Page 42 of No Escape

Besides, she didn’t want to know about his life. The memory of his passionate kisses and the ecstasy of being held against his strong body when he’d made love to her came back to haunt her, both day and night. What if he shared his life with another woman? She’d given him her body and yes, her heart. Finding out he shared his life with someone else would devastate her.

He was probably off on some other mission now, rescuing another woman in distress, making love to her. She angrily gave her head a shake, tears filling her eyes. She looked away so Susan wouldn’t notice them, pretending interest in Susan’s boys where they were playing in the water.

When she pulled herself together, she said softly, “Susan, I can’t go to Montana with you. Please don’t ask me why.”

For a moment Sarah thought she was going to get her wish, until she heard Susan’s sudden gasp. “Oh my…” Sarah’s eyes riveted to her. “You went and fell in love with my cousin, didn’t you.”

Sarah knew she could deny it, but Susan would see right through her lies. Therefore, she decided not to answer at all. She picked up her glass of tea and took a sip, trying for nonchalance.

“Oh, honey.” Sarah hated her tone. It sounded sad, like she knew there was no hope of Clint ever loving her in return. “You’re thinking about him even now, aren’t you?”

“Trying not to,” she replied, injecting a little anger in her tone. “He was rude, crude and…”

It didn’t work. He made her yearn for him in ways no other man had. She looked away so Susan wouldn’t see the truth she was trying so hard to deny.

Montana would never help her forget about a black-eyed man who set her on fire and had turned her world upside down. A man who meant more to her than she realized, now that he was gone from her life. Her eyes returned to the surf, wondering how she was ever going to go on without him.

Susan and the boys remained with Sarah through the long weekend. She was glad for their company. It kept her mind off Clint, allowing her to pretend—if just for a little while—that he wasn’t locked up deep inside her heart. And that the time on Raul’s island was just a fantasy in her dreams.

Later that Sunday evening, after they’d gone home, she found herself alone on the beach, walking along the edge of the water beneath the darkened sky, feeling the sand beneath her bare feet. The reflection of the moon and the stars on the glistening black surface held her mesmerized. It was easy letting her thoughts wander back to Clint and their days on the island.

Where is he now?

Somewhere along the way, she felt rain against her cheek, surprised when she reached up to brush the moisture away and found it was really tears. Turning her face against the sea breeze, she let it caress her lightly clad body, soothe the ache in her heart. She was determined to keep walking until she outdistanced the heartache consuming her.

It didn’t appear that was going to happen anytime soon. Sarah fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands, giving in to the tribulations of the last week. How could she fall in love with a man in that short of time? She damned Clint out loud for making her love him, falling back into a sitting position and bringing her knees up to hug them against her chest. An occasional sob escaped her as she stared out at the shimmering water with burning eyes, until she was able to bring herself under control again.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, before realizing how dangerous it was. Walking the beach alone, late at night, wasn’t something she usually did. She knew some of her neighbors, but most of the homes along the beachfront were vacation homes and therefore vacant. The lack of lights backed that up.

Deciding it was time to start back, she rose to her feet, following the small light she’d left burning on the porch. When she was close enough, she noticed something in the sand, the shadow of a long object that hadn’t been there before. Her steps faltered. A small boat had been dragged up the beach from the water and left beneath a swaying palm tree.

Her eyes shot out to the water. She was barely able to make out a tiny light in the distance, indicating there was a much bigger boat anchored out there. Assuming someone had probably rowed to shore to walk to one of the many bars or convenient stores across the street, she turned to walk up her porch steps, not seeing a shadow detach itself from a nearby palm until it was too late.

“Angel?”

Sarah froze just inside the French doors leading to her living room. My God, now she was hearing his voice! Sighing softly, she wearily leaned her forehead against the doorjamb for a peaceful moment, thinking that the ocean breeze must be carrying voices, as it did sometimes. She flipped off the porch light cloaking herself in darkness.

“I must be losing my mind,” she declared softly, shivering with the thought.

“Then we both are because I lost mine the first time I fucked you.”

Sarah whirled around but all she saw was darkness. Squinting into it, she searched the shadows, too numb to think about flipping the porch light back on. She wasn’t imagining that! Her hand flew up to cover the erratic beat in her heart.

“Clint?” It couldn’t be. She began trembling with reaction, struggling to see someone who wasn’t there. “I can’t see you.”

Slowly, a tall, dark figure stepped from the shadows in front of her, until it resembled the shape of a man. He’d been that close. She still couldn’t see him clearly, but she did see the glitter of his eyes. Swallowing a cry, she took a step back, afraid her mind was playing tricks on her. That she was going to wake up and find she was dreaming.

****

“It’s me angel.”

“I thought you’d gone. What are you doing here?” She sounded disinterested, and yet there was a slight tremor in her voice.

Clint had been asking himself the same thing since arriving there that afternoon. “I needed to see for myself you were all right.” It was an excuse for having a reason to return.

“A phone call could have done that,” she replied, her voice neutral as though afraid to reveal too much to him. From where he stood, he caught her light fragrance, something mild and sweet. “I would have thought by now you’d be knee-deep in your next mission.”

A rich chuckle moved up Clint’s throat, floating away on the wind. “I can see that spider bite didn’t improve your mood.” He stepped closer, asking himself what he was waiting for. He wanted to kiss that mean mouth of hers until they were both out of their minds. “You still have a lot of sass left.”

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