When It Hooks You (It #1) (19 page)

When Adam cleared his throat and straightened, Trish dropped her arm from around his neck. She stepped back to admire the way his wheat-colored button-down hugged his slim but athletic frame. “Shall we find that departure gate before the plane leaves without us?” he asked.

A few days earlier, he’d confirmed Trish’s guess of Guatemala as their destination. They made their way to the departure gate, arriving with twenty minutes to spare.

“Will you be working while we’re there?” Trish asked.

“A very little bit. Just checking in, really. I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to mix business with pleasure. Do you speak Spanish?”

“Only what I can remember from three years of classes in high school.”

“That’ll help. In Guatemala they have their own variation of the language, so no matter how many years someone has studied proper Spanish, they often struggle down there.”

“You don’t struggle?”

“I very much do. But the locals are forgiving.” He smiled, setting off an affectionate spark in his eyes—they had a sea-green cast to them against the light shade of his shirt.

For the rest of their wait, he filled Trish in on nuances of the language and culture. After takeoff, he asked how her past month had been. She entertained him with the most amusing anecdotes she could think of. When she volleyed the question back to him, he told her business had filled his month and that making arrangements for this trip had provided a nice diversion.

“So what’ll we do once we land?” she asked.

He gave her a sly smile. “Do you really want to know or would you rather be surprised along the way?”

“Hmm. Surprise worked out pretty well last time. Let’s go with that.”

As they neared their destination, the plane lowered beneath the sheltering cloud cover. Trish gawked at the lush wonderland of lakes, mountains, and vegetation. Adam pointed out a volcano. Her eardrums swelled with the change in air pressure, enhancing the sensation that they’d flown into a new dimension.

A car and driver picked them up at La Aurora International Airport, transporting them from the surrounding urban development to a road lined by bright green tangles of flat, rounded leaves punctuated by intermittent spiky ones. Mountains loomed in the distance. The day was mostly cloudy, but the sun occasionally blinked through.

Trish didn’t realize she’d been pressed to the window, taking it all in, until Adam pulled her away from the view, cupping her face in one hand and turning her toward him. Without ceremony, his mouth was hot and heavy on hers. Her surprise kept her from reacting immediately. There was something desperate in his touch, reminding her of their very first kiss on the rooftop.

Thoughts of that night and of how much she’d missed him these last few weeks brought her past her initial surprise. She pressed into him, and they hungrily fed on each other, oblivious to the driver only a few feet away. Eventually, jaw-lock set in, and Trish whimpered, slowing her pace.

“Sorry,” he breathed, lifting his mouth from hers. “I’ve been waiting to do that for a very long time.”

“As long as I have.” She brushed the tip of her nose against his. “We’ve got the whole weekend to make up for lost time.”

“Not the whole weekend.” He tickled her bottom lip with his thumb while the rest of his fingers curled against her jaw. “Our hosts this evening are old-fashioned. It would be best to limit any physical contact while we stay with them.”

“Oh?” She wanted to ask him why he’d make such an arrangement but didn’t want to sound ungrateful or waste what was left of their limited kissing time. His lips were back on hers, greedily sucking her breath into his mouth. When he pulled back, it was with what seemed like a tremendous amount of effort. Trish grinned, gratified by his blatant desire for her.

The car pulled up to a large adobe home. Its wide first floor was topped by a narrow second story rising at its center. The pale corn color of the outer walls stood in gentle contrast to the darker ruddiness of the tiled roof. As the car crunched on the gravel drive, the screen door at the front of the house opened. A short, ebony-haired man and a slightly taller woman with equally black hair came out to greet them.

Adam pulled away from Trish, opening his door and stepping from the car. “
Buenos tardes,
” he called to the couple. He walked around the back of the vehicle to open the door for Trish. Adam said more words in Spanish, ending with “Trisha.” To her, he said, “These are our hosts, Luis and Elina.”

Trish smiled, shaking Luis’ and then Elina’s hands.

“
Con mucho gusto,
” Elina said, nodding and smiling. Trish repeated the phrase back to her, hoping she was correct in assuming it was a polite greeting. Those three years of Spanish in high school had apparently been wasted.

The couple ushered them inside, where Trish did more smiling while Spanish words flew rapid fire around her. Adam’s rich voice rolled easily over the unfamiliar syllables. He could’ve been butchering the language for all she knew, but to her he sounded like a linguistic maestro. Though she didn’t understand a word being spoken, she could see by Adam’s relaxed posture and hear in Luis’ and Elina’s hearty laughter that there was genuine rapport among the trio.

Trish felt immediately comfortable here, so much so that she nearly forgot Adam’s instruction to limit physical contact. His tight, narrow waist was so close, practically begging for her arms to wrap around it. She wanted to burrow the side of her face into the crook of his neck so she could feel the vibration of his Spanish as it formed at the base of his throat. Luckily, there was plenty of eye candy to distract from her desire to rub against him like a lascivious cat. While the others talked, she studied the tasteful muted tones of the open rooms offset by bold pops of color via tiled countertops and Mayan textiles.

Elina led them out the back door to a narrow veranda. The four of them took seats on the modest wooden furniture. Trish and Elina shared a long bench while the men took separate seats. A young woman soon followed with a tray loaded with glasses, bottles of water, and iced tea. Amid the continuing discussion, Trish sat back with her tea, taking in the stunning view. Hills covered in thick and varied vegetation rolled all the way up to the oversized red tiles of the porch. Misty mountain peaks in the background began to fade into darkness as dusk settled all around them.

Adam turned to Trish. “Elina says she knows we must be tired and hungry from our travel, so dinner will be served soon. She asked if you enjoy spicy foods.”

“
Sí
,” Trish said, nodding with an enthusiastic smile.

The foursome soon relocated to the long dining table inside, where they passed plates of warm corn tortillas, black beans, and stuffed red peppers. Adam did his best to keep Trish tied into the conversation. Elina was able to speak short phrases in English, which also helped. Trish gleaned enough information to understand that Luis and Elina were business associates of Adam’s.

Neither of the flights that day had been long, nor had Trish changed time zones, so she was caught off guard when jet lag set in. As the meal continued, she zoned out on even the English words. When the young woman from earlier cleared the dishes, perceptive Elina came over and took Trish’s hand. She led her to an upstairs bedroom, where Trish saw someone had deposited her bag.

“
Duerma bien
, Trisha,” Elina said, touching her hand to Trish’s cheek. Elina shut the door as she left, and Trish stretched her arms wide in the small, sparse room. She changed into her pajamas and crawled under the covers on the twin-sized mattress. She was too tired to worry about washing up—but not so overcome with sleepiness that she wasn’t disappointed Adam hadn’t been the one to walk her to her room.

A soft tapping at the bedroom door roused Trish the next morning. “Yes?” she said, somewhat disoriented.

The door creaked open, and Adam poked in his head. His hair was in a casual, un-sculpted style, but he’d clearly paid it some attention. “Sorry. I’d let you sleep longer, but if you want to shower before we get going on our day, you should probably get started.”

“What time is it?” she asked. The lighting in the room was still dim.

“It’s going onto nine.”

“What?” She shot straight up to sitting, barely thinking to throw an arm across her unbridled breasts covered only by her thin tank top. “But it’s still so dark. How can it be that late?”

“Heavy clouds this morning.”

She blinked until her vision cleared. “I can’t believe I slept that long.”

Adam smiled but stayed outside the room, the door not budging an inch further open. “Luis and Elina have gone ahead of us. The bathroom is down the hall, and coffee and breakfast are in the kitchen.”

He left her then, and she hurried through her morning ritual. After she’d showered and dressed, Adam allowed her enough time to swallow a cup of velvety rich coffee, some scrambled eggs, and fried plantains before whisking her to the dusty Jeep that their hosts kept for guest use. As they bumped along a dirt road, he explained that he was taking her to see his newest business venture.

The car slowed as they approached a small grove of spindly trees. Adam parked and led her to walk among the trunks. She now noticed several large pods, bigger than her hand, growing up the base of the trees and amid the wide, glossy leaves. Taller trees towered above the shorter, pod-bearing ones, creating a pleasant, dappled shade in the humidity.

“Should I have brought breadcrumbs?” Trish asked, following him further into the woods.

“Nervous about being in a strange land with a strange man?” he asked over his shoulder.

“I probably should be. But strangely, Mr. Helms, I feel like I’d follow you anywhere.” She took two extra-long steps to come directly behind him and snake her arms around his waist, like she’d wanted to do since arriving at Luis’ and Elina’s. Lifting onto tiptoes, she touched her lips to the back of his neck.

He half turned, reaching his arm over her head to wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. She tilted her face upward, and he bent his to give her a soft kiss. “I dreamed about you last night,” he murmured against her mouth.

She wanted to ask for details but they were interrupted by the hum of another vehicle’s engine as it pulled up and idled just beyond the tree line. Adam stepped back, causing her arms to slip from around his waist. A man walked to the edge of the forest, calling out something in Spanish. Adam responded in the same language, speaking so swiftly, Trish had no hope of making out even a hint of meaning. The man said something else, then got back into his truck and drove away.

“They’re waiting for us,” Adam explained. “But before we go, I’d like you to guess what’s in these pods.”

She studied the long, almost squash-like, ribbed objects. Some were yellow, others dark orange or even red. Some were roughly the length of a human head, while others were far smaller and shriveled-looking. “Aliens?”

“No. Not aliens.”

“Baby dinosaurs?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yes. You figured it out. I intend to make a fortune in the black market dinosaur business.” He started toward the Jeep.

Trish stood still for a moment, examining the mystery pods, and then dashed to his side. “What’s really in there?”

He smiled but didn’t answer until they were again bouncing along the dirt road. “They’re cacao pods. Inside are seeds used to make cocoa and chocolate. The cacao seed was important in ancient Mayan culture. It was thought to make the drink of the gods and was viewed as valuable enough to be used as currency. But the harvesting and processing of cacao is a labor-intensive prospect. New trees take years to produce ripe fruit, and only a small percentage of the blooms are ever pollinated. Guatemalan agriculture has turned away from cacao to produce more financially profitable crops, like coffee beans and sugar cane.”

“And you prefer to go into businesses that are less profitable?”

“Profit can be defined in many ways. What’s the value of preserving cultural tradition? How important is establishing a healthy ecosystem? One reason larger-sized cacao plantations don’t work is because they lack the shade of bigger trees that young cacao trees need to thrive. The environment’s too dry and sunny to attract the midges necessary for pollination. Luis and Elina are helping small-scale farmers establish healthy plantations. Entire communities will be provided with work during the harvest seasons.”

“Where do you fit in?”

“In addition to financing, I’m working with them to develop a marketable product. When the time comes, I’ll spearhead the effort to bring the product to sustainable markets.” They pulled up to a long, flat structure with metal walls. “I need to have a brief meeting inside, but Elina has something fun for you to do while you wait.”

They entered a large room with a long table at one end. Elina was at the table with two young women. She waved Trish over, introducing her to the women, who smiled their hellos. “They show you,” Elina said, nodding at Trish and gesturing for her to have a seat.

Elina and Adam walked across the open space and disappeared inside a smaller room. Trish could hear other voices coming from beyond the doorway.