He waited for her to resist. To push him away as she’d done so often. But she didn’t. His blood heated. He waited no longer. His mouth crushed hers in a kiss meant to punish. She whimpered. The sound went straight to his groin. His mouth softened but grew hungrier. He coaxed her lips apart with his tongue, wanting—needing—to taste her.
Tessa felt his tongue slide into her mouth, and her whole body reacted. Every nerve ending flared to life. His arms held her as if he’d never let her go, making her feel cherished. Safe. For the first time since awakening from the coma, she felt secure in a confusing world. David, her husband. She pressed closer, marveling at the idea that this tall, handsome, hard-muscled man belonged to her. And he was hard. Everywhere. Rigid against her belly.
Their bodies fit together perfectly. Heat pooled between her legs and brought dampness that made her blush. His tongue stroked hers. His lips shaped hers. They kissed until she felt dizzy. Her body awoke much as she’d awakened from the coma, and she felt something she hadn’t experienced in all these lonely weeks. Hot desire. Like a tight rose bud that was suddenly coming to full bloom, desire unfurled inside her, making her weak with longing. She kissed him back, rocking her hips against his erection, seeking relief from the need that pulsed between her thighs.
David broke the kiss. He stared at her, breathing like a man who’d run wind sprints. “The doctor only gave me five minutes alone with you. But we’ll be alone later.”
Later. The word held a world of promise. The kiss told her she and David had a passionate relationship. The knowledge pleased her. She smiled warmly at him. She’d like to kiss him for hours. Days. “I guess I should be feeling shy because I really don’t remember you. Not consciously.” Regret that she couldn’t recall their life together dimmed her smile. Her gaze returned to his dark, velvety brown eyes. Softly, she said, “It’s as if my body remembers you. Your touch. Your smell.”
David’s anger blossomed even as his lust grew. He wanted to rail at her. He wanted to plunge inside her. He wanted to tell her she was a deceitful bitch. He wanted to sink into her warmth and take what she now offered that she’d so often denied him in the past. In the end, he shoved his emotions down and choked back his anger. Even if his traitorous body responded to her, he wouldn’t forget his mission. He had hundreds of employees whose livelihood depended on him not to mention his father who had founded the company that now teetered precariously on the edge of bankruptcy. All because of the woman he’d foolishly fallen in love with and married. He traced her lips with the tip of a finger. “I can’t wait to get you home, Tessa.”
Her nipples pebbled at his touch. At the promise his words implied. Looking into his eyes, Tessa felt a sudden shiver crawl up her spine. Promise or threat? She searched his dark eyes. No words or tone of voice could contradict the heat that blazed there. She was being silly. She ignored the moment of disquiet and thought instead about the passion in his dark gaze.
Two days ago, Dr. Rhone had told her she’d finally been identified. He’d told her she was twenty-seven year old Tessa Lorraine Galloway, nee Thompson. She was married to David Galloway, and she’d disappeared from her home in Houston in August of last year. Dr. Rhone had said her husband would be coming for her and would bring documentation to prove she was who he said. None of what the doctor said brought a flicker of memory. No mental images. Nothing. In fact, she hadn’t really believed it, not until this man had pulled her into his arms.
Now, she accepted that she was Tessa Galloway, and this sexy man belonged to her. “It’s nice to have a name. Everyone in town calls me LG.”
“Why?” His fingertip traveled from her lips to her cheekbones, traced over them to her earlobe.
Tessa shivered with sexual awareness. His touch distracted her and made her hungry for more. “It’s short for Lost Girl. I figured that was better than Jane Doe which they used when I was first brought in.”
She imagined him stroking the clothes from her body, tracing the curves of her breasts with his large hands. She’d been cautious around everyone for so long. The desire to give herself to this man she’d just met surprised her. In reality, even though she was married to him, he was still a stranger to her. Overcome by her emotions, she said, “I’m so glad you found me. You can’t imagine what a relief it is to know I have a name. A husband. A home.” She stepped closer until the cotton of her dress brushed against his shirt front. Her frustration surfaced. “If only I could remember.”
“It’s all right, Tessa. We’ll work things out. I don’t want to leave here without you. You will go with me, won’t you?”
Tessa hesitated, willing herself to remember. Nothing came. “What if I never remember my life prior to waking in the hospital here?”
“Then you’ll build a new life,” David murmured, pulling her close. “Say you’ll come home with me.”
Feeling him pressed against her—feeling the evidence of his desire—Tessa relaxed. Any misgivings she may have had vanished. Her arms looped around his neck, and she pressed her breasts to the solid wall of his chest. She had to suppress the desire to rub against him. Being close to him soothed her anxiety in some way, but touching him increased the aching need he aroused in her. David wanted her. Loved her. It was easy to believe she’d been in love with him.
They’d go home, and he’d help her remember that love. Her eyes shone with hope. “Home sounds wonderful. Yes, David, I’ll go with you.”
Chapter Two
Mission accomplished. David’s anxiety eased. A loud knock on the door made Tessa jump nervously. David released her.
The door opened, and Dr. Rhone poked his head in. “Everything all right in here?”
Tessa beamed at him. “Everything’s just fine. I really am Tessa. This is David, my husband.”
Feeling a bit shy, she gazed at him and reached for his hand. David twined his fingers with hers and smiled at Rhone.
“Well, darn,” Rhone said. “Looks like Hartman General is going to have to find someone else to handle this department.”
After that, events moved at warp speed. Dr. Rhone ushered her and David to the conference room where David’s lawyer, Paul Phan, and Aron Sosa, the private investigator David had hired waited. Carl Conway, the local deputy who had found Tessa unconscious on the side of the road last August, arrived with another man Carl introduced as Greg Aguilar, a Houston police detective who wanted to interview her. Then a reporter and a camera man from a Houston television station crowded into the conference room and began setting up video equipment.
Unnerved by all the new faces and the flurry of activity, Tessa edged closer to David. “What’s going on?”
“We’re going to have a short press conference.” He glanced at her, and his voice softened. “It’s okay. It’ll only take a few minutes. Then we can leave.”
“But why?” Tessa frowned as pain flashed through her forehead.
“Because, darling, I have been the prime suspect in your disappearance. I’ve been accused of murdering you and hiding your body. I’ve been interrogated by the police and tried in the court of public opinion on the nightly news. This is the fastest way I know to end that speculation so we can get on with the rest of our lives.”
“I had no idea.” She squeezed his hand in sympathy. “Why would they think something like that? Weren’t we happy together?”
Her voice must not have been as low as she’d thought because Carl Conway answered her. “Statistics show that when a woman disappears, the man in her life is usually responsible.” He subjected David to a cold, suspicious glare. “Isn’t that right, Galloway?”
David stiffened. Tessa pressed closer to him. “It’s all right, David. Of course I’ll do the press conference.”
Greg Aguilar, the Houston police detective, spoke for the first time. “Before that, can we go somewhere private so I can get an official statement from you?”
Tessa looked at David. He smiled. “It’s okay. Go with Sergeant Aguilar.”
Tessa led Aguilar back to
her office. She seated herself at her desk, and Aguilar took the chair across from her.
“What can you tell me about your life and the state of your marriage before you disappeared?”
She shrugged. “Nothing I’m afraid. It’s all a blank. Before you ask, the same holds true for how I came to be here. I don’t remember anything prior to waking in the intensive care unit here. Maybe now that David is with me, I’ll start to remember.”
When he sighed, she said, “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. I hate that David has gone through so much because of my disappearance. I kept thinking Carl would found out where I belonged way before now.”
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’ve seen the way Conway looks at you. Makes me think he didn’t try very hard.” Aguilar frowned. “Having said that, let me also say I’m not comfortable with your going away with your husband.”
“Mr. Aguilar, I may not remember my life, but I’m a pretty good judge of people I think. I don’t think David tried to harm me.”
“Even though you don’t remember your personal history, you are aware of the way the world works, right?”
At her nod, he continued, “That’s what I found out about amnesia. Personal memory may be lost, but, barring brain damage, knowledge of the world and learned information remain. I’ve got to make sure you’re aware that even though your husband was out of town on business the day you disappeared, he could have hired someone to kill you. Right?”
“I acknowledge that things like that happen, detective, but I don’t believe David would do something like that. Not the man I just met.”
They talked a few minutes more. When Aguilar asked her to explain the differences in her appearance based on the way David had described her for the missing person’s report, she said, “A lot of women don’t like their hair color so they dye their hair. I guess I liked being a blonde better.”
“What about your eye color? Your husband said you had dark blue eyes.”
Tessa hid her surprise. “I guess I didn’t like my light blue eyes. They are kind of creepy looking, aren’t they? I suppose I wore colored contacts.”
When Aguilar just stared at her, Tessa asked, “Is there something else?”
“No. I guess not. Everything your husband said about you checked out. His story checked out. We couldn’t find that he’d made any unusual large withdrawals from his bank accounts.”
“You mean like a payment to a hit man?” Tessa laughed. “Sorry, it sounds silly just to say that.”
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Aguilar said. He shrugged. “Maybe I just feel guilty. With no evidence to the contrary, your disappearance was chalked up to your being a runaway bride who had second thoughts. Not by me but by my superior.”
“I guess I can understand that. I’m an adult so I guess the thinking is that I can come and go as I please.”
“Especially in the absence, real or anecdotal, of any evidence to the contrary.” Aguilar gave another heavy sigh. “Maybe my wife is right. Maybe I’ve got to where I see foul play even when none exists. You’re a lucky woman, Tessa. Not many women who disappear are this fortunate.” He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to her. “If you remember anything, call me. If anything happens that bothers you, in any way, call me.”
“Okay. Thank you.” When Aguilar stood and opened the door, Tessa retrieved her cheap beige handbag from the bottom desk drawer and placed the card inside.
They returned to the conference room. David pulled out a chair at the table for her. There was so much going on, and everyone seemed to be talking at once. Paul Phan sat on the other side of her and handed her with a large manila envelope. He insisted on reviewing each of the documents in it: photocopies of her Texas driver’s license, her marriage license, salary statements from where she’d been employed, and a bunch of other papers that made no impression.
Tessa could feel one of her headaches coming on. As the pain built, she found it hard to focus on what he was saying. She nodded at appropriate pauses in his presentation. She just wanted to get through everything so she could take the medicine Dr. Rhone had prescribed for her headaches. Finally, Paul pulled out photographs of David and her. She looked at a color glossy photo, and it was like looking at strangers. The photo must have been taken at some kind of Valentine’s Day function. She wore a tight red dress that revealed cleavage and curves. The woman in the photograph looked giddy and happy.
“That was the photo the Houston papers ran after you and David were married.”
She looked so different. The blond hair was weird. It was hard to think of herself as that woman, but the face was hers. In the photo, she and David stared into each other’s eyes rather than at the camera. As if they were the only two people in the world. Her heart beat unsteadily as she looked at the picture. She wanted the love she saw between the man and woman in the picture to be true.
David leaned toward her. “Just one more thing to do. Show the world that you’re alive and put an end to all the gossip and speculation. Then we can leave.”
Tessa nodded and returned the documents and photographs to the envelope, closing the clasp before shoving it into her purse. She felt a prickle of unease. Was the need to end the gossip the only reason David had come to claim her?
“I’m ready, but before we start do you know where I was going the day I disappeared? I mean, if we live in Houston, how did I end up in this little town in Louisiana?”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than pain slammed into her head. She sucked in a breath and rubbed her forehead, afraid it might split open. This was a bad one.
“You’ve got one of your headaches, haven’t you?” David asked, avoiding her question.
When she nodded, he said, “Dr. Rhone told me how they plague you when you try to remember. Just relax. We’ll have plenty of time to sort things out. Let’s get this dog and pony show over. Then we can leave, but Paul doesn’t think we should go home to Houston. So we’ll go to the lake house for a couple of weeks instead. You’ll love it. All the wildflowers should be blooming.”
A picture of a hillside covered with flowers flashed through her mind. “Oh. I think I remembered something. I just saw a field of bluebonnets. There were primroses and Indian paintbrush growing there too.” Excited, she turned around to face him. “Is that at the lake house?”
“Yes, it is.” David looked into her crystalline blue eyes and lied. “That’s one of your favorite things about the lake house. We have an entire field of wildflowers, mostly bluebonnets.” True, they did have that, but Tessa had never seen them except in photographs because she’d never been to the house in west Texas where he planned to take her.
His answer made her smile. He felt a moment’s guilt, but he buried it under his own outrage and feelings of having been used. He felt even guiltier when she placed her hand on his cheek. His nerve endings caught fire. He turned his face and pressed a hot kiss onto her palm.
Tessa’s eyes darkened. “Are you sure that’s in Texas? It sounds more like heaven to me.”
While Conway glowered at them, and Aguilar looked suspicious, Tessa faced the reporter and his camera. The whole world would know she was alive. A chill raised the goose flesh on her arms. The thought made her uneasy. She rationalized that she was just wary of being videotaped and tried not to squint as the bright light focused on her.
She made a brief statement, explaining that she’d obviously had an accident but remembered nothing before awakening in the hospital back in late December. She thanked the hospital staff and the residents of Hartman, Louisiana for their hospitality and caring support.
When the reporter asked her about her memory loss, she told a little white lie, encouraged by the wildflower memory flash. “Yes, it’s true that I had lost my memory, but I think I’m finally beginning to remember some things.” She smiled over at David. He returned the smile and put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him.
The reporter made a circular motion with his hand, and
the cameraman stopped filming. “Thanks, Tessa,” the reporter said.
The way he said it told her he was disappointed she had nothing salacious or sensational to say.
Finally, the ordeal was over. She said goodbye to Dr. Rhone and the rest of the hospital staff who had gathered to watch. She thanked the local deputy and the Houston cop. To her exasperation, Carl Conway wasn’t content with her polite, but distant, farewell. “Just so you’ll know. If anything happens in the future to you, LG, Galloway will be back under the microscope where he probably deserves to be.”
David glared at the deputy. “Her name is Tessa, not LG. To you, she’s Mrs. Galloway.”
Then he and Carl engaged in a staring contest. Irritated by Carl’s threat, and thinking that Aguilar must have been right in his assessment of Carl, Tessa said, “If you find out anything about how I ended up here, please contact us through David’s lawyer.” She added, firmly, “Thank you for everything, Carl, and goodbye.”
David didn’t hesitate. He ushered Tessa to a waiting black Mercedes parked at the curb. “Paul has already taken care of your paperwork.” He opened the back door of the Mercedes. “When we return to Houston, you’ll need to see our family doctor.”
Gratefully, Tessa sank onto the plush seat and placed her purse next to her. She was too tired to ask David about the family doctor or much of anything else. The busy afternoon and the charged sexual tension between her and David had drained her energy. The dreaded migraine was sucking away her clarity, bringing with it the usual pain and confusion. She just wanted to take one of her pills and sleep away the debilitating migraine. She rubbed the sides of her head where her pulse throbbed.