Safe in His Embrace Read online

  Alex smiled. “Very.” She didn’t know the half of it. To his father’s disapproval, Rick had taken him mountain climbing the summer of their sophomore year, not to mention caving. There were other exploits over the years and as he looked back, Alex always managed to have a great time.

  Senetra rubbed her hands together. On an impulse Alex took them between his own and rubbed them. “Warmer?” he asked, the condensation from his breath making a cloud.

  Warmer? It was a wonder the ice wasn’t melting around her. Senetra nodded, heat exploding through her as if he’d zapped her with an electrical charge.

  This was ridiculous, she thought, sliding her hands away. Absolutely ridiculous. There was no way she should feel anything for this stranger, much less this intense desire. She’d only met him that morning.

  Senetra sighed and gazed at the glacier again. It had rained recently, washing some of the dirt off the blue-white surface. If only the baggage of her life could be wiped away as easily. If only she could do anything without thinking of Timothy.

  After another half hour in the area, they gathered oysters from the farm and shucked them. While the chef prepared their dinner, they snowshoed through the forest with Rick leading the way.

  Later, they ate an exquisite oyster dinner, sharing two bottles of wine over lively conversation. Afterward, everyone was feeling mellow and Alex was looking even better.

  Senetra needed to escape.

  When they were on their way to their rooms, Senetra realized she was enjoying herself, that for a space in time she forgot to be apprehensive of Alex.

  When Kathryn and Rick went for a dip in the hot tub, she declined to join them, giving the lovebirds their privacy. In her room she wrote a letter to her mother about her birthday weekend, leaving out any details that might give away her location.

  At eleven, she still wasn’t sleepy. She donned her bathing suit and terry cloth robe.

  The hot tub should be empty, she thought as she made her way outside on the crisp night. The hot water would warm her up quickly. That and the glass of wine she’d saved. Her back was turned to the tub as she closed the sliding door.

  “Be careful you don’t spill it.”

  Senetra barely stifled a shriek and swiveled around. Whom did she see but Alex? “Sorry, I thought everyone had turned in. I didn’t mean to intrude.” She started back through the door.

  “It’s large enough for both of us. I don’t bite,” he said. His eyes were half-closed.

  Senetra’s gaze left his attractive face and traveled downward. His bare chest was exposed to her view, all gorgeous muscles and sprinkling of hair.

  Common sense told her to go back inside to bed and sleep it off. It was too intimate with just the two of them, but she would seem ridiculous if she left, as if she was running. Shrugging off the robe, she quickly stepped into the steamy water and ducked under the surface until it foamed around her neck. The contrast between the hot water and the cold surroundings was comforting, but she was too unnerved to enjoy the sensation.

  “Ahh, this is wonderful,” Alex said, closing his eyes and leaning back.

  For several moments they were enveloped in uncomfortable silence. Then suddenly he said, “There it is.”

  “What?”

  “Look up.”

  She turned until she saw it, too. The aurora borealis. No matter the shape or what hues the waving lights took, it was a breathtaking display across the night sky. As Senetra watched the show and felt the texture of the swirling water, the tension slowly ebbed from her.

  “So what brought you to Alaska?” Alex asked.

  Senetra shrugged, and stiffened. Stay as close to the truth as possible. “I’ve always wanted to visit and to live in a small town. This suits me. It’s different from the lower forty-eight. The pace is less frantic. What brought you here?”

  “Arctic Oil.”

  “What do you do for them?”

  “I’m a chemical engineer.”

  “You should talk to my class before you leave.”

  He chuckled. “Believe me, Rick has roped me every year since I’ve been here.”

  Senetra smiled. “Rick knows everyone. He’s always getting some professional to speak to the students. So you’ve made Alaska your home?”

  “I’ll be here another two to three years before I return to Wisconsin.”

  Senetra tensed again. This was too much of a coincidence, although Wisconsin was a large state. “What part?”

  “Near Madison.”

  Even worse. Just an hour from Milwaukee.

  “Where are you from?” he asked.

  “New York.” Senetra had repeated it so many times she now said it without conscious thought.

  “New York’s a large state.”

  “Buffalo.”

  “Then the cold here shouldn’t bother you,” Alex said, still wondering why she was lying. “It might be even warmer here than in Buffalo. How does your family feel about your being so far from home?”

  “I don’t have any. This is beginning to feel like the Spanish Inquisition.”

  Alex sipped his wine. “I thought it was conversation designed for us to get to know each other better. Feel free to ask me anything.”

  “I came out here to relax.” She promptly closed her eyes and settled back, effectively ending the conversation and exposing the long column of her soft neck.

  Still the diva, Alex thought, as cold as a Fairbanks winter.

  Blowing out a breath, he set down his glass. As much as she irritated him, he shouldn’t be curious. He shouldn’t want to kiss her smooth skin, but he did, or run his hands and lips over her body. His pulse raced, damn it. He grabbed his wine and swallowed deeply. He’d definitely been without a woman too long.

  “You’re in the wrong position. You shouldn’t miss this fantastic play of lights,” he said. “The aurora’s moved behind you. The object of a hot tub is to relax the muscles, not get a cramp looking over your shoulder.” He chuckled. “Rick trusts me and so does Kat. If I was dangerous they wouldn’t let you near me. Come on. Slide over here. I’m not Dracula.”

  The tub wasn’t very large and she moved around until her arm touched his. Her arm was soft. She jerked away as if he’d prodded her with a cattle prod. In complete silence, they watched the lights. But Alex was enjoying just being near her. Although he had to remind himself that she was married.

  As she watched the play of lights, he studied her closely. The rippling water revealed faint scars on her shoulder.

  “Look there,” Alex said, pointing upward. “That shape looks like a prom gown. Do you see it?”

  Soon, Senetra was also claiming to see ridiculous objects in the night sky. They were soon laughing hard.

  Before he could stop himself, he touched a scar, drawing a line on her arm. “What happened?” She jumped as if he’d struck her. “I wouldn’t hurt you,” he whispered.

  “I should go in.”

  She moved to get up, but he kissed the length of the scar. Her breath hissed and he paused, then resumed his pursuit. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, her cheek. He pulled back and watched her stare at him wide-eyed.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  “Going out of my mind.” When she didn’t move away, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips, expecting her to either jerk away or slap him. One taste of her was worth a little pain.

  When she still didn’t move, he gathered her in his arms and ran his tongue against the seam of her lips. She opened for him, allowing his first taste of pure bliss.

  Dragging her onto his lap, he stroked her tongue with his, sucking gently. He caressed her slowly. First her arm; then he moved down to her waist and hips. Her sweet moans drove him wild. When he touched her thigh he felt her hands tentatively stroke him in return. A blaze heated his blood so hot he thought he’d burn from pure need. He couldn’t get enough of her.

  Her skin was so soft, so warm. When he kissed her neck she ran her hands lightly down his ar
m and neck, pushing him over the brink of sanity. Two years. Two long years since he’d felt this desire—since he’d wanted a woman as desperately as this.

  He eased his hand beneath Senetra’s swimsuit, stroking her intimately. Senetra gasped from shock and pleasure. She knew the sensible thing was to make him stop, to get up and leave, but sense didn’t enter into the equation as he nudged her bathing suit top aside, fixing his lips around her nipple, stroking his tongue back and forth before taking the taut bud gently between his teeth. He stroked the heat of her desire, stoking a fire so hot she came unglued. It had been so long. So long. In the heat of the moment she moved against his hand. Pleasure increased, intense heat, desire, need. She moaned, clutching his shoulders for fear she’d fall into a volcano. And then it came, hot and heavy. She cried out. He kissed her, smothering the sound. He stroked her gently until he pushed her over the edge and she was falling into such an intense orgasm it rocked her to the core.

  He held her tightly until her body stopped trembling.

  “Oh, my gosh,” she said. “I can’t…I didn’t…” There were no words to describe it.

  He groaned and suddenly he shot up and ungracefully tumbled her into the water, remembering to catch her at the last moment—barely. It jerked her back to reality.

  “I…” He groaned and it wasn’t from desire. Unceremoniously he hauled her up like a sack of flour. “Damn it. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” He glared at her as if it was all her fault.

  “Neither did I. I didn’t thrust my hands in your swimsuit.”

  Alex groaned. When she slipped, he grabbed for her again.

  “I can take care of myself,” Senetra snapped. “I didn’t ask for this.” Hauling herself up this time, she stomped from the tub, sloshing water over the side, and grabbed her robe. He followed right behind her.

  When he reached for the door, she glared at him and he held up his hand, looking so damn sexy in his swim trunks she wanted to scream in frustration as desire shot through her again. That chest. Those powerful thighs. She grew weak in the knees just looking at him.

  She just had to look elsewhere. She couldn’t get down the hall to her room fast enough. Since they were the only guests, she’d left her room unlocked. Once inside, she slammed the door solidly behind her and twisted the lock.

  “I’m falling into the same damn trap. I can’t believe I did that.” And enjoyed every second of it, her conscience nagged. She felt hot with embarrassment. He’d played her body like a fine-tuned instrument. Worse, he regretted it as much as she did. Did she regret it? Did she regret the first orgasm she’d ever had with a man? She’d always faked them with Timothy.

  Senetra groaned. It was the drink. The two bottles of wine they’d consumed. What else could explain her ridiculous reaction?

  Senetra moaned out loud. It felt like heaven in his arms. Goose bumps spread on her arms. She clenched her teeth against the ever-present desire. But guilt ate like acid in her stomach. She’d only taken what he’d offered and given him nothing in return. It was always one-sided with Timothy—all for him. He’d never put himself out to make sure she was sexually satisfied. She didn’t want to be that kind of person.

  But it wasn’t as if Alex had wanted to make love with her. Afterward he’d dumped her in the tub as if she were a poisonous snake. Obviously he’d made as big a mistake as she had.

  Alex closed his door quietly behind him and leaned against the cold, hard surface. He’d just kissed and intimately touched a married woman. That was so far from his moral code he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it. He had never dated, kissed or done anything else with married women.

  But his body throbbed with unfulfilled desire. He balled his hands into fists.

  It was the wine. That was his excuse and he was sticking to it. But he couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He was going to burn in hell.

  He heard her moving around next door. He had gotten no release and his body was tense. Just thinking about her curves…Don’t even go there, buddy, or you’ll be up the rest of the night, he told himself.

  Raking his hands over his head, he drew in a deep breath, headed to the shower and turned the water on cold.

  And she’d let him. She’d let him touch her, take intimate liberties as if she were as single as he.

  But was she married?

  There were scars on her arm. She wasn’t wearing any makeup and he saw a faint scar on the side of her face a few moments ago when they were standing at the sliding door. As if they’d healed long ago, but left a lasting mark on her. Had she run away from the great Timothy Blain?

  His temper flared. The thought of a man Timothy’s size beating on a woman like Senetra made him want to lay the guy out cold. You never could tell about those things. Abuse happened to the rich, as well as the poor.

  This was too much. The first complete week he’d taken off in two years and it had pitched downhill from the beginning. He’d come up here for relaxation, not to get mixed up in some soap opera. He hoped to hell she was single. Alex swiped his hand over his face. He had a hard time dealing with the fact that he’d made love to a married woman.

  Alex was curious. Internet services were available at the B and B. After he showered, he booted the computer up and searched for Timothy Blain.

  There were several hits. He clicked on some of the articles. The society section mentioned he attended a function with a Lidia Smith. Another mentioned an award the city had given him and one mentioned that he spoke at a fund-raising seminar.

  So maybe she wasn’t married. Alex kept searching until he hit on an article that mentioned his contentious divorce.

  She was divorced. Now Alex had all the information he needed. He logged off and headed to bed.

  The next morning, Senetra felt as if she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep when she went in to breakfast. She dreaded seeing Alex again. He was already there and seated, but he stood when she approached the table, even pulled out her chair for her. She smiled her thanks as she sank into the soft cushion and mumbled a hasty morning greeting.

  “Good. Both of you are here,” the owner said with a sunny smile. “Your friends are having breakfast in bed. What will you two have?”

  Senetra stifled a groan. They would have to suffer through a tense breakfast. They gave their order and the owner disappeared.

  Alex reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. He appeared to have gotten no more sleep than she.

  “I’m feeling pretty awkward this morning,” he said.

  He didn’t look awkward, Senetra thought. Anything but. He wore a green, cable-knit sweater. It did amazing things for his body. Or was it that she was still…

  “Look, I’m sorry about last night,” he said. “I was completely out of line.”

  The cook returned and filled their juice and water glasses. When she walked away, Senetra said, “Me, too. Why don’t we just let it go as a lapse in judgment?”

  He nodded and lifted his hand. Senetra felt like rubbing the sparks away, but she merely reached for her juice glass.

  “I think Kat is going to keep Rick locked up in the room the rest of the morning. Why don’t we go cross-country skiing? Do you know how to ski?”

  Senetra nodded. “I’d like that.”

  Dorothelia Jackson washed her hands after gardening Tuesday morning. It was a balmy eighty degrees and she hurried into her house to start the coffee machine.

  With a cup of coffee in hand and the newspapers tucked under her arm, she made her way to the bistro table on her patio and eased into a chair. The only thing missing was her daughter. When Senetra taught in L.A., she’d plan something for the two of them to do over the weekend. Usually it was a Sunday, since Saturdays she usually spent with her friends.

  Sometimes Senetra stopped by for dinner on her way home from school.

  There was a new exhibit in town, and they usually went together.

  She booted up her computer and searched for the latest Milwaukee paper. She always read the obitua
ry section first, hoping her SOB son-in-law had kicked the bucket. That was the only way her daughter would be free of him. Dorothelia sent up a quick prayer of apology for such evil thoughts, but when a man made it impossible for her daughter to come home, well, he deserved no better. With her online subscription, she scoured every issue, and every day there were many other names, but not the name she searched for—Timothy Blain.

  Heck, Timothy was a young man. She’d be long gone before he died. It was a senseless waste of time, but something compelled her to keep searching.

  When a familiar face popped into view, she thought she had the wrong section. She lifted her gaze to the heading. Yes, it was the obituary, not the local news. And Timothy’s face was front and center. A whole page was dedicated to him, and Dorothelia read the entire article before she glanced up.

  Timothy’s death had been attributed to an accidental fall. How the heck did he fall to his death? she wondered. Was he on a trip at the Grand Canyon or something? He certainly didn’t fall from a roof. He didn’t so much as mow a lawn, much less climb up on the roof to clean out gutters.

  Dorothelia had missed the Monday paper and searched for it. One by one she glanced through the front page and local news until she reached the correct date. An article was on the front page. He’d died Saturday night, Dorothelia read.

  “Will wonders never cease? The devil got his due.” His girlfriend-of-the-moment had accidentally pushed him down the stairs, it said. It probably happened while he was pulling her up the stairs by her hair to whip her butt, Dorothelia added, although the paper hadn’t mentioned that. He’d broken his neck in the fall. Lucky guy. Dorothelia sent up another prayer for her blasphemous thoughts. It wasn’t glorying in the misfortune of others, she told herself. He’d taken her daughter away and she was feeling no love.

  She stood so quickly she felt dizzy and plopped back into the seat. Her heart leaped with anticipation.

  Senetra could come home. Senetra was coming home. Dorothelia was bubbling with so much joy she couldn’t contain it. She leaped up, danced around the patio and caught a new neighbor staring at her. Dorothelia waved and ran inside to phone her friend.