Sydney ate with single-minded determination. Noah knew her thoughts weren’t on the food at all, but the silence between them was relaxed rather than strained. She was a comfortable woman to be with, Noah realized. And every bit as brave as the men under his command. Of course, she didn’t follow orders worth a damn. That thought made him smile. He had a feeling she’d be good at giving them.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“I was thinking you’d make a good officer.”
“Oh? Is that your polite way of telling me I tend to be bossy? Never mind, don’t answer that, Major. I’m going to use the little officers’ room for women. If you’ll excuse me?”
He stood and followed her progress through the bar to where the bathrooms were. When he sat back down it came as no surprise that Jake Collins appeared at his table.
“Good evening, Major. Is everything satisfactory?” Collins asked smoothly.
Even the greeting didn’t surprise Noah. In a small town like this one, everyone knew everyone else’s business five minutes after they did. “Perfectly. Nice place.”
The man took his measure and inclined his head. “Thank you. I heard you had some trouble this afternoon.”
“A couple of prowlers broke into my dad’s house.” Which wasn’t technically true. The house was now his and the police had discovered an unlocked basement window—no sign of a forced entry.
“Too bad. There isn’t a lot of crime here in Fools Point,” Collins said neutrally.
“No, there never has been.”
“I’m glad no one was hurt today.”
Noah came to attention, trying to read behind the implacable mask of Jake Collins’s face. Were his words intended as a threat, a warning or just a general comment? Before Noah could decide, Sydney returned to the table.
“Mrs. Inglewood,” Collins said in greeting. “Enjoy your evening.” He inclined his head again to include Sydney.
“Thank you,” she said, stopping him when he would have turned away. “I know I told you this before, but this is a wonderful restaurant, Mr. Collins.”
Collins hesitated. He looked oddly pleased by the sincerity of her praise. “Thank you. Enjoy your visit in Fools Point.”
She sat down, watching him walk away before she turned to Noah. “What was that all about?”
“Mr. Collins stops to chat with all his guests.”
“I know. I meant between the two of you. I got the feeling I was interrupting something.”
“Not really. He just said something that started me wondering.”
“About what?”
“How much capital must be involved in opening a place like this one.”
“A lot, I’d imagine.”
“Yeah.”
Sydney looked across the room to where Jake Collins had paused to talk with a table of six. “He has such empty eyes.”
“What?”
Sydney shrugged. “He only lets you see the surface. He’s an interesting-looking man, but I wouldn’t want to have to be the woman to try and get beneath his exterior.”
“I wouldn’t like that much either.”
For a moment, she simply stared at him. Noah was a little embarrassed by his hasty words, but he realized he meant them. He didn’t like her finding Jake Collins “interesting.”
“Didn’t you say the town thinks he’s part of the Mafia?”
“That’s one of the rumors.”
“I think I can see how it got started.” When she smiled, he found himself smiling back. “At least we know he wasn’t the man you chased from the house today.”
“We do?”
Sydney arched her eyebrows. “Can you see the fastidiously dressed Jake Collins wearing a pair of jeans? Or smelling of garlic?” she added as an afterthought.
“Now that you mention it, no to both.” His smile turned into a chuckle. “You never cease to amaze me, you know that?”
“Thank you. Noah, since we changed the locks at the house and we have both the police and the FBI keeping watch, do you want to waste money on another hotel or go back to the house tonight?”
“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in a hotel room?”
“Until these creeps are caught, I’m not going to be comfortable no matter where we spend the night.”
He liked her choice of pronoun, but he didn’t want to remind her that she’d been comfortable enough in his arms last night. The problem was, he was pretty sure he couldn’t hold her again all night and promise to stay on top of the sheets this time. He’d become too aware of her as a woman. A woman he liked on every level.
The draw between them was getting harder and harder to ignore.
“You do know Wickowski thinks we’re having an affair,” she said calmly.
Noah nearly choked on his coffee. “What did you say?”
Complacently, she took another sip of her herbal tea. The small bruises at her neck were already changing colors, some fading to yellow-green while others were a dark reminder of the past few days.
“Maybe we should spend the night at the house,” Sydney continued in a slow, thoughtful voice, “and hope the two creeps make another try. With the FBI and the local police watching they’re bound to be caught.”
“Sydney, new locks won’t keep a determined person out of the house. Neither will police or FBI guardians.”
“I know, but I have you to protect me.”
Her faith astonished him. She’d come so close to danger this afternoon when he’d unintentionally put her at risk that he didn’t know what to say.
“By staying at the house, maybe we can draw them out.”
Noah flattened his hands on the tabletop hard enough to rattle the silverware. “You are not putting yourself at risk.”
“Of course not. I’m not stupid.”
“No. You aren’t.” He covered her hand with his. Instantly, the air became charged between them.
Sydney licked her lips. The gesture wasn’t meant to be provocative, but there was no telling that to Noah’s leaping imagination.
“How do you do that?” she asked softly.
“Do what?” He struggled to resist the impulse to stroke the back of her soft hand.
“Make me so aware of you with a simple touch.”
Her frankness surprised him yet again, but he replied in kind. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re having the same effect on me.”
“Oh, I noticed. But I’m not going to go to bed with you, Noah.”
His lips curved. “You already did.”
The shared memory hung between.
“You know what I mean,” she said finally.
He knew, but as a blush crept up her face, his body grew hard, wanting her.
His pulses leaped at the banked hunger in her eyes. She was no more immune to him than he was to her.
“What if I decide what I want is you?” he asked softly.
“Then you’ll learn we don’t always get what we want.”
He leaned back, suddenly amused. “So cool. So confident. And you said I was intimidating.”
A flicker of uncertainty. A trace of desire. Sydney wasn’t as sure of herself as she’d like him to believe. And they were sharing the thought if not the action.
“I would love to take you to bed, Sydney. To watch that cool facade shatter like ice. To watch you melt and steam all around me in an explosion of need.”
A curl of flame licked her eyes, warming the color already darkening her cheeks. Her eyelids lowered, thick lashes sweeping down to conceal the desire that made her fingers tremble beneath his hand.
“But you won’t.”
“No. I won’t.” And then, because he couldn’t resist, he added, “Your virtue is as safe as you want it to be.”
She surprised him by leaning back in her seat with a contemplative expression. “The problem is, what if I really don’t want it to be safe?”
Her words drop-kicked his solar plexus. His mouth fell open and he had to remind himself to close it. She wasn’t
trying to be provocative. He could see she was actually thinking this over. He told his racing heart to stand down, but it wasn’t listening.
She gave a ragged smile. With a toss of her head, the smile widened. “Don’t worry, hero. Your virtue is safe, too. I’ve found sex is a highly overrated commodity.”
“Maybe you’ve just had the wrong partners.”
A honeyed warmth seemed to enter her expression. “Maybe I have.”
And before he could think of a comeback for that, she rose and started for the door. Aware of more than one eye on them, Noah stood so fast he nearly overturned the chair. This playful side to her had taken him completely off guard.
As he followed the seductive sway of her hips, a chuckle built in the back of his throat. He’d never met a more maddening woman in all his life.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“I decided against staying at the house,” Noah told her. “There are too many ways in and out and until we get a telephone installed, it’s too risky. I’m not inclined to take any more chances.”
“All right, but could we stop at a drugstore so I can pick up a few things?”
“No problem.”
Big problem. His mind had been toying with the thought of taking Sydney to bed for so long that he was having to exert more control than normal. While he wrestled with his conscience, Sydney couldn’t even seem to get out of the car without brushing up against him.
Her hand grazed his as she put items into the small basket he offered to carry for her. And his pulse rate picked up when he saw the racy cover on the paperback she selected. He was determined to do the right thing here, but the bath beads that the clerk rang up were nearly the final straw. The image of her soaking in a tub full of water was enough to make him sweat all the way to the motel he’d selected. How the devil was he going to share a room with Sydney again tonight without succumbing to the need pounding through his bloodstream?
“You know you’re ruining my reputation completely, don’t you?” she asked as they left the check-in counter and headed for the single room with two double beds he’d just rented.
Noah faltered. “Does that worry you?”
“My reputation only worries me as it pertains to being a good jeweler. Anything else is my personal business.”
He looked at her to see if she was deliberately being provocative, but he caught her glancing at her bandaged hand.
“Your hand will heal, you know,” he told her firmly.
“I’d like that guarantee in writing—right after I see your medical degree.”
He set the suitcases down to unlock the door and touched her shoulder in an offer of silent comfort. She leaned her cheek against his hand. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For caring.”
He beat back the temptation to kiss her right there in full view of the parking lot and quickly opened the door. They stared at the small room in silence.
Two double beds on the second floor as ordered, but the room with its miniature kitchen at one end, complete with a two-burner stove, microwave and small refrigerator, gave new meaning to the word intimate.
“Cozy,” she said neutrally.
“We had more space when we were sharing a single room with a king-size bed.”
“True, but look on the bright side, you can make me coffee in the morning.”
“I could if we’d bought any coffee,” he agreed, thinking they should have gone back to his father’s nice big house with its great big bedrooms with doors that shut and even locked from the inside.
“Want to go back out and do some more shopping?”
“At the risk of missing an opportunity for breakfast in bed, I think I’ll pass.”
Noah smiled. “Probably a good decision on your part. I always figured they created restaurants because of the fire hazard associated with letting people like me near a kitchen.”
“No good with gourmet dinners, huh?”
“Not unless they come covered in plastic with instructions like punch holes and rotate after three minutes. But you’ll like this bathroom,” Noah informed her after looking around. “It’s nearly as big as the entire bedroom. No sauna, but the tub is clean and deep. It would probably even hold two,” he added before he could stop himself.
Pink tinted her cheeks, but she reached inside the drugstore bag and waved a small package. “Only if they both want to smell like gardenias.”
“Drat. I’m not sure, but I think that just might cost me my next promotion.”
Sydney chuckled.
“But I could risk scrubbing your back for you,” he offered with a teasing grin.
“Such a considerate person. I’ll get back to you on that.”
But her gaze looked the tiniest bit wistful as she looked inside the spacious room.
“Hey, seriously, if you want to take a bath, go ahead.” Anything to delay the conversation he was going to have with her tonight.
Sydney hesitated. “It would feel good.”
“Then do it. I’ll get some ice for the sodas and see what’s on television.”
Sydney stared at the large tub and knew she was weakening. A nice soaking bath would feel wonderful after the stressful day. But she could no longer tell herself that Noah wasn’t interested in her that way. Nor could she pretend the desire was all one-sided. The currents between them practically vibrated in the visible range. Despite the fact there were at least a million reasons not to feel this way, she was the one lusting after Noah.
“Hey.” He cupped her chin. “Earth to Sydney.”
Sydney shivered. What was it about this man that drew her so? She barely resisted the impulse to draw his face down to hers and see if she could break down that rigid control he exhibited most of the time.
“Take your bath, Sydney.” He stepped back, saving her from temptation. “I already got a shower, remember?”
As if she could forget. He smelled so darn good. And he’d even taken time to run a razor lightly over his chin, raising her crazy hopes that maybe he had more in mind than just sleeping tonight.
It was crazy. On the one hand she wanted him desperately. On the other, she kept telling herself making love with Noah would be a mistake. She wasn’t into one-night stands. These were just her surging hormones kicking in or something. They were going to share a room, not each other.
But would it really be so awful if they did share more?
“I’ll be right back,” he told her. “The ice machine is just down the hall. Yell, and I can be here in a millisecond.”
“I’m not worried. Go get your ice.”
But she was worried. Noah exuded a masculinity that drew her like a magnet. He was also funny and kind. Too bad she’d met the wrong brother first.
Guilt was never far from her mind when she thought of Jerome. But it was the guilt of a survivor and was tempered by her strong suspicion that Jerome had taken some part in the very crime that had killed him.
What was on the tapes that the robbers wanted so badly? And where were those tapes now?
She filled the tub with hot steamy water and gardenia-scented oil. She was getting better at undressing one-handed, though the bra closure took some effort. And she had to be careful climbing into the tub one-handed. But the water felt wonderful and despite the difficulty of reading one-handed, the romance novel she’d purchased proved to be light and quirky.
Unfortunately, it also proved to be one of the author’s steamier works. Reading about a hero and heroine in a room filled with erotica was probably not the best choice she could have made when she was so aware of Noah prowling around on the other side of that flimsy door.
Despite the book’s fast pace, she kept finding her thoughts straying to Noah. Since she couldn’t concentrate, she set the book on the floor and leaned back, closing her eyes. This was the first real peace she’d felt since waking in the middle of this living nightmare.
If only she’d heeded her earlier instincts and hadn’t rushed into marriage with Jerome. He’d b
een so charmingly persuasive and life had seemed to be in a hurry to pass her by. She hadn’t met a single man she wanted to live with, let alone marry. And sex for sex’s sake wasn’t worth the risk. Her two encounters had left her emotionally empty and unsatisfied.
Ironically, in the end she’d given in to Jerome’s request primarily because he wasn’t interested in sex. He’d offered friendship and respect instead—or so she’d thought. More importantly, he’d offered her a chance for the family they both wanted. The biggest irony of all was that she’d contemplated single parenthood and decided it was unfair to the child. Now here she was, a single parent anyhow. She could have skipped all those months of unhappiness with Jerome and just had the fertilization process done on her own. There must be a cosmic joke in there somewhere.
Noah rapped on the door, startling her. “Everything okay?”
“Yes.” The water had started to cool. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“No hurry. I just wanted to be sure you didn’t fall asleep and drown on me.”
“Thanks a lot.” She sat up and reached for the washcloth, wondering what he’d do if she asked him to come in and soap her back as he’d offered.
Why couldn’t she stop thinking of Noah that way? Instead of shocking her, the idea kindled all sorts of naughty images. She ran the cloth across her breasts, which had become extremely sensitive to the slightest touch. The nipples instantly beaded to tiny hard points.
“Okay guys, you’re not helping here,” she whispered.
As she lathered her legs, she wondered what it would be like to have Noah’s hand running that cloth up and down instead.
“Not good, Sydney. You’re letting this imagery carry you away.”
“Did you say something?” Noah called out.
Sydney grimaced, embarrassed by her wayward thoughts. “Just talking to myself.”
His voice dropped suggestively on the other side of the door. “Saying anything interesting?”
No doubt he’d think so. “Just wishing for a handservant,” she told him.
The handle turned. She only had a moment to yank the shower curtain closed before Noah opened the door. “What do you need?” he asked seriously.
“Nothing! I was kidding!”
My Baby, My Love Page 15