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She wanted him to deny it, but again that brutal honesty destroyed her hopes. “That’s it. That’s the way it has to be.”
It would be useless to argue with him on that point; she had known all along that he was solitary, a lone wolf. “It’s that way for you, but I don’t have that sort of emotional control. I think I love you—oh, damn, why try to hedge my bets?” Her voice was filled with helpless frustration. “I started loving you the minute I dragged you out of the ocean! It doesn’t make sense, does it? But it won’t stop just because you leave.”
He watched her, accurately reading the tension in her slender back, the tightness of her hands. What had it cost her to confess that? She was the most direct woman he’d ever known, with no use for games or subterfuge. She was the only woman in all these years that he regretted leaving; just the thought of it twisted his guts, but he could handle that a lot easier than the knowledge that keeping her with him would jeopardize her life. She was too fine for him to carelessly endanger her for his own enjoyment.
He put his hands on her shoulders, kneading the tension from them. “I won’t pressure you,” he murmured. “You have to do what’s best for you, but if you decide you want me, I’m here.”
Decide she wanted him? She ached with wanting him! But he was giving her the space to decide for herself, rather than seducing her into bed as he knew he easily could; she had no illusions about her self-control where he was concerned. She put her hand on his, and their fingers entwined.
There was a thump as Joe left the shade under the steps and tore around the side of the house, and Kell’s hand stiffened under hers, his head snapping around. Rachel went still, then shook herself and moved swiftly to the front door. She didn’t have to tell him to stay out of sight; she knew that if she looked around he would already be hidden from view, moving silently through the house.
She opened the door and stepped out onto the front porch, and only then did she remember that Kell had partially unbuttoned her blouse. She rebuttoned it swiftly, looking around for whatever had set Joe off. Then she heard the car approaching down the private road; it wouldn’t be Honey, since she had just left, and on the rare times Rafferty visited he rode his horse over rather than driving.
The car that pulled to a stop in front of the house was a pale-blue Ford, a government car. Joe was crouched facing it, snarling, his ears back. “Steady, steady,” Rachel murmured to him, trying to see who was in the car, but the sun was glaring on the window and blocked her vision. Then the car door opened and a tall man got out, but he remained in the open door, looking at her over the top of the vehicle. Agent Ellis, his jacket off and dark sunglasses shading his eyes.
“Oh, hello,” Rachel called. “Nice to see you again.” The Southern ritual of greeting had its advantages, giving her time to gather her thoughts. Why was he here again? Had Kell been seen when he’d been outside? They had been careful, trusting Joe to warn them if anyone was near, but someone with binoculars might have seen him.
Tod Ellis gave her his bright college smile. “It’s nice to see you again, Ms. Jones. I thought I’d check in with you, make sure everything’s okay.”
It was a pretty weak excuse for driving miles out of his way. Rachel stepped around Joe and walked out to the car in an effort to keep Ellis from looking toward the house. It wasn’t likely that Kell would let himself be seen, but she didn’t want to take any chances. “Yes, everything’s okay,” she said cheerfully, going around the car and standing at the door so he had to turn his back to the house in order to face her. “Hot, but okay. Did you ever find that man you were hunting?”
“No, not a trace. You haven’t seen anything?”
“Not even at a distance, and Joe always lets me know if anyone’s around.”
The mention of the dog made Ellis jerk his head around for a quick look as if to check Joe’s location; the dog was still standing in the middle of the yard, his eyes locked on the intruder, low growls still rumbling in his chest. Ellis cleared his throat, then turned back to Rachel. “It’s a good thing you’ve got him, living way out here by yourself. You can’t be too careful.”
She laughed. “Well, actually you can. Look at Howard Hughes. But I feel safe with Joe guarding the place.”
She couldn’t be certain, because of the dark glasses shading his eyes, but she thought he kept looking at her legs and breasts. Alarm skittered through her, and she had to fight down the urge to check her buttons; had she buttoned the blouse straight? If not, it was too late now, and he had no reason to think she had been in the house, kissing the very man he was hunting.
Then abruptly he laughed, too, and took off his sunglasses, dangling them from his fingers. “I didn’t come out here to check on you.” He leaned his forearm on top of the open car door, his posture relaxed and confident. With his clean-cut good looks he was accustomed to approval from women. “I came to ask you out to dinner. I know you don’t know me, but my credentials are respectable. What do you say?”
Rachel didn’t have to fake her confusion; it was real. She had no idea how she should answer him. If she went out with him it would go a long way toward convincing him she knew nothing about Kell, but on the other hand, it might encourage Agent Ellis to come around again, and she didn’t want that. Why were they still here, anyway? Why hadn’t they moved farther down the coast in their search for Kell?
“Why, I don’t know,” she replied, stammering a little. “When?”
“Tonight, if you don’t have other plans.”
God, this was making her paranoid! If they had seen Kell, then this could be a ploy to get her out of the house so there would be no witnesses. If not, she might make him suspicious if she acted too suspicious. All this second-guessing could drive her crazy. Finally she went on her instincts. Agent Ellis hadn’t tried to hide his male admiration for her the first time they’d met, so she was going to take his invitation at face value. If nothing else, she might be able to get some information from him.
“I think I’d like that,” she finally said. “What did you have in mind? I’m not much of a party person.”
He gave her his boyish grin again. “You’re safe. I’m not into the punk scene, either. I’m too squeamish to stick safety pins through my cheeks. What I had in mind was a quiet restaurant and a good, thick steak.”
And a roll in bed afterward? He’d be disappointed. “You’re on,” Rachel said. “What time?”
“Say, eight o’clock? It’ll be sundown by then and cooling off, I hope.”
She laughed. “I would say you get used to it, but all you do is learn to cope with it. The humidity is what gets you. All right, eight o’clock it is. I’ll be ready.”
He gave her a little salute and folded himself back under the steering wheel. Rachel walked back into the yard so she wouldn’t get covered with dust when he drove off, and watched until the blue Ford was out of sight.
Kell was waiting for her inside, his eyes narrow and cold. “What did he want?”
“To ask me out to dinner,” she replied slowly. “I didn’t know what to say. Going out with him might keep him from being suspicious, or he could be asking me out just to get me out of the house. Maybe they’ve seen you. Ma
ybe they just want to search.”
