Rogue Diamond (17 page)

Nick's shoulder was sturdy and sheltering, just as she'd imagin
ed it would be. When Alex's sob
bing abated, she could hear the steady beat of his heart, strong and reassuring. She savored the sound and stood very still, listening, not allowing any other thoughts to crowd her mind. Nick was with her now and he would make things right. El
Capitan
could take care of everything.

His hand caressed her wet hair then slid to the bare skin of her neck, pres
si
ng her head to his chest. She was still wet from the shower and he ran his other hand down her slick back. Oh, how he wanted to touch her all over like that
.
To dry her with his hands
.

"It's been a week," she said, turning her face to the
si
de. She wiped some of the tears away. "And, when I saw that . . . that drawing on the wall ... I remembered Jenni and ..."

"It's been a hard week for you, Alex."

"Nick . . . I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"I . . . didn't intend to lose control. To get
super-
hysterical on you."

"You aren't, Alex. Anyway, you deserve a good cry after all you've been through. I've been too rough on you."

"Why didn't you leave me alone just now?
Let me cry.
"

"I couldn't. . . ."

"Nick . . . what will happen to her?"

"To Jenni?"

"No. To the little one we saw today."

He
si
ghed heavily. "I don't know."

"Do you think they'll find another buyer for her?" Alex's voice quivered when she spoke.

"We can't re
ctify every injustice we encoun
ter, Alex. We have to concentrate on our own. Jenni is our main concern."

Struggling with
his reasoning, Alex finally nod
ded against his chest. "You're probably right. I've got to get tough. I just hate leaving that little kid in that
si
tuation.
Unwanted.
"

“Someone wanted her. The woman crying in the back room, probably her mother.”

Alex
began to wiggle and Nick
loosened his hol
d. "I think you're pretty gener
ous, letting me cry all over your shirt like this." She reached up and stroked futilely at the wet spots on his shirt, at the same time petting the hard chest behind those spots.

"It gave me an excuse to hold you."

"An excuse?" She lifted her head. "Nick, the act's over, remember?"

"Act?" he repeated roughly. "Can't you tell when I'm being honest? Surely you've known . . . felt . . . that I wanted to do this." He kissed the back of her neck and her slick, bare shoulder. She was still wet and tasted sweet and fresh. He wanted to relish every moist, feminine inch of her!

She tried to ignore the rush of warmth that filled her when his lips caressed her like that. "I'm all right now."

"Maybe crying was what you needed."

"Sometimes a woman just needs to be held. Does this go along with the job, Nick?"

"You know better, Alex." He kissed her mouth, then slid his lips down a moist trail along the sen
si
tive column of her neck. He tried not to notice that the towel was loose around her breasts. But his male instincts knew it had slipped to revea
l the rose-hewed areolas encirc
ling her nipples. Through the thin towel, he could tell they were tight and alert. Unable to re
si
st the delicious
si
ght, he dipped his face to the rounded tops of her breasts. His tongue lapped away the honeyed moisture gathered between them, then laved each tip.

"Alex ... oh, God, Alex ..." His voice was throaty and he could feel the swell of de
si
re as he pressed his lips to her
si
lky skin. His large hand cupped one half-clad breast and
gently
squeezed its cushiony softness. Oh, how he was tempted to rip the towel from her and take her right there on the cold, tiled floor! And, from the looks of her, he would encounter no re
si
stance.

Alex leaned her head back against the wall and arched her breasts against his tantalizing kisses, content to enjo
y the pleasure of her own mount
ing de
si
re. His mustache brushed languidly across her sen
si
ti
ve flesh, awakening fresh sensa
tions as her entire body grew tight and aching for his fulfillment. Ahhh, Nick's cool kisses were soothing, yet they lit a fire in her that threatened to consume them both.

He knew ho
w to kiss her properly, knew ex
actly ho
w to make her want him. And, oh
God, did she! She wanted him to kiss her all over like this.

B
ut she couldn't let that happen.
She didn't know him
completely
. . . couldn't trust him. This was all a part of the act. She and Nick had other things to accomplish and nothing should interfere.

She opened her eyes and drew a shaky breath. She was excited b
y the erotic
si
ght of him hover
ing over her, kis
si
ng her, a man obviously wracked by pas
si
on. It was thrilling to know that Nick's de
si
re was for her. It was what she had wanted all along. But she had to re
si
st.

"Nick we can't lose control here." She squirmed to an upright po
si
tion.

He lifted his
head and looked at her for a mo
ment, his dark eyes wildly pas
si
onate. He wanted her, oh, yes, he wanted her. But not like this. She wanted him too. But he could see the reluctance in her eyes, the apprehen
si
on, the
d
istrust. Where was the restraint he'd promised himself from the beginning? Only one week with Alex and he was on the verge of toppling her into bed. "Alex, you're beautiful," he muttered as a way of explanation.

"Beautiful?" She smiled faintly. "Even with my hair wet?"

"Especially like this . . . and sexy." His dark eyes swept over her, taking in the bare, lengthy legs and the downy juncture that was scarcely covered by the towel. "Come here to me." With amazing ease and strength, he lifted her in his arms. The towel became a rumpled strip across her middle and he took full advantage of the moment to move heated kisses over the swell of her exposed breasts.

Alex struggled, but he pinioned her against his chest. She could do nothing stronger than push futilely at him and kick the air. When he raised his head, Nick's d
ark eyes flickered with the pas
si
on she'd seen before. Only this time, she was completely vulnerable to him.

"Nick, don't force this
.
"

"You want it, too, dammit
.
"

"No, I don't
.
"

"There's a phrase for a woman like you, Alex. I'm damned tired of your tea
si
ng."

"Me? Why, you're the one who entered my
room
.
I didn't invite you in here
.
You came of your own accord."

He glared at her. She was right. "Alex—" The name tore from his lips in ragged agony. Oh, yes, he could take he
r right now. He could force him
self on her. But was this what he wanted from her? No, he wanted her willing and eager for him. To cry out
his name in ecstasy. "
D
am
mit, Alex
.
"

The savage animal in him wanted to fling her from him, and his arms trembled with the beastly urges that threatened to possess him. Instead, he released her legs and let them dangle along his. One arm still held her securely to his chest, crushing her tender breasts. His eyes never left hers as he gradu
ally released the pressure, let
ting her slither erotically down the
full
length of him. The seductive act forced her body over every inch of his muscular chest, his flat, hard belly, th
e aroused heat of his rigid man
hood,
to feel
the unyielding power of his legs.

When her toes finally reached the floor, she was weak-kneed and whipped into an inner frenzy. Her emotions were raw and jumbled, her de
si
re soaring as never before. At that moment she thought she would be crazy to send Nick away. With hot, shaky fingers, she
pull
ed the towel around her steamy body. She looked up at him, her defiant face glowing with a rosy flush.

They stood gazing at each other for a long, somewhat turbulent minute. Both were thinking the same thing, and both knew it wouldn't happen. Not now. Nick's expres
si
on was filled with dark de
si
re. And anger.

"Tell me you don't want me
.
"

"That was crude." Alex clasped the towel to her breasts. There was precious little between them. "I'm all right now. No more hysterics, so you may leave. This is no way to calculate the enemy, is it?"

"W-what?"

"It's what you said earlier. We can't calculate the enemy by lo
si
ng control."

"I thought for a minute you con
si
dered me the enemy."

Her blue eyes
softened. "No, Nick. I can't be
lieve you're the enemy. As little as I know about you, I think you're on my
si
de."

He stood rigidly, a man in turmoil. Strange emotions tore at
his in
si
des, threatening to ex
plode. He knew only one thing. He wanted this woman with a de
si
re so strong he wasn't sure if he could control it. It was something he'd never felt before and
feared he couldn’t control
. "Believe it, Alex. I care about you. And about finding Jenni."

She took a deep breath and smiled. She had to go on trust with him, for he gave her nothing else. "You'd better leave, Nick." Even though she trusted him without really knowing why, she didn't trust hersel
f. He was too virile and appeal
ing. And she was essentially undressed
, except for the towel
.

"I'm going to take a shower." He shifted away then turned back to catch her eyes. "A cold shower. You get some rest. After that, maybe we could go out for dinner."

"Okay."

He reached the door then turned around again. "The hotel owner's daughter is getting married tonight
. We've been invited to the wed
ding celebration. It'll be quite an extravaganza. Dancing. Firewor
ks. It might help you . . . for
get."

Alex sat weakly on the corner of the bed. "I'd like that, Nick."

If body langua
ge could speak, Nick's jerky mo
tions as he bolted through the door roared of his anger and frustration with this woman. And with himself.

It was a different Nick who knocked on Alex's door later.
He looked the same—broad shoul
ders, tight jeans, dark, devil
eyes. But in those eyes she saw a
certain
tenderness in place of the usual hardness.

"Have you ever been to a Mexican wedding, Alex?"

"No."

"Lots of food and drink. And festivity."

She smoothed a wrinkle from the skirt she'd worn all day. "I hope I'm dressed appropriately for such an occa
si
on."

After a brief once-over, Nick reached up and slid the scooped neckline of her embroidered peasant blouse off each shoulder. His hands stroked her bar
e forearms, then moved to tanta
lize her shoulders. "There, that's better." His eyes detected the small amount of cleavage now
vi
si
ble and nodded with masculine approval. "Much better."

Alex's skin
si
zzled beneath his warm fingertips. She realized it was quite apparent that she hadn't worn a bra tonig
ht. Did Nick con
si
der it a come
on? She wondered if the
compelling pas
si
ons between them were too strong to restrain. The expres
si
on on Nick's shadowed face told her there would be no re
si
stance on his part. The feelings in her heart told Alex she could no longer deny this warm yearning she felt for Nick. "You don't think it's too . . . much?"

"You're perfect. Ready to go
celebrate
?" He
took her
hand
.

She looked from their hands
to
his face and smiled
.
“Yes, I’m happy to be going with you.”

"I know y
ou think I planned this, but be
lieve me, if I'd known we would be spending the night, things would have been different from the start."

"Oh? How?"

"Well, we could have brought along a change of clothes. And I would have reserved a room with hot water. One room."

"I thought you wanted a cold shower, Nick."

"I lied."

"My shower has hot water. You're welcome to use it."

"Only if we can share it."

"Well, I don't know about that." She laughed nervously. He wa
s certainly honest about his in
tentions.

"Con
si
der the shower, Alex. It could be rather . . . pleasurable." He moved closer and brushed her temple with his cool lips. "This celebration
tonight is just for us, Alex." He tipped her face up to his and covered her lips with his before she could protest or move away. "Just for us. . . ."

When they
merged, the reaction was immedi
ate and intens
e. Nick's lips covered hers, de
manding, drinking, craving her as his body did. His tongue teased her lips until she opened to receive him, tentatively welcoming his inva
si
on. His palm encase
d one thinly-clad breast, apply
ing pressure to the aroused tip.

The message was obvious. He wanted more. Overcome with reckless abandon, Alex wanted to give him more. Nick's de
si
re for her was fierce and strong, a rugged longing that threatened to overwhelm them both.

She moaned softly. "Nick, the fiesta."

Finally, he moved. "To hell with the party."

Alex felt slightly intoxicated from his kiss. "Yes. I'm starved. All I've had today was one tiny
little-bitty fish
."

"I'm starved for you, Alex. Do you know how alluring you are in that blouse?"

"
I knew it.
I was afraid it was too much."

"You are too much," he said with a
si
gh of re
si
gnation. "I need you." He lifted her ha
nd and gently sucked her finger
. For a wild moment Alex wanted to feel that tongue all over her, to know the excitement only Nick could give her. She was tempted to tell him so, but mu
si
c blared in the courtyard and
they became aware of the merry
makers.

“Later,” she promised.

"Later is for us," he whispered and steered her downstairs.

A huge table in the courtyard was piled high with food. As the mu
si
c blared around them, Nick laughingly fed Alex
guacamole with corn chips and galletas de bodas, Mexican wedding cookies
.

Nick held Alex close when they danced to the Mexican ranchera mu
si
c, then joined in the usual wedding festivities
and
the Dollar Dance
. Nick
pin
n
ed
money on the bride's veil and danc
ed
with her while
Alex pinned money on the groom’s lapel and danced with him. Then they were both breathless and eager to return to each other’s arms.

Later, when the strolling mariachi band played old Mexican favorites, he and Alex sang the Spanish words to the rou
si
ng "El Rancho Grande" and the sen
si
tive "
Volver, Volver
."

While the crowd was toasting the wedding couple, Alex and
Nick tipped little shots of te
quila, Mexican style.

"To finding Jenni." She smiled hopefully.

"To Jenni,"
he promised. To us, he vowed
si
lently.

He whirled h
er onto the dance floor and mur
mured in her ear, "Te quiero, te quiero, mi amor."

Alex blushed and ducked her head to avoid looking into his sparkling dark eyes.

"You do know what that means, Alex. I want you. Te quiero."

"Nick, don't—" She tried to turn away from his grasp but he held her close, forcing their legs to move in tempo with the mu
si
c. She gave him no answer, no more response. She couldn't be sure what she would do. Her mind said no but her will
was we
ak when Nick Diamond's arms sur
rounded her.

At the end of the evening's celebrations, they watched a spectacular fireworks display with the delight of two
small children. Flashes of spar
kling stars filled the black night. Brilliantly colored pin
wheels made from exploding fire
crackers rolled ac
ross the sky and a gigantic cas
tle lit up the entire courtyard.