White Lies Read online

  He liked making her lose her temper. It was exciting, in a primitive way, to watch those blue eyes narrow like a cat’s. It was the final sign that he’d tormented her into attack. The day he’d thought she was an intruder and tracked her in the snow, then tackled her, her rage had startled him, caught him off balance, but it had excited him. Most people who knew Jay would never think she was capable of that kind of anger, or that she would physically fight anyone. It told him a lot about her, about the passionate, volatile side of her personality and about what it took to bring it out. Probably very few people could make her angry, but because she loved him, he could. And after he’d provoked her to anger, he liked to wrestle with her and love her out of her temper.

  Physically she delighted him. She was still too thin, though she ate well, but he liked to watch her trim hips and rounded buttocks in her tight jeans too much to complain. Her skin was satiny, her breasts high and round, her exotic mouth full and pouty; no matter how she dressed, she turned him on because he knew what lay under those clothes. He also knew that all he had to do was reach for her and she’d turn into his arms, warm and willing. That kind of response enchanted him; there was something so new about it, as if he’d never known it before.

  Then one morning they got up to find that it had snowed again during the night, and it continued snowing all during the day, not hard, just a continuous veil of flakes sifting down over the meadow. Except for trips outside to bring in more firewood, Jay and Steve spent the day in the cabin, watching old movies. That was an extra benefit of the satellite dish; they could always find something interesting to watch on television, if they were in the mood. It was perfectly suited to a lazy day when they had nothing better to do than to lie around and watch the fat snowflakes drifting down.

  Just before dark, Steve left to check the area, something he always did. While he was gone Jay began cooking dinner, humming as she did so, because she was so contented. This was paradise. She knew it couldn’t last; when his memory returned, even if he still wanted to marry her, their lives would change. They would leave here, find another home. She would have to find another job. Other things would take up their time. This was time set aside, out of the real world, but she meant to enjoy every minute of it. Briefly a dark thought intruded: This could be all she had. Perhaps it was. If so, these days were all the more precious.

  Steve entered through the back door, slapping snow off his shoulders and shaking it out of his hair before taking off his thick coat. “Nothing but rabbit tracks.” He looked thoughtful. “Do you like rabbit?”

  Jay turned from the cheese she was grating for the spaghetti. “If you shoot the Easter Bunny…” she began in a threatening tone.

  “It was just a question,” he said, and grabbed her for a kiss, then rubbed his cold, beard-roughened cheek against hers. “You smell good. Like onion and garlic and tomato sauce.” Actually, she smelled like herself, that sweet, warm, womanly scent he associated with her and no one else. He buried his cold nose against her neck and inhaled it, feeling the familiar tension growing in his loins.

  “You won’t get any points for telling me I smell like onions and garlic,” she said, returning to her chore even though he kept his arms looped around her waist.

  “Even if I tell you how crazy I am about onions and garlic?”

  “Humph. You’re like all men. You’ll say anything when you’re hungry.”

  Chuckling, he released her to set the table and begin buttering the rolls. “How would you like to take a trip?”

  “I’d love to see Hawaii.”

  “I was thinking more in terms of Colorado Springs. Or maybe Denver.”

  “I’ve been to Colorado Springs,” she said, then looked at him curiously over her shoulder. “Why are we going to Colorado Springs?”

  “I’m assuming Frank doesn’t want us returning to Washington, even briefly, so he’ll fly the doctor out to check my eyes. That means, logically, either Colorado Springs or Denver, and I’m betting Colorado Springs. I’m also betting he doesn’t want the doctor to know the location of the cabin, so that means we go to him.”

  She had known he would have to have his eyes checked again, but just talking about it brought the real world intruding into their private paradise. It would feel strange even seeing other people, much less talking to them. But reading strained his eyes, and enough time had passed for them to realize his sight wasn’t going to improve. She thought of how he would look in glasses, and a warm feeling began spreading in her stomach. Sexy. She gave him a smile. “Yeah, I think I’d like to make a trip. I’ve been eating my own cooking for a long time now.”

  “I’ll get in touch with Frank after dinner.” He could have done it then, but filling his stomach was more important. Jay made great spaghetti, and getting in touch with Frank could be time-consuming. First things first.

  After the dinner dishes had been cleaned and Steve was in the shed contacting Frank, Jay stretched out on the rug in front of the fire, for the first time thinking about the chic little apartment in New York that Frank had been keeping for her. It contrasted sharply with the rustic comfort of the cabin, but she much preferred the cabin. She would hate to leave it; it would be beautiful here during the summer, but she wondered how much longer they would be here. Surely Steve’s memory would return before then, and even if it didn’t, how much longer would it be before Frank told him the truth? They couldn’t let him live another man’s life forever. Or could they? Had that been the plan? Did they somehow know he’d never get his memory back?

  The mirrors kept reflecting back different answers, different facets to the puzzle, different solutions. And none of them fit.

  “Are you asleep?” he asked softly.

  She gasped and rolled over, her heart jumping. “I didn’t hear you come in. You didn’t make any noise.” He always moved silently, like a cat, but she should have heard the back door. She’d been so deep in thought that the sounds hadn’t registered.

  “The better to sneak up on you, my dear,” he growled in his best big-bad-wolf voice. He joined her on the rug, sinking his hands into her hair as he angled her mouth up toward his. He kissed her slowly, deeply, taking his time and using his tongue. Her breathing altered, and her eyes grew heavy lidded. Desire was a heavy warmth inside her, slowly expanding until it completely filled her.

  They weren’t in any hurry. It felt too good to lie there in the warmth of the crackling fire and savor their kisses. But eventually the heat was too much, and she moaned as he unbuttoned her flannel shirt, parting the edges to press his lips to the swollen curves of her breasts. He lay on top of her, his heavy legs controlling hers even though she twisted restlessly. She wanted more. Moaning again, her voice sharp with need, she turned until her nipple brushed against his mouth. Lazily he extended his tongue and licked it, then clamped his mouth over it and sucked strongly, giving her what she needed.

  The firelight burnished her hair with golden lights and her skin with a rosy glow as he unfastened her jeans and pulled them off. Her mouth was red and moist, glistening with the sheen of his kisses. Abruptly he couldn’t wait any longer and jerked his own clothes off. The flannel shirt still hung around her shoulders, but even that was too much. He pulled it away from her and knelt between her legs, draping her thighs over his as he bent forward to enter her, fusing their bodies as surely as their lives were fused.

  They lay together for a long time afterward, too content to move. He put another log on the fire and pulled on his jeans, then put his own shirt around her to stave off any chill. She sat in the circle of his arms, her head on his shoulder, wishing nothing would ever happen to disturb this happiness.

  He watched the waving yellow flames, his rough chin rubbing back and forth against her hair. “Do you want kids?” he asked absently.

  The question startled her enough that she lifted her head from his shoulder. “I…think I do.” she replied. “I’ve never really thought about it, because it just didn’t seem like an option, but now…”