A Man to Remember Read Free Page B

liquor breath.
    She tried to twist free of his grasp. In his drunken stupor Evan had super strength. He held her firmly to him. Alyse felt a moment of panic when she knew she couldn't escape him.
    Evan lowered his lips to hers, murmuring, "Jus' a li'l kiss, baby. Maybe it'll lead to somethin' else. A li'l fun 'n' games."
    She twisted her head, and his lips smeared moisture across her cheek. Uncontrollably she shuddered. "No, Evan—"
    But he was unrelenting, and after a brief struggle his mouth closed tightly on hers.
    A bitter repulsion rose in her throat. He reeked of stale beer and tequila, and his touch filled Alyse with loathing. Frantically she pushed at him, rolling her head back and forth to free her lips from his nauseating kiss.
    Eventually he lifted his head, gasping for air, but continued to foul her with his filthy breath. One hand gripped her chin and held her firmly. "So far there haven't been many benefits from sleeping with the boss's daughter." His other hand dropped down to fondle her breast. "There hasn't even been sleeping with the little darling at all. Maybe she doesn't like real men."
    Alyse wrenched away from him, her agility being her only weapon at the moment. Evan spun around, his drunkenness causing him to stagger to regain his footing. When he looked up, he saw that she had taken a defensive stance. She held the small cabin fire extinguisher in her arms, pointing the hose directly at him.
    "Put that down before someone gets hurt, Alyse." He giggled. "Me!"
    "Get out of here, Evan. Don't you touch me again or I'll blast you."
    "Damn you Alyse! That thing's filled with chemicals. It's dangerous!"
    "Then so am I. Get out!" She felt as though she were channeling her favorite heroine, Bristol Bordeaux. Bristol would never let herself be used. Bristol was strong.
    Evan blinked at her several times, then shifted upright. "You look like you mean business, baby."
    "I've never been more serious in my life, Evan. Get out of here." She was shaking and wondered if he could tell how scared she was. What if he challenged her bravado? Did she have the courage to pull the trigger? She'd never done anything vicious in her life.
    "If I leave here, Alyse, baby, you'll be sorry."
    "Don't try to threaten me, Evan. I could make a few threats myself, like telling my father a thing or two about his new fair-haired boy."
    "You're nothing but a spoiled brat, Alyse. If I leave, you'll be all alone down here in Mexico. You won't know how to make it out by yourself. You've never done anything by yourself in your life. You need me. Or Father!"
    She lifted the extinguisher threateningly. "Not any more. Get out."
    Evan mumbled obscenities as he stumbled up the teakwood ladder to the aft cockpit.
    Alyse stood poised, clumsily holding the red fire extinguisher in her arms like a shotgun until the sounds of Evan's shuffling footsteps could no longer be heard. Carefully she replaced the volatile tube and rushed over to lock the cabin door. At that moment, Alyse was filled with a strange sense of pride in remembering the portable extinguisher. Bristol Bordeaux, had used a fire extinguisher against foreign agents who chased her through an old hotel in London. Bristol had been forced to pull the trigger. But that was fiction.
    Real life was much scarier.
    Instead of relief, Alyse felt a high degree of tension in the aftermath of the encounter with Evan. What would she do if he came back? Could she really pull that trigger? Probably not. She reached for the light switch and flipped it, clothing the room in comforting darkness. Her head whirled with the impact of her new predicament.
    Then a new thought struck her. What would she do now if Evan didn't come back as he claimed? How would she get the Skye Command back to San Diego Harbor? Evan was right; she'd never undertaken such a major task by herself. Realistically she didn't trust herself to take the expensive yacht around the Baja tip and along the sometimes treacherous Pacific coast.