To Make You Feel My Love (4 page)

“Who is Uncle James, and why do we give a damn?” Dusty asked, pulling Becky back toward him.

“Alana’s hard ass uncle, that’s who. And if he finds her in here, he’ll not only throw us out of here, he’ll have us escorted to the state line.” She was lowering Dusty back down on the bed straddling him.

“Ride’em cowgirl!” he began bucking her, waking Ella abruptly.

“Damn you guys!” she squealed “Stop, you’re making me sea sick!”

They all laughed. Alana looked at Logan and hated that she had to go, wondering if he would want to see her again. God, she hoped so. But the look in his eyes made her believe he wanted more of her. For now, she had to plan her get away without Uncle James finding out.

“Beck, check out the door and see if Lopez or Annie is anywhere in sight.” Lopez was her uncle’s maintenance man slash security guard, and Annie was the maid. They had a small operation. Alana usually handled the front desk and reservations. Aunt Penny must’ve taken Dusty’s reservation. She hadn’t recognized the name the night before.

“Ah, alright! Hey, let’s all meet at the beach later today.” Becky looked excited as she crawled off top of Dusty’s midsection. It was hard to believe she was Alana’s elder by five years.

Alana creased her eyebrows. “Not at this beach,” she stated. “You work out the details. I’m in if you guys are.” She looked at Logan, hoping to see a speck of interest. He had his back to her and was busy peeking out the window. Damn, maybe their time had passed.

Logan didn’t hear the conversation, he was too focused on the beautiful shades of emerald and sapphire
water. Something about the sparkle reminded him of Alana’s eyes. He didn’t want her to go. He didn’t want to be in a room full of people either. All he wanted was her to himself so they could finish what they started. Shaking his head, he wasn’t able to figure out the uneasy feeling down deep in his gut. While awaiting his next deployment assignment he knew he shouldn’t get involved with anyone, yet he already knew he wanted more than one night with her. It wasn’t about sex, it was about her.

Becky made it to the door and looked outside. “You’re safe!”

Alana opened the door, stepped out just in time to hear the elevator door open.

“Alana? What are you doing?” A husky voice blared.

“Good morning Uncle James.” She smiled, pulling the door behind her so the others inside wouldn’t hear his wrath.

“What is going here young lady?”

“What is going on where?” She began walking toward the elevator. The room door opened and Logan poked his head out. Thank god he had thrown on a black t-shirt.

“Thank you miss,” He threw his hand up to her, “for the towels.”

“Uh, you’re welcome, sir,” she went along with him, wishing he hadn’t shown his face to Uncle James.

James Carpenter was a shrewd businessman and didn’t tolerate much, treating everyone as an employee, including his wife and Alana. She appreciated everything he had done for her. Hoping she would get a degree in hotel management, he had even helped pay her way through college. Once he realized that dream was his dream alone, he still gladly assisted her. He hadn’t expected her to repay him, but she knew she would be indebted to him. If she could’ve paid for school without his help, she sure as hell would have. But Aunt Penny still needed her help at the hotel, and she wasn’t about to abandon her.

“Towels huh?” he looked at her attire. “You decided to ditch your uniform today?”

“I, uh, stayed with a friend last night,” she stammered, “I came in early to check the front desk and had a message that this room needed towels. I decided to run them up before jumping in the shower and preparing for the day.” She pushed the buttons on the elevator repeatedly, hoping he was buying the story. “No sense making them wait. The guests always come first, right Uncle James?” She looked toward Logan, still standing in the doorway.

Uncle James grumbled under his breath and passed by Alana, giving Logan a contemptible look. She wasn’t sure he had bought the story, but at least she had saved herself the embarrassment of being reprimanded in front of Logan.

The elevator doors finally opened, and she turned to see Logan staring at her. He winked at her as the elevator doors closed. Good lord, he took her breath away. What was she getting herself into?

* * * * * * * *

Slowly closing the door, Logan rubbed his hand down the back of his neck. What was happening here? He knew in his line of work, traveling from country to country, that he shouldn’t get involved with anyone. Constantly under fire during combat, everyone knew he had to keep his head in the game, or lose it. He didn’t have time to be worried about anyone else other than himself. This was his life. He had always been afraid he would be like his father and alienate those around him, never showing any signs of love or affection. His mother never seemed happy and was always alone. He swore to himself he would never do that to another human being. The army helped him keep that promise to himself, but
he was drawn to this girl. He couldn’t get the image of her face from his mind. Her coconut smell was still lingering on his arms where he held her throughout the night. It was a scent he could definitely get used to.

Returning to the room, he saw Dusty and the girls out on the balcony smoking, a habit
he was glad he never picked up. The beach was gorgeous, with shades of emerald and sapphire water with white sands. There were half naked girls everywhere, but there was only one girl on his mind. He gathered his things to take a cold shower and shake this feeling he had growing deep in the pit of his stomach.

When he got out of the shower, the girls were gone, but Dusty
was still on the balcony. He had gotten the attention of a few of those half naked girls and had talked them into showing him what was under their bikini tops. Logan smiled and shook his head. Dusty would never change, at least he hadn’t in all the years Logan had known him. He had always been a rambunctious kid, always getting Logan involved in something stupid.

“Damn boy. You know how to pick ‘em don’t you,” Dusty said, sliding the glass doors shut behind him. They could still hear the girls giggling outside.

“Me? You better check those girls ID’s brother, they looked a little on the young side.”

“Hell, you know, get ’em young and raise ’em right,” he slapped Logan on the back. “Nothing like the women you picked last night. Good lord help me. Can’t wait for a repeat of that. Becky is hot, and knows how to treat a man right.”

“Never knew of you going
back for seconds before, partner. What’s up with that?

“Got to finish what I started,” he winked at Logan and disappeared into the bathroom. Before long Logan heard the water running and Dusty singing in the shower.

Laughing, he went on the balcony to enjoy the ocean view. Hoping that he might get a glimpse of Alana, but not sure if seeing her was a good idea. The thought of not seeing her again made him cringe. They hadn’t said much by way of conversation, and yet he felt so connected to her. Last night he thought it might have been all the alcohol they drank, but he had the same feelings this morning when he woke to find her still there. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he had woken up earlier while she was still sleeping in his arms. She was so beautiful. All he knew about her was that she was a nurse in a critical care unit because he heard the
girls discussing work. Knowing nursing wasn’t an easy job, he respected her for her career decision. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. It was going to be a long day.

CHAPTER FOUR

By noon, Becky had called and they planned on meeting up at The Striped Cabana Beach Club on the strip. Aunt Penny had stopped in to check on the reservation list, and Alana had asked her if she could cover the last two hours of her shift. Aunt Penny was thrilled to know Alana was doing something besides work. Penny was wonderful. She was the sweetest person Alana had ever known. Beautiful inside and out, she was tall and slender with platinum blonde hair. Alana loved her aunt. She was lucky to have someone so loving step up when her mother had died and father had been arrested.

Alana had even managed to avoid Uncle James all day. Every time he had gotten close to her, she picked up the phone and pretended to be speaking to a guest or taking a reservation.

She had a quick glance of Logan and Dusty earlier while they were passing by the ice machine. He had changed into tan cargo shorts with a light blue sleeveless shirt, wearing white framed Costa sunglasses and a sun visor. He wasn’t as tall as Dusty, but he was more muscular. Neither saw her through the glass window in the office. She didn’t even know this man, and couldn’t figure out why she was so captivated by him. Nothing good could come of this. He was only here for the week, then he would return to his life and she to hers.

She thought about calling Becky and telling her something had come up, but she knew that Becky wouldn’t believe her. No, it was best to see this evening through, let Becky and Dusty have their fun, and say her goodbyes now before she got to close to Logan.

At three o’clock Alana clocked out and ran to her apartment to change into her swimsuit. Uncle James had turned two units of the hotel into a one bedroom apartment for Alana after high school graduation. He said he had done it so she could be around to keep an eye on the guests, but everyone knew it was his way of doing something special for her. Alana knew under his gruff exterior, he had a heart of gold. You just
had to dig deep enough to find it. Aunt Penny could never have children of her own, so Alana was as close as they had come.

She decided to wear her strapless hot pink bikini that tied at her cleavage and on each side of the bottoms. It had a sheen to it that made it seem iridescent. It was her
most revealing swimsuit, and it made her skin look even darker than it was.

Around four o’clock, Becky pulled in, her convertible top down and radio playing loud. Without looking, Alana knew who it was. Looking out the window, she saw Dusty and Logan standing by the car in their swimming trunks with towels over their shoulders and a red cooler in their hands. The plan was
f
or them to meet up at the club, but Becky jumped out of her car and opened the trunk. When Logan picked up the cooler and loaded it in the trunk Alana could see the muscles in his back flex. He was exquisite to look at in his red and gray swimming trunks, no shirt and flip-flops. Just looking at him demanded your attention. He was smiling at Dusty who had just smacked Becky on the behind. She could see Becky getting out her phone, and then her own phone rang.

“I’m on my way!” she blurted. Grabbing her beach bag that she kept ready with suntan oil, sunglasses and anything else she thought she might need while on the beach along with a towel, she headed out the door.

“Alana…” crap, it was Uncle James.

“Yes sir?”

“Your aunt said you had taken off work early, are you feeling okay?”

“Oh, I’m feeling fine Uncle James. I just wanted a few hours to hang out at the beach before Becky and I have to go back to work. Aunt Penny said she would cover for me.”

“Well…” he paused. Alana thought for sure she felt a lecture coming. “Don’t get too much sun,” he glanced up and walked away. She turned and noticed Aunt Penny standing in the window watching. Aunt Penny had saved her once again.

* * * * * * * *

At Becky’s car, Dusty had already called shotgun and was sitting in the front seat next to Becky. He was leaning over the gearshift pretending he was looking for something down her cleavage. She smacked his hands away and laughed.

“What am I going do with you?” she squealed.

“I bet I can figure something out pretty lady,” he said, pulling her head closer and sliding his tongue in her mouth. Becky seemed enthralled with him. Alana never thought she would see that from Becky Harris. Becky was recently divorced from a marriage of ten years, and had sworn off men. But the look she was giving Dusty right now, made Alana think she was reconsidering that decision.

Alana slid through the door, blurting out a curse when her legs hit the hot leather seat. Logan seemed to think it was funny.

“Come here,” he laughed, pulling her over to his lap. Taking his towel, he laid it out for her to sit on. “That should help.”

“Thanks” she said, slightly embarrassed.

“Aww, what a gentleman,” Becky said sarcastically as she threw the car in drive and sped off.

Logan and Alana just smiled at each other. He put his hand on her knee. It was warm and sent a sensation straight to her inner thighs. He was trying to be a gentleman. The kind of man she had always hoped to meet. Why did it have to be here, at the Beach Hotel?

The Striped Cabana Beach Club had blue and white striped cabanas for rent
set up on the beach. Dusty and Becky insisted they needed one to keep from burning. Alana and Logan knew what their true intentions were, and decided to take a walk on the beach to give them their privacy.

The beach was beautiful. It was close to sunset, and the orange, yellow and pink colors in the sky looked like a painted backdrop for a picture. The wind blew and the seagulls were calling and flying overhead. The sandpipers were running to and from the waves. It was a perfect time for a romantic walk.

“So, you’re a nurse? What made you decide to go into nursing?” Logan asked.

“Honestly? Becky. I went with a friend to see her mother, who was in the hospital. Becky was her nurse. She was nice and friendly. Seemed really happy with what she was doing. She was a great nurse,” she reiterated “is a great nurse. I started asking her questions about how long she had been in the field, how long school took, what the pay was, things like that. She had all the right answers I guess,” she laughed. “After a few visits to the hospital, she gave me her number and the number of her student advisor at the college. I knew as soon as I called the advisor that it was the right decision.” That wasn’t the entire story, but she didn’t feel the need to share her full story with him. “What about you? You mentioned you were in the army?”

“Me? Yeah, I’m a military man. Staff Sergeant Logan Montgomery of the United States Army Special Forces, at you service, Ma’am,” he saluted her.