Tango in Paradise

by Donna Kauffman

  “Don’t tell me, I’m very familiar with the local postal service here. If people in the U.S. only knew how good they have it.” With a disgusted sigh, April dropped into the chair across from Carmen’s desk. Not for the first time, she wished she’d invested in a helicopter along with the helipad. As it was, the helipad was just a perk for guests who chose that mode of transportation. “Shoot! You know what’s going to happen if I don’t show.”

  “Show up where?”

  The question came from behind her, and the familiar deep voice made her spin in her seat. “Jack!” It was amazing, given her current problems, what the mere sound of his voice did to her nervous system. Of course, the fact that he had on faded black gym shorts and an unbuttoned print shirt which parted to show a healthy expanse of tanned chest may have played a small part in her sudden lapse of memory.

  She had to stop for a split second to remember what it was he’d asked. “Hi. I’m supposed to be in Oaxaca by this time tomorrow, and unless I want to risk life and limb driving there, I’m out of luck.”

  Jack let his hands drop from the door frame overhead and came into the office. April scooted back in her chair as he perched on the side of Carmen’s desk, forcing her gaze away from his thighs and her thoughts away from how intimately she’d touched them last night. It would have been easier if she’d missed Carmen’s appreciative stare and the quick wink her secretary had sent in her direction when Jack wasn’t looking. Unfortunately, she hadn’t. Apparently the grapevine worked even better than she thought.

  Any last-ditch effort at regaining her equilibrium was shot to pieces when Jack grinned and nodded his head toward her office door. “I think I have a solution to your problem. Why don’t we let Carmen get back to work, and go into your office to work out the details.” He didn’t phrase it as a question, he simply turned to Carmen and said, “Does that letter in your hand have something to do with this?”

  Carmen nodded silently and Jack reached over and slipped it from her fingers. He folded it in half and handed it to April unread, then stood. “We’ll take care of this mess.” Then he shot Carmen one of his heartbreaker grins and added, “Could you handle any major crises that crop up in the next few minutes?”

  Carmen melted like ice left under the hot Mexican sun. “Sí, Señor Jack. No problem.”

  Jack sauntered around the desk into her office, but it took a gentle kick on the shin from Carmen to jerk April out of her stunned disbelief. How dare he stroll in here and order her secretary around! Conveniently forgetting he’d offered her a solution to a very big problem, April shot out of her chair. She aimed a glare at Carmen, knowing it wouldn’t do any good. She wasn’t exactly immune to Jack’s smiles either. That just increased her anger, and she stormed into her office.

  Resisting the urge to slam the door, she closed it with a forceful click. April didn’t attempt to get control of herself; instead, she silently thanked Jack for making her reentry into the room they’d so thoroughly used the night before easier than she’d dared to hope.

  He was sitting in one of the chairs nearest to the door and she stalked over to him, glad to have the height advantage for a change. Planting her hands on her hips, she let him have it with both barrels. “Who the hell do you think you are? Just because we—” She faltered a bit as his benign smile turned wicked and knowing.

  “Because we what, mi tesoro?”

  “Don’t call me that!” Knowing she sounded like a shrew, especially since he knew just how much she liked it when he called her his “treasure,” she tempered her voice. In a cooler, albeit clipped tone, she said, “While I appreciate your offer to help me, I wish you’d stop interfering in my work. Especially between me and my staff. It’s taken me ten years to build up my reputation and I’ll be damned—”

  “Hey, slow down.” His smile faded to a look of real concern. He stood and reached for her, but let his hands drop when she stepped back. “I didn’t mean to usurp your authority. Now or yesterday. Besides, your employees respect the hell out of you. You’ve more than earned it and I doubt I could change that, even if I wanted to. Which I don’t, by the way.”

  April felt the fight drain out of her. On a more conciliatory note, she tried to make her point. “I know. But you have to understand how hard it is as a woman to command respect in this country. And no matter what I’ve done or for how long, you’d be amazed how naturally the people here will turn to a male voice of authority. I’m sorry I overreacted. I know you’re only trying to help.”

  Jack absorbed her quiet statements, realizing anew just how much she’d struggled to make a life for herself here. And based on last night, he knew her troubles had begun long before she’d come to Mexico. His desire to know her, all about her, intensified tenfold.

  A slow grin split his features as he recalled her current predicament. Maybe he had a solution to both of their problems. “At the risk of being gut-punched, why don’t you let me take you away from all this for a while?”

  April had to smile when he took a step back and covered his abdomen in a mock feint. “Don’t I wish,” she responded honestly. The effect his size and power had on her was always present, but now that her anger had abated, the awareness turned sexual again and she found herself wanting to touch him.

  “Your wish is my command. You clear your schedule and I can get you to Oaxaca by late this afternoon.”

  It took a second or two for his words to sink in. When they did her eyes widened in disbelief. “And how do you propose to do that? Fly me there in your private jet?”

  “Something like that,” he answered, sounding suspiciously serious. “Now stop wasting time. Go play CEO and delegate, then pack your bags and meet me in the lobby by noon.” Purposely misreading her raised eyebrows, he added, “It’ll take us an hour just to get to that potholed strip of pavement that Santa Cruz tries to pass off as an airport.”

  Despite her recent lecture on his controlling habits, April laughed. She thought about telling him that all the flights were booked, but knew it would have been a waste of breath. “Has anyone told you you’re absolutely incorrigible?”

  A wry grin formed on his lips. “Once or twice. Do we have a deal?”

  Knowing this was a fight she wouldn’t win, she gave in gracefully. “Only because I have to attend this meeting, yes. Are you going to tell me the details?”

  “Trust me.” He walked over to her office door.

  “I didn’t think so,” she muttered. April stared at her desk, trying to compile a quick list of what needed to be done before she left, but recalling last night instead.

  “Of course, if you keep staring at that desk like that, we won’t be leaving this room till dinner.”

  April’s head shot up and their eyes locked. “I wasn’t even …” She let the sentence die as she realized it would have been a lie. “Is that why you came up here in the first place?”

  Jack walked slowly back to the desk. The layers of protection she’d built hadn’t been completely torn down and her instincts urged her to move, to put distance between them. His unwavering gaze rooted her to the spot.

  “Honestly?” he queried, a faint smile ghosting his lips.

  She tried to gulp, couldn’t, and settled for a nod. She could only describe his expression as … predatory.

  From across the desk, he said, “I have to admit to wanting to see you in this room all professional and businesslike.” He braced his hands on the desk and leaned toward her. “And I won’t deny that I wondered if I could get you to take that stick out of your hair and let it fall to your shoulders. I liked it all loose and sexy.”

  He pushed off her desk and walked slowly around to stand in front of her. His voice was a deep, throaty whisper. “And I’d be lying if I told you I hadn’t spent the better part of today fantasizing about taking you here again, only this time in bright sunlight.”

  April drew in a deep breath and held it there, praying he wouldn’t touch her, knowing she’d hate him if he didn’t. “And now?” she
asked, her voice tight.

  He moved closer, until his partially bared chest almost, but not quite, brushed against the front of her cotton blouse. “And now that I know I’ll have you almost all to myself for the next couple of days, I’ll settle for this.” He slid the ivory stick out of her hair, then in one fluid motion tucked one hand beneath the heavy mass on her neck, placed the other on the small of her back, and pulled her against him.

  Stopping for one long heartbeat, he simply stared into her eyes; then his drifted shut as he pressed a slow, probing kiss against her parted lips.

  Only a dead woman wouldn’t have responded. And she was far from dead. Small, urgent sounds formed in her throat and she leaned into him, not caring about the unlocked door or that his hands had strayed to the front of her blouse. She pushed his open shirt back to his shoulders and ran her hands over his chest, reveling in the compact hardness of each muscle.

  On a deep groan, Jack slowly pulled his mouth from hers and covered her hands with his own. Twining his fingers with hers, an action that shocked April because it somehow felt even more intimate than the caresses they’d just shared, he let their joined hands fall to their sides. She looked up at him and he leaned down so his forehead rested on hers. She could feel the movement of his bare abdomen against her rib cage with each shuddering breath he took.

  “You just let me think I’m in control here, don’t you?”

  Confused, April asked, “What? You think I am?”

  “What I think is that I could very easily get lost in you.”

  Every muscle in April’s body tightened in response to his quiet statement, whether in fear or desire she wasn’t sure. It was probably a little of both. But regardless of the reason, she knew she couldn’t walk away from whatever he was offering her. It was only a little reassuring to know that just maybe they were both well and truly caught in the web. “I’m … I need to get some work done if I’m—we’re—going to Oaxaca.”

  Jack’s smile was as sudden as it was wicked, and her heart pounded in response. “Can you get it done by noon?”

  “Only if you leave my office this second.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, sweetheart.” He dropped a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, paused for a split second, his lips hovering over hers, and let her go. He walked to the door, then turned back. “Speaking of driving: Do you have a resort vehicle that the Cove can spare for a few days?”

  Her expression suddenly wary, she asked, “Sure, but you aren’t thinking we can drive there. The roads over the mountains are unreliable at best, treacherous at worst.”

  “Actually, if we had the time, that might be fun.” He raised his eyebrows in a mocking imitation of her response. “But since we don’t, I figured I’d just fly you there in my plane. We’ll need to leave the car at the airport for the drive back.” At her further look of amazement, he added, “What, you didn’t think I pushed that Jeep all the way from L.A., did you?” Not waiting for a response, he winked, opened the door, and left.

  It took a few seconds for her to snap her mouth shut. When she did, her lips formed a smile as with a renewed sense of purpose she hurried to clear her desk.

  The ride to Santa Cruz airport was long, dusty, and bumpy, but at least the engine didn’t conk out. The pickup truck wasn’t much better than the Jeep he’d pushed into the resort, but April hadn’t wanted to put one of the resort’s vans out of service for the few days they’d be away and Jack had dismissed the idea of a taxi. So she had arranged for them to use one of the Cove’s work trucks. Her backside was sore, though.

  She had a sudden image of Jack pushing the Jeep over the badly rutted roads, and cringed. Now that she knew that on top of it all he’d flown here from L.A., his fatigue the day they met was even more understandable. She was amazed he’d made it to the bungalow on his own two feet.

  He pulled into a space behind the main building that served as terminal, flight gate, and air control tower and got her first look at Jack’s plane. “It’s very … small.” She’d meant to say “nice,” but the truth had snuck out instead.

  “Great, isn’t she? Cessna 172, seats four, flies like a dream, and as of six months ago, she’s all mine.” He hopped out, then turned to get their bags from the backseat. “Just let me stow these on board,” he called to her. “I have to do a preflight check and run my flight plans past whoever’s playing controller today.”

  April nodded and watched him in stunned silence as he efficiently went about the preparations. His quick, deft movements as he looked over the plane reassured her. She was still getting used to the idea that he was a pilot. The long ride to the airport had been loud and not real conducive to conversation. She’d spent the first half of the trip trying to figure out where “pilot” fit in with “photographer” and the second half determining to have the answer by the time they returned to the Cove.

  She hopped down from the truck and, after making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, locked it up. Jack had gone inside the rather rustic terminal, so she wandered over to the plane.

  “We’re all set,” he said, coming up behind her just minutes later. “Your chariot awaits.”

  A few minutes later she was strapped into the copilot’s seat and watched the tiny airport disappear from view as Jack banked the plane and headed toward the mountains to the east.

  “How long have you been flying?” She had to raise her voice to be heard even though the cockpit was barely big enough for the two of them.

  Jack dropped his headphones around his neck and smiled as he answered. “Let’s see, I’m thirty-five, so, I guess about ten years or so. My uncle flew and I was always interested. Later on I realized it was a skill that would come in handy with my career, so I got my license.”

  He made it sound as if he’d learned to drive a car so he could get to work. Yelling questions in a noisy plane wasn’t the best way to learn about his past, but she was too curious to wait for a better opportunity. “Just what type of career do you have? I thought you were a photographer.”

  He looked over at her, his translucent green eyes probing hers for several long seconds before he turned his attention back to flying. Just when she thought he wasn’t going to answer, he spoke.

  “I’m actually a photojournalist.” Jack cast a quick glance at her, then looked back at the panel in front of him. Since she absorbed that bit of news in silence, he went on. “Some of the places I go for stories aren’t exactly conveniently located off a highway exit. Flying planes and occasionally helicopters has gotten me into places I couldn’t have reached otherwise.” He didn’t add that it had also gotten him out of those places in one piece a few times too, but another quick glance at April’s face told him it wasn’t necessary.

  It should have unsettled him that she read him so well, but instead it was strangely reassuring. Still, he wished he knew what she was thinking. He’d hoped to know a bit more about her background before revealing more of his—at least what it was that had spooked her and sent her running from the United States all the way to the other end of Mexico. He didn’t like not knowing if something he’d done in his past might somehow turn her against him. But he wouldn’t lie to her. She deserved to know as much about him as he did about her.

  “So, you worked mostly foreign assignments?”

  He sensed there was more to that question than random interest, but he answered it honestly. “Yes,” he responded, raising his voice over the noise of the unpressurized cabin. “Mostly the Middle East, occasionally Europe or South America. Usually political or governmental-unrest kind of stuff.”

  April blew out a deep breath. She knew that kind of “stuff,” as he called it, could be dangerous, that he could have been killed. The very idea of him risking his life repeatedly to get a few pictures and a story turned her stomach into a lead ball.

  All at once things started to fall into place, little fragments of conversation she’d had with him regarding his reasons for being at the Cove. “Do you think you’ll go out on another a
ssignment when you get back to L.A.?”

  Jack jerked his gaze toward her and held it as long as he thought he could. How in the hell was he supposed to answer such a loaded question at twelve thousand feet? “I don’t know, April.” It was a far more truthful response than he’d thought it would be. It was also the only one he had.

  April lapsed into her own thoughts and Jack turned his attention back to flying the plane. It was killing him not to ask her what she was thinking: about him, his career, his future plans. About whether she would like to be a part of the latter. He realized that it was the sudden importance of his need to know that kept him silent.

  They were lucky to encounter little disturbance over the mountains, or air pockets as they crossed over the dense tropical forests near the city of Oaxaca, but April still sighed a breath of relief once they were safely on the ground. As he’d promised, it was mid-afternoon when they deplaned. She stood with their gear as Jack disappeared into the Oaxaca terminal to find the transporte terrestre counter to arrange for one of the yellow taxis to take them the nine or so kilometers into the city.

  She hadn’t been to the ancient city in several years. The state capital, it also had the largest population of the native Zapotecs. An intensely proud and private group, they were regarded by many as below second class, mainly due to their lack of education. A wry grimace crossed her face as she railed inwardly at the harsh irony that it was this attitude that kept them from being educated in the first place. She thought about the meeting tomorrow and felt a wave of fatigue at the task ahead of her.

  She suddenly wished she were just here with Jack to rest and relax. It was disturbing to realize just how much she needed that break. At least this time away from the pressures of the Cove might help her figure out where she was headed with Jack. She turned her thoughts to the night ahead and shivered, as if the breeze that whipped across the open concourse was chilly rather than muggy and warm.

  The idea of spending an entire night in a soft bed surrounded by Jack’s big, hard body made her skin heat again. She jumped when a large hand gripped her shoulder.