Part 2 (1/2)
In spite of the growing distance between them, they'd always had a wonderfuls.e.x life. Grady was a tender, thoughtful lover. When he was touching her,kissing her, he allowed the gentle, tender side of his nature to emerge. Thatwas the man who'd won her, the man who'd looked at her with so much longingand love she'd felt like the luckiest woman in the world.
She needed that man now. Needed him desperately.
She was used to fighting long odds. The statistics she'd studied in graduateschool predicted that she would end up like her mother-uneducated, pregnant,on welfare. Instead she'd put herself through six years of college, graduatingwith honors and a satisfying number of job offers.
She'd also been a virgin when she'd married Grady.
Now she was fighting long odds again. Odds that said the distance between thetwo of them had grown too deep to be bridged. That the love they'd sharedbefore his job had come between them was dead.
Her hands shook as she worked the knot of her robe. When the sash hung loose,she slipped the heavy flannel from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor.Her gown was cotton jersey, soft enough to reveal the contours of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
His eyes turned hot, and his chest heaved as he drew in a ragged breath.
”I need you tonight, Grady.”
Holding his gaze, she reached for the b.u.t.ton at her throat, but he lifted hishand to push hers away. His fingers were too big and too rough to be deft. Ashe eased the gown from her shoulders, the calluses snagged on the thinmaterial.
She s.h.i.+vered, not from the cold but from desire. It was wildly exciting toknow that this tough man with the hard edges and brutally scarred, powerfulbody wanted her.
He lowered his head, and his kiss was hard, just shy of angry. Yet his tonguewas sweet as he drew it slowly along the curve of her mouth, sending slowwaves of the sweetest sensation spiraling through her. Her legs went watery,she clung to him, her fingers pus.h.i.+ng against the lean, hard muscle of hisneck. Her pulse was roaring in her ears, and fire flickered low and deepinside her.
She felt the give in him, the sudden release of control. He growled deep inhis throat, a feral urgent sound that ran along her nerve endings like acurrent.
Need slammed into Grady like a series of vicious punches. The control thatwas his only defense shuddered, then broke. He buried his hands in her hair,holding her still for his mouth. He used his tongue, his lips.
A dark, angry emotion raced through him as he opened his mouth over thetender curve of her neck. He didn't know if it was love or hate or somethingin between. He only knew she was making him feel again, and it hurt. Yet, hecouldn't stop kissing her, couldn't stop wanting her.
She groaned, her hands frantic, jerking his s.h.i.+rt free of his jeans. Herfinger raced over his belly, sending ripples of sensation through him.
His body swelled. The pressure inside him was close to unbearable. His skinburned for her. His blood throbbed. He was too close to shattering now forpatience.
He let her go long enough to swing her into his arms. He carried her withpowerful, impatient strides to the thick rug in front of the living roomhearth, now cold. Later he would build her the fire she wanted. Later he wouldsoothe and pet. Now there was only the need to bury his pain in that softwilling body.
He jerked her gown to her waist, then glanced up. Her face was pale, her eyesglazed, her lips swollen and parted. His hand fumbled with the b.u.t.tons of hisfly. Too aroused to strip, he hooked his thumbs in the waistband and jerkedthe material to his thighs.
His need was a living thing. He'd been so lonely, so lost. OnlyRia could healhim. His body surged free, and he moved over her. He closed his eyes andthrust into her.
She cried out, her body arching. And then he was pounding into her. Shetrembled, cried out. Through the haze of desire he realized she was sobbing.
He froze, struggling to contain the need clawing him. Her eyes were squeezedshut, her face lined and pale. Slowly he withdrew with shuddering slowness,trying not to hurt her any more than he already had. A hot knot formed in hisgut as he s.h.i.+fted to her side. His hand shook as he drew the gown over herlegs, his heart contracting when he noticed the discoloration of bruised skin.
Sick inside, the self-loathing sharp and twisting, he fastened his jeans,then leaned down to brush her hair from her wet cheek. He used his fingers towipe away her tears, then bent to brush his mouth over her temple.
”Forgive me,” he begged, his voice raw.
Her smile was terribly sad. ”It's over, isn't it? What we had.”
He couldn't quite meet her gaze. ”We've hit a rough patch,Ree . What'shappened is hard on both of us.”
”No, it's more than that.” She sat up and pulled up her legs. Her face wasunnaturally pale. ”Somehow we've just lost each other. When we had Jimmy, itdidn't matter as much, but now...” She paused to draw breath. ”We're just twopeople who share a house and some very precious memories.”
She was ending their marriage, and all he could feel was relief that he nolonger had to face her every morning.
Chapter 2.
Two and a half years later Grady spotted the federalnarc the instant he stepped off the tarmac into thegloomy interior of theImperial ValleyInternationalAirport's only terminal. Agood-looking Latino of average height, with a wiry body and enough att.i.tude tomake even the toughest barrio hustler scurry for cover, he'd been leaningagainst a pillar just beyond the gla.s.sed-in waiting area, eyes hidden behinddark shades.
As Grady approached, the man straightened and moved into his path. It was asmooth move, a subtle power play. Though Grady was a head taller and a goodfifty pounds heavier, this was thenarc's turf, thenarc's rules.
Play it his way or not at all came through loud and clear.
Grady decided he liked the little guy's style.
”You looking for me?” he asked, meeting the eyes that were scrutinizing himthrough the smoked lenses.
”I am if your name is Hardin.”
”That's one of them. I prefer Grady.”
”Fair enough.” The man's grin flashed as he offered his hand. ”I'm Cruz. CruzMendoza. Welcome to Calexico.”
”I appreciate the lift,” Grady told him as they shook hands.
”Glad to do it. Guys like me usually see the dirty side of this business.It's nice to be part of a happy ending.”
”It's not happy yet,” Grady reminded him as they walked past a line ofcheck-in counters, most of which were still empty. The bone-jarring, stomachjolting commuter flight from LAX was the first of the day.
”Don't get me wrong, Captain, but you look like a man in desperate need ofcoffee.”
Grady summoned enough of a smile to keep the man's goodwill. After twelvehours en route, two delays and three flights, he was feeling a littlepunch-drunk. ”Thanks, but I'm already wired.”
The truth was he would kill for a sip. h.e.l.l, even a whiff of caffeine wouldgive him a high these days. But for the past couple of months his gut hadtaken a strong dislike to the stuff.
”Is that it for luggage?”Mendozaasked, indicating the worn, olive drab duffelbag pa.s.sed down from his dad who'd been a sailor during the Korean War.
”That's it.”
Grady arched his aching back to work out the kinks, then slung his duffelover his shoulder and walked with the agent out of the terminal into a blazeof summer suns.h.i.+ne. It had been drizzling inIndianawhen he'd left. A sodden,gray, miserable day in a long string of miserable days.
He fished a pair of shades from his s.h.i.+rt pocket and slipped them on. A hotsouthwestern wind flavored with grit slapped him across the face as hefollowed the wiry agent to a dirty brown Jeep with pitted fenders and a brokentaillight parked in a red zone.
”Border Patrol found it stuck in the mud a few miles west,”Mendozasaid with awry grin. ”No VIN, no plates. Blends in real good south of the border.”
Grady tossed the duffel into the back and slid into the bucket seat. The Jeepsmelled like damp sweat socks and stale hamburger grease. A desert emergencykit was tucked into one corner of the cramped s.p.a.ce behind the seat. A darkblue windbreaker was shoved into another. Between the two was a jumble ofboots, dirt-encrusted sneakers and a faded DEA ball cap.
Oblivious to the litter,Mendozaslipped easily behind the wheel and slammedthe door. ”The couple picked up with the boy are at the county jail. I figuredyou'd want to talk to the prosecutor who caught the case, so I made atentative appointment to meet her atnoonat the courthouse.”