Burning Love (Hell Yeah! Cajun Style), page 6
Harley let him draw her into the cabin. “This is beautiful. I’ve never been on a houseboat before.” She was amazed at how nice it was. There was a large leather sectional sofa, a wood-burning fireplace and a fully equipped kitchen.
“I’ll show you the rest of the place in a bit,” yea, he hoped to show her his stateroom up close and personal. “Here, Love; I fixed you some hot chocolate. I remember how you loved hot chocolate.” Beau picked up a cup from the bar and handed it to her and as their fingers touched, the memories flashed between them – a chilly day in the French Quarter of New Orleans when Beau bought Nada a cup of warm cocoa to stave off the winter chill.
“Thank you, I can’t believe you remembered.” They sank into the welcoming cushions of the couch and sat close, facing one another – Harley sat with one leg tucked underneath her. Her body was tingling, literally tingling. She tried to attribute it to nerves – but she knew that wasn’t it. Harley was sexually excited. Being this close to Beau and seeing the hunger in his eyes was turning her on. And God, he was aroused. She tried not to look at the bulge in his jeans, but it was really too big to miss.
“It’s all right, Baby.” Beau saw where she was looking and he saw her hand tremble. “I can’t help how you make me feel, and I can’t hide it either. You know that old saying – it’s a plain as the nose on your face – well, I have a big nose – and big other parts, too.” He laughed as she ducked her head. God, was she as innocent as she appeared? The thought that she might be untouched excited him no end.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have stared.”
“Look all you want, Treasure. It already belongs to you.” He took a sip of the fragrant chocolate. “Drink your cocoa, Doll. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” He debated how to start the conversation. Perhaps it was better to start with a safer topic. “Do you need a right or left hand stock?”
She looked relieved, “Right hand and a cheek piece, if you don’t mind. And I would love for you to put some nightforce optics on it.”
“You’re turning me on, you do realize that, don’t you?” Beau laughed. “How do you know about nightforce optics?”
“I told you I could shoot.”
When she smiled, his heart skipped a beat. “Can I hold you?”
The question was so unexpected and he spoke so softly and evenly that she thought at first she had misheard him. But when he held out his arms, she realized that he wanted her to sit in his lap. The very thought made her head spin. “You want me . . . . .”
“Damn right, I want you. Come here. I want to be as close to you as possible.”
If it had been anyone but Beau, she wouldn’t have considered it in a million years – but – she did consider it. She even made a move, until something deep inside of her put the brakes on it. Nothing in her body would cooperate. “I can’t, I’m sorry.”
He took the cocoa from her unsteady hand and placed both cups on the side table. “No problem, Cher. Is it me, do I make you nervous? That scares the shit out of me, you know.”
“It’s not you. I know you. Don’t think that.”
“You have no reason to be apprehensive, I would never hurt you. You know that, don’t you?” Beau searched her face, but he could read nothing in it. It was very carefully blank. What in the world could be wrong?
“I know that. It’s just too soon. Okay?”
All right, he’d abide by her wishes - mostly. “Can I touch your face? Would that be okay?”
“Oh, my goodness,” she whispered, not sure of what was happening. He waited until she gave her permission. “Sure, I don’t mind.” It was hard to be still. She didn’t know whether to jump in his arms or flee.
Slowly he raised one big hand and with the most gentle of touches ran his thumb over her cheek, then cupped one side of her face. “Now, let me look at you. Yea, there they are - amber eyes. That same sweet little mouth I kissed so long ago. Well, of course, you’re my Nada. Why didn’t I see it before?”
Beau’s voice was so tender, Harley almost cried. “It’s not so bad when you say it.”
“When I say what?” Kiss. He wanted to kiss her so bad. It was hard to think when she was so close.
“Nada.”
“Why would that be bad? Isn’t that your name?” Something was bothering her, so he stoked the fire in his blood and gave her his complete attention. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know? It means I’m nothing.”
“Nothing?” What did she mean? He was missing something.
“When I was born, I had a caul over my face. Do you know what that is?”
Why did she look ashamed? “Sure, that’s when the baby has a bit of membrane over its face, and people used to believe that child was born with second sight.” Beau watched her press her eyes together and bite her lip. “I don’t understand – that’s a good thing. Old timers around here would say you were blessed.” He played with the loose material, soothing the front of her shirt, just anxious to touch her anywhere he could. She covered his hands with her own, stilling the movement of his fingers.
“Hardly. My father thought the veil over my face meant that I was spiritually cursed, that’s why he named me ‘nothing’.”
Damn! “Nothing? That’s what the word nada means? And it wasn’t an accident, he told you that?” Beau wanted to hit something.
“Over and over again – everyday he told me how worthless I was. That’s why I ran away from home when I was thirteen.” That was how she ended up in Brownwood.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he leaned over and kissed her forehead before she could stop him. She didn’t move away, thank God. “I am so sorry. His loss is my gain. Now that I’ve found you again, I’m never letting you go. I’ll admit it – before, I was entranced with you.” His voice was husky and he ran a hand up and down her arm, as if he were trying to soothe away every cruel word that had been said to her. “I fell fuckin’ head over heels for you when I only knew you as sexy Harley. And now I find out that you are the one precious thing in my life I thought I had lost. Do you understand what this means to me? Baby, I’m holding on to you with both hands. I may never let you out of my sight again.”
His words were like another language, one so foreign that she only recognized a few phrases. But the gentle look in his eyes made her feel safe. Every taunt her father had thrown at her was being made powerless. And before she could protest, he leaned in and captured her lips for a quick kiss and the world stopped turning on its axis. Heat. Peace. Hunger. Emotions that Harley thought she had no claim to, burst forth into her heart. His lips were coaxing and warm and she had to grab the material of his skirt to keep from clinging to his broad, broad shoulders.
“Mmmmmm,” he groaned into her mouth. He couldn’t help it; his hands wouldn’t stay where he put them to save his life. They found their way to her back, coaxing her up against him so there was no doubt in her mind that he was fully engaged – mind as well as body. “Cher, Cher – my God, you are like the sweetest honey. I could get so addicted to you.” He had to have more. Hungrily, his lips slid down her neck, nuzzling her throat, scraping his teeth on her skin and sucking enough to leave a tiny mark. He couldn’t remember ever being so instantly voracious for a woman.
With a little whimper of surprise and surrender, Harley tentatively brought her arms around his neck. It was like coming home.
Hallelujah! Beau hugged her. “That’s my girl.” She was gorgeous – she was sexy as hell, a mixture of softness and strength that literally made him ache with longing. “You’re far from nothing. You are a treasure, a precious jewel. You are my all in all.” All the time he was talking, he was rubbing his lips and nose on the side of her face – inhaling her scent – marking her as sure as one the ghost cats of the swamp marked its territory. Black panthers were real. Even though their existence was denied by the authorities, Beau had seen them with his own eyes. When they wanted to claim something as their own, they rubbed their scent on it by passing their mouth across the object – leaving a brand of possession – the same way he was marking Harley.
Her body hungered while her mind whirled at the myriad of wondrous things she was feeling. So this was what she had been missing - this amazing need to belong to someone. But. . . but. . what if? God, what if she couldn’t? What if he couldn’t? She put her hands up between them – pushing back – making a space between them. “Stop, Beau.”
“Too fast?” She nodded her head, slightly. “I understand, Baby. We’re not strangers – but, it has been years.” He had no intention of rushing her. She was just too precious.
“There’s so much you don’t know,” she whispered.
“You can tell me anything,” he nudged her face with his, his lips grazing her skin.
“I want to. Beau. . . . .” She was just about to - Lord, she didn’t know what she was about to say – when her beeper sounded and made her bounce in his embrace like a Mexican jumping bean. Immediately his arms tightened around her.
“I gotcha, precious,” he kissed her neck. “Whoever is calling you, tell them you are otherwise occupied – with me.”
Harley looked down – Shit! “As much as I would like to stay – I have to take care of this – duty calls.” Casting aside her doubts, she laid her head on his shoulder and hugged him tight. “This has been wonderful. I can’t tell you what it means to find you again. Thank you, for everything.”
She started to get up, but he stopped her. “Hey, wait a minute. Are you sure you have to go?” He wasn’t ready for their evening to be over – not by a long shot. Would he ever tire of looking at her face? High cheekbones, a sweetly curved jaw, and a pair of lips capable of transporting him to paradise – each feature was pleasing to the eye, but combined - they were lethal to his self-control. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
“I’m not,” she protested, even as she placed her hands on his biceps – half-heartedly keeping him at a distance. “Thank you for saying so, though. I wish I didn’t have to go. It’s my job – there’s an emergency.”
He let her get up, reluctantly. “Okay, I’ll take you home.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.” As she gathered her things, her mind was already racing ahead wondering where she would have to go and what she would have to face. “I’m sorry to rush off like this.”
“It’s okay, Honey.” She seemed worried. And that worried him. “Do you want to talk about it?”
They hurried down the gangplank and onto the dock. Harley was aware of her surroundings – the cypress knees, the Spanish moss – it was all so beautiful and she wished she could stay and not face whatever new horror some maniac had devised to blow people up. “It’s a long story and I will tell you about it, I promise.” He opened the door for her and hurried around, realizing she was anxious.
She was texting on her phone when he got behind the wheel, so he started up and gunned it – not wanting to disturb her focus. When she finished, he pressed again. “When will you be back?” Damn, he felt possessive – “I told you I didn’t want to let you out of my sight.”
A thrill shot through Harley. No one had ever worried about her before, and he had no idea where she was going or what her job entailed. “I’m never gone long. I’ll be back tomorrow; it will all be over by then.”
“Tomorrow – what time?” Beau got amused at himself.
“Just stop by the Hummer, I keep a change of clothes in there and I need to get on the road.” As he pulled next to her vehicle, she gave him one last long look before she got out. “I can’t say for sure what time I’ll be back, but I will call you.” Reaching for the door handle, she was brought up short by a strong, but gentle hand around her neck.
“Promise?” He held her gaze for a long, intense moment.
“I promise.” Without asking permission, he leaned over and kissed her once more – a chaste kiss full of longing.
“Give me your phone.” She handed it over and he put his number in, and gave it back. “I’ll be waiting.” With that, she got out, leaving him sitting there, watching her go. Harley knew everything had changed, because this time when she left – part of her heart stayed behind.
*****
This was hitting too close to home. The bomb in Philadelphia had been placed in a building owned by her mentor’s family. At first she had been convinced it was a coincidence, but once she got this text – she knew it was personal. An anonymous tip had been received at the sheriff’s department in Port Arthur, Texas. A bomb had been placed in the Transco Logistics Terminal – where her mother had worked for thirty-eight years. Again, the device had been placed above ground level where a robotic device could not reach, this time on the side of a huge storage tank. The nightmare scenario was compounded by the contents and location of the tank. Not only did it hold 300,000 gallons of gasoline, but it was just one of fifty such tanks that sat very near oil refineries with similar setups. If you flew over the area, the sheer number of white tanks filled with gas and oil would look like fields of mushrooms. Each was a potential bomb in itself, and if one blew up there would be a chain reaction of explosions that would take out half the city. A more horrific accident, she couldn’t imagine. .
What compounded the problem was the fact that the Transco Logistics Terminal had twenty-one pipelines pumping oil into the facility, as well as trains, barges and tankers sitting nearby waiting to be unloaded. A detonating bomb here would be worse than the Texas City Disaster of 1947 which was still on the books as the worst industrial accident in U. S. history. It had begun with a small fire on board a ship filled with ammonium nitrate, but ended up causing multiple explosions on other ships, oil storage tanks, and oil refineries. Five hundred homes, the seaport, 1100 vehicles, and 300 freight cars had been destroyed. The death toll reported at a little over five hundred was thought to be woefully underestimated due to foreign seamen, immigrant laborers and their families and an unknown number of travelers being in the vicinity. As she drove into Port Arthur on Highway 69, she prayed she could stop this – if not, it was going to make the Texas City disaster look like a Sunday picnic.
The road was blocked and she had to weave her way in between barriers and fire trucks. Didn’t they realize if this thing went off, all of these vehicles would be blown sky-high? Pulling through the gate, a uniformed security guard met her, “Ms. Montoya, we’re relieved you’re here.” He pointed toward the group of men standing near a small office complex. “If you’ll head that way, they’ll show you our little problem.” His words were brave, but she could see the pulse point on his neck throbbing with nerves. With a curt nod, she rolled her window back up and eased the Hummer on toward the throng of tense men. She could tell they were tense by their stance – all ram-rod straight, shoulders back like they were preparing for battle. Only, they wouldn’t be on the front line – that would be her. This time she had called Waco to join her. He wouldn’t go to the bomb itself – she wouldn’t let him, but he could help her get everything ready to go and be nearby to coordinate things if it all went horribly wrong. Part of her wanted to assume this bomb would be like the last, but until she looked at it, she wouldn’t know that for certain. Saying that time was of the essence was so cliché, but in this case it was the greatest of truths.
Even in the enclosed vehicle, she could hear shouting. And there were several trailers filled with expensive looking equipment being moved out of the way. She didn’t want to laugh – but the idea they were worried about computers and analyzers was typical. At least some of the employees were being transported out of the locale, if the number of white vans loaded down with people heading out the gate was any indication. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Harley parked and exited the hummer. It was such a peaceful night; the sky was blanketed with stars; the moon was full and there was a hint of chill fostering the hope that fall was on its way. This part of Texas was flat, humid, and close enough to the Gulf that a tinge of the sea was in the air. The world looked entirely too normal for the possibility to exist that this whole area could soon become hell on earth. And if it did – she wouldn’t survive– and that wasn’t acceptable. For the first time in a long time, Harley had an overwhelming desire to see tomorrow. Finding Beau had changed all of that. Reuniting with her childhood friend was wonderful, but the way he made her feel – that was everything.
“Socorro is here!” she heard one of the deputy’s shout. Hearing herself identified by that term brought a wry laugh to her lips – it was their way of dehumanizing her. If they could label the fragile looking woman with a synonym – the brawny he-men could retain their swagger. Unfortunately, she was surrounded by people who had no business here – this was a one-man job, or in this case, a one-woman job. SWAT team members, EMT’s, police – good gracious, there were even a few highway patrol officers. Why in the world hadn’t the Golden Triangle bomb squad taken more precautions? These folks weren’t going to be any help. And they certainly didn’t need to be this close to ground zero if the worst happened.
Hell! There was no time to go hunt whoever was in charge – they would just have to find her. After all, they knew she had arrived. Harley went to the back of her Hummer, opened the doors and began pulling out her protective gear – a lot of good it would do – but it was protocol.
“Hey Boss,” a gruff East Texas accent met her ears, a welcome sound. Harley looked over her shoulder at the handsome man who would do anything she asked him to. Waco Rainwater was anxious to learn everything she could teach him, and Harley would eventually turn over more responsibility – but it was hard. She had this underlying belief that these were her battles, not his. “Here, give me that.” He picked up the heavy suit and held it for her while she climbed into it. “When are you going to let me handle one of these jobs?” There was a smile on his face, but she could tell he wasn’t kidding.
“Soon,” she smiled at him weakly. “I feel funny about this one, let me handle it and I promise – next time I’ll let you go up with me. This one is different than the others we’ve faced. In fact, I want you to help me get the stuff to the tank and then I am ordering you to leave. Drive away, at least a mile. If it explodes, the shock wave will rip the other tanks open and this whole area will be one huge fireball and I don’t want you anywhere near here.” She could tell Waco didn’t like what she had to say. And he let her know it.
