by Linda Bond
She turned around. Dallas was staring at her with his mouth wide open and his eyes full of disbelief. He had a video camera with him. Was he shooting video of her and Antonio? Holy shit. Heat blasted both her cheeks. She felt breathless, just like she had when Ignado had pressed that nasty-smelling rag against her face.
If the police ever saw her making out with her “abductor” that would shoot down any chance she had of getting back into America without repercussions. “Oh my God.” Her hand covered her galloping heart. “What the hell have I done?”
Chapter Ten
Rebecca sprinted through the back door, down the hallway, to the closest of three bedrooms in Johnny’s farmhouse. She had to get away from Antonio before she crossed the line and became his lover, which would also make her an accomplice and a willing participant, no longer the victim. She’d been depending on using that excuse once she went back to America. What the hell was she going to do now? There was nowhere to run and hide until they could both cool down and realize the folly in taking this attraction any further.
She glanced around. The stark room had one bed in it, a simple unpainted dresser, no closet, and a white sheet hanging over the entranceway serving as a door. Her heart hit the floor. A sheet? That wouldn’t keep Antonio out. Not even for one second.
The sound of him stomping down the hall made her back up until the bed stopped her retreat. She held her breath, biting her bottom lip, uncertainty causing her heart to skip beats.
She wanted him.
But wanted not to.
The cotton slip covering the doorway flew to one side, and Antonio marched in. “You want this as much as I do. Don’t lie to yourself. Don’t lie to me.”
She crossed her legs at the ankle, hoping to hide how she was trembling. There was no mistaking Antonio’s mood now. He stopped at the threshold, staring at her with the same intensity he’d used before. That glare nailed her feet to the spot and rendered her speechless. She’d fall under his spell again if he touched her. She knew she couldn’t resist the physical chemistry that drew them together, so she had to keep distance between them.
“Speechless?” He advanced on her, a dare firing up in his eyes.
She used to be so sure of what she wanted. She wanted to marry a successful man, and live the life she’d dreamed of since she was a little girl listening to her mom talk about the big houses she cleaned on Bayshore Boulevard and of the fine women who lived there. She’d also longed to be a famous reporter, respected for her reports on issues that mattered.
“You would never like my world. You would find it too public, and at times ostentatious.” But standing here, with her body physically aching for more of Antonio’s touch, Rebecca wondered what it was she actually wanted. “And I won’t ever understand your world, or what is buried so deep in your heart it’s driving you to do dangerous things.” She just knew she had never wanted any man like she longed for this one. “I want a simpler life, Antonio. A less dangerous one.” I want these crazy feelings you stir up to stop. Don’t I?
“Don’t take the easy way out, Rebecca.”
Heat rushed into her cheeks. Why did he always push that button? “There’s nothing wrong with wishing for wealth and success.” And to remain in control.
“Money and fame won’t be enough to satisfy you.” A knowing smile played on his lips.
“Really?” She gulped down too much air. “And you think you can satisfy me?”
One of his eyebrows arched.
She probably shouldn’t have issued that challenge.
“Is that an invitation to show you?” He sauntered toward her, his dark eyes never leaving hers.
“Why did you kiss me in front of everybody?” She crossed her arms. “Why in front of my photographer, of all people, who could have been shooting video?”
“I kissed you because you wanted me to, because you invited me to, and because I’m attracted to you, and I wanted to.” He took his time, moving on her like a lion advancing on its paralyzed prey. “Obviously, the feeling is mutual.” He stopped in front of her, mere inches away, so close when he exhaled she could feel it, yet far enough away they weren’t touching.
She placed her hand over her heart, taking a step back, frightened by the power of the energy sizzling off him, but there was nowhere to go.
“I didn’t expect to care. I still don’t want to care.” The sound of his voice rang desperate. “But I do care. And I know you do, too.”
“We don’t need this right now.”
“I don’t think you know what you really need.” Entwining a strand of her hair around his fingers, he used his other hand to pull her closer.
She tripped over her own feet, tumbling into his hold.
“But I’m going to enjoy showing you,” he leaned in and whispered, “slowly.”
This encounter was spiraling out of control. He was a master at restraint, but she sensed he was seconds away from losing it with her. And God help her, that excited her. What the hell was wrong with her? She pushed against his chest, but barely moved the block of a man. She had to stop this now. “Antonio, you need to leave the room and stop this, before we…”
“Before we what, Rebecca? Say it.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re going back to America tomorrow.” She twisted out of his hold, took two steps backward, and her back hit the bedroom wall.
He followed.
“And then we’ll never see each other again.” Why start something? Something that could get them both in trouble. Something that might make her long for him forever.
He reached out and stroked her cheek, his touch making the muscles deep in her core clench. She squeezed her legs together. “I don’t want you to kiss me again.” If you do, I’m lost.
“Liar.” He moved one hand back into her hair, rolling strands around his fingers, creating a rope, so when he tugged on it, he forced her to expose her neck and arch her back.
Her scalp tingled.
He moved in so their skin touched, cheek to cheek, and his warm breath tickled her ear. “Do you have any idea what I want to do to you right now?”
She shook her head, unable to speak.
“I’m going to show you.” His right hand found her left wrist, and he pulled her hand behind her back.
She inhaled.
He grabbed her other hand and pulled it behind her as well. He’d trapped both of her hands between her body and the hard wall. The broken concrete nipped at the skin on her knuckles. “If you don’t like it, I’ll stop.” He shifted his hold on her so his hand protected hers from the rough concrete. “Tell me, Rebecca. If you want me to stop.”
It barely hurt, but to her surprise she liked the edgy sensation, a slim balance between pleasure and pain. Her core stirred again, releasing that same delicious wetness. Was this what Antonio was into? A little rough foreplay? A little show of power? And why was she responding? Because no man had ever taken the time to work her up like this. And never in this deliciously slow, torturous way.
He moved in even closer, pinning her whole body against the wall, his erection against her middle. When he nuzzled her neck, his lips brushed the spot where her artery throbbed. He had to know how much he was turning her on. She shuddered at how vulnerable she felt.
“Isn’t it exciting to want something so badly, you’d do anything to have it?” Then he whispered, “That’s how you make me feel.”
She swallowed, too embarrassed to answer.
His lips found that sensitive area right behind her ear. “You’ll never feel anything as intense as this, wanting something you know you’re not supposed to have.” He gently kissed her between words. “You know what this tells me about you?” He kissed her neck softly until she squirmed against him. “In public you’re a good girl, but here.” He moved his hand down and laid it across her breast. He had to feel her heart pounding. “And here.” His fingers slid down the center of her chest, down her abdomen to the vee between her legs, which throbbed now, aching for his touch. He tap
ped his fingers outside her dress, hitting and missing that one part of her body that had control over her in this moment. “Here, you want to be a bad girl.”
She should struggle, fight him, but what he was saying was true. And she wanted to see if he could coax that bad girl out of her. If he could finally get her to let go of the control.
He cupped her against the outside of her dress, and she began to push forward, meeting his fingers. Embarrassment at her neediness should have shamed her, but she didn’t care. Antonio was right. This felt so good.
He removed his hand from between her thighs. “But first, you have to tell me you want me, too. I have to hear you say it.”
Oh God, was he kidding? “Just touch me already. You control freak.” They both were, and this powerful push-and-pull drove her crazy.
Antonio’s fingers moved leisurely over her. “Your heart is racing.”
She bit her bottom lip again as his finger ran circles around her left nipple. Even with the dress as a shield, the sensation sent electrical spikes of pleasure through her. Leaning back against the wall, she threw her head back and closed her eyes, yearning for more of his touch.
He lifted his head. “Do you want me to stop?”
She shook her head.
His hand moved down to her waist, over her hips, and around to her backside, where he leaned down to gather up the hem of her skirt. “You have a lot of passion buried inside. I bet you’ve never allowed yourself to let it go.”
She shivered, her breathing shallow and fast.
“You’re like this ice princess caged inside a perfect little castle. Let go, Rebecca. I want to see the real you.” As he lifted her skirt, his fingers tickled the flesh of her inner thighs, heightening her pleasure.
“Antonio, please,”
“You can speak.” He laughed, not at her, as he was obviously enjoying this as much as she was.
“Please what? Please touch you here?” His finger stroked the outside of her cotton panties, teasing her by circling everywhere but the one spot she craved. “I want you undressed. I want to feel you naked against me.”
The thought made goose bumps pop all over her skin. The man was physically perfect in clothes, and she could only imagine what he looked like naked. She remembered the ripple of his tight abs as she’d held on to to him on that motorbike. Now she’d have a chance to run her fingers down those waves, slowly, savoring the moment, without the barrier of clothing. And then she’d…
The sheet covering the door flew to one side and someone walked into the room.
Holy shit! Rebecca struggled to right her clothes and cover herself. Blinking, she tried to make out whomever it was that just barged in on them. Heat rushed to her cheeks, embarrassment flushing through her whole system.
“Sorry to interrupt.” That was Jose Carlos’s voice. The other guy who had kidnapped her. He was standing at the doorway. Jose Carlos cleared his throat.
Antonio quickly flipped around. “You’d better have a damn good reason for barging in here.”
Uh-oh. Rebecca knew that voice. Why didn’t Jose Carlos just leave? He could see they were, well, busy.
“Ignado has the bird in sight.” Jose Carlos flashed a quick look her way, and then turned his back, probably to give her privacy.
Her heart skipped. Ignado? Not that asshole. Was he here? What was going on? Why was Jose Carlos talking about a bird?
Antonio strode toward the nightstand.
“The bird is unguarded,” Jose Carlos continued. “We have to go now before he flies the coop.”
Antonio jerked open the top drawer and pulled out his satellite phone.
“Antonio?” She stepped toward him.
He wouldn’t look at her. He dropped his head and started rubbing his temple with his free hand. He gripped the phone tightly in the other.
“Antonio, what’s wrong?”
“I have to go into Havana.” He sounded tortured.
A chill erupted across her heated skin. “Okay. I’m coming with you.” She made sure her clothes were adjusted properly. “Let me go grab Dallas. We can document whatever you are doing.”
“No!”
His thunderous explosion after such a loving interlude rocked her. “You can’t stop me.” They were back to this?
“Yes, I can.” Antonio finally looked at her. She could see the conflict raging in his eyes. The look iced her heart and numbed her fingertips. Whatever he was about to do, it was dangerous, and he didn’t want her to see it. It probably had to do with her father. Her stomach flip-flopped.
“Jose Carlos will stay here with you and Maria.”
“No, mi amigo, I’m with you,” the kidnapper protested.
“Not tonight. This is my personal mission. No one else can do this for me, and I want to involve as few people as possible.”
She ran over to Antonio and grabbed his shoulders. “Oh God, Antonio, whatever it is you’re going to do, don’t go. I’m telling you I have a bad feeling.”
He jerked out of her hold, pushing the satellite phone her way. “Take it.”
Reluctantly, she grabbed it.
“Ignado has the other satellite phone,” Antonio continued. “I’ll get it from him as soon as we meet up. If there’s any trouble, call the number. He’ll answer the phone, or I will. I promise.”
“Don’t do this,” she whispered, realizing what undone business drew him to Havana this late at night. She started to cry, unable to hold back all of the emotions this one man had stirred up in her in just a few days “Antonio,” she pleaded. “Does this have something to do with my father? If it does, I have the right to come with you.”
He froze in the middle of the room, his back toward her. He didn’t say a word.
She could fight him, stomp her feet, threaten him, but weak from lack of water and food and spent from almost giving herself willingly to him, she knew she probably wouldn’t win. He wasn’t going to let her go along. “Please, be careful.” She gripped the phone. “Don’t do anything that will get you arrested. Or killed.” She knew he understood. Or keep us apart forever.
He turned, his gaze searching hers. “We leave before dawn, so be ready to go when I get back.”
Rebecca couldn’t see behind the shield he now wore as an expression.
“This will all make sense to you soon.” Without another word, Antonio turned his back to her and stormed out of the room.
Jose Carlos followed him.
It wasn’t until after he’d left, and she’d cried for a good ten minutes, that she rolled over on the bed and opened the dresser drawer Antonio had failed to shut properly. Right away she realized Antonio must be expecting trouble here at Johnny’s farm.
He’d left her his Ruger .380 automatic.
Chapter Eleven
“Levántate!”
Rebecca woke with a start. Her throat was parched. Eyes dry and gritty, it hurt when she blinked.
“Levántate!”
Get up? The hair on her neck stood on end at the booming male voice she didn’t recognize.
Springing into a sitting position, she jerked the thin sheet over her upper torso. “Who’s here?” Her gaze darted across the bed. No Antonio. Her heart galloped, pumping blood to her sleeping brain. Her fingers tingled as she gripped the sheet tighter.
“Levántate! Ahora mismo.”
Get up. Right now. What the hell? The dark, windowless room blanketed her in a scary shroud. A trickle of hallway light filtered in through the sheet over the door. “Who are you? What do you want?”
She stilled at the sound of heavy boots scraping against the tile in the bedroom. The person was marching from the doorway toward her. She gulped down a breath to stay quiet. Once at her bedside, a tall man ripped the sheet back. “Levántate!”
She gasped as the air hit her mostly naked skin. “Un momento, por favor.” She covered herself with her hands as she’d been sleeping in only panties and a barely there T-shirt. “Okay, okay, permítame vestirme.” Let me get dressed first.
Despite the humidity and heat, she was shivering.
The man retreated with a grumble. “Cinco minutos.” He threw the sheet back on her and stalked out the doorway.
She jumped out of bed, afraid the stranger wouldn’t even give her five seconds, much less five minutes. Digging through her backpack, she pulled out shorts and a clean shirt and threw them on. Should she pack Antonio’s gun? Hell, yes. She slipped the weapon into her pocket, her hands shaking. She didn’t even know how to use the damn thing. The phone? She rubbed her forehead. Where did she put the damn satellite phone? Should she call Antonio? This certainly felt like trouble. Oh Lord.
She slipped into the tennis shoes Esmeralda had lent her, found and grabbed the satellite phone off the dresser table, and sat on the bed taking deep breaths.
She dialed the number he’d given her. It rang and rang. “Come on, you promised. Pick up.” She shook the phone, but it still rang, a lonely sound, with no comforting words coming from Antonio on the other end, and no way to leave a message.
Boots pounded at the end of the hall, getting louder.
She felt every step with a pounding in her chest.
“Carajo!” She couldn’t bring the satellite phone. It wouldn’t fit in her pocket, and she couldn’t risk the man finding and taking it. She buried the phone in the bedsheets and whispered a short prayer.
The silhouette of the man appeared in the hall on the other side of the sheet. It looked like he carried an assault weapon this time. Holy shit, the gun was huge. Her head pulsated with fear. Was it the same guy? Taking a deep breath, she decided to go to him. She had to keep him out of the room and away from Antonio’s phone and her identification.
She held both hands up so the man with the gun would think she was unarmed, even though the pistol in her pocket hit her thigh every time she took a step. What she’d give to have Antonio here now.
The man held back the sheet covering the door for her, a surprising move. He grunted and gestured for her to walk down the hall in front of him.