Deceptively Yours (Wanton Weston Women, Book Two) (3 page)

Not that he had anything against sex. He loved women. It was the seeking of pleasure without considering the consequences that bugged him.

He thought about the keynote speaker and the gist of her one column he’d read. Her harsh words had stuck in his craw. The tone was distinctly anti-long-term relationship and she’d justified her position by citing the sky-high divorce rate and the dismal statistics on monogamous relationships. She concluded that most people were better off engaging in short, sexually motivated liaisons.

Flings had their place. Hell, he’d had his share of them in his early twenties, but he had to believe there was more to life than living in the moment.

He passed a few more groups of partiers on the winding path before he reached the fork marked by two carved wooden signs nailed to the trunk of a coconut palm. One pointed left toward the beach. The other said Villa Guests Only
.
Glancing over his shoulder to check if anyone was around, he took the right fork.

The villas were situated close to the beach, each unit separated by tall hedges for privacy, no doubt. He’d checked on the internet and learned that all but one of the houses was occupied as of this morning.

He adjusted his cargo shorts and confirmed that his Glock and handcuffs were at the ready in his inside-the-pants holster. Someone with Harry’s considerable resources could always get his hands on a weapon. Yet even with their PI licenses, Rick and he had been forced to cut through loads of bureaucratic red tape to get their guns into the Caribbean nation.

On the off chance Harry was already settled in at a villa, he wanted to be prepared. Unfortunately, he knew very little about him, other than he was a big Baltimore Ravens fan and he was dangerous. The bastard had slipped out of an Annapolis restaurant last week, minutes before Rick had gotten there, and the same thing had happened again only a few days ago when Guy thought he’d had him cornered in a Richmond hotel. His gut clenched at the memory, but he refused to let past experiences with the fugitive shake his confidence.

He approached the first house and dipped into the thick foliage behind it for cover. The high ground gave him a clear view of half the homes, which were perched on a hill facing the ocean. He raised his binoculars and scoped them out.

A middle-aged couple lay on loungers by the pool at one house and several adults dressed for the beach were in and out of another house. He glimpsed several teenagers just inside the glass sliders at the next villa.

He focused in on two couples eating lunch at the outdoor table at one of the houses. They smiled and laughed and seemed to be having an animated conversation. He lowered the binoculars and started back to the path leading to the rest of the homes.

Voices approached, so he ducked into the woods and waited as a golf cart rolled past toward the villas. The same woman he’d met in the lobby sat in the passenger seat, one hand hanging onto her hat to keep it from blowing off and the other grasping the edge of the seat.

He recognized the driver’s khaki shirt as part of the resort staff’s uniform and a rush of relief flooded through him. Why did he give a damn that she wasn’t here with a husband or boyfriend?

Curiosity niggled at him. The woman was young, probably in her early to midtwenties, and in her baggy clothes and oversize hat, she hardly appeared the type who could afford the expensive accommodations. She could be an eccentric heiress, though he suspected that wasn’t the case.

Continuing along the path, he picked up the distinctive beat of reggae music—from the nude beach party, no doubt. Would that woman who’d just passed in the golf cart head over there later? Maybe he would check it out after all.

No. I have a job to do.

With renewed purpose in his stride, he made his way to the hilly area behind the villas and trained his binoculars on the house with the golf cart parked on the side. The building was essentially a horseshoe shape that wrapped around the pool, which seemed to be the one architectural feature common to all the villas. Floor-to-ceiling windows gave him a view of the living room and two bedrooms.

He adjusted the binoculars so he could get a better look at the inside. Harry could be anywhere, even shacked up with that innocent-looking beauty.

The porter drove off in the golf cart but Guy was more interested in the woman as she opened the glass sliding doors to the pool area and stepped outside. She’d removed her hat and the breeze blew her flax-colored hair into her eyes. She smoothed it behind her ears and walked around the patio, checking everything out.

He wished she’d change out of that oversize sundress that billowed around her. He’d only gotten the slightest hint of her luscious body underneath when that jackass had crashed into her in the hotel lobby.

But the sweetness and warmth in those eyes, it had mesmerized him. He could still picture the unusual shade of blue and how they’d sparkled in the light. And Lord, had he ever seen a more dazzling smile?

As if she’d read his thoughts, she lifted her dress over her head and tossed it toward a chair, but it missed her intended target and instead knocked over a small flowerpot, spilling soil and blooms onto the concrete deck.

He stifled a laugh but froze when he realized she was now wearing only a white bra and panties. His shorts grew decidedly tighter in front. Pulse pounding, he adjusted his lenses for a closer view.

Damn, she was as hot as he’d suspected. Her breasts were full and high with deep cleavage between. He imagined holding those pleasantly curvy hips as he slid inside her. Her flat stomach was alabaster perfect and her legs, holy cow. He’d love to run his hands up those smooth calves and spread her thighs apart to kiss her…

No. He shouldn’t even be looking at her but he couldn’t help it. God, it had been too long since he’d been with a woman. He’d briefly dated a neighbor last year, but she hadn’t turned him on like the beauty he had in his sights now. Nor had the secretary from another office in his building who came to borrow copy paper at least once a week for the past few months. What was it about
this
lady that he found so damn inviting? Why did she set off his hormones like a three-alarm blaze?

She bent over to clean up the flowerpot—giving him a better glimpse of that cleavage—then moved her discarded dress to the chair.

Shit. Now he had a full-blown hard-on.

His heart sank when she went inside but seconds later she came back with a book in one hand and a bottle—probably sunscreen—in the other. He had to rein in his rising libido as he watched her rub lotion all over that heavenly body then settle onto a lounge chair with a book.

But he was starting to remind himself of a voyeur so he lowered the binoculars and continued on. If he wasn’t on a case he’d have loved to put
her
on his agenda, whoever she was. Unfortunately, nabbing Harry trumped his sex life.

* * * * *

Laura sighed as she glanced up from the page of her book and took in the fuchsia blooms on a sprawling bougainvillea vine that clung to a trellis against the house.

This place was as lovely as the setting of a romance novel—and just as far removed from reality. She laid her head back against the cushion and soaked up the heavenly rays. Didn’t matter that she wouldn’t get any color under the armor of sunscreen she’d applied, she needed the tropical heat to warm her soul after the long Virginia winter.

The ring of her cell phone—so out of place in the serene surroundings—startled her. She picked it up and smiled at her oldest sister’s name on the screen. “Suzanne, I’m here. This island is truly a paradise.”

“How’s the villa?”

“Incredible. I’m lounging at my pool as we speak, in my underwear.” She couldn’t hold back a giggle.

“Your underwear? What happened to your new bathing suit?”

“I don’t have much sunlight left today. I didn’t want to take the time to dig my bathing suit out of my suitcase and change. I’d have cheated myself out of too many of my precious minutes in paradise. Besides, the suit’s a one piece and it’s been way too long since my abdomen has felt the sun.” God knew she’d never reveal this much skin in public. Wasn’t as if anyone could see her, though.

“Good for you. I’m glad you’re letting loose. You saved my life, you know.”

Laura swallowed hard. “I just hope I don’t freeze up when it’s time to give your speech.” Her skin grew clammy when she thought about standing in front of the group, reading her sister’s address.

“You’ll do fine. You’ve been practicing, right?”

“I studied the index cards on the flights. I don’t have it all memorized or anything, but I will.” Memorizing the speech was one thing—but the devil would be in the delivery.

“Good.” Suzanne lowered her voice. “I bet there are some uber-hot men there, huh? You should hook up with someone.”

She pondered the possibility of a vacation fling with some sexy hunk. They could make love under the palm trees. He’d do all those wicked things to her like her romance book heroes did to their heroines.

Yeah, like that’ll ever happen to me.

She massaged her temples. “Can we please not go there?”

“Okay, okay. You are the best sister in the whole world.”

After she hung up, she opened her book and drew a deep breath of salty sea air, letting some of that tension float away on the breeze. The music from the beach party didn’t bother her at all. Rather, it suited the Caribbean atmosphere perfectly and almost tempted her to check out the party. Almost.

Not that she’d
ever
attend any event in the nude. People would gawk at her humongous breasts, or worse—whisper about her like they had in high school. But here she had total privacy. The hillside behind the house was thickly wooded and an eight-foot hedge combined with the neighboring villa being empty provided perfect solitude.

Solitude.

Since when had that ever been on her top-ten list of things she wanted in a vacation? Didn’t she have enough alone time in her life? But since she was pretending to be Dear Annie, she didn’t want to chance saying the wrong thing to anyone so keeping to herself was her best bet. While she was here she had to do everything in her power to do Suzanne proud and protect her sister’s career.

Thankfully Dear Annie wasn’t so well known that anyone would guess she wasn’t the real deal. If anyone asked her for advice about love life, though… She shuddered at the thought. She was hardly qualified to dole out relationship advice. She’d tell everyone to run from their partners. Fast.

Huffing, she pushed the painful memories from her mind and concentrated on her book. The vampire was closing in on his next victim.

She glanced up when something buzzed nearby. She froze when she found a bee circling over her head. Had she packed her allergy medicine? God forbid she got stung. She’d show up for her speech looking like a giant strawberry with blonde hair and glasses. That would certainly set her at ease in front of a huge crowd.

Launching out of the chaise lounge, she stepped on one of her sandals and stumbled back onto the cushion. Good thing no one had witnessed her klutziness—this time. But what if she tripped when she was walking up to the stage where she was giving Suzanne’s speech?

A flash of reflected light drew her attention to the hillside. Was there someone out there? She gasped and drew the towel around her.

* * * * *

Guy stopped and took another glance in the woman’s direction. She seemed to be searching the hillside for something. Even though he knew she couldn’t possibly have spotted him, he ducked behind a cluster of palm trees. When he looked again, she was diving into the pool, graceful as a swan, a far cry from the adorably clumsy woman she’d appeared seconds earlier.

She swam the length and back, then climbed out and took her seat on the lounge chair. He got a better glimpse of her face since she kept her glasses off for a minute and he liked what he saw.

He could almost make out the color of her nipples poking against the wet, white fabric of her bra as she stretched out. Hot as the scenery was, he didn’t want to invade her privacy. Besides, he had work to do, so he reluctantly forced himself to shift his focus to the other homes.

The villa next door to the woman’s appeared to be vacant, at least for the moment. Since he’d noticed signs of guests at all the others, he concluded that was the available one. But as he scanned the windows, he thought he glimpsed someone inside. Zeroing in on the spot, he didn’t see anything. Maybe it had been a shadow.

God, he didn’t want to think about the blonde staying there all alone, especially in light of the fact that a dangerous fugitive might be close by.

Could the elusive shadow have been a man who didn’t want to be spotted? He negotiated the steep grade down to the hedge between the woman’s house and the one next door. Sidestepping along the shrubs, he ducked below a window of the supposedly empty villa and peeked inside a bedroom. The place looked deserted, but he wanted to be sure that shadow had only been his imagination. He refused to take any chances, particularly with a beautiful, unsuspecting woman who was apparently staying by herself.

He wedged himself along the narrow space between the tall hedge and the side of the house and made his way to the next window. The kitchen and breakfast nook appeared empty too. He was about to move on when a light went on in another room, spilling an angular shadow onto the tile floor.

His senses shifted into high alert. He drew his weapon and headed toward the pool area a few yards away. The glass doors gave him a wider perspective of the interior. A figure came into view inside.

He relaxed a little when he caught sight of the woman’s uniform and the vacuum cleaner she pushed over the floor.

Damn it.
If it had been Harry he could have grabbed him and wrapped up the case. But maybe the villa was being cleaned in preparation for a soon-to-be-arriving guest. Harry might still come and since this was the only unoccupied house, he needed to keep an eye on it and on the unsuspecting woman next door. Returning his gun to the holster, he slipped back into the bushes the way he’d come.