The Perfect Couple (33 page)

"You remind me of a girlfriend I once had," he said.

"Oh really?" She hesitated as if she could tell that wasn't a good thing, but asked anyway. "What was she like?"

He pictured Maria. "Beautiful. Great to be with." He lowered his voice. "And in love with someone else."

Bending close, she brushed her lips across his. "I'm not in love with anyone else."

He caught her face in his hands and let his gaze fall to her mouth. He wanted much more than the quick taste she'd just given him.

For the briefest of moments, he allowed himself to imagine her on the mattress beneath him. But he knew, no matter how tenderly he made love to her, that he had very little chance of ever reaching her or that added dimension of meaning he craved. "No, you're not in love," he said. "Not with Anton. Not with anyone. And my guess is you never will be."

She jerked away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I've had enough casual encounters, Zoe. I'm nearly thirty, ready to grow up. I'm looking for more."

She bit her lip as she stared at him. "You don't think I'd be willing to give you more?"

"I don't think you can," he said, and then he went to bed.

Alone.

It didn't take long to regret his decision. But Jonathan was stubborn enough to toss and turn for three hours before he was willing to acknowledge that despite all his good intentions, it all came down to one thing: capitulation. He wanted Zoe too badly for it to end any other way.

Which meant he hadn't grown up nearly as much as he'd thought.

You're making another mistake, he told himself, but that didn't change anything.

As exhausted by the battle inside him as he was by his hours the past week, he got up and crossed the hall. Kino, who was sleeping in his room, didn't bother to follow him.

Zoe hadn't shut her door all the way.

215

Jonathan pushed it open with one finger. The hinges whined as it moved, and she rose up on one elbow. Standing there in the doorway, he could see her hair falling over her shoulders, which were bare except for the straps of some nightgown. He hadn't put blinds on this window because it faced away from the neighbors, and the room was mostly for storage, anyway.

"Jon?"

Knowing she couldn't see him as well as he could see her, he spoke.

"Yeah, it's just me."

Caution entered her voice. "Is something wrong?"

"No." But obviously there was.

"What do you want?"

He thought about repeating the line she'd used earlier. An escape...a few moments of forgetfulness. But for him it was much simpler than that.

What he wanted could be summed up in one word. "You."

She pressed her fingers to her eyes, and he realized she'd been crying.

He felt guilty about that, wished he could go back to their encounter in the living room--and say less. Do more.

"No," she murmured. "I was stupid to think it would make a difference. We're both better off keeping it impersonal."

Impersonal? There was nothing impersonal about what they'd been through the past week. But she pulled up the covers and turned toward the wall.

Jonathan waited, hoping she'd change her mind. Just the memory of her lips brushing his filled him with need. But when she didn't move or speak again, he went back to his own room.

Zoe listened to the creak of Jonathan's footsteps. Thank God, he's leaving. As desperate and alone as she felt, she'd just left one relationship; she shouldn't jump into another. Especially with a man who affected her as deeply as Jonathan. Maybe she'd decided Anton had the qualities she needed in a partner. But rational thought seemed to play a very small role in her attraction to Jonathan. It was all instinctive--a gut-level desire to make love with him despite the consequences.

Submitting to that kind of animal attraction had gotten her in trouble before and always made it more difficult to walk away afterward. She didn't know who she was anymore or where she was going. She only knew she had to find Sam, and that meant remaining strong and focused.

In other words, she had to use her head.

But she was losing hope, grasping at anything good that was left in the 216

world. And the last good thing seemed to be Jonathan.

She stared into the darkness long after the house fell silent, thinking about Toby. Would he ever wake up? She'd been praying, day after day, that he'd regain consciousness. But his condition hadn't changed.

The line between life and death was so thin....

Maybe the biggest mistake she could make wasn't getting involved with the wrong man. Maybe it was not being with him while she could.

217

When Zoe entered his room, Jonathan didn't speak; he simply turned back the blankets.

He'd had a T-shirt on before but must've taken it off as he returned to bed, because it was lying on the floor. She could see the broad outline of his muscular shoulders, his bare chest--and felt her body yearn.

Thoughts of Sam entered her head, but she quickly blocked them out.

No more pain. Not right now.

She'd pulled off the sweats he'd lent her before bed, they were too hot to sleep in. Now she was wearing a short spaghetti-strap nightie and a pair of panties. But the intensity with which he watched her move toward him made her feel completely naked.

Once she reached his bedside, she hesitated, suddenly a little shy, a little nervous. But he didn't give her time to reconsider. He came to his knees on the bed and slipped both hands under her nightgown to circle her waist, turning her so he could make the most of the moonlight filtering through the gaps in his window blinds.

Kino's tail thumped against the floor as if he approved, but Zoe didn't care about the dog's presence. She cared only about touching Jonathan, about being touched by him.

"Wait." She stopped him. "What about birth control?"

"I've got a condom," he said. "Don't worry about anything."

Slipping her arms around him, she let him kiss her and felt an involuntary shiver as his tongue slid against her own.

"It'll be okay," he said. "Everything will be okay."

She clenched her hand in his thick hair as he took the kiss deeper, and desire spread through her veins, heightening every sensation until the slightest touch made her tremble. "I like the way you kiss," she whispered.

His hands pushed up her nightie until he'd taken it off entirely. "What a sight," he said, his voice low and reverent. Then he leaned forward just enough to graze the tips of her breasts with his bare chest.

Light though the contact was, it felt like an electric jolt. Zoe heard his quick intake of breath before he drew her fully against him.

It wasn't long before they fell back on the bed. Zoe purposely forgot about everything as she lost herself in the sensations he evoked, purposely shoved it all away and felt carefree for the first time in days, weeks, years.

218

When he rolled her beneath him, she was so eager and ready she almost groaned in frustration when he stopped.

"Look at you. I've never seen a more beautiful woman," he said, gently pinning her hands above her head.

"How many have you seen like this?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Enough to know what I'm talking about." He gave her a sexy grin and lowered his mouth to her breast.

By the time he lifted his head, she could scarcely catch her breath.

"This was inevitable," he told her.

As she took in his earnest expression, fear seeped through the pleasure. What if she could still fall in love? What if she did--and it didn't work out? Again? Where would that leave her?

She was tempted to flee to the safety of her own room. When their relationship ran its course, she wouldn't be able to walk away from him the way she had Anton. She knew that as surely as she knew making love with him wouldn't be the same, either. What would that do to her? Or Sam, if--

when--she ever got her daughter back?

She needed to be more cautious. But she'd come too far to turn back....

Zoe woke naked in a tangle of sheets. Caught between Jonathan on one side and Kino on the other, she could hardly move. She didn't care; she was in no hurry to go anywhere. Warm and content, she closed her eyes and pretended she was someone else and this moment could last a lifetime.

But then her cell phone rang, reminding her that she wasn't someone else and her daughter was still missing.

Nudging Kino out of her way, she got up and hurried into the kitchen to grab the phone. She didn't take time to dress. After such a wonderful night, she couldn't help hoping that maybe this was the call she'd been waiting for.

Maybe the nightmare would end today....

But her phone identified the caller as Colin Bell.

Disappointment slammed into her. It wasn't the good news she so desperately craved. If her daughter had been found, Detective Thomas would be calling to tell her. But Colin had done a lot to help her look for Sam and she hadn't followed up with him after the search yesterday. Once Jonathan had notified her that they hadn't found any trace, she'd decided to give herself some time to deal with the letdown before making the obligatory thank-you call.

Swallowing a sigh, she figured there was no need to put it off any longer and answered as pleasantly as she could, considering he'd just pulled 219

her out of a warm bed and away from the first real comfort she'd known since Sam went missing.

"Hey," he said. "Happy Mother's Day."

Was it Mother's Day? She'd forgotten. Considering the circumstances, she'd rather not have acknowledged it. And she thought most people would understand why, but she supposed he meant well. "Thanks."

"How are you doing?" he asked. "I've been worried about you."

She would've felt more comfortable if he'd said we. "I'm fine. Better."

She left the kitchen to find a more comfortable spot on the couch.

"What happened to you yesterday? It had to be serious to keep you away from the search."

"I don't know exactly." She didn't want to mention the sleeping pills.

"I must've had a touch of the flu."

"The flu's miserable."

She opened her mouth to respond when a strange scene--a flashback?

a dream?--played in her mind. She was sitting at Colin's dining-room table, looking at...maps? Tiffany was in the kitchen doing dishes. Colin, who'd been sitting beside her, was getting up.

In her own voice, she heard a question. Where're you going?

It was Colin who'd answered. Just helping Tiffany clean up.

You have a really nice wife. Her voice again, said with a smile.

Except when she's helping me murder someone came Colin's response, and then he'd laughed.

The memory was out of focus and a bit surreal. Did that mean it was a dream? An hallucination brought on by the alcohol she'd had with dinner?

It must be. No one would make a comment like that to a guest.

"Zoe?" Colin said.

"I'm here."

A noise in the hall told her Jonathan was up. Folding his arms, he leaned against the doorway. He'd put on a pair of boxer briefs, which made her self-conscious about her own nudity. Even though they'd made love last night, it felt awkward facing him in broad daylight--especially naked in his living room. Somehow that was different than being with him in the bedroom. "Who is it?" he asked.

She pulled a throw from the back of the couch to cover herself. "Colin Bell."

"What does he want?"

She tried not to admire Jonathan as he stood there, barely dressed.

While she was living with Anton, she'd made an effort to convince herself that physical attraction, or the lack of it, didn't matter. Kindness. Loyalty.

220

Dependability. Those were the traits that mattered.

She still believed those traits mattered more, but it was astonishing how powerful physical attraction could be. Especially when Jonathan seemed to possess kindness, loyalty and dependability, as well. "He's just checking in."

"Who're you talking to?" Colin asked. "Is someone staying at the motel with you?"

The jealousy in his voice disturbed Zoe but it wasn't overt enough that she could call him on it. "No, I'm--" She caught herself. She didn't owe him an explanation. Her relationship with Jonathan was none of his business.

"Is it Anton?" he pressed.

"Colin, stop."

"I'm just wondering if you two are back together."

"We're not."

There was a pause. "You didn't pick someone up...."

Filled with fresh irritation, she tightened her grip on the phone. "I really don't feel like talking right now. Maybe I could call you back later."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, of course not. I'm grateful to you. I've been meaning to thank you for yesterday. I really appreciate all you've done. It's just that...today's going to be hard for me, you know?"

"Right. Of course. I understand."

"Great. I'll talk to you later," she said, but he didn't respond with goodbye. He surprised her with another question.

"It's not Jonathan, is it?"

Zoe glanced up at the man in question, who was now scowling.

"Excuse me?"

"The man you're with?"

"Colin, stop. I'm not with anyone."

"You might as well tell me. I'll find out eventually."

"Why are you so interested?"

"Because it's not fair."

"Fair?" she echoed.

"You haven't even given me a chance."

"You're married!"

He burst into laughter. "I'm kidding."

She let go of her breath. "Oh. You had me going for a minute there."

"I know. You think every guy wants you."

She stiffened. "No, I don't."

"Then why couldn't you just answer the fucking question?" he said 221

and hung up.

Too shocked to move, Zoe stared at her phone.

"What's wrong?" Jonathan crossed the room.

She looked up at him. "It's Colin Bell," she said. "He just...screamed at me. It was weird." But no weirder than that snatch of dream. Or was it a dream? With Colin's sense of humor, she wasn't sure what he might consider funny.