Fire and Desire (Arabesque) (16 page)

Suddenly feeling guilty at taking advantage of a sleeping woman, he removed his hand and tried concentrating on something else. Glancing across the room, he watched as the flickering dance of the fire cast shadows on the rocky wall. When in his mind those shadows turned into images of something sexy and sensual, he felt desire for Corinthians grip his body again. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Why did she have the ability to make him lose control? How could this woman claim a part of him that he had never offered to any woman before?

In answering those questions, he knew he could no longer deny one monumental fact: He had fallen in love with her. And although he had tried not to, and although he had tried to fight it every step of the way, he had to finally admit that he was deeply in love with the woman he held in his arms. There was no other reason for him acting the way he’d been acting for the past two years. Corinthians had done more than just get under his skin. The woman was deeply embedded into his heart and the very soul of him. He could no more not love her than he could order it to stop raining.

He thought back to a conversation he’d had with Clayton Madaris last year while the two of them had been dining at Sisters restaurant. That night Clayton had revealed to him that he had fallen in love. That bit of news had come as a shocker because everyone knew Clayton had always been Houston’s number-one player. The man had a history of having more women than the NBA and NFL had players combined. But that night Clayton had poured his heart out to him, and had told him of the love he felt for this particular woman, who surprisingly had turned out to be Syneda Walters. But on that night at Sisters, Clayton had asked him if he had ever been in love. And without thinking about it, Trevor had immediately thought of Corinthians. Chances were he had loved her even then. He just hadn’t acknowledged it yet in his mind and his heart. All he knew at the time was that he could not get a good night’s sleep without her invading his dreams, without thinking of her at some of the oddest times, and without wanting to make love to her each and every time he saw her. He knew that just like Clayton had had problems with Syneda at first, before she had come around and accepted her love for him, he would have problems with Corinthians.

He slowly caressed his initials into her arm, branding her his. He acknowledged in his heart and soul that this woman was his. His woman. And he would not share her with anyone, nor would he allow her to share her heart with someone other than him. He wanted all of her, not just the part she could spare him. The thought that she still loved Dex was a weight he would have to bear for now. But he was determined that someday and somehow, he would make her love him just as much as he loved her. That was a startling promise he made to himself, and he would make sure it was one he kept.

Clayton Madaris took the BlackBerry from his pocket. The device had gotten him in trouble when he’d found himself sending sensuous, explicit messages to his wife throughout the day, resulting in them never getting any work done. To teach him a lesson, Syneda had hidden the mobile phone for several days and had just returned it to him last night. He knew he was probably headed for trouble again, but he punched in a message to his wife.
I want you.

He chuckled when seconds later he received her reply.
You always want me, Madaris.

He punched in his reply to her message.
That’s true. By the way, I got news about Trevor.

Clayton cut off the BlackBerry, replaced it in his pocket and checked his watch. He would give her less than a minute. Bingo! he thought when she breezed into his office and closed the door behind her.

“What have you heard about Trevor?” she asked, coming over to him. She moved his calendar out of the way to find space to place her rear end on the edge of his desk. Her skirt was short, and when she sat on his desk, a good portion of her thigh was showing. Clayton’s gaze immediately became glued to the sight of it.

“Clayton, for heaven’s sakes, pay attention. What have you heard about Trevor?”

Clayton forced himself to stop looking at her thigh. He leaned back in his chair. First, he would tell her what she wanted to know, and then…

“Dex got a call from Trevor’s father. The State Department contacted him and Mrs. Grant. It appears that Trevor was not taken as a hostage, but escaped into the jungles of South America. Word has it he’s hiding out in the jungle with some woman.”

“A woman?” Syneda asked, lifting a brow. “Who?”

“Dex thinks it’s Corinthians Avery.”

“Corinthians!” Syneda’s eyes lit up. She had recently become friends with the woman who worked as head geologist for her father, S. T. Remington, president and CEO of Remington Oil.

“How charming,” Syneda said as a smile touched her lips.

Clayton let out a short, dry laugh. “There’s nothing charming about it. Trevor can’t stand the woman.”

Syneda frowned. “And how do you know? Did he tell you that?”

“No, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the two of them don’t jell. Have you even seen them in a room together?”

Syneda frowned in deep concentration. “Yes, at that Businessman of the Year Awards Banquet for Dex, and then at our wedding. Why?”

“You wouldn’t believe the daggered looks they give each other. I can’t imagine them being alone anywhere, especially a jungle.” He chuckled. “I guess one advantage is that Trevor can feed her to wild animals if she gets on his nerves. No one would ever know.”

Syneda didn’t share Clayton’s amusement. In fact, she found his comment downright tacky. “If you recall at our wedding, Trevor caught the garter you tossed out and Corinthians caught my bouquet. Which means, by tradition, they are both next in line to marry. Now isn’t that a coincidence?”

“I’d call it a bad catch on Trevor’s part,” Clayton said, resting his eyes on his wife’s thigh again.

Syneda saw where his gaze had wandered. She adjusted her position to pull down her skirt to cover herself from his ravenous eyes. “Well, if you ask me, it means something.”

Clayton shrugged. “Trust me, for Trevor it doesn’t mean a thing.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know Trevor.”

Syneda narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, and everyone thought they knew you, too, but look at you now, Clayton Madaris. You’re a happily married man. If you can conform, anyone can.”

Clayton smiled. “That’s true.” He reached out and pulled Syneda to him. “I want you.”

Syneda glared at her husband before standing. “I have work to do, Madaris. My client’s due in the office within an hour.”

“They can wait.”

Syneda laughed. “Is this the professional Clayton Madaris talking?”

“This is the Clayton Madaris who wants to make love to his wife. Now.”

He stood and gave a quick inspection of Syneda’s attire. The two-piece suit was classy, and no doubt was as costly as it was short. The skirt hit her way above the knee. He hoped she wouldn’t have a reason to bend over today. He forced himself not to say anything. He had learned a long time ago not to tell her how to dress. Although he had to admit that whatever she put on her body, she looked absolutely good in it.

“Stay here and don’t move,” he ordered her before walking over to the door and locking it.

When he turned around, he noticed Syneda was no longer standing next to his desk, but had gone to a corner of the room and was removing her skirt. He frowned. He had wanted to undress her himself. “I told you not to move, Syneda.”

She grinned. “I don’t take orders very well, Madaris.” Then she removed her panty hose.

Clayton rubbed his hand across his beard as he watched her. Her not taking orders very well was an understatement. He walked over to stand in front of her after she had removed her jacket, leaving her clad in a mint-green bra and matching panties. Both were lacy and silky, and looked as soft as the shapely body the lingerie barely covered. “Is there anything that you do take very well, Syneda?”

A sensuous smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She tilted her head and looked up at him. “Yes, Madaris. I take you very well. All of you.”

Clayton’s breath caught in his throat. During his bachelor days he’d feared committing himself to a woman would eventually lead to boredom. He’d been married one month and two weeks, and hadn’t experienced a second of boredom with Syneda.

“Come here, baby.” He reached out for her and she willingly came into his arms.

Frustration was clearly etched on Rasheed Valdemon’s face when he looked up to see Raul Santini enter his office. “Do you have any information for me?”

Santini nodded as he took a chair across from the desk. Frustration lined his features as well. “Yeah, and it’s not good news.”

Rasheed tilted his head back, wondering how much more disappointment he could handle. “What is it?”

“It appears that a man by the name of Araque was behind the terrorist attack. He’s a lowlife from my country with a band of cutthroats for followers. I can’t imagine him masterminding anything of this magnitude. I think he’s working with someone. He—”

“I don’t care about him, I want to know what you’ve heard about Corinthians Avery. Is Araque holding her as a hostage along with the other Americans?”

“No. It seems she and that Force Recon guy are somewhere in the jungles. Somehow they were able to escape. My source has informed me that because Araque knows Ms. Avery’s worth to Remington Oil, he has sent some of his men into the jungle to find her. I also heard the United States government has gotten wind of it and has sent a team of military men into the jungle to rescue them.”

For the longest moment Rasheed didn’t say a word, making Santini wonder what was going on in his head. “What are you thinking, Monty?”

Rasheed met Santini’s gaze. “Are you sure that other than a plot to kidnap the Americans for ransom, there is nothing I need to concern myself with? Are you sure there’s not anyone in your country who wants Ms. Avery as much as I do?”

Santini shook his head. “Our country already has oil, Monty. It may not have as much as the Middle East, but we have enough. I don’t think the terrorists’ attack had anything to do with Corinthians Avery personally. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Rasheed nodded. He was undecided what he would do. Yasir’s threat hung heavily over his head. But exile or not, he did not intend to walk away from the situation in Mowaiti.

“Something else you need to know, Monty,” Santini continued. “Because all the hostages are Americans, their government is blaming my country for what they see as a plot against the American oil companies. The president of this country is demanding Araque’s capture immediately. Since my father is ambassador, his hands are full trying to appease the United States government. At the same time, he’s working with the South American government on capturing Araque and returning the hostages unharmed before any ransom is paid. I have no doubt in my mind Araque will be captured. He has gone too far. My question to you is what do you want me to do now?”

“Let’s do nothing for now. If we tried to make another move on Corinthians Avery anytime soon, it will be too coincidental and will raise suspicious brows. But I won’t give up my plans. Mowaiti still needs her.”

C
orinthians woke up the next morning and knew she was alone. She had no idea when Trevor had left or where he had gone. The fire was still blazing in the center of the cave. A pot of coffee sat steaming nearby along with a pan of grilled fish. She snuggled under the covers, thinking he had apparently found another loaded stream and had gone spearfishing again.

She closed her eyes as she remembered how the heat from his body had kept her warm during the night. There was no part of her that had gotten cold. He had wrapped them in his blanket and she had gone to sleep tucked securely in his arms with her body snuggled close to his.

Corinthians clutched the blanket more tightly around her when a deep emotion took hold of her. She shifted her body to face the fire, and let her mind go back to when her and Trevor’s paths had first crossed. She had originally set out to seduce one man and had ended up falling for another.

There was no way she could convince herself that that night two years ago had meant nothing to her but one embarrassing moment. Deep down she knew it had meant everything. Her life had not been the same since. And she now knew why.

She had fallen in love with Trevor Grant.

But the sad thing was that he didn’t love her in return. Not only did he not love her, he didn’t even like her. He actually thought she could love one man and be deeply attracted to another. He had accused her of having shaky and unsteady emotions. She may have been confused about her emotions two years ago, but today she knew her heart. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in love with him.

But knowing what he thought of her, the obvious question was what was she going to do to set him straight? With a groan, she turned over onto her side, shifted her gaze away from the fire, and looked at the rocky wall. She could tell him her true feelings, but what would she gain by doing that? Especially since he disliked her anyway. However, by his own admission, he was attracted to her. She could use that attraction to her advantage. She immediately tossed out that idea. She wanted more between them than physical attraction. She wanted love.

But she knew for Trevor to fall in love with her would take a miracle.

It was close to late afternoon when Trevor returned. He had deliberately stayed away all day, needing time to deal with his newfound emotions. When he entered the cave, he stopped abruptly. Corinthians was sitting Indian style on the blanket with his small mirror in her hand, trying to brush the tangles out of her hair, and getting frustrated with the task. He stood there and watched her. His gaze wandered to the slender, shapely legs that showed from beneath his T-shirt, which she was wearing. Before entering the cave he had seen her jeans and shirt spread across a rock to dry. He had also seen her lingerie placed alongside them. Since he had not packed her any extra underthings, he could only assume she wasn’t wearing anything under that T-shirt. That thought made his heart rate increase.

It took a few minutes before he could finally open his mouth to speak. “Having a bad hair day?” he asked her.

Corinthians stopped brushing her hair and turned quickly toward Trevor. She had not heard him enter the cave. “Yes. It got wet yesterday and I can barely do a thing with it.”

She took a good look at Trevor. He had been gone most of the day. She had begun worrying about him, although she knew he could take care of himself. He was standing at the mouth of the cave, gazing at her with an intense look on his face. Behind him the afternoon sunlight was peeping through the waterfall, casting its fading rays upon him. That backdrop made him look more handsome, manlier and more desirable. She took a sharp intake of breath when he began walking toward her.

“Come here. I think I can help,” he said when he stood in front of her. He held out his hand to her.

Corinthians lifted a brow as she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. “You used to be a hairstylist in another life?”

“No, but I used to do Gina’s hair all the time.”

A sharp stab of jealousy went through Corinthians. “Who’s Gina? An old girlfriend?” she asked, trying to downplay any envy in her voice.

“Not hardly,” he said, laughing. He took the brush from her. “Gina’s my sister. Her real name is Regina, but we call her Gina for short.”

Corinthians stared at him in surprise. “Sister? I didn’t know you had a sister. Why didn’t you mention her when I asked you about your family?”

Trevor sat on a ledge that jutted out from the rocky wall like a shelf. “You never got around to the question of siblings. You asked me about a wife and children. Then you shifted your attention to the issue of why my parents are separated and not divorced.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“How old is she?” Corinthians asked curiously moments later.

“Gina’s twenty-seven. There’s a ten-year difference in our ages,” he said as he gently pulled her between his opened legs with her back to him. He began brushing her hair.

At first Corinthians tensed at the feel of her hips cradled between Trevor’s thighs. Then she allowed herself to relax against the hard, masculine chest that supported her back, and the hard thighs encasing her hips. The only barrier between them was the denim of his jeans and the cotton of the T-shirt she wore.

The feel of him brushing her hair felt wonderful. She almost groaned with every stroke the brush made through her hair. There was something soothing about the movements. Each stroke was measured. Each stroke was a caress. Then moments later, he placed the brush aside and began combing through her hair with his hands. His callused fingers gently massaged her scalp all the way down to the root. It became more difficult to stay still, so she automatically leaned her body back against him, fitting snug against his front. When she did, she felt his hard arousal pressing against her rear end.

She took a deep breath when he picked up the brush again and began brushing her hair, before taking his hands and gathering her hair and forming it into a single, neat braid. She knew the moment he had finished, but for the life of her, she could not make herself leave the comfort of being in such an intimate position with him.

Trevor inhaled deeply as Corinthians’s scent floated all around him. As with a will of their own, his hands began stroking her back, and then cupped the back of her neck in the palm of his hand as enormous emotions washed through him. No matter who she was in love with, as far as he was concerned, she was his. She was
his
woman.

He loved her and if he could not have her heart, then he wanted to make her his, body and soul. He pulled her braid, tilting her head back as his mouth began placing warm butterfly kisses across her cheek, down her neck and the deep hollow of her throat. With his other hand, he began caressing her thighs. His body ached with the feel of touching her smooth skin. The soft moans that parted her lips were like an open invitation, begging him to come inside her mouth and taste her.

And so he did.

He turned her around to claim her lips. With all the love in his heart, he kissed her. When he did, passion tore at him, making him feed greedily off her mouth, making him mate hotly with her tongue. His hunger for her intensified. His craving for her increased. He was driven by need, but mainly by love.

Fire ignited his hands as he reached down and lifted the hem of the T-shirt she wore to explore the places underneath. He allowed his knuckles to brush between her thighs as his mouth continued to be hot and demanding on her lips. He caught her groan in his mouth when she felt his intimate touch.

Pleasure, the likes of which he had never experienced before, swept through his body. For one crazed moment, he wanted to believe she felt all the things for him that he felt for her. But if nothing else, at least he knew that she wanted him. That was evident in the way she was returning his kiss, molding her mouth ardently to the shape of his. She was kissing him with fervency born of hunger and desperation. The yearning and the wanting that raged inside of him demanded relief.

Trevor broke off the kiss and whispered hotly in her ear. “I want you, baby.”

A knot suddenly tightened within Corinthians. Those weren’t the words she had wanted to hear. She didn’t want him to just want her. She wanted him to love her. There was a big difference in the two. If only he knew how desperately she wanted him, too. But she loved him just as much as she wanted him.

She pulled herself out of his arms. “I can’t, Trevor. I can’t sleep with someone without love.”

Trevor flinched. She had just reminded him that she didn’t love him. Suddenly, a deeper emotion, anger, raised its ugly head and his lips twisted into a bitter smile.

“Love? If that’s true, why did you plan Dex’s seduction that night? He sure didn’t love you. Yet, you were going to give yourself to him without love. You were prepared to sleep with him that night just to get him interested. So don’t pretend love makes such a big difference to you,” he snapped. “You’ll never convince me that it does.”

Corinthians was hurt by Trevor’s words, but she felt compelled to make him understand. She wanted to tell him she never loved Dex and had only thought that she did. She wanted to tell him that he was the man she knew within her heart that she loved. “I made a mistake that night. I—”

“Tell me something I don’t know. Your biggest mistake is wanting a man you’ll never have.”

A part of her knew his words were true. She would never have Trevor. “Probably not, but that won’t stop me from loving him,” she said quietly, knowing he thought she was referring to her feelings for Dex. But the truth was, she was referring to what she felt for him. However, she would never tell him that now, especially after what he had just said. He would never know that he was the man she loved.

Trevor stared at her, long and hard. He then turned and walked out of the cave.

Regina Grant Farrell sipped her coffee and watched her parents closely. She had been surprised when she had come to her mother’s home straight from the airport and her father had opened the door. She had known immediately after walking into the living room that he had spent the night. Blankets had been thrown all over the sofa.

She knew if Trevor were here, he would caution her to not make a big deal about it, but there was no way she could not. This was the first time she had seen her parents in such close quarters together in years. Although they had remained on relatively civil terms for her and Trevor’s sake, she knew that over the years they had pretty much avoided each other.

She couldn’t help but study her mother. It seemed that this morning she had gone an extra length in making herself look radiant, which wasn’t hard to do. As far as she was concerned, her mother was still a beautiful woman who wore her age of fifty-six rather well. She could easily pass for a woman in her early forties. She was glad her mother had kept herself looking good over the years.

She inwardly smiled. From the looks her father was giving her mother, when he thought it wasn’t obvious to anyone, he apparently noticed how good her mother looked, too.

Trevor had been sixteen when their parents had separated, and Regina had been six. Although, after the separation, her father had still spent a lot of time with her, it hadn’t been the same as when they had lived together. She had missed that family unity.

She had a close relationship with both of her parents and unlike Trevor, she was still holding out and hoping that one day they would put the past behind them and get back together. No one could convince her they didn’t still care something for each other. Even this morning she noted her mother had cooked a huge breakfast that had included all the things she knew her father liked.

Regina smiled and made a mental note to share that bit of info with Trevor when he got home.

Trevor.

No sister could ask for a more caring brother. Unlike most guys with younger sisters, he never made her feel like she was a pain in the rear end. He’d always treated her with love and adoration. And when her marriage after college had ended in divorce less than four years later, he had been there for her.

She hoped that wherever Trevor was, he was safe.

Ennis, Texas

Justin Madaris stood embracing his wife. His breath was warm against the top of her head and his hands were wrapped around her waist. “Are you sure about that, Lorren?”

Lorren Madaris tilted her head back and looked up at her husband. “I’m positive. There’s no way I can let you plan a birthday party for me knowing Trevor won’t be here. When he comes home we can celebrate then.” She smiled. “Besides, what woman in her right mind would want to celebrate turning thirty?”

Justin tightened his arms around her. “A very beautiful one.” It didn’t seem like four years had passed since he had first laid eyes on her at a birthday party that had been given for her foster mother. But four years had passed, and they had been very special.

Lorren was everything he needed and desired. She was still the love of his life. July 19 was her birthday, and as he had always done in the past, he was planning a huge cookout to celebrate the event and would invite all their family and friends. The bash usually lasted through the weekend with everyone staying over and spending the night. Now, there wouldn’t be a party until Trevor returned.

He led Lorren over to the sofa and sat down and pulled her into his lap. “At least there’s a strong possibility Trevor will be coming home. I was scared there for a while. You don’t know how relieved I was to receive that call from Dex saying Trevor had eluded the terrorists and had escaped into the jungle.”

He chuckled. “And with a good-looking woman at that. How lucky can you get?”

“So you think the woman he took in the jungle with him is really Corinthians Avery?”

Justin gave his wife a slow, lazy grin. “Yes, but we’ll know for sure sometime today. According to Dex, the families of the hostages have all been notified so the media will probably release their names soon. I think it will be a sure bet Corinthians Avery’s name won’t be on that list.”