Authors: Lori Foster
Jamie (11 page)
“Gee, thanks.” Alyx pulled the towel out of her face and stared at Jamie. Never, ever, had she expected to see him flustered. Whatever Faith's purpose for her visit, she had Jamie on pins and needles.
As if that wasn't revelation enough, to Alyx's astonishment, Jamie crouched in front of Faith and touched her leg.
“Is it feeling better?”
Alyx's mouth fell open at the husky timbre in his voice.
“The ice helped.” Faith confided to Alyx, “He's had me putting ice on it all day to take down the swelling. Other than leaving the couch for breakfast and lunch, he's made me sit. He even complained when I wanted to fix my hair before you got here.”
“Your hair looks fine,” Jamie said.
Alyx tucked in her chin. How, exactly, did Jamie think stroking Faith's leg would help the situation any? But that's what he did. Very gently. And Faith let him. In fact, her face went all soft and adoring and she touched the top of Jamie's head, threading her fingers through his hair.
Oh, wow.
As Alyx absently dried off her face and throat, she took in the set of Jamie's shoulders. He feigned a casual, relaxed pose, but those shoulders were rock hard in the way that Scott's got whenever he was aroused.
Feeling like a voyeur, and amazed that Jamie hadn't already called her on it, Alyx cleared her throat. “Hey, you know... Should I be seeing this?”
In one abrupt movement, Jamie came to his feet and rounded on Alyx. The switch from seducer of Faith to confronter of Alyx startled her enough that she pressed back in her chair.
Just as quickly, Jamie's familiar blank mask fell into place. “What are you doing here, Alyx?”
Wasn't that her question for Faith?
“That,” Jamie said, “is none of your business.”
Her mouth fell open again, not because he'd snatched her thoughts right out of her head, but because of how he'd replied to them. “That's never stopped you from butting in.”
“Fine.” Jamie's heated gaze felt like a laser cutting into her. “I won't tell you what Scott is going to do.”
Dirty pool!
Jamie knew that little dig would drive her crazy.
Jamie knew that little dig would drive her crazy.
“Yeah, I did.”
Alyx squashed her hands over her ears. Sometimes having her every unspoken thought heard loud and clear really rattled her. “All right, Jamie, don't get mean.” Not one to get intimidated, Alyx smoothed out her damp sweater. “I'm not used to seeing you mean. Hell, I'm not used to seeing you... anything. Except sort of vacant.”
“Alyx,” he warned.
“I had some lame idea about warning you of a future visitâ”
“Which I'm already aware of.”
“Yeah, well...” Her guilt surfaced again, and she held up her hands in a placating gesture. “I also thought to apologize because, Jamie, I'm the one who offered to lead the others here.”
“I know.”
“'Course you did.” Defeated, Alyx drooped in her seat. He probably knew everything. But she wouldn't let that stop her.
Jamie sighed. “No, Alyx, I didn't think it would.”
“Hey.” Faith frowned at them both. “It's impolite to leave me out of the conversation.”
Reminded of Faith's presence, Alyx turned her face up to Jamie. “So other than interrupting some hanky-panky, I guess this is a wasted trip, huh?”
Jamie crossed his arms, and Alyx watched his eyes narrow with burning gratification. Uh-oh.
He took a step closer, looming over her. “Scott's going to be waiting for you, Alyx.”
She almost slid off her chair. “What? Where?”
“At the bottom of the mountain. When you go back. ”
“No way! You're just saying that to get rid of me. Scott doesn't even know I came here today. He's still working.” And still peeved about the other visits she'd made to see Jamie.
“He'll find your car. He'll wait for you. And Alyx?” Jamic leaned closer, his entire countenance one of deep victory. “He's not going to be happy.”
Alyx shot out of her seat. Indignation and independence battled apprehension. “So what? Big deal. Scott's not my husband. He's only a boyfriend. He has no rights over me. He...” She gulped, then flared anew. “He better not even think about yelling at me.”
Suddenly Jamie looked at her closer, and Alyx had the odd sensation of being analyzed. She took a step back, but Jamie followed.
“Stop that,” she breathed.
He drew nearer, his gaze so fierce and speculative it almost stopped her heart. He caught her hand before she even knew he'd reached for it. Imprisoning it against his chest, Jamie scrutinized her, and no matter how she tried, Alyx couldn't look away.
“Jamie,” she whispered with a nervous twitter, “you're spooking me.”
He dropped her hand and retreated. But with another strange look, he gave a slow, chastising shake of his head.
“Good God.” Alyx's heart beat so fast, she wondered how it stayed contained in her chest. “What the heck is the matter with you?”
Jamie locked his hands behind his back and paced away.
So Alyx turned to Faith, hoping for enlightenment.
The other woman gave a helpless shrug. “You can't keep secrets from Jamie.” And she smiled at Jamie's back, raising her voice an octave. “Even though he cares about you.”
Jamie promptly went rigid and swung around to face Faith with haunted eyes.
Alyx decided she should be on her way. “Yeah, well, who'd want to keep secrets from Jamie, anyway? ”
Jamie jerked back to her, and his expression altered to one of disapproval.
Heading for the door where she'd dropped her package, Alyx said, “Before I hit the road, I have something for you.”
Jamie began prowling the small interior of the cabin, so Alyx, anxious to get on her way with that prediction of Scott waiting, just carried the contents to Faith. “It's not much. Some stuff I thought you might need so that you could leave.”
In long strides, Jamie crossed the room. “She's not going anywhere.”
Whoa.
Alyx pulled back. Man, he was jumpy today. “Down, boy. I might not be a mind reader, but I figured that much out for myself. Still, she could use a few clothes, don't you think? Does she even have anything on under that shirt?”
Alyx pulled back. Man, he was jumpy today. “Down, boy. I might not be a mind reader, but I figured that much out for myself. Still, she could use a few clothes, don't you think? Does she even have anything on under that shirt?”
Biting her lip, Faith glanced up at Jamie.
With heated intensity, Jamie stared down at Faith.
“Here we go again.” Once more feeling like a fifth wheel, Alyx sighed dramatically. Faith and Jamie did a great job of dismissing her existence.
Catching Faith's chin on the edge of his fist, Jamie lifted her face. “You might as well accept them, Faith. Wearing clothes or not isn't going to make a difference.”
Eyes widening, Alyx wondered,
a difference to what?
a difference to what?
With a demure smile, Faith purred, “Meaning you'll still want me even if I'm fully clothed?”
Drugging testosterone pulsed off Jamie in waves. Alyx thought she might swoon, except that this was all too interesting to miss.
“Meaning,” Jamie growled, “that regardless of what you do or don't wear, I'm not touching you.”
Faith pointed out, “You're touching me now,” which caused Jamie to retreat as if his hand had caught on fire.
Alyx decided the volatile situation needed a little lighthearted humor. “Hey, before you jump each other's bones, how about letting me give her the rest of this stuff so I can leave? I think I'm too young to witness all this chemistry.”
Beaming at her, Faith said, “There is a lot of chemistry, isn't there? I thought so right off.”
Mumbling something about impossible, irrational women, Jamie put both hands in his overlong hair and plopped down on the couch next to Faith.
Faith leaned into him.
And Jamie, still grumbling, didn't move away.
Jamie has a girlfriend. Jamie has a girlfriendâ
“Knock it off, Alyx.”
Oops. She'd momentarily forgotten the way Jamie nosed around her brain. “Mea culpa.” To keep from irritating him further, Alyx delved into her bag and unloaded it item by item.
“Here you go, Faith. A nightgown, a couple pair of socks, a sweatshirt, and a pair of jeans.”
Faith lifted up the gown to better see it. “Lovely.”
Alyx shrugged. “It was a gift from Sophie, my cousin, Cole's wife. Sophie owns a lingerie boutique, so what does she get me? A long white cotton gown. I think that was Cole's doing, though.”
“You don't like cotton?” Faith asked.
“In panties or T-shirts, sure. But this”âshe fingered the long sleeve of the gownâ“looks like something for a sacrificial virgin.”
Laughing, Faith asked, “Which you're not?”
“Uh, no. But my male relatives still think of me as a tomboy virgin, so I suppose it fits their image, even if it is humiliating.”
Jamie started to look dazed, so Alyx moved on. “The gown should fit fine. But I'm thinking my jeans might be too tight and way too long.”
Without rancor, Faith agreed. “You've got such long legs, and you're so slim.”
Alyx stretched out her legs in agreement. “Yeah, and those jeans are too short on me now, so feel free to cut them off if you want.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“I also brought you some scented lotion because I just couldn't see Jamie owning anything but the most basic stuff.”
Faith wrinkled her nose. “His lotion doesn't have a smell.”
“I figured.” Alyx dug further in the bag. “Oh, and a hairbrush.” She pulled that out with a flourish and presented it to Faith. “Sorry, but that's it.”
Everything got piled in Faith's lap. Somewhat overwhelmed, Faith said, “This is so kind of you.”
“I wish I could have figured out what else to bring, but having never met you, I had no idea what you'd want.”
Faith smiled up at her. “Thank you. It was very brave of you to venture out in the storm.”
Jamie coughed, but when Alyx eyed him, he merely raised a brow and asked, “All done? Good. I'll see you out.”
Alyx tried to keep her butt in the chair, but with Jamie latched onto her arm, literally lifting her to her feet, she had no choice but to stand. For a shadowy, lurking hermit of a guy, Jamie had incredible strength. Why had she never noticed that before?
Probably because he always vanished before anyone could really observe him much. Even her trips to his cabin hadn't been eventful. He'd tolerated her, assisted her, and then seen her on her way.
Just as he intended to do now.
“So, Faith,” Alyx said over her shoulder as Jamie steered her to the door. “I know why I visited. But what are you doing here?”
Jamie didn't give Faith a chance to answer. He lowered his head so that he stared Alyx right in the eyes, and the impact was enough that she damn near swallowed her tongue.
When Jamie turned on the mysticism, it was pretty potent stuff.
“Time for you to go, Alyx. Right now.” His voice was as lacking in inflection as ever, but still Alyx felt his urgency. He wanted her gone. In a big way.
The rascal.
Of course, Jamie read her thoughts. “Listen to me, Alyx. If you wait any longer, Scott's going to bring out the search party, and you really don't want to cause that kind of fuss, do you?”
“Search party!”
“He'll find your car on the side of the road, in a storm, well away from town. But you're nowhere in sight. You know what he'll think.”
Shoot.
“I can take care of myself. Scott should know that.”
“I can take care of myself. Scott should know that.”
Jamie gave her a pitying look. “First thing he'll do is call your brother.”
Groaning, Alyx collapsed back against the closed door.
“When Joe tells him that he hasn't seen you in hours, Scott will call everyone else, just in case a friend picked you up. Clint will know. And Bryan and Bruce andâ”
“All right, already. You've made your point.” With appropriate haste, Alyx shoved her arms into her jacket, zipped it up, and squashed the big hat onto her head. “You'd think a grown woman could come and go as she pleases without causing a panic.
»
»
“People care about you, Alyx.”
Maybe this was her chance to pry some info out of Jamie. “You mean Scott?”
Jamie opened the door. “That's a question you can put to him yourself.”
“Oh, yeah, sure. Snoop in my brain all you want but don't tell me something useful.” Peeved at his evasive tactics, Alyx stepped out onto the porch and realized that the rain had stopped. “Well, hallelujah.”
“It's dark already,” Jamie told her. He reached beneath a wooden bench and withdrew a heavy-duty flashlight. “Take this with you.”
“Will that leave you without?”
“I live in the woods. I have more than one flashlight.”
“Okay, thanks.” While Alyx yanked on her ankle bootsâwhich were now ruined-she began to worry. “So, smarty-pants. If I hurry, am I going to make it back to my car in time to avert a call to the National Guard?”
“If you don't waste time getting down the mountainâmaybe.”
Alyx rolled her eyes. She had no doubt that Jamie knew exactly what would happen; the rat just didn't want to tell her. She started off in a rush, but at the last minute, she turned back. “Jamie? You said people care about me.”
“You know they do.”
She nodded. “Yeah, well, they care about you, too, bud. Even if I hadn't offered to show them the way here, they'd have come. Julie, Cyn, Shay, and Luna. They're professional fretters.”
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