The Other Lady Vanishes (Burning Cove #2)(91)

“Florence says my teas have been great for business. I like blending them for people so I’ll keep doing that. But I would also like to use my mother’s collection of old herbals as a foundation for a new botanical research library in Burning Cove.”

“That,” Jake said, “is an excellent plan.”

Adelaide braced herself. It was time to face the future. “What about you? You’ve accomplished your objective. You recovered the diary. Now you’re free, too.”

He rose, reached down, and tugged her to her feet. He cupped her face in his hands. There was a lot of heat in his eyes.

“I’m thinking of moving to Burning Cove,” he said. “Life by the seaside has done wonders for my nerves.”

Her laughter bubbled up out of nowhere. She put her arms around his waist.

“Mine have certainly improved since I took up residence there,” she said.

“How do you feel about taking in a permanent boarder?”

“I like the idea,” she said. “I like it a lot. I could put you to work in my library, although probably not at the reference desk. I don’t think you would be good at dealing with the public.”

A rare flash of warm laughter lightened Jake’s avenging-angel eyes. “Living with you and having a steady job sounds like the perfect future,” he said.

“Yes, it does,” she said. “And just think, you will have a convenient supply of your favorite green tea.”

“I hoped that would be part of the deal.” His amusement faded. He tightened his grip on her face. “I know it’s too soon to say this, but I love you, Adelaide. You should know that sooner or later I will ask you to marry me. In fact, I will beg you to marry me.”

“In that case, I would suggest that you ask me sooner rather than later. One thing I have learned recently is that life can be unpredictable. One should not put off until tomorrow what one wants very much to do today.”

“You can say yes today?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

There was a new emotion in his eyes now. She could have sworn that she caught the glint of tears. But that was impossible, she told herself. A man like Jake would not cry.

Concerned, she raised her fingertips and touched the corner of his eye.

“Jake?” she said.

He did not answer. Instead, he kissed her with an aching tenderness that let her know the tears were real. It was a kiss that promised a soul-stirring love.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself up to the embrace.

“Adelaide,” Jake said against her mouth. “Adelaide.”

The kiss became more intense. The thrill of shared desire consumed them. Jake started to undress her but soon they were fighting each other for the embrace.

They made it to one of the two narrow beds, leaving a trail of discarded clothing behind. Jake yanked the quilt aside and stretched out on his back. He pulled her down so that she sprawled on top of him. They were still very new at the business of making love together, Adelaide thought. There was so much to learn about each other.

She could have sworn his hand shook a little when he touched her breasts, as if he could not quite believe that she was real.

She trailed her fingertips down the length of him, from his sleek, strong shoulders to his thighs. She explored his lean, muscled body with a sense of wonder and satisfaction. He was her lover and she was his.

When she reached the hard, rigid evidence of his desire, he exhaled on a harsh groan and fitted his hands to her waist. He positioned her so that she straddled him, and drove himself slowly, relentlessly into her welcoming body.

“I need you,” he rasped. “I need you so much. Come for me, sweetheart. I want to feel you come while I’m in you.”

She loved knowing that he wanted her so desperately, loved knowing that she could thrill him, loved knowing that he thrilled her.

He reached between her legs and found the exquisitely sensitive spot. She caught her breath.

Moments later her climax struck in cascading waves, carrying her away.

“Jake.”

“Yes,” Jake said. “Yes.”

He watched her with half-closed eyes, enthralled. She sensed that he was trying to hold back but his formidable willpower failed him. The storm of his own release crashed through him.

When it was over, she collapsed on top of him. He held her very close and very tight.



* * *



? ? ?

?She felt him stir a long time later.

“There’s something you should know about me before we get married,” he said.

“Something else besides the fact that once upon a time you were a secret agent?”

She was lying on top of him, her head pillowed on his chest. The cabin was getting cold but Jake’s body was warm enough to melt a glacier. She did not want to move.

“I do have a job,” he said.

“What?” She raised her head so that she could look down at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?

“Because it’s not a very secure job. I could be fired at any time. The pay is erratic and uncertain. The hours are sometimes very odd. But on the positive side, I can do my work in Burning Cove just as easily as in Los Angeles.”

“I don’t understand. Do you sell real estate or stocks?”

“No.” Jake threaded his fingers through her hair. “I write the Cooper Boone spy novels under the name Simon Winslow.”