The roar of the river pounded in her ears. If there were any mosquitoes lingering, she sure didnt feel them. All sensation was centered inside; hot pulsating waves of hormones propelling her toward the unknown.
He left her mouth and she whimpered in disappointment. But then he kissed her neck, slipped his hands lower to cup her bottom, and she tightened her knees against his hips.
Robin? His voice sounded strangled.
Yes? she hissed. A knot of tension coiled tighter and tighter inside her until all she wantedall she needed
He stroked one hand over the back of her head, pulling her tight against his shoulder. You dont want this.
What? What was he talking about? She wanted this more than shed ever wanted anything in her life. She was his for the taking. He was beautiful and bold. He was the boyno, the manshed waited for.
Robin, he rasped. We have to stop.
No. She burrowed her face into the crook of his neck, using her tongue to test the tiny droplets of water clinging there. He was delicious.
He pulled back with a gasp, thwarting her efforts. He looked her straight in the eye. There was intelligence, clarity and determination in that gaze. You do not want this to happen.
He was sending her away.
She slowly shook her head in an effort to stop him.
When he spoke again his harsh whisper was precise and implacable. Youre Robin Medford. Im Jacob Bronson. You do not want this to happen.
She felt tears well up behind her eyes and she banged her clenched fist against his shoulder.
Because he was so right.
And because he was also so very wrong.
Robin?
It took her a split second to realize his voice was in the present, not the past.
She lifted her lashes to stare into the same pair of charcoal-blue eyes.
He hadnt told a soul.
2
JAKE MET the confused vulnerability in Robins expression and had to steel himself against a wash of memories. The last time shed looked at him that way shed been naked in his arms, forcing him to use every single scrap of strength and valor he possessed to keep from making love to her.
In an instant he was transported back in time, to the beach, to the night before graduation. He swore he could hear the rush of the river, smell her lemon perfume, and feel her wet, silken skin heating under his fingertips.
The screen door opened with a bang.
Robin? Connie, Robins older sister and a frequent visitor to Forever, stepped onto the porch. Oh, hi, Jake. Finished work for the day?
Jake forced his gaze away from Robin and cleared his mind of the bewitching memories. Hed never been back to that beach. Not once.
He took a sharp, bracing breath of the evening air. Personal ads, marriage proposalsjust when he thought life couldnt get more surreal, Forevers mystery woman turned out to be Robin Medford.
Im all done. He answered Connies question.
Jacob Bronson? Robin seemed to come back to life. She laughed lightly, tucking her sandy-blond hair behind one ear with a trembling hand. I didnt recognize you at first.
Well, wasnt that just a boost to a guys ego? Hed been fantasizing about the woman for fifteen years, and she didnt even remember him. Perfect.
Grandma wants you to stay for dinner, Jake, said Connie.
He supposed he should be gratified that at least one sister knew who he was. Connie pushed the sleeves of her multicoloured sweatshirt to her elbows and crossed her arms. Though she was only four years his senior, she had a habit of treating him as if he were one of her children.
I dont want to intrude. He seized on a perfectly legitimate excuse to make himself scarce. Robins presence meant the entire Medford clan was together for the first time in several years. They probably wanted to be alone. Jake sure wanted them to be alone.
Hed have to be a very masochistic man to voluntarily sit across the dinner table from her. The woman didnt even remember the kisses that had rocked his adolescent world and resonated for a decade and a half.
Dont be silly, Connie said breezily, opening the door wider and gesturing for them to enter. Youre practically family.
With a small smile, Robin gracefully rose from the chair. She didnt echo her sisters invitationprobably because she didnt care whether he stayed or not.
As she strolled toward the kitchen door, her wavy hair bounced and the worn denim jeans molded to her sexy thighs. His fingertips tingled with a tactile memory of those curves. He wrapped his hands into fists. From what he could see, her body hadnt changed a bit.
He forced himself to curb the hormonal reaction. She hadnt changed since graduation, not in looks and not in character. To her, he was still Jacob Bronson, class geek. And the Ice Princess was just as remote now as shed ever been.
It was time to take a serious look at that stack of letters from the personal ad. Derek was right. Jake should hurry up and find a suitable wife. Then he could exorcise Robin from his psyche once and for all.
It was the logical thing to dothe safe thing to do. But as the woman of his dreams disappeared around the corner, all thoughts of logic and safety evaporated. And he knew if he didnt get the heck out of Dodge this minute, he was in big, big trouble.
He glanced swiftly at Connie, hoping she hadnt noticed the way his gaze lingered on Robins rear end. He raked a hand through his hair. Sorry, Connie, but I cant
Grandma is not going to take no for an answer, Jake. You work too hard. Now get over there and find yourself a decent shirt. If youre not back in five minutes Im sending the boys after you.
He shook his head. Really, I
Ill send them over, she threatened with a resolute lift of her chin. And Grandma will be upset with you.
He yielded to the inevitable with an inward sigh. Yes, maam. He definitely didnt want to upset Alma May so close to her big birthday. And Connies boys, at eight, six and four, were capable of doing serious damage to the inside of his house.
The thought of pacifying his housekeeper after another round of the three musketeers was more than a little daunting. Sexy Robin versus an upset housekeeper. Definitely a no-win situation.
Connies indomitable stare tipped the balance to Robins side. Fine. Hed stay for dinner and make the best of it. Maybe if he worked her out of his system up front, he could cope with the rest of her visit. Then maybe he could get on with the rest of his life.
IT WASNT HAPPENING. With Robin directly across the dinner table, he was definitely not working her out of his system. In fact, as her moist lips parted in another affectionate smile, she was rapidly working her way right back in. Sure, all that charm was directed toward her nephews, but Jakes psyche didnt seem to care.
He thought hed had it bad in high school, but right now his lust meter was about to blow off the charts.
Were they real lions, Auntie Robin? Connies youngest sons eyes widened.
Robins straight white teeth flashed in the candlelight. They were real, Bobby, she answered. Her finger absently traced the gold rim of her saucer as she recounted a recent trip to Kenya. A mommy lion, a daddy and two cubs.
Were you scared? Next to Jake, Bobby put down his dessert spoon and leaned forward.
A little bit, said Robin. Her blue-green eyes danced in a way that made Jakes skin tingle. Their depth and clarity reminded him of the Forever River.
But we were inside the truck. So we were safe.
Connie cleared her throat. Any other adventures you can tell us about before bed, Robin? she asked pointedly. I dont suppose youve been to an amusement park lately.
Robin picked up on her sisters warning tone and smoothly switched gears to a less nightmare-inciting subject. As a matter of fact. She flipped her long hair back out of the way and started to remove her sweater in the warm room. I havent been to any amusement parks. But Ive always wanted to go down a water slide.
Her confession brought an instant high-cut bikini visual to Jakes mind and he shifted in his chair.
We went on water slides last summer, said Bobby on a near squeal.
You did? She did a credible imitation of surprise. Why dont you tell me about them?
As Bobbie and his brothers chatted on, Robin finished removing her sweater and hung it on the back of her chair. Jakes vision narrowed to a tunnel, and the boys voices faded to a faraway roar.
Her smoothly tanned shoulders and long graceful neck were revealed by a sleeveless white tank top. A gold locket danced against the scooped neckline as she moved. And the clingy fabric of the shirt delineated her breasts.
Jakes memory kicked in, and he couldnt help visualizing her breasts in excruciating detail. Sure it had been pretty dark, but hed seem them once. Pale, full, coral-tipped, tight from the chilly water droplets that clung to her supple skin.
Oh, yeah. Hed seen them once. And that was more than any other man in Forever could lay claim to.
Not that Jake would ever lay that claim. Hed never even contemplated laying that claim. Well, except the one time. And he figured he could be forgiven for that particular impulse.
It was the day after theyd gone skinny-dipping. At the dinner following the convocation ceremony in the school gymnasium. Robin had sat there on a folding chair, as cool and composed as the Ice Princess she was reputed to be.
Shed swept her hair up, and wispy curls framed her face. Her makeup was subtle and flattering, and her snug black, spaghetti-strapped dress showed off high, pert breasts and softly rounded hips. She was the stuff teenage dreams were made of. At least she was the stuff Jakes dreams were made of.
As hed watched her from across the room, hed willed her to glance his way, to make some small gesture to say he was no longer persona non grata in her eyes. He just wanted a small sign that shed appreciated his chivalrous behavior.
Hed sat there alone in the ill-fitting worn suit hed pilfered from his fathers closet. He entertained wild fantasies that shed approach him, speak to him, privately thank him for calling a halt the night before, and let it be known they were friends.
But she hadnt. And for one crazy second hed been tempted to swagger over to Seth and Alex and the rest of the boys to recount it all.
She wouldnt have denied it, couldnt have denied it. Everyone in town knew that Robins neck turned bright red whenever she told less than the truth. He could have elevated his social status to the stratosphere with a few well-chosen sentences.
It was a big temptation for a misfit eighteen-year-old boy. But the thirty-two-year-old man was inordinately proud of his silence.
Across the dinner table, she laughed at something the children said. It had been the most noble moment of his life. Too bad she didnt even remember.
YOU MUST REMEMBER what that overpowering maternal urge feels like. Robin pegged one of her nephews T-shirts on the clothesline behind her mothers house. She ran her hand lovingly across the damp fabric of the tiny garment. Soon, she told herself. Soon shed have tiny clothes of her own to wash.
But I was already married, said Connie. I had somebody to support me and help me.
I dont need anybody to support me. Money was not an issue. My promotion at Wild Ones will keep me in one city, and the salary is enough for anything we might need. Including teeny, tiny clothes.
I dont just mean financial support. Connie draped a voluminous bedsheet over the line. I mean emotional support.
In case youve forgotten, Im a very independent person. Her job as a location scout for Wild Ones Tours took her all over the globe. She traveled alone, checking out potential adventure tours for the company to promote. She enjoyed the freedom.
Well, youve never independently paced the floor at 2:00 a.m. with a crying baby in your arms.
I once stayed up for forty-eight hours straight, pacing nervously while I listened to lions roar. She could handle sleep deprivation and emotional fatigue.
Its not the same thing. Then Connie grinned. Though it might be good training.
See? Robin added a peg to an end of the bed-sheet, smoothing out the wrinkles with the palm of her hand. Im completely ready.
But the lions went away after forty-eight hours. Babies stay for years.
I know that. Robin had considered her plan from all angles. She loved babies. She loved children. She was not going to end up a decrepit old maiden aunt to Connies boys just because she hadnt met the right man during her child-bearing years.
Im only suggesting you wait a bit. You never know whats right around the corner in life.
Im thirty-two years old. The window of opportunity is closing. Have you read the statistics for child-bearing past thirty-five?
Women have babies as late as forty now.
Its a much higher risk.
You read too much.
How old were you when you had Sammy?
Twenty-eight.
See.
But I was married.
This isnt 1950. Women do not have to define their lives by their marital status. Robin believed that. She really did. Sure, shed like a father for her children. But shed worked in more than thirty countries around the world, shed met men of all shapes, sizes, ideologies and personalities. Shed never once found one she wanted to spend her life with.
She wasnt getting married simply to be married.
What are you going to tell Grandma? Connie pegged up the last pillowcase and lifted the empty laundry basket, settling it at her waist.
I havent decided yet. Robin bit her lower lip, fixing a small wrinkle in the pillowcase. Ill probably make up a temporary boyfriend.
So she wont know you had casual sex? Connie quirked her eyebrows.
Robin hesitated. She wasnt at all comfortable lying to her grandmother, but she was even less comfortable telling her the truth. Therell be nothing casual about it. It will be deliberate and effective.
Let me guess. Connie turned and started for the short staircase. Youve read a book on this, too.
Of course. Robin followed. Ive researched fertility and conception. She had a basal body thermometer in her suitcase. Shed done her first temperature test run last month, and was doing another this month. She could identify her fertile time to within twenty-four hours.
Connie laughed. I just hope you make sure your baby reads the same books you did. They tend to ignore the experts and do whatever the heck they want.