Kissing Fortune (Man Season) (5 page)

“Let me off. I can swim in.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

He slid her off; she began to swim,
holding all the bad memories of her childhood at bay for only so long. Then
they poured out of her psyche – the miserable hours she was forced to swim back
and forth in the lap pool, endless hours of tears and pain. Her parents were
constantly berating her for being lazy and unwilling to try to excel, as her
mother had. A child has really only one desire in their life – to please their
parents. And she had tried, valiantly. But they could never seem to acknowledge
that. They were interested in her if she did exactly what they wanted, with the
expected results. Otherwise, she was a damned nuisance.

“Is it much farther?” she asked; her
limbs were giving out.

“Not much. Hold on, girl! You can
make it!”

Tierney felt something hovering
nearby. There was a black shadow in the water, with a fin.

“It’s a shark! Travers, help me!”

“Stay calm. We’re almost there!”

“But I’m bleeding! He’s coming for
me. I know it!”

She was freaking out, losing every
last bit of control.

“Be still, now!” Travers commanded.
“Don’t let him see you panic!”

She was crying, hysterical, thrashing
around like a fool, making herself a target.

Then there came a shot from far off, and
another, and another. The water danced with every hit. The shark scurried off
into the depths of the sea.

“Hello!” Travers shouted. “Leave it
to you to make a hero’s entrance!”

Tierney looked to where he was
shouting. A ragged yacht was speeding towards them. At the helm she could see
Kiel
Fortune, as beautiful and golden as
a pirate in a Technicolor epic.

CHAPTER THREE

Tierney woke in a warm, clean bed on
Kiel
’s boat. She was naked, sheathed by a
thin blue knitted blanket. Her leg was bandaged, still stinging like the devil.
Speaking of whom,
Kiel
Fortune entered the room, eyed her
with a strange melancholy that unnerved her.

“
You feeling
better?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Did I pass out?”

“You did.”

“Sorry. You must think I’m an awful
wimp.”

“No, actually you’ve dealt with this
stuff a lot better than most would. Is your leg still hurting?”

“Some, but not like it was. Where’s
Travers?”

“He’s on deck, minding things.”

She glanced out a small window. The
sky was indigo, lit up with a crescent moon and about a zillion glittering
stars.

“It’s night.”

“Yeah.”

God, what an idiot she must seem to
him! Usually she could talk to a guy with the sweetest phrases and sexiest
suggestions until he had to give in or bust. But she didn’t know what to say to
a man like
Kiel
. He wasn’t some airhead jock or
moody pianist. There were sorrows in his eyes that defied categorization.
Things he’d probably never reveal to a living soul. To a complicated,
intelligent man like him she was just a shallow, reality show diva, not worth the
time of day.

“I hope you don’t mind but I had to
take your clothes off. I washed them and hung them out to dry.”

“Oh, sure, thanks.” He’d seen her
naked? She wasn’t at her best asleep.
Istvan
said she
snored, and sometimes drooled – ugh! But who could believe anything he said?

“You’re a … a beautiful girl,”
Kiel
whispered unexpectedly. She dared to
peer into his cinnamon eyes, glistening in the dim lamplight. What was she
seeing there now? He closed the door, stepped closer; sat next to her on the
bed. “Travers told me everything.”

“What do you mean by everything?”

“He told me about the guys who tried
to kill you two. And he told me why you’re here. You came looking for me.
Right?”

She let her gaze wash over his face;
licked her dry lips in anticipation.

“You must think I’m really arrogant,
or stupid, to come after you.”

“No, I believe if you want something,
or someone, bad enough, you’ll find a way to get to them. So, do you want me,
Tierney?”

She didn’t answer in words but raised
her arms and wrapped them about his neck. He leaned in, touched her lips with
his, opening them wide enough to taste her. The waves shot through her like
prickly little fires, standing all her senses on end. His strong hands
enveloped her as he twisted round to lay down close beside her. The blanket
fell to the floor – as did his jeans. Her mouth gaped wide when she saw the
hard length of him. Her fingers clasped him, explored him; worked him over
roughly. He moaned, growling with a throaty tone that excited her. She kissed
the soft hair on his chest, breathed in the scent of him. He smelled of earth
and salt and endless sky. The clouds in his eyes remained as he molded her with
his hot mouth and hands, though a flame had sparked within the centers, drawing
her in with its warmth. She smiled as he moved his lips over her breasts,
almost screamed when he slid down between her thighs and lapped at her like a
thirsty animal.

“Do you want me, Tierney? Say it! I
need to hear you say it, loud!”

“Yes, I want you,
Kiel
! Like I’ve never wanted anyone
before! Kiss me; make love to me until you drive me insane!”

He seemed satisfied by her words,
rose up and plunged into her madly; hitting his target so desperately that she
feared he would break her thin frame in two. But she took every inch, held him
tight within her thighs, not letting go for one moment. She was lost in a
spiral of heat and mist, happily gorging on him until he was spent to the core.
He groaned in torment, loosened himself from her and began to pull on his
jeans.

“Get some sleep. We’ll be at my
hacienda
by
noon
tomorrow.”

He left the room without glancing
back at her. She was stunned. Nobody had ever treated her like a third rate
hooker before. She wanted a chance to savor the ecstasy that he had given her.
Talk about rockets to the sun! Wow! She wanted to talk to him, to really know
what made him tick. And she needed to find a way to vanquish that impenetrable
sorrow from his eyes. But now she was cold and shivering, the crash had come
too quick. Damn him. Who did he think he was?

Tierney wrapped the blue blanket
around her like a sari, and stomped through the boat’s living quarters,
searching for
Kiel
. She heard voices above deck,
followed them to the stern where Travers and
Kiel
stood conspiring.

“You should be resting, girl!”
Travers decided as he lit up a foul-smelling cigar.

“I need to talk to our host, if you
don’t mind.”

“He can hear anything you might want
to say.”

“Are you sure? Do you really want
your friend to know what a jerk you are?”

“I’ll step down to my room,” Travers
said, “I need to check the news anyway.”

He left, patting Tierney’s shoulder
like a concerned father as he passed her.

“What’s your problem?” Kiel asked
with a snarl, his perfect profile pointed towards the heavens. Even in the dim
moonlight he took her breath away; made it hard to keep up the angry stance.

“You don’t know? Are you clueless, or
just brain dead?”

“So you wanted me. I obliged.”

“And that’s it? Did you even consider
using protection?”

“I figured a girl like you would be
using something. You are living with that piano player.”

“He’s a world class pianist!” she
huffed.

“Whatever. I watched some clips from
your show online. He seems like a world class ass to me.”

“You watched it? Why?”

“I wanted to see who you are.”

“The diva on that show isn’t me. It’s
edited to look a certain way. I get the worst of the cuts, to make me seem
selfish and shallow.”

“And you’re not?”

“No, well, maybe I am a little too
used to getting my own way. I had a bad childhood …”

“So who didn’t?”

“Right.
But I thought I’d make up for it by
having everything I wanted.”

“Did it work?”

“No.” She scooted closer to him,
breathing in the sea air and the wonderful dusky scent of his body. “Why did
you leave me,
Kiel
? Was I awful at it?”

He dared to look down into her green,
glistening eyes. He sighed, deeply, giving her hope that there was some feeling
in him for her.

“You were good. But you know that.
Girls like you bank on that.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You learn all the tricks to pleasing
a man, so you can really hit him hard; leave him begging for more, caught in
your snare like a starving dog after your bones. But I can’t play that game,
Tierney. I’m sorry it looked like I was using you. I wasn’t. I wanted you too,
since the second I laid eyes on you. But lust is easy to satisfy …”

“It was more than lust for me.”

“How could it be? You don’t know me.”

“I knew all I needed to know the
minute I saw your eyes.”

“Real life doesn’t work that way.”

“Maybe for some it does. It hasn’t
for me before. But this time I’m certain of my feelings. And I know they won’t
change no matter what you do or say. I love you,
Kiel
. And if that makes me stupid, fine.
But it’s just the way it is.”

“I can’t accept that. I …” he paused,
his chest shaking with a sudden, tangible pain, “I can’t let you into my world,
Tierney. It’s a lonely, ugly place.”

“It couldn’t be any worse than what
I’m going through now. Somebody wants me dead,
Kiel
. I’m scared. And I don’t know who I
can trust.”

“You can’t trust me. And you can’t love
me. Go on down to your room. It’ll be daylight soon.”

He moved past her, disappeared into
the hull. Tierney glanced round, wet-eyed, at the smiling moon and dancing
stars. The hint of a sun was rising in the east. She felt utterly, miserably
alone.

Late morning found Tierney sitting at
a table in the boat’s galley, sipping good coffee and munching on chocolate
donuts fried by Travers.

“Like them?”

“Um hum, they’re great! You could
spoil a girl with this kind of food. I’ll bet I’ve gained five pounds since I
met you.”

“Wouldn’t hurt you to gain five more!
You rich girls are too skinny. You
know, in my youth, there were ads in the backs of comic books, selling stuff
that made you gain weight so you’d attract more
fellas
?
Man, have times changed!”

“Blame it on the fashion
mags
.
And
Hollywood
.
I actually had anorexia when I was
thirteen. My parents were trying to turn me into the next Margot
Fonteyn
… you know, the ballerina? And I starved myself
sick hoping it would make me lighter on my feet; which it didn’t! It only made
me so weak I couldn’t stand, much less dance!” She made sure
Kiel
wasn’t near then she whispered:
“Tell me more about him, Travers.”

“Like what?”

“Like … everything!”

“Nah, no doing, girl.
If you want to know the lowdown on
Kiel
Fortune, you’ll have to get it
straight from him! I’m not one for telling tales.”

“You are. You’re afraid of him,
that’s all.”