sent opportunity for me to disappear … so I let everyone believe I’d died. I hoped Nathan would give up the search if he thought me dead.” A cool night breeze skipped over the water’s surface and chilled her.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Forensics would prove that other woman’s body wasn’t yours. Dental records alone prove identities.”
“I had hoped. I guess that’s why he’s still trying to kill me. He knows I’m alive. And without Jesse, he knows I’m alone.”
Cody squeezed her gently and pressed his lips to her temple. “You’re not alone anymore. And you’ll be protected now.”
When she shivered against him, Cody set her on her feet. “Let’s go inside before you get pneumonia.”
Cody held out his hand and she put hers in it, feeling safer than she had in a very long time. They strolled to their room silently, both lost in their own turbulent thoughts.
After she’d showered and changed, Cody held out his arms to her. Not wanting to be alone, she curled up next to him on the bed. He didn’t take liberties. She was too shaken by reliving her past to start a new relationship tonight.
What was even more odd was that she had the impression he was too shaken as well.
* * * *
Melissa awoke in spits and spurts. First, the backfire of a truck startled her, sounding like gunfire. But Cody’s warm voice, gruff with sleep, assured her they were safe and implored her back to sleep. Large arms gathered her against a chest made for protection.
Then she’d heard children shouting and splashing in the pool. But the shouts matched the nightmare she was having, not quite yanking her awake. Visions of Nathan tortured her, forbidding her from escaping him in the nether world. Men chased her. Faceless men shrouded in monks’ robes, hoods falling over their faces. The faster she ran from them, the closer they came, levitating, caging her. Screams gurgled in her throat and she thrashed, fighting the men.
“How dare you hide from me! How dare you run!” Nathan’s voice, dangerously quiet, resonant, spewed from the monster’s lips. “You’re mine. I’ll have you or no one will!”
With every ounce of her strength, Melissa ran at him, fingernails bared, clawing and kicking. His laughter mocked her as he fended her off with a finger. “Foolish woman. Don’t you know I’m untouchable? Don’t you know I’m invincible?”
His finger pressed into her forehead, red hot and incredibly forceful, pushing her to her knees. “Bow to me. Worship me.”
“Never! I’d rather die first.”
Nathan smiled broadly, insanely. “Death would be pleasure compared to what’s in store for you. First, I will steal all you hold dear so you will have nothing.”
Shocked, fearing for her immortal soul, she gasped, awaking with a start. Bolting up in bed, she clutched her throat, panting with fear. Sand and the night’s sleepy film clouded her eyes, so she blinked several times to bring the room into focus.
Memories came slower, loath to replace the more recent visions in her nightmare. A new duffel bag sprawled across the floor, unzipped, with clothes tumbling out. Cereal, shelf-stable milk, and several different fruits littered the round shabby table that dominated the far corner of the room.
A waterfall cascaded nearby, almost muting the television. Then she realized it was the shower pulsating in the next room, not a waterfall, and that Cody was missing. He must have awakened before her--quite a bit before her, seeing that he had been to the store and back while she still slept. Steam wafted from under the bathroom door, substantiating her theory that her companion was bathing.
Nathan’s voice lingered in the air and she scowled. Either she was still dreaming or delusional.
But she was neither. His voice came from the television.
Her eyes opened so fast, so wide as her gaze reeled on the square screen, the air stung them. The sight that met her stole her breath and stopped her heart, far worse than any dream demons.
On one arm Nathan held her sister, who beamed up at him glowing, her sunny smile spanning her heart-shaped face. Proverbial stars twinkled in Christina’s eyes. The superbly manicured hand that rested on the man’s lapel sported the largest, gaudiest diamond ring Melissa had ever seen. Much larger than the one Nathan had given to her.
She could barely hear the words and thrust herself off the bed in a rush to turn up the volume. The sheet and cheap hotel blanket tangled around her, tripping her, and she pitched to the floor, her knees and hands taking the brunt of the fall. Pain flared through her, but she was obsessed and had to hear what Nathan was saying. Determined, she crawled the last few feet to the box and poked the volume control.
“…the wedding ceremony will take place tomorrow at the Vanderbilt-Smythe mansion....”
“No!” Stunned, blindsided, she yelled at Nathan’s image, as if he could hear her. “Leave her alone! It’s me you want. Me you’re after. Don’t drag her into our fight.”
“What’s wrong?” Cody ran out of the bathroom, naked except for a damp towel wrapped haphazardly around his waist. Water dripped from his hair into his eyes, drizzling down his chest. Pure ebony orbs had replaced his eyes as he marched over to her. “Did you fall? Are you hurt?” Kneeling at her side, he tried to scoop her up but she batted away his helping hands.
“He can’t do this!” She spluttered, gesticulating wildly with her hands, punching the air as if time and space would part so she could reach her mark. “Leave her out of this, you bastard! I’ll kill you if you hurt her. It’s me you want.” She continued in this vein as the man at her side gazed from her to the TV, his expression stormy, incredulous even.
Cody lifted her and carried her to a chair as if she weighed no more than a cat, and plopped her in it. Then he did the same for himself, his large frame sprawling from the chair. Long legs stretched almost to the edge of the television console and his towel slipped another tantalizing inch.
Meanwhile, the interviewer droned on about the most elite, most high society nuptials of the year--between the Senator, the monster in Melissa’s dreams--and her little sister.
“Tell us about the ceremony, Christina. This is touted to be the wedding of the century. Some say it’s the grandest wedding since Cinderella married Prince Charming,” Shireeta Lee, the exquisite reporter crooned as she puckered collagen-filled lips at the camera. The reporter’s ebony hair wound into an elegant French twist and her pink satin gown would fit right into the big ball that was sure to be planned for the following night.
“This must be a bittersweet day for you, wedding your dear departed fiancée’s sister.” Shireeta cast a wholly feminine, appreciative glance at Nathan. “To wed one of the most eligible, powerful senators in the nation is no small feat. You must have quite a guest list. Do you care to share it with us? Rumor has it that the President and his family, Brad and Angelina, Brittany, Madonna, Julia, and at least half the Senate will be in attendance.”
Nathan took the microphone, flashing his most charming smile at the lens. “Our guest list is private, Shireeta. Security will be in full force to protect our esteemed guests, but mostly to preserve the sanctity of our special day.”
Shireeta favored Nathan with a flirtatious wink. Women found his charms irresistible and the journalist seemed to be no less gullible. “You won’t even confirm if the Queen will be in attendance?”
When Nathan shook his perfectly groomed head, his hair gleamed blue-black under the mid-morning California sunlight. “I’m not one to drop names and gossip.”
“Like hell,” Melissa said, seething, punching her fists in the air, wishing they were connecting with His Royal Smugness.
“Well then, will you confirm if you’re going to run for President of the United States in the next election?”
Even though she was already apprised of Nathan’s heinous plans, she still gasped hearing them on television as if it was
a done deal.
Concern pooled around Cody’s irises and his lips drew together so tightly they paled, as did his entire complexion. Stress lines tugged at his mouth and eyes, adding ten years to his appearance.
Reflected in Cody’s eyes, she saw herself--and froze. Was that crazy woman her? Violently tousled red hair stuck out in all directions. Cody’s borrowed T-shirt wrinkled and sat askew on her shoulder. Devoid of make-up, her face was baby clean. Her eyes gleamed almost feral. All shreds of sanity had fled. Madness shone bright and clear.
She dragged in several deep cleansing breaths to clear her head. Fury and fear would get her nowhere. Cool, clean logic had to prevail or she’d be forever lost.
Cody inclined his head at the set, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his very hairy knees. “That’s your ex, I take it?” The inflection in his voice was more rhetorical than questioning. A stray lock of dusky blonde hair fell over his deeply lined forehead and he shoved it away with an angry sweep of his hand.
Nodding, speechless, she gulped. Before she found her voice, her picture flashed on the tube. A big, glossy glamour photograph filled the screen, so different from her present appearance and yet, undeniably her. Coifed, her brilliant hair nearly blinded her. Foundation, creamy and lush, covered the dusting of freckles over her nose and cheeks, to give her a magnolia complexion. Ruby lips pouted as if nothing would ever be good enough for her. Diamonds dripped from her ears, neck, and even sparkled from a tiara crowning her head. Glitter dusted her bared shoulders.
A real life princess.
A fake.
Cody looked from her, to the photograph on screen, and back, raising an eyebrow. He listened intently as Shireeta recounted the whole sordid, albeit false, story of how Jesse had abducted Melissa and, like Patty Hearst, she’d been brainwashed and had succumbed to her captor’s every suggestion, running away with him, indifferent that she broke her family’s and fiancé’s hearts. It painted Jesse to be an out-and-out criminal, and herself to be a spoiled, thoughtless, heartless fool at best.
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