A Stranger Is Watching

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  “I gather you undressed me.”

  “Nah, I let the butler do it. I figured it was his job. He hasn’t seen a female in a good thirty years, so he was real eager to help out.” The harsh lines in Riley’s face smoothed out with his grin.

  She shot him her “I am not amused” look.

  “So who made the coffee? You or the butler? Please don’t tell me his name is Jeeves.”

  “There’s just us. The place may look rustic, but it’s got all the comforts of home. We’ve got central heating, central air, indoor plumbing and a fully stocked kitchen. Along with a satellite dish out back, one of those theater-size television screens in the family room and an incredible video library. I don’t know about you, but I could easily live here.” Riley sat on the edge of the bed.

  Jenna looked at him. He was now warmly dressed in jeans and a green marled-yarn sweater. She sipped her coffee some more before setting her cup aside.

  “Who owns this getaway paradise?”

  “A friend who won’t mind our camping out here for a while,” Riley said glibly.

  Since Jenna still wasn’t fully awake, it took her a few moments to understand his meaning.

  “Are you saying we broke in? That you didn’t ask the owner for permission for us to stay here?”

  “No, we didn’t break in. I merely bypassed the alarm system and picked the lock,” he explained.

  Jenna studied him carefully the entire time he spoke. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he was enjoying himself.

  “Do you even know the owner of this place?”

  He looked properly hurt, which didn’t affect her one bit.

  “Of course I know him. Would I break into a stranger’s cabin? I also know he doesn’t use it this time of year.” Riley gave her his most innocent expression. An expression Jenna knew from the past and didn’t believe one bit.

  Jenna sat up, wrapping the soft, warm quilt around her to keep out the chilly air.

  She looked around the room and first noticed a fire crackling in the stone fireplace across the room. The furniture was rustic looking and obviously expensive. She had to assume the owner may call this rustic living, but it was still the ultimate in comfort.

  “Just one of those mountain shacks, right?” she said wryly.

  Riley half turned and reached behind him. He handed Jenna a fluffy fleece robe.

  “Thank you.” She shrugged it on as she climbed out of bed and tied its sash around her waist. She adjusted the collar so it stood up around her face. “Are you going to tell me who owns the cabin, or do I have to wait until the cops show up and arrest us for breaking and entering?”

  “You have a smart mouth. Did you know that?”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “I’m glad to see you know who to thank.” He proceeded to kiss that mouth.

  Jenna moaned softly as she looped her arms around his neck and pressed up against him. Her mouth opened against his loving assault, and her tongue danced with his. When his hand warmly caressed her breast, she whispered his name. He drew back slightly.

  “I actually came up to tell you dinner is ready,” he said thickly.

  “Hmm? We can reheat it later,” she murmured as her hand sneaked under his sweater. Her fingertips lightly rubbed his nipples. “I think they were right. The idea of danger is a wonderful aphrodisiac. Why don’t we see how far we can get before the cops show up.”

  Riley was very tempted. Jenna didn’t need to even touch him for him to feel aroused. All he had to do was look at her.

  “We both need to eat,” he said, not sounding as calm as he should.

  Jenna stepped back. The cat’s smile on her lips told him she knew she affected him. “Give me ten minutes to freshen up.”

  “I put your clothes in the closet.”

  “Be careful, Riley, you’re getting too domesticated,” she teased.

  After Riley left the room, Jenna headed for the closet.

  She sorted through the clothing until she came to a dusty rose wool sweater and cream colored knit pants.

  A quick shower along with fixing her hair and touch of makeup had her just barely making her self-imposed deadline.

  Once downstairs she followed the homey aroma of beef stew. She found Riley seated at a butcher-block table with a bottle of beer set before him.

  “And he cooks, too,” she said lightly as she walked in. She walked over to the stove and lifted a pot lid. The contents sent her appetite soaring. She hadn’t realized until then it had been more than twelve hours since she’d eaten a decent meal. “When did you learn to cook?”

  “There aren’t a lot of restaurants where I live, so if I wanted to eat more than what I could throw on a barbecue, I had to learn. Besides, stew isn’t all that difficult. You throw a bunch of food in a pot and let it simmer.” He pulled large, shallow bowls out of a cabinet and spoons from a drawer. “Do you want a beer with your meal?”

  Jenna shuddered. It was a taste she had never acquired. “No, thank you. I’ll see what else you have.” She opened the refrigerator door and after inspecting the contents, pulled out a bottle of sparkling water flavored with orange. She chose a chair as Riley ladled out stew and dumplings. He set a bowl in front of each of them.

  “Does the cabin belong to you?” she asked, dipping her spoon into the stew. One taste told her Riley did know how to cook an excellent stew.

  “Nope, but I assure you I do know the owner,” Riley answered, digging into his food with relish.

  She set her spoon down. “Who owns the cabin, Riley? It can’t be that much of a secret. Or am I going to be kept in the dark so I can’t tell the police anything when they show up?”

  Riley shook his head. “The police won’t show up,” he assured her. “And if it makes you feel better, the place belongs to my ex-boss, Mr. Benedict.”

  Jenna’s eyes widened. “Are you saying he owns this cabin?”

  “It’s not as if he’s on the take or something. He just has a wife with a hefty trust fund. They built this place more for their kids than themselves. The kids like coming up here during the summer, and they sometimes come out for the Christmas holidays. Luckily they leave a pretty filled freezer and pantry. We won’t need to worry about food for some time.”

  “Why didn’t you call him and ask if we could borrow it? Why did we have to break in?” she asked.

  “Benedict would understand. Besides, I did him a big favor. He really needs to see about getting a better security system.”

  Jenna set her spoon down. Her appetite had taken a pretty nasty nosedive. “From what I remember you saying about him he would not understand. Which means if you hadn’t been able to bypass the alarm, the local law would have been out here and we’d be in more trouble than we are now.”

  Riley heaved a sigh. “I would have taken care of everything.” He waved off her concerns. “I called Dave a little while ago, but he wasn’t in. I’ll try him again later,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave any kind of message on his voice mail. I’m hoping his being out means he was able to dig up something.”

  The rich aroma of her dinner weakened any further arguments she might have made.

  “I refuse to worry any longer about the worst that can happen,” she announced, picking up her spoon again. “From now on, mealtime will be a happy time. I refuse to have my appetite ruined with our worrying about someone carrying a submachine gun breaking in here at any moment.”

  “They’d more likely be carrying an Uzi or AK-47. I doubt it would happen that way.” Riley got up and refilled his bowl along with snagging a second bottle of beer from the refrigerator. He sat down and ate several bites before looking up. “So, who do you think will win the Super Bowl this season?”

  Riley shooed Jenna out of the kitchen after dinner, stating he’d prefer doing the cleanup by himself. She wasn’t about to protest and announced she was going to explore their surroundings. When she found a nicely stocked library, she picked out some reading material. With a novel in hand, she
returned upstairs with the intention of relaxing in a nice hot bath.

  Jenna hadn’t had a chance to check out the master bathroom earlier, so she took the opportunity now.

  It only took one look to tell her the room was large enough to house a small family.

  A huge step-down tub with faucets in the shape of swans was set in a corner with foliage all around for privacy.

  “Why, Marshal Benedict, you sly dog you.” She grinned, pulling a couple of fluffy lilac-colored towels out of the linen closet. “With a tub like this I just bet you and your wife can’t wait until the kids are asleep.”

  She started the water running, then studied the assorted bath salts and bath oils in bottles on shelves over the tub. She chose one and poured the bath salts into the hot water.

  Once the tub was full, Jenna shed her clothing and settled down into the water. She closed her eyes and sighed her bliss as she sank down until the water reached her neck as she rested the back of her head against a rolled up towel.

  “Are you telling me you can’t find one damned thing? What good is that fancy computer system if it doesn’t tell you anything? And how come no one knew Grieco’s business was down the tubes? How could something like that have gotten past anyone?” Riley picked up the glass of scotch he’d poured earlier and downed it in one gulp. The explosion of heat in his stomach wasn’t the least bit soothing, since stress was adding acid to the mixture. He never thought he’d get an ulcer. Now he was starting to change his mind about that possibility.

  “As you said, it was all kept under wraps. Max checked it out thoroughly,” Dave named his present partner. “He said it was definitely hush-hush because no one wanted a war. Pretty soon it didn’t matter because the business wasn’t worth a plugged nickel. Grieco’s men didn’t care when their boss went to prison, because they figured on fighting over the business. Instead, everyone lost.”

  “None of it makes sense,” Riley argued. “What about John Smith’s boss?”

  “Smith is very good at what he does because we couldn’t find his prints in the system,” Dave told him. “He’s a total unknown.”

  Riley switched the cordless phone to his other ear. “Great, so what you’re saying is a ghost is looking to kill me.”

  “No, I’m just saying I looked through all your past cases and the name Smith gave you didn’t come up. I also ran a check on the name through the computer and it didn’t come up there either. He gave you a bogus name, which is probably what the man gave Smith. I guess the money was so good he hadn’t bothered to check out his boss.”

  Riley swore long and hard. Dave waited patiently until he was through.

  “Then he must be connected to one of my cases in another way,” Riley said finally.

  “Riley, his name doesn’t come up in the computer,” Dave argued.

  “There has to be something there. Did you check every angle? No matter how insignificant?” Riley started to refill the glass then stopped. The last thing he needed right now was to blunt his senses. He dropped onto the closest chair and stretched his legs out in front of him.

  “Hell, yes, I checked every angle! What do you take me for, Cooper? A rookie? I checked people out so thoroughly, on any given day I can tell you what color underwear they’re wearing.”

  “Then check them again. I’ll call you in the morning.” He pressed the Talk button, effectively cutting off Dave’s furious sputtering.

  He tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling. He thought of Jenna in the room above.

  He wanted a future with her.

  For the past few years he hadn’t thought beyond the next twenty-four hours. As far as he was concerned, he hadn’t any reason to. Now it was different.

  He wanted to think beyond the next twenty-four hours. He wanted to think about a long future with Jenna.

  Jenna was content to drift in a twilight world of half sleep with the quiet all around her. She didn’t find it jarring when the erotic sound of bluesy jazz wrapped itself around her. She opened her eyes and found Riley walking into the bathroom.

  “If I’d known Benedict’s cabin was this nice, I would have brought us up here first thing,” he told her. “His sound system is hooked up to play throughout the entire house. I thought you might appreciate a little music with your bath.”

  She kept her eyes at half mast as she watched him start to shed his clothing.

  “I hope you don’t mind some company. Damn!” he cursed as he stepped one foot into the water. “This is hot enough to peel skin.”

  “I added more hot water not long ago. It’s relaxing.” She shifted her body as he slowly submerged himself an inch at a time.

  Riley shifted Jenna around until she rested against his chest.

  “I shouldn’t feel this relaxed,” she said, her voice drowsy. “After all, a man wants to kill us. We’ve been on the run for weeks. All we’ve accomplished is my nearly getting killed and you probably wishing you’d stayed where you were.” She turned her head to nestle her cheek against his collarbone.

  Riley threaded his fingers through her hair, pushing it back from her face. His fingers then trailed down her throat, finding the vulnerable pulse point.

  “You’re in this mess because of me, Smitty,” he said quietly, using his free hand to scoop up water and let it trickle out between his fingers. “I’m going to make it right.”

  “By making it right, you could get hurt in the process.” She refused to use a stronger word for fear her saying it could make it come true.

  “It happens. Hell, I could walk out onto a street tomorrow and get hit by a bus.”

  “You’ve taken your chances and you have the scars to prove it.” She tried to twist around to face him, but he made sure she couldn’t do so. “Let someone else take the chances this time. You told Dave you were taking me away to keep me safe. Fine, that’s what you’re doing. It’s their job to do the rest.”

  “I’m not the same man you knew several years ago,” he said quietly. “When I got out, I drank, I did whatever was necessary to drive you out of my mind. Except I couldn’t do it. I’d swear I could smell your scent in my clothing or feel you against me while I slept. They say you can’t run from your demons, and they’re right.

  “I’m giving up running. I don’t want to lose you again. I want you always with me, Jenna. We’ve gone through the bad times and survived. I want us to think about looking for some good ones.” His crooked smile told her of his uncertainty about how she’d react.

  “I had to force myself not to draw your face,” she confessed. “I didn’t dare have a blank sheet of paper in front of me.”

  Riley’s chest shook with his chuckle. “We’re pretty pathetic, aren’t we?”

  “No, we’re not. We followed the rules and we’re together. Maybe it’s a sign that we’re meant to be.” Jenna held her breath. He remained with her in a loose embrace.

  He twisted around enough so she could see his face. “Are you asking me if you can wear my letterman’s jacket?”

  “What I’m saying is you aren’t going to get rid of me that easily this time, either, Riley Cooper,” she said firmly. She turned around so she was straddling his hips, then she circled his waist with her arms. “I’m no longer that delicate flower who has to be protected from the dark forces.” She staunchly ignored his uplifted brow and the amusement written on his face. “All right, I did get a little crazy when John Smith grabbed me, but I hadn’t expected it. I thought I was perfectly safe out there.”

  “Jen, you can’t expect him to call ahead to let you know he was coming,” Riley said with infinite patience.

  She rolled her eyes. “You know very well what I mean. I won’t break down again. I promise.” Her dark eyes glimmered with purpose. “And I won’t make it easy for anyone, either.”

  Riley leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. “I know you won’t.” He eyed her breasts, which gleamed from the water streaming down them, the rosy tips taut in the cool air. “Although I hope you’ll mak
e me an exception?”

  She rotated her hips against him. “I always did like a tough guy,” she purred.

  Riley may have been a tough guy, but he was gentle with Jenna as he brought her breast up to his mouth. He suckled on the nipple, drawing it deep into his mouth, curling his tongue around the taut peak.

  Jenna grasped the back of his head as she arched against his heated touch. Needing to be closer, she twined her legs around his waist and pressed down onto him until they were joined. As she did so, she pulled his face up to hers for a deep probing kiss.

  “Wait a minute,” Riley muttered in a raw voice, moving to leave the tub.

  Jenna grabbed his arm.

  “No,” she whispered. “I need to feel all of you, Riley. It’s all right.” She drew him back down to her.

  Riley groaned as he felt her melt against him.

  Water sloshed all around them, Riley held tight to Jenna’s hips as he thrust deeply inside her. Her body contracted around him, pulling him in even deeper until he felt as if they were truly one. Nothing else mattered at that moment. If they were to die, so be it, but he would do all that was possible to keep them alive.

  He was afraid their coming here might only have put her in more danger. But he didn’t think they could take off again. They might not get that second chance he’d just talked about. Were they fated to run across the country one step ahead of a killer? He wouldn’t allow them to be parted again. Not this time. But was there no choice in the matter? Would they be fated to only have memories of their time together?

  Riley wouldn’t need memories. At that moment, his soul had truly joined with hers.

  Jenna’s body was still quivering in aftershocks as she collapsed against him.

  “Do you think we flooded the bathroom?” she murmured, rubbing her cheek against his chest. She idly combed her fingers through the damp hair matted against his skin.

  “More likely we flooded the whole house.” Needing to keep on touching her, he lazily stroked the long lines of her bare back. “Good thing there’s plenty of towels in here.” He eased her off him and stood up, then helped her up.