by Spear, Terry
Dale reached into the cabinet to get another glass while Allan cleaned up the broken one in the sink. “Was this for Jenny?”
“Yeah, she needs some water so she can take the medicine.”
“You gave her the prescription medicine, right?”
Allan nodded. “It’ll help her sleep.”
Dale poured some water from the fridge water dispenser, then headed for the bedroom.
Allan dropped the fragments of glass in the sink and dashed after Dale. He grabbed his arm, and retrieved the glass of water from him. “I’ll take it to her.”
“I’m not after your girl, Allan.”
“She’s naked.” Allan hurried to the room, and closed the door in Dale’s face, not waiting to see his friend’s reaction.
Jenny’s eyes were closed as she lay nestled against the pillow, the covers tucked underneath her chin. Somehow, he had to get her to put the T-shirt she’d been wearing back on. He couldn’t have the other agents seeing her naked.
“Jenny,” he coaxed. “I’ve got your water so you can take your medicine.” He noticed then, she must have gotten a glass of water from the bathroom as the wet glass sat on the nightstand.
She didn’t stir. He reached over and touched her forehead. She wasn’t feverish. Just exhausted. He set the fresh water glass on the nightstand, then sat in the chair beside the bed. No way was he letting Randy Stevens, playboy of the year, get close to her. The man thought he was a hotshot with women. Wined them, dined them, promised them the moon, and left them for good.
Allan had no intention of letting Randy do that to her. He ran his fingers over her cheek. He figured his boss was throwing Randy into the equation to force Allan to act. Again, he wondered what Garcia was up to. He clenched his jaw, hating being tangled up in a situation where he was bound to end up the bad guy.
He jumped up from his chair and crossed the room to the dresser. After jerking a drawer open, he grabbed a T-shirt and pair of shorts, then headed for the bathroom for a quick shower. Once he was showered and dressed, he heard Cameron’s voice in the living room.
Allan left the bedroom to see what was up. Cameron sat on one of the chairs covered in tropical floral chintz in blues and greens. The chair’s arms and legs were whitewashed simulated bamboo, and Cameron tapped his fingers on the wood for a moment before he spoke.
“What’s up?” Allan asked, sitting on the sofa as Dale brought them sodas.
“We found out why Thurman was so attracted to Jenny.”
Allan already knew the reason why Jenny interested Thurman. The woman was a total turn on, that’s why.
“Money,” Cameron said. “She’s got one big trust fund.”
Allan swallowed his Coke. “That’s why she quit her job?”
Cameron shook his head. “Nope. She doesn’t get the money until she turns thirty or marries. We figure Wilson pushed to marry her quickly before we caught up to him. Once he got spooked, he tucked tail and hid. But he still wanted the money. The Agency thinks he sent his goons to grab her. We’re sure Wilson intended to marry her. Afterward, he’d get his hands on the money, and that’s the end of Jenny.”
Allan was relieved in part. He’d worried she might be more deeply involved with Wilson, acting as one of his henchman. Still, the notion she truly loved the bastard continued to plague him.
He knew there wasn’t any way Wilson loved her. He couldn’t love anyone but himself. The downside meant Wilson wasn’t letting go of her either, not if she had a substantial pile of dough. A couple of hundred thousand could certainly help Wilson’s insane cause. “So he’ll come after her again.” Allan stared at the three brass fish holding the glass top of the coffee table up. “How much money is there?”
“Around one hundred and fifty mil.”
Dale coughed as his soda evidently went down the wrong way. “Man,” he croaked, “you came into the big money when you married her.”
“I’m not married to her, remember?”
“The boss wants you to marry her, for real,” Cameron said.
Allan rose from the sofa like a bear ready to attack its foe. “Absolutely not! Why in the hell would he want that?”
“He said the Agency would hold her money in safekeeping. Wilson couldn’t get to the money that way, and maybe if she’s not worth anything, he’ll leave her alone. She’d be safer, Allan. That’s what the Agency bigwigs are thinking. And there’s no way in hell they want him to get hold of that kind of dough. Who knows what havoc he’d wreak with that much stash?”
Allan paced across the floor.
“Randy Stevens is arriving late tonight, and he’s to pretend he was a very dear, long-time friend of hers. So you have until then to make up your mind.”
“Her money is—”
“Hers. The Agency’s well aware of that. And whoever marries her won’t be able to access a cent of it. Neither will she. The Agency hopes Wilson won’t come after her if she can’t get to it. After we catch or kill Wilson, the money reverts back to her. Then she or whoever’s married to her can nullify the marriage contract.” Cameron drank some more of his soda. “Your choice, Allan. If it were me, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. If you played your cards right, she might even want to keep you after Wilson ceases to be a problem. Then you could quit this hazardous job and live a life of luxury. Not a bad deal at all.”
Allan snorted. “There’s a little of issue of trust here, you know.”
“Hey, you can’t fool us. We saw the way you kissed her in the ocean. No way were you disinterested in the lady. And she sure has the hots for you. If I weren’t happily married…” Cameron took a ragged breath. “Well, I wouldn’t give it another thought.”
Dale grinned and raised his Coke to Allan. “Yeah, but he has kind of an image problem.”
“Oh? How’s that?” Cameron studied Allan as if trying to figure out what was wrong now. Even Allan wondered what his image problem was.
“She thinks he’s gay.”
Hell.
Cameron burst out laughing. “Don’t let Randy know, or he’ll tell the whole Agency, just so Allan won’t be his competition anymore.”
“I don’t play Randy’s game.” Allan collapsed on the couch again.
Cameron rose from his chair, but his eyes widened as his attention switched to the bedroom. Allan and Dale glanced back at the room.
Jenny hugged the doorjamb, wearing low slung denim shorts and a floral shirt that reached only midriff. She held up the T-shirt she had worn before in bed. “Allan, I need a word with you.”
Worrying that she had heard them speaking about her, he nearly had a stroke.
Cameron headed for the door. “Time to bow out.”
Dale hesitated, then crossed the floor after him. “Wait, I’m coming, too.”
When the door closed behind them, Allan joined Jenny. “I’m not wearing this to bed. No wonder we’re having trouble with our relationship. I want to go shopping.”
He pulled her away from the doorframe and into his arms. “Did you take the medicine?” He was certain she had as he saw no sign of the pills on the nightstand.
She nodded.
More than likely, the prescription medicine would knock her out before they even made it to town. “Why don’t you lie down for a while and after you rest, we’ll go out later?”
“I feel fine.”
But he knew she didn’t. She leaned into his body with barely the strength to stand on her own two feet. She was one stubborn woman.
He tilted her chin up and looked into her green eyes flecked with golden amber. “Is the headache gone?”
“Nearly.”
He swallowed hard and hugged her to his chest. “I’m not gay.”
She chuckled. “I really didn’t think you were, not the way you kissed me.”
His heart took a dive. He hadn’t dated anyone in the six months since Millie and he’d split up for good. And the nine years he’d spent with the same woman seemed a lifetime. Now he was twenty-nine and he realized
dating was something he’d never really been good at. He’d found Millie and never looked at another woman. Well, he’d looked, but Millie was the only one he’d had eyes for.
He leaned over, lifted Jenny in his arms, then carried her back to bed. He couldn’t let Randy hurt her. Yet, he didn’t want to hurt her either as she was bound to be, if he married her.
“Will you join me?” she asked as she nuzzled her face against his chest.
Chapter 5
Allan laid Jenny on the bed. They were both fully clothed and with the prescription medicine Jenny had taken, she would soon fall asleep. But maybe if he lay beside her, she would settle down sooner.
Then he would have some serious decision making to do.
She unfastened the first button on her blouse and the panic rose in his chest. He had no right to see her naked. If she knew what an imposter he was, she wouldn’t have dared expose herself to him.
“I’ll be right back, Jenny.”
“Help me remove my shorts, will you? I feel as though my fingers are working in slow motion. I’ll never get them off before I fall asleep.”
He took a deep breath. “Sure.”
It was just her shorts, for God’s sake. Get a grip. He wasn’t removing her panties, or making love to her. Yet when he grasped the button to her denim shorts, his fingers shook. He cursed himself for being so inept as he fumbled with the fastener. The sweat dribbled down the back of his neck.
He finally jerked the button through the hole.
She chuckled. “You know, you’re driving me insane, don’t you?” She touched his hand and pushed it lower.
“Sorry. Button was stuck.” His voice was unnaturally husky, proving to himself he was losing control.
He grasped the zipper. He had every intention of removing her shorts quickly, then covering her up and not giving it another thought. But when he attempted to slide her shorts down, she wiggled her bottom suggestively to help him, and he knew then he was in big trouble.
After removing her shorts, his gaze focused on her white satin panties. A vee of lace pointed downward as if to direct him to the object of his desire.
She finished unbuttoning her blouse and tugged it off. White lace embraced her full breasts lovingly, just like he wanted to do. Her rosy nipples peeked through the sensuous fabric, already hard, beckoning him to free them.
He cleared his throat.
“Are you going to join me?” she asked, patting the mattress beside her.
“Yeah.” What the hell. He would remain dressed and lie with her quietly until she drifted off to sleep once the medicine kicked in. “Sleepy?”
She yawned and nodded.
He pulled the comforter over her. After he moved to the other side of the bed, he yanked his covers to the side.
She frowned. “You’re not wearing all those clothes to lie down with me, are you?”
He must have seemed like a real idiot. And damn, he hadn’t planned on stripping in front of her. He jerked his T-shirt over his head, then dropped it on the chair. Then he removed his shorts. Her eyes focused on his black satin boxers, and what she’d done to him to make them uncomfortably tight. If he stayed with her much longer, he’d have to get the next larger size.
And the way she was going, she was bound to ask for her wifely rights soon enough. Then what would he do? No way could he make love to her, not while they lived a lie.
He slid into bed, the first time he’d been with a woman other than his wife in years. Though even with her, their sex life had dropped to zilch. He’d come to think that part of his life was over. Now with a woman who in every way indicated she wanted him, and the response his body had to hers, showed he hadn’t lost the ability to have a healthy sexual relationship. Every bit of him wanted her, too.
Only, it was all wrong.
Damn it to hell. He wasn’t gay.
Pulling her against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her. “Sleep,” he whispered to her.
Her soft body turned his even harder. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of her silky skin, feel the firmness of her breasts, rub his thumbs over her taut nipples, and touch her where he had no business even thinking of going.
Nestling her head against his chest, she hummed her pleasure. “This sure feels right. Thanks, honey, for being so understanding.”
He kissed the top of her head. How could he marry her as his boss suggested when he didn’t even know her? When she didn’t know him? Even if it was a marriage of convenience of sorts. But shouldn’t she be made aware of it? He guessed he was to convince her that maybe reliving their “wedding” would trigger her memories.
Before he could even suggest marrying her, he had to do everything in his power to help her to regain her memories. Then if she wanted to marry him—as a matter of keeping her safe—he would oblige.
“Jenny—”
“Hmm?” Her hand drifted from his chest to his waistband.
He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips. After kissing it, he said, “Do you remember Wilson? I mean, Thurman Wilson?”
“Who?” She sounded groggy, half asleep.
“Thurman?”
She shook her head slowly back and forth against his chest. Her curls tickled him. He breathed in the scent of the sweet floral shampoo she’d used on her hair.
Placing her meandering fingers on his chest, he traced the fine bones in her fingers. “Thurman Wilson.”
She sighed deeply. “Who’s he?”
“You were going to marry him.” The Agency assumed Wilson had pressured her to get married. He had to marry her to get to her money.
“Oh.”
Was she too sleepy to understand?
He ran his fingers down her arm, the satiny skin a tactile delight to his sense of touch. “Do you remember your girlfriend, Roxie Adams?”
“No,” she said, sleepily.
“Do you remember why you quit your job?”
“To have babies?”
He tightened his hold on her. There was no way he wanted to go there. “No, there was some other reason.”
“Don’t you know?”
“I’m trying to help you to remember.”
“Oh.” She snuggled closer. “Make love to me, and it’ll all come back.”
Yeah, right. If she had memories of lovemaking, it wouldn’t have been with him. On the other hand, if it brought back her memory…damn, memories of her time spent with Wilson.
Jeez, now that’s a sour thought. Allan’s blood ran cold with the notion.
The Agency didn’t want her to return to her home, but he kept thinking what if she visited it? Maybe she would remember what happened then. But he had to get headquarters’ approval. Right now, they wouldn’t allow her to leave the island. For the moment, she was safe, well, at least from Wilson and his men. But what about from Allan? Who would protect her from the feelings he had, raging out of control for her?
Her breathing had grown shallow, and he imagined she’d fallen asleep. His own mind settled some. She felt just right against his body, too. Yet any relationship had to be based on honesty, didn’t it? Theirs certainly fell far short of that.
A noise in the living room caught his attention. He carefully unwrapped Jenny from his arms and climbed out of bed slowly so as not to disturb her. Then he stuck his hand between the mattress and box springs and pulled a gun out.
Stalking toward the bedroom door, he readied his gun. When he pulled the door open, Dale smiled at him from the entryway. “Just me.”
He glanced at Allan’s boxers. “I hadn’t thought of making the bet for earlier in the evening.”
“I thought you were staying downstairs.”
“We were going to have a pizza, but this freezer was the only one that had any left. Sorry to disturb you.”
“She’s sleeping.”
“That medicine will really do it.” Dale grinned. “So what’s with the state of undress?”
“She insisted.”
Dale laughed as he head
ed into the kitchen. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
Allan knew his partner was teasing in part, but he also figured Dale was dying to hear a further explanation.
When Dale returned to the living area with the pizza, he asked, “So have you decided about her?”
“I didn’t realize that this job would involve coercion of its agents.”
“It looks like the lady is doing a pretty good job coercing you, too.” Dale waved his hand at the kitchen. “There’s another pizza in the freezer for you and Jenny if you feel like it later.”
“Any word about Wilson?” Allan hated that he was being kept out of the loop on this one. He had to act the loving husband on vacation while the others took all of the calls about business.
“The word is he’s having his contacts search vigorously for her.”
“Great. And no sign of him, I suppose?”
“Nope. As usual, he’s gone underground. They figure he may have slipped back down to South America.” Dale headed for the door. “The guys will wonder where their pizza is if—”
Cameron opened the door and smiled as he looked at Allan dressed only in his boxers. “Just wondered what had happened to our pizza.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll leave the newlyweds alone.” Dale popped into the hall.
“Wedding bells are ringing.” Cameron joined Dale.
Allan shook his head, then returned to the bedroom and grabbed his shorts. Jenny moaned and rolled onto her back. “No,” she groaned under her breath. “No…no.”
“Ah, hell.” Allan threw his shorts on the chair. “Garcia, you owe me.” Damn it to hell, boss.
Allan hid the gun again, then drew the covers aside and climbed into bed. He pulled Jenny against his body. Mumbling something next to his chest, she slipped her arm over his waist.
He wrapped his arms securely around her. “Shhh, sleep. You’re safe, Jenny.”
Sure she was. He kissed her forehead and held her tightly.