Hunger's Mate (8 page)

His fists clenched, anger mixing with the delicious slices of arousal sifting through his body. It was a familiar mix, one that he instantly associated with her. Sure, there had been other females since she'd left, substitutes for his one and only, for the one he knew from day one was meant to be his. Reaching down, Lawrence gripped his arousal, squeezed the burgeoning length as hard as he could, harder still when his teeth clenched with the pain. He loved the pleasure that inevitably followed.

With his other hand he touched the gun that lay right next to his computer, the cool black metal sending quick spikes of adrenaline through his bloodstream.

“I've got you now, my little blossom. I've got you and I'm not letting you go this time,” he spoke to the screen, to her getting out of her car and heading toward what looked like the loading entrance of a building. “You're gonna love seeing me again, love doing all the things we used to do.”

As Lawrence continued to talk, his eyes glazing over the computer screen, he released his erection so that he could palm the hot length, jerking with all the memories flitting through his mind.

“You'll be back where you belong. And so will my diamonds. I'll have my woman, my fortune, and the biggest invention since the nuclear bomb. I'll finally have it all.” The last was said on a whisper, a gasp of breath as he jerked his erection even harder, rubbing his thumb roughly over the slit on its head, clenching his teeth with the pleasure. His release was close, he felt the sweet pressure tightening his sac, his thick body trembling with anticipation.

Then he saw it. He saw him coming up behind her, talking to her, touching her. The hand on his dick loosened, the hand on his gun tightening, finger pressing slightly against the trigger. His teeth clenched again, this time so hard he could hear them chattering against each other.

“Get your filthy hands off of her! She's mine! Do you hear me?” he roared at the computer screen as the two finally slipped inside the door of the building, out of his sight. “She's mine!”

*   *   *

Jewel awoke with a new sense of urgency, a new purpose. She wanted to buy a house, to have a place for her father to live, a porch for him to sit on and remember the good times. There was no reason for him to stay in the nursing home. His condition wasn't changing. He had type 2 diabetes and would be blind for the remainder of his life. The lymphoma he'd suffered from had been in remission for almost three years now, which meant she could take care of him on her own.

She could find them a nice secluded house maybe on an island where there were beautiful sunrises and sunsets. All she had to do was get some cash together and resign from her position at the resort. Then they would be all set to leave, forever.

When she entered the office there was no one there. Checking her watch, she noted it was still early and was grateful for the forethought she'd had to get up and get herself together sooner than usual. She had some research to do and didn't want to leave a site trail on her own laptop. Bypassing her desk she headed farther back to where Jacques's and two more empty offices were. She went into the first empty office and booted up the extra computer. Tapping her fingers on the desk as she waited. All she needed was one buyer, one good amount of cash, and she wouldn't have to look over her shoulder anymore. If her father hadn't been so sick when she'd walked away from Larry, she would have done this much sooner. But there was no way he could have traveled then, no way he would have survived both the cancer and the diabetes. So she'd set them up here, in this quiet and picturesque place and after a while, she'd thought they would be safe, thought they could stay here, undetected.

She'd thought wrong.

Jewel was tired of being afraid, tired of thinking that if not today, then the next day, or the next one Larry would show up and she'd once again be his slave, his property. Slamming her palms onto the empty desk she cursed herself for being stupid enough to fall into his trap, to believe the lies he told her. But she'd needed him. She'd needed his money. Her father had needed his money to pay the mounting health care bills. She'd had no other choice, at least that's what she'd been telling herself since the first day she'd lain in bed next to Larry, next to that sadistic pervert.

Now she spent an extra twenty minutes every day donning the costume that made her Jewel Jenner, the fa
ç
ade she'd created for her father's safety, and for her safety. Today, Jewel Jenner would repeat the process she'd completed three years ago. She would begin to disappear. Again.

“Each time I see you I'm amazed that such a beautiful female could look so sad, so contemplative, every day of her life. I could ask you why that is, but I doubt you'd readily confide in me. And that, Jewel Jenner, is a shame.”

Her head had jerked up the moment he spoke the first word. She'd watched his mouth moving until it stopped, her heart beating a little faster, her body heating instantly. He, Ezra Preston, was not a part of her plan. Not the one she'd made three years ago and certainly not the one she was devising now. And yet, here he was, again.

“There's nothing to confide, Mr. Preston. You mistakenly believe we're friends. We're not.”

He'd walked inside the office and sat on the edge of the desk, one leg up, the other down, leaning over to stare at her. Or was he looking right through her? Could he see her past? Was that why he kept asking for her to trust him, to confide in him? Maybe he was the one who had been sent to find her.

Her hands shook as she sat straight up in the chair.

“If that's all I can get,” he said while shrugging, “then I'll be your friend.”

“I wasn't offering friendship. And you shouldn't be in here. The offices are not open right now.”

“You're here,” he said simply, as if that were all he needed to say.

He was dressed in dark blue slacks, a light blue dress shirt, and tie. He always looked perfectly put together, not a wrinkle, not a close-cropped hair out of place. He'd probably had a perfect life too. The best schools, the best jobs, the best parents. Jewel didn't realize she'd frowned, or that she'd backed up in the chair with wheels until she'd hit the wall.

“I work here. You don't. Why are you still at Perryville? Why did you come here in the first place? I know that you know Mr. Germain and Mr. Perry, but why haven't you returned to wherever it is you are from?”

She didn't care. The answers to none of those questions mattered. The fact was she didn't want him here. She didn't like how she felt when she was in his presence, how her body felt. It was disturbing, not frightening, but still, she didn't like it.

When he stood from the desk, coming around to where she was, Jewel hopped up out of the chair, ready to fight back if need be. She'd quickly, involuntarily, calculated the distance between her and the door, even though she'd already decided not to run from him. Running from one man was enough, still she knew that sometimes it was the only answer.

“I'm not here to hurt you, if that's what you're asking,” he replied, his voice going softer, his intense gaze pinning her to that spot.

“I don't want you here at all,” she managed to say even though her body would readily contradict that statement. Luckily for her he didn't have some type of communication method with her breasts that now ached for his touch, her center that pulsated with the memory of his hands being there.

“I think you do,” he said, continuing to move forward.

There was nowhere for her to go and her feet wouldn't move anyway.

“I think,” he repeated as he stood directly in front of her now. Not touching her but close enough that she could smell his cologne, his aftershave, and another scent that she didn't think she'd ever smelled before. She liked it, very much, whatever it was.

“I think that you want me here. I think you want me more than you're willing to admit.”

“Well, I think you're an arrogant ass,” she snapped back, squeezing her thighs together tightly to stem the heat pooling there.

“That's fair,” he conceded, moving even closer to her, his breath whispering over her forehead as he looked down into her eyes. “And speaking of asses…”

He was so close Jewel thought she could lick him if she wanted to, that spot right on his neck just above the collar of his shirt. Yet, no part of him actually touched her until his hand snaked around behind her to cup her bottom, squeezing thoroughly.

She gasped, both at the surprise and at the spikes of heat that soared through her so quickly she thought she might literally faint. What was it about him that made her react this way? It had been years since she'd even thought about sex. She hadn't even used those female toys she'd purchased when she thought it was something she needed to maintain in her life. Her fear was that Larry had completely turned her off men forevermore. And yet, here was a man, whose mere presence threatened to turn her into a puddle of heated desire.

“You shouldn't be here,” was all she managed to whisper in response. “You shouldn't be here in Sedona, not now.”

Her head shook. “Oh, god, not now.”

But he was here and he was moving closer, pressing her back against the wall, both his hands on her bottom now, pulling her close so that her breasts rubbed against his broad chest, her juncture pressing just beneath the obvious length of his arousal.

“Look at me,” he directed and when she hesitated, he said it again. “Jewel, look at me.”

She tilted her head until she was once again trapped in the darkest, greenest gaze she could ever have imagined.

“I'm here right now, for you. Let me help you,” he implored.

Help her with what? The burgeoning need ripping through her body like a torrential storm?

“I don't need—” she began to say.

“I need,” was his rough reply before his lips crashed down over hers. His teeth nibbling along her bottom lip just before his tongue thrust deep inside, inciting and suckling hers.

Jewel wanted to resist. She wanted to pull away, slap his face, and declare she'd kick his ass if he ever tried such a stunt again. But she couldn't. All she could do was wrap her arms tightly around his neck, come up on her tiptoes a bit, and fall into that kiss like the proverbial moth to his scorching hot flame.

She returned his kiss hungrily, loving the taste of his tongue against hers. It was like that unnamable scent he had, only sweeter and she suckled as if it were tops on the dessert list. When she thought he would lift her and wrap her legs around his waist once again, he didn't, he just kissed her, until she couldn't think of anything else, until she could barely breathe.

Her hands flattened on his broad shoulders, feeling the strength radiating right through his shirt. She gripped and let go, rubbing, loving the feel of the heat that puddled beneath her hands. His arms were strong around her, cocooning her, and she pressed in closer. This time she was the one to bite along his bottom lip, sucking it deep into her mouth afterward.

There was a sound, like an animalistic growl, rumbling throughout the office and for a moment she thought she should be afraid. But she couldn't. All she could think about was Ezra. The mysterious man who had appeared at the resort only weeks ago. The man she'd caught staring at her on one too many occasions. The man that was now putting her body through one hell of a withdrawal from sex session with a simple kiss. No, that was wrong, there was nothing simple about this kiss, or she suspected, about the man that was kissing her.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was finished. Ezra pulled back slowly. His hands moved upward from her bottom to her waist, but he still held her close.

“I don't like to scent your fear. Let me help you,” he said in a voice so soft, Jewel wanted nothing more than to lay her cheek against his chest and tell him everything that frightened and threatened her. And then she felt like she was making a colossal mistake, for the billionth time in her life.

Jewel pulled away from him then, stepping from the spot where he'd held her, moving back to the desk and the laptop she'd been working on.

“I work here, Ezra. And while I'm not sure what brought you to Sedona, I'm almost positive it wasn't so you could spend your time mauling me.”

“I want to protect you,” she heard him say from behind her.

Shaking her head, she informed him, “I do not need your protection.”

He came around the desk then, smoothing one of those deliciously strong hands over his royal-blue tie.

“But you will need to eat. I'll meet you at La Selva at six o'clock tonight. We'll have dinner and not talk about me mauling or protecting you.”

Each time he said something to her it sounded like a demand, like an order and she didn't take kindly to it. Mostly because it reminded her of Larry's possessive and authoritative nature.

“I make my own dinner arrangements.”

He nodded, still moving toward the door. When he turned back to look at her it took everything in her power to remain seated in that chair. Tall, dark, and heartbreakingly sexy were the only words that could accurately describe him. Tall, he was much taller than her five-foot-nine stature. Dark, his skin was the darkest of browns and so smooth she ached to see it all, every delectable inch of him so she could touch the smoothness, trace her fingers along the muscled contours, drag her tongue along the thick … His facial features were another distraction with his strong jaw and broad nose, his lips a medium thickness that she remembered were sweet and enticing in her mouth. Dammit, her mind screamed while her body buzzed with unsated arousal.

“I don't doubt that you can make your own arrangements. This time I figured I'd make them for you. Six o'clock at La Selva. Please don't be late.”

And then he was gone. Just like that. Just like he'd appeared out of nowhere, not making a sound to announce his arrival, he'd walked away.