Sabrina felt a dart of pain so piercing that it took her breath away. She had subconsciously acknowledged a long time ago the truth that Jess stated so frankly, but it had taken on new and poignant meaning since Alex had catapulted into her life. “David’s my problem,” she said shakily. “It wouldn’t be fair to ask anyone else to share it.” Then she rushed on, her tone firming to deliberate lightness. “Don’t worry about it, Jess, it will be years before I’m ready to settle down. By that time we’ll probably have David completely well again.”
“Maybe,” Jess said skeptically. “Bree, are you sure—”
“Look, I’ve got to hang up now, Jess,” Sabrina interrupted, trying to stall off any more of his troubled probing. Though well meant, it was getting a little more painful than she could take at the moment. “Give Sue and David my love. I’ll see you Monday.”
She replaced the receiver quickly and drew a deep, steadying breath. It was done. Though Jess’s words had unintentionally hurt her it was undoubtedly better that she face the reality they encompassed. These four days were all she could expect to have with Alex and she must make the most of them. She would live each day with a zest and joyousness that would make every one a bright jewel to treasure forever. She could do it. If she could gather strength from the darkness, how much more could she garner from the sunlight of this time with Alex?
She rose to her feet and strode to the shower at the rear of the plane.
She was blow-drying her hair with the portable dryer she’d found in a small, compact cabinet under the basin when she heard Alex roaring her name.
“Damn it, where the hell are you, Sabrina?”
She shut off the dryer and frowned in puzzlement. Now what had put him in such a temper? She tightened the white bath towel around her, tucking the ends beneath her arms.
“Sabrina!”
She slapped the dryer down on the vanity. “I’m coming!” she called, her voice sharp with exasperation. She strode swiftly from the bathroom, her hair flying wildly about her in a flaming, silky cloud. “What’s all the urgency?”
Alex halted in midstride, a flicker of relief crossing his face before it darkened crossly. “Why didn’t you answer before I shouted myself hoarse?” he said roughly, carelessly tossing the armful of packages and the tan pigskin suitcase he was carrying on the seat of a beige contour chair. “And why the hell are you parading around in just a towel? How did you know I was alone?” His lips tightened. “Not that you probably would have minded,” he muttered.
“I didn’t hear you, I was blow-drying my hair,” Sabrina snapped. “And I wouldn’t have been parading out here in a towel if you hadn’t been bellowing like an angry moose. I thought at the very least the plane must be on fire.” She marched over to the chair. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get dressed. Naturally a shameless slut like me wouldn’t feel shyness or modesty, but I am a little chilly.”
“Damn, I didn’t say you were a slut,” he said hoarsely. Then he was behind her, his arms sliding around her and bringing her back against his hard, taut strength. “Why do you put words in my mouth?”
“Close enough,” she said, trying desperately to keep her body stiff and unyielding in his arms. The thin terrycloth barrier of the towel might just as well not have been there. She could feel every corded muscle of his hips and thighs against her own rounded softness, and his arms felt beautifully right cradling her so protectively. “And I don’t have to put words in your mouth when you do such a superb job of expressing yourself without my help.” She tried to wriggle away from him but his arms tightened possessively.
“No,” he said sharply, and she could feel his chest move against her back as he took a deep breath. “Don’t move, sweetheart. Just let me hold you. Okay?” Then his lips were at her throat, nuzzling aside the silky tresses until they were pressed against the pulse just under her chin. “God, I’m sorry,” he muttered thickly. “I know I shouldn’t have blown up like that with you. It was just that I was scared half out of my mind. When you didn’t answer, I went into a panic.”
“Panic?”
“I thought you’d left me,” Alex said simply. “I thought your cowboy had talked you into going back to him and you’d cut and run.” His next words were muffled against her throat. “Lord, I hate being this vulnerable. It tears me apart.”
Sabrina knew a flutter of melting tenderness that had nothing in common with the hot sensuality she’d been aware of only a moment before. She relaxed against him in helpless compliance with the emotional response his words generated. “You’re not alone in this, you know,” she said huskily. “I can’t say that I like what’s happened to me either. But I’m not flailing out at you for no reason.”
“That’s because you’re a warm, sweet woman,” he said huskily, his lips moving up to her earlobe and nibbling at it gently. “My woman.” His tongue darted teasingly into her ear. “Tell me you’re my woman, Sabrina?”
“Chauvinist,” she charged a trifle breathlessly. She could feel his body hardening against her own and she had a fleeting memory of his powerful, naked body crouched over hers, his supple shoulders gleaming copper in the firelight. She felt a curious weakness in her knees. She shot him a teasing glance from beneath her lashes. “Why don’t you tell me you’re my man, instead?”
“Why not?” he said mockingly, his hands sliding up to cup the fullness of her breasts through the towel. “I wouldn’t think of offending your liberated sensibilities, Sabrina. Particularly when it appears to be nothing less than the truth.” His thumbs were lazily stroking her nipples through the rough terry material. “I am your man, little flame.” She gasped as he increased the abrasive friction that was causing the taut peaks of her breasts to harden yearningly. “Every muscle in my body, every talent I possess, every bit of experience I’ve acquired over the years are completely at your disposal.” His hands slowly pushed the towel down to her waist and thumb and forefinger were gently plucking at the nipples he’d already aroused to such excruciating sensitivity. “Tell me what you want, love,” he urged softly, his warm breath stirring the hair at her temples. “Tell your man how he can please you.”
One hand left her breast to wander down to the apex of her thighs, and he began a lazy, circular, rubbing motion through the towel. She shivered as she felt a hot wave of unadulterated desire rock her. “Do you like that, sweetheart? Do you know how much I like to touch you there? You’re so soft and sweet.” His hand increased its stroking tempo until she was arching instinctively against it, her eyes closing against the tide of pleasure he was causing to break over her. “So hot.”
“Alex.” His name was almost a gasp on her lips and suddenly she couldn’t take any more. She turned in his arms and her trembling fingers were at the buttons of his shirt. “Damn you, Alex. Liberated, hell! You know you’re driving me crazy.”
There was a flicker of mischief in the darkness of his eyes, despite the pulse she could see leaping in his throat, signaling his own arousal. “Well, I didn’t actually know,” he drawled, smiling. “I admit I did have a strong hunch, though.” He raised an eyebrow quizzically as she pulled his shirt out of his pants and parted the material, baring his muscular chest with its springy pelt of dark hair. “Does that mean you don’t want to be liberated any more?” He pulled a face. “Pity. I was just beginning to enjoy my submissive role.”
Submissive? Sabrina gave a very unladylike snort of disbelief. She should have known better than to try to play games with Alex. He had too much experience on his side, and that inborn arrogance was a little too strong to allow him to yield anyone a total victory. Or was it?
“You like aggressive women, then?” she asked sweetly, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully on his face. “I’ll have to see if I can’t accommodate you.” She leaned forward and deliberately rubbed her naked breasts against the hard muscles of his chest. The mockery was abruptly wiped from his face. “Do you like that, sweetheart?” she asked with dulcet sweetness, parodying his own seductive whisper. “
Do you know how much I like to touch you there?” She bent her head and her tongue darted out to caress one hard male nipple. He groaned this time and his hips gave a spasmodic jerk forward. She looked up into his eyes and crooned soulfully, “You’re so hot.”
For a moment he gazed down at her in blank disbelief. Then suddenly he was chuckling. He threw back his head and laughed with such robust enjoyment that it was her turn to stare at him blankly.
His arms went around her and he gave her a warm, affectionate hug that was almost avuncular. “Oh Lord, Sabrina, there’s no one like you,” he said, still chuckling. He pressed her head to his chest, rocking her back and forth like a proud parent with his favorite child. “Just when I think I’ve gotten the best of you, you do something like this. It’ll be a wonder if I have the least bit of ego left by the time these four days are over.”
“I don’t think you have to worry too much about that,” Sabrina said dryly. “I haven’t exactly noticed you’ve turned into a shrinking violet since I came on the scene.” But her arms slipped around his waist beneath his shirt and she brushed a light kiss on the warm flesh cushioning her cheek. God, she loved him so much. How could you help but love a man who could subdue his pride, and laugh at himself, without losing one particle of the essence that made him all strong, virile male?
There was a sound somewhere between a snort and a cough behind her. Sabrina stiffened and made an instinctive movement to turn and face the new arrival on the scene, an action instantly quelled by Alex’s arms tightening about her protectively. It was a good thing he had, she realized an instant later, embarrassed color flooding her face. Naked to the waist, with only a flimsy towel draping her hips, she was scarcely presentable.
“Shall I go out and come in again?” Clancy Donahue asked politely.
“You have abominable timing, Clancy.” Alex sighed resignedly over her head to Donahue standing at the door. He carefully folded the edge of his shirt around Sabrina’s naked back, affording her a little more covering. “Do you intend to make a habit of this?”
“You’re obviously not going to give me the opportunity.” Donahue’s voice was laden with displeasure. “I made those arrangements you ordered. You know what a damn fool you’re being, don’t you?”
“Not now, Clancy,” Alex said impatiently. “Go on up to the cockpit and give Sabrina a chance to get dressed. You’re embarrassing her.”
There was a disgruntled murmur behind her and then the soft click of the cockpit door. She raised her head from Alex’s chest, her cheeks still flaming. “I don’t think you need to worry about my appearing draped only in a towel any more,” she said ruefully. “That was the second time I’ve been embarrassed to death by Clancy’s arrival.”
Swift concern darkened his face. “I wanted you to be discreet, not ashamed.” His hands left her back to cup her face in his palms. “You shouldn’t ever be ashamed of that lovely body, little flame,” he said softly. “You’re all glowing satin color and singing grace.” He kissed her with a tenderness that caused her to catch her breath. “If I sometimes get uptight about you displaying all that magic to anyone else, it’s just because I’m a jealous bastard and like to guard my own. Okay?”
“Okay,” she answered throatily. She smiled shakily. “Now I think I’d better put some clothes on, don’t you? Clancy must think I’m trying to establish going topless as the current fashion.”
He released her reluctantly and stepped back, watching as she pulled the towel up to cover her breasts and tightened it around her. “It’s not a half-bad idea,” he said wistfully, his eyes on her cleavage. Then he pulled his gaze forcibly away and grinned mockingly. “And Clancy would never hint you’d ever do anything that wasn’t entirely right and proper. He’s a great fan of yours.” His lips tightened grimly. “He’s a little too enthusiastic in his support of you at times. Did you know he tried to talk me out of coming to Corpus Christi to get you once I’d located you? It’s the first time since I was a kid that I was tempted to take a swing at him. What the hell did he think I was going to do to you?”
“Probably exactly what you did,” Sabrina said, her lips curving in amusement. She felt a warm surge of affection for the gruff Texan. “He knows you very well, Alex.” She turned briskly back to the chair and started to gather up the packages. “How much time do I have to get dressed before we take off?”
“About fifteen minutes,” he said absently, still frowning. He watched her broodingly as she turned back toward the bathroom. “How did I know you were a virgin?” he said defensively, looking like a sulky little boy.
“Would it have made any difference?” she asked over her shoulder as she crossed the cabin. Why was he so upset by Donahue’s championing of her? It seemed completely out of character in someone as ruthlessly single-minded as Alex.
His lips curved in a reluctant smile. “Probably not,” he admitted sheepishly. “I wanted you too much to give a damn about anything!” His expression became oddly grave. “I guess I just resent the fact that Clancy felt he had to protect you from me. I want to be the one to protect you from anything that could hurt you.”
“Cherish?” Sabrina asked softly, as she paused at the door and gazed at him across the cabin.
“Cherish,” he echoed. There was a touch of uncertainty in the depths of his eyes and lines of tension about his mouth. “I didn’t just take a lush little redhead I had a yen for to bed last night, Sabrina. I think you know that despite what Clancy thinks. Are you sorry you let me love you?”
How could she be sorry? It had been the most wildly beautiful experience of her entire life. Whatever was to come afterward, that fact was incontestable. Her emerald eyes were glowing with tenderness as she said huskily, “You’ve got to get rid of these chauvinistic misconceptions if we’re ever to understand each other, Alex. I didn’t let you love me, I demanded it. I wouldn’t think of accepting such a passive role. Keep that in mind in the future.” The door closed softly behind her.
In fifteen minutes she was dressed in the cream Halston pants suit with its chic tunic top and graceful cowl neck. The matching medium-heel sandals were not only fashionable but marvelously comfortable. For that matter everything fit splendidly, she thought with satisfaction. Alex had been almost uncannily accurate in his guesses regarding her sizes. Then she felt a swift surge of heat flood her entire body at the memory of the events of the previous night. It wasn’t all that amazing when she came to think about it. In those feverishly passionate hours before they had finally fallen into an exhausted slumber, he must have weighed and measured every inch of her, not only with his eyes but with those talented hands and those lips that had practically driven her out of her mind.
There was still a flush of color on her cheeks as she returned to the cabin and found it unoccupied except for Clancy Donahue, sprawled lazily in an easy chair, leafing through a magazine. He rose easily to his feet, his brows raised and his lips pursed in an appreciative whistle as his gaze ran over her.
“Very nice,” he said lightly, his blue eyes twinkling. “I found the other outfit a bit more aesthetically pleasing, but a man can’t have everything.” Then as her blush deepened to a color rivaling her hair, he added more soberly, “Sorry about that. I promised Alex I wouldn’t say anything to embarrass you, but he should have known I wouldn’t be able to resist. This unruly tongue of mine has been landing me in trouble since I was a lad. Speaking of exotic outfits, I have something that belongs to you.” He reached into the pocket of his tweed sports jacket, pulled out a cassette tape, and held it out to her. “You forgot this the night of Alex’s birthday party. I suppose I could have mailed it to you but I had an idea I’d be seeing you again very soon anyway.” His eyes twinkled. “I just didn’t think I’d be seeing so much of you.”
“Thank you,” she said quickly, taking the tape. She sat down in the chair next to his. “Where is Alex?”
Donahue nodded in the direction of the cockpit. “He decided to take over the controls himself since it’s only a
forty-minute flight to Houston International. You’ll be changing to the helicopter there. Londale’s Folly doesn’t have a landing strip. He usually prefers to have Don take over on longer flights so he can rest or work as the mood takes him.” He smiled. “Of course it could be that he decided discretion was the better part of valor, with a lovely thing like you sharing the cabin. I got the distinct impression he wasn’t up to exercising much more restraint where you were concerned, and he practically burned my ears off for the embarrassment I’d already caused you.”
“I’m sorry. That was quite unfair,” she murmured. “It wasn’t your fault I was embarrassed.”
“I totally agree! But that didn’t stop Alex from blistering me with that poison tongue of his. Sometimes I rue the day I taught him my rather uniquely explicit vocabulary.” He scowled. “I only wish he’d picked up a grain or two of common sense along with it.”
“I gather you’re a trifle displeased with him,” she said idly, as she fastened her seat belt. “I seem to remember your calling Alex a fool. That’s hardly the action of the poor, downtrodden employee you’re picturing yourself to be.”
Donahue’s face darkened grimly. “He is a fool,” he repeated stubbornly. “He knows better than to take chances in his position. It’s the first time I’ve ever known him to take a risk for no good reason.” He glared at her, resentfully. “I’d say it’s carrying your desire for privacy a little too far, risking Alex’s life just to spare yourself a little publicity, Sabrina.”
“Risking Alex’s life?” Sabrina’s eyes were wide with surprise and questioning. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, Clancy.”
He studied her for a long moment before the skepticism slowly faded from his face. “I should have known it was all Alex’s idea,” he said gruffly. “Forget I mentioned it, kid.”