Iris Johansen - Dark Summer

Easy to say. He had no intention of letting her ignore the way she felt. Heat tingled through her as she remembered the curve of his lips, his eyes dark and intent on her face. He wanted to make love to her, and he wasn't going to stop until it happened.

No, not make love. What was between them was erotic, sensual, but it had no basis in anything deeper. She had to remember that.

Going to bed with Marrok could be a mistake.

Thinking that there was anything between them but sex could be a tragedy.

BRIDGET ARRIVED AT SUNSET, ANDMarrok walked down to the helicopter to meet her.

"Where is she?" Bridget asked as she jumped out of the aircraft.

"Down at the barn." His brows rose. "You act as if you thought I was keeping her tied up in the basement. Where did you think she was?"

"I have no idea. I don't know why you let her stay. She shouldn't be here."

"I'm aware of that, Bridget. I couldn't convince her to go."

Bridget was studying him. "And you're not sorry she's staying. What are you up to, Marrok?"

"The oldest game of all. You know what a self-indulgent bastard I am. Why not risk her neck if I can get a little plea sure out of the situation?"

"Don't give me that bull. I know you."

"Then you don't know me well enough." He turned to Walt, who was still in the helicopter. "Tell her, Walt. He's been with me a hell of a lot longer than you have."

"He's a real lowlife," Walt said. "Scum of the earth. Do you want me to stay here at the ranch or go back to the airport, scum of the earth?"

"Here," he said curtly as he turned back to Bridget. "You're welcome to try to talk her out of staying. But I'm done with it. Devon's so full of ivory-tower idealism, she thinks she can move the world single-handedly."

"So what? So do you." She strode toward the house. "Don't give me that crap about how cynical and wicked you are. You're no kid any longer. All that may have been true at one time, but I've seen you change just in the last three years. If you want to have sex with her, do it. But don't tell me it's because you're such a 'bad boy.'"

He chuckled. "But I am, you know."

"You have your moments. But you have other moments when I'd bet on you to be able to shift the earth to suit yourself." She turned to face him as they reached the porch. "If you're going to get Devon into bed, do it quick and send her to Sarah's. I don't know how much time she has."

His smile vanished. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know. I never know, dammit. I just feel . What the hell good is that?"

His hand closed on her arm. "Stop rambling. Tell me."

"It's… I'm not sure. Something's going to happen to her… around her. I don't know which. But it's bad."

"What the hell do you mean?" His hand tightened bruisingly. "You can't just leave it like this. What-"

She tore her arm away. "Let go of me. I told you all I know. Maybe I'm wrong."

"You're damn right you're wrong. Nothing is going to happen to Devon."

"Then ignore what I said," she said fiercely. "Only you won't do that. Because as often as you tell everyone how skeptical you were about Paco's powers, you believed in him. And you believe in my particular brand of weirdness, too." She turned toward the barn. "And that's the reason you're going to get Devon away from here, away from you."

"She won't listen to me, dammit. You try."

"That's what I intend to do," she said over her shoulder. "Just don't do anything that will stand in my way."

Bridget could see Devon standing at the fence looking at Casper. Okay, get your thoughts in order and be ready to talk sense to her. But people like Devon might be sensible and go into battle anyway. It was a dicey situation. Even if Marrok didn't interfere intentionally, his very presence might blow her efforts. She had observed him with women before. There was no one more erotic or magnetic than Marrok when he was aroused, and she had never seen him like this. He was sending off signals as strong and basic as a forest animal. Most women would be fascinated, drawn irresistibly toward the challenge.

She could only hope that Devon would be in the minority.

DEVON ABSENTLY RUBBED CASPER BETWEENthe ears as she watched Bridget walk toward her.

The woman was moving briskly, a hint of impatience in her stride. Devon had watched her walk from the helicopter with Marrok, and her stance had been even more tense while she was talking to him. It was clear she wasn't happy with him or the entire situation.

Well, neither was Devon.

Casper brayed and moved toward Bridget as she came nearer.

"I seem to be deserted," Devon said. "Marrok told me that you were a Pied Piper."

"Casper still cares about you. I'm just the new kid in town." Bridget said as she reached up and stroked the donkey. "And he's grateful you saved him from getting shot by that farmer."

"You do your research."

Bridget smiled. "Doubting Thomas. You remind me of Marrok. He calls it hocus-pocus but he doesn't scoff any longer. I had a hard time with him when I first met him. In his heart Marrok does believe in things that he can't hear, see, or touch. He won't admit it. He took too much punishment as a kid as an apprentice to Paco. The elders might have respected Paco but his peers, the children on the reservation, laughed at him."

"He seems to have survived just fine."

"No, the scars linger, and they've caused a hell of a lot of trouble. It's no wonder he became so volatile. A drug addict for a father, a mother who took off and left him when he was a baby."

"Did she divorce his father?"

"No, she died a few years after she left the reservation. It was a car accident, but she was drunk. It was just as well she deserted Marrok. From what I've been able to piece together, she was pretty erratic herself. Catrin Munoz was born in Spain and was traveling the world when she met Marrok's father in San Francisco. He'd just gotten out of the navy and probably had a good deal of the same sex appeal as Marrok. Catrin was experimenting with everything else, liquor, drugs, sex, and decided to include him in the package. He was just another fling to her."

"You know a lot about Marrok's background."

"Yes, you don't think I'd take any job without investigating what I was getting into."

Devon was silent a moment. "And you had Lincoln to help you research."

"You've been doing a little research yourself. Did Marrok tell you that?"

"Yes." She added, "I don't like Lincoln. I told Marrok that I found your connection… suspicious."

"Marrok finds it suspicious, too. But he still trusts me."

"I don't trust you. I don't know you."

"That's why I'm here. I have an idea we may need each other. If you trust me, it may make it easier."

"Marrok said you were upset I didn't go to Sarah's."

"That's putting it mildly."

"I couldn't leave. I have to-"

"Don't explain. I know why you want to stay. You want to save the world or at least this part of it. It's very commendable and very stupid. You're going to ruin everything."

"I'm not stupid and not a fanatic do-gooder. I have to do this." She smiled faintly. "You told me once you weren't good at being diplomatic. You're proving it right now."

"Oh, crap. How can I convince you that you should go to Sarah's until this is over?"

"You could tell me how I'd ruin everything. You can't do that. I'm intelligent, not overly impulsive. I've worked disaster sites for years, and I know karate and can handle a gun. I'm determined and per sis tent. I'd say I'm a damn valuable asset."

"And I'd say you could blow us out of the water." She frowned, trying to put it into words. "Look, I don't doubt that under ordinary circumstance you could be helpful. But sometimes there are certain people who become catalysts. Put them into the mix, and events change, people do what they ordinarily wouldn't do. You plan on their jumping one way, and they go another."