CHAPTER TWO
Reno exited the water. Finally free of the Caribbean’s depths they were now exposed to a deluge of rain, and it was only going to get worse. Lacey’s arms barely clung to him. Her legs barely moved, dragging behind them. His arm around her waist was the only support keeping her from collapsing into the last bit of water and onto the beach.
“Thank God, land,” she croaked. She dropped her one arm and reached for the sand of the narrow beach. He set her gently down. A hoarse sob came from her throat. “I never thought… If you hadn’t…” She stopped and blinked her green eyes up at him in the downpour. Even through the curtain of rain he could tell she was near tears. “Thank you Reno. I would be dead.” Her voice trembled. “Thank you so much.” Lacey peeled her gloves off.
He crouched down and pulled her close, trying to provide her with some shelter from the rain and wind, allowing her a few moments’ rest. He untied the rope. “You did great. You had the determination. You did what you needed to survive.”
She laughed against his chest. “Story of my life. Maybe I’d be better off if I didn’t have such a strong survival instinct.” Gallant tilted her face up to his. The happy, flighty woman that appeared to worship Vasco and the gifts he showered her with wasn’t there. She reached up and placed her hand to his cheek, its cold touch sent warmth through him. “Would it be so bad if we just vanished?”
Her demeanor and comments surprised him. Made her seem all the more vulnerable. Just what did she do to survive?
“Oh, forget I said that.” She laughed as if joking, though the humor didn’t make it to her eyes. She flitted her hand. “I say the craziest things when I’m tired. Please don’t tell Vasco. He doesn’t always understand my sense of humor.” She dropped her eyes and twisted her fingers together.
“I won’t say a word, querida.” And he meant it. He was out to destroy the man but he’d do his best to keep her safe from the fallout. He’d never use her to move deeper into the man’s confidence.
“You’re hurt,” she gasped, looking at his wrists and hands has he removed his own gloves.
Her hands looked so small next to his as she tenderly examined them. They were chafed raw from the shark. His lowered body temperature had slowed the bleeding. “Just scrapes. I know you’re tired, Lacey, but we have to find shelter.” She seemed relieved to be out of the water, although her trembling body was not lost on him.
“I really don’t think I can move an inch.” She groaned as he stood. His body ached like one large bruise, and exhaustion beat at him. Laying here in the sand, rain be damned, was tempting, especially with Lacey curled at his side.
“We need to find shelter, querida. Try to get dry and warm up. Or making it to land will have been pointless. Come on, you can lean on me.” He’d find the strength to carry her if he needed to.
Holding her upper arm, he helped Lacey to her feet. She looped her arms around his waist and leaned into him as she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. And he concentrated on ignoring how fragile, how feminine she felt. She looked around the deserted beach. “This would be a nice paradise to get lost on.” She sighed wistfully.
Thunder boomed followed by a streak of lightening. She jumped, pressing tighter against him. “Did I mention I’m not a fan of thunderstorms? Back home they often led to tornadoes.” Her temptation and the timing of the flash definitely reminded him of the Garden of Eden. However giving in to this temptation on this paradise would not just get him cast out. It could be his death sentence.
“It is still a ways out. I promise to have you safe before it reaches us. Where’s home?”
“Kentucky,” she answered, sadness in her tone, again.
“Horse country,” he added, wanting her to share more, keep her distracted.
“Yes it is. After school, I used to sneak to a nearby stable and watch people ride.” She sighed softly. “I love horses, do you?”
“My family raised and bred Spanish pure breeds, Andalusians.”
“Really, where was that?”
“Venezuela.” Why on earth had he told her that? Exhaustion had him slipping.
“Venezuela…is that where you’re from?”
“Yes.” The wind whipped around them. She turned her face into him, her breasts pressing against him, making him realize he wasn’t as numb as he thought he was. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“You sure it’s not a hurricane?” she gasped.
He chuckled. “No, querida, wrong season, besides we aren’t in the hurricane belt.” They walked along the tree line and lush vegetation, trying to keep out of the rain and the cutting wind. Reno kept his arm around her, pulled her close to support most of her weight. He did his best to shelter her, trying to find some warmth for them both.
They rounded a bend and after climbing over a small rocky jetty, entered a cove which brought a smile to his face. There was a dock and small boat house. Nestled in the terrain above it was a house. The small path must lead to stairs hidden in the green blanket covering the hillside.
Lacey gasped and stopped. “Do you think anyone is here?”
“There’s no boat. And I don’t see any lights.” They walked to the edge of the dock. Taking a rest under the boathouse eaves, he let her sit on a small wooden bench while he looked around. It was locked up tight and had no windows. Reno had already decided to try at the main house first. The boat house would have no hot water, blankets or stored food. Before they made the climb, he turned on the dock hose and tested it. Fresh water. “Here, take a drink.”
Lacey drank greedily. He tried hard to push away the images her mouth drawing water from the hose and her small satisfied moans brought to his mind. Reminded himself he was tired and sore and she was totally off limits. It didn’t help.
Thunder crashed again and she jumped, dropping the hose. It twisted wildly on the dock, spraying everywhere. She screeched, then started laughing as the spray hit his face when he went to grab for it. Her laughter was a contagious melody that played on every cell of his body. Its vibration seemed to ease pains and create new aches. He didn’t think he had ever heard her laugh before. He was pretty sure he hadn’t because it was a sound you didn’t want to stop. He shook his head, swallowed the laugh bubbling up inside him and reached for the nozzle, shutting off the water.
“I’m sorry if the hose got you wet.” She laughed.
This time Reno did allow himself to laugh. He looked up at the sky, the deluge coming down. “I don’t think I can get much wetter.” He shook his head as she grinned with chattering teeth. “Let’s go, we need to get out of these suits and dry off.”
“Already?” She pouted. She was pale and trembling.
“Already.” He should have had her out of the suit and bundled up in front of a fire by now.
“We’re climbing up those?” She complained hoarsely as she regarded the stairs. He helped her up and she took her place in the shelter of his body. “Oh, Reno, I don’t think I can.” She whimpered.
“You always say that, querida, and yet you always do. This is it, I promise, then we’ll be out of the rain. We’ll get warm, maybe find some food. Then you can sleep.”
“You think they’ll have a bathtub?” she slurred quietly as they started up the steps. “I could really go for a bubble bath.”
“Only one way to find out, Lacey.” He fought the image of her naked body soaking in a tub full of bubbles.
The alabaster house was up on pilings. A spiral marble staircase led up to a large balcony that lined two sides of the house, both overlooking the Caribbean and a pool on the terrace below. The front walls of the house were side to side tinted French doors, allowing the view indoors. He pulled his knife from its sheath.
Lacey swallowed. “Pretty handle.”
He studied the carved ebony for a minute. “Thank you, it was a gift from my father.” His father had given it to him on his twelfth birthday.
“Did he teach you how to use it?”
“Mostly.” The day he got it his father had him slit the throat of a trespassing fox. “I always keep it with me. It reminds me there are things I need to take care of.” A man took care of their own. He intended to.
Lacey squealed as lightening streaked, reflecting in the glass. “Please hurry!” It took him a few seconds to jimmy the lock on one of the doors and they were in.
The room was all white with black furniture. It hinted money, clean and bright, sterile. Not what he would consider island décor, but different strokes. Over the back of the two couches were blankets with black and white patterns. A black rug lay on the white tile in front of a white marble fireplace. Beside it a pile of wood.
He settled Lacey on an armchair and tugged one of the blankets. “Here, querida. Get undressed and wrapped yourself in this. I’m going to see what kind of power I can get turned on and scrounge up some emergency supplies. I’ll be right back.” Lacey stared at the blanket he handed her, shivering.
When he came back a few minutes later wrapped in a towel, carrying another and two bedspreads she was sitting in the same place. He knelt in front of her. “Lacey, you have to get out of this.”
“So cold and tired. I can’t move.” She whimpered.
Reno almost groaned. He could not stop the dread that accompanied his anticipation at the mere thought of seeing her naked. Even their emergency situation couldn’t cool the rising heat building between his legs.
He reached behind her and pulled the zipper strap. “I turned on the gas and lit the hot water tank pilot, querida.” He spoke to her slowly, did his best to watch her eyes, as he pulled the pink neoprene sleeves off her arms. “In about a half hour we’ll have some hot water, and until then we are going to have to warm each other.”
She blinked a few times at him then nodded. “Do you think they’re looking for us?”
“Knowing Vasco, a search party was formed when the boat came back without us. But any search would have likely been called off when the storm hit.” He slid the suit down her legs and tossed it aside. Easy part done, he thought as he eyed the turquoise bandana pattern bikini she wore. Hardened nipples he knew were only from the cold still beckoned him. He met her green eyes and held their gaze as he reached around her neck and untied the laces of her top. Then unhooked the clasp. With a deep breath he added the top to the wetsuit’s location. What caught his attention was her tan lines; his fingers itched to trace the edge between tan and white skin, his hand ached to touch skin that the sun had been denied.
His gaze moved to a water drop as it made its way down her neck and over her breast—a full, white orb his hand hadn’t forgotten being denied—and rolled over her puckered soft pink areole to dangle from the hard peak of her nipple. His tongue darted over his lower lip, dying to lap it away, begging to suckle it into his mouth. He knew even if Vasco wouldn’t kill him for seeing her this way and thus destroy the mission, he wouldn’t take advantage of her. This was only to get her warm. But still, he couldn’t help the thoughts, the desire his body was reacting to.
She turned her head away to look out the windows. Damn, she probably noticed him staring. “Do you think the storm will last long?”
“Can never tell in the tropics but this one looks like it has staying power. It will be too dark for any real search until morning.” She probably wanted to get as far away from him as she could. Gritting his teeth, he swung the blanket over her shoulders, removing temptation from view. He eased the bottoms off her, when she wiggled to help he caught a glimpse of a small patch of deep golden curls and pink flesh peaking down below it. Never mind surviving the water, he was going to die right here and now. Forget it, you’re staying blue! He pulled the blanket tighter around her.
“Maybe they will think we drowned and call it off.” She sounded almost hopeful, as if she were looking for a way to escape Vasco rather than get back to him.
“Vasco won’t stop searching until he has proof, querida.” No way would the drug lord just forget about his pretty American girlfriend. Reno had noticed the man’s obsession with Lacey over the months she’d been in the compound.
“Proof.” She fell silent again, another bout of shivers racked her body. For now, getting her warm and dry took priority over understanding her.
He loosened the ponytail and toweled her hair. Golden tresses, straightened by the weight of the water, began to regain their natural wave and curl. She moaned with pleasure as he dried her hair, and his cock twitched in reply. With a tightly clenched jaw he moved to light a fire. Getting a decent blaze going, he spread one of the bedspreads out on the black rug.
He glanced over at Lacey. Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips as her eyes flew to the fire. He looked down at the tented towel he wore, revealing his obvious erection. A smile twitched on his lips; so he wasn’t the only one caught staring. He swallowed, remembering what he saw and that in a moment he would be lying next to it. “All right, querida, body warmth is the only thing that’s going to get rid of this chill for now.”
He helped her stand, her legs still weak. He could feel her trembling under his hand. She lay down on the spread. He covered her with the blanket that had been wrapped around her, along with the other spread and blanket. Her gaze went to the fire as he removed his towel and slid beneath the coverings and next to her. She turned her back to him. He pulled her close spooning her back against him. Her body was cold and shaking, goose bumps covered her. Still, the hard length of his erection nestled against her ass and the small of her back twitched, ached. “Sorry, querida, I can’t help but notice you’re a beautiful woman. Being this close will get you warm again safely, not too fast.”
“Mmm hmmm.” She nodded. He snuggled the blanket closer to her and stroked her hair. He started lowly singing a Spanish lullaby his mother used to sing to him. Lacey sighed and he could feel her starting to relax. As she drifted off to sleep she wiggled closer to him. He bit back a groan, doubting he’d sleep at all.
* * * * *
Rolling thunder pulled Lacey from sleep. Eyes opened to stare into the waning flame of the dying fire. A flash of lightening sent her burrowing back against her guard.
Her guard. It would be impossible to think of Reno that way any longer. Not only had he saved her, he’d put himself in the path of real danger. She sighed. And he’d towel dried her hair. God, that had felt so good. And then the man had sung to her. She hadn’t known the big man had such gentleness in him. If only she could have stayed awake to listen longer.
“You’re safe, I’m here,” Reno murmured while his arms tightened around her.
She held her breath. Had she awakened him? He had to be so very tired. His hard work had saved them both.
Yellow and orange flames danced as Reno’s breathing grew even.
Then in a flash as fast as the lightening outside reality set in.
Vasco.
Lacey worked to keep her emotions in check. Over the previous weeks and months, she’d turned into an emotional wreck.
Oh God, what am I going to do?
“Querida?”
She bit her lip. She had hoped he slept still. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You’re still trembling.”
Her throat ached. “I hope the storm never ends.”
“I thought you weren’t a fan of thunder and lightning.” The strong arm she had her head rested on stretched out.
“I’m beginning to become quite fond of them.” In desperation she reached her same arm out to lay her palm in his much larger hand. His fingers folded down entwining his with hers. She closed her eyes. I hope the storm never ends.
“It sounds like there is still plenty of strength to it.” He folded their arms, clasping her close once more.
Safe.
Here with this man on a deserted island she felt protected. How could she instinctively know she was safe with Reno? After all, he worked for one of the most vicious South American Drug lords. Even naked in his arms, her sixth sense assured her she remained secure. Snug. Never again would she ignore it. If she’d paid it more attention before she wouldn’t be in this situation.
That night long ago, when she’d climbed aboard the yacht with her girlfriends… At the time she hadn’t been able to explain the sudden burst of consciousness screaming at her to get off that craft. Run. But she hadn’t been able to leave her friends and they’d been so enamored by Vasco. They’d been so thrilled at the invitation of a glass of champagne while cruising South Beach. It was supposed to be a celebration. Finally college graduates out partying one last time together before going separate ways in life.
Lacey’s heart clenched, just as it had when she’d awakened from some drug induced sleep. Elise and Kristen…gone, just gone, and she’d been all alone with a madman. Taking a deep breath she pushed her friends from her mind. Dwelling on their fates did her no good. To survive as Vasco’s captive she took things one day at a time. Some days she counted the hours, even the minutes. Right now she was safe with no Vasco nearby.
Watching the fire, she drifted to sleep once more.
The next time she woke Reno wasn’t next to her.
While holding her breath, she listened hard. It still rained, though she heard no thunder.
No. No. Please don’t let the weather let up yet, she silently prayed.
A flame burst to life illuminating Reno and she relaxed. The muscular body garnered her full attention.
He was breathtaking in his masculinity. So big and powerful. He didn’t fully stand, only crouched over her to climb in behind her back once more. He hadn’t been able to hide the swelling length between his legs.
This time when he pressed the hardness against her, it had an entirely different effect. She couldn’t pry her mind away from its heat.
“Move up a bit.”
“Oh…” She lifted her head, scooting up for him to spoon more closely to her. She shivered as moisture pooled between her thighs. Her shifting had brought his cock along her bottom instead of up her back.
Lacey bent her legs more, scrunching her thighs. Reno brought his coarse hair covered legs up to meet hers to spoon. His hardness pressed between the juncture of her legs. Her innermost, intimate muscles tightened, started to throb.
A low moan escaped before she could hold it back.
Heart pounding, she managed to prevent herself from squirming. Reno was big all over. His cock not only long but broad, too. Temptation twitched in her fingertips.
Her sex swelled in anticipation.
Lacey wanted to reach down and measure the width of its head. She knew from his presence that it would be broader than her four fingertips, no, all five fingertips. He was that big. That impressive. She shivered. He would completely fill her, and then some.
Muttering something in Spanish, Reno tightened his arm around her waist. His cock rubbed along the seam of her sex as he tightened his hold. Liquid fire burst along her nerve endings.
Arousal like never before hummed in her lower belly, heightened in the moistened apex of her legs.
“Are you warm enough?” His Spanish accent seemed thicker than usual.
She sucked in a breath as his hand moved down to clasp her thigh, only to release it when he brought his palm back to grasp her belly.
Delicious need pulsed heavily in her sex. Her breath quickened. She couldn’t think straight.
Did he feel how wet she was now? Was he as sensitive as she was? As aroused?
Nothing could prevent her hips from rolling back into him in invitation.
“Be still.” His rough hand clasped her hip.
Her eyes blinked open.
“Querida.” He reached down and readjusted the position of his erection. He rested the thick hardness along her back.
She moaned—he had to know how wet she’d gotten. God, she’d probably made him slick. What must he think of me?
The bliss of the moment died. He thinks you’re Vasco’s whore. What else would he think?
I am not.
I am not!
A violent tremor raced along her spine.
“Hey, querida. Don’t you dare fear me now.”
Afraid of him? He’d been nothing but a gentleman. Kind. So unlike Vasco’s other men. Some of Vasco’s men were monsters and never diverted from a given order. Unable to talk, she shook her head. Why couldn’t she have met Reno first? What would that have been like? God, he wouldn’t have even noticed her. It was the slutty clothes Vasco made her wear that captured everyone’s attention.
“Turn over so I can see your face.” He clasped her chin, easing her around.
His rigid length bumped first her hip, then her belly as she rolled over.
“There, that’s better.” He wrapped his arm around her middle.
She clasped his arm, while her other hand rested on his chest. She enjoyed the beat of his heart.
“Given your new fondness for storms, I have some news you might like.”
“What?”
The flames from the fire reflected in his dark gaze. “I checked my GPA before you woke. We’ve got another storm brewing.” His hand roved from her waist to her hip, as if he couldn’t help himself. “But that means it could be midmorning before a rescue party arrives.”
Midmorning. A few extra hours of freedom.
The palm grasping her hip turned almost brutal in its grip. Reno looked as if he was about to say something more only to have his lashes shield his eyes.
“I’m glad. I’m glad another storm is coming in.”
He nodded as if she confirmed something.
“If the rescue party never finds us, I’ll be glad.” There. Reckless or not. She couldn’t keep the truth bottled up any longer. She wasn’t going to beg him not to say anything to Vasco this time. If he told, he told. But she was still afraid to tell him anymore.
More tears clogged her throat. If Reno told, Vasco would turn her out. First he’d give her to his men to use. Then he’d put her to work in one of his houses. To be a whore to anyone until disease, or an abusive client, killed her.
How many times had Vasco held that threat over her head?
She shook her head wildly. She preferred death.
“Easy.” Reno wrapped his arms around her, bringing her tightly to his chest. Such a safe cocoon. “I meant what I said. You are safe with me.”
She inhaled, battling the fear. The loneliness. She wouldn’t give in to the hysteria that sometimes bubbled up in her mind.
Instead she clung in desperation to her guard, enjoying his masculine scent. She must remember that. Reno was her guard. The firm reminder did no good. Her nipples hardened to press at his warm chest.
Holding her breath, she ground her sex into his massive erection.
“Lacey…” A tic beat in his jaw. “Why don’t you shower before the lightning starts again?”
“Oh.” The desire extinguished with his rejection. She nodded. “Yeah, I guess I better.” She wiggled away from him to climb to her hands and knees. Even through the screaming protest of muscles sore from the long swim, she was very conscious of the weight of her breasts swaying.
His lingering gaze heated her as much as it confused her.
On her feet, she awkwardly crossed her arms over her breasts. “Which way to the bathroom, do you know?” She glanced around. He’d been up earlier. Their swimsuits and diving wear lay spread out over furniture to dry.
“Mierda, querida.” Reno rolled to his feet in a single fluid motion. He wrapped a blanket around them.
Relieved to be in the shelter of his arms, she leaned into his side.
“It’s down this hall.” Reno urged her forward.
They stopped outside the bathroom door. “Reno.” She pressed her breasts against his ribs, her hands now resting on his chest and back.
He swallowed.
Her hand drifted down his abs. “You’re welcome to join me in the bath.”
* * * * *
Reno stilled her hand, warring for a second to keep from pushing it lower. With every ounce of restraint he could muster he pulled her hand away. “I rinsed out our suits and showered earlier while you slept.”
“Oh.” She dropped her gaze and stepped away. He clicked on the emergency flashlight he had found and left on the counter, then lit the candles he had gathered to light the room. In their glow he noted her skin was no longer pale. She had recovered from the time in the water. The pink that tinted her body now made his gut clench and his blood surge. He wanted to pull her back into his arms, tell her how much he wanted to join her, but fisted his hands instead.
“There are towels in here,” he rasped, his voice stuck in his throat, and opened the closet, grabbing one. He wrapped it around his waist tightly, wrapped his erection to his belly, restricting it, restricting himself. He picked up the flashlight and backed out. “I’ll be in the kitchen. I’m going to see if I can scare up some food.”
She nodded in response. “I can’t wait to get this saltwater out of my hair.” She picked up the bottle of shampoo and sniffed it before turning on the water.
“Enjoy.” He forced a smile.
He knew there was no hiding his attraction from her. He had never been so hard in his entire life. His arousal pulsed through every cell, roared in his ears. If the feel of her slick, moist heat teasing his cock while he held her hadn’t told him she wanted him too, the offer she just made cleared all doubt. But it was an offer he couldn’t accept although his ability to remember this was wearing very thin. He should have never climbed back down next to her, he should have gone to the couch like he’d planned. But then he saw her awake, saw her fire-lit, emerald eyes moving over him…
He concentrated on steadying his breathing, his heart rate, and made his way through the dark hall to the kitchen. He needed to get some distance between them, needed to regain his focus. Back at the compound he could relieve the frustration a day in her company caused on a friendly local woman in the nearby village. Here there was nowhere to go. And now that he had actually seen her, felt her softness, her wet heat, the temptation was worse.
The sound of running water gave him images of it flowing over her naked body, of her hands lathering the soap on her skin, working the shampoo into her hair…
“Damn it!” He growled, slamming his hand into the wall. Glasses in the adjacent cabinets rattled. Pain from his abraded skin burned in protest. He focused on it.
Reno shined the light around the kitchen wondering what kind of nonperishables wealthy people might store in their island getaway. Candles seemed to be in abundance. He found boxes of matches in a canister next to the stove and dispersed candles on the counters. After a search of the cabinets, drawers and what seemed to be a pantry, it was obvious the owners hadn’t arrived for the season yet. However, he managed to scrounge up some semblance of a makeshift meal. A selection from an ample wine collection, Lobster bisque soup, crackers, cans of lump crab and smoked oysters.
He had just finished setting it up on the black marble coffee table in the living room, lit by the fresh blaze in the fireplace, when Lacey came in. His heart stopped then slammed against his chest. She was wrapped in a large bath towel, her golden hair spilling over her bare shoulders in damp waves. She looked uncertain, vulnerable. An image of her he hadn’t seen before… That’s not true, he hadn’t allowed himself to acknowledge it before.
Vasco was his target and all he wanted to concern himself with; he had closed himself off to anyone else. After yesterday it had changed some. It awakened a need to protect her. Damn!
But his need to complete his mission, to have his vengeance on Vasco was stronger. If he wasn’t going to let a shark stop him he certainly wasn’t going to let a woman. No matter how beautiful. Still she looked at him with a need, a hunger, in her eyes that that fed the ache in him he had been desperately trying to ignore.
She took a deep breath and her expression changed, a familiar smile lit her face. Only now as he watched her approach could he see the vulnerability still there behind the protection of the smile. His heart twisted. Just who was she?
“Dinner is served.” He stretched his arm out to the table.
“Something smells good.” She wet her lips and surveyed the table.
“I bet anything would smell good just about now.” He poured the chardonnay into the wine glasses.
“Probably. I can’t remember being so hungry” She laughed and pressed her hand to her stomach.
“Well it’s not a feast but it should take the edge off. We have lobster bisque flavored with lump crabmeat and sherry, crackers topped with smoked oysters and a bottle of wine. Gourmet from a can.”
She lowered herself carefully onto the pillow he had set next to the table. He knew she had to be sore from their long swim. He tried to keep from noticing the way her breasts swelled above the edge of the towel now hugging her body.
The fire illuminated the room and highlighted her features and caressed her skin in a way that made him envious. He was mesmerized by the way her lips rounded to draw the soup from the spoon. He couldn’t stop wanting them to touch all places on his body that were once again becoming all too aware of her closeness. Feel her mouth, her body, take them in. Her pink tongue darted out to swipe a bit from her lip as her eyes met his. He bit back a groan.
“Of course, it’s nothing as extravagant as the meals Vasco serves.” He fished, not only trying to discover what her relationship with the man was but to remind himself she was Vasco’s woman. Soon her life there would come crashing down and she would end up hating him. Or would she? He wondered, going over some of the things she had said today. Still, there was no future here. He had no future except for death or the next mission. For the first time since he joined Enforcers & Shields of Intelligence that idea bothered him.
“I suppose not,” she sighed, “but sometimes simple meals are better don’t you think?” She sounded almost wistful again, adding to his suspicions. She took a few more greedy spoonfuls of the soup. “It’s delicious. You work wonders with a can.” She smiled taking a sip of wine. “My momma could work magic in the kitchen too. She could make a meal out of nothing.” Her smile changed to fondness then as if caught at something, she lowered her eyes and drank more wine.
Reno studied her, filed away the information she shared. Were they poor? Was it Vasco’s wealth that seduced her in the first place? Was she regretting her decision?
“Have you been with Vasco long?” she asked.
“Well, over a year, but I saved his life six months ago.” He swallowed the last of his wine. “I replaced the man that failed him.”
Her eyes widened. She was surprised. “Six months?” She laughed softly. “You seem so at home in the compound. So respected.”
“I do what I have to do and I do it well.” Did he feel guilty that a man died so he could gain his position in the cartel? No. It was necessary. He had no love lost for the murderers under the Casimiro regime. What turned his gut was having to keep Vasco safe until they had all the information they needed.
“And before that you were in Venezuela? Do you miss the horses? Your family?” she asked, finishing her second bowl of soup.
Reno drained his wine glass. “Yes, querida, I miss them very much.”
The familiar pain stabbed at his heart. Followed by the furious rage at Vasco for taking them from him, at himself for not being there to protect his own. Damn, Judge had to know about his family when he chose him for the assignment. At first Reno thought it was a reward after all the assignments he had completed, a chance for him to take his revenge. But his patience was wearing thin and each time he had to save Vasco or do his bidding was pure torture. Maybe this was a test not a reward. He watched Lacey twist a curl of her hair around her finger; knowing that she would have to go back to him would definitely test the last of his restraint.
“Venezuela is a lifetime ago.” He should never have shared that with her. But something in him was glad he did, wanted her to know something of the real him. Besides, Vasco knew he was from there, just not who he was. And he doubted he could use the information to draw any conclusions about him, to the world that man was dead.
She stared down into her wine glass. “I know what you mean, Kentucky seems like a lifetime ago too and I haven’t been with Vasco near as long.” There was a tremor in her voice again.
He knew how long she had been with Vasco, had known the exact moment she stepped onto the compound. He would like to say it was because it was part of his job to observe everything but that had nothing to do with why he noticed her. She was beautiful and even in her skimpy clothes and makeup you could sense her innocence. She was so out of place.
She looked more at home next to him now, the innocence a little banged up but still there. It was a now cautious trust in life, in people, that he wanted to protect, maybe even regain a little of for himself. She began to bite a nail, out of frustration, agitation or nervousness he didn’t know. He reached over and took the hand from her mouth. It vanished in his. So small, yes, he wanted to protect her, to keep her as his. Not your assignment.
“How did you end up with Vasco?” He wanted to know, needed to know.
Not your assignment, Gallant.
She wiggled her hand out of his and crossed her arms. “I was on vacation in Miami with some college friends, a last hurrah before we started in the real world. I met Vasco at a night club, he asked me to dance. Then we went back to his yacht for an afterhours party…” She paused, lowering her eyes, her teeth worrying her lip. “The rest as they say is history.”
He knew there was more to it. He could tell she was holding back. He had learned to read her some during the conversations they’d shared while he watched her for Vasco. When she was telling the truth, saying what she wanted to say, she would look him in the eye and was eager to share. She would go on about it, give details. When she was hiding something, avoiding something, she dropped her gaze, said it all with few words. Like now.
She was afraid, she didn’t trust him Why should she? She knew him as someone Vasco trusted. Damn, he wanted her to trust him. Why? Why did it matter so much? The soothing sound of falling rain was suddenly interrupted. Thunder rattled the room and the dark night was lit by distant bolts stretching from the clouds to dance on the water.
Lacey jumped, her body pressed closer to him, her hand clasped his forearm. He smiled down at her panicked eyes. Tried to ignore the current that was dancing through each cell.
“I guess the next storm is coming.” She wet her lips. He could feel her heart pounding against him.
“It seems you haven’t become as fond of the storms as you thought.”
“I’m alright, it just startled me.” He watched the rapid rise and fall of her breasts, the hard beat of the pulse in her throat. “I can count on you to keep me safe.” Her hand moved to his chest, the contact raced straight to his balls.
He ran his finger along her jaw and tucked it under her chin lifting her face to his. “Yes, querida, I’ll keep you safe. You can trust me. Don’t be afraid to come to me, Lacey. I have my reasons for being with the Casimiro cartel, loyalty to Vasco is not one of them.”
She moistened her lips, they parted, surprised. Then her mouth softened in an invitation he was finding hard to resist. One kiss, just a taste. Need surged in his cock, hardening it more, urging him on. He knew it could not end with one kiss. One kiss would destroy any restraint he still had.