Secure Location (12 page)

She straightened up and stood before him. And damn it, he looked. Like a condemned man staring at his last days of freedom, he drank in the sight.

Breasts, firm yet so soft with pale pink nipples. High ribs, slim waist, narrow hips. So feminine with her long legs and pale skin that had freckles in the most interesting places.

He felt hot and edgy and he clenched and unclenched his hand to release some of the tension. “This isn’t a game you’re playing, Meg.”

She put a knee on the bed.

“Look,” he said. “I appreciate the offer but—”

Other knee on the bed. Less than a foot separated them. She was killing him.

She reached out, letting her fingers dance across his thigh, then higher. Her fingers rested on the thin material of his tuxedo pants. Then she gently stroked the length of him.

He wanted to push himself into her hand, her mouth. He wanted to roll her underneath him and not stop until one of them passed out.

But he kept still. Somehow.

“Please?” she asked.

Damn. He’d never been able to refuse her anything. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to start tonight.

He sat up, cupped one hand around the back of her head and pulled her close. And he kissed her. Softly, at first. Then she opened her mouth and drew him in.

So familiar. So new.

He shifted, pulling her down next to him. Her skin was warm and he could smell the sweet scent of her wanting him. “Last chance to walk away,” he whispered, his tone deliberately light.

She shook her head. And when she reached for his belt this time, he didn’t stop her.

* * *

M
EG WOKE UP
when Cruz’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the clock next to the bed and was surprised to see that it was almost 9:00 a.m. She never slept that late, even on the weekends.

She hadn’t gotten all that much sleep. She and Cruz had made love three times. The first time had been frenzied, both of them so needy that it seemed as if they would inhale each other. The second and third times had been different. No less passion, no smaller fireworks, but still calmer, more soothing, more sensual.

There wasn’t a spot on her body that he hadn’t touched, kissed, loved. The man had always been an energetic lover but last night he’d seemed driven to take her to new heights.

And she’d been happy to go there. Had been delighted to see his response to her touch, had felt the desire tear through her when she’d known his release was near.

Now he had his big body curled around her, her back to his front. And by the feel of things, he was ready for round four.

“Are you going to answer that?” she asked.

He reached his arm out to the bedside table and picked up his cell phone to peer at the number. “It’s my sister,” he mumbled. “I’ll call her back.”

She scooted away. “Take it. I have to pee anyway.”

When she came back to the bed, he was still on the phone. He’d moved and was sitting up, a pen in his hand, a hotel notepad resting on the blanket that covered him. He was smiling, looking slightly amused.

“Congratulations,” he said. “I always thought you were a pit bull. Those other sales reps didn’t have a chance.” He listened, then glanced at Meg. His voice got more serious. “I’m not exactly here on a vacation,” he said. “I’m...helping Meg.”

She sat down on the bed. “What’s going on?” she whispered.

“Hang on, sis.” He held the phone up against his chest. “My sister won a sales contest. It’s a trip to Las Vegas. It’s this weekend. Her husband is out of town on a business trip. She had a babysitter lined up but the woman has the flu. So she doesn’t have anybody to watch her little girl.”

“Oh.” Meg could feel her heart rate accelerate. Elsa didn’t have any other family in Texas. “You should do it,” she said.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “We’re not any closer to finding the creep who’s been hassling you.”

“Maybe because he’s not any closer to me. Maybe he’s had his fun and he’s moved on to his next victim.”

He hesitated and then put the phone back to his ear. “As usual your big brother can bail you out. Drop off the rug rat anytime. I’ll have her tossing back shots by noon.”

He listened, laughed and said goodbye. When he clicked the end button, he was shaking his head.

“This should be fun,” he said. “Where should we take her for lunch?”

We.
Elsa’s little girl would be almost four, twice the age of Missy when she’d died.

Meg could feel her chest pull even tighter. She felt light-headed, almost dizzy.

She couldn’t help Cruz. She couldn’t watch over a child. She just couldn’t.

“I...I have to work, Cruz. There’s no way I can help you.”

He cocked his head. “You have to work all weekend?” he asked, his tone puzzled but still pleasant.

“Yes. Yes, I do. Scott gave me a special project. I don’t want to disappoint him.”

She could see the muscles in Cruz’s jaw tighten. “I’m not trying to get in the way of your work, Meg. But I thought we might spend some time together. Especially after last night.”

He sounded so wounded that she almost caved. But if he knew about the past, he’d realize that both he and his niece were better off without her.

“Last night was...nice. But it didn’t change anything.”

“Nice?” He threw off the blanket, grabbed his briefs off the floor and yanked them on. Then he started to pace around the room. “Are you kidding me?” He ran his hands through his hair, making it stand on end. “Nice?” His voice was louder, harsher. “Thanks for the time in the sack, Cruz. I had an itch and you scratched it so very
nicely.
Now, I’m good to go for another year or so—” he threw her a look that could kill “—or until I get up close and friendly with my boss.”

She felt stiff and old and so brittle that if she bumped into anything little pieces would fall off. With as much dignity as she could, given that she was still naked, she gathered up her discarded clothes from the night before and walked over to the connecting door. She paused, her back to him. Without turning she said, “For what it’s worth, Cruz, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Then she walked into her room, dumped her clothes in a pile, stepped into the shower and started to cry.

Chapter Ten

Cruz stood in the lobby of the hotel and drank his coffee. It was hot and strong, just the way he liked it. But there was nothing that could take away the bitter taste in his mouth.

He’d been a damn idiot. Had opened up the playbook and read something into last night that wasn’t on the page. All Meg had been looking for was a few hours of hot sex. She’d tried to drink her way to oblivion but when that didn’t work, she’d decided to screw her way to it.

He crushed his now-empty paper cup. He wanted to hate her for it. At the very least, he wanted to be able to walk away from her.

But he couldn’t do either. It wasn’t her fault that he’d made it more than it was. She hadn’t promised anything. Certainly hadn’t pledged her love. Had simply gone for his belt buckle and he’d been happy to let her nimble fingers and other equally pliant parts do their thing.

Just sex. That’s all it was.

Amazing sex. So good that after she went to her room to shower, he’d gone from being so angry that the top of his head might blow off to thinking that maybe once a year was enough. He’d finished getting dressed, then stepped out into the empty hallway to wait for in-house security to arrive. All the while debating the merits of an arrangement where they would meet at an off-the-grid spot, screw each other blind and go about their merry way until the next year.

He thought he’d seen an old movie with a similar story line. But damned if he could remember if there’d been a happy ending.

When Tim Burtiss had gotten off the elevator, Cruz had filled him in quickly. While Meg wasn’t necessarily in any more danger than she had been the night before, the attack at the dinner was too fresh in his mind. It appeared to be absolutely unrelated but in his gut he felt as if things were close to coming to a head.

He’d advised the security guard that Meg was getting dressed and intended to go to her office. The young man promised to stick with her until she returned to the room at the end of the day.

Now Cruz dropped his mangled coffee cup into the fancy trash container and was considering buying another cup when he saw his sister pull up. He went outside to help her with Jana.

“Morning, Cruz,” Elsa said, giving him a hard hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, sis. You’re looking good,” he added.

“Oh, thanks. This is my ‘harried mother, forgot her favorite book’ look.”

Cruz laughed and opened up Jana’s door. She was in a car seat, belted in like an astronaut. He was shocked to see how big she was. Granted, it had been more than a year since he’d seen her.

“Hey, darling, remember Uncle Cruz?”

She stared at him with big brown eyes.

“Your mom is on her way to spend your inheritance so you’re going to hang out with me,” he said. “I have a reputation for being very good with four-year-old women.”

She wasn’t crying but there weren’t any smiles coming his way. She did let him unbuckle her car seat and accepted his hand as he helped her crawl out of the car.

Elsa knelt down before her. “You’re going to stay with Uncle Cruz for two nights. Then I’ll be back to pick you up. You’ll be a good girl for him, won’t you?”

Jana nodded and Elsa gave her a quick, hard hug. When his sister stood up, there were tears in her eyes.

“I’ve got this, sis,” Cruz said. “It’ll be fine.”

“I know. It’s just hard to leave her.” Elsa looked around. “Where’s Meg?”

“Working,” Cruz said, trying to keep the tone light.

She studied him. “I don’t know what’s going on here, Cruz, but please don’t get hurt again. A year ago I wasn’t sure you’d bounce back.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m tougher than I look,” he added.

She frowned at him. Then gave her daughter one more quick hug and got in the car without another word. Jana watched her drive away, still not saying anything.

Cruz felt about as competent as a rookie at his first domestic disturbance. He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Are you hungry?” he asked.

She nodded.

“There’s a McDonald’s two blocks away.”

For the first time, she smiled. He held out his hand and she took it. “I like pancakes,” she announced.

“Coming right up,” he said.

* * *

M
EG PUSHED PAPERS
around on her desk for the first hour. Yes, she had work to do. She always did. But there wasn’t anything that couldn’t have waited until Monday. There was no special project that Scott needed help with.

She wondered what Cruz and Jana were doing? Cruz didn’t know the area well. The least she could have done is taken a few minutes to get him acclimated. But she’d been so focused on her own panic that she hadn’t been able to think of anything else.

Tonight she’d make an effort to be a little more helpful. She could make him a list of kid-friendly locations. She’d done the same for lots of other guests.

Although he was clearly getting perks that not every guest had access to.

She put her head in her hands. How could she have been so stupid? She’d slept with him. Not that there’d been much sleeping. Just a bunch of orgasms and other good stuff. Like having her hair stroked. And the insides of her thighs kissed. And her heart squeezed when she’d looked up and he had his head thrown back, the veins in his neck tight, as he poured himself into her.

Well, sort of. Luckily, he’d had some condoms in his travel bag. It had been touch and go for a minute the first time. Things had escalated quickly and suddenly he’d been inside her. She had enough sense to choke out that she wasn’t on the Pill any longer. He’d stared at her, a thousand questions in his dark eyes. But somehow he’d had the good sense not to ask any of them. Instead, he’d got suited up and they’d continued on, without missing a beat.

If his sister hadn’t called, they might still be in bed. They would have had to call for nourishment and some more condoms.

The irony did not escape her. She’d been afraid to walk into the hotel looking tipsy yet she’d have been perfectly fine letting the front desk know that she was in need of birth control. Post haste.

Her brain had exploded. Either before, during or after one of those fabulous orgasms. That could be the only explanation.

It wasn’t much of an excuse but it was the best she had.

She wanted to blame it on the alcohol. She’d drunk too much. No debate there. But she hadn’t been too drunk to know what she was doing. She’d sat in the chair, nursed her beer and thought about what-ifs. What if Cruz hadn’t stopped the man? What if she’d been stabbed? What if Cruz had been hurt? What if he’d been killed?

It had suddenly been too much. And the only thing that could make it better was a couple of hours in his arms.

And then morning had come as it inevitably did. When his sister had called, it had been clear that he wanted to help her out, that he wanted to spend
time with his niece. And Meg wasn’t going to stand in his way. She’d made that decision twelve months ago. There was no need to go back and revisit it.

Cruz Montoya was a good man. She wanted him to be happy. To have a houseful of kids. To have a wife who wasn’t damaged by her own past. He deserved to be able to trust the mother of his children. He should never have to worry if his children were safe.

And if he ever found out what she’d done, he’d never stop worrying.

* * *

C
RUZ HAD BEEN
happy enough to eat breakfast at McDonald’s and hadn’t really even minded when Jana had insisted upon eating lunch there, too. She almost had him talked into a third trip for chocolate chip cookies when he felt the imaginary hot scorch of his sister’s disapproval square between his shoulder blades.

Instead, he steered his rental car into the parking lot of a small grocery store where he bought a bunch of bananas, a package of grapes and a quart of milk—he figured if Jana didn’t drink it all, he could shove the remainder into the minibar. After all, Meg had emptied a couple shelves the night before.