The Heartbreaker (10 page)

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Authors: Vicki Lewis Thompson

BOOK: The Heartbreaker
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Ernie couldn't tell him that the drama was unintentional, but the news that Mike and Beth were holding hands was good. Real good. He smiled.
 
HAD SHE HAD A CHOICE, Beth would have preferred something other than the impersonal atmosphere of a hotel room when she made love to Mike. But she had no choice. He needed her now, with a ferocity that wouldn't be denied. And she would give him this. Although it could be dangerous to speak words of love, at least she could show him the depth of her feelings.
As he twisted the lock on the door, she pulled the drapes, blocking out the pale beginnings of a new day. The only sound was the soft whisper of an air conditioner and his muted footsteps as he walked toward her.
“I've imagined this hundreds of times,” he said gently, “but I always pictured it with you wearing that red dress.”
“Let's not talk about that night,” she murmured, her heart full of tenderness. “In fact, let's not talk at all.”
He reached for her and she snuggled into his arms, into his warmth.
“We have to talk about it,” he said, his lips against her forehead.
She hugged him tighter. “No. Not now, Mike.”
“Now. Because that was the moment everything began, the moment everything changed.”
She grew very still, remembering what he'd said on the street that night in Bisbee.
When we finally do come together, we'll probably have to scratch, and claw, and bite each other just to work everything out between us.
“That's why you made that circle of glass, isn't it?” he said. “Because that moment changed your life forever, too.”
“Mike—”
“Isn't it?” He shoved his fingers through her hair and tipped her head back. “The whole world shifted for you, too. Admit it, Beth.”
She gripped his arms so hard her nails imprinted on his skin. “I don't want to talk about that night. I just want to love you, Mike.”
“And why don't you want to talk about it?” he persisted as his thumb stroked the line of her jaw.
“You know why.”
“Tell me.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. He seemed determined to drag them through this swampland. “All right! Because after you kissed me, you tried to make love to her!”
“No, I didn't.”
Her eyes flew open. “How dare you deny it” She tried to push him away.
He held her fast and his dark eyes glowed with intensity. “Because I was falsely accused. I didn't try to make love to Alana. She begged me, but I couldn't make love to her after what I'd just found out, that you were the one, you were always the one—”
“No!” She pushed against his chest, her palm coming into contact with the jaguar tooth necklace tucked beneath his shirt. “She told me you did. She told me!”
He wrapped both arms around her and held her tight. “She lied to you, Beth.”
She shook her head violently. “She wouldn't do that.”
“Not unless she was desperate, and she was. She sensed things were different between us, and she was trying to hang on. I don't blame her for making up that story. I hurt her, and she had to strike out.”
No, Beth thought, searching his face for any hint of deception and finding none. Surely Alana wouldn't lie to her, wouldn't deliberately tarnish her image of Mike. “I don't believe you.”
“Yes, you do, deep down. I couldn't make love to you without telling you the truth. I don't want Alana's lie between us, poisoning what should be pure and beautiful.”
Her voice quivered as she battled with what he was telling her. Believing him meant doubting Alana. But doubting him now would rip her to shreds. “Let me go.”
“No.” He lowered his head.
“Damn you, let me go!”
“No.” His lips hovered over hers. “And I warn you that if you bite me, I'll bite you back.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don't. And I'm going to prove it to you.” He closed in, taking possession of her mouth, daring to thrust his tongue deep.
She writhed in his arms, trying to get away, but she didn't bite him. She pushed at his chest with both hands, but he only deepened the kiss, probing for the wellspring of desire and love that lay waiting for him, waiting for this moment.
After all the years she'd fought her longing, her capitulation was swift. She'd come to this room to love him. It was, after all, the only thing she wanted. And she knew, in the honesty of his passion for her, that he was telling her the truth about that night. With a moan she tunneled her fingers through his hair and pressed her body against his.
As she abandoned herself to his kiss, she threw away all doubt about his integrity and his permanent place in her heart. There would never be another man in the world for her. From that first tender embrace long ago to the fiery wonder of Mike in her arms today, there had been a sense of recognition, a sense of coming home each time he held her, as if she'd always known the way he'd taste, the way he'd feel, the way he'd move.
And so it was as they tumbled to the bed. After impatiently ridding himself of his clothes, all except the jaguar tooth necklace, he undressed her with trembling hands. When he faltered she helped, until at last there were no barriers between them.
She touched the smooth jaguar tooth that dangled close to her breasts as he leaned over her.
“Do you want that off, too?”
“No.” She used the necklace to pull him closer. “It reminds me of that wild streak in you.”
His lips hovered over hers. “Which you've always hated.”
“I don't hate it,” she whispered, flicking her tongue against his mouth. “I envy it. Show me your wildness, Mike.”
“As if I could stop myself, with you here beneath me at last.” He closed the tiny gap between them with a searing kiss that was only the beginning of his relentless assault on her senses.
Yet his heated touch on her skin was remembered, somehow. When his mouth captured an aching nipple he generated a liquid warmth that she already knew, and when his breathing quickened, it was a pattern she recognized...her own.
She felt no hesitation, no awkwardness. He knew her, knew the sensual secrets that would arouse her to a greater pitch of excitement. And he, breathing as she breathed, was carried along in the tide of passion. As he knelt between her thighs, she lay before him, unashamed, and his supplicant hands knew the way—his fingers how to knead and lift her breasts to his waiting mouth, his palms how to glide over the curve of her waist as he tasted her.
His mouth traced a path down the valley between her ribs as he slid his hands beneath her. Her breathing changed again, becoming more ragged, for she knew the gift he intended to give her before he plunged deep inside.
She gasped when his tongue probed her sensitive cleft and laved the tender nub awaiting his touch. He raised the stakes, using his tongue to drive her deeper into madness, and a red haze of need swirled through her brain, blotting out everything but her increasingly desperate cries and the pounding urgency at her core.
The mounting tension shivered through her body, setting off responding shudders within him. She clutched his shoulders and quivered, until at last she arched upward in an abandoned, glorious climax, crying out his name again and again.
All boundaries disappeared as she slid both hands down his back to grasp his hips. “I want to feel you deep inside me,” she murmured.
“I've always been there.”
And so he had. And so he would always be. For she loved only him. “Then come back to me once more,” she said.
He sheathed himself. Then, keeping his gaze locked with hers, he entered her, moving smoothly forward, going deep, going for her soul...
She needed to know she'd touched his, as well. “Tell me...it's never been like this.”
“Never.” He eased back and moved forward again. “And it's never been like this for you.”
“That's not a question.”
“No.” He moved within her, slowly at first, then with increasing speed. “It's not a question.”
Her voice became breathy. “You always were a know-it-all, Mike Tremayne.”
“I know you.” The sweet tension was gradually driving her out of her mind. He shifted his angle slightly, bringing more pressure on that special point he'd awakened not long ago.
“You think...so.” Her breath hitched as he made contact with the exact spot. “Well, you're...right.” She closed her eyes. “Oh...so...right.”
“Open your eyes, Beth. This time I want to watch your eyes while I drive you crazy.”
Her eyes drifted open and she looked into his fiery gaze as her body moved in concert with his. Her lips parted and she began to gasp and cry out soft, indistinct words that sounded almost like a plea.
As the moment neared, she began to tremble.
“Yes, my love,” he whispered hoarsely. “Explode for me. Shatter into a million pieces. I'll be right here.”
“Oh, Mike,” she whispered, panting. “Mike... Mike...Mike!” She lifted beneath him.
With an agonized cry of release he plunged with her into the abyss. As he quivered in the aftershock, Beth wrapped her arms around him and drew him down, cradling his head against her shoulder as he lay helpless and dazed.
“I need you so much,” he whispered.
She tightened her hold, her eyes damp. She could feel the imprint of the jaguar tooth against her skin, and for now, she'd captured the wildness within him and made it her own. He might never need her like this again, but at least she had this moment when he was completely, utterly hers. No matter what happened, no matter what this moment cost her, it would have to be enough.
9
W
AKING UP in unfamiliar surroundings confused Beth at first. She wasn't used to sleeping anywhere except in her apartment above the studio. She turned her head and glanced at the digital bedside clock. Two-ten in the afternoon. She never slept at this time of day. Then she brushed against the man lying next to her, and everything came flooding back. Oh God. She closed her eyes in dismay at the realization that she'd done the one thing she'd sworn never to do. She'd made love to Mike Tremayne.
“Regrets?” murmured a husky voice next to her.
She didn't open her eyes. “How will I ever face Alana?”
“I don't know, seeing as how you can't even face me.”
Cautiously she opened her eyes and turned her head on the pillow.
Mike lay watching her, his expression unreadable.
“What have we done?” she whispered.
“You tell me.”
“I've betrayed my sister. I've made love to the man she loved. I don't know if she'll ever forgive me.”
“In the first place, being true to yourself isn't betraying anyone. And in the second place, whatever Alana's reaction, I was hoping what happened between us would be worth it.”
His reminder brought back the delicious memories of touching and being touched by Mike. She remembered the tender moments they'd shared at the hospital and her decision to make love to this vulnerable man. When he'd stirred her anger, he'd obliterated it again in a blaze of passion. Desire began to push aside her guilt about Alana, as it had a few hours ago.
Mike's expression softened. “That's better. When you get that look in your eyes I know everything will be okay.” He raised up so he could see the dock. “I'm going to call the hospital.” He swung his legs out of bed. “Just as soon as I find my wallet with the phone number in it, that is.”
“It's right here.” Beth propped herself on one elbow and reached for the wallet that he'd tossed on the bedside table after taking the condom out.
“Would you get the number for me?” He picked up the receiver of the phone next to him. “It's tucked in behind the bills.”
Beth opened the wallet and found the slip of paper. As she passed it across to him she noticed a name scribbled on it. She didn't have much time to read the name, but it looked like Cindy. Cindy had been their waitress at Café Roca two nights ago. She rejected the thought that flashed immediately into her mind—Cindy was a backup in case she hadn't worked out. But the woman in her still had to have her curiosity satisfied. She'd ask him about Cindy later.
As she lay listening to him talk to the nurse on duty, his quiet tone of voice didn't change, so apparently Ernie's condition remained stable. Thank God for that.
“Oh, did she?” Mike said, becoming more alert. He paused. “Yes, I'm glad you filled her in.”
A chill passed through Beth as she realized Alana must have called the hospital. It made sense that she'd do that if she got no answer at Beth's apartment.
“I see,” Mike said. “Okay, we'll take our time, then. Thanks for the information.” He hung up and turned back to Beth. “Dad's condition has been upgraded and keeps improving.”
“I'm glad.”
“They're going to be doing some tests for the next couple of hours, so we might as well wait before we go in. We couldn't see him, anyway.”
“Okay.”
“And Alana called the hospital.”
She let out a breath. “I thought so from what you said on the phone.”
“She happened to call when one of Dad's doctors was around.” His gaze searched hers. “And I guess the doctor filled her in but told her not to worry, that Ernie's son was here taking care of things.”
Beth met his gaze. “I see.”
“Yeah.”
“That's not all the news. I can tell.”
He gave her a crooked smile. “It's spooky being around somebody who can read me that well. I've gone years without people being able to do that.”
“Habit.”
“It's kind of nice, in a weird sort of way,” he said.
“You're stalling. What's the rest of the news?”
He ran a hand over the stubble on his chin. “Alana left us a message. She's cutting her trip short and coming home.”
Beth absorbed the information but felt no surprise. “I told you she would.”
“It might be Ernie's condition bringing her back instead of me.”
“I'm sure the doctor told her Ernie's doing just fine and the worst is over. No, it's because you're here, Mike. She's coming back to see you.”
“Could be,” he admitted.
“So now it starts.”
“Not immediately.” He stretched out beside her again. “She can't just abandon that family in the Ozarks. It'll take at least twenty-four hours, in my estimation.”
“We'll have to tell her about us, won't we?”
He traced the line of her lower lip with one finger. “Of course we will.”
“I don't know what I'll say to her.”
“Don't think you'll be out there all by yourself.” He moved closer and touched his lips to hers. “I'll be there to help.”
“We can't make it seem like two against one. That's no fair.”
Mike chuckled. “If that isn't a remark straight out of our childhood, I don't know what is.”
“I've been thinking about my childhood a lot recently, Mike. Alana always took care of me and made sure I didn't get hurt. Now I'm the one who's hurting her. She doesn't deserve it.”
He drew back to study her. “And what do we deserve?”
“I'm not sure.”
“Picture this.” He slipped an arm around her waist and drew her closer. “An aggressive little girl meets a little boy and immediately decides that he's the one for her.”
As she nestled against him and took comfort from his solid length; her anxiety eased. “I know this story.”
“Humor me and pay attention, anyway. As she grows up, this girl conditions everybody, including the boy, to think this partnership is their destiny. Her little sister idolizes her, so no problem there. And the boy is flattered that somebody so popular and attractive has picked him out. Sometimes he thinks he likes the little sister better, but saying so would cause a lot of problems, and everything is so damned nice the way it is.”
“You make Alana sound like some sort of tyrant.”
“I don't mean to. I did have a crush on her for a while, and I didn't question myself about whether or not that crush had developed into something that would last a lifetime. Hell, I couldn't imagine myself bucking the lot of you, anyway—Ernie, Pete and my sweet little Beth.” He caressed her bare bottom. “And you're sweeter than I ever knew.”
“Believe me, I don't feel very sweet right now.”
“Oh, yes, you do.” He slid a hand up her rib cage and cradled the weight of her breast. “Sugar and spice and everything nice.”
She grew damp and warm as his thumb brushed her nipple. “You'd better stop that. Unless you're more prepared than I thought, we're out of birth control.”
He continued to caress her. “Sad but true. There was but one lonely condom in my wallet.”
Although her thinking was growing fuzzy, she was still alert enough to remember that his wallet had also contained the slip of paper she'd seen a few minutes ago. “And why are you carrying Cindy's name in your wallet, by the way?”
He grinned at her. “Jealous, sweet Beth?”
“Of course not. She's a child. I just—”
“Not such a child.” As he leaned down and flicked his tongue across her nipple, the jaguar tooth tickled her breast. “Nearly the same age you were when I first kissed you.”
“I was a child then.”
“The hell you were.” He swirled his tongue over the sensitive areola.
She shuddered in reaction. “I was clueless.”
“Then your instincts were incredible. When I kissed you, you rubbed your hips against me until I was hard as a rock.”
She pushed him away. “Did not!”
“Did, too.” He laughed as he drew her back toward him. “I was ready to throw you down on the grass that minute, but then Dad called from the back door, and that was the end of that. After you went inside, I had to' hide out in the bushes for five minutes before my erection disappeared. And don't pretend you didn't know. You must have felt it through that thin silk.”
Heat climbed into her cheeks.
“Aha. Just as I thought. You knew exactly how you were affecting me. You and that sexy little red dress. Clueless, my ass.”
“I still have that dress.”
“Yeah?” He kneaded his way up her backbone. “I suppose you've worn it a lot since then.”
“Nope. Never wore it again.”
He brushed her hair back from her face. “Wear it for me tonight.”
She hadn't thought past the moment. “Tonight?”
“Let me slide that dress from your shoulders, the way I've been dreaming of for eight years.” He feathered kisses over her cheeks. “I want to see it fall to the floor, and watch you step out of it. Then I want to make love to you all night.”
She closed her eyes as desire took hold of her. “I don't know if we dare. Alana—”
“Alana won't be home that soon, but we'll spend the night at my house, just in case. Give me this, Beth.”
She opened her eyes and gazed at him. “All right. We'll at least have that.”
“Thank you,” he murmured, kissing her. “Oh, and one more thing,” he whispered against her mouth, “I want that piece of stained glass.”
“It's not for sale.”
He outlined her lips with his tongue. “Then I guess you'll have to give it to me.”
She snuggled closer and felt the press of his erection against her belly. “You don't want it. You can't cart it through the jungle with you.”
“That would be my problem.” He took her hand and guided it down to rest on his hardened shaft. “But I want it. You made it for me, and I want it.”
She closed her fingers around him. “I didn't make it for you.”
“Yes, you did.” He moaned softly as she stroked him. “You wanted to tell me...”
“Tell you what?” she asked, her voice seductively low.
“This.” He covered her mouth with his and reached down between her thighs.
As his fingers probed her moist sheath, the spring only he could release began to tighten again. She matched his rhythm, massaging him until he began to tremble and groan against her mouth.
He lifted his lips from hers. “Ah, Beth. How I want you.”
“You have me.”
“I want more. I want to bury myself inside you and say to hell with condoms.”
“No, Mike.” She gasped as he pushed in deeper. “You don't want to be...tied down.”
“Maybe it's all I've ever wanted.” His breathing grew ragged.
“I won't let you...” She lost the rest of what she might have said as the tremors took her.
“We've wasted...so much!” With an exasperated cry, he erupted in a warm cascade that spilled over her fingers.
 
BETH AND MIKE returned to the hospital in the late afternoon. Mike insisted they stop for some fast food and eat it on the way. As they walked down the corridor to Ernie's room, Beth looked down at the rumpled clothes she'd been forced to put on after her shower in the hotel room. “Ugh.”
Mike smiled at her concern with appearances when all he had to do was glance at her to become aroused again. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “You're beautiful.”
“Oh, sure.”
He pulled them both to a halt and turned her toward him. “The most beautiful woman I've ever known.”
She searched his expression, and her doubtful look indicated she was having a hard time swallowing that statement
“I suppose you think I'm feeding you a typical meaningless seduction line,” he said.
“Under certain circumstances it could qualify.”
He glanced around at the hospital atmosphere that surrounded them. “I don't think these are exactly the circumstances.” He released her and sighed in exasperation. “Your lack of trust is getting to me, especially because I don't think I've done anything to earn it. Can you give me a single instance when I've lied to you?”

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