Speak to the Wind (10 page)

"Not now. You're in Mexic
o. That job can wait until man
ana." He waved her toward
the cozy seating area that con
sisted of a small sofa and two chairs flanking a low wooden table.

“I’l
l need to unpack them before we can go to work."

"There's plenty of time for that. Come on and relax now. The coffee and pastry will
be here soon. We can unpack to
morrow. I
’
ll be glad to help you." He didn't want her to feel pressured into working right away. It was the only way he could make up for the day's inconveniences.

"Joe, are we the only ones here
?
"

"For now, yes."

She walked slowly toward where he sat. "You mean you don't have anyone in your, uh, camp? No one came with you to work on political moves or the campaign or.. .anything?"

"My brother, Josh, is coming down in a week or so. Does it bother you that we're alone
?
"

Her eyes met his. "No..." Even though she denied it, there was doubt in her tone.
“Not really.”

"I came down here to get a
way before the push of the elec
tion. And to concentrate on our work together. I thought you understood that, Maria."

She sat down opposite him, her hands in her lap. They were alone in Mexico. It hadn't occurred to her that they'd be completely alone here or how she'd feel about it. This training session was very priv
ate, indeed. In fact, it was be
ginning to look more and more like a rendezvous. "But we are going to work—"

"Absolutely! But
later
. I figured you'd need a little time to rest after arrival. Tomorrow will be soon enough. And even then I hope it won't be a big push. We're in Mexico, remember. Everything's
laid
back here."

Maria smiled, vaguely thinking that concentrating on work with him would take some doing on her part. "Of course."

"In case you're wondering, I'm staying in the next casita," he said, motioning with his
thumb. "But there'll be no prob
lem with privacy, if that's a worry. Our doors don't join. We
’
ll have to hike over the sand to get together, uh, to meet for work." He nodded toward her bedroom. "Did you look around
?
Does the place meet your standards?"

"Oh, yes. It's very nice."

"I figured a casita with a kitchen would come in handy. That way, we, er, you can fix some meals. But my campaign will pick up the tab, whether you eat here or out."

"That's fine."

He leaned back. "Relax, Maria. You've had a tense day, but you're here now and everything's okay. Mexico's a good place for unwinding. It's a state of mind, so they say."

Maria sighed. "
Yes,
a long day." He was right. She was tense and it always showed. Some of her Speechcraft strategy was to teach clients how to release their tension. She
wasn't very good at practicing what she preached. At least not today.

Looking at Joe, she wondered if he even needed a lesson. He was so damned magnificent sitting there on that sofa with his arm stretched across the back of the empty seat next to him. He looked very relaxed, she admitted privately. How she'd like to curl up beside him in the shelter of his arm.

Her expression softened as she
began to relax
. She
took a deep breath,
leaned back and crossed her legs, then noticed her wet shoes and sat upright again. How could she have forgotten them? She'd have to blame her preoccupation with her newest client. "Oh, damn
!
Look at my new shoes
!
They're soaked! I
’
ll bet they're ruined."

“
Take them off so they
can dry. Maybe we can get some
one around here to work o
n them." He leaned over and eas
ily tugged one high heel off, then wrapped both large hands around her damp, cold foot. "Your foot's like ice."

Her mouth went dry. "Your hands are warm." A cocoon of heat from his hands embraced her foot immediately, and a tingle of electricity raced up her spine. "Ohhh, nice..." Her breath caught in her throat as energy radiated from him to her miserable foot and up her leg. His action left her rattled, and her own sudden reacti
on to his erotic touch was star
tling. She hadn't been shaken like this since
her days with Wayne,
and it was unnerving. Yet she couldn't move away.

"You'll get sick sitting around wit
h cold
, wet
feet," he ad
monishe
d in a gently commanding tone. “Let’s t
ake your other shoe off. Come on, give me your foot."

Obligingly she switched legs so that he could remove her other shoe, which he did after tucking the shoeless foot next to his thigh.

"Doesn't that feel better?"
He had stripped off the offend
ing shoe and was massaging the toes and arch of her chilled foot. "Move it around. Get some circulation going
for warmth
."

Maria took a shaky breath and wiggled her toes. Her foot began to tingle. "Yes... yes, it feels much better."

While
one large hand cupped her heel
, the other rubbed every inch of her slick,
stocking
foot. It was heavenly. As the feeling
s in her foot
returned, she became aware of the strength and heat of his muscled thigh
, where the other foot was snug
gled. For a wild moment she had an intense longing to inch that foot
further up
his muscular leg.

She leaned back again and tried to breathe normally while his hands manipulated first one foot, then the other. It was seductive and she was all too receptive.

"How's that?"

"Wonderful." She struggle
d to maintain a sensible conver
sation as the tingling sensations crept up both legs. "I waded through ankle-deep water
at
the airport."

“
Too bad they didn't have jet bridges straight from the plane to the terminal to keep you dry." His fingers circled her ankle and pushed up toward her calf.

She swallowed hard. "Actually, sometimes I think we're spoiled in the city with everything so convenient. That's one reason I like to go to the mountains occasionally. It's good to get back to the basics. Makes you appreciate everything more."

His dark eyes smoldered with passion as he continued to hold her feet in a cozy bundl
e. "Sometimes it can be refresh
ing. Other times, terribly ha
rsh. Like now. I wanted the ca
sualness of Mexico. And the sunny beaches. But I hadn't planned on
this
rain."

His palm pressed the length of her foot, and the pressure spiraled to her rapidly pulsing heart. "What had you planned on, Joe?"

"I wanted it
to be
special for you.
And nice.
"

“
It is-"

The moment was shattered by a knock on the door.

Maria was torn between wanting his ministrations to end quickly and a wild yearning to scoot closer to him. No, it had to end. They were there to work.

"Must be room service," J
oe muttered, reluctantly releas
ing her feet. "Do you have some warm slippers
?
"

She chuckled.
“Some
huge yellow fluffy things
that
ma
k
e
my
feet look like Big Bird's. They're not very glamorous."

"Are they warm?"

She nodded, thinking nothing could possibly be as toasty as his hands on her feet. "They're fuzzy inside."

"Get them, then. I don't care about glamorous. How does coffee sound right now
?
"

"Like heaven." Maria scurried across the cold tile to find her slippers while Joe answered the door. She'd lied. His hands were like heaven; coffee was a poor substitute.

He set the tray on the table between them and poured them each a cup of coffee. Soon they were hungrily munching the various types of sweet rolls and sipping cheese soup.

“
It's great, Joe. Every bite is delicious. I didn't realize how hungry I was."

“
This is more like it." He
helped himself to another gold
en
baked, fruit-filled empanada. “
This is what I had in mind for you. For us.
To enjoy.
"

“J
oe." Maria's brown eyes met his with a sudden intensity.

"Yes
?
" He took a bite of the fruit pastry.

"You set this up, didn't you?"

He finished chewing. "Hmm
?
"

"You know what I'm tal
king about. This... this rendez
vous in Mexico. It was your idea for us to be alone, wasn't it?"

"How else could I get you to make me over and turn me into an orator?"

"We didn't have to come to Mexico for that. I thought I was here to do a job."

"You are. So am I. Look, Maria. There was no other way. Don't you see that?"

"No other way
?
"

"Of getting to know you and still accomplish my goals."

She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Somehow I feel I'm one of those goals."

He sat forward and leaned his elbows on his knees. "Not so. I hired you to help me accomplish something bigger than either of us. If you don't feel that way about my challenge, maybe we'd better get it straight now."

She watched the intensity grow in his ebony eyes. "Frankly, Joe, I think you can do wha
tever you want to, with or with
out me."

"Maybe. But I'd rather not. I happen to think you can help me where I'm weak."

"Weak? You, Joe?"

"We all have our weaknesses. One of mine is in the area you know so well. Public communications.
My
other
weakness
happens to be you, Maria Eden. I think... you're beautiful." He pushed himself away from their coz
y setting and walked to the win
dow, which was dark by now. "I'm only human."

"So am I," she responded quietly. "Joe, you realize this could be dangerous, mixing business and our personal lives."

“
It could be." He turned his head and gazed steadily at her, his eyes demanding an answer. "Can you deny that you feel anything when you're with me?"

Her eyes met his, and she knew she had to be honest with him. There was no other way with
Joe. "No denials.
"

His sigh of relief was
barely audible. "Good start."

She shook her head. "Risky business."

"Even if there are no obligations beyon
d our business to
gether? And no demands, I promise. Volunteers only."

She looked at him doubtfully, then a smile slowly spread across her face. "Volunteers?"

His
expression was quite serious. “
Two volunteers. One won't do. Not for me, Maria.
We both have to agree to. . . whatever happens between us.
"

"
Sounds fair
."

He smiled and seemed relieved. He walked back to where she sat and poured more coffee. "Let's get one thing straight, Maria. I need you. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I need what you can teach me. I'm looking forward to it. I hope you are, too."

"I am." Her voice was low and somewhat strained after their exchange. "That's why I came here in the first place. I was intrigued with the nature of the job as well as the client."

He smiled and rose again. "I'm going to leave and let you get settled and warm. I recommend a hot bath." He picked up her wretched pink shoe
s, suspending them from two fin
gers. "I'll see what I can do about these."

"Thanks." She stood and approached him slowly. "Just volunteers, right
?
"

He nodded. As she drew closer, he could feel her presence closing around him. And he
had to fight to keep from pull
ing her into his arms. "Right."

She reached out and touched his arm. Then she went up on her
tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “
Tomorrow we work.
Then we’ll see what happens.
"

"
Okay
." He bent forward and caressed her lips lightly with his, fighting all the whil
e
to keep from hauling her against him and devouring her with his desire. As he moved away, his eyes met hers, barely concealing the passion he held in tight control. "
Buena
s
noches, Maria."