Falling for Her (14 page)

“He’s not going to hurt you, Sugar.”

Were all her thoughts scrawled across her forehead for him to read? “I know,” she whispered. But that was a lie. She summoned her courage and met his unwavering gaze. “Actually, I don’t know it. I-I want it to be true. It’s just . . . there are things . . .” No, she wouldn’t go there.

“Touch me. See for yourself I’m harmless.” An amused smile curved the corners of his mouth. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

It was the humor in his voice and the kindness in his eyes she couldn’t resist. If she didn’t do this now, she never would and it would be a regret she’d have to live with for the rest of her life. She forced her hand to lift and touched the tip of him with her index finger. It reached for her the way Junior did when he needed a pet.

A laugh escaped, surprising her. She trailed her finger down the side of him, amazed and pleased with herself that she was touching
that
. His skin there was hot and velvety. As she explored him, he grew and grew and grew. Her stomach gave a churning dip, then settled as if even it knew he was safe.

His pubic hair was still damp and springy to the touch. When she trailed her hand under him and held his balls in her palm, the muscles in his legs flexed. From above, she heard a growl and looked up to see his attention was focused on her hand and what she was doing to him. Then his lashes lifted, his gaze landing on her face. Heat shimmered in eyes gone as dark as the midnight blue of a sky.

“Sugar.”

Her name was spoken in two drawn-out syllables, sounding almost as if he was in pain. Even as clueless as she was about these things, she understood he wanted her and he wanted her badly. For the first time in her life as a woman, she had a glimpse of the power that was hers to command if only she dared.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

J
amie gritted his teeth. It was obvious Sugar didn’t know what she was doing, yet her fingers were like magic, leaving tingling sparks everywhere she touched him. The slow glide of her hand down his shaft to his balls, then back up again, then back down, almost did him in. Just as he started to drop to his knees and beg her to let him show her how good they could be together, he heard the sound of a boat motor.

A cigarette boat traveling at maximum speed seemed to be aiming straight for them. What the heck? He grabbed her cover-up and thrust it into her hands. “Get below,” he ordered, reaching for his shorts.

She blinked back at him, confusion in her eyes. “Below?”

The speeding boat continued on its course, and he scooped her up. With three long strides, he arrived at the door to the cabin, opened it, and tossed her onto the bunk. “Don’t come out until I tell you to.”

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know. There’s another boat going way too fast, headed straight for us.”

Faster than a crab caught on top of the sand after a wave, she scrambled for cover, pulling the bunk sheet over her. “Is it him?”

He’d been about to close the door when her words stopped him. “Is it who?”

“No one. I don’t know what I’m saying. It’s just that you’re scaring me.”

“Stay here,” he said, pulling the door shut. If she entertained the chance that the mysterious
him
could be in the other boat, then he wouldn’t discount the possibility.

After pulling on his boardshorts and T-shirt, he opened the compartment near the steering wheel and removed the loaded Glock 19, slipping it behind his back, into the waistband of his shorts. Deciding it best to be ready to flee, he started the engine and eased the throttle forward, turning the boat toward the open water. As sweet as the Sea Ray’s engines were, he’d never be able to outrun the Marauder 50 if the occupant was up to no good.

The sleek, silver boat veered off at the last minute and circled them. Jamie recognized the driver, a loud-mouthed, pot-smoking man in his late twenties who didn’t seem to work as he was always hanging around the dock. Because he hadn’t trusted the dude, Jamie had previously done some checking up on Roger Blankenship, not surprised when he’d learned the man was a drug dealer. Just what was he up to?

There was only one question Jamie wanted an answer to, however. Who was the man in the passenger seat? The way the guy was looking over the Sea Ray, like he was searching for something, made Jamie uneasy.
More like he’s looking for someone, Saint, and just who might that be?
Willing Sugar to stay out of sight, he slipped the gun from his back and held it down by his leg.

“Roger, can I help you with something?” he called.

The other man said something to Roger that Jamie couldn’t hear over the noise of the engines. Growing more suspicious by the minute, Jamie slid his finger over the trigger.

“You out here alone?” Roger yelled.

Jamie glanced around his boat as if checking to see if anyone else was with him. “Appears so. What puzzles me though is why that’s any of your business.”

A seemingly tense conversation ensued between the two men, and Jamie took the opportunity to give the Sea Ray a little more power, putting more distance between him and the Marauder. He didn’t want trouble, would avoid it if at all possible, but his gut said trouble was brewing.

So far, he hadn’t seen any weapons in evidence, but he didn’t doubt the men were armed. Considering Roger was a drug dealer, Jamie had to assume the man carried at all times, and considering the shaved head and all the tattoos visible on the other man—especially because of the inked teardrop just below his left eye—Jamie wouldn’t be surprised if he was an ex-con. Was that the man who had hurt Sugar? If so, Jamie itched to put a bullet right between his eyes. Yet, he just couldn’t picture her with the dude. If not him, then was he a hired gun? Someone sent to find her and bring her back to whomever she had escaped from? That was more likely, he decided.

“He wants the woman,” Roger said.

Now there was a surprise. If he had the slightest chance of outrunning them, he would push the throttle to full power and take off that minute. But there was no way he could leave the high-powered cigarette boat behind. His best chance was to outsmart them, and if that didn’t work, he’d have to shoot them. That would end up being a hot mess.

“I thought we just established I’m alone. Can’t deny I wish I had a woman, but sorry, can’t help you with something I don’t have.”

The second man stood and brought up a 9mm, aiming it Jamie. “I want the woman, asshole.”

“Can’t have her,
asshole.
” As he spoke, knowing any words would have the effect of delaying the man’s reaction as he listened, Jamie brought up his Glock, aimed, and fired. Being a crack shot, he hit his target, and the 9mm was jerked out of the man’s hand and went flying into the water.

“Fuck,” the dude cried out as he shook his hand.

Jamie didn’t doubt that had hurt, but the man should consider it his lucky day he was still breathing. The mood Jamie was in at that point, he’d just as soon have followed through on his first thought and put the bullet between the man’s eyes.

“Yeah, that hurt, didn’t it? Next time, there won’t be any pain because you won’t be alive to feel it. Before you go back to whatever hole you crawled out of, I want you to tell the man you’re working for that no one takes what’s mine.”

That probably hadn’t been the smartest thing to say as it would be a challenge to Sugar’s nameless man. His buttons had been pushed, though, and putting a claim on Sugar had popped out of his mouth before he’d thought better of it.

Pointing his weapon at Roger, Jamie said, “You have exactly three seconds to disappear.” He didn’t doubt Roger would take off, but what was to keep them from coming back? Then an idea occurred to him, and he lowered his weapon and fired three times, making a three-inch hole in the boat’s hull just below the waterline.

“What the hell, man?” Roger screamed.

“I estimate you have just enough time to make it back to the dock before that pricey boat sinks. You should probably get going.”

The inked man leveled a stare full of hatred at Jamie. “You haven’t seen the last of me,” he spat.

“Then you’re a dead man,” Jamie said just before Roger gave the cigarette boat full throttle, causing the Marauder to practically rocket out of the water with the grace of a soaring killer whale.

Until the boat disappeared around the cove, Jamie didn’t move, nor did he put away his gun. What kind of trouble was Sugar in? He turned to the closed door of the Sea Ray’s cabin. There hadn’t been the slightest squeak from her since he’d tossed her onto the bunk. Time to get some answers.

He reached for the handle and opened the cabin door. “The man who almost drowned you, is he looking for you?” The anger raging inside him died at seeing her curled into a ball with the pillow pulled over her head. She gave no sign that she heard him. He sat on the edge of the bunk and leaned over her.

“Sugar?” Lifting the pillow, he peered down at her face. “Sweetheart, you’re safe.”

She blinked up at him, and he’d never seen such fear in anyone’s eyes before. Jamie brushed her hair away from her face. “The man who hurt you, does he have tattoos?”

“What? No, I don’t know anyone like that.” Her gaze darted to the doorway. “Are they gone? I heard gunshots.”

“Who would they be, Sugar? You need to tell me what’s going on, or I can’t help you.” Her reaction to his question puzzled him. The eyes he thought beautiful blanked, and he got the feeling she had just shut down all her emotions. The second her gaze shifted away from him and she stared at the wall in front of her face, he knew she wasn’t going to tell him.

So be it. She clearly didn’t trust him enough to confide in him. He’d wanted to make a full day of her first time on his boat. In the small fridge was a platter filled with a variety of cheeses and fruit. Assorted crackers and chocolate chip cookies he’d made himself were tucked away in a cabinet along with a bottle of wine. All intended to be enjoyed while tied up at the dock at sunset.

Change of plans. She was in no condition for a romantic evening. Leaving her on the bunk, he went topside. He started the engines, pressed the throttle down, and headed back to the marina. As the boat skimmed over the water, he thought about the woman below and all he knew about her.

From the first, he’d jumped to conclusions about Sugar Darling that he was learning were so off base that he’d not even been in the right ballpark when sizing her up. Her tough exterior hid a vulnerable
and somewhat naïve woman, one who apparently needed a protector. He was the wrong man for the job. The people he loved ended up dead.

Is that why you choose the women you do, Saint? Ones you’ll never fall in love with even though you claim that’s what you want?

Did a part of him believe he’d find a way to kill the next person he loved? It was a disturbing insight—if that’s what it was.

What if Sugar was the one?
Even though she was a conundrum with her combination of soft and hard, courage and fearfulness, and innocence and brashness, he liked her. Who was he kidding? He’d passed
like
when he’d held her in his arms and given her the first orgasm of her life.

Still, she had baggage he didn’t want to open, and he didn’t have it in him to be what she needed. He’d been doing just fine in his search for a wife before Sugar had blown into his life like a whirling dust devil. Okay, not entirely true, but maybe he hadn’t been putting enough effort into it, and that he could change.

Having a disruptive, mini tornado—with the potential to turn his life into chaos—for a wife didn’t bear consideration. The woman he married would have a calm temperament like his mother, would bake double-chocolate chip cookies for him and their kids, and wouldn’t call to his base emotions.

As he slowed in the no-wake zone, his tormentor poked her head out. “Do I need to do anything to help you land?”

“Dock. We don’t land, we dock.” She flinched at the harshness in his voice, and he sighed. Granted it was because of her his head was spinning like a kid’s top, but that was no reason to snap at her.

“Okay, what should I do?”

She really did have beautiful eyes, and they were looking everywhere but at him. “I think you should stay out of sight until I get things put away and we can leave.”

“I’m sorry,” she said before disappearing back into the cabin.

So was he.

Normally, he washed down the Sea Ray after taking her out, but all that mattered now was getting Sugar home and hopefully finding the adage
out of sight, out of mind
to be true.

“That’s a cool name for a boat,” she said as he hurried her up the dock toward his car.

He followed her gaze to see a fifty-something-foot yacht named
Therapy
. “Uh-huh. Come on, let’s go.” So they were going to pretend their afternoon hadn’t been interrupted by gunfire.

“Why doesn’t your boat have a name?”

“Just never got around to it.” That wasn’t true, but he wasn’t about to tell her he planned to name the Sea Ray after his wife, whoever she might be. It was bad luck to change the name of a boat, so he’d not picked a temporary one. He headed up the dock, keeping an eye out for Roger and his friend. The Marauder wasn’t in sight, and Jamie hoped it was sitting on the bottom of the gulf. He slowed his strides when he realized Sugar was jogging to keep up with him.

“You should name it. Something cool, maybe
Saint’s Pleasure.
”

“It’s a she, and no, I’ll come up with a name for her when I’m ready.”
Stop talking, Sugar, just stop.
He didn’t want to listen to that musical southern voice of hers; he didn’t want to feel her body heat as she walked next to him; and he didn’t want the scent of her in his nose.

“Is that the bathroom?” she asked, pointing to a building off to the side.

“Yeah, you need to use it?”

She nodded and without waiting, veered off. He trailed after her, refusing to let her out of his sight. Just because he hadn’t spied Roger and friend didn’t mean they weren’t around. As he waited outside the building, Roger came around the corner and when he saw Jamie, he froze. Then he gave a slight shake of his head before backing up.

Jamie had already palmed his weapon. “If you take another step, I will shoot you. Don’t think I won’t.”

Roger stilled and put his hands up, palms facing out. “Look, man, I don’t know what that was all about. The dude gave me a thousand bucks to follow you. It’s gonna take every bit of that to fix my boat.” He narrowed his eyes. “Hell, man. Since you put the hole in it, you should pay to fix it.”

Jamie snorted. “Not happening. That’s the kind of thing you should expect when you play with the bad guys. You saying you don’t know his name or what he wanted?”

“No. You could say he ain’t a sharing kind of man.”

That was likely true. “I’m gonna give you some valuable advice, Roger. He comes around again, it would be in your interest to refuse any request he might make. Second, you get any thought in your head to come after me or the woman, you’ll regret it. Trust me, I’m badder than I look.”