Charmed By You ((Destiny Bay Romances-The Islanders 5)) (8 page)

Mitch managed to pull the quilt over the two of them quickly, but Heather had recognized the voice and she turned to look out into the room. “Dede?” she whispered,
more to herself than to anyone else.

“My God, it’s Heather!”

Dede Sablan sounded almost glad to see her, but the feeling was hardly mutual. Of course, she should have known. Why hadn’t she asked what had happened to
Dede? Because she’d been afraid of the answer. She’d
hoped that by ignoring the name she could somehow
erase the presence. The world that had so recently seemed
full of promise was once again darkly hopeless.

“Heather, what are you doing on Ragonai?”

The woman was actually walking toward the bed. Heather stared up at Mitch’s bemused face and told him through gritted teeth, “Get her out of here!”

He didn’t respond for a second, just long enough for
Heather to begin to unwind from their embrace, then he stopped her with a hard hand behind her head and turned
to face Dede. “You want to wait in the clinic while we get dressed for company?” he asked lightly.

“Oh!” She seemed to be surprised. “Oh, sure.” But as she turned to go, she was still talking. “We just got in. Did you hear the boat?” She chuckled. “I guess not. You weren’t exactly expecting me, were you? Tapa radioed in that they seem to have several cases of scarlet
fever and strep, so we’ll be going out again first thing
in the morning.”

She stopped at the door to the clinic, turned back with
a friendly smile, and said, “We ran out of penicillin.
Hope you have a good supply because I’m going to be
raiding it.” Then she was gone.

Heather felt cold all over. The warm and pliant bond that had linked her and Mitch for the last hour was gone,
hardened by the reappearance of reality. She’d been floating on that cloud again, and, as always, it had evaporated
beneath her.

She avoided Mitch’s eyes as she tried to struggle out
of his embrace. “You might as well let me go,” she said
bitterly. “You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”

His arms tightened around her. “It was what you
wanted, too, and you know it.”

He was right of course, in a way. But that hardly
made up for what she had allowed to happen. Determinedly she peeled his fingers from her arm, one by one.
 

“A little sex never hurt anyone, I guess,” she lied to
cover the pain. “But I don’t want you, not now, not ever.
I thought we’d straightened all that out ages ago.”

Suddenly he was letting her go. She slid from the bed and began to put on her clothes with methodical move
ments, hardly seeing the colors, hardly feeling the cloth. When she glanced back at the bed, she found Mitch watch
ing her, his eyes darkly enigmatic.

“Thanks for the lovely evening,” she said sweetly,
“but I’d better be going. I hadn’t been ravished by a
pirate for so long I’d forgotten the aftertaste was so bitter.”

“Heather...” He was pulling back the covers, pre
paring to come after her, but she hurried to the door.

“Oh, don’t bother to get up,” she protested. “Don’t
bother to dress. We wouldn’t want to disappoint Dede,
would we?”

She was out the door and slamming it shut before she
remembered that she still didn’t have the signed papers
in her possession. They would have to wait until morning. There was no way she was going back in that house
tonight.

Chapter Four

Sleep didn’t come easily to Heather that night. When
it finally did envelope her, it came tangled in dreams of
tropic storms that slashed at her shelter and jungle cats
who stalked her through the moonlight.

She awoke to a soft pearly pink morning that was
already becoming uncomfortably warm and humid. The
scratchy feeling beneath her eyelids, the heaviness in her
arms and legs, told her she hadn’t slept well enough to
refresh herself for the new day. She stretched and groaned
before rolling out of bed, trying to avoid memories of
what had happened last night, fighting them back while she rinsed her eyes and reached for a towel. But her face
in the mirror revealed the truth, and she couldn’t look away. She’d made love with Mitch. And she’d wished it
could go on forever.

She walked back into her bedroom and noticed a red
hibiscus blossom on her pillow, the flower Mitch had
pushed into her hair the night before. Now it lay as
crushed and broken as her foolish hopes.

She picked it up and slowly clenched her fist around
it. How easy it would be to love Mitch again. He was
still as compellingly attractive as he’d ever been. She
could close her eyes and conjure up the spell of his
presence with no trouble at all—how his arms felt about
her, the warmth of his body.

She bit her lip, fighting back the enchantment. Yes, he was just the same. But she had changed. She was older now, wiser she hoped. She knew the price of succumbing to his charms. She refused to pay it again.

He wasn’t serious. Mitch did what came naturally, and
when it came easily to pack up and leave his wife behind,
he’d done it. She couldn’t trust him for a moment. She must keep that in mind at all times.

Pressing her lips together, she tossed the faded blossom into the metal trash container, and turned to dress. Carefully, she put on her underclothes, dressing as she might for any Flagstaff summer. Pulling on a light blue cotton sundress, she was thankful that she would soon be leaving this island. She’d just about gone through the entire wardrobe she’d brought along. She ran a comb through her hair and left the room, making her way slowly through the silent hallway to the stairs.

There was a strange waiting quality to the atmosphere,
as if something unusual were about to happen. Then Heather realized what it was: silence. She was already becoming used to the ubiquitous western music, and its
absence in the early morning made a tremendous differ
ence.

“Good morning.” Kevin was sitting alone at a table, a picture of radiant good health. “Join me for breakfast, won’t you? I hate to eat alone.”

A glance at the large clock on the wall told Heather it was as early as she’d supposed. A few people were
scattered around the sunlit room, but she didn’t recognize
anyone else.

“I hate to eat alone, too,” she admitted, sinking into
a chair across from Kevin, “but I don’t know if I can eat
much in this heat.”

“Heat?” He looked around him as though trying to find what she was referring to. ‘This warm spell? You
call this heat?” His grin was full of devilish delight. “Just
you wait, lady from the frigid lands. You’ll soon see
what heat really is.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, I’ll be leaving as soon as I can get a plane out. Or a boat. Anything.” She couldn’t resist throwing a quick smile at her companion. “Let me know if you get a line on a fast canoe.
I’m desperate.”

Before Kevin could respond, Mele came shuffling by
to deliver hot coffee and take Heather’s order. “I’ve got
whatever you want as long as it’s papaya muffins, guava
juice, and scrambled eggs.”

Heather frowned apprehensively. “I’m not really hun
gry…,” she began.
 

But Kevin was shaking his head. “Bring her a super deluxe island breakfast on me. She can at least savor the
fragrance, even if she can’t bring herself to swallow a
bite.”

Mele walked off chuckling while Heather stared at
Kevin, not sure whether to resent his highhanded manner
or let it pass. Why did everyone think she needed to be
thrown into new experiences? She was perfectly satisfied
with herself as she was. What right did they have to
decide she should be different?

“Don’t worry,” he told her soothingly. “I’ll eat it if
you don’t.” Then his smile faded. “But tell me, why are
you so desperate to get out of here?”

She looked over her shoulder, suddenly sure Mitch was
coming into the room. The doorway was empty, but Kevin’s glance told her he knew exactly what she was doing.

“I... I only came to get Mitch to sign papers releasing our house so I could sell it. I never meant to stay even this long.”

He nodded slowly. “Still crazy about the guy, aren’t you?”

Her mouth opened, but she didn’t seem able to get any sounds out. Finally she managed to squeak out, “I can’t stand him!”

“Right,” he answered blandly. “So what’s the problem?”

Kevin of all people should understand that! “This island. It’s too hot, too dirty, too...”

“Too different from what you’re used to?”

“Yes.” Well, it was true. Where was it written that you had to love the tropics? Not in any code to which she subscribed.

“Too bad.” He admired a golden piece of papaya on his fork before popping it into his mouth. “Mitch would like you to stay.”

So they’d already discussed what had happened last night. Heather’s cheeks burned and she stared into her coffee. “Why he would want me around is more than I can fathom,” she said shortly. “He has so much else to keep him occupied.” Not the least of which was Dede Sablan. Heather was on the verge of mentioning that to Kevin when Mitch entered the room.

Every muscle in her tensed at the sight of him. He stopped in the doorway, his dark gaze taking her in and
holding her as though he had reached out and plucked
her from the scene. When he walked toward their table,
her heart began to pound so loudly she was sure everyone
in the room could hear it.

“Good morning.” Had he said it aloud? She felt his voice rather than heard it, and she watched, lips parted in stunned expectation, as he bent to kiss her firmly on
the mouth. It was as though he’d put a brand on her and
she was powerless to stop him.

His large hand curled around her neck, just below her
ear, holding her still while his lips touched hers in another
brief sensuous salute. She felt her eyes closing as a slow,
incredibly warm thrill surged through her. For just a moment she was afraid she’d moaned aloud.

Somewhere deep inside her a voice was calling in
sistently, forcing her to part the misty cloud that had
come swirling around her with Mitch’s entrance, forcing
her to regain her balance and come to her senses.

How could this happen so easily? What kind of magic
did he have that could knock her out of kilter with just
a touch of his lips? She had to work on it. This was ridiculous.
She had to stiffen her resolve.

She looked up at him, searching his eyes, trying to read what lay behind that emotionless mask he wore. He
was watching her, waiting to see what she would do
next. She detected no warmth in his eyes, only cold
calculation. Her own glance veered away, as though stung
by something menacing.

Gathering every ounce of courage she possessed, she rose from her seat and stepped behind Kevin. She curled her fingers into fists around the back of his metal chair,
trying to still the trembling that washed over her as the
thrill receded. She managed a credible glare in Mitch’s direction, though she didn’t dare look him fully in the eye.

“Where are the papers?” Her voice was cool and crisp, a contrast to the atmosphere around them. “Have you signed them yet?”

“No.” He stood easily, tall and broad-shouldered in a yellow shirt and blue jeans. She had a clear sense of his powerful body. “Not yet.”

She risked a quick glance at his face. His expression was strangely veiled, as though he was awaiting her reaction. She couldn’t read his true feelings. Was he baiting her? Was he carelessly unconcerned? No, some
thing told her anger was boiling beneath the surface. He wasn’t going to let it show, but he was angry. Her
breath came a little faster.

“Get them right now,” she ordered, hoping her voice didn’t betray her anxiety. “Right now, Mitch.”

A mocking, humorless smile softened his dark face.
“
Sorry,
Heather, I don’t
have time,” he said easily. “I just stopped by to
tell you I’m off for a morning of house calls. I’m late as it is.”

Heather tightened her hold on the chair, using Kevin
like a shield. “Please get them before you go,” she insisted. “It shouldn’t take that long.”

He shook his head, his smile fading. “No, Heather. I’m not going to sign them until I’ve had a chance to read them over very carefully. And I don’t have time this morning.”

Was she going to be stuck on this island for another day? There was an obvious answer to that question and panic rose in her at the thought. Mitch was playing games with her sanity. He was doing this on purpose—but why? And what was she going to do about it?

“Mitch, this isn’t fair,” she said as calmly as she could.
“You know how much I want you to sign those papers
so I can get out of here.”

Mitch glanced down at Kevin, who was steadfastly munching on his breakfast, trying to pretend he wasn’t listening to every word.
 

“Why don’t you come with me on my rounds?” Mitch suggested, artificially casual. “You
can fill me in on the finer points of real estate jargon
while we drive.”