"I was, though," she argued, willing him to believe it.

"Not then," he answered. "Your heart was torn, your loyalties tested too deeply for you to have been mine alone. But tonight, you are mine."

He was right. In spite of her love for him, she had been torn between Rico and her family. Maybe she'd been too young to appreciate what she had found with him. She only knew that if faced with the same decision today, she would do it all differently. She would tell Rico everything and trust him to do the right thing.

G.o.d, she'd been an idiot.

She was in love with her husband and that was the one thing she could never tell him.

Rico had been waiting for her for hours. Convinced that she had an ulterior motive for offering her help when it was most needed, he'd worked it over and over again in his mind and still was no closer to discovering what her plan might be. She had to know that he hadn't changed his mind. That no matter how much she integrated herself into life on the island, he would still watch her leave at the end of the month.

She'd become friends with his cousin and his wife. The hotel staff was in love with her and he couldn't even walk into his own d.a.m.ned home without catching her scent. The memory of her laugh. The hush of her sighs.

When she left, it would tear a gaping hole in his life, but she would leave. That was their bargain and he would hold up his end. He would give her the divorce she had paid for five years ago and he would never again trust his heart to a woman.

Because even now she was keeping something from him. He didn't know what, but it was easy to read in her golden-brown eyes that she was deliberately not telling him everything. What her secret might be this time, he had no idea. And it bothered him more than he wanted to admit that she was still hiding things from him.

But through the frustration and the irritation, one thing continuously rang true. He hungered for her. He wanted her now more than ever. And the whole time he'd been here, in the dark, waiting for her, his mind had devised all manner of things he wanted to do with her when she returned. Now that she was here, in front of him, smelling so good, he drew in breath after breath just to taste her scent...Rico didn't want to wait even the length of time it would take to get to the bedroom.

"You're driving me insane, Teresa." His hand cupped her cheek, then slid around to the back of her head.

"You're not alone in that," she told him and went up on her toes.

He kissed her, hard, taking her mouth in a rush of desire and all-encompa.s.sing need. She tangled her tongue with his, leaning into him for support and wrapping one leg around his hips, pulling him closer. He ground his body against hers, letting her feel the hard, hot, demanding part of him, and she groaned into his mouth, feeding the frenzy.

The staff was gone for the night. The house was theirs. And in the dancing, firelit shadows, he shoved the hem of her T-shirt up so that he could cup her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Through the fragile lace of her bra, he stroked his thumbs across her nipples, eliciting a moan of pleasure from Teresa's throat.

That soft sound stoked the fires inside him into a blaze that quickly engulfed him. Rico could hardly breathe for the need crouched in his chest. He flicked her bra open and cupped both of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his palms.

She held on to him, fingers grasping at his shoulders as she pushed herself into his touch. "Rico, more. I want more."

So did he. But he wanted her naked.

"Clothes," he murmured, letting her go briefly. "Off. Now."

"Oh, yes." Nodding, she pulled her T-shirt up and over her head, then tossed it aside. He watched her step out of her shorts, displaying the lacy, pale pink thong she wore beneath them.

His mouth went dry and his pulse skyrocketed. He kept his gaze locked with hers as he quickly tore off his own clothing and threw it to the floor. When he was naked, her gaze dropped to his erection and she sighed in antic.i.p.ation.

She reached out one hand to curl her fingers around him and he hissed in a breath at the first touch of her hand. She smiled up into his eyes and stroked, rubbed and caressed him until his eyes were rolling back in his head and he had to fight for every breath.

Body taut, tension coiled, he was so close to exploding he couldn't risk her fingers on him another minute. He caught her hand in his and shook his head. "Enough."

"No," she said breathlessly with a shake of her head. "It's not nearly enough."

He had to smile. His Teresa was a pa.s.sionate one and he loved that about her. No simpering, coy females for him. Rico appreciated that his woman wanted as hungrily as he did.

His woman.

That thought echoed in his mind until he deliberately shut it down.

He pulled her up against him, enjoying the feel of her lush, curvy body pressed to his. Again, she hooked her leg around his waist and he felt the heat of her core against his hard length. He groaned tightly and backed her up until she b.u.mped into the arm of the leather couch. When she went to fall back onto it, he caught her, turned her in his arms and eased her down until she was bent over, her luscious, beautiful behind displayed to him.

She propped herself up on her elbows and looked back at him over her shoulder. She wiggled her hips suggestively, licked her lips, took a breath and said, "Touch me, Rico."

Her welcome, her pa.s.sion undid him. He reached down and tugged that thong from her and rubbed her tender flesh with strong strokes. She moaned again and pushed her hips up, bracing her feet apart on the floor, giving him easy access to drive them both over the edge.

His brain splintered, thoughts dissolving under an onslaught of pure sensation that tore through him. Rico had never lost control of himself this way. Never allowed a woman to reach past his well-built defenses to glimpse the man he was beneath the sophisticated veneer. But Teresa did it without even trying.

Rico's finely honed control simply snapped. He couldn't wait another minute. Couldn't be denied the ecstasy of being surrounded by her wet heat. He bent over her, letting her feel how badly he wanted her. She turned her face to him and their tongues met in a fast, delving exploration, then he straightened and positioned himself behind her.

Her breath came fast and hard. She threw her hair out of her face and turned her head to watch him. Her eyes gleamed and she licked her bottom lip with a long, slow swipe of her tongue.

He ran his hands up and down her back, following the line of her spine and the curve of her behind until she was groaning with need and twisting beneath his grip.

His thumbs swiped down into the heat of her and spread her inner core to his gaze. She was hot and damp and as he stroked her she moaned, "Rico, please. Touch me. Touch me."

He did, stroking her inside and out as his own body screamed for him to enter her. To claim her as his.

Heart racing, his blood thrummed in his veins and urged him on. Teresa looked back at him again, her breath coming harder, faster, and she whispered, "Hurry."

He grinned at her eagerness. His Teresa had never been shy about lovemaking. When they were first together, they had christened every room in his suite over the Cancn hotel and what they had done on his terrace one memorable morning still woke him up at night, wanting to do it all again.

"Please," she muttered, bracing herself on the leather cushions and wiggling her hips in invitation. "Now, Rico. Do it now."

"Now," he agreed and pushed himself into her depths.

She cried out his name at his entry and everything in him fisted painfully. She was so hot, so tight and felt so right. He rocked in and out of her body, hating every retreat and welcoming every surge as the blessing it was.

Again and again, he pushed them both higher and higher, the rhythm they set breathtaking. The only sounds in the room were their heavy breathing and the hiss and snap of the fire.

He leaned over her, cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands and tweaked her nipples as his body continued to plunge into hers. She groaned and rocked back into him, doing all she could to match his movements.

She humbled him, aroused him and left him shaken to the heart of him. Desire pumped like a wildfire through his body even while his mind stood apart and realized how precious she was. How special to him. How his life would be even emptier once she was gone from it.

But Rico didn't want to think now. Didn't want to recognize future or past. All that existed was the present. This moment s.n.a.t.c.hed out of time where he and Teresa could be who they were destined to be. Two halves of a whole.

That thought staggered him, so he pushed it aside. He gave himself over to the sensations cresting inside him. Rico looked down at her and saw her bite down on her bottom lip as she fought to claim the release that was so close to each of them.

He felt her internal muscles clench and strain around him and knew her climax was only moments away. He gave her everything he had and when she shrieked his name, he buried himself as deeply as he could inside her and then joined her on that steep slide into completion.

Nine.

When he could think again, when he could move, Rico gently disentangled their bodies, then helped her shift position onto his lap as he took a seat on the couch. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her carefully, as if she was fragile and likely to break.

Which, he realized, was ironic, considering what the two of them had just done. But Teresa had always brought out his protective tendencies. It seemed that had not changed. Right now she was warm and trembling in his arms, still reacting to the explosive climax that had shattered them both. And though his body was sated, Rico already wanted her again.

"That was," she said on a sigh, "incredible."

"Yes, it was." He let his head drop to the back of the couch. His eyes closed and a groan lodged in his throat as he realized what had just happened. What he'd done without even thinking about it. But then, that was the problem, wasn't it? He hadn't been thinking at all. "It was also incredibly stupid."

"What?" She looked up at him, her hair a wild tangle around her face, her mouth puffy from his kisses and her eyes still shining with satisfaction. "What do you mean? How was any of that stupid?"

He blew out a breath and met her gaze. "I lost control."

"I know," she said, giving him a slow, s.e.xy, very tempting smile. "I liked it."

"So did I," he admitted. He lifted his head, stared into her eyes and added, "But I didn't stop for a condom."

"Oh. Oh." She bit her lip, took a breath and said, "All right, that was stupid. But this wasn't only your fault, Rico. I wasn't thinking either."

"Small consolation." Rico had never lost control like that. But then, only Teresa had ever touched him so deeply that his brain shut off and let his body take over.

"If it helps any, I'm healthy." She laid one hand on his chest. "I haven't been with anyone since you."

Those words rattled around in his mind and then slipped down to center around his heart. He shouldn't have cared, but he did. Shouldn't have been pleased, but he was. For five years he had imagined his wife, thinking herself divorced, being with other men. Letting them kiss her, taste her. Giving to them what had been only his. To know that none of those torturous imaginings had been real was a gift he hadn't expected.

He dropped one hand to the curve of her breast and slowly stroked his fingertips across one hard, dusky nipple. She sighed in reaction and he felt his groin leap to life again. So did she and she smiled knowingly. That small smile touched something inside him that he didn't want to explore too closely.

It was enough that she was here. With him. For right now. He hadn't looked to the future since the night she'd disappeared from the hotel in Mexico. Instead, his thoughts had always gone back to when she had been there beside him. Smiling, laughing, giving him a secretive look that told him she wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

Rico had never planned on giving her a confession about their time apart, but since she had been so open with him, he could do no less and still retain any sense of honor in his own mind. If he was honest with himself, he would have to say that he'd enjoyed having her think that he had moved on to other women. But now, especially with what had just happened between them and with her admission, he couldn't let her go on believing his lie of omission.

Lie. He was only now seeing that as much as he hated being lied to himself, he was as guilty as anyone when it came to convenient untruths.

"I have not been with anyone since you, either." He watched surprise flash in her eyes and pleasure quickly followed.

"But-" She shook her head. "All of the pictures of you with models and actresses..."

"Things are not always what they seem." He ran one hand up and down her bare back in long, slow strokes, loving the feel of her skin beneath his palm.

"All right, then answer me this." She took a breath, blew it out, and asked, "Why haven't you been with any of those women?"

He laughed shortly. "Because unlike you, I knew I was still married."

She flushed and the soft color filling her cheeks made her look even lovelier, though he wouldn't have thought that possible.

"And you?" he countered. "What kept you from other men?"

She was silent for several long, tense seconds before she said, "You're the only man I wanted."

Heat spilled through him instantly. He realized that he wanted to believe her. He wanted to think that she had missed him as desperately as he had missed her for the last five years. But if she felt so strongly about him, how could she disappear from his life? How could she have lied to him about who she was? And how could she have stayed away for so long?

She leaned her head against his chest and he knew she could hear his heartbeat slamming against his ribs. Since she'd arrived on Tesoro, Teresa had tried to explain her past actions to him and he hadn't been interested in listening. Now, though, he wanted to know. Needed to hear her explanation, whatever it was. And yet he had to wonder if he would be able to believe her.

His mind was a rushing torrent of contradictory thoughts. His blood burned in his veins. His body was hard and ready to take her again.

What this woman could do to him was dangerous.

What he had just done to her, he reminded himself, was unforgivable. Even if they were both healthy, he thought, no condom meant there was a chance at an unexpected pregnancy. And they had to talk about the possibilities.

"Teresa," he said softly, turning her face up to his. "I must know. Are you taking birth control?"

"No." She shook her head, then laid her hand over his, holding his hand to her breast. "I'm not. But don't worry, Rico. Everything will be fine. What are the odds I could be pregnant from one time?"

It depended on whether or not the G.o.ds had a sense of humor, he supposed. He remembered how not too long ago he'd actually imagined Teresa pregnant with his child. Now, through his own stupidity, there was a chance that would happen.

"I was never much of a gambler, because the odds are usually against you." He shook his head, still having a hard time believing that he had put them in this position. "I must apologize to you. For losing control of myself."

"Don't," she said, meeting his eyes. "Don't you dare apologize. I wanted this. I wanted you. I'm glad you lost control, Rico, and if I am pregnant...we'll deal with the situation if it presents itself."

Deal with it.

He didn't know exactly what she meant by that, but he knew very well what would happen if she was pregnant with his child. They would stay married. The divorce he'd promised her would never happen.

And that would mean he would have to find a way to live with the still-rich memories of her betrayal. His chest tightened as if iron bands were wrapped around his body, squeezing mercilessly.

How could he spend his life with a woman he couldn't trust? Would he ask himself every day if today was the day she would bolt?

Shaking his head, he wrapped his arms around his wife and wondered if pa.s.sion would be enough to save a marriage born in deception.

A few days later Teresa and Rico went into the village to shop for gifts for Melinda and her new son.

The day was warm, the wind was soft and two of the small launches used to transport guests from St. Thomas were docked at the harbor.

Tesoro village looked, Teresa thought, like a movie set. It was too perfect to be real. The street was narrow and lined on either side by brightly painted shops. From pastels to jewel tones, each building was as different as the wares it offered.

There was a bakery, and the scent of cinnamon wafted through its open door to tempt pedestrians. There were souvenir shops, a chocolatier that Teresa really wanted to visit, and every other kind of shop you could imagine, all catering to the wealthy tourists who came to the island to vacation. At the end of the winding street there was a small grocery store that mostly served the locals and there was a spectacular view of the ocean from every point on the tidy street. The shops huddled close to the freshly swept sidewalks. Windows gleamed, reflecting the bright light of the sun, and terra-cotta pots positioned outside the tidy stores held trailing bouquets of brightly colored flowers.

There was so much to see, Teresa swung her head from side to side in an attempt to miss nothing. "It's so pretty," she said, with a glance up at Rico, walking beside her. "Like a postcard."

"That's been said," he agreed. "In fact, Sean and I hired photographers to take photos of this street at different angles and at different times of the year. Then Walter picked the ones he liked and we had postcards made to be sold in all of the shops. Proceeds go directly to the island, and the citizens here vote on how the money's spent."

She just stared at him for a moment, letting the surprise she felt show on her features. "In Mexico you stayed out of local politics. Said you only wanted to run your hotel. You weren't interested in joining committees or getting involved with the other hoteliers or the tourist industry."

He shrugged and shifted his gaze to pa.s.s over the main street, now crowded with a few of the tourists staying at his hotel. "Everything changes."

She sighed, staring up at his profile. "Not everything," she murmured, knowing that her feelings for him would never change. Of course, she also knew that Rico wouldn't believe her even if she was foolish enough to admit to still loving him. So she kept that piece of information to herself.