“A challenge?” Mercedes narrowed her gaze on him, hating how the longer she stared at him, the harder her heart beat. He was a threat to her mind, her heart, her body—hell, to every aspect of her life. “Sounds like we’d both be better off parting ways right now.”
“You think?” He didn’t move.
Not that she wanted him to. Her experiments weren’t cooperating, because she couldn’t think straight. Ever since she’d woken up, all that had been on her mind was Jeremy. She’d wondered where he was, what he was doing. But mostly she’d worried he didn’t want to see her again today.
“Challenges and threats don’t sound too appealing,” she said, a mixture of desire and trepidation making for an odd sensation in her belly. Jeremy looked incredible this morning, or was it afternoon already? And the way he’d followed Captain Huraldo down here, as if he’d known what he wanted and didn’t hesitate in taking it…
Despite the fact that she didn’t want him to leave, already her mind had worked up more of an argument as to why they were incompatible. Her defenses were in place, prepared to state a case to relieve both of them from pursuing something that would inevitably lead to at least one of them getting hurt.
“I’m up to the challenge of making you see I’m not a threat,” he growled, grabbing her arm and yanking her to him.
Mercedes almost tripped over her feet, collapsing against his hard chest and slapping her palm against it to stabilize herself. “Oh, well,” she began, but when she tilted her head to look into his eyes, he cleared the distance and captured her mouth with his.
His kiss was hot, greedy, demanding and had her losing her footing all over again. His hands moved over her back, bringing her closer to him while he took his time devouring her mouth.
Mercedes wasn’t sure she’d ever met a man who could kiss like Jeremy. He made the simple act seem primal, rough and needy. No one ever would have made her believe a man who bordered on being chauvinistic could make her so hot and swollen with need.
It took more effort than she thought she had to simply turn her head. When she did, she was gasping for breath.
“Tell me how I threaten you,” he whispered, his mouth finding her earlobe and sucking it; then he scraped the bit of flesh with his teeth until chills rushed over her feverish skin.
“You’re doing it right now.” The last thing she wanted to do was push him away. It felt so good wrapped in his arms with his tall, strong warm body pressed against hers. “This isn’t a vacation for me.”
“Nor me,” he breathed, his baritone rumbling through her brain. “But Christmas is right around the corner. Because we’re here together, maybe we can be each other’s Christmas presents to brighten the holiday.”
“Be each other’s what?” She shook her head, finding the strength to stretch her fingers across roped muscle and do her best to push. “How are we supposed to be each other’s presents? You don’t take presents back.”
He allowed her to move but then gripped her arms, making her face him. “You tell me I’m a threat, but in truth you’re not sure you trust me.”
Her heart started pounding. She’d been told more than a few times in her life that she wasn’t that easy to read. If he guessed she didn’t trust him, Mercedes would bet good money it was because he knew he held out on the truth about himself. Although she’d yet to figure out why he was so evasive when it came to talking about himself, Mercedes loved a good challenge.
“My gift to you will be showing you I’m not a threat,” he added.
“And you want me not to be a challenge?” She seriously doubted a man like Jeremy would enjoy a woman he couldn’t hunt and conquer.
His grin bordered on dangerous. Mercedes’s mouth went dry, and then suddenly she worried she’d start drooling. She really liked how his eyes changed color with his moods. As she watched, they turned a bright gray, radiant and intense as he gazed down at her.
“The point of the experiment is to show that men and women see the exact same situation through very different eyes.”
“Isn’t that old news?” It was on the tip of her tongue to ask why he did research on men and women. Of course, if he were Jeremy Fall, it would be obvious why he did. He’d denied being a writer already, and something told her cornering him on his lie wouldn’t be pretty.
Reminding herself he had lied, or at least she thought maybe he had, sobered her a bit, and she lowered her attention to his chest. The tank top he wore today, along with his brown khaki shorts, made him appear a man without a care. In the couple of days she’d known him, though, Jeremy was without question filled with cares and concerns. Whatever it was he did for a living, it was on his mind a lot. That brooding stare he blessed her with too often was the look of a man very preoccupied with something. Mercedes wasn’t conceited enough to think it was her.
“Just because we know something doesn’t mean we completely understand the whys of it.” He nodded toward her work. “Isn’t that what you’re doing here? You’re researching something that more than likely many people know about, yet you’re trying to learn more to understand it better.”
She ached to demand he tell her more about this research he was doing and why he was doing it. But then, what was the point? They were here for a couple weeks, and then it would be over. Once she returned home, she wouldn’t see him again. Nodding, she returned her attention to his unwavering gaze.
“So what is the gift I’m supposed to give you?” she asked.
“I can’t tell you what to get me for Christmas. You have to decide that.” He pulled her closer, kissing her forehead and then brushing his lips over her cheek. “I do know I’m going to enjoy the hell out of convincing you I’m not a threat.”
Jeremy’s mouth found hers just as Captain Huraldo cleared his throat in the doorway. Mercedes jumped back, her heart exploding in her chest, making it hard to catch her breath. In spite of herself, she laughed, shaking her head at the captain, who was not smiling.
“I feel like a schoolgirl busted when her parents walked in,” she said, still grinning and at the same time grateful when Jeremy didn’t hold on to her as she stepped out of his arms and walked over to the captain. “Captain Huraldo, this is Jeremy Faulkner.”
The men grunted, nodding but not smiling. Captain Huraldo scowled when he gave her a quick once-over. “I’m heading out on the charter plane here in a couple hours. Hopefully, I’ll be bringing back parts and a mechanic or two to help fix my ship.”
“Is there a chance we’ll have it up and running in a few days then?” she asked, knowing it would disappoint Jeremy if she left soon, but also knowing the more time she spent with him, the harder it would be to leave him.
“Don’t count on it,” he grumbled, glaring at Jeremy and then leaving them without a good-bye.
Mercedes turned in time to see the hard look on Jeremy’s face. “You really should research why the level of testosterone quadruples when two males confront each other,” she said.
“It only happens when both are interested in the same woman,” he offered easily without looking at her but continuing to stare at the doorway.
“Captain Huraldo doesn’t want me.” As she spoke, Jeremy’s words sunk in until they registered.
“But he knows I do want you.” There was a hard edge in his voice, his dominating, aggressive nature coming out in full force as he slowly approached her. “Men are protective by nature. You’re on his ship, and he’s keeping an eye on you.”
She shook her head slightly, willing the intensity in the air to lighten. There wasn’t any way Jeremy was implying that he was instigating a relationship between the two of them. When he said he wanted her, he meant sexually. Which was obvious. She could feel the sexual tension making her skin tingle even when his hands weren’t on her.
“More material for you to research,” she said, waving her hand through the air between them. “Why do men feel a need to protect women? If anything, we’re more protective, while men are the players.”
&nbs
p; “Do you think I’m playing?” His expression was focused, intense. A strand of hair fell over his forehead, and sandy-colored waves bordered his face. He definitely looked like a sex god, an international playboy, yet his gray eyes pierced her with a serious intensity that caused her heart to race in her chest.
“I think you’re serious about what you want,” she answered carefully, managing to pull her gaze from his and return to her work.
Jeremy gripped her arm and spun her back around so fast her hair flew in her face. She brushed it out of the way, but not before he slammed her body against his. His fingers tangled in her hair behind her head, causing her barrette to slide loose. He captured her mouth, pressing his tongue past her lips and impaling her with a fierce hunger that attacked her senses in more than one way.
Mercedes’s legs were suddenly like wet noodles. It was a damn good thing he was holding her up. She didn’t know a man could do what Jeremy did with just a kiss; he didn’t just kiss her with his mouth but with his entire body. The way he grabbed the back of her hair—tilted her head exactly how he wanted it, pressed his body against hers, and held her pinned with one muscular arm—made the act more of a union.
His lips felt soft and full and moved over hers with the grace and skill of a master. He didn’t hesitate gliding his tongue between her lips, opening her for him and then delving into her heat. As she opened her mouth, leaning her head to the side farther and then moving her tongue around his, Jeremy growled into her mouth.
His approval of her actions fed a fire she didn’t know had been smoldering until that moment. Already her equilibrium was shot to hell as the room seemed to tilt and then turn. Her legs were weak. Her heart thudded so hard in her chest blood rushed through her veins, sounding like a steam engine in her brain. And while her body did the complete freak-out, his was touching her everywhere. Corded muscle stretched down his leg, which he moved between hers. His thigh was harder than steel, and when he pressed against her pussy, she damn near passed out from the need that surged out of control inside her.
“Does that feel like I’m playing?” he growled, keeping his mouth over hers and tugging harder on her hair.
Mercedes didn’t fight him, and her head fell back. She opened her eyes, his face a blur for a moment. He was so strong, so confident, and so incredibly determined she see things the way he did. She didn’t see any problem appeasing him on this. “No, it doesn’t,” she whispered.
“Good. I’m not.” As quickly as he’d swept her off her feet, Jeremy straightened her and let her go.
Her lips tingled, and her heart still raced when she pressed damp palms against her shirt. She looked down at her hard nipples as she straightened her clothes.
“How long will you be working?” Jeremy asked, moving behind her and lifting her hair from her shoulders. He unsnapped her barrette and gathered her hair, clasping it so it was secure at her nape.
“I planned on being here most of the day.” Only because she couldn’t stand pacing her cabin wondering what Jeremy was doing or if he’d seek her out today. Now that she knew, going over the work they’d done over the past few weeks had lost its appeal.
“Then I’ll see you this evening.” He turned her around and tapped his finger to her nose, then walked out of the room and up the stairs.
Mercedes drooled over his hard ass and his bare, muscular legs. He hadn’t suggested what they might do tonight, although their options on the island were limited. She opened her mouth to call after him, ask what he had in mind. Snapping her mouth shut before the words spilled out, she stood there until she couldn’t see him any longer, and then she focused on her computer screen.
It wasn’t Captain Huraldo’s business what she did with her time. More than likely he was within earshot, and if she did make a scene—yell for Jeremy—it would be invitation enough for the captain to seek her out afterward and give her his two cents about the entire matter. Mercedes didn’t need a father breathing over her shoulder. If she wanted to have a fling while stuck on this island over Christmas, that was her business.
Above and beyond keeping her affairs private, Mercedes didn’t want Jeremy thinking she was anxious. He was so damned dominating, a trait she normally would claim not to like in a man, but somehow it worked with Jeremy. Leaning against her counter, she tapped the space bar on her keyboard, clearing her screen, and moved the cursor to the search bar.
“Jeremy Fall,” she said aloud as she typed and leaned her chin on her fist while she waited for her page options to load. The Internet was slow as hell, worse here on the ship than it was in her cabin. And it was bad there. “Maybe you aren’t a writer.”
She’d bought Give Them What They Want when it had first hit the best-seller list. Everyone was talking about it, and the joke at the time was that any man interested in seeing a woman was required to read that book first. The book described how a man should treat a woman, breaking it down from the first date to when a couple had been married for thirty years. Although Mercedes had skimmed a lot of it and not finished the rest, finding it too good to be true and almost a bit superfluous for her taste, she remembered the tone of the writing. Jeremy Fall was a gentleman to a fault. He strongly believed a woman should be honored and adored. He stressed repeatedly in the book that animalistic behavior such as hair pulling or bossing a woman around, throwing her around, even in the throes of sex, was immature and insulting. The only time a man should treat a woman like that was if she requested it, and even then he should follow her instruction and not treat her like a sex toy.
Jeremy Faulkner obviously hadn’t read that book.
“And maybe that’s why you never finished reading it,” she mused, clicking on the link that took her to the official Web site for Jeremy Fall.
She’d never realized it before, but the man described in that book wasn’t the man for her. Jeremy’s strong nature—the way her scalp tingled from where he’d pulled her hair—and his aggressive manner—sweeping her off her feet with a mere kiss—got her so damn hot she was soaked and horny as hell now.
It wasn’t as if she’d given serious thought to what type of man would be her soul mate. But looking back now, it made sense to her. Give Them What They Want had had everyone talking. Mercedes had tried to read it so she could be part of the conversations. She’d never told anyone the book hadn’t done anything for her though it seemed to have an effect on everyone else. And she hadn’t thought about why it didn’t appeal to her. If she had thought about it, she wouldn’t have made that conclusion at the time anyway. It had taken meeting Jeremy, experiencing how he treated her, and feeling her insides swell and burn alive in reaction to him to realize her “type” of man.
“You like it rough, baby,” she said, grinning and sighing as she shifted, rubbing her thighs together and willing the throbbing to go away.
Jeremy Fall’s Web site opened, and the cover of his book appeared on the page. Mercedes squinted, staring hard at the man on the cover. Maybe they looked alike. One of the links on top of the page said ABOUT JEREMY. She hadn’t thought to read about the author when she’d looked at his Web site before. She knew a bit more about Jeremy now. It was time to compare notes.
It took forever for the new page to load. Mercedes groaned, afraid she’d locked up her computer. Walking away from the computer, anything to make it cooperate, she glanced at her legal pad and the pen lying on top.
“Do I threaten you?” she asked, picking up the pen and clicking it as she stared at the equation she’d been struggling with throughout the morning. It was an equation that had been passed around through e-mails among her crew and some of the teams working back off the coast of California. Supposedly, the problem was solvable, but it appeared not to be. It was a math trick, a brain tease. “Are you intimidated by an intelligent woman?”
Jeremy hadn’t acted too intimidated when he’d damn near made her come by kissing her.
Mercedes dropped her pen on the pad, making a very unladylike sound as she glared at the equation. She
wasn’t all that smart. She couldn’t figure out the problem.
Glancing over at her screen, she moved to her computer when she noticed the page had loaded.
“Do you have everything you need?” Captain Huraldo’s booming voice made her jump. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he added.
Mercedes closed the Web site and clasped her hands behind her back, facing the captain with her back to the computer. “Are you heading out now?”
“In about half an hour.”
“It won’t take me that long to gather what I need.”
“I’ll help you take what you need to your cabin. I’m sorry you can’t work here while I’m gone.” He’d apologized repeatedly after telling Mercedes he would lock down his ship while he was gone getting more parts and whoever he could find to help fix his ship.
“I completely understand,” she said, waving him off and then stacking her notes and notepads next to the computer. Jeremy showing up had made her completely forget that the captain leaving this afternoon meant she needed to leave, too. He’d allowed her to work here until he had to go, but now she needed to wrap up what she could and relocate to her cabin for the next few days. “And thank you. I won’t take anything other than my notes. I can work more on my projects here once you return.”
“A lot of people do take Christmas off and don’t work,” he teased. He was back to his jovial self. Although he often appeared gruff to her crew, Mercedes knew the older guy had a heart of gold. She really liked him but was grateful that he didn’t take advantage of their friendship and lecture or advise her concerning Jeremy.
Captain Huraldo walked her to her cabin, insisting on carrying her notebooks, although she could have easily carried them herself. Then, giving her a fatherly hug, he grumbled something about being safe and then stalked away from her, heading to the landing pad.
Mercedes didn’t see Jeremy anywhere while she arranged her cabin so she could work. Even after a shower and applying a bit of makeup—just in case she saw him through her windows or the open sliding glass doors—there wasn’t any sight of him. More than likely he was doing exactly what she was doing: working in his cabin. Which meant he was right next door.
Under The Covers Page 14