"I wouldn't mind snorkeling in the lagoon. But if it's okay with you, I'd kind of like to lay around and work on my tan." She tried desperately to sound nonchalant. She didn't want him to know that she'd realized what was going on. In a weird way, it was her gift to him, an amazing last day together without weepy goodbyes.

He grinned at her and her heart nearly fell out of her chest. "I told you, this is your day. You deserve whatever your gorgeous heart desires."

G.o.d, I wish that was the real reason, Jackson. You beautiful liar, you.

Mar chewed on the inside of her lip to keep from crying, and looked back toward the sunrise so he wouldn't see the stupid tears that threatened to slide down her face. She wasn't normally one who shed them easily.

Once the enormous orange orb made its entrance, Mar stood up and kissed the top of his head. "Thank you for that. It's such a peaceful and beautiful way to start the morning. I'm in serious need of a shower. I don't suppose I could talk you into joining me?" Hey, if it were the last day, she would absolutely make the best of it. "I mean, I might need help soaping up my back or something."

He glanced at her, a certain gleam in his eyes, and she knew that he'd taken the bait. Thank Gawd. Her body had been screaming for him since he'd kissed her awake this morning.

"Are you sure?" he asked her carefully.

"I don't know, Jackson. If you can't handle it, I totally understand. Maybe you're tired. We've had a lot of s.e.x. Hmm. I thought you would have recovered by now, but I understand if you don't feel like you can perform." She blew him a kiss. "I'm a big girl, I can shower alone if I have to."

Reaching up, he captured her arm. "Have I mentioned you're a wicked woman?"

She leaned over, sliding her hands down his chest and all the way to his c.o.c.k. "I think you might have said something about that." She ran her palm down the hard length of him. "But I need a little TLC, the kind only you can provide." After nibbling his ear, she gave the tip of his c.o.c.k a soft pinch.

Jackson jumped up, and followed her into the villa.

There were ten different spray heads and water splashed from every direction. He helped her out of the robe. When he slipped the T-shirt over her head, her nipples perked to attention. He laved each one with his tongue and then kissed them.

Mar had no desire to wait a minute longer. She untied his board shorts and slid them down his hips.

Jackson picked her up and put her under the sprays. The warm water instantly relaxed her muscles.

"I'll be right back, don't start without me," he said as he left the bathroom. He returned with a foil package.

As soon as he stepped in she grabbed for his c.o.c.k, but he moved his hips away from her. "We're doing this my way. Turn around." Taking her soap, he began with her neck. Each time he soaped and then rinsed her, he would land tiny kisses in the area. He worked his way down her neck and back. Then he turned her to face him and began the same process on her front.

He reached her nipples, and suckled each one and then soaped her stomach and p.u.s.s.y. When he bent down and stuck his tongue into her heat and nibbled her c.l.i.t, Mar wasn't sure she could stand much longer.

The warm water beat against her front and back in rhythm with Jackson's tongue and teeth. Jackson moved her again so that she was braced on the wall. Reaching up, she grabbed the ledge from the window to keep herself steady as he continued to use his teeth. When he slid two fingers into her and began pumping in and out, she bucked against him.

Once again she was lost in a haze of pleasure, every nerve in her body begging for release. "Jackson, please. I need you inside me. Now." She growled out the words.

Jackson stood and kissed her hard. Reaching behind her, he opened the foil package and slid the condom on. "Wrap your legs around me, baby." Helping her, he positioned her so that his c.o.c.k slid easily into her folds, filling her so completely. He didn't tease her this time. Thrusting in and out, he began pounding her harder and harder.

"Yes." The warm water came from the sides, hitting her nipples in the right spot as he rammed his c.o.c.k into her. "I want you so bad," she cried. "So bad."

"Not half as bad as I do you." He thrust in hard, showing her. He kissed her, his tongue following the same movements of his c.o.c.k, and Mariska rode higher and higher.

"Jackson, ohhh. Yes. I'm-" Words left her as her body shattered into an o.r.g.a.s.m so intense she had to let go of the ledge and wrap her arms around his neck to keep from falling.

Jackson came in the same instant and turned so that now his back was against the wall, as if he needed to support them both. If his knees felt anything like the rest of her body, she understood.

"Oh, Mar," he said before he kissed her again.

They stood like that for a few minutes, letting the water run down their bodies.

After turning off the water, he toweled off her body. He tried to give her back her T-shirt, but she tossed it onto the towel rack.

Mar moved toward the bed naked and slipped into the sheets. "Jackson?"

He stood at the doorway watching her.

"What is it?"

Mar smiled at him and reached out. "I really don't want to go snorkeling today."

A grin slid across his face. Drying himself off as he walked toward her, he threw the towel on the chair and climbed in beside her. "Me, either."

16.

AMAZING HOW FAST ONE could develop a habit. Jackson loved watching Mar sleep. With her hair splayed out against the pillow he thought again how she looked like a peaceful angel.

h.e.l.l, maybe angel wasn't the right word for her. Wicked she-devil might be more appropriate. They'd spent the entire day in bed, napping and pleasuring one another. They'd made love two more times after the shower, and he still couldn't get enough of her. She'd protested this evening when he insisted she eat something and rest.

When he promised strawberry pie for dessert she finally acquiesced. He'd eaten every last bite off her and then she finally went to sleep.

Slipping his arm from around her waist, he paused when she stirred. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her.

Sliding out of bed, he quickly packed his bag.

You're a d.a.m.n coward.

The idea of saying goodbye to her face-to-face was too painful. She'd try to be brave and the moment would break both of their hearts. He convinced himself this was the best way to do it.

Once she'd fallen asleep, he knew what he had to do. No longer would he give up and let Vlad or some operative working for the Company kill him. His new priority was to stay alive, if at all possible, for Mar.

If he had any chance to be with her again, he had to get ready for a war. If things didn't go his way, then at least he'd know he'd gone down fighting.

And he did care about her. He hadn't lied when he told her he'd leave with a heavy heart. His felt like someone had tied a six-hundred-pound anvil to it, and ripped it out of his chest.

All those songs on the radio hadn't lied. Love hurt like h.e.l.l.

Taking one last look at her, he closed the door silently behind him.

You have to move on.

The walk up the hill wasn't so easy this time. The farther he was away from her, the more his chest tightened. His feet were leaden, and at every step his heart warned him to turn and run back to her.

Come on man, pull it together. You're doing this so that if there is such a thing as miracles, maybe you can be together. He also had the idea that maybe he could draw Vlad's men in a new direction as far away from Mar as possible. He'd felt so bad about deceiving her, but at least he could give her some peace. A chance to live a happy life, without worries about some goon going after her.

It wasn't easy, but he used his mental training to focus on his next moves. First thing he had to do was find a pa.s.sport guy in Bangkok. The one he'd heard about before he'd run into Mar was dead. But there had to be someone else who could do it for a price. There always was.

As he rounded the back side of the main entrance, he ducked behind a wall. Two of the thugs who'd chased them in Bangkok were checking out his bike.

His body tensed, ready to fight.

Jackson listened as they argued back and forth. One of them instructed the other to check at the desk to see what room Jackson and Mar were in.

The other one called him stupid and said this was a rich hotel. They didn't give away room numbers. Eventually the two decided to sit in their car and wait to see if they could spot their prey.

Jackson needed a new plan.

MAR KNEW AS SOON AS Jackson shut the door that he was gone for good. She'd only pretended to be asleep, knowing that their last lovemaking session was the end. Though she had no plans to stop him, she wanted to know when he left.

Sitting up in bed, she turned on the low lamp. On his pillow Jackson had left her phone and a note.

The phone was dead and she found her charger in her purse and plugged it in. Dreading it, she opened the folded piece of paper he'd left.

Mar, I care about you, more than I have about anyone else-ever. Sneaking out is a cowardly way to go, but I couldn't stand to see that look in your eyes. Our last moments together should be happy ones we shared over strawberry pie.

My life is complicated and I didn't lie. While I can't give you details, I can tell you I'm not Mr. Thomas the detective. I sort of walked in on your case accidentally, and decided to help you out. You're going to find all this out as soon as you turn on your phone.

I'm going to do my best to make sure you are safe by creating a diversion. Give me twenty-four hours and then head straight to the airport. Those goons can't get through security so move fast.

Please, understand that I only did what was necessary to survive. I feel guilty as h.e.l.l keeping things from you, but that's how dire things are for me right now.

That said, I will cherish our time together. You may not believe me, but you stole my heart. I only wish I'd had the courage to tell you to your face.

Jackson Mar folded the letter back the way it had been.

Tears stung her eyes, then the anger took over.

"Stupid man. I could have helped. Whatever trouble it is." She ranted as she went to the bathroom and washed her face. She'd already decided she couldn't stay here one more minute. This place reeked of Jackson and the longer she stayed the more her heart would break.

"His friggin' life was in danger, and he couldn't tell me." Fists tightening by her sides she resisted the urge to smash them into the mirror.

"I'm mad at myself for falling for a guy I didn't even know." And she had jumped off that cliff and dived in headfirst. "d.a.m.n you, Jackson. You made me care again. Then I find out the entire time you were with me was a lie."

Her head ached and her jaw tightened.

Picking up her phone, she saw there were so many messages in her voice mail it could no longer accept more. Rubbing her temples, she sat down on the side of the bed and listened to the first few.

"Mar. Dammit. I've called you five times in the last two hours. Answer your phone," Chi demanded in frustration. "When you get this, you need to get away from that guy you're with because he isn't who he says he is. In fact, he told Mr. Thomas that he was your a.s.sistant, so G.o.d only knows. He could be an axe murderer. If you don't call me back I'm calling the authorities."

Hitting the b.u.t.ton, she skipped through to the end of the messages. It was Chi again. "Thanks for sending the text message. We're glad to know you're alive. I honestly almost called the police and you're going to have several messages at the hotel desk. Can't wait to hear what the deal is with your vacation mate. Call me soon."

Mariska hadn't sent a text message. She scrolled through her outgoing texts. "Oh, my G.o.d. The man knows no bounds. How could he do that?" And where were the messages from the front desk? Had he taken care of those, too?

She resisted the urge to toss the phone across the room. Chewing on her lip, she refused to cry.

"Okay. Breathe. You had a fling with a stranger. You knew that going in. A hot guy with a complicated life, and he was evidently being honest about that part."

Mar thought back to their initial meeting, to what he'd actually said. He'd said he worked all over the world, and that he'd been here researching a few cases. The man had a gift for languages, and he certainly knew how to evade those mob guys in Bangkok.

And he'd solved her case. The anger dissipated a little. He didn't have to help her, but he did. Even put his life in danger to keep her safe.

There was no way she could have found Gladstone on her own. She hadn't even known where to begin searching.

"He knew what he was doing every step of the way. And he helped me. Honestly, he helped me. It's really hard to hate you when I know you're a decent person. Jerk."

And I'm sitting on the bed talking to myself out loud and trying not to cry.

She needed to make sense of it all. If she took her feelings out of it-they'd both been in it for the pleasure. At least that's why she had originally run off with a man she didn't know.

"But why would he come with me?" That was a question she wasn't sure she could answer. He found her attractive. Though he had called her beautiful several times, it went beyond words. She'd seen it in his eyes. There were moments during their time together that she also saw vulnerability in his face, especially when they delved too close to the past.

Whoever Jackson was, he was a good man. She knew that at least.

Mar stared up at the ceiling. As much as she wanted to hate him, she couldn't. Jackson, if that was his name, had given her some of the best days of her life. She'd had fun, and she'd found an intimacy with him that she'd never experienced before.

The phone rang and she nearly fell off the bed, she was so jumpy. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Mar, what's going on?"

"Hey, Chi, what are you talking about?"

"It's not only me, Makala and Katie are here, too. You're on speaker."

Mar sighed. Katie was a former NYPD detective and had a B.S. detector like no other, and Makala was an FBI profiler and their resident shrink.

"Great. What time is it there? Because you know it's like four in the morning here, right?"

"It's the only time we figured we could reach you. We'll let you get back to bed as soon as you tell us about this new man of yours," Katie insisted. "We demand details. In fact, what kind of guy lies about who he is to get in your pants, and still gets to hang around?"

Blowing out a breath, she thought carefully about what she was about to say. While she doubted she'd ever see him again, she couldn't bring herself to b.i.t.c.h about him. Even though she had every right after what he'd pulled.

"Is he there?" Chi asked. "Go in the bathroom so you can talk to us."

Mar gave a forced chuckle. "No, he's not here. We've parted ways. So he's no longer my man." She sniffled. d.a.m.n, I won't cry.

"Oh, Mar, tell us, hon. What's wrong?" The concern in Makala's voice was almost her undoing. A tear slid down her cheek, but Mar held it together.

"I'm tired. You know. I had some fun with a mysterious guy. It was the best s.e.x of my life, but he had to leave. End of story."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.