When Sparks Fly (13 page)

“Finding him? How hard can that be in a
settlement this size?” Blue shook his head, surprised.

The chief sounded grim. “Harder than you
think, if he’s got friends. Until we find him, keep Gem under
wraps. We’ve moved her sister to a more secure facility, and
there’s no telling whom he’ll go after next.”

“Gem’s not going to like this.”

“It’s your job to keep her pacified,”
Blackwing said. His tone brooked no argument. “You ought to have
enough emotional cash to do that by now. Her tender feelings are
secondary to keeping her alive. Remind her that she should be
grateful she’s not being hauled in for questioning. No need to
treat her like she’s a suspect, of course.”

“Not yet.” The words were bitter in Blue’s
mouth.

Zsak stared at him in silence after they
hung up.

“What?” Blue asked.

“Why are you doing that?”

“What?” Blue turned to look at the monitor.
From what he saw, Gem had found a couple of candidates.

“You’re making her out to be guilty when we
both know she’s not.”

“We
don’t
know that. Besides, why not
prepare for the worst? If I go soft on her just because…” He
couldn’t finish the thought. Instead he said, “Her sister is going
to be charged with conspiracy. Think she’ll appreciate me then?
Might as well give her a reason to hate me right away.”

The silence stretched. Blue realized Zsak
was a terrifying interrogator.

He shook his head, rubbed the bridge of his
nose and finally looked at his partner. “What’s the difference who
I suggest is involved in this? Unless you have another agenda…It’ll
never work between us, though. I’m not stupid enough to get tangled
up with this girl. You know that, so why are you pushing?”

Zsak shrugged and got up from the couch. “I
just think you’re throwing away something good. There’s a way to
work this out, man.”

What was Zsak’s problem? Why was he so
fixated on setting the two of them up? Sure, Gem was one of the
most attractive women Blue had ever seen, and he respected what
she’d accomplished on this planet, with this inn, assuming she
wasn’t involved in the drug trade; but how could he assume that? A
real relationship just wasn’t possible. Didn’t his partner realize
that?

“’A way to work this out.’ Really. What
would you suggest?” Blue turned abruptly on his friend,
unaccustomed pain making his sarcasm thick.

Zsak met his gaze, unflinching. “Tell her
the truth. Tell her
before
you bed her; you know how
emotional women get about these things. But as soon as she calms
down from what you tell her, bed her. On this planet, possession is
nine-tenths of the law. She can’t accuse you of false pretenses if
you tell her the full and unfettered truth, and she’ll get over the
rest.”

“‘She’ll get over the rest,’” Blue repeated
incredulously. “And we’ll live happily ever after, right?” He
laughed without humor. In fact, his friend’s plan was so stupid
that he laughed again.

“I didn’t say you wouldn’t have to work for
it. Hell, man. And don’t take it out on me. You’re the one who’s
gone and gotten himself so smitten by a woman connected to his
assignment that he can’t think straight.” Zsak walked out with one
final parting shot: “But you should do
something.
You never
used to be such a wuss.”

Gem arranged for interviews of office
manager candidates, did a few final chores and then called it a
day. She hadn’t been so tired in years. In fact, she hadn’t been so
tired since her father died. It was amazing how much she relied on
her sisters. With them no longer around, she was shouldering the
bulk of the work to keep up the inn. It was no longer fun, either.
It had been a family thing, and now her family was gone.

Shaking off her feeling of emptiness (The
Spark was full up, wasn’t it?) Gem returned to her office, settled
down on her couch and drew up a blanket, something she rarely did
during the day. Eyes closed, she tried to rest. But…there was musk
on the pillow.

Her eyes flew open. She’d conveniently
forgotten that Blue slept here now. He still hadn’t moved his
equipment, and he still hadn’t moved the place where he crashed at
night. Which meant, in essence, she was sleeping in his bed.

She scowled and firmly closed her eyes. None
of that, now! She didn’t need to be fantasizing about another man
who’d cooled to her. In fact, he’d cooled to her the moment her
life had gone into the toilet. What sort of taste did she have in
men, to keep choosing ones who were so unreliable? What was she
thinking?

But…Her eyes slid back open. She’d already
spent too much time thinking about him for her mind not to wander
down its favorite track. Blue wasn’t all bad. He’d been there for
her at the hospital, and he’d remained in her life after things got
rough. In fact, hadn’t he been trying to protect her and her family
all along? Hadn’t he remained by her side, protecting her from
assailants and lawmen alike? And he’d kissed her, and she wanted
more. This might not be exactly love, but she was dangling over the
abyss. One more kiss and she’d be free-falling.

Did she want him? Yes. She couldn’t deny
that. Did she want him to stay? That was harder to answer.

Another question was, would he want to?

She thought about things for a while and
decided it was impossible to know Hyna Blue’s mind. What she did
know was that he was jealous when she flirted with other men. No,
he didn’t handle it at all well when she dressed up and went
public. That had to mean something.

Chapter 10

Preparing the new office manager she hired,
Tam Rasheed, ate up a huge chunk of the following days. Of Lupish
decent, Tam was stout, taciturn and had a resume to be proud of,
along with an excellent recommendation from his former employer, a
man Gem had actually met: It seemed prudent to be particularly
careful regarding any new hires at this juncture. Tam also had the
face of a wolf (if a dignified one) and a full pelt of white hair.
There’d be no end to the shedding, but she couldn’t afford to be
prejudiced.

While Tam was experienced, there were a
thousand details to cover. An amiable sort, he clearly had a
different way of tackling problems than Gem, so she decided to let
him know the most important aspects of the business and let him ask
questions about the rest. There was also the headache of moving her
private things to her father’s old room, where she’d decided to
make her new, non-working office.

Blue helped. A far cry from the irreverent
drifter he’d once been, he now exuded an attitude she would call
“professionally aloof.” He didn’t flirt; his eyes didn’t linger on
her body. He was everything she would hope for in a man hired to
protect her.

She hated it.

She climbed the stairs behind him, carrying
a box of books. At first she tried not to stare at the picture
those snug pants made of his behind, then decided she didn’t care.
He was a good-looking guy. It wasn’t as if he had a wife, and there
was no law against looking.

As she reached the room, instead of gently
setting the box on the bed, she dropped it to the floor with a
satisfying thump. Then, with a grim smile, she turned to leave.

Blue had been on his way out, but as the box
fell to the floor he stopped and stared at her, clearly surprised
by her abandon. “Are you all right?”

His eyes were so blue. Combined with his
beard shadow and the black knit shirt hugging his chest, there was
only so much a girl could take.

Gem bared her teeth in a parody of a smile.
“I’m getting married.”

He stiffened as if she’d thrown ice water on
him.
“What?”

“You heard me.” She made a move to pass
him.

He refused to move. “What do you mean,
you’re getting married? To whom? Why wasn’t I told?”

“You’re my bodyguard, not my brother,” she
snapped. When he still wouldn’t get out of her way, she put a hand
on her hip and canted her head. “Are you going to stand there all
day?”

He stepped aside but was hot on her heels as
she headed back to her office. “Explain yourself. Who are you
marrying?”

She shrugged, grabbed the first box she
could lay hands on and spun to make the return trip.

Blue didn’t grab a box. He just followed,
nearly stepping on her heels as he pursued her.

Exasperated, but enjoying his reaction, Gem
swung around and glowered at him. “The person I’m marrying
shouldn’t matter to you. As soon as this is all cleared up, you’ll
be gone and I’ll get on with my life.”

Blue’s eyes narrowed. “You haven’t picked
anybody yet.”

She smiled, a little self-deprecatingly. “I
don’t think I’ll have any problem finding a willing partner.
Everyone thinks I’m rich, right? The Harrisdaughter fortune. Who
wouldn’t want a piece of that?” She turned and headed back toward
the family suite.

Blue looked upset. He let her get as far as
her living room before demanding, “Why would you even say that? And
you can do better than someone trying to marry you for your
money.”

She tried to make her eyes hard, though she
was afraid she failed. “How would you know what I can or can’t do
better than? With my father dead, one sister in the hospital and
the other off with the Galactic Explorers, what do I really have to
look forward to? I’m not getting any younger, certainly. And…what
is it you men are always saying? Oh, yes: ‘I have needs.’”

“Wait a minute!” He stopped her as she tried
to pass, wearing a horrified look.

Anger and an unfamiliar grief made her grit
her teeth and push away. She didn’t want to look at him now, didn’t
want to see his reaction. Not unless…“This is getting old, Blue,”
she warned.

He leaned forward, trying to move past her,
trying to see her face. “You don’t have to marry some idiot just to
take care of
that.
There are other ways.” There was a note
in his voice she couldn’t quite place, and he put a hand on her
shoulder.

She scoffed, realizing she should have
expected this response. She shook off his hand. “Yeah, for you. For
a
man.
If I took a lover out of wedlock the news would be
all over town by nightfall. Polaris society is intolerant of such
shenanigans. I’d be ruined; my business would never be the same.
Then where would Brandy be? Where’s she going to get the money for
her medical care?”

“No one would have to know,” Blue argued.
“Believe me, there are people in this town…”

“What exactly are you suggesting, Blue?” she
asked coldly. When he hesitated, she gave him a mocking smile.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

This time when she tried to move away, he
stopped her with two hands. There was a heat in his voice that
hadn’t been there since before the incident with Brandy and Jean
Luc. “What are
you
asking
me
for, sweetheart?”

A trembling started at his touch, and it
spread through Gem, causing a shaky hollow in her belly. She
couldn’t meet his eyes. “Nothing,” she said. “I don’t want anything
from you.”

One large, callused hand slid into her hair,
cupped the back of her skull. His thumb rubbed gently behind her
ear, making her weak, and he stared into her eyes. He seemed to
come to a decision and said, “Well…I want something from you. I’ve
wanted it for a long time.”

He caressed her temple with his lips, gently
nuzzled in front of her ear, but she drew a tight breath and said,
“You can’t have anything you want.”

She’d meant to say
everything
, but
maybe the other was true, too.

He laughed. “Maybe not ‘anything,’
sweetheart, but I think we can come to an arrangement.”

His kiss was seductive, possessive. He took
her mouth like a man who’d thought about the act and savored its
fulfillment. If kisses could be drugs, his were the very essence of
ecstasy. One hit wasn’t enough. She’d never have enough.

Lightning shocks started at her knees and
shivered through her bones. A fire began low in her belly. She
wanted to breathe Blue in, to lose all control. And she did
precisely that. Gem, who’d never kissed a man the way she now
kissed Blue, slid her hands under his shirt and tugged, trying
mindlessly to get it off.

Blue didn’t laugh, as Gem might once have
feared he would. Instead, he ripped his shirt over his head and
sent it flying, then tumbled her horizontal.

He was so hot. Hard, heavy muscle pressed
Gem into the couch, his heated mouth scorching. Her own body blazed
as if she’d run miles under the noonday sun, and Blue’s back flexed
under Gem’s hands like living steel, his hair brushing like silk
against her jaw as he kissed his way down her neck. The very
different sensations melded in a ceaseless duet played by steel
guitar and drum.

He ripped open her shirt, making her gasp.
There was nothing but air between his mouth and her breasts, then
not even that. The fire of lust devoured all restraint. She’d
waited too long, wanted this too much. She couldn’t stop him.
Didn’t want to stop him.

Blue growled something urgent and then
pulled down her pants. He didn’t bother working them off her knees,
just flipped her over on her stomach, raised her hips with a pillow
and set his lips to her center. Gem’s first touch from a man was
the invasion of Blue’s tongue. Her first climax came seconds
later.

His hungry, desperate growl vibrated tissues
slick and swollen with passion, triggering aftershocks. She twisted
on the couch, gasping as he tongued deeper, as the tapestry fabric
abraded nipples new to such stimulation. She sought it, rubbed
against it. Her body continued to burn.

He laved her flesh until her body grew weak
from her screaming into the couch; then he pulled back with a
curse. Through a curtain of hair she saw him shed his clothes,
leaving him wearing nothing more than a braided hemp necklace.