Desert Rain (22 page)

Holly awoke before her alarm went off.

It was always like that when she was working. She hated the alarm so much that she had
developed a mental alarm clock that went off early, just to avoid the mechanical one.

Gently she eased out from under Lincs arm and pushed in the alarm button on the clock.
Except for the golden glow of a nightlight across the room, it was dark.

Linc muttered and moved restlessly, seeking Holly even in his sleep. She slipped beneath
his arm again. Still sleeping, he gathered her against his body and sighed deeply.

Holly savored the stolen moments of his warmth. She enjoyed the weight of his arm wrapped
around her hips. She delighted in the smell and texture of his skin. She loved the taste
of him on her lips and the feel of him against her body.

She even liked having her nose tickled by the dark hair on his chest.

The clock ticked its unhappy reminder of time flying by, when all Holly wanted was for
time to be as still as she was. She knew she should get out of bed right now. There was
barely time to do her exercises, shower, wash and set her hair, check her nails . . . all
the endless, time-consuming things that came with the territory called modeling.

But she had missed Linc too much to leave him easily now. I love you, she whispered. The
words were a bare thread of sound in the silence. They were answered by silence alone.

She hadnt expected anything else. Even if he had been awake, he wouldnt have said what she
longed to hear.

I love you.

Uneasiness twisted through Holly, cold fingernails of fear that she couldnt ignore.

During the night Linc had made love to her repeatedly. He had touched her deeply, teaching
her to respond to the siren call of his potent body. Each time had been better for her, a
sensual progression that finally had consumed them both.

He had given her the most intense pleasure imaginable. And then he had doubled it, showing
her the limitations of her own imagination with each sweet movement of his body over hers.

There had been no end to her wanting.

Or his.

Even now Holly wanted Linc with an intensity that frightened her. He had become as
necessary to her as her eyes or her hands or her heart.

Yet he could leave so suddenly, so completely, a shadow diving beneath an incandescent sea.

When she thought of it, she felt vulnerable.

No. Face it, she told herself bluntly.Im scared.

It was like being alone in a desert storm with lightning raining down, lightning striking
closer to her each time...

And the only shelter around was locked and bolted against her.

If Linc loved me, it wouldnt matter that he is sinking into me, becoming a part of me all
the way to my soul.

If Linc loved me, he would cherish and protect me from my own vulnerability to him. If
Linc loved me, he would open the door to himself and not lock it again until I was safe
inside. If he loved me . . . But he didnt.

It wasnt merely the words he didnt say that warned Holly. For all his passionate
intensity, for all his consummate skill in touching her, the laughter and gentle caring
they had shared with one another at Hidden Springs was gone.

He never called hernin‡. He hadnt since he had learned that she was Shannon.

Holly gave herself to Linc, mind and body and soul. In return he gave her . . . pleasure.

Body without mind or soul.

He hid from her behind a physical fire that grew hotter each time they made love.

They were being consumed, not renewed.

Yet she couldnt stop wanting him. She loved him. She needed to assure him that it was safe
to love her. She could never hurt him. He was part of her soul.

Surely he must know that,Holly thought.Surely he must realize that I couldnt respond to
him with such abandon if I didnt love him.

Surely he couldnt respond to me so completely if he didnt love me.

Just a little.

A beginning, not an end.

The clock ticked, marking off dark minutes. Each tick was a needle pricking her
conscience. She really had to get to work.

Slowly Holly lifted Lincs arm from her body and eased out of bed. She pulled on the first
piece of clothing she foundhis shirtand began her morning exercises.

Quietly, relentlessly, she stretched, strengthened, and toned muscles. The exercises were
for her own satisfaction as well as for the cameras relentlessly critical eye.

She was nearly finished when Linc rolled over, opened his eyes, and looked at her in
disbelief. Good God, its not even dawn, he said, groaning. What in hell are you doing up?
Welcome tothe glamorous worldof models, Holly said between sit-ups.

He sat up and turned on the small bedside light. He stared at her damp, flushed face.
Fifty-four, Holly said aloud. Fifty-five. She lay back with a small groan. Finished? Linc
asked.

Dont Iwish, she panted. With that, she rolled onto her stomach and began doing pushups,
counting under her breath. All that for a beautiful body? he asked neutrally.
Ahealthybody. For several minutes there was nothing but the sound of Holly counting off
pushups.

Linc watched her with increasing astonishment. For the first time he realized that Hollys
sleek, resilient body hadnt just come to her along with her bone structure and tilted
golden eyes. Her grace of movement was the result of training and hard work.

Boring exercises, to be precise.

Finally she sighed and switched to a cross-legged position. Slowly she bent over her knees
until her forehead touched the floor. She repeated the exercise several times, holding the
stretched position longer each time.

Which is worse, Linc asked finally, the sit-ups, the pushups, or the forehead-on-the-floor?

Yes.

For a moment he looked puzzled. Then he laughed aloud as he understood.

Holly stopped and stared at Linc. It was the first genuine laughter she had heard from him
since he had found out she was HollyShannon North.

With a smile and a new lightness of heart, she resumed the stretching exercises. She had
chosen each one of them so that she would be able to execute and maintain improbable poses
for impossible photographers.

While looking effortless and graceful, of course.

With a growing sensual glint to his eyes, Linc watched his shirt ride higher and higher up
Hollys thighs as she worked out.

I can think of more pleasant ways to exercise, he said huskily. So can I.

She gave him a sidelong glance and a smile that he returned almost lazily. Yet the look in
his eyes was anything but lazy.

Thats why Im going to take a shower next, Holly added. Why? Why do you think? she
retorted. Im sweaty. Lincs smile changed, as hot as the gleam in his eyes.

You were sweaty last night, he pointed out. I loved licking every bit of it off your skin.
Everywhere. Her heartbeat quickened. She couldnt control a shiver of desire as she
remembered. Linc... Im right here.

Naked, he climbed out of the bed and came toward her. With each easy movement he made,
muscles shifted and gleamed under his skin. His arousal was obvious.

Once it would have frightened Holly. Now it set her on fire. She knew what kind of ecstasy
waited for her in Lincs embrace.

Silently he sat cross-legged on the floor facing her. He was so close that their knees
rubbed and her hair fell across his thighs when she bent over to stretch.

Then she looked up at him. His expression made a liquid heat bloom deep within her body.
Long masculine fingers began undoing the buttons on the shirt she had borrowed.

I have to shower, do my hair, and get to the set, Holly said. Her voice was breathless
from more than her exercise. When? Linc asked, unbuttoning as he spoke. I should be in the
shower right now.

The shirt fell away, revealing the golden curves of her breasts. Her nipples were already
hard with desire.

His fingertips touched the taut pink buds as delicately as a kiss. The sound Holly made at
his caress sent a shaft of pure fire through him. His hard flesh leaped visibly.

The obvious hunger of his body sent a wave of glittering heat throughout Holly.

He caressed her nipples again, savoring her throaty cries. Finally his palms moved over
her waist and hips, hungry for the soft, sleek textures of her very core.

When his fingers glided up her thighs to caress her intimately, her passion spilled over
him like liquid fire.

Abruptly Lincs breathing was as ragged as Hollys. His caress slid inside her with an ease
that made his whole body go rigid. He moved within her, stroking her with slow rhythms
that unraveled her.

The sultry pulses of her response brought him right up to the edge of his control. You
want me as much as I want you, Linc said roughly. You sound surprised. He didnt answer.

Ill always want you, Linc. I love you. Come sit in my lap. But Im late. He lifted her legs
over his. His thumb rubbed the hard bud of her passion. She gasped at the wave of pleasure
that bit into her.

Linc

It wont take long, he said. Youre as hot as I am. You can shower afterward.

Holly arched and shivered as he plucked at her most sensitive flesh, his fingers slick
with her helpless response.

We were supposed to talk, she said.

We will.

Linc lifted her hips. Then he held her so that she just brushed against his heavily
aroused flesh. The knowledge of how close they both were to completion made Holly moan.

When will we talk? she gasped.

Tomorrow.

But

Shhh. You want this as much as I do. And you can feel how much I want you now, cant you?

Slowly Linc fitted Holly over him like a living glove. Whatever words she might have
wanted to speak were lost in a kiss as deep and hot as the joining of their bodies.

With a low moan, she began moving over him, giving herself to him and to the incandescent
pleasure they created together.

Tomorrow,Holly promised herself as the first wave of ecstasy hit her, shaking her.Well
talk tomorrow.

All right, thats a wrap! called the director through his bullhorn. Then he looked at
Roger. The designer was standing nearby, elegant in a sage-colored safari shirt. Unless
you want to try a few takes for Desert Designs . . . ? the director asked. The Desert
Designs campaign isnt due for six weeks. Lets not be greedy. Why not? Its going well. At
last.

Though neither man said anything, both knew the shoot had been going well for the last
four days because Hollys lover was there with her. Whatever passed between them had given
her both a radiance and an edge of shadow that had transformed her from a beautiful model
to a compelling woman.

Broodingly Roger watched Holly as she sat in the shade of a huge umbrella, rubbing a cold
bottle of water against her wrists.

Just for the rest of the day? the director asked. No. But

With the edge of that hurricane finally moving in, Roger interrupted, the sky doesnt make
a very convincing desert backdrop. It will be too hard to match with whatever we shoot
later at Hidden Springs.

He turned to his assistant.

Break out the peppermints, Roger said clearly.

A subdued cheer went up from everyone within hearing.

Holly tried not to show her acute relief. If Roger was passing out mints, the shoot was
over. It was a Royce tradition.

She accepted the first mint, smiled at the crew and left the set feeling as though a train
had run over her. They had been working for nine straight days. Every muscle in her body
ached.

At least Roger hadnt been complaining about the fit of her clothes anymore. Her appetite
had returned with Linc and had stayed, as he had stayed.

She looked beyond the roped-off area, seeking Linc.

Almost all the spectators were gone, swept back to their distant homes by hurricane
warnings. Linc was not among the few people left beyond the rope.

Fear shot coldly through Holly. She searched for him with a growing sense of panic.

Surely he hasnt left without saying goodbye to me?

When she heard her own thoughts, the depth of her own uncertainty and vulnerability
shocked her.

In the last four days Linc had been very much a part of her life. He had been civil to
Roger and charming to the rest of the people.

Linc had watched her work, beginning before dawn and not stopping until the last light
left the sky. If he didnt understand something about her work, he had asked for
explanations later.

And he had listened, really listened, when she answered.

Hollys hope had increased with each question, each answer, each time she looked up and saw
Linc watching the intricate dance of director and model, camera and lighting technicians,
makeup and hair stylist and seamstresses and all the thousands of details that went into a
professional shoot.

She had told herself that he was finally coming to understand how little the reality of
modeling had to do with irresponsible, amoral women like his mother and stepmother.

With each day, Holly had told herself that he was coming to appreciate the amount of
talent and training and plain hard work that went into her career. She had allowed herself
to believe he was changing his mind, outgrowing the past.

But her panic when she didnt see Linc waiting beyond the ropes told her how fragile her
hopes really were. Deep inside she was haunted by the knowledge that each moment with him
could be the last.

He doesnt believe I love him, because he still believes beautiful women are too selfish to
love anyone but themselves.

Linc doesnt love me . . . yet.

There was a universe of hope in that single word.

Yet.

As long as were together, she told herself,I have a chance to make him believe that I love
him.

It wasnt the first time Holly had reassured herself when fear of losing Linc sent shadows
over the radiance of being with him.