Falling (2 page)

Jen sighed, lost for a second or two in the vision of romance hero that had just materialized in her doorway.

He raised one eyebrow. "Nice hat."

Oh
shit
. She ripped the shower cap off her head, grabbed her robe together at the neckline and blushed.
Why did I take off my makeup
? Fuck, fuck,
fuck
.

"Uh, I was about to take…oh!" Her mind cranked out of its fantasy and back into reality. "In the shower. That-that
thing
." She pointed at the bathroom door.

Mr. De la Luscious grinned. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank God. I'm sorry to be a nuisance at this hour, but I just couldn't…" She shuddered, stepping back as he moved past her and into the room.

He disappeared, leaving the scent of clean masculinity in his wake. Jen inhaled, breathing slowly as her heart rate accelerated. He was one hell of a handsome man.

And she shouldn't be having any of the deliciously decadent thoughts she was currently enjoying. Then she told herself to stop it. It was her vacation, her down time and how she chose to spend that time, even in her mind, was her own business.

So what if she'd just mentally stripped and seduced a hotel employee? So what if she'd mentally orgasmed as well? Nobody had to
know
.

Suitably reassuring noises came from the bathroom—loud thumps followed by the rush of water. Once again a healthy dose of testosterone and a strong arm had triumphed over a lesser species.

"All gone." His voice was reassuring. "And I must apologize on behalf of the hotel. We're usually bug-free, so I can only assume that this fellow hitched a ride with a previous guest and then found a nice quiet hiding place."

His eyes were dark as sin, and Jen couldn't drag her gaze from his. She gulped down a lump of something that might have passed as lust. Okay. It
was
lust. "It wasn't anything poisonous then?"

Right. Discuss nasty leggy spiders with a guy you're fantasizing about fucking into oblivion. Nice going, Jen
.

"No, not at all. It was a common Florida one, I think, although I'm no expert on these things. It was a big one too…I can understand your reaction." He was smoothly reassuring—the consummate professional.

Shit
.

"Well, that's good to know." Jen glanced around. "Um, I'm not likely to run into any more, am I?"

"Absolutely not."

Well, well. Cristobal Martinez de la Rosa could be quite effectively adamant when he chose. Jen sort of wished he'd be adamant about a few other things. She sighed.

"Look, Ms. Hodges, on behalf of the hotel, let me comp you a breakfast. This has been an unpleasant welcome to the Palms, and I do feel we owe you."

"Oh…I couldn't possibly…"

"Yes you could." He smiled.

Yes, I probably could, at that.

"How about eight a.m. tomorrow if that's not too early? A full breakfast buffet on the house. In the Palm Grotto, okay?"

"I-er-" Jen floundered. She badly wanted to ask if he was planning on joining her, since the idea of eating alone in a fancy restaurant, no matter how good the food, wasn't the biggest turn-on in the world. She'd been thinking more along the lines of a doughnut and coffee from some nearby fast food place, or room service in quiet solitude.

"Good. I'll see you there."

"Oh…well, thank you. That's very kind, Mr. De la Rosa."

"Please. Call me Cris."

Jen looked at him. He was wearing his sensuality and sex appeal like a woman wore fine perfume. Comfortably. "Okay. Cris."

"Goodnight." He smiled as he walked away.

Cristobal Martinez de la Rosa. You killed my boredom. Prepare to sigh.

Jen closed the door slowly, exhaling through her teeth as her heart rate slowed down. What the fuck was the matter with her? Knocked on her ass by one man, and a Latin lover type no less.

He probably had women coming out his reservations system. He certainly didn't need another one.

And she shouldn't even be thinking one-tenth of the thoughts she was thinking. No—make that one-twentieth of those thoughts. She hurriedly washed up, brushed her teeth and clicked the light off in the bathroom. A shower would have been nice, but after all the excitement, she had no energy left.

As Jen headed for bed, a small blinking light on her cell phone caught her eye. Damn.
David
.

Picking it up, she tumbled onto the pillows and keyed in the commands to listen to her voice mail. The message came through loud and clear in the silence of her room.

"
Hey. Glad you got there okay. Sorry I missed your call, but that meeting with the Smithsons ran over. Good news is that they really liked the project, so I'm thinking of adding a couple of consultants, perhaps the guy I interviewed last week. He had potential and was qualified to handle the documentation…
"

Jen's eyes drifted shut as her mind closed off his voice.

It was the same thing all over again. More of the world according to David. More of the world he reveled in, talked about, ate, drank and slept in, to the exclusion of all else. Especially the woman he'd been sharing his life with.

She'd heard variations on this theme for the past three years of their relationship. Now it was constant. A scant acknowledgement of her presence, let alone her job, and then he was off and running, another recital of
his
day,
his
meetings,
his
successes, and very occasionally
his
failures.

And she was so goddamned tired of it now, she wanted to spit.

Instead, Jen shut off the phone in mid-message. Right now, right here, in this hotel room tucked away from everything familiar, she could let it go. There was space here for her to think her own thoughts. Be her own person. Explore the
Jen
side of life, not the
David
side.

With a smile on her face, she snuggled down under the covers, letting sleep overtake her. The smile deepened as her last conscious thoughts included a pair of delightful dark eyes and a mouth that encouraged dreadfully decadent dreams…

Chapter 3

The Palm Grotto lived up to its name.

Lush foliage blanketed the austere walls, dappled now with morning sunlight. Their green fronds tickled the ceiling, shading the tables beneath. Flowers, breathtakingly beautiful flowers in every color of the rainbow, were all over the place, nearly blinding her with the riot of hues. The hibiscus fairy had apparently spent several nights here, gotten raving drunk, and thrown up.

There were few customers, a couple of bored waiters, and a maître d' who was apparently awaiting Jen's arrival.

"Good morning, Ma'am. You are Ms. Hodges, yes?" His dark eyes smiled at her, the slight Spanish accent adding to Jen's impression of having wandered into a different world this morning.

"Yes, I am."

"Good. This way please. Mr. Cris has arranged everything."

Ah. Mr. Cris of the beautiful eyes and even more beautiful body
. Jen mentally smacked herself soundly as she followed the maitre d', struggling to maintain her cool, calm and collected businesswoman persona.

One look at the man rising from a corner table to greet her and the cool, calm, collected businesswoman took a day off.

He was even better looking in daylight, although how such a thing could be possible, Jen had simply no idea. The man should be declared illegal. His shirt was a blinding assemblage of flowers that would have sent that hibiscus fairy into paroxysms of pleasure, and his crisp white pants were spotless. His inky dark eyes revealed warm brown depths in the light of day, his chest -- the little bit she could see beyond the flora that surrounded it -- was definitely in the "five star" category, and there was simply no question about it.

He was flat-out gorgeous.

A dream come true. A figure that could grace the cover of a novel and sell ten million copies on the strength of that smile alone. A man who…was saying something.

Jen blinked as she tried to drag her thoughts up off the mental carpet where they had swooned and were clutching their hearts.

"I'm glad you decided to join me." His voice was as sexy as the rest of him. Her thoughts thudded back to the floor, fainting with pleasure once again.

"So am I." The words came out on a gust of honesty.

She allowed him to seat her as she realized exactly how honest she'd been. She was glad. Very glad. Her heart rate had been close to the danger level since she'd woken up that morning, and it didn't show signs of slowing anytime soon.

Especially when that deliciously appealing smile curved his mouth. "What would you like?"

I'll take you with a side order of you, and more of you to go, please
.
Oh
-
and coffee
.

"Uh, I'd kill for coffee." Jen smiled as she self-edited her thoughts.

"No problem." Cris reached beside him and poured her a cup of steaming black liquid heaven. "Cream? Sugar?"

Me?
Cris fought to keep his hand steady as he passed the cup across the table to the lovely Ms. Jennifer Hodges.

She'd stayed lurking in his subconscious all night, her silky blonde hair teasing his brain cells into distraction, her humor and that laugh…

And here she was, in the flesh, looking every bit as delightful as he'd remembered. Even better, in fact, which was a rarity in itself. Most women didn't benefit from the harsh morning glare of the Florida sun. This one did. It brought a sparkle to her blue eyes, a blush to her cheeks, and seeing her in shorts and a tank top-well,
fuck
.

Cris licked his lips to ensure himself he wasn't drooling.

"So tell me, Cris, besides efficiently disposing of crawly things and comping breakfasts to guests, what do you do here as concierge?"

Aha. The efficient-business-traveler shield was dropping over her face. But she couldn't hide the little tremble in her hand as she sipped her coffee. He smiled happily.
Got you
. "It's a fancy title for the guy who handles just about everything, but doesn't actually get paid as much for it as he should."

She laughed, that rich deep gurgle that had so charmed him on the phone. "I'm sure that's true. You should've earned combat pay for last night's little fracas."

He shook his head. "That was small potatoes. Try explaining to a determined mother that the snake her son has trapped in a jar is actually a coral snake, quite dangerous, and shouldn't be taken back to Fargo as a pet."

"Good lord. Really?" Jen's eyebrows rose.

"Really."

"What did you do?"

Cris helped himself to coffee and nodded his thanks as a waiter placed a tray of pastries and croissants on the table between them. "Fortunately, I didn't have to do much. The snake did it, all by itself."

Jen's hand froze over a roll. "It bit the kid?"

"No, it died. Or committed suicide rather than live in Fargo, North Dakota. Never could decide which."

"Oh dear…" Jen burst out laughing again. "How sad." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh at the death of a poor creature, but-oh lord."

"Save your sympathies. There's enough left that they're not on the endangered species list."

"Well, that's good. I promise last night's episode was the only creepy-crawly adventure you can expect from me. No snakes." She shuddered. "
Definitely
no snakes."

"You don't need to worry. We're pretty efficient at keeping them away from the hotel grounds. They're not music fans, aren't social at all, and it's a mutual arrangement of benefit to both. They go away and we don't have to kill 'em." He tore a croissant in half. "Why are you here?"

"
Hmpf
?" She was mid-way through a mouthful of roll when he'd casually tossed the question out, hoping to catch her off-guard.

"Why are you here? I'm just curious. It's August, not the most popular tourist season, as you can tell." He glanced around the almost empty restaurant. "You're blonde and probably burn to a crisp, so you're not here for a tan."

It would be a sin to burn that creamy skin of yours.

Time to move in to more personal questions. God, he was pushing this woman. Why, he didn't know. But five seconds after hearing that laugh…there was
something
there. Something he was getting desperate to explore.

"That could be an engagement ring." His gaze fell to the pretty diamond on her left hand. "And yet you are alone."

"And you're very observant." She wiped her mouth on a napkin, hiding her gaze from him.

He shrugged. "It's my job to notice these things. Another croissant?"

"Oh gosh, no. Thanks. This was just fine. I don't usually do breakfast, so it's been a rare treat. Most often there's not time for more than coffee. You know, traffic…all that stuff…"

She was rambling, and she knew it. He could tell by the way her eyes looked everywhere but at him.

"You should eat breakfast. Most important meal of the day. So why are you here?"

She snorted. "This from a man who had one and a half croissants and two cups of coffee?"

She had been paying attention. Good. He said nothing, simply waited and sipped his coffee patiently.

"I don't know." Finally, blue eyes met brown. "I truly don't know."

*~*~*~*

Jen stretched languorously on the chaise lounge. Cris had taken her to the pool, settled her into a shaded spot, and left her, pleading the press of the day's work. He hadn't followed up her non-answer with anything more than an enigmatic smile and a slight nod.

Whatever the hell
that
meant.

She tried to push those thoughts-all thoughts of Cris-aside, and focus on what was really important. That question, and her answer.

Why
was
she here?

The air rested humidly on her skin and she shifted, easing her bathing suit around her hips. Five minutes after settling down, she knew shorts weren't going to cut it in this heat. A quick trip back to her room, a tug, a pull and a shimmy later, and she was in her swimsuit. Conservative, navy blue with white flowers, and totally not revealing anything she didn't want revealed. A bit higher cut on the legs than she'd been happy with, but now she was rather glad of it.