In Too Deep

by Janelle Taylor

  She’d come to Puerto Vallarta for the food, but her stomach still wasn’t in the mood. “Soda water,” she ordered.

  “Black coffee,” Hunter added and Phil looked at them as if they’d lost their minds. “I’ve already eaten,” Hunter responded, “but the food here’s great.”

  “Bring on the tuna,” Phil told the waiter.

  When the fish arrived he smacked his lips, digging in with gusto. Jenny sipped her soda and watched Hunter out of the corner of her eyes. He’d pulled a cigarette from a fresh pack he’d brought with him, tapping it on the table and twisting it through his fingers.

  “Quit a long time ago,” he said to her unspoken question. “Sometimes the mood strikes, though.”

  “For no particular reason?”

  “It’s generally for a reason,” he said with a sideways look.

  “God, this is good,” Phil mumbled around a mouthful. A bit of mango and orange salsa touched the corners of his mouth and he licked it off with relish. “Jenny, my dear, if you serve something like this, they’ll be breaking down your door!”

  “I’ll tell Gloria,” Jenny said. Her mind traveled ahead to her plans for the Santa Fe restaurant and all the things she had yet to do to facilitate this move. And then she thought about Rawley. And then she remembered the break-in.

  She sighed, feeling Hunter’s eyes on her.

  “Something wrong?” he asked.

  Hesitating only briefly, she decided to tell him everything. “I had some disturbing news before I left the villa.”

  “What?”

  “Someone broke into my apartment.”

  Hunter’s gaze intensified and he dropped the unlit cigarette onto the table, forgotten. “When?”

  “A couple of days ago, I guess.” Jenny related what Janice had told her. “Do you remember me telling you about Benny? The neighbor’s dog? Well, he sleeps outside my door and now he’s got some tender ribs. Whoever broke in probably kicked him or something.”

  “Is the dog okay?” Hunter asked, his voice stony.

  “I think so.”

  “This some random break-in?” Phil asked around a final bite. With a satisfied smile, he pushed his plate aside and settled into his chair.

  “It may have been,” she said slowly.

  “But you don’t think so.” Hunter was watching her in a way that made her choose her words carefully.

  “I’m just afraid—it might have been Troy.”

  “Troy!” Phil repeated.

  “He’s back in Houston right now, and I don’t really know what he wants yet. He’s been in contact with my father.” She hesitated, darting a look toward Hunter. “My ex is not a nice man.”

  “Was anything taken?” Hunter asked.

  “I’m not sure yet. I’ll know when I get back.”

  “Russell is bad news,” Phil said for Hunter’s benefit. To Jenny, who stared at him in surprise for offering up information on her ex-husband, he said, “I don’t know that much about your marriage, only what Magda said about whatever you’ve told her. But I know there’s a lot more to that story than you’re telling. If that bastard’s trying to get back into your life, watch out. You may need a full-time bodyguard, my dear.”

  Jenny gazed at him. She didn’t know how to look at Hunter.

  “I’ll do my best when we get to Santa Fe,” Phil added, “but I’m talking professional here.”

  “Magda and Phil live in Santa Fe,” Jenny explained for Hunter’s benefit.

  “We talked Jenny into joining us. She’s opening a restaurant. Did she tell you?” Hunter nodded. “Riccardo’s has fabulous food, but Jenny’s talents are wasted there unless Alberto decided to make her a partner.”

  “I was ready to leave Houston,” Jenny said. “Past ready.”

  “What phase is the restaurant in?” Phil asked.

  “Close to done. We’ve renovated an existing building and thank God for Gloria, my chef, because she’s been playing assistant general contractor. She’s about driven the workmen crazy, but that’s Gloria. She wants what she wants.”

  “Where are you from again?” Phil asked Hunter.

  “Los Angeles.”

  “You should check out Santa Fe,” he suggested.

  Hunter didn’t respond.

  Feeling the conversation starting to die, Jenny put in, “When I drove up to Santa Fe to visit Magda and Phil, that was it: love at first sight.”

  She felt Hunter’s eyes on her and had difficulty meeting his look. His rejection had hurt, no matter how wellmeant it was. She didn’t share his worries about being her bodyguard and maybe her lover. She would have welcomed both.

  “So, LA’s your home?” Phil asked Hunter.

  “I was working in LA., but …” He left the thought unfinished for several beats, then added, “I’m just trying to figure out what to do next”

  “You were in security, weren’t you? Well, there’s your answer, Jenny. This man should be your bodyguard!”

  Phil was so delighted with his own cleverness that Jenny hardly knew what to say. She sensed Hunter stiffen in his chair. “Actually, we’ve already discussed it,” she said quietly. “I offered him a job yesterday as my bodyguard, but he couldn’t do it”

  “Okay, okay.” Phil pushed back his chair. “You two work it out. Whatever the case, Jenny, batten down the hatches and throw the deadbolts. And we’ll all meet up in Santa Fe and Troy Russell will be a forgotten piece of your past.”

  “I hope so.”

  Hunter felt like an uninvited guest. They were talking around him and he supposed he damned well deserved it But he could hardly hire on as Jenny’s bodyguard when he already had the job.

  Still … “Maybe I could come to Houston,” he said grimly. But he was an idiot He didn’tjust want to protect her, he wanted to be with her.

  Jenny’s blue eyes lit up. “Does that mean you will?”

  Hunter knew he was playing with fire. He couldn’t have it both ways. He and Jenny stared at each other a long, long moment Picking up the vibes, Phil murmured, “I think this is my cue to leave. You know what, you two? You ought to go with your instincts. Always the best choice. Everything else is just bullshit, y’know? Don’t let it dictate to you.”

  He pushed back his chair and added, “I take it you’ll bring the lovely Geneva home.”

  Hunter nodded.

  Phil waved good-bye and left whistling. Just before he disappeared, he caught Jenny’s eye and nodded several times like an old sage whose dullest pupil had finally made a bright decision.

  “I don’t want to force you into anything,” Jenny said. “Phil’s just trying to look out for me.”

  “You have good friends.” He gazed at her steadily.

  “The thing is—is—” She took a deep breath. “Troy is capable of real cruelty, and, if you don’t have anything else pending, it would be great if you could—take on the job.”

  Her words hit like stones. He thought of his lovely, too forgiving sister and could scarcely meet Jenny’s pleading eyes. “I can’t be your bodyguard and your—date.” He regarded her expressive face and had to force himself to continue. “So, you choose.”

  She swallowed. “That was a pretty harsh rejection the other night. I haven’t fully recovered.”

  “I’ve been trying to do the right thing all week.”

  “I wouldn’t mind a—fling.” She smiled faintly. “But I think I need a bodyguard.”

  His gaze drifted down the front of her shirt, to the pink blouse that clung to the soft curves of her breasts. “All right.”

  “All right, what?”

  “I want to keep you safe.”

  “Why can’t you be my bodyguard and my date?” she asked.

  He shook his head and stared off into space, lost in grim thoughts. Protecting someone was easy. Protecting someone you cared about was torture. But it’s already too late, his rational mind argued. You already care.

  Jenny gazed down at her fingers, surprised to see them clutching the edge of th
e table. Her heartbeat slowed. Thumped. Hurt. “Can’t you answer me?”

  “I can’t do both because it’ll get messy.”

  She swallowed, darting him a shy look. “I can handle messy. Things have been too clean for a long time.” Absurdly, she felt tears sting behind her eyes and she laughed to cover up the emotion. “My mistakes were all a long time ago. And they were big ones.” She drew a breath, “But now I think I can take a few chances. And maybe everything won’t go wrong this time …”

  Hunter hated this moment. Hated letting himself listen to her. He gazed into her eyes, lost in the intense emotion in their blue depths. He cursed himself for allowing this to happen—for practically setting it up.

  He thought of Allen Holloway. Thought of how the man would react to the idea that his employee was romancing his daughter. No! That his employee was being asked by his daughter to engage in a full-fledged affair. The man would be apoplectic.

  “You’re smiling. I’m almost afraid to ask why,” Jenny said.

  “I’m a sick man,” he said with a silent laugh.

  “Is that a yes?” she asked cautiously.

  “Come on. Let’s get out of here,” he said, fighting down another wave of unhealthy amusement. Paying the bill in cash, he ignored Jenny’s protests to help. Cupping her elbow, he piloted her out of the restaurant and they walked onto the street in front of the hotel. Just as they reached the corner, the sky suddenly opened up and rain fell in blinding sheets, so fast and so hard that Jenny gasped in surprise and opened her palms skyward, as if asking how this could have happened.

  The elemental rain. The sudden cooling of the humid air. The sudden wet skin and soaked clothes. Hunter moved on impulse and simply pulled her into his arms and hugged her. She came willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck as if they’d choreographed the movement together.

  His lips sought hers. Her mouth was soft and warm and curved into a smile.

  “Stop smiling,” he ordered, his own lips still twisting wryly.

  “No.”

  He kissed her again and felt her hand reach around his neck, holding his face down to hers. His tongue slipped into her mouth and the heat inside sent thoughts splintering inside his brain. To hell with it. He wanted to make love to Geneva Holloway Russell and he wanted to do it right now.

  Jenny’s head was swimming, and she was fast losing the little self-control she still possessed. This wasn’t going to work. She wasn’t the type to have a quickie affair. A one-night stand. A meaningless episode of sexual gratification which would leave her feeling wretched the next day. Hunter was right. He should be her bodyguard, not her lover. She needed a bodyguard. She didn’t need a lover.

  But why then, did her arms wrap more tightly around him at the thought of letting him go? Why was she pressing her rain-soaked body against his as if she would die without the feel of him close to her?

  “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said breathlessly, against his lips.

  “I don’t either.” A shudder went through his tall frame. “Come on,” he muttered. “Let’s get somewhere before I do.”

  Jenny went willingly, bewildered by her sudden arousal. Her response was so uncharacteristic of her— yet it felt so right. They scurried through the cloudburst to the Hotel Rosa, standing, dripping beneath the archway into the reception area. For a moment they stared at each other. A quivering smile touched Jenny’s lips, only to die when there was no answering response from Hunter. His face was tight and intense, almost stern. For a moment she worried he was preparing to say no again, but then he groaned and dragged her to him. Her soft curves melted into his hard, muscular body until he reluctantly released her and they headed hand in hand to the elevator.

  Inside his room, she swallowed hard, counting her heartbeats. Her eyes glanced toward the bed. She imagined herself on its smooth cover, naked, with Hunter’s body atop hers as she caressed his warm skin and the powerful arms that would hold her close….

  He caught her look and held it. “What do you want?”

  She opened her mouth. Her mind went blank.

  He came to her swiftly, running one hand into her hair, tangling his fingers in the silky tresses, turning her mouth up to his. She went limp. “Everything,” she whispered. “I want everything.”

  No more words were spoken. His hands found the buttons down the front of her blouse. Her own worked on the ones on his shirt. Swiftly shed, their clothes dropped in soft folds around their feet. Once naked, Jenny couldn’t help folding her arms over her chest, embarrassed, but Hunter swept her hands aside, replacing them with his own body, his mouth hot on her neck and nape. She quivered. Her legs weren’t bone. They were liquid and wouldn’t support her. He held her to him and she felt his hardness pressing against her abdomen.

  It had been so long since she’d kissed a man. Touched a man. Wanted a man. She found herself desperate to explore every inch of him but was paralyzed by her own fears. He helped her, moving her hand to his shaft as his tongue slipped between her lips.

  Jenny moaned.

  His mouth pressed lower, as he nuzzled the tops of her breasts, licking and finally fastening on one nipple. His arm held her up or she would have melted to the floor. She was weak with erotic pleasure and when he finally lifted his head to kiss her again, she tumbled against him.

  Hunter swept her into his arms and placed her on the bed, then he sank down beside her. She clasped the cover in tight fists when his head sank lower, seeking her most feminine spot, and she cried out when he pleasured her in a way that sent waves of pure desire throughout her body.

  It was all she could do to keep from clawing him in her anxiety to feel him inside her. She pulled him to her. When he thrust against her, she pulled him closer.

  Hurry, hurry, hurry, she thought mindlessly.

  “Geneva,” he murmured, as if from a long way away, his hardness penetrating deep.

  She cried out. Her body responded with each movement opening like a desert to a rain after a long, long drought. Her fingers dug into his hips, dragging him deeper. Hunter groaned, struggling to master the overwhelming sensation, but Jenny wasn’t having any of it. She wrapped her legs around him and he thrust hard.

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Don’t,” she gasped.

  “I want to …”

  “I want you. I want—” An explosion of pleasure coursed through her and she cried out. Orgasmic waves pulsed through her. She clung to him, riding the sensation, hanging on for dear life. With a groan he climaxed only seconds later and she felt the pulsation of his release. It satisfied her in a way she hadn’t believed possible.

  Her eyes were shut. She felt afraid to open them, afraid to let go, but Hunter finally stirred. He stayed inside her, however, simply lifting his head and staring into her eyes, his own blue ones dark with emotion and sexual satisfaction.

  “I guess that decides whether I’m going to be your bodyguard or not,” he said in a lazy, sensual voice. She felt him harden inside her. And then he started making love to her all over again.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  Jenny opened her eyes in the semi-darkness of Hunter’s room. Light filtered through the slatted blinds and she could just see the sheet that covered their tangled limbs. “Oh, no, here it comes, the big confession!” she teased, burrowing closer to Hunter’s side, reveling in the feel of his warm skin against hers, the strength in his muscles, the smooth flesh. She’d never cuddled with Troy. Never.

  His fingers trailed along her arm. “I wasn’t in security. I was with the L.A.P.D.”

  Jenny blinked in surprise. “Really?” To his nod, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

  “Because I was put on leave for unprofessional conduct.”

  “You?” she asked in disbelief.

  “I knew that a murder had been committed, but I could never prove it. So, I ‘harassed’ the man. At least that’s what he alleged in his lawsuit.”

&n
bsp; Jenny didn’t respond. Suddenly she realized how little she truly knew about Hunter.

  “Then I went to work for a smaller police department, for six years. That job was in Santa Fe.”

  Jenny could scarcely believe her ears. She drew her arm away from him. “You lived in Santa Fe?”

  “I still do.”

  “What are you saying?” she asked in a small voice.

  “I don’t like talking about myself. I didn’t want to talk about what happened in L.A. And you were moving to Santa Fe, and I couldn’t tell you I lived there.”

  “Why?”

  Hunter struggled to explain, but there was no explanation. He could sense how tense she was. If he went into his connection with Troy and her father—and Michelle’s death—he was sure he would lose her. “It just seemed too coincidental. I was afraid you would think there was more to it.”

  Was there more to it? She felt chilled to the bone. “I wish you had told me this before.”

  “Before … this …?” He ran a caressing finger along the side of her face.

  She swallowed. “Yes.”

  “That’s why I’m telling you now.”

  “I don’t like secrets.” When he made no response, she felt alarmed all over again. “Hunter …?”

  “I think you need a bodyguard. I think your exhusband is dangerous, and I want to be there to protect you.”

  She laughed without mirth. “So, now you can do both?”

  “I’ll have to,” he said seriously. “I’m in too deep.”

  When he drew her into the circle of his arms and began slowly kissing her neck, she didn’t protest. The heat he stirred inside her couldn’t be ignored and she felt it lick through her like liquid fire. Questions hammered at her brain. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she held them at bay. She wanted tonight and she was damned if she would let reality spoil it for her now.

  With a supreme effort of will Jenny pushed her doubts aside and gave herself up to the pleasure of the moment.

  The bar was country western in theme and music and everyone wore shit-kicker boots and blue denim. Even the women, though their tightly wrapped asses invited a man to give them a slap and a tickle. It was all Troy could do to keep his hands to himself. As a means of distraction, he’d snatched the drumsticks by the snare drum of the so-called band, now on a break, and was rapidly tapping them against the bar as he waited for his beer.