Excitement swept through Sierra. She couldn’t see very much once they left the city, but she could smell the salt air, feel the cool breeze ruffling the palm trees, knew the Caribbean Sea was nearby.
The first sight of Blade’s beachfront house was breathtaking. For his house he’d departed from the vivid hues Mayans preferred, the same ones she’d glimpsed in the few houses she’d been able to see in his project. His two-story house gleamed white in the moonlight, lit by huge lanterns on either side of the large double doors. In the yard were several palm trees. On the veranda, huge baskets of hanging ferns twirled in the evening breeze.
Sierra tensed only slightly when Blade helped her out of the vehicle, then picked up the luggage Rio handed him. While Rio was doing that, Shane set a large ice chest on the veranda. Both got back inside the SUV.
“See you in the morning.” Blade took her arm and started toward the house.
Sierra bit her lower lip as Shane put the car in reverse, then started back the way they had come. “They aren’t staying here?”
“They know you’re in the guesthouse,” Blade said by way of answering.
“They also know we’re both mobile and attracted to each other,” she said.
“Let’s get you settled, then we can discuss it.” Blade took a stone path around the side of the house. As soon as they reached the clearing, she saw a cottage attached to a vine-covered pergola, forming a roomlike courtyard surrounded by a forest of greenery.
Blade came to an abrupt halt. “Damn.”
Sierra tensed, peering around. Predatory animals weren’t in this region of Mexico, but perhaps it was a wild dog. “What is it?”
“I didn’t think how dark this was.” He frowned down at her. “Maybe I should sleep here and let you have the house.”
Nothing he could have said would have calmed her more. “I’m not afraid of the dark. Let’s see.” Continuing up the three wooden steps, she opened the door and snapped on the lights. Soft hues of blue and yellow dominated the airy front room. The floors were opaquely stained ash hardwood. The room was furnished with down-filled furniture and simple antiques, giving the area a soothing open feeling.
“Bedroom is through there.”
No longer nervous, Sierra headed in the direction he’d nodded. She loved to explore houses and see how they were laid out and decorated. A queen-size brass bed covered with white scalloped bedding dominated the feminine blue and white room. At the foot of the bed was a bench with several books and a cream-colored cashmere throw on top. An orchid plant and an antique lamp sat on the nightstand. The windows were draped in voile.
“You want to switch?” he asked, still holding her suitcases.
“I can’t see you being comfortable sleeping here.” She glanced at the white curtains. She’d bet the view was spectacular. “I don’t suppose it’s an accident that this room is definitely feminine?”
“I wanted you to be comfortable,” he confessed. “Jacques helped.”
“Thank you. It’s perfect,” she told him.
He placed the luggage on the bed, then went to her and brushed her hair behind her ear. “I don’t want you to have one regret.”
“So far so good.”
He peered down into her eyes, his thumb stroking her jaw. “You’d tell me otherwise, wouldn’t you?”
“In a nanosecond.” An unsure Blade was endearing and comforting. They were both nervous and unsure, both finding their way not to mess up.
“Good.” Taking her hand, he headed back out the door. “I suppose you’re hungry.”
She laughed as they quickly returned to the main house. “Now that you mention it.”
On his porch, Blade lifted the large ice chest Shane had left there. “Martin thought you might be and prepared food.”
Sierra rushed up the steps and opened the multi-paned glass front door. Like her place, Blake’s house wasn’t locked. “Do you always leave your property unlocked?”
“No. The staff was finishing cleaning and stocking supplies. They called Jenkins at the airport. I told him they could leave.”
That answered one question and left another. “Is the food in there just for us? If so, I’d be insulted by the size of the chest if I wasn’t so hungry.”
“Yes. A lot of it is ice to keep the food chilled.” Blade continued through the large front room with pale blue walls, a soft blue sofa, and buttery yellow side chairs. Two large cherry armoires framed the stone fireplace.
“It’s lovely. Jacques again?”
“Yes. You can explore later.”
Sierra stopped staring up at the second-floor landing that probably held the bedrooms and followed Blade. In the kitchen, she saw him taking plastic containers out of the chest. Picking up one, she smiled. “I have container number five. Shrimp.”
“He thought we might need some help with preparation,” Blade explained, taking out a container of fresh baby spinach.
“He would be right.” Sierra went to the sink to wash her hands. “What about the others?”
“They have their own chest.” Blade picked up the bowl marked #1. “Let’s see if we can do this.”
“I’m game.” Sierra reached for the directions Martin had included and began reading.
T
hanks to Martin’s detailed instructions, it wasn’t long before they had prepared the shrimp salad and were sitting on the wide steps of the back porch eating. A hundred feet in front of them the waves tumbled over themselves to the shoreline.
“It’s so peaceful and beautiful here.” Sierra leaned back on her elbows.
“It’s one of the last unspoiled regions in the area. I worked with a number of biologists and environmentalists before being given permission to build,” Blade told her. “Neither the government nor I wanted to see the commercialism of Cancún happen here. The coral reefs will remain unspoiled and so will the mangrove tree groves. We tried not to disturb the trees and planted over twenty-five hundred mangroves to beautify the homesites.”
“You should be very proud.” Sierra nibbled on a cracker. “I can’t wait to see it in the morning.”
“It came together just as I’d hoped,” Blade said with feeling. Now if the weekend would just do the same. “Want to go for a walk?”
“I’ve love to.” She slipped off her shoes and rolled up the legs of her white slacks. He did the same. “You remembered.”
“Every moment,” he said with feeling. Pulling her to her feet, he curved his arm around her waist. Her head naturally found a resting place on his chest as they strolled the white sandy beaches, the cool water of the Caribbean lapping at their feet.
“The stars look close enough to touch,” she said.
He stopped and stared down at her. “You never did tell me what you wished for.”
She placed her hands on his chest. “You didn’t tell me, either.”
A shadow briefly crossed his strong face. “I didn’t wish for anything.”
Her fingers stroked his wide chest in comfort. “Why?”
“Waste of my time.”
Her heart ached for him. “Everyone should believe in something, someone.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me, Sierra.” He tenderly cupped her cheek, but his jaw was clenched. “I make my own luck.”
Arguing with him wouldn’t do any good. Besides, she wanted their first night there to be one they both remembered with happiness. “So how long have you been planning to get me here?” she asked, a half smile on her lips.
“Since you sent me packing and I came here to brood and try not to think what I’d do next if you lost.” His body relaxed once again. “I didn’t dare look at the results until I arrived at the dinner because I wasn’t quite sure what I’d do if they weren’t what I wanted.”
“There was no way I was going to lose. I had an extra incentive.” Her arms moved seductively around his neck.
“I had an incentive as well. To kiss you again.” His mouth brushed against hers, once, twice, before tugging her lower lip into his mouth. Sierra groaned and opened for him. His tongue slipped inside to lazily stroke, taste, explore.
His hands were doing their own exploring as they slipped under the tunic and found hot, bare skin. He reveled in the silken softness, before lifting his hands higher, stopping just beneath her heaving breasts.
His thumbs found and stroked the budding nipples, twin assaults that had her trembling in his arms, pressing closer. Inserting one leg between hers, he let her feel his arousal, feel his need just as he felt hers.
He unhooked her bra. They both seemed to grow still as his hands moved over her naked flesh. She shuddered. He wanted to. Just as he wanted to throw off her blouse, pull her down onto the sand, and surge into her. The only thing that kept him from doing exactly that was his promise that she’d have time. Jumping her the first night, even if her body seemed as hungry and needy as his, wasn’t the thing to do.
With supreme strength, he refastened her bra and lifted his head. Her eyes slowly opened. She stared up at him, her breathing as off-kilter as his own.
“I think I’d better take you back to your cottage,” Blade said, his voice hoarse with suppressed sexual need.
She didn’t want to go … unless he was going to continue doing those delicious things to her body back at her place. Even now her breasts felt heavy, her nipples tight with wanting his hands back on them. Mercy help her. His hot mouth. That would be the most exquisite sensation.
He hadn’t moved away, so she felt his hard desire against her lower body. It was all she could do not to rub against him. He was taking it slow. She just wasn’t sure she wanted to anymore.
“Do you have to call your family?”
Mentioning her family had the desired effect. She stepped back. “Yes.”
“Thought so.” Taking her hands, he started to her cottage. “Whatever time you wake up, you can come to the main house for breakfast.”
“Will Martin and Jenkins be there?” she asked, wondering how long the wanting, the tingling of her body for his, would last.
“Yes, then they’ll probably desert us.” They climbed up the steps to the guesthouse. “They both plan to be tourists, visit the Maya ruins, go snorkeling, then stay at a hotel where they’ll be waited on for a change.”
With his home two miles from the nearest residence, he and Sierra would be alone. She looked up at him, expecting to feel a tinge of fear; instead, there was anticipation. Blade was what she wanted and tomorrow she’d show him. She lifted on tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
Going inside, she closed the door, then went to call her family.
T
he next morning Sierra woke slowly, languidly stretching in the wide bed. Through the billowing curtains at the open window she saw the tips of palm trees, the blue sky. The day promised to be a beautiful one and she didn’t plan to waste another minute in bed. Jumping up, she went to the dresser in her bedroom for fresh undergarments.
She’d worked off some of her sexual frustrations unpacking last night. She picked up the expensive bits of clothes she’d purchased from Lavender & Lace and wondered how Blade had worked his off. One day she might just ask him.
A grin on her face, she turned toward the bathroom, then halted abruptly when she heard what sounded like a thump from the other room. Picking up the iron candlestick from the dresser, she crept toward the bedroom door, berating herself for not locking her front door. She cracked the door just wide enough to see the broad back and long legs of a man going out the front door.
Blade.
Going into the living room, she watched long strides carry him away until he disappeared around the corner of the house. She glanced around the living room and saw the imprint of a head on one of the decorative pillows on the sofa. To make sure she was all right he’d spent the night on a sofa a foot too short.
Her fingertips gently touched the imprint. It would be impossible for a woman not to fall in love with such a caring man. She was already a goner, and she couldn’t wait to see him again, hold him, lose herself in his kisses. Smiling, she went to the shower.
S
ierra hummed all the way to Blade’s house. She’d dressed for comfort in a pair of white walking shorts and a blouse. The sterling silver and turquoise bracelet cuff with matching earrings and necklace added a little punch of color and style. So did the turquoise slides and blue/green bead and turquoise belt. Since Blade liked her hair free, she’d left it that way.
As she thought of him, her smile grew. Bounding up the steps, she crossed the veranda and lifted her hand to knock, only to let it fall when she saw the man she’d been thinking about coming toward her. He must have been watching and waiting for her.
Her heart thudded; her body tingled in that familiar way. He was absolutely magnificent. He moved with an animalistic grace. He had a strength of will that had taken him to the pinnacle of success. He also carried a burden that made her heart cry for him. One day she hoped to be able to ease whatever it was that too often took the light from his beautiful eyes.
As soon as Blade opened the door, she stepped inside and looped her arm through his. She might have kissed him if she wasn’t sure Jenkins and Martin were somewhere nearby. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” He smoothed her wind-tossed hair behind her ear. “You’re very cheerful this morning. You must have slept well.”
“With you watching over me, how could I not?” She watched his eyes widen and realized he hadn’t wanted her to know. “You didn’t have to, but thank you.”
“You’ll never know how hard it was for me not to open that bedroom door.” His voice dropped to a husky rumble.
“Was it as difficult as saying good night last night?”
“A hundred times worse.” He tilted her head up toward his. “I couldn’t keep from trying to imagine what you were sleeping in. I don’t imagine you’re the flannel type.”
Her hand lifted to rest on his wrist. He had the most sinful, incredible mouth. She wanted it on hers again. “You imagined right.”
His hand tightened in her hair. “If we keep this up, I’m going to send Martin and Jenkins away. And, since they’ve both been driving me crazy wanting to know when you’d get here, they’d probably quit on the spot.”
“I’m surprised they’re not in here already.” She peered around his shoulder, saw Jenkins and Martin peeping around the kitchen door frame. They both jumped and disappeared. Her lips twitched.
“I suppose they were watching, right?” Blade turned, slipping his arm around Sierra’s waist.
“Who?” she asked innocently.
Blade grunted and headed for the kitchen. “They would have beaten me to the door if I hadn’t told them to stay put.” Blade hugged her closer and entered the kitchen. “Here she is.”
“Good morning, Sierra,” Martin greeted her. “Breakfast is waiting for you.”
“Good morning, Sierra. I trust you slept well and the cottage was satisfactory,” Jenkins said.
“Good morning,” she greeted, hugging them. “Thank you, Martin, for dinner last night. It was wonderful. Jenkins, the cottage was perfect. Thank you.”
Both men beamed. Jenkins pulled out a chair at the round breakfast table. From the wide windows there was a magnificent view of the sea. Martin turned to the commercial stove. Jenkins placed a blue linen napkin in her lap, then poured her a tall glass of fresh papaya juice. Blade shook his head, took his seat, and bowed his head.
When she lifted her head from saying grace, Martin slid fluffy cheese and ham omelets onto her plate and Blade’s. “You fellows really know how to make paradise
paradise.”
“Thank you,” they said in unison; then they disappeared.
Sierra picked up her fork. “I can see why you travel with them. They make life more enjoyable.”
“They have their moments.”
“Come on, Blade. Give them a little credit,” she teased, knowing he was kidding. He cared about them, just as they cared about him. They enjoyed more than an employee/employer relationship.
“You deserve the credit. They enjoy doing for you, but that’s understandable; any man, once seeing you, would feel the same.” His face grew serious. “You make a man want to move mountains for you.”
His admission stunned her, pleased her, thrilled her. Her fork clattered on her plate.
Blade blinked as if he was surprised by his admission. He picked up his coffee cup. “After breakfast, I’ll show you around the property.”
She picked up her fork with a hand that refused to steady. “Blade?”
“Yes?” he answered, not meeting her gaze.
She waited until he set the cup down and looked at her. “Some men might want to move mountains for me, but you’re the only man that moves me.”
A
n hour after Sierra made her startling statement, Blade was still reeling. He’d known she cared, but her confession sounded like something much deeper. Glancing at her sitting beside him in the Jeep with a contented, beautiful smile on her face, he felt his heart clutch. He wanted her and, as he’d told her, had planned to bring her here to make that desire a reality.
Yet he was finding there was more to his own emotions as well.
No woman had ever taken up so much of his thoughts. After he’d lost Mary, he had never gone out of his way to protect or please another woman. Occasionally he took women out and they went to bed. Always at the woman’s place, and afterwards he always went home, forgetting the woman as fast as she had probably forgotten about him.
He hadn’t even made love to Sierra, yet he knew instinctively that he wouldn’t want to leave her, that he wanted the first time to be in his bed. Somehow she’d slipped past his defenses. She awakened his compassion and passion. He’d been right: whatever there was between them wouldn’t be easy.
“This community is so well laid out,” she said as they passed a residence painted in brilliant hues of burnt orange and red. “I don’t think I could make up my mind which area to live in.”