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He might not know much about relationships, but he knew how to protect a woman. And that’s what he would do. He’d get her back safely where she belonged and make sure that nothing else happened to her.
He adjusted the blanket around her shoulders, then crouched next to the bed again. “You’re going to be all right,” he said in a low, comforting voice. “You’re safe now, and you’re not badly hurt. Sleep for as long as you like. When you wake up, we’ll figure out how to help you.”
She moaned in her sleep, but it didn’t sound as frantic and fearful as her earlier cries. Her forehead wrinkled as if she was trying to figure something out. Then she was quiet and still again.
“It won’t be long before you’re awake,” Marcus said, familiar enough with injuries to know when someone was regaining consciousness. “I’ll be close by when you do.”
He stood, intending to walk to the living room. But he was oddly reluctant to leave her alone. She would be frightened when she woke up. She wouldn’t know where she was. Maybe he should stay with her.
“She’ll think you’re one of the people who hurt her, you idiot,” he growled to himself. “Get out of here.”
He moved into the other room, but couldn’t sit down to read. He paced the small room, then went and stood on the tiny porch.
The sounds of the tourists’ voices were lower, muted and more intimate. It was the end of the evening, and soon everyone would be returning to their cottages and rooms. The time for shared gaiety and laughter had passed. Now couples would be dancing more slowly, their bodies touching, hands twining together. Men and women would exchange heated glances, allow their hands to linger just a little longer. Soon everyone would steal away and the resort would be silent and still.
Marcus scowled and walked inside, closing the door firmly behind him. He had a job to do, and the woman on his bed had become part of his job. He’d damn well better remember that.
He threw himself onto the couch and picked up his book again. After staring at the same page for too long, he closed the book and leaned back, willing himself to get some rest.
He had just fallen into a restless sleep when he heard a noise from the bedroom. It sounded as if someone was walking around. He leaped to his feet and ran into the other room.
The woman was no longer lying on the bed. She was standing next to it, swaying, gripping the chest of drawers for support.
Panic leaped into her eyes when she saw him. She grabbed a nail file that had been on the dresser. “Stay away,” she said, her voice low and husky. “I have a weapon.”
Chapter 2
Jessica Burke gripped the chest of drawers with one hand and held the pitifully small nail file tightly in the other. Fear and anger throbbed inside her, and she welcomed it. Her head ached and her legs wobbled, but she wasn’t about to give an inch to the man who stood in the doorway.
He hadn’t been one of the two men who had grabbed her in her workshop, but that didn’t mean a thing. He was probably the one who’d ordered her kidnapping, the Simon that her two kidnappers had talked about.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, his voice deep and quiet. He stood and watched her, making no effort to come any closer.
“You expect me to believe you?” Jessica tried to put as much scorn as possible in her voice.
To her shock, the man smiled at her, and Jessica felt her stomach swoop toward her toes. She scowled and gripped the nail file more tightly. She must have gotten a blow on the head, she told herself. How else could she explain her reaction to a man who had kidnapped her?
The man’s smile disappeared. “You have no reason to trust me,” he said, his voice still quiet, “but I mean you no harm. My name is Marcus Waters and I found you on the beach just before dusk this evening. You looked as if you’d been washed ashore.”
Jessica studied the man in front of her. Rangy and tall, at least a head taller than her own petite five feet four inches, he looked like any other tourist in the Caribbean islands. His blond hair was a little too long. He was dressed casually, in shorts and a T-shirt, and he had sandals on his feet. But his blue eyes burned into her with the intensity of a laser. Those were not the eyes of a casual tourist.
“Are you taking me to Simon?” she demanded.
His face tightened for a moment, and she saw a flare of shock in his eyes. Then it was gone and his face looked no different than it had a moment ago. But there was a new wariness in his eyes.
“Who’s Simon?”
“I was hoping you could tell me that.”
He shook his head slowly. “I told you, my name is Marcus Waters. I have no idea who Simon is.”
“You’re lying.” He’d reacted to the name, she was certain of it.
He watched her for a moment, then he nodded toward the bed. “Why don’t you sit down? I promise not to come any farther into the room. But I’m afraid you’re going to fall.”
Jessica damned her rubbery legs and spinning head, but she knew he was right. If she didn’t sit down, she would fall. And she would lose any advantage she had over him. Gingerly she moved to the bed and perched on the edge, realizing she wore nothing but an unfamiliar T-shirt. Her lack of clothing, and the knowledge that this stranger had undressed her, made her feel even more vulnerable.
“Where am I?” she demanded.
“You’re on Cascadilla,” he said promptly. “At the Westwind Falls Resort. This is one of their beachfront cottages.” He paused, then asked, “Do you know where Cascadilla is?”
“Of course,” she began, then stopped abruptly. Until she knew more about this man, she wasn’t going to answer any of his questions. “I know where Cascadilla is. But how do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
Marcus nodded at the telephone. “Pick it up and dial zero,” he said. “The front desk will answer.”
Without taking her eyes off him, she reached for the phone and fumbled it out of its cradle. She punched in zero, then held it to her ear. When the operator said, “Westwind Falls Resort, front desk, how may I help you?” she hung up the phone.
“All right, so you’re telling the truth about that. That doesn’t mean I trust you about anything else. Even a criminal can stay at the Westwind Falls.”
“But he would have to be a very wealthy criminal,” he said smoothly. “Since you know about the Westwind Falls Resort, can I assume that you live on Cascadilla?”
She clamped her lips together. “I’m not going to tell you anything. In fact, I’m not going to stay here. I’m going to walk out the door, and you’d better not try and stop me.”
“Or you’ll stab me with the nail file?” His eyes softened, and she saw a glint of admiration in them. “I’m not trying to keep you here against your will. You’re welcome to go. But before you do, maybe you ought to think about how you got here. Who hurt you? And are they still out there, waiting for you?”
Jessica bit her lip as the fear crashed over her again. For the past few minutes, as she was sparring with the man in the doorway, she had forgotten her ordeal. Her eyes slid to the telephone again. “Maybe I’ll just call the police.”
“Go ahead, if that would make you feel better. But how do you know they’re not involved?” His eyes took on a cynical glint. “Money can buy just about anything in the islands.”
She knew that far better than most. And he was right. “Then I’ll call my family.”
“Why don’t you let me help you?” he said softly. “At least tell me your name and what happened to you.” He paused, and his eyes hardened. “And how this man Simon is involved.”
“Why are you concerned?” she retorted. “Why would you want to help me? And what do you know about Simon?”
He shrugged. “I’m in law enforcement. And I’m the one who found you. I’m curious about what happened to you.”
“You recognized the name Simon,” she said, watching him carefully.
She saw the jolt of surprise in his eyes and felt a fierce satisfaction. Then his face was carefully blank again.
“I’ve heard the name,” he finally said. “Someone here at the resort must have been talking about a man named Simon. But I have no idea who he is.”
Could she trust him? She couldn’t trust anyone, she told herself. But he had offered to let her call the police. If he had wanted to hurt her or turn her over to the man named Simon, he’d had plenty of opportunities while she was unconscious. And she needed to know what had happened in those lost hours since she’d jumped off the boat and woken up in this room.
“Why don’t you first tell me how you found me, and where?” she said.
He nodded. “That’s only fair.” He hesitated. “Do you mind if I come in the room and sit down? This may take a while.”
Jessica shook her head slowly. “No.” She watched while he settled his long frame in a chair on the other side of the bed and realized he’d done it deliberately so he wasn’t blocking her escape route. She allowed herself to relax just a little.
He leaned forward, fixing her with his gaze, and a hum of electricity seemed to fill the room and shiver along her nerves. He let his hands dangle between his knees, and she found herself staring at them. What would it feel like if Marcus Waters touched her? When she realized what she was doing, she sat upright with a start. What was the matter with her? What was she thinking? She didn’t even know this man.
When she let her gaze meet his, she was startled at the intensity in his eyes. They bored into her, making her shiver.
“I was walking down the beach,” he began abruptly, holding her gaze but banking the intensity in his eyes. “It was close to dusk and there was no one else around. I saw what I thought was a clump of seaweed on the beach, then I realized it was a body.” He paused and waited, as if gauging her reaction.
“Go ahead,” she said.
“It was you. You were unconscious, and it looked as if you’d been washed ashore. I made sure you didn’t have any broken bones and checked to see if you had any head injuries. When I couldn’t find any, I picked you up and carried you back to my cottage.”
“Did you call the police?” she demanded.
He stared at her for a moment, measuring her, then shook his head. “I had the phone in my hand, but then you cried out. It was obvious you were frightened of someone, that someone had hurt you. So I decided to wait until you woke up before I called anyone. I wanted to talk to you first.”
Jessica narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. “It seems odd that you wouldn’t call the police. Isn’t that the obvious thing to do?”
Marcus stood and moved to the window. He opened the shutters just enough to look outside. While he was staring into the darkness, he said, “I told you, I’m in law enforcement. I had a bad feeling about what happened to you. I wasn’t sure if calling the local police was the smart thing to do. That’s why I wanted to wait until you woke up.”
Slowly he turned to face her. “Do you want to call the police now? Are you sure they can keep you safe? Or would you rather tell me what happened and let me help you figure out what to do?”
God help her, but she wanted to believe him. Appalled, she stared at the man standing across the room from her. What was the matter with her? This man was a total stranger, and she wanted to trust him with her life.
She was a scientist. She needed proof, concrete evidence. She needed facts. But a reckless part of her that had been deeply buried had somehow reappeared. She wanted to believe him without proof. She wanted to tell him what had happened to her. She wanted to believe that he could help her, that he was on her side.
She was drawn to Marcus Waters, and the realization scared her. She was intelligent enough to know that she was reacting to him the way a woman reacts to a man. She didn’t know anything about men, about dealing with them as a woman. Her dating life was practically nonexistent. But she yearned to trust this man in front of her.
She hesitated for a moment, her analytical side struggling to control her emotional need to connect with Marcus. Finally she nodded. “I’ll tell you what happened.”
“Thank you.” He moved to the chair, sat and leaned forward, his arms resting on his legs. “What’s your name?”
She hesitated again. This was the first test. Taking a deep breath, she said, “My name is Jessica Burke.”
“All right, Jessica, what happened to you?”
He didn’t recognize her name, she realized, and relief flooded through her. He didn’t know who she was or who her parents were. Surely that meant he wasn’t involved.
You don’t know this man, she reminded herself. He could merely be a good actor.
But she’d managed to read him easily enough earlier, when she’d been quite certain he was trying to hide his reaction to the name Simon. She had to trust her instincts. They were all she had right now.
“I’m a scientist,” she began slowly. She saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes and ignored it. “My parents live on a private island not too far from Cascadilla. I have an office near my parents’ home that I use when I visit them. My office is a small building near the beach, somewhat isolated and quite a walk away from the main house.”
“You work there by yourself? That doesn’t sound very secure.” His voice was neutral.
“It hasn’t been a problem before now,” she replied.
His eyes gleamed, but he nodded. “Go ahead.”
“I was working this morning, close to noon, when the door opened. I didn’t pay any attention because I thought someone from the house was bringing me lunch. When I finally looked up, there were two men in front of me. I knew right away that I was in trouble. I screamed, but I’m sure no one could hear me. They threw a blanket over my head and wrapped it around me, then picked me up and carried me out the door.”
He leaned forward. “Doesn’t your father have a security system?”
“He does, but one of the men apparently had worked for my father. He bragged to the other man that he knew how the security system worked and was able to get around it.”
“Then what happened?”
“I bit one of them. Badly. It was through the blanket, but I’m sure I drew blood. He cursed and swore and dropped me. I was able to run a few steps, but then the other one caught me again.”
“Good for you.” Jessica saw approval shining in Marcus’s eyes and felt ridiculously happy.
“It didn’t do much good in the end. They still threw me into their boat and sped away. It was all over in a few minutes. And no one in my parents’ house had any idea that I was gone.”
“Then what happened?” He leaned farther forward. “Did they hook up with this man Simon?”
“No. I heard them talking about him. The man I bit was named Steve, and he seemed to be in charge. Tommy was the man who worked for my father, and Steve told him that Simon wouldn’t be happy if they let me get away.”
“Do you know Simon? Is he someone your parents know?”
“I have no idea who he is. I know my parents don’t know anyone named Simon.”
“You sure you’ve never heard the name before?”
“Mr. Waters, those two men were kidnapping me. Don’t you think I would have remembered if I’d ever heard the name Simon before?” she said tartly.
Slowly he leaned back in his chair. “Did you figure out what Steve and Tommy were going to do with you?”
“I assumed they were delivering me to this Simon, but I didn’t stick around to find out.”
Once again admiration gleamed in his eyes. “How did you get away?”
“They didn’t bother to tie me up. I guess they figured there wasn’t anywhere for me to go. I managed to get the blanket untangled enough to see where we were headed, and once we got close to Cascadilla, I recognized it. I guessed that was where we were going, and I knew I couldn’t let them get me wherever they intended to take me.”
She hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. Finally she said, “I’ve always heard that you have to do anything you can during a crime to prevent being taken somewhere else.” She didn’t tell him that her father’s security force had drummed that into her since she was small. “So I knew I had to get out of the boat. When we were close enough that I thought I could swim to shore, I wriggled out of the blanket and slipped over the side of the boat. Steve and Tommy were too busy trying to navigate to notice that I was gone. Then I just dove under the water and stayed there for as long as I could. By the time I surfaced, the boat had almost disappeared over the horizon.”
“How far away from the beach were you?” Marcus asked.
She shrugged. “Maybe a mile.”
His eyebrows rose. “You were able to swim a mile to shore?”
“I’m a strong swimmer. It’s part of my job.” Her mouth twisted. “And I was desperate. It’s amazing what you can do when your life depends on it.”
Marcus’s mouth softened, then he stood up and came around to her side of the bed. He sat down inches away from her and took her hand. “You’re a brave woman, Jessica Burke.”
His hand was warm and strong around hers, and it sent an unexpected wave of sensation jolting up her arm. She held on to his hand and stared at him, and she watched his eyes darken. She might be naive, but she had no trouble identifying the expression she saw in his eyes. It was naked desire.
A curl of answering desire unfurled inside her, and she stared at him with shock. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. She didn’t know Marcus Waters, she reminded herself. And you were supposed to know someone well before you had sexual feelings for him. That’s what all the books said.
She slid her hand away from his, ignoring the shimmer of regret. For a moment he leaned forward, his eyes fixed on hers, and she wondered with a thrill if he would touch her again. She saw the intent in his eyes. Then he leaned away from her, carefully shuttering his gaze.
“So you swam to shore after you jumped off the boat. What happened then?”
“I have no idea.”
His eyebrows came together in a frown. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I don’t remember much of what happened after I jumped off the boat. I remember swimming for a long time, but the details are fuzzy. I must have passed out once I made it to shore.”
“Did the guys in the boat, Tommy and Steve, notice you were gone?”
“I’m sure they did, eventually,” she said dryly. “But I don’t think they knew right away. They didn’t come after me with the boat, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t remember seeing it.” She shrugged. “But then, I don’t remember much.”
“Did you hit your head at some point?” he asked, his voice sharp.
“I don’t think so.” She touched her head tentatively. “It doesn’t feel like it.”
Marcus stared at her, an assessing look in his eyes. “So why did Steve and Tommy want to kidnap you? What do you have that they want?”
“I have no idea.”
“You said you’re a scientist. What do you do? Could your work somehow be involved?”
“I doubt it. I study coral reefs. And although I find the subject extremely interesting, I doubt anyone would kidnap me because they had a burning need to know about coral reefs.”
His mouth curled in a tiny smile. “Not only beautiful, but humble, too,” he said in a voice layered with velvet.
Once again she felt the jolt of attraction. This time it shimmered through her whole body, pooling low in her abdomen until she felt like a violin string quivering with tension.
“Just realistic,” she managed to say.
The smile lingered in his eyes as he continued to stare at her. Then slowly the smile faded. “That leaves the other possibility. Money. Would you or your parents be able to pay a ransom?”
She nodded tightly. It was something her father and mother had feared for years. “Yes. My parents would be able to pay a ransom.”
“Even a sizable one?”
“Yes.” Her voice was curt.
“I’m not going to ask them for one,” he said. “I’m just trying to establish a motive here.” He leaned back and watched her. “So you don’t know anyone named Simon, but your parents could pay a ransom. That must mean that they have a lot of money.” He paused. “Have there ever been kidnap attempts before? On you or anyone else in your family?”
“Yes.” She looked away. “Someone tried to kidnap my brother years ago.”
“Did they succeed?”
“No. He managed to get away. But since then, my father has had very elaborate security for both of us.”
“Yet someone managed to get through it and grab you.”
“I told you, one of the kidnappers had worked for my father and had managed to figure out how to get around the security.” She hesitated. “And there isn’t as much security on the island. My family are the only people who live there. We’ve always felt safe on the island.”
Marcus nodded, his eyes unreadable. “Then we have to assume that you were kidnapped for a ransom. Is that what you think?”
“Yes. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”
“Do your parents have enemies who might try to hurt them by kidnapping you?”
“Anything is possible, I suppose,” she said slowly, weighing the possibility. “But I can’t think of anyone.” She looked at Marcus. “A wealthy man always has enemies. But I don’t know of any that would do this.”
“Do you have any enemies of your own?”
“No.” The very idea was ludicrous. “I’ve lived a very sheltered life, Mr. Waters. All I’ve done is go to school and study.”
“My name is Marcus,” he said, his low voice strumming across her nerves. “And it looks like you have some enemies now.”
“Yes, it does.”
She was caught in his gaze, held like a deer in the headlights of a car. She couldn’t get away, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to. Her heart stuttered in her chest and sped up, and butterflies danced in her stomach.
What was happening? She had never felt like this around a man before. The realization that she was attracted to Marcus Waters both thrilled and frightened her. She had no experience with men, let alone a virile, sexy man like Marcus. She had no idea what to do.
To change the subject, she plucked at the T-shirt she wore. “What happened to my clothes?”
“They were covered with sand and salt. They would have irritated your skin, so I took them off and gave you a bath.”
She swallowed, her skin burning beneath the thin shirt. “You gave me a bath?”
“I couldn’t let you stay in those clothes.”
She was uncomfortable, knowing that he had seen her naked. Heat flared in his eyes as he watched her, and she knew that he was thinking about the same thing. A flush started at her feet and swept up her body.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, but she could see that he wasn’t sorry at all. And suddenly, shockingly, she wasn’t sorry, either. Blood pounded in her head, and desire swept through her veins. “Don’t be,” she whispered. “It’s all right.”
What was wrong with her? She shuddered, then buried her face in her hands. It must be the shock of what had happened. She had never felt like this before, never ached for a man to kiss her. For God’s sake, he had seen her naked, and rather than being upset, she was thrilled at the thought!
“It’s all right,” Marcus murmured, and he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re safe now.”
His tenderness, and the comfort she drew from his embrace, opened up a hidden place in her heart. “I hated being so helpless,” she said fiercely. “I’ve never been helpless in my life.”
She could feel him smile into her hair. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” he said.
She raised her head to look at him. “You’ve probably never felt that way. I’m sure you’re always in control.”
The smile faded from his face. “You’re wrong,” he said quietly. “That’s how I know how you feel. You’re only in control when you can’t be hurt. And I was hurt once, a long time ago, by someone I loved. I felt just as helpless as you do now. And that’s one of the reasons I didn’t call the police. I wanted you to know that you were in control again.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.”
For a moment she saw need and vulnerability deep in his eyes. Then they hardened. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not a thoughtful person, Jessica.”