High Stakes Seduction - Book 2 (6 page)

Antonio must have overheard her comment because he turned, leaning in to graciously accept the invitation. Shortly after dessert arrived, we excused ourselves from the table with promises to see the others later at their party.

Antonio and I wandered the deck in a surprisingly amicable silence. I guess I’d had just enough wine to relax, but not enough to let myself get worried about what might be expected of me later, so I was able to just enjoy the moment.

A warm, gentle breeze blew off the ocean, ruffling my skirt. Antonio stopped to gaze out at the moonlit waves.

“Tell me about yourself, Angela,” he said softly.

I glanced up at him, trying, as usual, to read his expression, but the shadows that played across his face told me nothing.

“What do you want to know?”

He shrugged. “The usual. Where did you go to school? How did you come to take an interest in photography?”

Well, that surprised me! I hadn’t realized he knew much about me, though I guess the size of my camera bag might have given away the fact that I was more than just a casual photographer.

“Actually, I went to school for French Literature. I was always really interested in the renaissance period and loved the culture of the time. My sister and I had this dream of visiting Paris to see it all. While I admire Maria's talent as a painter, I was always too impatient to sit and paint. The photography,” I shrugged, “that just sort of fell into place over the past few years. Especially after I…” I was too embarrassed to admit to him I’d dropped out of college. “After my family situation changed.”

He nodded, giving me a small smile. “I was about twenty-five when my father passed away,” he said, turning back to stare out over the water. “My mother died when I was young, so I’d already grown used to her absence. When my father died, my world and my focus totally changed.”

I wasn’t sure how much wine Antonio had had at dinner, but I didn’t think it was any more than I had. Still, this was so uncharacteristic of him, and I couldn’t think of any other reason to explain this sudden moment of sharing from him. I certainly wasn’t going to spoil a chance to learn more about this enigmatic man. I stood there, still and quiet, just listening to whatever he was willing to tell me.

“I was fresh out of college at the time,” he continued. “His death became the reason for me to grow up—and quickly. In college I'd been a bit of a slacker, never really taking it too seriously. I'd gotten into my share of trouble. One night, I crashed three parties, and then got so drunk I drove my car right off a bridge and managed to walk out of it without a scratch. My dad’s legacy and money is probably the only thing that stopped the dean from kicking me out. Still I held it together enough to graduate. But I had never really applied myself to anything until after Dad died.”

He paused, a bitter chuckle on his lips. I wasn’t sure what else to do, so I reached out and put my hand on top of his on the railing. He looked down at our hands for a moment, as if they were the strangest things he’d ever seen, but then he entwined my fingers with his.

“Let’s go check out this party,” he said, motioning for us to continue walking.

Chapter Fifteen

The suite was beautifully decorated with dark wood furnishings contrasting the bamboo floor and wall trimmings. This was much more like what I'd imagined a ship's room to be. Mellow jazz played softly over the speakers, just loudly enough to be heard under the din of the small crowd. Antonio steered us toward the bar, pouring us each a drink.

“Ready to mingle?” he asked with a wink as I took a sip of my wine.

His arm slid around my waist and I stifled a cough, almost choking on my drink. We had walked hand-in-hand to the party; now his arm was around my waist? It brought back my original worries about his true intentions on this trip. Even though nothing had actually happened between us. Yet.

I tried to relax as we followed the beckoning of a couple we’d met earlier at the captain’s table.

“I’m glad you could make it,” said the woman. “I wanted to tell you at dinner that your dress is absolutely beautiful. Now that I see all of it, I am so very envious.”

“She does wear it beautifully,” Antonio agreed, his smile brightening his face.

"Antonio chose it for me,” I said, my hand resting on his chest. “He has such impeccable taste.”

“We’re a little old fashioned here,” said an older man, holding out a wooden box in his palm towards Antonio. The man turned to me. “Would you mind if I steal him away for a few minutes so the men might have a word together?”

I laughed. “Not at all,” I said, covering Antonio’s hand on my arm. “As long as you return him safe and sound.”

Antonio smiled, brushing a lock of hair from my face. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I won’t be long,” Then he accepted the offered cigar and stepped out onto the balcony with the silver-haired man.

“It’s not a bad life.”

I turned to find the politician's wife standing at my side. “I beg your pardon?”

“Politics,” she said, shaking her head. “If you can stand the late nights, secret meetings, photo opportunities and all the people you have to pretend to like just to get them to vote for your husband.”

Then she laughed, a jaded expression clouding her eyes as she took a long sip from her drink. “At least the money is good, right?”

I nodded, wondering where the conversation was headed.

"Oh come on, Clarice. You know you love the parties and social events. Where would you be without the constant gallivanting around?" The brash, silver haired woman with sharp features asked as she walked up to us. She held her martini with perfectly manicured nails, delicately swirling the liquid in the glass.

"No. Even the parties are boring now. I mean, you see new faces from time to time, fresh blood, if you will, but it's still always the same thing. The vultures circling, hoping for a piece of you."

"Why Clarice, this is a side if you I haven't seen before. Come on honey, you need another drink." The two of them walked off arm in arm and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I wandered over to the couch and sat down by myself, quietly sipping my wine and wondering what was really going on at this "party". Two men stood in the corner, heads almost touching. They seemed intent on their own conversation, isolated from what was going on in the rest of the room.

But then I noticed one of them giving me the occasional
surreptitious
glance. I wasn't sure I'd seen them before, and I had no idea what interest they may have had in me.

I used my discomfort as an excuse to go get another glass of wine. Standing near the bar, I scanned the room. Most of the men had that polished look that you associate with politicians or favor-seekers.

Two men in particular stood out. One was standing near the sliding doors to the balcony. He seemed to be casually scanning the room, like me. But, he didn't have a drink, and he wasn't talking to anyone else, just standing there. The other was near the staircase, talking politely with a short, stooped over man leaning on his cane. He also seem to be scanning the room. For some reason, they reminded me of sentries.

I made my way back to the couch, setting my drink on the table in front of me. Then, I let my imagination go, making up stories about why the sentries were here. Maybe they were watching for terrorists to infiltrate and try to steal state secrets. Maybe they were part of a human smuggling ring, looking for likely candidates. Or people they could interest in their wares. What if they were part of an advance team, preparing for alien abduction? Pretty silly, but I was getting bored.

Most likely, they were simply bodyguards. After all, there were some important politicians here tonight.

Loud laughter caught my attention at the other end of the room. A small group of men hovered around a chair, their attention focused on the woman seated there. Another man approached the group, drinks in hand. As the curtain of men parted, he passed the drink to the smiling woman.

Sylvia
, the upset woman from the other evening at dinner. She was obviously in her element here, basking in the attention the men rained down on her.
Oh Henry, what were you accusing her of?
I grinned, wondering where her Henry was at the moment.

She obviously knew what she was doing. The men were entranced with what she was saying. I'd never really learned how to use my feminine wiles—at least not as effectively as this woman. Perhaps I could pick up a tip by watching her. Then I laughed. I was starting to remind myself of Gertrude. Juicy gossip, indeed!

I decided to move closer to where she was sitting. There were enough people milling around, that I doubted she would notice me, and about now I was feeling like I could use a few good tips.

I leaned up against a window that opened onto the balcony where the men were smoking their cigars and talking their man-talk. It was the perfect vantage point to watch Sylvia hold court.

"Those are not the terms we agreed on, Walker!" I heard Antonio say through the open window. That shifted my attention pretty quickly, and while I continued to watch Sylvia, I was now far more interested in what I was overhearing from the balcony.

"No! You leave the girl out of this. She has nothing to do with our agreement. We can take care of what needs to be done without bringing her into it." Antonio's voice was tight with agitation.

"Whoa, whoa. No need to overreact, Tony. I had no idea you had special designs on her. I was just offering another possible plan of execution." The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place its owner.

"Gentlemen, let's keep this conversation on track. No need to get personal, and no need to repeat ourselves. Stephens is the issue here, not the girl," the soothing voice of the politician insisted.

"Well you need to figure out something soon," said the man with the familiar voice as he moved away from the window. "This cruise isn't just for fun, you know." Their voices receded into the background, covered up by the music and the sound of people in the room around me. But that didn't stop me from wondering what the hell was going on.

I spotted Antonio heading toward me a few minutes later, his expression stony.

“Is everything all right?” I asked, stepping over to greet him.

“Nothing to concern yourself with,” he replied. “It’s getting late. Why don’t we head back to the cabin?”

I nodded, happy to leave, though not happy with what I'd overheard, especially since it had changed Antonio’s mood so drastically.

“Your meetings just seem to upset you lately,” I ventured cautiously. “Are you actually getting any benefit from associating with these people?”

“They have their uses,” he said with a finality that told me our pleasant evening was definitely over.

Chapter Sixteen

Antonio escaped to the veranda when we returned to our suite. In his absence, I changed and slipped into bed. He still hadn't made any advances towards me, and I was beginning to wonder if I had seriously misunderstood his intentions toward me on this trip.

None of these people I'd met so far had anything in common with me. But Antonio was obviously at ease with them and they accepted him into their circle.

I thought about Clarice, the embittered woman I'd met earlier that evening. She seemed to have everything that money, power and position could buy, but she also had that hard edge of unhappiness. I fell asleep wondering what it would be like to always be in the limelight, your every action scrutinized by the same public that always seemed to want a piece of you.

In my dream, I was being held by the police, a bright light shining in my eyes as they drilled me with questions about my husband’s involvement in some crime that I couldn’t quite understand. I was frightened and confused, unable to even recall who my husband was. I just knew he was someone rich and dangerous.

I felt totally vulnerable and kept telling the police officers that I never should have gotten involved with this man who had some mysterious hold over me. But they insisted I answer them, ignoring my protests. "Listen to me!" I yelled at them, tears in my eyes.

Suddenly my eyes flew open, my heart racing. It was dark and silent, and took a moment for me to recognize where I was. As I lay there in a semi-panic, having gone from bright lights into deep darkness, I heard the soft rhythm of Antonio’s breathing from the other room. I listened to the steady, soothing sound, feeling my heart rate slow, and letting it lull me back into slumber, a sense of protection washing over me.

Hours later, sunbeams streaming through the porthole of the cabin washed across my face, insisting I open my eyes to greet the day.

I yawned and stretched. Despite my disturbing dreams, I had still managed to get a reasonable amount of sleep. Pulling on my robe, I stepped out into the sitting room, glancing through the door at Antonio’s bed. It was empty. My heart sank. Then I heard a click and saw him stepping out of his bathroom, fully dressed in casual pants and a shirt.

“I won’t be able to join you on shore until later,” he said, reaching for his cell phone. “Duty calls.” His smile and his pleasant tone seemed a bit forced.