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“Problem?” he asked.

  “Probably not.” The muscles in her face tightened as she stared at the screen on the phone, then manipulated the keys with her fingers.

  She’s erasing something.

  But he didn’t say it. If she had something to tell him, she’d do it in her own good time. Prying wasn’t the way to win her back. He’d have to give her the right opportunity to tell him on her own.

  She put the phone back in her purse. “I’m just a worrier, I guess. But Mari said they’d call when they got to Waikiki and she’s usually very good about it.”

  Mike looked at his watch. “It’s ten thirty here, which would make it only six thirty there. They’re probably still adjusting to the time change and getting themselves settled. Give her time. She’ll call.”

  “I guess you’re right.” She pulled out the phone again. “And I’m sure I’d have heard if something happened, right? But I think I’ll give her a try, anyway. It’ll make me feel better.”

  Mike watched while she speed dialed a number, listened, then frowned.

  “Listen, kiddo, it’s me, the mother hen. Call me when you get this message so I don’t pull out my hair. Love ya. Do a hula for me.”

  Mike watched her replace the phone, a tiny vertical line between her eyebrows. “No answer?”

  Kat shook her head. “You’re probably right. She’s in the middle of a million things and doesn’t even have her phone on. She’ll call later.”

  “But you’re still worried.”

  She forced a smile. “Big sisters always worry. It’s just that she’s always so good about calling me…” She ran her fingers through her hair, then brushed it away from her face. “Oh well. I’ll probably hear from her in a little while. Like you say, they’re probably caught up in a million things right now.”

  Mike took a long sip of his wine, unwilling to end the evening yet not sure how to prolong it.

  “By the way.” She leaned back in her chair. “I almost forgot to mention this. I met a woman this afternoon you may know. Or know of.”

  “Oh?” Mike lifted one eyebrow. “Who would that be?”

  “Vivi Alderson. You mentioned her niece, Faith, at lunch today.”

  Mike grinned. “We all know Aunt Vivi. She’s a terrific woman and has been a big help to us in certain instances.”

  “I told her I’d love to be able to meet Faith while I’m here.”

  “How about if I ask her and Mark to join us for breakfast tomorrow? Would that work? Assuming you agree to have breakfast with me?”

  “Breakfast?” She chewed her bottom lip. “Okay. That would be nice.”

  Startled, he leaned across the table, reached out a hand and said in the most guileless voice he could manage, “Should I pick you up or just wake you?”

  I’m going to make a huge mistake right this minute. But the plain truth is, the chemistry is still there. And something beneath it that I don’t want to acknowledge again. Yet.

  Kat drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think maybe you could just nudge me when it’s time for morning coffee.”

  Heat flared in his eyes and his hand closed convulsively on his glass. “I’m not giving you a chance to change your mind.”

  He waved for the waiter and in short order the tab was paid and they were out of the restaurant. The guy at valet parking seemed to take forever to bring his car around and he was sure they hit every traffic light as they drove to her sister’s apartment. They were barely inside the door when he pulled her into his arms, his mouth devouring hers. His lips were firm against hers, his tongue a sweep of flame. She was already melting inside.

  His mouth fused to hers, he gripped her head, tilting it this way and that to give himself a better angle. She could feel the hardness of his cock even through both layers of clothing like a steel baton branding her.

  When he pulled his head back they were both gasping for air. Mike kept his fingers threaded through her hair, holding her in place, while he fought to control his breathing. Kat reached for the wall switch beside her shoulder and the two lamps in the living room came on. She stared at Mike. His eyes were focused on hers like twin lasers, as dark now as the rich color of melting chocolate.

  “No,” he said unevenly. “Not this way. After all this time I’m not going to take you up against the wall like some horny teenager or some guy just out for a good time. I want to make this right, Kat. And I’m going to.” He lifted her into his arms. “Which way?”

  She directed him to the guest bedroom, where he set her on her feet and turned on the bedside lamp. His gaze traveled over her from head to toe.

  “Before anything else, I want a good look at you.”

  He undressed her with great care, kissing each place on her body as he peeled her clothing away. Her neck and shoulders, as he slid her silk blouse down her arms. Her upper arms and the inside of each elbow as he worked the fabric down her skin. The upper swell of her breasts. By the time he undid the clasp of her bra, tossed it away and swiped his tongue quickly across each nipple she was already quivering with need. When he lifted her breasts in his warm palms and sucked each nipple in turn, the jolt of sensation speared directly to her cunt where her folds were already drenched with her cream.

  The softness of his thick black hair brushed against her and his very masculine, very clean scent that called up images of the ocean and soft breezes, making her think of the night they’d made delicious love on the beach. His teeth grazed first one nipple then the other, turning her body so liquid Kat had to clutch at his hard shoulders to hold herself steady.

  She inhaled his scent, trying to drag it inside herself. The familiar blend of soap that smelled like rain and aftershave that had a hint of earthiness. He was the most masculine male she’d ever met and she wanted to wrap that aura around herself like a permanent blanket.

  Her breasts were heavy and aching, her nipples bursting with need by the time he leaned down to undo the button and zipper on her slacks. Very slowly, like opening the gift wrapping on a package, he eased them down her legs along with her panties. His hands were gentle as he helped her lift first one leg then the other to step of out them as well as her shoes. Kneeling in front of her, he used his fingers and his lips to follow a path up first one leg then the other, his tongue drawing little circles on the inside of each thigh. Just soft, featherlight touches that made the pulse in her womb beat harder and faster.

  Kat wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand there this way, her legs barely holding her and her body trembling all over. When he drew his fingertips through her wet slit she almost collapsed on top of him, her fingers digging into the hard muscles of his shoulders. He teased her with ghostlike caresses, his mouth brushing kisses over the crease where each hip and thigh joined. Every single nerve in her body was firing, dancing beneath the surface of her skin. Each pulse point thumped insistently, echoing the ramped-up beat of her heart.

  His fingers were doing a sensual dance on every inch of her pussy except where she really wanted them. There. Right there. When he finally licked across the throbbing tip of her clit she almost came just from that brief touch.

  “Gorgeous,” he breathed, placing his lips over it and sucking it into his mouth.

  The desire inside her was so strong she could feel the edge of her climax closing in on her. She wanted Mike inside her. Wanted to feel his thick penis filling her. But he seemed determined to do this his way.

  He sucked and nipped at the hot nub until she was pleading with him, riding a hard edge of need. When he slid two fingers inside her she almost sobbed a welcome at the intrusion and moved her hips to ride them. He knew what he was doing, curling his fingers just so, stroking in and out just that way that he had. Not hard. Slow and steady, until she thought she’d lose her mind if he didn’t let her come soon.

  Then, as if sensing the degree of her need, he moved his fingers faster, sucked harder, and the orgasm streaked through her, shaking her entire body. Mike slid one hand around to cup her ass and ho
ld her in place while he continued to work his fingers in and out of her until the last little quiver subsided.

  Only then did he rise, lift her and place her on the bed, pausing only to pull the covers back. Kat lay there limp yet still unsatisfied and watched him strip off his clothes with expert efficiency. God, his body was still as magnificent as she remembered, the olive skin tanned from missions that took him to hot spots all over the earth, the dark curls of hair covering his chest. Broad shoulders, lean hips. And a cock so thick and magnificent that her mouth watered.

  She reached out a hand to him and he obligingly moved next to the bed. Turning on her side, she took his shaft in one hand and slid the other between his thighs to cup the heavy sac of his balls. She swiped her tongue across the velvet softness of the head before opening her mouth and taking him deep inside.

  She felt the tightening of his muscles, heard the sharp intake of breath as the head of his shaft hit the back of her mouth. Teasingly she scraped her teeth lightly over the soft skin covering the hard steel and drew another response from him. When she moved her mouth up and down on him he rocked his hips slightly, riding her lips, his hands fisted in her hair.

  Suddenly he pulled himself from her and pushed her onto her back again.

  “Enough,” he panted. “I want inside you. Now.”

  Quickly opening the condom he’d retrieved from his pants and rolling it on, he moved up onto the bed between her thighs. Lifting her legs to rest on his shoulders, he parted the lips of her cunt and stared for a long moment at her opening before driving into her with one possessive thrust. He filled her, stretched her, the sensation of him driving her wild.

  “Look at me,” he demanded. “Look into my eyes. See what I’m feeling for you. This is more than sex, Kat. Look and you’ll see.”

  She was mesmerized by the heat dancing in that thick chocolate, unable to tear her eyes away no matter what as he pounded into her with steady strokes. Balancing himself with one hand, he moved the other to her clit, stroking stroking, stroking, bringing her up the mountain with him.

  “Now,” he said as his body tightened and muscles corded in his neck. “Now, Kat.” He pinched her clit, hard, and took them both over the edge into a black velvet whirlpool.

  Mike gently eased her legs down from his shoulders and rolled to the side, taking her with him, his cock still lodged tightly inside her. She wasn’t sure whose heartbeat she felt pounding against her ribs, his or hers, or whose breathing was the most ragged. Sweat covered their skin and glued them together but she didn’t care. All the anger, all the resentment had disappeared like so much smoke. This was where she belonged. She knew it.

  After a long time he withdrew from her, disposed of the condom and pulled her body back against him, spoon fashion. He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek.

  “This is the way it should be, kitten.”

  There it was, the old-fashioned nickname. Term of endearment. Kat. Kitten. He’d blurted it out one night in the midst of a particularly sharp exchange. Mike had half-smiled and said, “My, my, the kitten has claws. Who’d have known?” The name had become more affectionate than contrary and just seemed to stick. Now it made her feel as if she’d come home.

  “Yes, it is,” she murmured before drifting off to sleep, her body well satisfied.

  Chapter Four

  The man sometimes known as Rip stood in his office looking out at interstate traffic passing not a hundred yards from his building. It was late and the roadway was a blur of headlights cutting into the night. Ants, he thought, moving in armies, rushing from place to place with no other purpose in life than to survive. Well, wasn’t that what he was doing? Something to survive?

  “Yes, I’m here,” he said into his cell phone. “Remember. Make sure they aren’t harmed in any way.”

  “We will handle them with kid gloves,” the man on the other end of the conversation told him. “Royalty wouldn’t be treated any better.”

  “Cut it out, Nando.” The man’s arrogance irritated him beyond belief. “I know how the great cartel lord Victor Herrera treats his guests. And you take great pleasure in carrying out his unpleasant orders. I want these people returned in one piece. Hurting them isn’t part of the bargain.”

  Nando Aguilar’s low chuckle sent chills skittering along Rip’s spine. “But it is ultimately my bargain, is it not? I’m solving a problem for you, si?”

  “You know how I got into this,” Rip spat at him.

  “Nevertheless, a successful conclusion to the problem will benefit us both.”

  “And get you off my back once and for all.”

  The chuckle resonated again through the connection. “Only if you are able to control your hungry habits, mi amigo.”

  “I’m not your friend.” Rip began pacing back and forth, jingling the change in his pocket. “Once this is finished, so are we.”

  “We shall see. Yes, indeed, we shall see.” His tone changed abruptly. “As soon as we have them in place, I’ll make the video and send it as we agreed. Be sure to contact the others when you receive it. Then move forward with the next step. Are you ready for your part?”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m all set.”

  “See that you are.”

  The connection was broken abruptly. Rip snapped the cell phone shut and shoved it into his pocket, swearing under his breath. If he could just get out of this with everyone’s skin intact, he’d never, ever, make the same mistakes again.

  * * * * *

  Kat awoke before dawn, gray light filtering in through the slits in the blinds. The first thing she noticed was an unusual soreness in many places in her body. The second was the warm man lying curled up next to her, one leg thrown over hers, one muscular arm draped around her waist. And pleasure suffused her as she remembered every detail of the night before. No way could she deny how good it was to have Mike D’Antoni back in her bed. Or how wonderful the whole night had been. He’d woken her twice to make love again and each time was better than the time before.

  But through the haze of erotic pleasure one thought pierced her brain.

  No word from Mari.

  This was not right. They should be in Hawaii by now. Long before this. Mari should have called. Her internal sensors told her something was wrong.

  Slipping out of Mike’s grasp and out of bed as silently as she could, she found her sleep shirt and tugged it on, picked up her cell phone and made her way into the kitchen. But when she checked her voice mail there were no message. Not one.

  Why oh why didn’t I get a number from her where they’d be staying? She said it was a client’s house. Someone named Rand Prescott, I think. Yes, I’m sure that’s what she said. I should have made her give me the damn number.

  Booting up her laptop at the kitchen table, she went to the online phone directory, searching for the number of the airfield in San Diego where Mari had said the Wright plane would be landing when they stopped for lunch and refueling. But when she called them, nobody there could tell her anything. Just that the plane was still hangared there and one of the pilots had called to say there was a change of plans. They wouldn’t be leaving for a couple of days.

  Kat could hardly believe that. If they were going to lay over in San Diego, Mari would have called to tell her. And she couldn’t call the Wright International office there for three more hours.

  Next she searched for the number in Waikiki for Rand Prescott. The housekeeper who answered was doing her best to conceal her anxiety but she knew nothing except the Wrights and Mari had been no-shows. She’d tried calling the cell phone number she’d been given but there was no answer. The same thing when she tried to call Mr. Prescott.

  When she called the police department in San Diego to see if some kind of accident had been reported they told her they had nothing. She should wait twenty-four hours, then call back. Same thing in Waikiki.

  Damn!

  Finally she searched for any new reports of a small plane crash in the past twenty-four
hours. She had no clout with the FAA or the NTSA, so this was the best she could do. But the two accidents she found were on the other side of the country.

  After brewing herself a cup of tea in the kitchen, she carried it into the living room and stood by the big picture window, sipping at the hot liquid and trying to wipe the anxiety from her mind. When that didn’t work, she returned to her laptop and searched for the longitude and latitude of San Diego. Without specific pictures, she’d often used geographic coordinates for cueing and prompting. Finally she found a map of San Diego and brought it up full screen, carried the laptop to the window and sat down cross-legged, the computer beside her.

  Inhaling and exhaling five times, cleansing breaths the way Vivi had told her, she forcibly emptied her mind of all thoughts and took herself into a meditative state. Five minutes later she was ready to try to view remotely, hoping the meditation helped and that her powers wouldn’t fade in and out.

  She fixed the geographic numbers in her brain, stared at the map and sent her mind hundreds of miles away to California. In moments her “signal line” began to emerge, frequencies radiating and impacting on her perceptive faculties, the first hint of the emergence of the image she was seeking. Soon she began to perceive bits and pieces of a picture.

  A corner of a white stone building. A piece of sidewalk. Was that water? A motel with a pool? A sliver of sidewalk emerged, the image wavered and sharpened. As quickly it changed to a dusty road cut through towering trees and bushes. Then everything wavered.

  Damn!

  It was gone. She was out of it. No, she could not lose it.

  Kat went through the routine again. Hot tea. Meditation. Focus on the map on the computer.

  This time the picture emerged a little more sharply and she could see the picture was a restaurant. On the water. People stood under the canopy but unlike the surroundings, they were too blurred to distinguish. A flash of black swept across her vision. A truck. No, a van.

  The image stabilized, frozen across the plane of her vision. The Wright family, Mari, some strange men.