It wasn't the right answer, she knew. Or she had hesitated too long. She saw the disappointment that darkened his eyes before he turned away. 'Of course you want to go back,' he muttered.
'Rex!' She jumped to her feet, coming to his back as she had earlier, pressing against him and groaning softly. 'Rex! I'm frightened, too.'
He remained tense. 'You should be frightened. I keep telling you that.'
She shook her head vehemently. 'I don't mean that. I'm not talking about whatever is going on at the house.' 'Then exactly what are you talking about?' 'You. Me.' Alexi groped for an answer. 'Rex, I'm afraid of you.'
'Afraid of me!' The narrowing of his eyes, the glint within him, warned her that he had misunderstood.
'No, no--not that you would ever hurt me. Not that way. Let's face it. We've both been burned. In different ways, perhaps. I ran; you put up high walls around you and learned to play rough.'
'I don't know--'
'Yes, you do,' Alexi said softly, lowering her eyes. 'I overheard you talking to Emily that morning, remember? You like the chase, Rex.'
He made an impatient sound. 'Alexi, dammit. So this whole thing was over the girl back in the restaurant--'
She shook her head furiously. 'No! All right, I did feel a twinge of jealousy--''
'That was childish! I had to watch the pizza delivery boy practically trip over his tongue when he was near you!'
The way he said it, she had to laugh, her eyes meeting his. But then her laughter faded, as did the wry smile that had touched his lips. 'Rex! Don't you see? It isn't like me to be like that. I enjoy you, I enjoy your success. I just...' Her voice trailed off.
He came closer and lifted her chin. 'You just what?' His eyes probed hers deeply, searching. He was so close again. She wanted to lay her head against his chest and forget everything. He didn't intend to let her. 'Alexi...?'
She shook her head. 'I don't know. Maybe I want to believe in magic and forever and I'm just a little too world-weary to really take the chance.'
His touch, his voice, grew tense. “You just said that you knew I would never hurt you.'
'But you don't trust me, either!'
He released her, his eyes narrowing. 'What are you talking about?'
'You're not honest with me. At least, if--if you care you're not.'
'Meaning?'
'You said that I should go. That I should go back to New York. You made me feel as if what we had was nothing more than a brief affair between consenting adults. Either you want me to go--or you don't want me to go.'
Rex laced his fingers around his knees and stared out at the water. Then he swung around to her, heatedly intense again. 'All right. I don't want you to go. Is that going to change anything? I can't really do that, Alexi. If I ask you not to go--and you don't do it because of me--you'll resent me for it in the long run.'
'But I don't know if I even want to go back!' Rex inhaled and exhaled slowly. He touched her cheek softly. 'You just said it, Alexi. You don't know. I can't hold you back--'
'You could come with me.'
'If something can't be solved about all these things that keep happening,' Rex said harshly, 'you can bet I'll come along.' 'What?' 'I said--'
Alexi didn't let him finish. She laughed and caught his cheeks between her hands and kissed him. 'You'd do it? You'd really do it? You'd leave all your privacy behind and come with me?'
He caught her hands and held them tight between his. 'I'd do it because I'm afraid for you,' he told her sternly. 'I haven't changed my mind. I like the peninsula. I like the peace, and I like the privacy.'
She still smiled. 'But you'd leave it for a while.' 'Alexi--'
'You started this! You gave out the ultimatums.'
He watched her, then slowly shook his head, drawing her to him, ruffling her hair, speaking very softly. 'Ultimatums don't work, Alexi. That's what I'm saying. I can't force you to live my way; I couldn't promise to stay in New York. We're on dangerous ground, you know.'
Alexi felt his fingers against her hair. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of him and felt the warmth of his body next to hers. 'I thought you wanted me to leave. You'd have your whole peninsula back.'
His arms tightened around her. 'I've decided that I like you there.'
'Sometimes I think you've decided that I'm insane.'
'Why do you say that?'
'I know you think I imagined footsteps the night I ran into you on the sand, and I know you think I imagined noises in the house when we came in from the beach. I wonder if you even believe I was hit on the head yesterday--the police, I know, think I fell down the stairs and invented the intruder.'
'You're wrong. I might have doubted you once, but I believe you now.'
'Because you think that John is out to--to do something.' 'Yes.'
'I might not be a very good deal, you know,' Alexi warned him. 'I could very well be neurotic myself, and I seem to come with a half-crazy ex-husband.' 'I'm not worried.' 'Oh?'
'No. I'm a big boy. I can handle it.' “But do you want to handle it?'' 'Yes.' 'Rex?' 'Alexi?'
'I think I'm falling in love with you.' His arms tightened around her so much that for a moment she couldn't breathe. Then she discovered that she was falling in his arms to lie against the deck and he was over her, his eyes afire, a smile on his lips.
'Let's hear that again.' His hold was fierce; his words were full of a harsh command. She twisted against the force of his arms.
“Rex, damn you--'' 'Alexi, please!'
'I said...' She paused, watching the blaze in his eyes, watching that small smile that curved his lips. 'You're just terrible!' she said accusingly. 'Every time you want something, you just decide that if you sit on me--''
'Not every time,' he protested. But he was straddled over her and she inhaled sharply, feeling all her senses begin to swim again beneath the dazzling command of his eyes and the easy feeling of him against her--his hands upon her, his chest, muscles rippling in the golden heat of the sun, his thighs tight around her own. 'Alexi!' He lowered himself against her until his lips hovered just above hers.
'I'm falling in love with you, too, you know. And you're right. It's very, very frightening,' he said.
'We're both afraid of the future,' she whispered in return.
'Yes,' he told her, kissing her lips.
“What do we do about it?'' She opened her eyes to him, very wide, very blue, trusting and innocent. She curled her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.
'Maybe we could take a chance,' he murmured, moving slightly to the side to stroke the length of her. The sun was gloriously hot upon their bodies.
'Maybe,' she murmured.
'Let the feelings grow.'
'For now, at least.'
He tensed, staring down at her. 'Sure. For now,' he murmured bitterly. He rose over her again, lifting his arms to the sky. 'For now. We've got the sun and the sea and a warm Atlantic breeze. What else could we possibly want?'
'We could pretend,' Alexi told him. She placed her fingers on his shoulders, then let them run over the rippling muscles of his chest. She drew them lower, so that he sucked in his breath as he watched their progress. 'We could pretend that this is never going to end. That there is no future, no worry over it. We could spend these few days forgetting to argue or wonder what can and can't be. We could just talk about the water and the day and the night and the sun and the moon. And laugh and relax and--'
He caught her cheeks between his palms and tenderly massaged them with the callused tips of his thumbs. He cut off her speech with a slow, deep kiss, cradling her breasts, stroking the nipples to high peaks with his fingertips.
'Make love?' he suggested.
'It's a wonderful way to explore one's feelings,' she offered solemnly.
