by Diana Palmer
He moved even closer. “Am I? Let’s see.”
Before she could decide whether or not he was teasing, he bent and lifted her off the tile floor, holding her close to his warm body.
She gripped his shoulders hard. “You aren’t going to toss me in?” she asked worriedly as he moved closer to the edge.
“I was thinking about it,” he confessed.
“I’m afraid of deep water,” she told him.
“Okay.” He put her down at the steps that led into the shallow end of the pool. “Go at your own speed.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
She eased down into the cool water, feeling it absorb her like wet silk. She sighed and spread her arms, enjoying the feel of it, but still on her feet.
Chris moved close to her and lifted her arms around his neck. “I won’t let you drown,” he promised, and struck off to the deeper water. “You’re an elemental person, aren’t you?” he asked quietly. “You’re sensual.”
She laughed nervously. “I’ve never been called that before!”
He didn’t smile. His eyes were locked with hers as he paused at shoulder depth, holding her lightly by the waist so she didn’t sink. “I’m sure you’ve never given yourself much opportunity to find out. It’s pure loss of control to let your senses go free.” He brought her close. “But it’s time you learned how sweet it is.”
“I don’t…”
His mouth covered hers, stopping the words in the back of her throat. She’d been kissed before, but Chris was a totally new experience. He nibbled at her lips, teased them with his tongue, savored them until they parted and began to respond shyly to the lazy insistence of his warm, hard mouth.
She made a feeble effort to save herself, pushing gently at his broad shoulders, but he didn’t stop. If anything, he became more demanding. On a soft, harsh groan, his hands went down to her hips and pressed them firmly into the aroused contours of his own. He held the kiss, built it into something devouring and frightening.
Della cried out softly as his hands became invasive, teasing under the elastic at her legs to find the soft skin of her thighs and hips.
He lifted his mouth. His eyes were black and his breathing wasn’t quite normal. His hands lifted from her thighs, but they slid up and kept going until they found and caressed her high, firm breasts.
“Chris…!” she choked.
His thumb and forefinger tested the hardness of a small nipple while he searched her shocked eyes. He bent and kissed her at the same time that his hand slid inside the deep V of the bathing suit and found soft bare skin. His other arm impelled her even closer to his aroused body.
Della was flying. She knew that if she lived to be a hundred, there would never be another moment like this, another man like this. He was experienced, but it wasn’t his way with women that attracted her. It was everything about him.
The sound of voices broke them reluctantly apart. He moved his hands back discreetly to her waist and held her there, fighting for breath, as a party of people came out to the pool area and put down towels and drinks on nearby tables.
“What will you do,” he asked softly, “if I suggest that we go back to my room and finish what we started?”
She smiled. “I’d suggest that you teach me how to swim instead.”
He chuckled. “As I suspected. Well, dash my dreams to bits, why don’t you?” he murmured. “I’ll never sleep.”
“You will if you’re tired enough,” she assured him. She moved back a little. “Come on. Teach me.”
“This isn’t what I want to teach you, you little blonde witch,” he muttered.
She grinned. “Sure it is! Just think, I might make it to the Olympics, and you could tell everyone that you taught me everything I know.”
He let out a long, wistful sigh. “Okay, you win.” He shook his head as he looked at her. “What raw potential.”
She made a face at him. “Swimming. Teach me swimming.”
“Would you believe that you’re the first woman who ever turned me down flat?”
“There’s a first time for everything,” she assured him.
He shook his head and moved her into a position on her back. “We’ll begin with floating,” he said. “This will give you confidence in the water.”
It didn’t, at first. But as they went along, she began to feel less intimidated by the deep water beneath her. The pool was lighted, and there were lamps on long poles all the way around it. Chris seemed both relaxed and pleased with her company. A gorgeous brunette in the party of people nearby found him attractive and tried to flirt with him. To Della’s surprise, he cut her off abruptly and in such a way that she didn’t try it again.
As they were going up in the elevator to their rooms, Della studied him from the folds of her beach robe with curious eyes.
“She was gorgeous, you know,” she told him.
He searched her eyes. “You’re gorgeous,” he replied, and he wasn’t teasing. “Inside and out. After you, I don’t know that I could look at another woman.”
She caught her breath. “Isn’t this sudden?”
He nodded. “Like lightning striking. You never see it coming. Then it hits, and your life changes.”
“Changes, how?” she asked hesitantly.
“I’m not sure yet.” He studied her oval face quietly. “I wouldn’t have gone into the water if you hadn’t insisted,” he said. “I’m glad you did. I don’t look as bad as I thought, apparently.”
“Of course you don’t,” she scoffed. “You’re still devastating to women, scars and all.”
“I noticed,” he replied with a speaking glance at her body.
She felt uneasy. “You aren’t angry?”
His eyebrows lifted. “At what?”
“At me, for not wanting to go back to your room with you.”
He only smiled. “I’m disappointed. I’m not angry.” The elevator stopped and he caught her hand in his and held it until they reached her door. He turned to face her after she’d inserted the card key and opened it. “I like you the way you are, Della,” he said. “Old-fashioned hang-ups and all.”
“I’m glad.”
He bent and kissed her gently. “Get some sleep. I have a feeling we’re going headfirst into the fire in the morning.”
“You, too,” she said. She reached up and brushed back a lock of unruly dark hair from his forehead. Her heart was in her eyes. “You need someone to take care of you,” she said quietly. “You don’t take care of yourself.”
His fingers touched her cheek. “You might take on the job,” he said softly. “There’s a vacancy.”
She smiled. “I’ll think about it. Good night. Sleep well.”
“You, too.”
He gave her a long last look before he wandered off down the hall in his own beach robe, looking as elegant as he did in a suit. Della watched him until he was out of sight. It occurred to her that she was in love with him.
Chapter Five
The day dawned rainy and dreary. Della ordered breakfast from room service and sat down by herself to eat it. She was still elated from the night before and anxious to see Chris, to see if he regretted how far things had gone between them.
He rang the bell just as she was drinking a second cup of coffee. She went to let him in. His dark eyes approved the soft yellow suit she was wearing with a lacy white blouse and white high heels.
“You look elegant,” he mused.
She liked the way he looked in slacks and a navy jacket with a roll-neck sweater. “So do you,” she replied.
He closed the door behind him and pulled her close, bending to kiss her with tender warmth. “Good morning,” he whispered.
“Good morning.” She pulled his head down and kissed him back, melting into his tall, hard body with obvious pleasure.
“Morning is always the best time,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Is it, really?”
He wrapped her up against him, loving the smallness of her in his ar
ms, the way she clung to him. “I’ve avoided commitment all my life,” he said at her ear. “Trust me to let a gorgeous little blonde waltz up on my blind side.”
“I’m not gorgeous.”
“You’re gorgeous.” He held her closer. “Don’t think you’re going to get rid of me when this is all over,” he remarked, feeling her heart jump at the statement. “I’ll be tenacious.”
“What a lovely thought,” she purred.
He drew in a long breath. “I suppose it will have to be orange blossoms and white lace, after all,” he said. “You’ll be a vision in white.”
“Are you proposing?” she squeaked.
“Of course.”
She drew back. “We don’t know each other!”
“We’ll get married and go from there.” He searched her soft eyes. “We like each other, we’re attracted to each other, and we have mutual elderly headaches to take care of.” He shrugged. “It’s more than a lot of couples have to start with. Where’s your sense of adventure? Don’t you ever take risks?”
She was floored. She’d expected anything from him except a proposal. “You’ve had so many women in your life…”
“And now I only want one. You.” He was dead serious. “We’ll go at your pace. But at the end of the road, there’s going to be orange blossoms and lace. Period.”
She smiled slowly, feeling as if fountains of joy were rising up into her heart. “I can’t believe it.”
“Neither can I,” he chuckled. “But there it is. All we have to do is rescue Tansy and get on with it.”
Her face fell. “How can I possibly interview my future mother-in-law for a scoop?” she asked suddenly, horrified.
“You’ll be kind to her,” he said simply. “You’re the very best person to do it.” He sighed. “God, I hope she’s all right. I hardly slept, worrying about her.”
Just as he finished the statement, the telephone rang. He went past Della to pick it up. He listened carefully, murmured something, and hung up.
“Seth,” he explained when she looked the question at him. “I’ve got an address. We’re honeymooners, lost and looking for directions.” He grinned. “I told you I know how mercenaries work.” The smile faded. “You do exactly as I say. I won’t risk you, not even for Tansy.”
She nuzzled against him for a few sweet seconds. “I won’t risk you, either,” she said softly. “Let’s hope Seth knows what he’s doing.”
“Amen!”
The address was on the outskirts of London in what looked to be a shabby apartment house. Chris took Della firmly by the hand and moved to the front door. There was a doorbell. He rang it. There was no answer. He looked at Della, concerned, and rang it again.
The door suddenly opened. A young man in a leather jacket peered at them from behind it. “What yer want?” he demanded.
Chris drew Della closer. “We’re from America,” he drawled. “Just got in from the airport and we’re lost. Trying to find a cousin of ours, a…wait a sec.” He drew a piece of paper from his pocket and read, “Billy Withers, 44 Truebridge Lane, London.” He looked around. “This is Truebridge, but we can’t find number 44.”
The man looked irritated and impatient. “T’ain’t no such number!”
Chris’s face fell. “But we’ve come all this way! Are you sure you have no idea?”
There was a crashing sound in the back of the apartment. The young man scowled, turning toward the inside of the dark room. His hand went to his jacket.
Della never saw Chris move, but the next minute, the young man was on the floor and Chris was standing over him with an automatic weapon. He cocked it with confident ease and leveled it at the downed man.
“Seth!” he called loudly.
There was another scuffle, another crash, and a familiar face appeared in the hall.
“Damn!” Seth exclaimed when he saw the man on the floor. “That was a neat piece of work,” he murmured, grinning as he bent to drag the young man up from the floor. “Come along, Tansy’s in here.”
“Is she all right?” Chris asked quickly, drawing Della’s cold hand into his free one.
“She’s a little rocky, but I gave her a pack of glucose. She’s rallying.”
Tansy was sitting on the edge of a ragged little cot, sucking on a glucose packet, looking weary and almost defeated. She looked up and saw Chris and burst into tears.
Chris put the safety on the pistol and tossed it to one of Seth’s men before he bent and gathered Tansy close.
“You idiot!” he muttered at her ear, holding her closer. “Dear God, you gave us a scare!”
“Which is nothing compared to what I got, my dear,” Tansy sighed, clinging to her son. “My globe-trotting days are over. This is the absolute end.” She lifted her head. “Did they find poor Cecil?”
“Yes, just after you vanished. Have you been here the whole time?” Chris asked.
She nodded. “They snatched me and held me until they got their money from Lady Harvey. I was a material witness and she told them to keep me here for collateral until she could get to her funds.” She laughed hollowly. “I gather from what those goons said that she reneged and expected them to finish me off. They decided it might be better to hold on to me, because I could implicate her. She doesn’t know that,” she added. “But I was wearing a wire when she confessed that she and Tony Cartwright had planned Cecil’s death.”
Seth was suddenly all business. “What happened to the recording?”
“He had it.” She pointed to the man on the floor.
Seth pulled out a nasty-looking knife. “Get them out of here,” he told Chris.
Chris moved the women ahead of him and looked back at the nervous man on the floor, presumably the vile Tony. “He usually only takes a finger. For his collection,” he added with a cold smile. “In your case, it might be an organ. A vital organ. If I were you, I’d tell him what he wants to know. In any case, I’ll remove the ladies before you start screaming.”
They were in the next room with the door closed before Tansy turned to him. “You enjoyed that,” she accused.
He smiled grimly. “Yes, I did. After what he put you through, I’d have enjoyed slugging him even more, but I think our friend Seth will do what’s necessary.”
“Lord Bainbridge, you mean,” she corrected.
“We met Lord Bainbridge,” Chris said carefully. “He’s seventy.”
“He’s sixty-five,” Tansy stated. She jerked her head toward the door. “That’s his son—his only son—a colonel in the SAS until he retired year before last. Now he’s what the secret agencies call a problem-solver. Thank God he came after me. I don’t think I could have made it another day. I’m so weak, son.”
“We’ll get you to a hospital and have you checked over, just to be safe,” Chris said.
Tansy was staring past him at the pretty little blonde. “Who’s this?”
“Della Larson,” he introduced. “She’s eventually going to be your daughter-in-law when she makes up her mind that I’m serious about marrying her. But for the meantime, she’s a reporter. I promised her an exclusive interview if she came with me to find you.”
“She came right in here with you?” Tansy pursed her lips. She was impressed. “Brave girl.”
Della grinned. “That makes several of us. I’m glad to meet you, Mrs. Deverell, and I’m very glad that we got here in time!”
Tansy shook the hand that was offered and smiled broadly. “So am I, dear.” She lifted both eyebrows. “You’re going to marry my son, are you?”
Della sighed. “I think so,” she mused. “Of course, he may change his mind now that we’re all out of danger.”
“He won’t,” Chris drawled.
“He’s my son,” Tansy said. “I taught him always to do what he said he would.” She seemed to slump. “I want a steak,” she said. “And French fries and cherry cobbler and—”
“No cherry cobbler,” Chris informed her.
She made a face at him. “Even the most r
igid diet allows sweets occasionally.”
“Not yours.”
“Just wait…”
Chris put an arm around her and drew her close. “You can have mangoes and bananas and coconut.”
She sighed. “My dear, you remembered!”
“How could I forget? The kitchen was always cluttered with mangoes,” he told Della. “She likes desserts, but fruit was always her favorite.” He glared at Tansy. “This time, you’re going where you can be found. No more adventures.”
“Spoilsport!”
“You could have died,” he retorted.
“Eventually we all do.” She shook her head. “Poor Cecil. He and I were friends years ago. He wrote to me and invited me to visit. I hadn’t met his new wife, so I accepted. But after I’d been there for a few days, I realized that not only did his wife not love him, but she was obsessed with getting her hands on the estate. He vanished one night, just after that shady man in there—” her head jerked toward the closed door “—came to visit Lady Harvey. She woke me the next morning and said that Cecil was dead and I was the prime suspect, because his will named me as executrix and chief beneficiary. Lies, of course, but I was too stunned to question her. Tony Cartwright hustled me out the door and into his car, and said he’d hide me. But that wasn’t what he did. He and his cronies brought me here and held chloroform to my nose and mouth. When I woke up, I was locked in that room.” She smiled wearily. “I thought I’d never get out alive. I heard them discussing what to do to me after her ladyship went public and accused Tony of killing her husband. He’ll be the prosecution’s best witness at her trial, unless I miss my guess.”
“Not without that tape recording he won’t,” Chris said solemnly. “Speaking of which…”
He turned toward the door just as Seth came out, all dressed in black, with cold eyes. He had something in his hand—a tiny tape recorder.
“The evidence!” Tansy exclaimed.
Seth nodded. “Irrefutable. Tony’s decided to become the state’s own witness. One of my men is telephoning the police even as we speak. I’m going to slip out with my men before they get here.” He put a heavy hand on Chris’s shoulder. “You’re a hero. I’m proud of you.”