Authors: Ginna Gray
"Max, this is crazy—"
"Didn't we?" he insisted.
Erin wanted to deny it, but under Max's direct gaze she could not. Unable to help herself, she reached up and touched his cheek and nodded, her misty eyes filled with love and longing and abject misery.
Something flared in Max's eyes, and he looked at her with fierce satisfaction. Then he leaned forward, and their lips met in a slow, sweet kiss that made her heart pound.
When it ended he drew back and smiled. "Say it. I want to hear you say it."
"I love you."
"Then that's all that matters."
"Oh, Max." Erin looked at him forlornly, her face ravaged with guilt. "It's just not that simple. What about Elise? I don't know how I'm ever going to face her."
Max's mouth firmed into a thin line, and when he spoke his voice was stiff with impatience. "Erin, I've told you over and over, I am not interested in Elise. Nor will I ever be. Denying our love won't change that."
"I know. But you don't know Elise. She would never believe that. She would always feel that she'd lost you to me."
"Dammit! She never had me!" Max exploded.
He swung his legs to the floor and sat beside her on the edge of the bed. Erin glanced at him and quickly looked away. Despite her feeling for Max, she was still shy. He, on the other hand, seemed not in the least self-conscious about carrying on a discussion in the nude.
"Look, Erin," he said in a more reasonable tone, raking a hand through his tousled hair. "Has Elise ever actually told you that she's in love with me?"
"Well... no."
"Then maybe she's not. Maybe you're assuming something that just isn't there."
Erin looked at him, her eyes full of hope. "Do you really think so?"
"Well, she's certainly never given me any indication that she'd like our relationship to be more than it is. And until we know for sure, I don't think we should borrow trouble."
"Maybe you're right," Erin said, her voice thoughtful and a bit distracted. She was grasping at straws, and she knew it. Given her twin's romantic nature and passive tenacity, the chances that she had misread the situation were slim. But Erin knew that as long as there was the slightest possibility, she had to cling to it. Because, heaven help her, she did love Max so.
"I know I am. It'll all work out. You'll see." Max grasped her shoulders and eased her back on the bed. He leaned over her, his expression full of heat and sensual promise.
Erin's heart began to thud. "Max. Max, listen to me," she said shakily. "I won't hurt my sister." Max's intent gaze was focused on his forefinger as it traced the top edge of the satin spread, leaving a line of fire on her skin. "No... no matter what. I won't hurt her. You've got... to understand that."
Sighing, Max stopped his exploration and looked into her eyes. "All right, sweetheart. I accept that. Okay?"
Erin's body went limp with relief, and when she smiled up at him his eyes glinted wickedly.
"Now then, about this spread..."
He pried her fingers loose from the red satin and, inch by inch, peeled it away from her body.
"Now I want you to keep this door locked. And under no circumstances are you to open it for anyone but me. You got that?" As Max issued the strict instructions he tipped his head forward and gave Erin an insistent look from under his brows. He held her within the circle of his arms, his clasped hands at the small of her back molding their hips together.
"Yes, Max." With her forearms resting against his chest, she needlessly smoothed the collar of his blue cotton shirt. "I still think I should go with you."
"No."
"But, Max, I want to help."
"C'mon, sweetheart, we've been all through this."
Sulking, she fiddled with the top button of his shirt and stared at it in silence.
Max rolled his eyes. "Look, you know I don't want to leave you. Just the thought of your being here alone scares the hell out of me. But we can't chance those two goons spotting you." He glanced at her bright curls, and his mouth twisted in a wry grimace. "And that fiery mop makes you stand out in a crowd. Anyway, you can help by calling all the hotels. Just go down the list in the phone book. You'll cover a lot more ground that way than I would by running from place to place."
"Oh, okay," Erin grumbled.
"Good, girl." Max gave her a squeeze and reached behind him for the doorknob. "And while you're doing that I'll check the airport and bus station and the other car rental places. It may take me a while, so don't worry."
He kissed her goodbye and slipped out. Erin was about to shove the bolt home when the door opened again. With a hungry growl, Max hooked a hand around her neck and hauled her to him for another lingering kiss that made her head spin.
"God, I hate to leave you," he ground out against her mouth. He kissed her again, hard, then stepped back, shaking his head. "But I've got to go. Lock the door behind me. And remember, you don't budge from here unless the place is on fire."
"All right! All right!" Erin placed a palm flat on his chest and pushed him out. As she shut the door and turned the lock, his muffled "And even then, you wait until the firemen chop down the door!" sounded from the other side.
"Go, will you!" she yelled.
His footsteps receded, and Erin leaned back against the door, grinning. Though she hated being left behind, Max's concern made her feel loved and cosseted.
With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around her middle, her expression dreamy as she thought about the past couple of hours spent in Max's arms. His lovemaking had left her replete, satiated. Even now her body felt as though it were glowing. Was it wrong, she wondered, to feel so deliriously fulfilled and happy in the midst of a crisis?
Immediately Erin thought of her twin and experienced a pang of guilt. What was Elise feeling at that moment? Where was she? What was she doing? Closing her eyes, Erin caught her lower lip between her teeth. How would Elise react if she knew about her and Max?
A part of her wanted to know, wanted to get it out in the open and settled, while another part of her dreaded finding out. Erin felt torn in two, hopeful one minute and despairing the next. She could not bear to hurt Elise, but the thought of losing Max, especially now, was too painful even to contemplate.
Impatiently she told herself to stop worrying about it; until they found Elise, there was no way of knowing what her sister felt or what the future held.
A thump from the room next door jarred Erin out of her worrisome thoughts. The sound was followed by a giggle and a groan. Then came the rhythmic squeaking of bed-springs.
Color crept up Erin's neck and flooded her face. She moved away from the door in a flurry of agitated movement, tightening the sash on her robe as she hurried to the bed and sat down.
Gritting her teeth, she snatched the phone book and riffled through it, making the pages snap and crackle noisily. " Let's see... hosiery... hospices... hospitals... hot tubs... Ah, here it is! Hotels!" Determinedly striving to block out the sounds coming through the wall, Erin grabbed the telephone and punched out the first number listed.
"Hello. Will you connect me with Mrs. Elise Holman's room, please?"
Erin wound the coiled cord around her finger and waited. "No? You're sure? Well, perhaps she's registered under her maiden name, Elise Blaine. Or she might even be using an alias. You see, my sister came to Las Vegas to get a divorce, and she doesn't want her husband to find her," Erin lied smoothly. "She's slender, about five-six, with bright red hair and brown eyes, twenty-seven years old. Have you had a guest within the past few days who fits that description?" "I see. You're sure? Well, thank you for your help." With a sigh, Erin pushed the disconnect button and checked the phone book for the next number.
Seven hours of dialing resulted in a sore ear and a stiff neck but no leads on Elise. And she was only to the P's.
"Oh, this is impossible! It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!" Erin slammed the receiver down and paced the room, absently rotating her head and flexing her shoulders. After the first couple of hours it had occurred to her that perhaps Max had assigned her the task just to keep her mind occupied, and with every fruitless call the nagging suspicion had grown stronger. "He probably knew we didn't have a prayer of finding her this way," she muttered.
Erin glanced at her watch and then at the door. It was after nine. Max had said he would be late, but she'd thought he would be back by now. She sat down on the bed and nibbled at the tip of her index finger. Had something happened to him?
She sprang up and began to pace again. The bed took up most of the room, forcing her to follow a U-shaped path back and forth around it.
A door closed, and the intimate sounds started up again in the next room. Erin groaned and rolled her eyes. She tried to ignore the noise, but it was impossible. Whoever was over there, they were an extremely physical pair, and from the growls and squeals and pounding footsteps, it sounded as though the woman and her customer were engaged in a game of tag.
Desperate for a distraction, Erin marched over to the television, noticing only as she reached it that there were no control knobs, just a coin slot at the top. A loud squawk beyond the wall sent her scurrying for her purse.
After dropping the requisite coins, Erin sank down on the end of the bed. When the picture filled the screen, at first she couldn't believe her eyes. Blinking, she stared and cocked her head to one side, then the other, her jaw slowly sagging as it dawned on her what she was watching.
"O-o-h no-o-o!" Erin jumped up and slapped her hands across the front of the set, trying to locate a button to turn it off. When she found none she searched in back for the plug, but it was fastened into the wall socket with some sort of clamp, and she couldn't budge it.
Between the noise coming from the next room and the disgusting things happening on the screen, she felt as though she were in the middle of an orgy. Erin tried to keep her gaze averted, but the television, like the mirror on the ceiling, drew the eye like a magnet.
A few minutes later, when Max burst into the room, he found Erin sprawled facedown on the bed.
He skidded to a halt beside her, his heart booming in his chest. When he saw that her hands were clamped over her ears, he knew a moment of relief so great that it almost buckled his knees. Then anger quickly banished the momentary weakness.
"Erin, what are you doing?" he demanded furiously, giving her ankle a sharp tug that made her jump. "I knocked and called your name a dozen times. You scared the hell out of me when you didn't answer."
Erin sat up and scrambled from the bed. To his astonishment, she planted her hands on her hips and glared right back at him. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you, but I had to do something to shut out the grunts and groans. Do you have any idea what goes on in this place? Or the kind of movies they show on that thing?" she demanded accusingly, waving her hand at the television.
Max's eyes widened. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you..." He glanced over his shoulder at the set and groaned. "Good grief, Erin. It never occurred to me that you'd turn the thing on. I assumed you knew what it was for."
"And just how was I supposed to know? I have never been in a place like this before."
"Sweetheart, people don't check in here to watch the Disney channel. These rooms are generally rented by the hour, you know."
"So I've learned. They've rented the one next door at least six times since you left."
She tried to shove past him, but he chuckled and pulled her close, clamping his mouth over hers. She struggled at first, but the moment of fright had his adrenaline pumping, and he held her tightly, pouring into the kiss all the ardent longing that had been building during the hours since he had left. Gradually her resistance melted, and she grew soft and yielding in his arms, her body pliant against his. The sweet surrender took Max's breath away, and he moaned, feeling his insides turned to liquid. God, he would never get enough of her. Never!
When the kiss ended they were both breathing hard. Still holding her close, Max grinned down at her bemused expression and shook his head. "Such a little innocent. And I'd always heard that travel was broadening."
"Not that broadening."
Max turned his attention to the cavorting pair on the tele screen and studied them for several seconds. "Hmmm. Interesting." He looked back at Erin, his eyes glinting. "Did you learn anything?"
"Nothing I cared to know," she told him haughtily. "I'm not into Jell-O and plastic wraps."
His eyes widened. "No kidding? Jell-O?" His head whipped back around, but at that instant, the time ran out and the screen went blank. "Aw, shoot."
Erin poked him in the ribs. "Max, I'm not kidding. You are not going to leave me alone in this pit of perversion again. I don't care if the entire Russian army is out there searching for me."
"Don't worry, I won't have to." He gave her another quick kiss and a hug, then released her and stepped away to pick up one of the sacks he'd dropped on the floor beside the door. "When we leave you're going to be wearing this." He drew a dark wig from the bag and tossed it to her.
Erin caught it. Astonished, she stared at the silky pelt for a moment, then rushed into the bathroom to try it on. Max followed and stood in the doorway with his shoulder propped against the jamb.