Desert Rain (23 page)

When he believes in my love, hell finally be able to let go of the past. Hell be able to
love me in return.

Even as she repeated the hopeful thought, she shivered with a chill that never left her
unless she was in Lincs arms, their bodies locked together, fused into a single being by
ecstasy.

At the very least,she told herself,he will no longer hate and or distrust women simply
because theyre beautiful.

Like me.

Because Linc finally knew just how beautiful Holly was.

She saw it in his eyes if she turned unexpectedlyshadows that matched her own. Questions.
Uncertainty.

Fear.

Like me.

Until he trusted her, she would live in fear of losing all that she had given to him.

Heart and body and soul.

Its early, she told herself firmly.He probably doesnt know were finished with the shoot
yet.

Hes probably back in our room or in the pool or the ocean or . . .

Be here, Linc. Believe in me.

In us.

All but running, Holly went to the dressing tent. She changed with a disregard for the
clothes that would have shocked Roger.

Impatiently she went back outside and searched the spectators for Lincs tall form.

He was nowhere in sight.

Fear blossomed like a cold flower within her.

In that moment Holly knew that when she found Lincif she found himshe would have to force
him to talk to her.

The tomorrow he kept putting off had finally come.

Shannon?

Holly turned and saw one of the technicians waving at her. With barely concealed
irritation she waited for the man to approach.

What is it? she asked with unusual sharpness. I thought we were through with the shoot.

Uh, Linc said he would be in your room if you got through early, thats all.

Holly flashed the technician a smile that was startling in its radiance. Impulsively she
bent and kissed the little mans cheek.

Thanks, she said breathlessly. Youre a darling.

She turned and ran toward the hotel, leaving behind an entirely bemused technician.

When she unlocked the outer door and went down the short hall to the suite, the light in
the room was dim yet oddly luminous. It was the haunting, all-over radiance peculiar to
tropical storms just before they broke.

Linc was sitting on the bed, propped up against the headboard. He was wearing only a towel
wrapped around his hips. His hair was still slightly damp from the shower. A faint sheen
of moisture made the hair on his chest gleam with each breath he took.

Oh, Linc,Holly asked him silently,how can you distrust beauty when youre so beautiful
yourself?

Arabian stud books and breeding charts were spread out on the bed around him. He was so
intent upon what he was doing that he didnt notice her standing in the doorway, drinking
in his presence like desert sand drinking rain.

Drapes swirled fitfully at either side of the open balcony doors. Like Holly, Linc
preferred fresh air of almost any temperature to the stale, closed-in comfort of hotel air
conditioning.

She let out a long sigh.

He glanced up, smiled, and went back to the breeding charts.

Thought Id lost you, Holly said lightly.

He made a noncommittal sound and wrote another note along the margin of a chart before
looked up.

Youre off early, he said.

Were finished.

She stretched and laughed aloud with a relief that owed little to having completed a
difficult modeling assignment.

Five glorious days of vacation, she said. When? Beginning right now. Linc looked at his
watch.

Well, Holly admitted, its only four days, actually. Todays about gone. He glanced around
the luxurious, obviously expensive suite that Royce Productions had rented for Holly. Does
that mean were evicted? he asked dryly. She shook her head with enough force to make her
hair ripple and gleam like black water.

Roger told me that we can stay here if we like, she said.

Civilized of him, Linc said neutrally. But then, Roger is nothing if not civil.

Restlessly Holly moved toward him. She had no illusions about the civility he and Roger
shared.

She also had no intention of discussing it. Not now.

There were more important things to talk about than rehashing Rogers futile attraction to
his top model.

But how to begin?Holly asked herself.

With a flash of wry insight, she wondered if Linc felt the same way about opening this
particular conversation.

Maybe thats why he keeps putting things off, she thought.Maybe he doesnt know what to say.
She went and stood beside the bed. The temptation to reach out and comb her fingers
through the pelt

of hair on Lincs chest was so great that she put her hands behind herself and locked her
fingers together.

Not now, she told herself firmly.This time I wont let him distract me.

Heat shimmered in the pit of her stomach as she remembered just how deliciously
distracting he could be.

I told Roger youd probably want to go home, Holly said.

Linc glanced out the window. For a minute he studied the unsettled, slowly seething sky.

The weather might have other plans, he said.

Roger checked. Unless the center of the storm comes right through here, none of the
flights will be canceled.

What are the odds of the center missing us?

Pretty good, but most of the crew is flying out now. They have families waiting.

Linc turned back to Holly.

Are you really off the leash? he asked skeptically.

She hesitated. As the Royce Reflection, she was essentially on call twenty-four hours a
day, every day.

At first that had angered Linc. He had made a lot of sharp remarks about how short a leash
Roger kept on Holly. Then Linc had noticed that everyone else kept the same hours.

After that, he had simply ignored the subject, accepting her long hours with outward
indifference. Im off the leash like youre off the leash at the ranch, she said finally.

Meaning?

Im free until something goes wrong. Or in my case, right.

Linc raised his eyebrows.

Such as? he asked.

Whenever the ad company finally brings in the perfume campaign Roger wants, Holly said,
Ill have to fly to whatever place theyve picked as a suitable backdrop.

Hasnt Roger heard of studio shots?

He loathes them. Says all that control kills the sensual surprise.

Linc grunted and gathered up his papers.

I didnt mean to interrupt you, she said guiltily. I know you must be getting behind in
your work by staying down here with me.

Saying nothing, he stacked the books and papers on the bedside table. Without warning, he
reached out, grabbed her lightly, and pulled her onto the big bed.

Off-balance, she fell across his lap. Before she could recover, his mouth was on hers.
Mmmm, Linc said. Peppermint. He licked Hollys lips appreciatively. A familiar warmth
spread throughout her in shimmering waves.

It would be so easy to let go of all worry about the future, she admitted silently.

It would be so easy to succumb to him, to let herself be like clouds gathered against a
mountains hard planes, filling with sweet violence until the world shattered into
lightning and thunder rolled and rain came down, fusing cloud and mountain into a single
ecstatic being.

Itwouldbesoeasy....

And so foolish.

If Linc and I dont talk, really talk,Holly told herself desperately,one day Ill wake up
and find that hes gone, taking my love with him.

And never believing it. Never believing in my love.

Reluctantly she turned away from his caressing mouth. Linc, we have to talk.

Later, he murmured.

He shifted her in his arms so that she was held against every inch of his body. The long,
blunt ridge of his hunger pressed against her belly. She shivered with the desire only
Linc had ever discovered and freed within her.

When? she asked, her throat tight.

When what?

The tip of his tongue teased the curve of her ear. Teeth nibbled sensuously.

When will we talk? she asked.

Tomorrow. Lincs voice was husky. Well talk tomorrow.

Holly steeled herself against the fiery pleasure sliding through her veins with each
caress.

Youve said that before, she whispered, turning away.

He caught her chin in his hand. Gently he pulled her back to face him.

Whats the hurry? he asked. Tomorrow will always be there.

And well always be here, wont we?

Lincs fingers tightened on her chin until she couldnt move.

Are you tired of me already? he asked, his face as neutral as his voice.

For an instant Holly was too shocked to speak. Then she wrapped her arms around him and
hugged him fiercely.

Ill never be tired of you, she said. I love you!

She felt him stiffen in rejection.

Fear returned to her in cold waves. Until Linc believed in her love, he would never
believe that his own love would be safe with a beautiful woman.

Somehow I have to make him believe that I love him,Holly thought desperately.Somehow . . .
They needed to talk about her love and many other things, unhappy things like his
childhood and his fear

of trust.

Yet the only communication Linc permitted was the wordless language of sensuality.

So be it,Holly told herself.If thats the only way to get past his defenses, Ill just have
to do a better job of it than I have been.

She slid away from him.

He made no effort to hold her.

Fear closed like a vise around Hollys heart. Slowly she began taking off her clothes. She
didnt stop until she was as naked as the clouds gathering beyond the windows, clouds
looking for mountains to call down their rain.

I know you dont believe me, Holly said, her voice soft, urgent. You think words are
nothing, less than breath.

Holly Linc began impatiently.

No, she interrupted. Let me love you.

She looked down at him, her tawny eyes huge with her need to make him understand.

Listen to my hands, to my body, she said. Let me show you my love. Then youll have to
believe me. Please, Linc. Listen . . .

Surprised by the intensity of her plea, he went still. Im listening, he said. Lie down.
Will that help me to hear better?

I hope so, Holly said.

With an odd half-smile, Linc stretched out on the bed.

All right? he asked.

She nodded.

Now what? he asked.

I dont get to touch you as much as I want, she said.

He looked surprised.

Before he could ask the question Holly saw in his eyes, her fingers slid deeply into Lincs
thick chestnut hair.

Your hair feels cool, like rough silk between my fingers, she said softly. I like touching
it, looking at it. There are so many colors in your hair, chestnut and bronze, molten
gold, even black.

Linc moved his head against Hollys fingers, caressing her in return. She leaned over and
inhaled deeply.

Your hair smells good, she said, like twilight rain with the heat of the desert welling up
from beneath.

She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the feel of his hair sliding over the sensitive
skin between her fingers.

Linc felt the intensity of her concentration. He had to fight not to grab her and bury
himself in her, seeking the hot, sensual oblivion where tomorrow never came.

Holly, he said huskily.

No. Not yet. Let me love you, just this once. Let me touch you. Promise me?

A ripple of emotion went through Linc.

All right, he said. Ill try. But Ive never . . .

He shrugged and said nothing more.

Holly smiled almost sadly, for her heart heard what Linc had left unsaid.

He had never let a woman make love to him.

I promise I wont hurt you, she said.

Linc would have laughed but for the shadows in her beautiful golden eyes.

Delicately, then with greater confidence, her fingertips rubbed over his scalp. She sought
out and loosened tight muscles, hoping to ease the tension in him that had nothing to do
with physical hunger.

Linc sighed and closed his eyes, giving himself over to the pleasure of Hollys knowing
fingers.

After a time she kneaded down toward his neck, then back up, until he sighed again and
relaxed even more.

Gently she traced the outer edge of his ears with her fingernails. His breathing
shortened. With a soft laugh, Holly leaned down and nuzzled his ear. I wondered if you
were as sensitive there as I am, she whispered.

Her breath was another kind of caress against his ear. The tip of her tongue touched
lightly, searching and finding every sensitive point. Then, slowly, her tongue probed and
retreated, probed and retreated in a rhythm he had taught her.

Suddenly Lincs arms pinned her against his body. Holly His voice was too thick with hunger
for him to say more.

Her teeth closed not quite gently on the rim of his ear.

Youre supposed to listen, she reminded him. You cant listen if youre touching me.

I dont know how much of this listening I can take, he muttered.

Ive hardly started. Listen to me, Linc. Please,listen .

Reluctantly his arms loosened, allowing Holly the freedom of his body again.

Theres so much more I want to tell you, she said.

Hollys teeth moved down from Lincs ear to trace the strong tendons of his neck. Her palms
massaged the swell of muscle where neck and shoulders joined.

He shifted against her touch like a cat.

What are you telling me? he asked huskily.

That I love your neck and shoulders. The muscles fit so perfectly against my palms. It
feels . . . complete . . . when my hands curve around you.

Linc closed his eyes, afraid to keep looking at Holly. He didnt know if he could keep from
reaching for her again.

The aftershave he wore was so subtle she couldnt smell it until her lips rubbed over his
neck. His freshly shaved skin was neither soft nor rough, simply very masculine in its
texture.

She savored his skin with an unhurried kiss, then sighed and moved upward to nibble on his
chin. Linc opened his eyes, wanting to see the light in Hollys, hoping that there would be
no shadows. Her eyes had never looked more beautiful. Or more shadowed.

But Im getting ahead of myself, she said.

Ahead? he asked, only half-teasing. If you go any slower Ill be gnawing on my knuckles.

Holly put her fingers over his lips in a caress that also silenced him.

I havent even mentioned your eyes, she said. Theyre whiskey with emerald glints, and those
eyelashes . . .

She kissed Lincs eyelids before she gently caught his eyelashes between her lips.

Unfair, she breathed. Ive always thought it was unfair for a man to have such eyes. And
your mouth.

Almost helplessly, her fingertip traced his lips again.

When I was thirteen, she said, I used to dream of what it would feel like to have those
teasing, smiling lips kiss me. All those sensual curves and the hint of power beneath.

Thirteen? Linc asked, shocked.

Umm, Holly agreed. When I was sixteen I found out that my dreams werent even a shadow of
your kiss.

He started to say something, but she took his mouth with her own, making speech
impossible. Her tongue explored his warmth with a thoroughness he had taught her.

She played with the rough surface of his tongue, savored the incredible smoothness
beneath, and tested the hard serrations of his teeth. Then she tasted him deeply,
rhythmically, repeatedly, while his body became hard and hot beneath her.