Call It Destiny (8 page)

„If you’re this sensitive up here,“ he growled, „I can’t wait to find out how sensitive you are down here.“ He freed her breasts for a moment to trail his hand down to her waist and beyond.

„Jake! Oh, Jake….“ Her head arched back over his arm as he deliberately allowed the heat of his palm to blend with the heat of her body. The thin silk barrier of her dress could not shield either of them.
 

„My God, lady. You’re going to drive me crazy. Feel what you’re doing to me!“ He moved his hips against her thigh, letting her know of the throbbing hardness in him. „I want you, Heather. I want you very badly.“

„Jake, I – “ Her small tongue emerged to dampen her parted lips as she struggled for words. „We can’t. Not yet. Too soon. Much too soon.“

„How can it be too soon when we want each other this much?“ Intent on making her acutely aware of both him and her own building passion, Jake boldly inserted his leg between her thighs, crushing the silk upward into the warm juncture of her body. The action bared the creamy softness of her upper thighs and he traced a small erotic pattern on the inside of her leg. She gasped and shifted beneath him.
 

„Jake, you promised you wouldn’t rush me,“ she managed tightly.

„We have the rest of the night. No rush. I swear.“

„No, Jake.“

He felt her willpower as it began to reassert itself over her growing passion. Felt it and respected it even while he longed to overwhelm it. He could do it, he told himself. He could kiss the protests back into her throat, pull away the crumpled silk dress and take her. She would respond. She had to respond eventually. All that passion buried in her would surge to the surface if he could get past the barriers of her uncertainty. Even now her skin was hot and moist to the touch. A little longer….
 

„I mean it, Jake. Please let me go.“ She spoke as if she really expected no opposition. She sounded as if she knew she only had to be firm to make him back off. She had complete confidence in her ability to make him act the role of a gentleman.
 

The knowledge that she was right; that he would be bound by her decisions tonight was savagely frustrating.

„Damn it, Heather, I could make it so good!“

„Not tonight.“

He hesitated, hunting furiously through his mind for arguments that might work, sensual logic that would make her rethink her decision. But there was nothing he could use short of sheer physical force, and that was not an option.
 

Accepting the inevitable, Jake pulled back, lifting himself to a sitting position. The half-filled glass of cognac caught his brooding eye and he reached for it, taking a healthy swallow while Heather quickly adjusted her clothing. Grimly he let the fire of fine brandy fight the fire of unsatisfied desire, curious in an almost detached way to see which element would win the battle.
 

„I’d better be on my way.“ Heather finished adjusting her dress and got to her feet. The sweep of her sleek, bluntly cut hair swung forward to shield her expression for a few critical seconds. By the time the bronzed locks were back behind her ears, her face was composed and calm. Only the remnants of passion flared now in her steady gaze.
 

„I’ll walk you back to your cottage.“

„That’s not necessary. The security guards will be making their rounds and heaven knows we don’t get much crime out here,“ she reminded him with a determined breeziness. She ran her fingers lightly through her hair and started for the door. „I’ll see you for breakfast in the morning, Jake. Mom and dad will want to rehash the party and I’m sure they’ll want you to join us.“

„I’ll walk you back to your place, Heather.“ Jake got to his feet, reaching the door ahead of her and taking her wrist tightly between the fingers of his right hand. If she could recover so quickly; so could he. Even if it almost killed him! „I wouldn’t want you to think I’m not a
complete
gentleman.“
 

„The thought never crossed my mind,“ she assured him too blandly.

He walked her down the path through the gardens in silence and left her at her door just as she wished. He stood quietly in the shadows as she smiled good-night and stepped inside. Instead of leaving he waited a few seconds longer until he heard the click of the bolt being locked into place.
 

Was she double-locking the door on general principles or against him specifically?

One more week.

As he turned away it occurred to Jake that a part of him hoped she had slid that bolt in place out of some primitive caution toward him. He wanted her to think about him tonight; to remember the passion that had sparked between them. He didn’t want her climbing into bed and drifting off to sleep on a cloud of anticipation about taking over the running of Hacienda Strand.

If she had locked her door against him it might mean she would not be able to get him out of her mind tonight.

In another week he would be her husband and in a position to make certain he was the last thing on her mind every night.

4

„You
know you were absolutely
right about that dress last night,“ Ruth Strand told her daughter approvingly the next morning on the terrace as they waited for Paul and Jake to join them for breakfast. „I had my doubts at first but it struck just the right note. It was sophisticated and eye-catching and you wore it with perfect self-confidence. The only one I know who apparently objected was Jake.“
 

„Jake? He didn’t say anything about it.“ Heather tilted a curious eyebrow. The memory of how he’d had that beautiful silk dress crumpled around her waist flashed through her head yet again. His lovemaking had been the last thing on her mind before she’d gone to sleep, and the lush unnerving image of herself, half-naked and responding to Jake’s touch, had kept her awake for a long while. A part of her had been stunned to discover that she was capable of such aching passion. It was deeply disturbing this morning to remember how close to surrender she had been last night. She wondered uneasily if Jake had been aware of the fragile control she’d had on herself.
 

Ruth was chuckling as she poured coffee. „I understand from Paul that he made some comment about having you give it to the Salvation Army.“

„Fortunately Jake had enough sense not to make the same remark to me,“ Heather said dryly. Grimly she pushed the disquieting memories of the previous evening out of her head. She was back in charge of herself this morning.

„I’m not surprised he kept his mouth shut. I think he’s still a little wary of you, dear. Just as you are of him. The two of you tread very carefully around each other, don’t you?“

„In some ways. We’re still getting to know each other, mom.“

Ruth leaned forward. „If you’d rather wait a few more weeks before you get married, it can be arranged. I must admit, as much as Paul and I wanted this marriage we were both a little surprised when you set the date so quickly.“
 

„Tell everyone on that huge guest list that the wedding’s been postponed?“ Heather gasped in mock shock. „I couldn’t bear that kind of responsibility.“ She gave her mother a quick grin. „Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. Jake and I have discussed the matter in-depth. I want the wedding over and done while things are relatively slow around the Hacienda. There just won’t be time to arrange
everything once the season gets into full swing.“
 

Ruth looked at her searchingly. „But when it comes right down to it, you really haven’t known each other very long, have you? I mean, you’ve met him a few times during the past couple of years when you came to Tucson for holiday visits, but that’s about it.“

„You and dad both seemed quite certain it would be a perfect match,“ Heather reminded her mother calmly. „Don’t tell me you’re having doubts?“

„Well, no, it’s just that marriage is such a big step and I want you to be sure, darling.“

Heather took pity on her worried mother. Smiling reassuringly she reached out to pat her hand. „It’s all right, mom. I know what I’m doing.“

„You’ve had that rather frightening self-assurance ever since you went away to California all those years ago,“ Ruth sighed. „Other than letting us know you were all right, you wouldn’t even tell us what you were
doing until you’d enrolled yourself in college and had a job. That first year when you agreed to come home for Christmas we didn’t know what to expect. But the moment you walked in the door I knew you had grown up overnight. It was scary in a way. And every year after that you seemed to grow stronger and more certain of yourself.“
 

„I didn’t give myself much choice.“

„No. Perhaps that’s what worried me.“

Heather shook her head ruefully, able to make light of what had, until now, been the single most traumatic occasion in her life. „After making such a gigantic error in judgment as running off with someone like Rick Monroe, I only had two choices. One was to come crawling home on my knees.“
 

„And the other was to tough it out, pick up the pieces and make your decision work,“ Ruth concluded with a depth of understanding that shook Heather. „That’s exactly what your father would have done if he’d found himself in an untenable situation. That’s the way he reacted when he bought this land. It was out in the middle of nowhere in those days. No one thought a resort of this size and quality could successfully survive. But every time someone told Paul he was making a mistake he became that much more determined to make it work. And it did.“
 

„So will this marriage. After all, how can I go wrong? You and dad both approve, it makes perfect business sense, and the groom is willing.“

Ruth eyed her daughter. „About the groom….“

„He’s not willing?“ Heather smiled.

„Oh, he’s willing. But there’s something you should realize, Heather. He’s a lot like you in some ways. And while I freely admit I think he’ll make you an excellent husband, there are times when I worry that you don’t truly understand exactly what you’re getting into. You know how you and your father used to fight so fiercely.

Similar temperaments can have that effect on each other.“

Heather once again smiled her reassurance. „Jake and I understand each other very well on that score. The only thing we could possibly have to argue about is the Hacienda and since I’m, in the last analysis, the boss, that should limit the quarreling, don’t you think?“
 

Ruth looked skeptical but she changed the subject at once. „Santa Fe will make a lovely spot for a honeymoon. Whose idea was that?“

Heather shrugged. „Jake’s I think. I wasn’t really planning on taking one.“

„Well, at least you’ll be having a more luxurious one than your father and I were able to afford,“ Ruth said chuckling. „We couldn’t afford to go any farther than that old cabin Paul had for hunting up in the hills.“

„I haven’t thought of that place in years. It was rather fun to go up there once in a while. Has dad used it at all lately?“

„Not since he gave up hunting in favor of golf. He claimed golf was much more of a gentleman hotelier’s sport than hunting, but I think he just got tired of making a sport out of killing deer. We haven’t had occasion to go up to the cabin in years. Liz and Ann and their husbands take the children up there once in a while for an outing in the mountains. That’s about it.“
 

Before Heather could continue the discussion, a cheerful greeting announced the arrival of her father. She glanced up to see him striding toward her. Jake was at his side. Paul Strand was dressed in brightly colored golfing slacks and a knit shirt in preparation for the round he intended to play later that morning. Beside him Jake looked dark and restrained. His teak-brown hair was still damp from the shower. Dressed in a pair of khaki slacks and a conservatively styled dark brown shirt, he appeared a little remote and not nearly as affable as her father.
 

And when her eyes met his cool gray ones, Heather realized she
was learning to read that formerly unreadable gaze. There was no doubt, for example, that when he looked at her now he was remembering last night, and she sensed that he was silently challenging her to recall it. Uncomfortably Heather reached for the coffeepot, unwilling to betray the fact that last night had been on her mind all morning long. He had no need to remind her of it, she thought. No woman could possibly forget coming so close to giving herself to a man. The knowledge burned inside like a steady flame that could not be snuffed out.
 

„Good morning, Heather.“ Jake came forward and bent to brush her mouth lightly in a way that was becoming his familiar morning greeting.

„Your coffee,“ she offered quickly, and then chided herself for being even slightly nervous around him. Good Lord. She wasn’t a teenager. She ought to have a bit more poise under the circumstances!
 

„Heather and I were just discussing the old cabin, dear,“ Ruth said as her husband sat down beside her. „I was telling her that you and I spent our honeymoon there.“

Paul Strand laughed. „Did you tell her where we’ll be spending our second one?“

„No, not yet. I was saving it for a wedding present.“

„What’s this all about?“ Heather demanded, aware of Jake’s hard thigh casually touching hers under the table.

„Ruth and I are going to do you both a favor and take a three-month cruise while the two of you are settling down to married life and the business of running the Hacienda.“ He gave his wife an affectionate smile. „Ruth’s been very patient all these years. Now that we’re both going to have a lot more free time we’ll be doing a great deal of traveling. You and Jake won’t have to worry about having us hanging around the Hacienda all year long.“
 

„Don’t let Paul make you think he’s doing you any favors,“ Ruth said laughing. „He’s set a goal of playing all the major golf courses of the world. And he can’t wait to get started. Since I adore cruises we’ve agreed to compromise and cruise to the various islands and resorts where he wants to play golf.“