Chapter Seven

Jayde just needed some time. She changed her clothes quickly as she put on her originally intended clothing from her shower before things had gotten crazy: a pair of men’s pajama bottoms and a cutoff sweatshirt.

She leaned on the marbled bathroom countertop and looked in the mirror at her reflection. Running the cold water, she splashed some on her face and used the thick absorbent towel to dry it off. She stared. What had she done? What was her family going to say? Would she even tell them? Doubtful.

Standing there she noticed something about her reflection she’d never seen before. Her hands still held the towel in front of her face, but now she detected something different. The glittering of silver on her left hand. Her wedding ring.

She put down the towel and held up her hand, palm towards her face, and looked. The ring shone bril-liantly against her dark skin. Like it belonged there.

“Well, my family was always after me to do something. I guess getting married is something. Besides, it won’t hold up once we get back to the States,” she spoke to her reflection. “I could always put it as helping my country.” She smiled and saw she appeared almost happy. She was glowing.

Jayde walked back out into the main part of her suite and found Tyson on the phone. He looked up as she entered and sent her a soft smile along with a gesture she took to mean “just a few minutes.” She nodded and took a seat on the chaise lounge in the room, closing her eyes as she listened to the comforting rumble of his deep voice mixed with the seductive music that played in the room and the pounding of the rain against the windows.

Tyson watched as his new wife settled herself on the lounge; she looked so delectable lying there with her eyes closed. He understood she must be exhausted, nothing like this was ever easy and she was holding herself together admirably.

The voice in his ear had faded into a faint hum so he had to shake his head and fully concentrate on what his boss was saying to him. Even as Tyson talked his eyes never left Jayde, and he knew the exact moment she fell asleep. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythmic pattern, one arm held a pillow at her side with the other arm lying between her breasts.

Finally, all his calls had been made. He shut the phone and walked over to where she lay slumbering. Pulling up a straight back chair, Tyson sat down beside her body that was dead to the world. “Thank you, thank you, my little rose,” he whispered, brushing her hair back from her face. “Thank you for trusting me.”

For a few moments, he stayed beside her watching her sleep. Then he became restless. There was so much he wanted to do with her and to her, but he had to find a way to keep her safe. Those men were dangerous and now she was his responsibility. It was his fault she was possibly in danger. He snorted with disdain as he amended his thought; she was in danger.

He strode to the window and looked out on the town below. The rain still came down in torrential sheets. Maybe he could convince her to go with him to another place, really act like a married couple. He knew for a fact they would be watched for the remainder of their time here.

Eyes that had hardened with menace at the thought of someone hurting Jayde softened as he turned away to view the woman he’d promised to protect. Tyson went to her and picked her up, realizing she felt light in his arms. In fact, she felt damn near perfect. She wasn’t a petite woman, she was ideal. And for the time being, she was all his.

He placed her reluctantly on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Tyson gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and groaned, struck with just how much he would love to explore every nook and cranny of her luscious body. “Damn, I must be some kind of saint,” he said as he shook his head in disbelief. He took a blanket over to the lounge so that he could sleep between her and the door. Tyson knew he was in for a restless night, but he didn’t survive sleep deprivation training for nothing. So, he cleaned up the remaining traces of blood on his head and went to bed.

****

Jayde woke up to the sunlight hitting her eyes. She opened them slowly against the glare. Her move-ments were slow as she organized her body to get moving. “That was one messed up dream,” she said to the room she believed was empty.

“I don’t think it was a dream.”

Jayde screamed at the deep voice ringing in the room and bolted up out of bed. Her legs became tan-gled in the blankets and she pitched backwards towards the corner of the wrought-iron nightstand. She found herself in a pair of strong arms that held her immobile just shy of her banging her head, staring into a pair of hazel eyes that seemed remarkably familiar to her.

“Easy there.” He set her on her feet and still had a hold on her shoulders as he asked, “Okay now?”

“Fine. I’m fine,” she answered with an undeniably shaky voice. “Thanks for…that.” She gestured over her shoulder. Jayde sat down on the edge of the bed. “It wasn’t a dream was it?”

“No. Are you disappointed?”

“Well, I don’t really know you. But since we aren’t even in America, I don’t think there will be any lasting damage done.” She smiled briefly. “How about breakfast?” Every time she got nervous she ate, which was why she wasn’t pencil thin.

“It’s on its way up. I ordered a bit of everything since I don’t really know what you like.” He stroked the side of her face before walking away from her.

Jayde tried to calm her rapid heartbeat. She didn’t know this man and now she was helping him out of some kind of mess. What kind, she didn’t know, and apparently wouldn’t have time to ask since there was someone knocking at the door. She stayed by the bed as Tyson answered it, admitting room service.

The man who brought in the cart made Jayde feel self-conscious and so she instinctively moved closer to Tyson. She noticed his understanding look as his arm settled protectively around her shoulder, tucking her close to his side. Aware of the man’s gaze on her she laid her head against Tyson and tried to look in love. It was an attempt she had pulled off better than she would have ever imagined.

Tyson tipped the man and walked to the door with Jayde still beside him and shut it behind the hotel employee, leaving them alone again. “Well, I hope you’re hungry,” he said in a light voice.

“Starved.” And she was. Jayde sat down at the table and stared in shock as Tyson began to fix her a plate. No one had ever done that for her before. He pointed and she nodded or shook her head; once the dish was filled, he placed it in front of her and fixed his own.

“So,” he asked later in between bites of scrambled eggs, “what do you want to do today?”

“Go to the jaguar preserve. You remember, right, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary & Jaguar Pre-serve? That was going to be today’s venture.” She took a long drink of her juice and waited. She wasn’t about to give up going to the one place she’d actually come down here to see and was willing to fight for the chance.

“Whatever my little rose wants, she gets.”

“Well, since the whole jig is up, I suppose you should go and get your things to move in here, since I like my room better,” Jayde said. And I have no idea where your room is.

He coughed harshly, clearly surprised by her suggestion. “I suppose so…” He stared at her but she avoided his gaze. “I will do that right now,” he said, almost as a question.

Jayde still wouldn’t look at him. “Yes. And I will get ready for our day.” She slid her chair back from the table and walked towards the bathroom, her body quivering more and more with every step she took. The door didn’t get a chance to close before his hand was there pushing it back open.

“Jayde,” he said as he forced his way into the bathroom. Although his hands have killed, he was ex-tremely gentle as he turned her towards him and brought her chin up to meet his gaze. A lone tear ran down her smooth face. “Oh, Jayde,” he moaned. “What have I done?” He gathered her into her chest and held her against him.

“I’ll be fine,” she sniffed. “I think I am just a bit overwhelmed. Even if we are just acting for these peo-ple, I don’t usually have men in my room.”

Tyson didn’t have the heart or balls to tell her it wasn’t an act. They were truly and legally wed; that was a real document she signed and that man had been a real Catholic priest. “I can keep my room at the other hotel.”

“No, I don’t want them hauling you off to jail. You will stay here.” Jayde pulled back from his chest and looked up at him. “Besides, it might be nice to have a husband while I’m here. That way people will leave me alone.”

Tyson frowned. “What do you mean?”

Jayde shrugged, waving a nonchalant hand over her shoulder. “A few of the hotel staff have been hit-ting on me and it’s getting old. I’m not a huge fan of the attention.”

Damn straight they will you alone. “Glad I won’t be too much of an inconvenience to you.”

All she did was smile softly. “Well, you should get going.” She wiped the last remnants of the tear off her cheek. “I’ll be waiting.”

“I hope so.” Tyson couldn’t stop his next movement any more than he could stop the blood that flowed through his veins. He cupped her face and lowered his mouth to hers.

At the first touch of his lips, he felt her sag. Her hands already around his waist moved up to his neck. One of them moaned as their tongues met and danced.

Tyson’s hands moved lower and back up again, this time under her cutoff sweatshirt. The feel of her satin skin beneath his hands made him tighten his hold on her body. Her curves enticed him in ways he had never dreamed.

Jayde trembled. All through her body she trembled. In all his life he’d never met a woman whose reac-tion was this genuinely lustful, this impassioned. She gave herself over to the feelings completely, causing him to do the same. It was like she was a different person clamoring to get into his skin. A small voice in the back of his mind told him not to do this, not to take advantage of the situation, but that voice was muffled by the desire coursing through his body.

Her shirt was removed, baring her full chest to his gaze. His eyes darkened with warm heat as he licked his lips, “You are a work of art,” he whispered. Tyson’s shirt soon followed and he closed his eyes as her hands touched his bare chest.

“You are so strong,” she breathed as her fingers traced his defined abdominal muscles, all eight of them. There was a puckered scar across the lower part of his ribcage that she touched gently. “Where did you get this?”

“At work.” He reached in and kissed her again, effectively silencing her except for the purr that grew from the back of her throat.

Tyson drew her back against the warmth of his body before scooping her up, his hands under her butt and walking forward until she was sitting on the edge of the sink. He kept her legs spread around his lean hips, allowing her to feel just how much he desired her.

He felt the wetness between her legs as she tightened her grip around his waist. It was a wonderful feel-ing. Everywhere she touched him he felt a burning. Although he knew she wanted to go through that metaphoric gate, she still hesitated.

But it wasn’t meant to be anyway, at least not right now. The sound of a cell phone broke through their heated state.

Both of them drew back and looked at each other with smoldering eyes. Tyson winced as he heard the sound again but leaned down and placed a long lingering kiss on her swollen lips.

“This will be continued,” he vowed as he backed slowly out of the room before turning and answering his phone.