Jaci Burton (21 page)

life? His kind of life wasn’t suitable for a woman in it, and

especial y not a woman like Ava.

Even if he wanted to—try to make things work between

them—he’d be no better than Bo if he tried to drag Ava into

his lifestyle. She had a career ahead of her. More school. Her

Ph.D., fol owed by a job in social work. Her future didn’t

include him any more than his included hers.

But they could have fun fucking until it was over. Then he’d

walk away, disappear, and she’d move on with her life,

thinking he was some dickhead biker who’d found better

things to do. Yeah, it would make him look like an asshole, but

it was better for her this way. She’d forget about him soon

enough. They always did.

But for now? Yeah, he’d enjoy the hel out of her for now.

“So I’m good for al of you, huh? I’l have to see ‘al of you’ to

find out if I’m good for it.”

She laughed. “I’m sure that can be arranged . . . uh, later.”

“What? Not here in the middle of the party?”

“You have a wicked mind, Rick.”

He bent her over his arm and kissed her, long and hard,

then tilted her back up on her feet. “And that’s why you like me.

”

She blew out a breath and smoothed her skirt, then leaned

into him to whisper in his ear. “That’s one of the reasons why I

like you. But not the only one.”

She pivoted and walked away, found Lacey, and the two of

them took up a conversation.

Yeah, he was in deep shit with Ava. The woman rocked him

back on his heels. He usual y found women pretty predictable.

Easy to come by, easy to fuck, easy to drop and forget.

Ava? There was nothing easy about her.

For the next few hours, Ava divided her time between him

and Lacey. He liked that she didn’t cling to him, needing him

for her entertainment. She even talked to some of the other

people there, since there were women as wel as men. She

wasn’t uncomfortable at al in her surroundings, though he kept

an eye on her at al times. If any of the guys got too close,

thinking she might be there on her own, he was right there by

her side to let those guys know she was off limits. From the

scowl on his face they got the message loud and clear and

backed off right away.

Which seemed to amuse Ava. She started referring to him

as her Knight in Shining Armor.

If only she knew how little that applied to him.

Rick divided his time between keeping an eye on Ava, and

surreptitiously watching Bo. Though Bo made no moves other

than drinking and partying with his guests and with Lacey,

Rick knew tonight was the night, and he planned to be right on

top of it when it happened.

The suite was packed a little after one in the morning.

Lacey was either drunk or stoned, sitting on one of the plush

white leather sofas near the open doors by the balcony,

looking pale as death and like she might puke at any minute.

Which gave Bo the perfect opportunity to slip away. He

motioned to the guys he’d been talking to earlier, and they

walked out the front door.

“Lacey doesn’t look like she feels wel .” Rick pointed to

Lacey, and that’s al it took.

“Oh, no. I’d better go take care of her,” Ava said.

Ava was off seeing to Lacey, which left him free to fol ow

Bo. He walked out the front door and down the stairs, taking

three at a time so he’d be there before the elevator. He inched

the main floor door open, watching as the elevator doors slid

open.

Bo and his friends came out, made a left turn, and headed

in his direction. Rick closed the stair doors in a hurry and

hoped like hel they weren’t going to take the stairs. After

counting a few seconds, he breathed a sigh of relief and

cracked the door open again.

Bo and the others had headed though the back doors and

toward the parking garage.

Rick fol owed, keeping a respectable distance so Bo

wouldn’t see him.

Lacey’s car had been parked outside the garage, toward

the back of the lot, far beyond where anyone usual y parked.

Either Bo had her park there, or had moved her car to this

remote location.

Rick moved around the back of the building where it wasn’t

lit so he could observe without being seen.

And watched another car pul up beside Lacey’s. They cut

the lights, the trunk popped open, and within a minute they’d

opened Lacey’s trunk and popped down a false inside top

from the hood of her trunk. In the space there, Bo and his

friends placed several packages. It was too dark to see

shapes or sizes or even how many, but Rick knew it was the

drugs Lacey was going to transport across the border

tomorrow.

Asshole.

They finished up and climbed into the car that had dropped

off the drugs, then sped out of there. Rick melted into the side

of the building until they passed, then walked toward Lacey’s

car.

He waited a good fifteen minutes to be sure no one came

around.

They didn’t. It took a little maneuvering but Rick had been

stealing cars since he was twelve years old. No amount of

today’s technology could get in his way. He popped the trunk

and the false inside top, whistling low as he saw the booty

there.

Cocaine. Nicely packaged up in tight, brown-wrapped

bundles. Probably the same amount on the other side, too.

If Lacey were caught by the authorities smuggling this

amount of dope, she’d do maximum time.

And Bo wouldn’t give a shit. He’d just pick up some new,

naïve chick and do the same thing to her.

That wasn’t going to happen.

Not this trip.

Never again.

A
va finished wiping up the bathroom in the suite, washed up,

then switched off the light and went into the bedroom to check

one more time on Lacey.

Her breathing was shal ow, but she seemed to be resting

now.

God, what a mess. Ava had barely gotten Lacey into the

bathroom before she’d lost it. She didn’t know what Lacey

had eaten, drank, smoked, or snorted, but she’d heaved for

nearly an hour straight, then nothing at al . Once she was

empty, Ava had cleaned her up and poured her into bed. Light

snores were al she heard now.

If that was the result of drugs, alcohol, and excess partying,

Ava wanted no part of it. She was grateful al she’d managed

was a few hors d’oeuvres and one glass of wine. Right now

her stomach felt queasy after witnessing Lacey’s

gastronomical debacle. She turned off the light, closed the

door, and went down the hal , making a beeline for the bar so

she could grab a club soda with lime.

She searched for Bo, found him, and told him Lacey was

sick and out cold.

He rol ed his eyes. “She never could hold her stuff. Guess

my party is over for the night.”

How sweet of him to be so concerned about her. “She’l be

fine. Thanks for asking.”

She walked away before she could say anything more to

him, like what she thought about his inability to watch over his

own girlfriend, and went in search of Rick. He was just

stepping back through the front door.

She quirked a brow as he approached. “Where did you go?

”

“I had to make a phone cal and it was too noisy in here.”

“International?”

He laughed. “Wel , it’s not like I know anyone in Mexico. I

have a line on a job.”

She glanced down at her watch. “It’s almost three in the

morning.”

“It wasn’t an interview. Buddy of mine I’ve been trying to get

hold of final y got back to me, and I didn’t want to miss the cal

again since he’s on the road a lot.”

“Oh. So, what kind of job is it?”

“Construction. That’s why he’s hard to get hold of. He’s

leaving in a couple hours for Texas and wanted me to hop on

this job with him.”

Her stomach clenched. “Do you need to leave right now?”

“No. I’l meet him in a couple days.”

“Oh. Wel , that’s great.” She ignored the stab of

disappointment. Of course he was leaving. So was she. They

both had lives separate from each other. This . . . thing

between them wasn’t permanent. How many times did she

have to keep reminding herself of that?

Many, apparently.

“How’s Lacey? She didn’t look good.”

At least someone cared about her. “She’s okay. She was

pretty sick there for a while, but she’s resting now.”

He swept his hand down her back. “She’s lucky she has a

friend like you to look after her.”

“Thank you, Rick. That’s nice of you to say. I’m not sure how

much help I am to her, but I was glad to be here.”

“You help her more than you know. Not everyone has

someone to care about them.”

He led her to the table where the food was, his cryptic

words ringing in her ears.

The party had started to break up, so they found Bo and

said good night, made plans to meet tomorrow. Bo and Rick

would fol ow on their bikes while Ava and Lacey drove the car

back into the States.

But for now, al Ava could think about was getting back to

her room and being alone with Rick. Their last night in Mexico,

alone. Probably their last night together, period.

She felt the melancholy settle over her, but brushed it away,

refusing to let it ruin what little time she had left with Rick.

The sound of the water crashing against the shore was a

musical interlude as they stepped into the room. She was

going to miss this tropical paradise.

“This has been a nice little vacation,” she said, stepping out

onto the balcony. “I’m afraid I’l be spoiled when it comes time

to settle back into academia again.”

Rick came up behind her and placed his hands on her

shoulders. The smel of the ocean, salty and tangy, tantalized

her almost as much as the man whose body heated her.

“You’re way too practical to be swept away by vacations.”

She turned in his arms. “Am I? I’m not so sure. You’ve swept

me away.”

“Yeah?”

She tangled her fingers in his hair, loving its softness, so

incongruous to the hard body pressed against her. “Yeah. I

think I like this.”

“It’s a fantasy. Not reality. Reality is you being a social

worker, doing the right thing, helping kids.”

Her brows rose. “Real y? I thought you didn’t believe in

social workers.”

“I didn’t believe in the ones who’d been assigned to me. I

believe in you. I believe you can help people.”

The sting of tears pricked her eyes. He had such faith in her.

She wasn’t so sure she had that same faith in herself. But to

know a guy from the streets, a man the system failed, stil

believed in that system, in her ability to effect change, made

her heart leap.

“Thank you.” The words tumbled out in a whisper, her heart

fil ed with emotions she couldn’t—wouldn’t—think about. She

sifted her fingers through his hair, then let her palm slide down

his cheek, over the scruff of his unshaven jaw. “You do

mystifying things to my heart and soul, Rick.”

This time, he didn’t smile. “I’m just a guy. A guy with a lot of

flaws.”

“No one is perfect. I’m not looking for perfect.”

Just someone to love me.

She didn’t say it, but the words were there, hanging

suspended somewhere between thought and voice. She so

wanted to say it, but was too afraid she wouldn’t like the

response—if there even was one.

And maybe she didn’t want a response—not from Rick.

Maybe she just wanted to make up his reply in her head. After

al , wasn’t al this a fantasy anyway?

And wasn’t love the ultimate fantasy?

He kissed her, a perfect kiss that was no fantasy at al . His

mouth against hers, coaxing a response that was oh so real.

She held on to that reality, the feel of his body, so hot and hard

against her. That’s what she wanted, what she needed tonight.

And the way he touched her—the slow glide of his hands

down the bare flesh of her back—was both perfect and

frustrating. She wanted to make it last forever, but she wanted

to hurry up, get naked, feel his skin against hers.

And yet out here on the balcony, the night was oh so right.

Warm, a soft breeze ruffling the hem of her dress, and Rick’s

mouth intoxicating her senses.

He backed her against the wal , his body fol owing, pressing

against hers. Al that hard male flesh she wanted access to

was impeded by clothing. That wasn’t going to do at al .

She pul ed away from his kiss, pressed her hands to his