A touch of love

by Conn, Phoebe

  Anxious to hold her, Jesse didn't catch a glimpse of Aubrey's dishelved appearance before the door closed behind him. He simply pulled her into a confining embrace and, in a wild show of affectionate enthusiasm, gave her a brusing kiss. She seemed almost to melt against him, and the sensation was so luscious he could not bear to pull away until they were both gasping for breath.

  "I should never have let you come home alone," he moaned against her temple.

  Not wanting the threat of danger to prompt the words of affection he had failed to speak on his own, Aubrey remained silent while Guinevere yapped excitedly at their feet. Before Jesse could offer a more tender thought, Lucky's husky bark pulled him away. Jesse went back outside to his truck to let the dog out of the cab, then walked him along the driveway before bringing him inside. Guinevere took one look at the shepherd and cowered behind Aubrey, while Lucifer made a hasty dash up the stairs.

  "I was afraid Guin would still be terrified of Lucky, but you'll never need a watchdog more than now." Jesse released the leash, and Lucky lowered his head to give Guinevere a friendly sniff.

  Aubrey rescued her quivering pet and shut her on the sendee porch but she was trembling just as badly herself.

  "There, Guin's out of the way until morning, and I'll catch Lucifer later. Are you hungry? I could fix you something to eat."

  Aubrey hadn't bothered to turn on any lights, but Jesse could feel how frightened she was without needing to see her expression clearly. "No, thanks. I grabbed a hamburger on the way. Have you just been sitting here in the dark?"

  "I know it's stupid, but I couldn't think of anything else to do." Aubrey had missed Jesse so much, but now that he was here again, the few days they had been apart were quickly forgotten. Readily drawing on his courage, she straightened her shoulders. "You'd already left home before I realized Larry might have been lying, and—"

  "He wasn't. I called Helen Heffley, and she confirmed his story. We're going to have to get Harlan Caine on our own, Aubrey, which puts us right back at square one. Now I'm too tired to plan strategy tonight. Let's go to bed and get an early start in the morning."

  Jesse left Lucky in the kitchen, then rested his hand on Aubrey's shoulder as he guided her toward the stairs. "Maybe Caine left town as soon as he heard Gilroy had been arrested. With a week's head start, he could be anywhere in the world by now."

  "No," Aubrey argued convincingly. "He's still close by. I can feel him."

  Jesse followed her into her bedroom and lit a bedside lamp. He was shocked to find her looking so frazzled, and yet it was wonderfully endearing. He tossed his hat aside and peeled off his fringed jacket. "Is it him you feel, or are you just scared to death he'll come crashing through a window?"

  "It's him." Aubrey slumped down on the side of the bed. "Do you believe in fate?"

  "Yeah, I suppose I do. Why?"

  "I'd like to believe everything happens for a reason. I never thought I possessed any psychic abilities until you appeared and insisted I use them to trap the men who killed your cousin and his family. Then all sorts of strange things began to happen. Were you and Pete especially close?''

  "No. Edith Pursely is my father's sister, and he wasn't big on maintaining close family ties. Growing up, I only saw Pete a time or two, but when I joined the rodeo circuit, I always made a point of coming by to see my aunt whenever I was out this way. You know what a sweetheart she is."

  Aubrey watched Jesse yank off his boots. He was certainly making himself at home, but she did not mind at all. "And Edith believed that I could find her son."

  "We've come awfully close."

  "No. We've just stumbled around. It was the ridiculous references to me in the press which must have alarmed Caine and flushed Gilroy out into the open. I can't take any credit for that. I still feel as though I've forgotten something vital, but it just won't take shape in my mind."

  "You're as exhausted as I am." Jesse reached out his hand. "Come take a shower with me. After a good night's sleep and some breakfast, everything will look better."

  Aubrey didn't believe a word of it, but rose wearily. "It was good of you to come."

  "No. It was stupid of me to let you go."

  Again Aubrey waited for him to mention a shared future, but Jesse helped her remove her clothes without adding to his comment. She was certainly a thoroughly modern woman, and believed couples ought to make plans together, but she wanted him to be the first to broach the subject. This was not the time, obviously, but still, she longed for a loving promise or two.

  Jesse ran his fingertip along Aubrey's jaw. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. I could have flown, but then

  I'd have had to rent a car, and I wanted to have my truck. I didn't realize you'd just be huddled in a dark corner waiting for me."

  Aubrey hated how pathetic that sounded, and eluded his grasp to enter the bathroom and turn on the shower. "I've not been counting the minutes," she lied. "I've been busy trying to come to grips with whatever psychic talent I possess." She stepped into the warm water, and when Jesse followed, she relaxed against him.

  "I'm so tired, but I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep."

  Jesse began to soap her soft swells and gentle curves. "That's because you're too tense. I'll relax you soon enough."

  Aubrey leaned into the spray peppering her breasts. "Promises, promises."

  "I sure don't recall receiving any complaints from you before, ma'am."

  Other than the lingering sorrow leaving his ranch had brought, Aubrey had none. Shutting out her fears, she responded to Jesse's tantalizing attentions with a slippery seductiveness. "You think mighty highly of yourself, don't you?" she teased.

  '"Well, now. As I see it, you deserve the best."

  They continued to exchange playful compliments, but once out of the shower, Jesse dried Aubrey with unseemly haste and led her back into her bedroom. "I still wish we'd made love in the pool. Promise me we'll do it the first chance we get."

  "Oh, no. That's far too risky. I want to be certain we'll have the privacy we need, in addition to sufficient time."

  "A stickler for details, aren't you?" Jesse pushed her down on the bed and swept her with a hungry glance. "You look as good as a jelly donut, and I'm going to just eat you up."

  As he rubbed his cheek along her thigh, a sandpapery

  hint of beard tickled Aubrey's skin and she responded with a sparkling giggle. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and the joy he always brought soon flooded her senses in surging waves. Together they created a magical splendor unlike anything she had ever known, but even as Jesse fell asleep in her arms, she longed for something even more profoundly beautiful.

  With sunrise still several minutes away, Lucifer jumped on the bed and curled down into the comfortable hollow in the small of Aubrey's back. Aubrey had forgotten the cat, and yawned sleepily as she glanced over her shoulder. She was about to get up and take Lucifer downstairs when the telephone rang. Not wanting it to wake Jesse, she grabbed the receiver as she rolled off the bed, and carried the telephone into the bathroom before she spoke. Her New York editor sometimes forgot the time difference and called early, but this was an inexcusable intrusion.

  "Ms. Glenn?" a male voice inquired in a hushed whisper.

  Badly frightened, Aubrey tightened her grip on the receiver. It wasn't her editor, and while she was positive it wasn't Harlan Caine, either, she thought it might very well be John Gilroy. "Yes, this is she, and it's too damn early to call. What do you want?"

  "I've no time to play games," the man cautioned in a deep hiss. "I've left a map on the zebra marker in the parking lot at the zoo. It will lead you to the bodies."

  The line went dead before Aubrey could ask any questions, but she had heard the directions clearly. Shaken, she carried the telephone back into the bedroom and found Jesse sitting up in bed with Lucifer in his lap. She quickly repeated the caller's message. "It could be a trap. What do you want to do?"

  Aubrey slid back under the covers, but not befo
re Jesse

  had had ample time to appreciate her figure. She was lightly tanned except for the pale expanse at her bust and at her hips, normally covered by her bikini. It was a tempting pattern he had explored with his fingertips and lips, but not nearly as often as he would have liked. Distracted by erotic thoughts, he delayed his reply.

  "Let's think about this a minute. Did the man's voice sound anything like Harlan Caine?"

  "No. He has such an ingratiating tone. This man'; speech was more clipped, and direct. He sounded rushed, and spoke as though he feared he might be overheard."

  Jesse continued scratching Lucifer's ears. "If Caine had called, it would definitely be a trap, but if it was Gilroy, who's already turned on Caine, then the map is probably genuine. Let's go and get it."

  "Do you want to have Heffley and Kobin meet us there?"

  "Are you kidding? In more than two years they've not had any success whatsoever finding the evidence to convict Caine. It took us to bring Gilroy out into the open, and then the DA screwed up his own deal. I'd say after that miserable record of failure they don't deserve to be in on anything. Besides, all we're going to do is check out the map. If it does lead us to the bodies, then we'll call the police and coroner in to make the recovery official."

  "Yes. That's a good plan. I sure don't want to dig up the graves myself."

  Jesse dropped Lucifer off the side of the bed. "It's early yet. Come here."

  Aubrey snuggled down into his arms. "It's also too early to celebrate."

  "I'm not celebrating," Jesse whispered against her throat. "I need you to survive."

  Aubrey knew precisely what he meant, and wanting him just as badly, moved up and over him. Lowering herself down easily on his hardened shaft, she used a slow, sweet

  rhythm to coax him toward climax. With her hands on his shoulders, she watched as heightening rapture deepened the bright blue of his gaze to indigo. Flushed with a heady rush of power, she flexed deep inner muscles to increase the friction between them with every stroke. He bucked beneath her, but she pressed her knees into his sides and stayed with him until he grabbed her around the waist and forced her down under him.

  Jesse was the one who controlled their erotic dance now, and he held nothing back. He reached for Aubrey's hands, and laced his fingers in hers as an ageless thrill churned through them, whipping desire to near madness. Through his own ecstasy he felt her release tighten around him in a blistering coil, and it pleasured him as deeply as his own. The resulting blissful aftermath was regrettably brief, however, and as his longing for more swifdy began to swell, he was appalled by his own uncontrollable hunger.

  Jesse rolled off the bed and grabbed his Levi's on his way into the bathroom. "Let's get out of here," he said just before the door slammed closed.

  Completely confused by his abrupt command, Aubrey struggled to sit up, and then collapsed among the pillows. "My God," she whispered. Jesse had a variety of moods— from playfully sweet to wildly passionate—but she did not know how to describe what she had glimpsed in him that morning. Had she not known him better, she would have sworn it was simply terror, but Jesse wasn't a man haunted by private fears. He was so good natured, and even tempered, and she could no longer pretend mere affection when she loved him so dearly.

  Had he sensed the change in her feelings? she suddenly wondered. Had he recognized the desperate longing flavoring her passion and rebelled? Sickened that might be exactly what had happened, she left the bed. Jesse's scent clung to the sheets, making her dizzy with desire, but she

  hurriedly made the bed and tossed all the pretty pillows into place. Grabbing casual clothes suitable for whatever adventure the day might bring, she used one of the guest bathrooms to dress. Her intuition told her everything had changed between them, and she dared not hope it was for the better.

  Jesse left the freeway at the exit for Zoo Drive. As the road curved, he kept a close watch on the rearview mirror, but with so little traffic at that hour, it was easy to tell they weren't being followed. That didn't mean they wouldn't be ambushed in the parking lot, however, and he scanned the lot searching for any sign of trouble. Again, there was none.

  "Look," Aubrey called exitedly. They had brought Lucky along, and she raised her hand from his collar to point. "There's the zebra marker. Do you suppose whoever called us was reminded of prison stripes?"

  'That's as good a guess as any." Jesse swung the truck around in a wide arc and came to a stop beneath the marker. Colorful animals were posted throughout the parking lot as location signs. They provided charming decorations and were a cinch to recall, but Jesse felt as though he had just driven onto the bull's-eye on a target.

  "Let's just sit here a minute," he urged, but he left his motor running.

  Aubrey searched the trees bordering the lot. "Do you think that's wise? If someone is waiting to get a shot at us, why should we provide him with the time to take careful aim?"

  "That's a damn good point. Duck down while I get the map." Jesse bolted out of the Chevy, circled the pole, and found the map attached with several strips of masking tape. He reached up to yank it away, and was back in the driver's

  seat in less than five seconds. He slapped the map in Aubrey's hands, shoved the truck in gear, and tromped on the gas pedal.

  Aubrey grabbed hold of Lucky as the truck careened into a tight turn. As Jesse sped toward the exit, she took a quick glance at the map, then looked back over her shoulder. The rear window had been replaced and she prayed that Jesse had asked for bullet-proof glass.

  "There's no one following us. Pull over when you reach the access road so we can study the map. I can't make out anything at this speed."

  Jesse complied, but he was as perplexed by the hastily scribbled map as Aubrey. "Damn the man. Why couldn't he have just Xeroxed a page from a Thomas Guide?"

  Interstate 15 was little more than a rude slash across the crumpled paper, interrupted by a notation for the city of Barstow. Past the town, an area southeast of the highway was shaded and marked with four tiny Xs. Jesse turned the map to read the words scrawled beside them.

  "Devil's Playground. That's rich. Do you suppose that's what the area's really called, or is this an example of black humor?"

  "Interstate 15 is the road to Las Vegas, and if I'm not mistaken, the Devil's Playground is a vast area of sand dunes." The Indian brave's image flashed in her mind and her expression lit with sudden recognition. "That has to be the desert the Indian was walking though. There are sandstorms in the area all the time, just like in our dreams.''

  Jesse stared at Aubrey while he weighed her supposition, but he quickly came to the same conclusion. He reached into his glove compartment, yanked out a tattered map of California, and spread it across the dash. "What's the fastest way to Barstow from here?"

  Aubrey quickly plotted their route. "Interstate 15 crosses

  the 10 out past Ontario. We'll take it all the way. It will be a long drive. Better let me walk Lucky.''

  Jesse left the truck with Aubrey and Lucky, keping a close eye on the road while she walked the dog. He had not argued with her about bringing him, and while he had thrown a shovel in the back, he thought the shepherd might find the gravesites a lot more quickly than he. It was still cool, but the day promised to be warm, and he hoped they would have everything settled by nightfall. Not everything perhaps, he chided himself, but everything concerning the Ferrells at least.

  Jesse kept the Chevy at the speed limit until they reached the turnoff for Interstate 15. Then the road snaked and turned as they climbed up and over the San Bernadino Mountains and they couldn't make nearly as rapid progress. "How's Lucky doing? I've had dogs who got carsick in the mountains and I sure don't want to discover that Lucky's one of them too late."

  Aubrey had rolled down the window, and Lucky was riding along with his nose pressed into the oncoming stream of air. He appeared to be enjoying himself immensely, although she felt a bit queasy. She had brought along a bag of fruit, but didn't feel up to eating an
ything. "Lucky's fine, but I've had better days."

  "Do you want to stop?"

  "No. I just want to get this wretched trip over and done." She had never been able to read in a moving car, but quickly checked the map. "This can't be drawn to scale. I'll bet the Xs aren't anywhere near the actual graves."

  "We'll find them," Jesse assured her. "A metal detector might help, but Caine probably stole their watches and rings."

  Aubrey wondered if the family had still been alive on the trek out to the desert, then hoped that they had not driven all those miles suffering from the terror she felt

  now. She reached over to squeeze Jesse's thigh. "You're a good man, Jesse Barrett. I'm sorry I couldn't have done more for you, but I'll do my best now to help you find the graves."

  Jesse regarded Aubrey with an anxious glance. "You've been an enormous help. I've been trying to remember the desert dream, but there weren't any significant details in mine. Were there in yours?"

  Aubrey shook her head. "Nothing helpful like a gnarled old tree with a hangman's noose dangling from it." She could not summon the Indian brave at will, but would certainly give it a try should their initial explorations prove fruidess. She hugged Lucky and rolled the window a bit lower for him.

  "It's getting warm." She had brought bottled water for them all, but it was nearly gone. "Let's stop in Barstow. I don't want to run out of water."

  "Right. We ought to eat something."

  Jesse was excited, but relieved they at last had a tangible, if not all that precise, a clue to the Ferrells' whereabouts. Aubrey was simply withdrawn. He knew how hard on her the whole perplexing case had been, and hoped with all his heart they were finally at the end. Interstate 15 had replaced the historic Route 66, but he was still aware of how many travelers had passed that way and could not shake the feeling something deeply memorable was yet to occur.