Chapter Three

Renee splashed cold water on her face and dried it with a threadbare green towel hanging on a hook beside the bathroom sink. She rested her palms against the sink and bowed her head. She was tired and hungry, and her knees ached from the fall she’d taken on the blacktop in her attempt to escape from Leandro. All she wanted right then was a decent meal, a hot bath, and a good night’s sleep. She sighed heavily. Not much chance of any of those things happening, especially the good night’s sleep.

Then she raised her head, looked in the mirror, and wondered who the woman was looking back.

According to her, she was an innocent woman who swore from now on she’d control her late-night craving for ice cream. According to the Tolosa police, she was a fugitive from justice. According to the man in the next room, she was a hot, sex-crazed hussy looking for a good time.

Right then she had to deal with the sex-crazed hussy thing. But since she knew nothing about the man on the other side of that door, she had to face facts: telling him no might lead to worse consequences than telling him yes.

She opened the door slowly, feeling like a mouse coming out of its hole knowing there’s a tomcat in the vicinity. He was waiting for her on the sofa, and his hot, hungry expression told her the tomcat analogy was right on target.

“Come on over here, sweetheart.”

She inched her way over to the sofa and stood beside it. He patted the cushion beside him. “Park it right here.”

She sat down as he requested, but approximately two feet away from the place he’d indicated, cramming herself up against the opposite arm of the sofa. He slid over next to her, draping his arm behind her head and resting the palm of his other hand against her thigh. The look in his eyes—that fiery, almost primitive look—shook her all the way to her toes. She splayed her hands across his chest as he moved closer still, but the solid wall of muscle she felt only heightened her anxiety.

“You never did tell me your name,” she said weakly.

“I thought we were keeping names out of this.”

“I changed my mind. I’m…Alice. And you’re…?”

“John.”

“John. Nice name.”

“My mother thought so.”

“Where are you from, John?”

“We’re pretty much past the small-talk stage, wouldn’t you say?”

“I just thought it might be nice to get to know each other a little.”

“That’s funny. Back at Harley’s place, there was only one part of me you wanted to get to know, and it had nothing to do with my hometown.”

“I know. But after all, we did just meet—”

“And I gotta say it was one hell of an introduction.” He touched a finger to her cheek, then dragged it along her jaw. “All you really need to know about me is that I’m partial to blue-eyed blondes, particularly when they’re looking for a good time.”

He brushed her hair away from her shoulder and dropped a gentle kiss to the side of her neck, his touch sending a flurry of shivers down her spine. Then he teased his lips along her jaw, and she felt the scratchiness of his beard.

“When’s the last time you shaved?”

“I wasn’t aware my personal hygiene was part of the deal.”

“Your beard is irritating.”

She tried to sound annoyed, but to her dismay, her words came out soft and breathy. Seductive. And she definitely did not want to sound seductive.

“Irritating, huh?” He dropped a featherlight kiss on the sensitive spot just beneath her left ear. “It didn’t seem to bother you back at the diner.”

Good point.

She squirmed around, trying to distance herself from him, but she succeeded only in maneuvering herself into a position where his hand crept even further up her thigh. “You know, I haven’t had a shower all day. I’m such a mess—”

“A shower? Sounds good. Why don’t we take one together?”

My big mouth strikes again.

“Well, that’s a possibility. But it’s a little cold in here, don’t you think? Maybe if you started a fire in the fireplace—”

“Not necessary. I’ll keep you warm.”

He pulled her closer, cradled her head in his arm, and kissed her, and it was as if a nuclear reactor had exploded inside her head. At the diner, she’d been the aggressor out of sheer desperation, but now the tables had turned and he’d assumed command of the situation. Total command. His arms were wrapped around her like a velvet vise, caressing but controlling, allowing her not an inch of leeway in any direction as his mouth engulfed hers.

He slid his hand along her cheek and drew her even closer, twining his tongue with hers in a dance of pure, slow-motion seduction. She knew now that his lips were every bit as warm and sensual as they’d looked the first moment she saw him. They were beautiful lips. Talented lips. Lips that made resisting him slip further and further from her mind. But despite his single-mindedness, she felt an odd glimmer of restraint in his touch, a hint of tenderness she hadn’t expected, as if he had no intention of taking without giving.

He kissed her for what seemed like hours, pulling away a little, brushing his lips against hers, then plunging in again. Before long his advance-and-retreat technique was driving her crazy in the very best sense of the word. She’d never felt anything like it. And it was turning her into mush.

Then he eased away and stared down at her. What was he looking for? Surrender? Renee stared back at him, afraid she was about three seconds away from precisely that.

“I could kiss you all night,” he whispered.

Her heart leaped with hope. Maybe he’d forgotten she had a body below the neck. Then he ran his hand along the outer swell of her breast, to her waist, down her thigh, and back up again, his gaze following the path of his hand like a moth follows light.

“All over.”

Uh-oh.

He tugged at the hem of her sweatshirt, easing it upward. When his hand fell against her waist, she gasped softly. He covered the gasp with a kiss, then moved his palm upward until his fingertips brushed the satin cup of her bra. He teased her nipple to a taut peak through the fabric with the pad of his thumb, then traced a fingertip in the hollow between her breasts, setting her adrift in a hazy sea of erotic pleasure she would cheerfully have drowned in.

Then he reached for the front clasp of her baby-pink bra with the white rose at the clasp, the one she’d bought at Victoria’s Secret last month, thinking at the time that she’d probably wear it out before a man ever laid eyes on it.

Renee’s eyes sprang open. She pulled away, pressing her elbows down to still his hand beneath her sweatshirt.

“What are you doing?” she said in a gasp.

“Trying to get us naked, but I don’t seem to be getting a lot of cooperation.”

He leaned in to kiss her again, but she turned away, not the least bit ready to let Victoria’s Secret out of the bag. “No,” she whispered. “I can’t—”

“I’ve got protection, sweetheart, if that’s what you’re—”

“I said no!”

For several seconds he didn’t move. Then his deep, dark eyes that had been hot with desire became hard and probing, his passion melting away like an ice cube on a hot summer day.

Very deliberately, he removed his hand from beneath her sweatshirt and yanked the hem down. Then he gripped her by her arms and sat her upright on the sofa beside him, staring at her with a gaze so sharp it could penetrate steel.

“What are you up to?”

Renee opened her mouth, hoping some brilliant explanation would leap off her tongue. But her luck had totally run out. She clamped her mouth shut again.

“You didn’t have a car at the diner. You’ve got no purse, no coat, no phone. Why not?”

Renee remained silent.

“You come on to me like some kind of cheap hooker, then get all uptight when I so much as touch you. You want to explain that one to me?”

He sounded like every cop who’d ever interrogated her, and her heart beat madly. But still she didn’t respond.

“I knew this was a mistake.” John took a deep breath and let it out slowly, rubbing his hand against his mouth. He got up from the sofa, his stiff gait telling her that the switch from fire to ice had left him a little incapacitated. “Come on. I’m taking you home.”

“No!”

She said the word loudly, too loudly, and he looked at her with surprise.

“What do you mean, no?”

Renee just stared at him. She wanted to stay, had to stay, but she did not want to have sex. How was she going to convince him to let her have one without the other?

When she didn’t respond, he grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

“Wait!”

He spun back around, frustration running wild on his face. “Look. You clearly don’t want to do what you came here to do, so it’s time I took you home.”

“If you’ll just calm down—”

“You want me to calm down? Then tell me why you’ve been jerking me around since the minute you walked into that diner. Tell me that, and I’ll be the most congenial guy you’ve ever met!”

She needed a really good lie, but one just wasn’t coming to her. “I-I can’t.”

“You can’t? What do you mean, you can’t?”

What did she mean? “I mean I can’t…imagine why you’re so angry.”

John’s eyebrows shot up. “Then you haven’t got much of an imagination!”

She squeezed her eyes closed, hoping the alley she was heading down wasn’t a dead end. “I just wanted to have a nice, leisurely evening. Talk a little. Relax a little. Get to know each other before we…” She sighed wistfully. “But it’s clear now that no matter how I feel about it, all you want is sex.”

John’s mouth fell open. “Would you explain to me how I got to be the bad guy in this situation? You came on to me like a nymphomaniac, harassing me until I took you up on your offer, and now that I expect you to actually follow through, suddenly I’m a sex-crazed maniac?”

“No. Of course not. That’s not what I meant at all. It’s just that…well, I suppose I can see now how you might have gotten the wrong impression—”

“Wrong impression?”

The incredulity in his voice said he wasn’t buying, and Renee’s nervousness intensified. “Yes. I prefer a more subtle approach to lovemaking—”

John’s eyebrows shot up again. “Subtle? You call what you did in that diner subtle?”

“That was just to get your attention. Sort of like…well, like a peacock spreading her feathers.”

Oh, God. How dumb did that sound? Renee cringed at her own words, but nothing else had come to her. If she kept talking long enough, saying anything, then maybe he’d calm down, and—

“Peacocks spread their feathers,” John said. “Peahens stand back and watch. They don’t back a peacock up against a lunch counter and promise him a one-way trip to heaven!”

“I was speaking metaphorically—”

“Now, listen up, sweetheart, and I mean listen good. There was nothing metaphorical about your hand on my crotch, so I don’t want to hear another word about the mating habits of wildlife. You were pretty clear about what you wanted in that diner, and I’m not a fan of false advertising. We’re going to get naked right now, or you’re going to give me a damned good reason why not. Otherwise, you’re out of here.” He jabbed at his watch. “You’ve got ten seconds. Now make up your mind!”

So there it was. Get naked, get truthful, or get out.

Maybe it was the challenging look on his face. Maybe it was the demanding tone of his voice. Or maybe it was just that she was sick and tired of rotten things happening to her when she hadn’t done anything to deserve them. Whatever the reason, as she sat on that sofa, staring up at the man who’d issued her the most detestable ultimatum she’d ever heard, something inside her snapped.

She stood up slowly, narrowing her eyes like a backstreet gangster who’d just gotten the upper hand. She planted her fists against her hips and glowered at him. “I can see now why you’re not married. There aren’t many women who’d put up with such a mean, shallow, arrogant, dictatorial jerk!”

She slapped a palm against his chest and gave him a shove. As he stumbled backward, she started for the door, so crazed with anger that she’d have stood up to a grizzly bear before she stayed another minute with this man. But before she had the chance to commune with the creatures of the forest, he grabbed her by the wrist, spun her around, and dragged her back across the room. He put both hands on her shoulders and shoved her down on the sofa. She tried to rise, and he shoved her down again. He sat down beside her and clamped his hand around her upper arm, his gaze boring into her. She set her jaw and scowled right back at him.

“The way I figure it,” he said, “you’re nothing more than a snotty little tease who gets her kicks by jerking guys around. But I suppose there’s a possibility that you just don’t have the sense not to mess with strange men who might not be as forgiving as I am. Now, which is it?”

She lifted her nose a notch, refusing to let him see her sweat. “Well, let’s see. The ‘strange’ part. That’s accurate.”

She tugged her arm from his grasp and stood up, but just as quickly he grabbed her and yanked her back down again.

She glared at him. “Oh, so you like it rough, huh? Why didn’t you say so?”

She regretted the words the instant they left her lips. He tightened his grip on her arm, an expression of barely restrained fury flooding his face.

“I’ve never hurt a woman in my life, and I’m not about to start now.” He leaned closer still, dropping his voice to a gravelly whisper. “And just for the record, I don’t like it rough at all. I like it soft, I like it slow, and I like it hot. And above all, I like a woman who knows what she wants. If I ever decide you fit that description, your screams are the ones they’ll be hearing in Bangkok.”

She swallowed hard, never doubting for a moment that he meant what he said.

“Now, why don’t you put the bullshit on hold for about five minutes and tell me why you’re really here?”

Renee opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She couldn’t think of a thing to say that wouldn’t get her into even more hot water than she was already in. She figured this was it. This was the moment he was going to hack her up and bury her under the front porch, not because he was some kind of a bizarre serial killer, but just because he’d had enough.

“It was a mistake,” she said. “Let’s just forget about it, okay?” She started to rise, hoping her semi-admission of guilt would be enough to satisfy him. He jerked her back down again.

And that was when it came to her. The perfect little lie that had been eluding her suddenly filled her mind with the simple grandeur reserved for only the most brilliant of falsehoods. Why hadn’t she thought of it before?

She rubbed her arm where he’d grasped it so tightly, then bowed her head and dropped her voice to a near-whisper.

“It was because of my boyfriend, okay?”

He looked at her skeptically. “Your boyfriend?”

“He’s the reason I had to get away.”

“Get away from what?”

“From him.” She sighed, staring down at her hands. “We were out driving, and we got into this terrible argument. He was so angry. Even more than usual. He stopped at the train crossing by the diner when the gates came down, and I jumped out of the car. He came after me.” She blinked quickly, as if chasing away tears. “He grabbed me and I fell.” Physical evidence, she thought suddenly, and pulled up a leg of her jeans, displaying an angry red wound on her knee surrounded by black-and-blue flesh that looked even worse than she’d imagined it would. And when he stared down at her injury and his eyes narrowed with concern, she knew the tables had turned and she was back on top again. Metaphorically speaking.

Infused with hope, Renee kept spinning. “I managed to get away from him. I crossed the tracks just before the train got there, but he didn’t make it across. The train was moving really slow, so it blocked him until I made it to the diner.”

John slumped back on the sofa and expelled a long, weary breath, putting his hand to his forehead and squeezing his eyes closed as if he had a whopper of a headache.

He’s buying it. Every last word.

“So then you came on to me? What was that all about?”

She shrugged weakly. “I just thought it would be the quickest way to get you to take me away from there before he got to me again.”

John looked at her with total disbelief. “Do you know how stupid that was? What if you’d come on to the wrong kind of guy in that diner, and then refused to do what you promised? Do you have any idea what could have happened?”

Renee felt a flush of relief. Even though his brow was all crunched up with annoyance and those dark eyes were skewering her, by telling her she could have come on to the wrong guy he was telling her she’d gotten lucky and picked the right one. A guy who probably wasn’t going to hold her to the outrageous sexual activity she’d promised.

“Has he hurt you before?”

His expression remained hard, but the note of compassion she heard in his voice made her a little less proud of the lie she’d fabricated. She sighed. “Yeah.”

“Ever put you in the hospital?”

She pondered that one, warning herself not to get too carried away. “Once.”

“Jesus.” He breathed the word with quiet exasperation. “Why didn’t you just tell me what was going on when you came into that diner? I could have—”

“No. You couldn’t have. My boyfriend’s huge, and he’s ugly, and he’s got this shaved head and these hideous tattoos, and he’s mean. Really mean. One look at him and nobody would have helped me, and I wouldn’t have blamed them.”

John screwed up his face. “And this guy is your boyfriend?”

She had to admit that did sound kind of moronic. She shrugged weakly. “Well, sometimes he can be really sweet, if he sets his mind to it.”

“Sweet? Sweet?” John sat up on the edge of the sofa, looking as if he wanted to rip his hair out. “What’s wrong with some of you women, anyway? You let a man use you as a punching bag, then tell the world how wonderful he is. I swear to God—”

He stopped short, then waved a hand in dismissal. “Never mind. It’s none of my business.” He got up from the sofa and reached for his coat. “I’m taking you home. Where do you live?”

She sighed, fiddling with a loose string on the sofa. “With my boyfriend.”

He stared at her dumbly for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh. “Do you have any friends you can stay with? Relatives?”

“Uh…we just moved here. I don’t know anybody.”

“Well, that’s just great.” He threw his coat back down on the sofa.

She turned her gaze up to meet his. “Do you think I could stay here tonight?”

“No. No way.”

“But—”

“I said no. I don’t want to get involved in this.”

“You’re not involved in anything. My boyfriend has no idea where I am. Let me stay here. Please.” She paused, sending him a wide-eyed look of utter helplessness, praying it would be enough to sway him. “I really don’t have anywhere else to go.”

He rolled his eyes a little, and after several seconds of tight-lipped glaring, he threw his arms up in resignation.

“Oh, hell. Why not? It’s a damn fool thing to do, but I might as well stick with the theme of the evening, right?”

She ducked her head submissively. Mission accomplished.

“You can stay here tonight. But in the morning I’m taking you to the local authorities.”

Renee’s head shot up. “What?”

“You’re going to press charges.”

She felt a surge of panic. She sat up suddenly, shaking her head wildly. “No. You don’t understand. I can’t press charges. He’ll kill me if I go to the police—”

“He’ll kill you if you don’t. That’s the deal, sweetheart. Take it or leave it.”

Okay. So the world’s greatest lie had a flaw or two.

Renee decided she didn’t have any choice but to play along, even though she had no intention of getting within ten miles of a police station. At least for now, she was safe. She’d worry about tomorrow…tomorrow. After all, if she just flatly refused to go to the police, what could he do? Drag her there?

“Okay,” she said. “I will.”

John nodded brusquely and rose from the sofa. “It’s cold in here. I’ll make a fire.”

Without another word, he grabbed his coat and left the cabin.

Renee sat back on the sofa, relief spilling through her. She’d just told the most outrageous lie of her life, but her luck had held. Her nose hadn’t grown a foot and her pants hadn’t caught fire.

Spending the night alone with John still made her a little nervous, but at least now she had a better feel for the kind of man she was dealing with. A few times in the midst of her tragically sincere performance she saw a hint of compassion beneath his tough-guy demeanor, and instinctively knew she had nothing to fear from him.

Unless he found out she’d lied.