Risky Business (15 page)

When he was inside of her she thought it was all, and more, than she could ever want. If this was love, she'd never tasted it. If this was passion, she'd only skimmed its surface. Now it was time to risk the depths. Willing, eager, she held on to him.

It was trust he felt from her, and trust that moved him unbearably. He thought he'd needed before, desired before, but never so completely. Though he knew what it was to be part of another person, he'd never expected to feel the merger again. Strong, complex, unavoidable, the emotion swamped him. He belonged to her as fully as he'd wanted her to belong to him.

He took her slowly, so that the thrill that coursed through her seemed endless. His skin was moist when she pressed her lips to his throat. The pulse there was as quick as her own. A giddy sense of triumph moved through her, only to be whipped away with passion before it could spread.

Then he drew her up to him, and her body, liquid and limber with emotion, rose like a wave to press against his. Wrapped close, mouths fused, they moved together. Her hair fell like rain down her back. She could feel his heartbeat fast against her breast.

Still joined, they lowered again. The rhythm quickened. Desperation rose. She heard him breathe her name before the gates burst open and she was lost in the flood.

S
he woke slowly, with a long, lazy stretch. Keeping her eyes closed, Liz waited for the alarm to ring. It wasn't often she felt so relaxed, even when waking, so she pampered herself and absorbed the luxury of doing nothing. In an hour, she mused, she'd be at the dive shop shifting through the day's schedule. The glass bottom, she thought, frowning a little. Was she supposed to take it out? Odd that she couldn't remember. Then with a start, it occurred to her that she didn't remember because she didn't know. She hadn't handled the schedule in two days. And last night…

She opened her eyes and looked into Jonas's.

“I could watch your mind wake up.” He bent over and kissed her. “Fascinating.”

Liz closed her fingers over the sheet and tugged it a little higher. What was she supposed to say? She'd never spent the night with a man, never awoken with one. She cleared her throat and wondered if every man awoke as sexily disheveled as Jonas Sharpe. “How did you sleep?” she managed, and felt ridiculous.

“Fine.” He smiled as he brushed her hair from her cheek with a fingertip. “And you?”

“Fine.” Her fingers moved restlessly on the sheet until he closed his hands over them. His eyes were warm and heavy and made her heart pound.

“It's a little late to be nervous around me, Elizabeth.”

“I'm not nervous.” But color rose to her cheeks when he pressed his lips to her naked shoulder.

“Still, it's rather flattering. If you're nervous…” He turned his head so the tip of his tongue could toy with her ear. “Then you're not unmoved. I wouldn't like to think you felt casually about being with me—yet.”

Was it possible to want so much this morning what she'd sated herself with the night before? She didn't think it should be, and yet her body told her differently. She would, as she always did, listen to her intellect first. “It must be almost time to get up.” One hand firmly on the sheets, she rose on her elbows to look at the clock. “That's not right.” She blinked and focused again. “It can't be eight-fifteen.”

“Why not?” He slipped a hand beneath the sheet and stroked her thigh.

“Because.” His touch had her pulses speeding. “I always set it for six-fifteen.”

Finding her a challenge, Jonas brushed light kisses over her shoulder, down her arm. “You didn't set it last night.”

“I always—” She cut herself off. It was hard enough to try to think when he was touching her, but when she remembered the night before, it was nearly impossible to understand why she had to think. Her mind hadn't been on alarms and schedules and customers when her body had curled into Jonas's to sleep. Her mind, as it was now, had been filled with him.

“Always what?”

She wished he wouldn't distract her with fingertips sliding
gently over her skin. She wished he could touch her everywhere at once. “I always wake up at six, whether I set it or not.”

“You didn't this time.” He laughed as he eased her back down. “I suppose I should be flattered again.”

“Maybe I flatter you too much,” she murmured and started to shift away. He simply rolled her back to him. “I have to get up.”

“No, you don't.”

“Jonas, I'm already late. I have to get to work.”

Sunlight dappled over her face. He wanted to see it over the rest of her. “The only thing you have to do is make love with me.” He kissed her fingers, then slowly drew them from the sheet. “I'll never get through the day without you.”

“The boats—”

“Are already out, I'm sure.” He cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the nipple. “Luis seems competent.”

“He is. I haven't been in for two days.”

“One more won't hurt.”

Her body vibrated with need that slowly wound itself into her mind. Her arms came up to him, around him. “No, I guess it won't.”

 

She hadn't stayed in bed until ten o'clock since she'd been a child. Liz felt as irresponsible as one as she started the coffee. True, Luis could handle the shop and the boats as well as she, but it wasn't his job. It was hers. Here she was, brewing coffee at ten o'clock, with her body still warm from loving. Nothing had been the same since Jonas Sharpe had arrived on her doorstep.

“It's useless to give yourself a hard time for taking a morning off,” Jonas said from behind her.

Liz popped bread into the toaster. “I suppose not, since I don't even know today's schedule.”

“Liz.” Jonas took her by the arms and firmly turned her around. He studied her, gauging her mood before he spoke. “You know, back in Philadelphia I'm considered a workaholic. I've had friends express concern over the workload I take on and the hours I put in. Compared to you, I'm retired.”

Her brows drew together as they did when she was concentrating. Or annoyed. “We each do what we have to do.”

“True enough. It appears what I have to do is harass you until you relax.”

She had to smile. He said it so reasonably and his eyes were laughing. “I'm sure you have a reputation for being an expert on harassment.”

“I majored in it at college.”

“Good for you. But I'm an expert at budgeting my own time. And there's my toast.” He let her pluck it out, waited until she'd buttered it, then took a piece for himself.

“You mentioned diving lessons.”

She was still frowning at him when she heard the coffee begin to simmer. She reached for one cup, then relented and took two. “What about them?”

“I'll take one. Today.”

“Today?” She handed him his coffee, drinking her own standing by the stove. “I'll have to see what's scheduled. The way things have been going, both dive boats should already be out.”

“Not a group lesson, a private one. You can take me out on the
Expatriate.
”

“Luis usually takes care of the private lessons.”

He smiled at her. “I prefer dealing with the management.”

Liz dusted crumbs from her fingers. “All right then. It'll cost you.”

He lifted his cup in salute. “I never doubted it.”

 

Liz was laughing when Jonas pulled into a narrow parking space at the hotel. “If he'd picked your pocket, why did you defend him?”

“Everyone's entitled to representation,” Jonas reminded her. “Besides, I figured if I took him on as a client, he'd leave my wallet alone.”

“And did he?”

“Yeah.” Jonas took her hand as they crossed the sidewalk to the sand. “He stole my watch instead.”

She giggled, a foolish, girlish sound he'd never heard from her. “And did you get him off?”

“Two years probation. There, it looks like business is good.”

Liz shielded her eyes from the sun and looked toward the shop. Luis was busily fitting two couples with snorkel gear. A glance to the left showed her only the
Expatriate
remained in dock. “Cozumel's becoming very popular,” she murmured.

“Isn't that the idea?”

“For business?” She moved her shoulders. “I'd be a fool to complain.”

“But?”

“But sometimes I think it would be nice if I could block out the changes. I don't want to see the water choked with suntan oil.
Hola,
Luis.”

“Liz!” His gaze passed over Jonas briefly before he grinned at her. “We thought maybe you deserted us. How did you like Acapulco?”

“It was…different,” she decided, and was already scooting behind the counter to find the daily schedule. “Any problems?”

“Jose took care of a couple repairs. I brought Miguel back to fill in, but I keep an eye on him. Got this—what do you call
it—brochure on the aqua bikes.” He pulled out a colorful pamphlet, but Liz only nodded.

“The Brinkman party's out diving. Did we take them to Palancar?”

“Two days in a row. Miguel likes them. They tip good.”

“Hmm. You're handling the shop alone.”

“No problem. Hey, there was a guy.” He screwed up his face as he tried to remember the name. “Skinny guy, American. You know the one you took out on the beginners' trip?”

She flipped through the receipts and was satisfied. “Trydent?”

“
Sí,
that was it. He came by a coupla times.”

“Rent anything?”

“No.” Luis wiggled his eyebrows at her. “He was looking for you.”

Liz shrugged it off. If he hadn't rented anything, he didn't interest her. “If everything's under control here, I'm going to take Mr. Sharpe out for a diving lesson.”

Luis looked quickly at Jonas, then away. The man made him uneasy, but Liz looked happier than she had in weeks. “Want me to get the gear?”

“No, I'll take care of it.” She looked up and smiled at Jonas. “Write Mr. Sharpe up a rental form and give him a receipt for the gear, the lesson and the boat trip. Since it's…” She trailed off as she checked her watch. “Nearly eleven, give him the half-day rate.”

“You're all heart,” Jonas murmured as she went to the shelves to choose his equipment.

“You got the best teacher,” Luis told him, but couldn't manage more than another quick look at Jonas.

“I'm sure you're right.” Idly, Jonas swiveled the newspaper Luis had tossed on the counter around to face him. He missed being able to sit down with the morning paper over coffee. The
Spanish headlines told him nothing. “Anything going on I should know about?” Jonas asked, indicating the paper.

Luis relaxed a bit as he wrote. Jonas's voice wasn't so much like Jerry's when you weren't looking at him. “Haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Busy morning.”

Going with habit, Jonas turned the paper over. There, in a faded black-and-white picture, was Erika. Jonas's fingers tightened. He glanced back and saw that Liz was busy, her back to him. Without a word, he slid the paper over the receipt Luis was writing.

“Hey, that's the—”

“I know,” Jonas said in an undertone. “What does it say?”

Luis bent over the paper to read. He straightened again very slowly, and his face was ashen. “Dead,” he whispered. “She's dead.”

“How?”

Luis's fingers opened and closed on the pen he held. “Stabbed.”

Jonas thought of the knife held at Liz's throat. “When?”

“Last night.” Luis had to swallow twice. “They found her last night.”

“Jonas,” Liz called from the back, “how much do you weigh?”

Keeping his eyes on Luis, Jonas turned the paper over again. “One seventy. She doesn't need to hear this now,” he added under his breath. He pulled bills from his wallet and laid them on the counter. “Finish writing the receipt.”

After a struggle, Luis mastered his own fear and straightened. “I don't want anything to happen to Liz.”

Jonas met the look with a challenge that held for several humming seconds before he relaxed. The smaller man was terrified, but he was thinking of Liz. “Neither do I. I'm going to see nothing does.”

“You brought trouble.”

“I know.” His gaze shifted beyond Luis to Liz. “But if I leave, the trouble doesn't.”

For the first time, Luis forced himself to study Jonas's face. After a moment, he blew out a long breath. “I liked your brother, but I think it was him who brought trouble.”

“It doesn't matter anymore who brought it. I'm going to look out for her.”

“Then you look good,” Luis warned softly. “You look real good.”

“First lesson,” Liz said as she unlocked her storage closet. “Each diver carries and is responsible for his own gear.” She jerked her head back to where Jonas's was stacked. With a last look at Luis, he walked through the doorway to gather it up.

“Preparing for a dive is twice as much work as diving itself,” she began as she hefted her tanks. “It's a good thing it's worth it. We'll be back before sundown, Luis.
Hasta luego.
”

“Liz.” She stopped, turning back to where Luis hovered in the doorway. His gaze passed over Jonas, then returned to her.
“Hasta luego,”
he managed, and closed his fingers over the medal he wore around his neck.

The moment she was on board, Liz restacked her gear. As a matter of routine, she checked all the
Expatriate
's gauges. “Can you cast off?” she asked Jonas.

He ran a hand down her hair, surprising her. She looked so competent, so in charge. He wondered if by staying close he was protecting or endangering. It was becoming vital to believe the first. “I can handle it.”

She felt her stomach flutter as he continued to stare at her. “Then you'd better stop looking at me and do it.”

“I like looking at you.” He drew her close, just to hold her. “I could spend years looking at you.”

Her arms came up, hesitated, then dropped back to her
sides. It would be so easy to believe. To trust again, give again, be hurt again. She wanted to tell him of the love growing inside her, spreading and strengthening with each moment. But if she told him she'd no longer have even the illusion of control. Without control, she was defenseless.

“I clocked you on at eleven,” she said, but couldn't resist breathing deeply of his scent and committing it to memory.

Because she made him smile again, he drew her back. “I'm paying the bill, I'll worry about the time.”

“Diving lesson,” she reminded him. “And you can't dive until you cast off.”

“Aye, aye, sir.” But he gave her a hard, breath-stealing kiss before he jumped back on the dock.

Liz drew air into her lungs and let it out slowly before she turned on the engines. All she could hope was that she looked more in control than she felt. He was winning a battle, she mused, that he didn't even know he was fighting. She waited for Jonas to join her again before she eased the throttle forward.