Rogue Diamond (12 page)

"Bu
si
ness. Overnight."

"It's okay, Nick. What you're doing isn't any of my concern. Just don't forget about finding Jenni."

"I won't forget
her, or you
. She's foremost on my mind. It's just that I have these other things to do that are very importa
nt, too. Look, Alex, don't ask questi
ons.
Please Alex, d
on't press me about things I can't tell you."

Alex inhaled sharply. She was pres
si
ng. And he was re
si
sting. "Sure, I have no right." She pressed
two
fingers to
his
lips. "Nick? Nick, are we going to find her?"

"I won't lie to you, Alex. I won't make promises I can't keep."

She could feel
the emotional frustration swell
ing within her, threatening to explode. "Tell me yes! Please, tell me a lie!"

"The truth is—"

"Damn the truth, Nick!"

"Alex, take it easy!" He gripped her shoulders forcefully. "One promise, Alex. I'll stick with you. I'll be here be
si
de you, no matter what happens."

Her hands rested naturally on his chest and she drew a deep breath. This was what she wanted. To touch him, to absorb his strength, to lean on him. She swayed toward him, relying on Nick to keep her upright. "Thank you, Nick." Slowly, quite logically, her hands climbed up his
chest
. "I'm glad you're here. I need someone calm, someone strong. I trust you'll find her if anyone can. . . ." She moved closer and placed a gentle kiss of appreciation on his lips.

"Alex ... oh, God, Alex
don’t
..." Nick breathed her name raggedl
y before he abandoned all re
si
s
tance and covered her lips savagely with his. He hauled her against him and molded her entire length to his body. His strong arms slid around her back, engulfi
ng her in his power, barely giv
ing her space to gasp for air. He wanted her, wanted to make love to her until she forgot her fears and her fruitless search for this baby. He wanted to hear her cry his name
as they made love
.

Alex gave herself up to him, unable to avoid the pas
si
on that surged through her at his touch. She allowed the kiss to deepen and drank eagerly of his intoxicating lips. Mindlessly, she swirled in the splendor of his arms.

Nick held her tightly, crushing her breasts to his chest, pres
si
ng his hard thighs against her unsteady legs. His lips forced hers open and his tongue dipped into the savory crevasse of her
mouth. She moaned softly and met his strength with a tea
si
ng probe of her own.

Alex was filled with de
si
re for this man who whipped her into a frenzy with only one look, only one kiss. If he wanted to, she would take him in
si
de, to her bedroom. If he re
si
sted, she would persuade him with every female wile she knew.

With an audible gasp, she caught herself. What was she thinking? All those margaritas must have worn down her inhibitions. Here she was, ready and willing to fall into bed with a man who
she barely knew, who
might
pos
si
bly
be a criminal!

Alex forced
tiny space between
their lips. "No, Nick—"

"Alex ..." His voice was ragged and low. "Let's go in
si
de."

"No
, n
ot now. I'm sorry, Nick."

His eyes burne
d with dark de
si
re. "You're giv
ing me double messages, Alex. Don't tease me.
We both know what’s happening here
."

"No, Nick. Only one message. Find Jenni. Nothing else."

"You're hot next to me, Alex. And I'm on fire for you. Feel it."

"Please, Nick, we mustn't."

He shoved her away from him. "I don't think you know what you want, Alex. You're a grown woman. When are you going to act like it?"

She placed a steadying hand on the door as he angrily strode away.

He was right. Again. She had lured him on, had taunted him, had given him an enticing message. Then, she'd nai
vely denied their sexual attrac
tion. It was the margaritas, she decided sullenly.

The
tequila
left her muddle-headed. She almost ruined the working relationship she had with this man she'd hired to find Jenni.

Quite obviously, he only wanted to get in her bed. If she allowed that to happen now, would he then be satisfied and turn his back on Jenni? No! She couldn't let that happen.

Alex went in
si
de as Nick's van screeched away from the curb.

CHAPTER
SI
X

"What do you mean, you can't
si
gn your name? You worked on this proposal too. You deserve credit—"

"Credit is exactly what I have to avoid
.
"

"But, why?"

"Sam says—"

"Sam? What do you think, Rosemary?"

"Would you please hold it down, Alex? And let me explain."

Alex clamped her jaws together and rose to pour them more coffee. "Okay. Explain."

Rosemary shifted in the chair and folded one leg beneath her. "Alex, remember we aren't in the States, and I'm not married to a liberated American man. There are cultural differences, and at times like these, they
rear up in our faces
. Otherwise, Sam is a wonderful man, and I love him. How would it look if Sam Garza's wife objected to how the Univer
si
ty's money is apportioned, especially if Sam's department is getting most of the money? Now, Alex, think about it realistically."

"I thought we decided together that the Early Childhood program here is of utmost importance. That doe
sn't mean we're against agricul
ture."

Rosemary spread her hands expres
si
vely. "That's the way it would be interpreted. At least, Sam doesn't want to take that chance."

"Nor do you." Alex leaned back, re
si
gned to Rosemary's abdication from the project.

"That's right. I
just can't
si
gn the counterpro
posal, Alex. I hope you will try to understand it from my viewpoint."

"Well, how's it
going to look when the profes
sora gringa prese
nts this proposal to the Univer
si
ty pre
si
dent?"

Rosemary laughed delightedly. "Like a typical American woman
.
"

"Thanks a lot
, Rosemary, for leaving me hold
ing the bag
.
"

"Alex, you know I'd do anything I could to help you keep your job. But this
petition
is something I just can't do."

"Okay. So you can't." Alex tossed her hands up in frustration and began to pace the floor. "Do you know what lo
si
ng this job will do to the search for Jenni? Oh, hell, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I don't want to lay a guilt trip on you, Rosemary. This isn't your respon
si
bility. It's mine. It's just that I'm so worried about her, I really don't have time to be bothered with this problem at the Univer
si
ty. And yet, it's vital to me
staying here
."

"Alex, you
don’t have to leave until you want to
. You could live with us, if necessary."

"Oh, Rosemary, thanks. But it isn't just funds
for my ba
si
c existence. It's . . . it's paying for the search. All of this costs money, you know
.
"

"You mean, the big guy with the dark eyes?"

"Well, he's not doing this for nothing."

"How's the s
earch coming along? Is your pri
vate detective ea
rning his fee? Has he found any
thing substantial?"

"No," Alex muttered, perching nervously on the edge of her c
hair. "Nick isn't exactly a pri
vate investigator, Rosemary."

"What is he, then?"

Alex blinked, wondering
si
lently how many times she had asked herself that very question. "I don't know, ex
actly. He's ... he and his
Mexican
part
ner have been interviewing all the witnesses to the accident. They haven't finished that yet. Then ... I don't know what next. They're out of town for a few days.
On bu
si
ness.
"

"Do they think Jenni's been taken out of town?"

"No. This is
for
their other job. They take people on helicopter tours."

"Helicopter tours?" Rosemary screwed up her face. "How the hell can they make a living at that?"

"I don't ask." Alex looked away and didn't catch the astonished expres
si
on on Rosemary's face.

"Well, do they do other things, like this private investigation stuff?"

"I don't think so. Actually, Rosemary, I don't know."

"Alex, are you mixed up with some kind of weird scheme?"

Alex studied t
he billowing clouds out the win
dow for a full minute. "I don't know what I'm mixed up with, Rosemary. I only know that Nick said he'd try to find Jenni. And that's what I'm
hang
ing on
to
."

"I just hope you aren't making a mistake, Alex. If you know what I mean. . . ."

"So do I." Alex ran an impatient hand through her hair. "What the hell, Rosemary? As a last resort, I was sent
by a priest
to El
Capitan
for help. When he agreed to investigate the
si
tuation, I didn't ask for his
résumé
and a list of credentials!"

"
What?
El
Capitan
?"

"Oh, it's just a name some people around her
e have tagged on him." Alex shru
gged without meeting Rosemary's eyes.

"Oh, God, Alex. It's sounding worse all the time."

"Please, Ro
semary. Don't make any quick de
ductions. Don't tell me your fears or opinions on my dealings with Nick Diamond. I have enough of my own. And I won't give you my opinion of Sam telling you what to do at the Univer
si
ty
.
"

Rosemary gave her a slight smile. "Okay, Alex. I just hope—"

"So do I, Rosemary," Alex finished wistfully, knowing instinctively what her friend was about to say. "I can tell you one thing for sure. I'm going to submit
our counterproposal to the Uni
ver
si
ty pre
si
dent, with or without your
si
gnature.
We've worked too hard to let it go down the tubes. And my job along with it!"

"I'll help you type it," Rosemary offered with a wicked smile. "Sam certainly can't tell me what to type
.
Or what to do for my friends."

When Rose
mary left, the neatly typed pro
posal was stacked on the table. What a
great
friend
.
She really wanted
to help, but like Alex, was ham
pered by circumstances beyond her control.

With a crash of thunder, the afternoon rain started. Alex studied the pattern of rain on the flowering hibis
cus in her backyard. She was re
minded of the times she and Nick had e
ncoun
tered a sudden downpour and the way he looked with a rain-drenc
hed shirt clinging to his shoul
ders. Shoulders broad enough to provide strength and a refuge for someone who needed help; someone like her, who needed a strong man to lean on. Oh, how she wished he was here right now.

Reluctantly,
Alex admitted there was an over
whelming attraction between them, something neither could de
ny. Apparently it was also some
thing neither
wanted to
re
si
st. She remembered their breathless moments together and the ho
t, surg
ing sensations she felt when he whispered her name. That was a dangerous
si
gn.