A night breeze coming from the open terrace doors wafted through the hotel room adjoining Jeremy’s. Claire burned with love for Vic as she waited for him to come to bed. This was the fifth night of their honeymoon in Montego Bay. Tomorrow they’d be flying to Orlando.
Between the air filled with the scent of frangipani and the palm trees along the beach silhouetted in the moonlight, she understood the meaning of intoxication. Tonight they’d eaten around the pool and were entertained by a local reggae artist and band. Claire still felt the beat of the music in her veins. Jeremy had been in heaven and got to talk to the band members who let him try to play their instruments during the intermission.
He was so cute as he sat there sipping Shirley Temples with a girl his age named Trisha, who was there on vacation with her family from California. The family resort offered everything for children and adults, making their vacation a paradise. While the children had fun, Claire clung to her husband as they danced the night away.
Vic was a terrific dancer and had a sense of rhythm that made it exciting to follow his lead. He was full of surprises that thrilled her to the very core of her being. Though it had seemed as if she’d waited forever for him to tell her that he loved her, she wasn’t sorry. They’d grown to be best friends first. Jeremy’s kidnapping a month ago had swept them into the depths of agony, but their marriage had brought them ecstasy.
Vic slid into the bed after his shower and reached for her. “He’s asleep.”
“I’m not surprised. Jeremy has had the time of his life so far.”
“What about you?” His lips roved over her face kissed by the Caribbean sun before finding her mouth.
“How can you even ask me that question?”
“I guess it’s because I’ve wanted you for so long. Now that I can have my way with you, it’s sort of hard to believe.”
“l have the same problem. Make love to me, Vic. Again and again.”
“As if you need to ask.” He kissed the base of her throat, where she could feel the pulse of her heart against his lips. “I intend to satisfy your every whim.”
Claire’s breath caught. “Every time with you is like the first time.”
She’d never had a lover, but she couldn’t imagine making love with anyone but him. He took her to heights that made her feel immortal. The days here in paradise were spent with Jeremy, but the nights were for her and her husband. They took full advantage and slept little, before starting the whole heavenly process all over again several times during the nights they’d been here. The world would infringe again, but not for a while longer.
As the tint of dawn distilled over their love nest, Claire studied her gorgeous Texas Ranger, who’d fallen into a deep sleep. Their legs were intertwined, but his arm had relaxed, giving her a little room to enjoy his rugged features.
She could still see him in his disguise after Kit had told Vic to put on the wig. It amazed her that he had so many looks depending on the moment. Every so often he’d worn his white hat for some event honoring the Rangers. Then there was what she thought of as his PI persona with the sunglasses. And whenever they went riding, he looked the part of a genuine cowboy.
The memory of him standing at the altar of the church as her beloved bridegroom in a stunning dark blue suit always made her breath catch. In front of a small group, with both their families and the Famous Four in attendance, she’d pledged her love and devotion to him.
But his Lipan Apache look had to be her favorite. When he’d climbed out of the ambulance several inches taller due to the lifts in his cowboy boots, she had been blown away. Against his bronzed skin, his eyes glittered like black obsidian. Once the black wig was on, he became the warrior whose genes he naturally possessed on the inside.
There was a stature and magnificence about him that had astonished everyone that day, even Jeremy, who’d felt his imposing aura. Claire loved every part of this man, whether he was waking, sleeping, talking, eating, worrying or laughing. But she would never forget the night his son went missing. She’d felt and heard his deep sobs.
Yet there was still another part of Vic, the loving part she’d been introduced to on this unforgettable honeymoon. Her fate was sealed. She was now Mrs. Stephen Victorio Malone, and she loved her new role with a passion.
Once when she’d asked him about his first wife, he’d told her she’d called him Stephen because that was how they’d been introduced. But after his buddies in the field learned his middle name was Victorio, they’d nicknamed him Vic and it had stuck. She couldn’t think of him as Stephen and was glad he could safeguard that special memory of him and his wife.
He was Vic to Claire. When she next came awake, she called out his name with longing. “I love you so much I don’t know what to do about it.”
Vic pulled her over on top of him. “Leave it to me to handle this, Elaine. I’m an expert.”
She chuckled. “You certainly are.”
“I love you, Claire. The last thing I want to do is leave today.”
She groaned. “I don’t want to leave either.” She kissed him hungrily. ?
?We’ll have to come back here again soon.”
“The captain would have given us another week off, but since I’d already taken one week to get my temper under control he—”
“I know.” She shushed him with her lips. “He needs you back to finish up the Waters-gate case with Kit.”
Vic chuckled. “That’s what it is, a Watergate scandal, Texas style.”
“You know what Sam Houston said about us. ‘Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may.’”