A Man to Remember (8 page)

"It isn't mine." He steered her toward a lower patio near the pool. "Aunt Myra is too ill to join us for lunch. She sends her regrets," he said, politely seating her at a glass-topped table.

A young Mexican girl brought goblets of white wine, succulent shrimp and calamari salads. She returned with hot, crusty rolls fresh out of the oven.

"Thank you, Lena." Jake smiled at their shy waitress and, when she left, leaned toward Alyse. "Lena's family has worked here for years. For them, it's like losing a family member. Everyone is quite upset over my aunt's illness. They call her La Duena, a title of respect because she is much loved."

"I'm sure," Alyse murmured.

After lunch Jake suggested a dip in the sparkling pool. "Aunt Myra usually naps this time of day. It would be the perfect time for us to go swimming."

"I'd love it. The pool's gorgeous."

"I trust you brought a swimsuit. If not, I'm sure we can find something for you around here."

"Thanks, I have one," Alyse said, patting the large shoulder bag she brought along. "Where can I change?"

He pointed out a nearby cabana, and she disappeared inside it.

A few minutes later Alyse stepped out wearing a one-piece purple maillot, and Jake's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"I like it," he managed to say, trying not to stare.

"Better than the red one?" Alyse smiled at his obvious masculine admiration. She liked the idea that Jake found her attractive. Casually, seductively she raised her arms to pull her chestnut hair back in a ponytail.

"Well, I don't know about better. But this one is, uh, quite nice," he stammered.

She walked to the edge of the shimmery pool, and he noticed that the suit was completely backless and cut down to the dimples at her lower back. The bottom was cut high at her thighs, making her long legs appear even longer. They seemed to go on forever. He followed her into the sun-heated water and wished it were colder. Ice cold, in fact.

Jake proceeded through the afternoon in pure agony. Swimming with Alyse in that skimpy suit, rubbing oil on her curvaceous back and gorgeous legs, lying next to her in the sun, trying not to watch her every move, trying not to respond like a ram in rutting season. It had taken a great deal of convincing and planning to arrange the torturous afternoon. Fortunately Emilio was willing to go along, for Jake's sake. All in the line of business.

Later he took her on a motor scooter ride through the entire villa complex, which was like a small village. Mexican employees were housed in modest living quarters and worked in the villa's hillside orchards and terraced vegetable gardens. Jake halted the scooter by a small storage building adjacent to the main hacienda.

He unlocked the door, and they stepped inside the cool rock and plaster interior. "I want to show you some of the inheritance I intend to take back home. Primitive Mexican art." Reaching inside one of the packed boxes, Jake unrolled one of the canvases. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Oh, my, yes!" Alyse admired the brilliant colors and bold brushstrokes on the oil painting. "I had no idea you were such an art aficionado, Jake."

"This primitive stuff is my passion." Then he added with a grin, "One of them anyway. I have quite a collection at home. Most of these will be sold, though. I already have buyers all over Texas." He patted the box proudly. "These will bring more than a hundred thousand in the States. Here, unfortunately, they aren't worth much." He rolled the canvas, stuffed it back, and unfurled another, of a small sailboat anchored in a small private bay.

"Oh, I like this one!" Alyse exclaimed enthusiastically. "It reminds me of Balandra Beach. How lovely."

"Then you can have it," Jake said quickly.

"Oh, no, I couldn't."

"I'd like you to have it. As a reminder of a beautiful day we spent together." God, he couldn't believe he was saying something so damned sweet and sentimental. Was he going soft because of this sincere young woman who believed his every word? Alyse, the siren dressed in a skimpy purple swimsuit, the woman he'd like to take to bed? Then why the hell did he keep resisting her charms?

"Jake, you don't have to give away your inheritance."

"I know. But I want to. Just this one." He rolled the canvas and replaced it. "Now can you see why I must take them back? And this is only part of the inheritance."

"Yes, I think so. Where's the rest?" She looked around. "The jewelry."

"Oh. Uh, it's stored at the hacienda," he muttered. "Not all of it is family heirlooms, as you might think. Some of the jewelry was purchased merely as an investment, rather than try to take large sums of money back. These jewels are worth more that way." Jake raked his hand through his unruly hair. Damn! The lies just seemed to multiply upon themselves. There were so many now he couldn't even keep track of them.

During the afternoon Jake asked Alyse to stay for dinner, and immediately he wondered why he'd done it. Then, on reflection, he admitted the truth to himself. He wanted her close, perhaps wanted her to be convenient. Oh, God, he just wanted her.

"I didn't bring any other clothes, Jake. Just the shorts I wore earlier."

"We can take care of that," he said easily, and showed her an immaculate upstairs bedroom with small adjoining bath. "You can freshen up and rest here for a couple of hours." He flung open the closet. "One of these dresses should fit you. Emilio—ah, Aunt Myra always keeps some extras around for, uh, nieces that drop in. Cocktails are available at sunset on the patio. Dinner at dark. See you later." Jake left, wearing a secret smile. Things were going according to plan. No, better than planned. Much better.

After Jake had disappeared, Alyse sorted through the pastel hand-embroidered dresses hanging in the closet. Ankle-length, many were simple dresses of cotton and lace gathered from a circular neckline, slender versions of the muumuu. He planned on my staying, she decided. These dresses are here on purpose. Rather than be angry at the thought of his manipulation, she found the notion endearing in a man as rough and rugged as Jake.

With delight she discovered that her second-story window opened onto a balcony with a gorgeous view of the crescent-shaped city and sun-sparkling bay. Her bath was like a tiny greenhouse with trailing jasmine and blooming orchids mingling their heavenly fragrances. While she lounged in the luxurious tub, Alyse could think only of being with Jake again tonight. Obviously he wanted her with him too. Otherwise he wouldn't have arranged it. A faint breeze drifted over the bed, and Alyse couldn't resist stretching out on the cool, clean sheets. She was asleep in minutes; dreaming of Jake's ragged beard and how tantalizing it felt beneath her fingertips and when he kissed her.

At sunset Alyse found Jake on the patio talking to a dark-haired man she'd never met. She had chosen a wheat-colored dress with a brightly embroidered bodice of brilliant green and purple flowers. Jake's smile of approval wasn't lost as she glided across the bricked patio toward him.

He met her halfway. "I see you found a dress you like. I like it too."

"Thank you." She smiled and twirled before him. "Of course, I feel as though you'd planned all this."

"Any objections so far?"

She shook her head. "It's been another lovely day with you, Jake."

"Good." His brown eyes softened, and he drew her toward the other man. "I want you to meet Emilio Sanchez. He manages the villa for my aunt."

Alyse shook his hand, and they chatted as Jake motioned to the maid for another drink. When dinner was announced, Jake led her into the dining room with apologies from his aunt. "She isn't feeling well enough to join us tonight. I hope you understand."

Secretly he prayed Alyse would not understand any of this until they were well on their way.

After dinner Emilio excused himself, leaving Jake and Alyse alone. They adjourned to the lower patio, the one with an excellent view of the city and harbor at night. Jake pointed to her tiny silver boat bobbing in the harbor. "There's the Skye Command. See it?" But he carefully failed to mention how he'd watched her diligently, night after night, through binoculars from this very spot. Jake's hand rested on her shoulder as they stood together, enjoying the peaceful moment.

"You didn't intend for me to see your aunt all along, did you, Jake?" Alyse asked quietly.

Jake pursed his lips and gazed down at her. How much does she know? "Alyse, my aunt is very ill. She really isn't up to meeting anyone. Yes, I knew that all along, but I wanted you to enjoy her home and understand what I'm giving up by leaving."

"I see." But she didn't.

"Aunt Myra is being cared for privately here in the complex. She is receiving the best of care, considering her condition. It isn't good for the house staff to see her like this, so . . . helpless."

Alyse felt a tug of sympathy. "Is she . . . will it be soon, Jake?"

"I think so. It's very difficult for me. She was always so lively and vital...." He ended with a heavy sigh.

The numerous questions about Jake that had puzzled Alyse all day suddenly vanished, and she believed everything he was telling her. Why shouldn't she? An ailing old lady, a grieving and anxious nephew, a storage room stocked with valuable art, a man who cared about his family.

Alyse turned in the circle of his arms and whispered sincerely, "I'm sorry, Jake. About all this."

His hands embraced her shoulders, then moved around to encompass her back. "Alyse, you're a special woman. Thank you for being so understanding." He bent to give her a quick kiss.

But she wasn't satisfied with just a kiss. Not tonight.

She responded instantly to his brief but affectionate touch. Her hands went around his neck to bury themselves in the shaggy hair at his nape, and her lithe body pressed to him. His lean hardness drew her like a magnet, and she wanted him more than ever.

Her lips sought his, this time eliciting a heated desire within him beyond his control. He shuddered and pulled her to him, his hands moving along her back, molding her to him. "Sweet sexy Alyse ..."

"Yes, Jake. The answer is yes."

He raised his head, and his questioning eyes explored her face. "Yes?"

"Yes to us. Yes to going to San Diego on the Skye Command. Yes to everything." She met his gaze confidently, sure of her decisions. They had more to do with her heart than her head, but tonight she didn't care.

"Spend the night here, Alyse. Then we can use tomorrow getting ready to go. It will need to be very soon, I fear."

She nodded. "If you'll stay with me. In my bed."

His eyes darkened and he explored her face. She was so honest and naive compared to his deviousness. Was it fair to her? He knew what she was offering, and he knew what he wanted. So why the hesitation?

"Alyse, do you really mean what you're saying?"

"Yes, Jake, I do. Oh, yes," she murmured.

With a force driven by a raging inner fire, he drew her into his arms and kissed her deeply. His restraint was transformed to fierce passion, and there was no holding back by either of them.

Alyse was already lying nude between the cool sheets when Jake slipped into the darkened room. She waited while he "took care of business" downstairs and suspected it was a ruse to allow her time. Time to think ... to get ready for him . . . She waited eagerly for him. Thoughts of this virile man next to her were erotic and arousing. He was everything she had always dreamed of in a man. Handsome. Interesting. Compassionate. And more. Jake was her fantasy come true. Mysterious.

The edge of the bed sank beneath his weight as he tugged off his cowboy boots. Then he rose to dispatch his jeans, shirt, and underwear. She watched his shadowy figure with intense feminine interest.

"Alyse? You asleep?"

Her voice was tinged with amusement. "How could I sleep now? I've been waiting for you, Jake. Sure you know I want you."

He laughed softly and slipped into the bed beside her. Her words were stimulating, and he could barely contain himself. He wanted to roll over her, to slide into her comforting softness, to take her immediately. But he knew instinctively he had to use restraint with her. He had her confidence thus far and couldn't afford to lose her now.

In a low voice he murmured, "I've wanted you from the first time I saw you, Alyse."

"I know."

"You knew all along? And still you agreed to everything."

"Yes. From the first you intrigued me too." She reached over to touch him. Her hand rested on one rounded muscle of his chest. She rubbed the flat male nipple, scraped her fingernails along his chest, traversed his taut male form past the ridges of his ribs, past the flat planes of his firm belly. Her hand halted on his thigh.

His breathing was strained, his every muscle tense. A slight quiver raked through him.

"Jake?"

"Yes?"

"You said you'd let me make the first move." She paused, holding her breath. Then her hand moved boldly over him, caressing, stroking. "How's that?"

He turned on his side, and she felt his aroused heat radiating beneath the cool sheets. Reaching out to her, eagerly. Fervent and hot. Barely under control. Exciting.

He could barely speak. "Ummm, good move." His hand covered one firm breast, squeezing the nipple, then moved to the other mound. Oh, God, how he'd wanted to touch and kiss her there. He ran his tongue over each nipple, and she arched sensually.