Three Weeks Last Spring (20 page)

Something primitive stirred deep within him.
Even though he didn't trust her, he still wanted her, damn it.
He tried to ignore the ache in his crotch, but failed.
One thing was certain being holed up with a hellcat for the next few days was going to be murder on his temper and libido.

S
h
e crossed the room, barely glancing in
hi
s direction.
Once in the kitchen, she set about making herself a sandwich.
Hi
s voice cut thro
ugh the air like a switchblade.

"If that's supper you're making, make enough for two.
I haven't eaten all day."

Skye slapped butter on two slices of bread and l
ayered it with cheese.
"You can
keep me here against my will, but I'm not your servant.
If you're hungry you know where the refrigerator is, you ca
n make your own damn sandwich."

She carried a plate in one hand and a glass of milk in the other, and settled down on the sofa as far away from Walker as possible.
She took a bite of her sandwich.
One mouthful told her it was
dry
.
Although it
was like chewing cardboard, she woul
d choke rather than admit it.
She picked up her glass, took a long swallow, and wondered what the prison sentence for murder would be, because if Walker didn't cut her some slack and soon, she was sure to find out.

Walker watched
Skye
with frank amusement.
She was madder than a rooster locked out of the henhouse.
Maybe keeping her out of the kitchen was a good idea.
It wouldn't surprise him if she weren't thinking about way
s to stick a knife in his back.

"Want some mayo on that?" Walker asked
.
"It might make it easier to chew."

Skye ignored him and took another bite.
He suppressed a laugh—knew he'd riled her.
No wonder she was still single.
It would take a strong man to handle her.
Under all that anger there was also a very passionate woman, and in different circumstances, he would have enjoyed the challenge of taming her
.
But he hated women who lied.

"You're going to regret keeping me here like this.
I'm not involved in your computer fraud, or anything else for that matter.
I'm here on vacation."

"We'v
e already had this conversation
and nothing you've said so far has convinced me that you're not tied up in this whole sorry mess.
Unless you've got something new to tell me—"

"Such as?"

"Such as the name of your contacts and who's responsible for dum
ping the chemicals in the water
around the islands."

"I don't know why I'm repeating myself again, but I'm going to.
I don't know what you're talking about."

"In that case, shut up and let me eat in peace."

"Bastard.
"

A satanic smile spread across his lips.
"There's no need to tell me what you think of me.
I have no delusions as to what your opinions are.
However, a lady shouldn't use such language."

"You make me sick."

"So you keep
saying
.
It won’t make any difference.
Now, I finish your milk like a good little girl and go to bed.
I'll be along shortly to tuck you in."

Skye stopped midway to the kitchen.
"There is no way I'm sleeping in the same bed as you."

"There's
no need to yell, I'm not deaf."

"No, just dumb,
"
Skye muttered under her breath as she slammed her plate and glass
down in the sink.

Skye stared at the expanse of the large bed and
thought about
the first night they'd made love.
Walker had been so tender that she could hardly believe he was the same hard stranger sitting in the next room.
She dragged a bla
nket and a pillow
from the top of the wardrobe
.

"The bed
's big enough for us to share."

Skye jumped, she spun round and glared at him with impassive coldness.
"I'm not going to—"

"You've made your feelings abundantly clear, as have I.
I won't try anything.
You have my word.
Now just get in the damned bed and go to sleep
.
"

Skye stared wordlessly.
She pressed both hands over her eyes
.
She was close to tears, but determinedly blinked them away.
It had been a long day, and arguing with the man who had gone from stranger to love
r to stranger again was futile.

"How can I trust y
ou, when you won't believe me?"

The softness in her voice made Walker feel as if he'd been hit in the guts.
The unwelcome tension between them stretched ever tighter until finally he
let out a long, audible breath.

"D
espite what you might think of me at this moment, I'm an
honorable
man.
I won't do anything to hurt you physically
.
I give you my word.
Now please, just get into bed."

For
a
millisecond
Skye
thought his attitude towards her might be softening, but
then he shattered the illusion.

"It's a pity you can't be as honest with me."
He shrugged his shoulders, sat down on the side of the bed and
pulled off his shoes and socks.

Skye stood by the side of the bed, unable to tear her gaze from Walker's profile as he unbuttoned his shirt.
When his hands went to the zipper on his jeans she felt the blood rush to her face.
His nearness evoked too many memories.
She retreated to the far side of the bed and turned back the covers.
The thing she most feared was that he should see the conf
usion in her
eyes
.

Walker became acutely aware of the sensuous woman sleeping in his arms.
Nothing prepared him for the intimate picture they presented and for
several
minutes he remained perfectly still, listening to the birds’ early morning chorus and attempting, albeit unsuccessfully, to bri
ng his breathing under control.

He lay on his back, the crumpled sheet riding low on his hips.
Skye
lay
in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.
Her rich auburn hair fanned out on his chest like a silken veil.
His left hand held the soft fullness of her breast through the thin fabric of her nightshirt, and
her
right leg rested intimately between his.

The birds weren't the only things stirring in the early dawn,
he
realize
d
, and if Skye were to move her leg so much as a whisker she
woul
d encounter something a lot harder than his thigh muscle.
Walker tried to
forget about the heat building inside him,
and
reminded himself that Skye had made her feelings about sharing a bed with him abundantly clear.
Given her state of mind last night, he had no doubt that if she were to wake now he'd probably end
up with her knee in his groin.

How ironic, they couldn't remain in the same room without arguing, and yet when they shared a bed their bodies gravitate
d
towards each other as if it they were born to be lovers.
Reluctantly he lifted his hand from Skye's breast.
She moaned softly, but didn't stir nor did she turn away from the heat of his body.
He
listened
to
her
rhythmic breathing
, and
remembered the three passionate nights they
ha
d shared, and wished his life hadn't completely and utterly
collapsed in the space of day.

Skye woke some time later and found herself alone in the large bed.
Of Walker there was no sign—even his clothes had gone.
For a brief moment
sh
e wondered if he'd relented and returned to wherever he lived.
She was congratulating herself on her new-found freedom, when she heard the sounds of
hi
s whistling
outside the window
.

Crestfallen, she sat on the side of the bed
, and
rest
ed
her head in her hands.
It was too much to hope that
he’
d had a change of mind.
At least he
ha
d kept his promise
.
She should be thankful for
that,
but
the prospect of another day holed up in the cabin with him filled her with apprehension and dread.

Twenty minutes later, showered and dressed
,
and feeling far less confident than she looked, Skye went in search of breakfast.
She carried her mug of coffee and a muffin from the kitchen, and stepped out of the cabin into
brilliant sunshine.

Walker's rich voice cut through the air.
"I see you've finally managed to drag yourself out of bed.
You've missed the best part of the morning."

Skye screwed her eyes up against the glare of the sun, and look at him as if he
ha
d just crawled out from under a rock.

"I think that depends on your point of view.
The less time I spend in your company the better as far as I'm concerned."

"So that's the way the wind blows."

"What do you expect?
Surely you don't think I
would
willing
ly
play happily families while you keep me here against my will?"

"I was hoping we could at least be civil towards each other, seeing how we're sharing a bed."

Skye looked at her coffee mug and considered the satisfaction she would get from throwing it at him.
"Go to hell, Walker."

"In due time I probabl
y will, but not before I see
you and your nasty friends put behind bars."

Skye didn't even dignify his statement with a reply.
Instead, she concentrated on eating her breakfast and on finding a way to get through the day without committing murder.
One thing was
certain;
if Walker continued
his
incessant tirade she was going to need a lawyer and a damn good one
.

"If you
release your stranglehold on th
at mug, I'll get you a refill."

He was right.
Her fingers were white where they gripped the mug.
What a pity it wasn’t his neck.
She handed
him
the empty mug.
Their fingers touched briefly and for one heart wrenching moment her body flooded with desire.
But then sense kicked in and she snatched her hand away.
Her desire dissolved into anger at the
realis
ation
, that despite
hi
s
harsh treatment, she still loved him.
The harder she tried to ignore the truth the more it persisted.
But, s
he had to keep her distance from him in order to retain her sanity.
And Walker was right—trading insults wasn't going to make her situation
any
more
bearable.

Skye
was
so lost in thought that when she opened her eyes, Walker
was
standing directly in front of her.
She took a steadying breath,
and accepted the mug he offered
.

"There's not much food. I haven't been grocery shopping in days.
Don't you think we ought to go into town to stock up?"

Walker snorted, not rising to the bait.
"Make a list.
I'll phone it through to the store and get them to deliver
the order
."

"Okay."

Now he was
confused, at the very least he expected her to argue with him
.
Instead, she
meekly agreed to his suggestion.
She surprised him further by rolling out one of the loungers from under the shade of the deck and taking
her coffee to drink in the sun.

Walker
wondered
what had brought about this change in Skye's
demeanor
.
He hadn’t
said or done to ingratiate himself into her good books, so what had made her accept his presence in the cabin?
After tying his brain up in knots for most of the morning and giving himself an even bigger headache, he decided that figuring out what Skye was up to was an impossible task.
He could live with a temporary truce, but he’d keep his wits about him all the same.

The next day followed a similar pattern, neither of them really talking to each other, but not arguing either.
Just after supper there was a knock at the door.

"Expecting someone?"

"No.
Are you?"

Walker shrugged his shoulders in response and
went to the
door.
He took the precaution of lifting a heavy walking stick from the stand
and then drew
back the bolt.
It never paid to be careless this late in a game.
He opened the door a few inches, and
gl
ared at the stranger standing on the step.
The guy looked about forty, and was dressed in designer jeans, turtle neck sweater and an expertly cut leather jacket.
He was roughly the same height as Walker although a few pounds heavier.
Walker relaxed his guard; the man's hands
were in plain sight, and empty.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but I'm looking for 8971 Roche
Harbor
Road and think I may have—"

"You've found it," Walker interrupted.

"Then who are you?"

Walker's eyes narrowed.
"I mi
ght ask you the same question."

The stranger stood his ground and returned Walker's close scrutin
y with a hard stare of his own.

Skye hadn't taken much notice of the mumbled voices at the door, but as the conversation progressed, one voice in p
articular held a familiar ring.

"John?
John, is that you?"
Skye dropped her book and ran to t
he open doorway.

"Sweet Pea?
"

Sweet Pea?
Walker’s brows slanted in a frown.
Was he talking about Skye?
Sweet Pea couldn't be the same woman who
woul
d sooner scratch his eyes than offer him a cup of coffee?
And this guy certainly didn't look like someone involved in illegal dumping.
In fact he looked more like a college professor, but then appearances could be deceptive.
But
…Sweet Pea?

His grip on the walking stick tightened.
He turned to
Skye.
"Do you know this guy?"

"Yes, he's my business partner, you overgrown moron!
A
re you going to keep him standing there all night, or are you going to let him in so that we can clear up this mess?"

Walker stepped aside and allowed the stranger to enter.
He made sure the man saw the h
efty walking stick.

"I've been wondering when
someone
show up.
Take a seat on the sofa where I can see you, and no funny business.
I'm not averse to using this while we wait for the cops to arrive."

John looked at Walker and then at Skye and wondered what
he
ha
d walked into
.
Cops?
Waiting for him?
Until twelve hours ago, he didn't t even know he was going to traipse six thousand miles to visit Skye.
W
hat the heck wa
s going and who was this idiot?

Skye threw herself into his arms and hugged him with desperation.
He held her at arm’s length and looked her up and down.
She looked bad—exhausted and there were dark circles under her eyes.
The similarity was unca
nny, just like she had when she ha
d returned from seeing Michael.

"Are you all right, Sweet Pea?
This, th
is ape hasn't hurt you has he?"

Skye was close to tears.
"I'm fine, just a little tired.
But what are you doing here?
Shouldn't you be in the office testing?"

"When I didn't hear from you for a couple of days I got worried and decided I was being unfair asking you to spend the last few says of your
vacation
sorting out this bug.
Debbie gave me the address.
I
caught the
first available
flight
to Seattle.
I had to hang around for a while for the connection to Friday Harbor, but I managed to get a seat on the last plane in."

"Whatever your reasons are, I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you, John."

Walker
cleared his throat.

"Well isn't this co
z
y?
Skye, why don't you
introduce your friend
, and then we'll get down to discussing why you and your
associate
are hacking into my computer for starters?"
He nodded his head in John's direction.
"And desp
ite who she tells me you are, I want to see some identification
."

John kept a protective arm around Skye, and walked her over to the sofa.
He sat down, keeping her close by his side.
"
I do
n't know who
you are
,
but
if
you’ve
laid so much as a finger on Skye,
I’ll
personally see that
you walk
with a limp for the rest of
your
life.
"