The Pirate

  She instinctively stepped back as he came around the end of the bed and started toward her. Then she refused to retreat any farther. Her chin lifted even as she felt herself turning hot and vibrant with the fierce emotions coursing through her.

  “Now just one blasted minute, Jared Hawthorne.”

  “Let’s get something clear right from the start. This is just between you and me,” Jared said. “You want to go to war, we’ll go to war. You want to make love, we’ll make love. But we don’t involve any third parties. No more Jeff Taylors.”

  “You really are a pirate, aren’t you?”

  “If I’m a pirate, you were born to be a pirate’s woman.” His hands closed over her shoulders and his mouth found hers in a searing kiss.

  He was right, Kate acknowledged silently as she felt the passion rising swiftly; some part of her had been born to respond to him. He was the man she had been waiting for all her life. Her arms went around his neck and she shoved her fingers through his thick, dark hair.

  Jared exhaled heavily, his body going hard at her touch. “I knew when you didn’t try to get on that plane today that you realized this was special.” He pulled her down onto the bed and sprawled across her. “Neither one of us can walk away from it now.”

  His arrogance appalled her. “All right,” Kate said, looking up at him through her lashes, “I’ll admit the sex is good. And I’ve heard it’s a great cure for stress. I might as well enjoy it.”

  Jared’s eyes glittered with sudden anger and his hands tightened on her. “It isn’t just the sex and you know it.”

  “What else is there? It’s not as if there’s a lot of trust or love between us.”

  “Damn you, stop trying to manipulate me. I’m not the kind of man you can push and prod until I collapse in a heap of jelly and tell you whatever you want to hear. One of these days you’re going to learn that.”

  “Just as you’re going to have to learn that I’m not the kind of sweet, soft, meek little woman who will let you pat her on the head and tell her to mind her own business.”

  He stared down at her, his mouth inches from her own, his hands locked on her shoulders. “One of us is going to have to back down and I can tell you right now, it won’t be me, Kate. I know what I’m doing and I know what’s best for you. You’re going to have to trust me and that’s final.”

  “Nothing is final,” she told him, pulling his head down to hers. “But there’s no point talking about it tonight.”

  “On that we agree.”

  His mouth took hers once more in a kiss that demanded everything from her. It was as if he had decided that in place of the capitulation he could not quite wring from her, he would take her very soul instead.

  Kate trembled with the force of her passion, clinging to Jared as he thrust her legs apart with his own. Her red skirt foamed high up on her thighs. He freed her mouth with a husky groan and buried his lips in the curve of her shoulder.

  She felt his hands on the zipper of the red dress and a moment later the silky material was being pushed down over her hips. She was alive with her own desire and infinitely aware of his. The combination was electric. Kate wondered why there were no visible sparks flaring in the darkened room. The invisible ones were everywhere, igniting a wildfire.

  Jared’s hands moved hungrily on her, tugging off the red dress, the red shoes and the panty hose. When she was wearing nothing except the silver collar and moonlight he sat up and unfastened his jeans. He stepped out of them in a series of quick, jerky movements that spoke volumes about his restless impatience. When he was free of the denims he stood beside the bed for a long moment, staring down at her. His body was heavy with arousal.

  “You want me, don’t you?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t ever again say it’s just good sex,” he ordered as he came down beside her. His palm closed over her breast.

  “That really bothered you, didn’t it? Why?”

  “Because it’s a lie and I won’t let you lie to me.”

  “But it’s all right for you to lie to me?” she asked.

  “I’ve never lied to you, but there are some things you don’t need to know.” He stroked his hands through her hair. “You’ll just have to learn to trust me.”

  “Jared—”

  "Hush. Not now.” He cut off her words with a hot kiss, his tongue plunging between her lips. His fingers roamed over her, awakening her nipples and moving lower to find the dampening warmth between her legs.

  Kate’s head was spinning with the euphoric excitement. She touched him wonderingly, loving the feel of his beautifully contoured back and the sleek muscles of his thighs. She let her nails slip into the rough hair below his waist and when she found the hard, thrusting shape of him she circled him gently.

  “Yes,” Jared said, his voice hoarse with barely controlled need. “Touch me. Harder. That’s it. So good. So damned good.”

  She raised herself on one elbow and pushed him gently onto his back. He went over easily, watching her through hooded eyes as she leaned down to kiss his throat.

  His fingers kneaded her shoulders as she trailed small, damp kisses over his bare skin. She felt his hips lifting urgently against her.

  In this, at least, there was total honesty between them, Kate told herself. Jared made no effort to conceal his desire. The wanting in his eyes was blatant and implacable.

  The excitement roared through both of them. Kate could feel her own passion feeding off Jared’s. The energy of their lovemaking dampened their skins with as much perspiration as if they had been engaged in a battle.

  Jared, apparently growing impatient with the sweet warfare, finally shifted onto his back and pulled Kate across his thighs. He guided her down, pushing himself slowly up into her softness until he was deep inside.

  Kate sank her nails into his skin, closed her eyes and gave herself up to the white-hot passion. Jared’s hands were all over her, moving on the insides of her thighs and up into the hidden places. He seemed to know exactly how to touch her. His fingers thrummed gently and she cried out.

  “Come on, honey. Let me see you come apart for me. You know you will. You know you want it. That’s it. That’s it. Tight. Tighter. So beautiful. Yes.”

  Kate gasped and collapsed against his chest as the sweet, shattering finale took her. Jared’s damp hands clenched into her rounded buttocks and he lifted himself against her one more time. He bared his teeth, caught his breath and shuddered heavily.

  Afterward they lay together for a long while without speaking. Kate had her head on Jared’s shoulder and his arm was around her, pinning her close to the length of him.

  “I can’t stay,” Jared said at last, his reluctance to leave clear in his voice. “I have to get back to the house. Beth won’t be able to watch David all night.”

  “I know.”

  “He won a dollar today betting you wouldn’t leave the island.”

  “I think everyone had a bet on whether or not I’d get on that plane.”

  “They all wanted you to stay.”

  Kate sighed and moved her head restlessly against the pillow. “They don’t understand. They think we had a simple lovers’ quarrel and that’s all there was to it.”

  “It was just a simple quarrel. Given your stubbornness, I expect there will be plenty of others.”

  “Not a cheerful thought.”

  “We don’t have to argue, you know.” Jared sat up slowly and reached for his jeans. “I’d much rather make love with you.”

  She lay watching him as he dressed. “Would you?”

  He fastened his jeans and leaned over the bed to cage her between his hands. “Yes,” he said. “I would. But if you want to fight occasionally, I’ll fight with you. I’m an accommodating man, Kate.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “There’s just one thing you ought to know before you launch too many more battles.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You can’t end any of them by getting on
a plane and flying home.”

  “Who’s going to stop me?” As usual, she could not resist rising to the bait.

  Jared smiled slowly in the shadows. “Take a wild guess.” He kissed her again, straightened and walked out the door.

  Chapter 8

  Kate surfaced, pushed back her mask and snorkel and laughed up at Jeff Taylor, who stood in the water beside her. “This is great,” she said. “I could get used to doing this every morning before going to work.”

  “If you think this is good, you should try the diving.” He indicated his gear on the beach. “Fantastic. I’m going out in a while. Going to do a little underwater photography.”

  Kate nodded as she started toward shore. “It sounds fascinating.” She wondered if she could write off the expense of diving lessons if she used the information in a book.

  That thought unfortunately only served to remind her that soon she would be returning to Seattle. She tried to push the unwelcome realization aside as she walked up onto the beach. She halted beside Jeff’s diving gear, eyeing the yellow-and-black wet suit.

  “Do you need a suit for diving in these warm waters?”

  Jeff nodded, picking up a towel. “You do when you’re going to be in the water for a long time. Any water, no matter how warm, saps your body heat after a while.”

  “Who will you be diving with today?”

  “No one. I go by myself.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to always dive with a buddy?” Kate dried her hair with the towel.

  “Technically. But I know what I’m doing in the water and I prefer to go down by myself. I don’t take stupid chances. Do me a favor, though, and don’t tell the resort management I dive alone, okay? Someone is almost bound to feel obligated to give me a lecture on the subject of diving safety, and I hate lectures.”

  Kate smiled. “I won’t mention it. Be careful, though.”

  “I’m always careful.”

  “Have a good dive and thanks for joining me this morning.” She draped her towel around her neck, turned and waved as she started up the beach.

  “Maybe I’ll catch up with you later in the bar,” Jeff called.

  “Maybe.”

  A few minutes later Kate halted at the top of the path and looked back. Jeff was busy adjusting his wet suit. She waited awhile longer and watched as he strapped on the rest of his gear and finally slipped into the water. He disappeared at once. The whole business looked like a lot of fun, Kate decided. If she lived here on Amethyst, she would definitely learn how to dive.

  But she did not live here on the island, and somehow she couldn’t work up a lot of interest in diving back home in the cold, dark waters of Puget Sound. She had gotten accustomed to warm, clear, turquoise seas.

  You can’t have everything, Kate reminded herself. The affair with Jared would eventually end and she would be left with real-life memories to match her dreams. There were a lot of women who never even got that much.

  She was contemplating the dismal prospect of returning home alone when she rounded a corner into the hotel gardens and nearly collided with Max Butterfield.

  “I beg your pardon,” Kate apologized quickly and hurriedly stepped back. She looked with chagrin at the damp spots she had left on Max’s pristine white shirt.

  “Please don’t concern yourself.” Max fastidiously brushed his shirt and then the white pants. He was obviously not pleased with the wet patches she had left behind, but he managed a gracious smile. “Should have been watching where I was going. Been swimming, I see?”

  “Yes. Great morning for it. But then, I guess all the mornings around here are pretty terrific, aren’t they?”

  “Endless paradise,” Max said, glancing over her shoulder and out to sea. “Hard to believe one could ever actually tire of it, isn’t it? Would you care to join me for a cup of coffee on the pool terrace, Ms Inskip? We can talk shop. It’s been a long time since I conversed with a fellow writer. One tends to lose touch.”

  Kate hesitated and then nodded, unable to think of a suitable excuse. “All right. That sounds nice. Thank you.”

  They made their way through the open lobby to the tiled terrace that surrounded the pool. A waiter in sunglasses took their order and returned with a silver pot of coffee, two croissants and a Bloody Mary for Max.

  “When did you first come out here to the islands, Max?” Kate buttered a croissant and popped a flaky bite into her mouth.

  “So long ago that I can no longer remember the exact date, but I do remember the marvelous sense of adventure I felt at the time. Quite extraordinary. Everything seemed so exotic, you know. I was certain I was destined to be famous and in the little biographical notes at the end of my books it would be mentioned quite casually that I lived and worked on a tropical island.”

  “That sort of thing always makes a nice touch in an author’s biography,” Kate conceded, “Gives the writer a larger-than-life image, doesn’t it?”

  “It does, indeed, and when I first arrived here I fully intended to live a larger-than-life sort of life. But somehow time has gone by so much more quickly than I had planned. My novel is still waiting to be written, but in the meantime I have had to support myself with small jobs on the side and here and there a travel piece.” Max shrugged massively and polished off the rest of his croissant. “Life seldom turns out as one had thought it would, does it? But one learns to adapt. Tell me about yourself, Ms Inskip.”

  “Not much to tell. I live and work in Seattle. I’ve managed to make a living doing something I love, so I consider myself lucky.” You can’t have everything.

  “You are. I consider people like you and Jared Hawthorne extremely fortunate, and I must confess I envy you. I cannot tell you how much I envy you. You are both making a living doing what you love.”

  And we both worked hard to earn our luck, Kate thought, glancing around at the beautiful resort and thinking of what it must have cost Jared in terms of time, work and money. Then she reflected on the frustrations she had endured in her writing career and recalled the number of rejections she had received over the years.

  It was odd to think that she and Jared actually had something in common in terms of their success. Neither of them had been handed anything on a silver platter. They had both paid their dues.

  “I still have a few faint hopes,” Max went on, sipping his Bloody Mary. “One never gives up entirely, I suppose.

  Once in a while we are fortunate enough to be given a golden opportunity to reshape our private destinies. I’m keeping an eye out for such a chance.”

  “I wish you the best of luck, Max.” Kate smiled at him, willing herself to be a little more understanding. She knew how she would have felt by now if she had never gotten published.

  “Thank you, my dear. You are very kind.”

  “I saw you on the terrace having coffee with Kate this morning,” Jared said as he sat down across from Max in the bar. “Why?”

  “So blunt. Are you jealous of me, by any chance? I am truly flattered. When one reaches my age, jealousy from a younger man is always welcomed, even if there is no cause.”

  “You know damned well this isn’t a question of jealousy.” Jared leaned back in the fan chair and studied Max through narrowed eyes. “What did you talk about?”

  “Nothing that need concern you, my boy. We merely chatted about our shared interests.”

  “What shared interests?”

  “Writing.”

  “Don’t give me that. You haven’t written a thing except one or two obscure travel articles in all the years I’ve known you, Max.”

  Max’s eyes went cold. “That does not mean I have no intention of writing again. I was a good writer once, Jared. Editors said I had potential. A great deal of it.”

  “Well, you’re in another business now, aren’t you?” Jared was feeling annoyed and when he got annoyed, he got a little ruthless. “And you’ve dragged me into it, too. The sooner this whole thing is over, the better. I don’t like it.”

  “Y
ou’ve made your feelings on the subject quite clear right from the start.” Max smiled benignly. “My supervisors are aware of your attitude. They understand that you are doing us a very big favor and they have asked me to convey their appreciation.”

  “Screw their appreciation. I want this thing brought to a quick end and then I don’t want to hear from you or your supervisors again. When you write up your final report, Max, I want you to make it clear that there will be no more favors from me. We’re even.”

  Max lifted his glass of rum in a short, mocking toast. “Understood. No more favors.”

  “When is it going to be over, Max? I’m tired of being kept on the line. This is my island and I don’t like you and your friends playing games on it. I want a day and a time.”

  “Calm yourself, my friend. Everything is scheduled for the regular cruise ship day at the end of the month. Our little fish will swallow the hook at that time, as planned.”

  Jared stood up. “The sooner the better.”

  “I could not agree with you more,” Max said. His gaze was on the sea as he sipped his drink.

  Jared started to walk away, paused and turned back. He leaned down, one hand planted on the table and spoke softly. “No more cozy little chats with Kate, Max. I don’t want her to be touched by any of this, not even indirectly.”

  Max was both amused and offended. “You think I am so unprofessional as to let something slip to a pretty lady?”

  “I think,” Jared said, spacing his words for emphasis, “that the pretty lady is also pretty smart and it wouldn’t take much to make her curious. Stay away from her.”

  This time Jared did not pause as he walked away from the table. He nodded briefly at the colonel on the way out of the bar and then headed for the lobby.

  He spotted Kate and David as soon as he crossed the small lagoon bridge. They were standing together looking up at one of the watercolors on the wall. They didn’t notice him right away and he stopped to watch them for a moment.