Sweet Talkin' Scoundrel (5 page)

A loud buzz overhead signaled that the plane was approaching the runway.

“You know what, Marcus? I can follow the sound to the clearing at the end of this path. You go back home. I’m already feeling guilty for pulling you away from your project.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

His relief was so evident, I was sure he’d take off at a run just to get out from between the plants, but he turned and walked sedately back the way we’d come.

I turned back around and headed toward the sound of Tero’s engine. The screech of tires hitting the runway followed, and my stomach bubbled with nerves at the thought of seeing Dax again.

By the time I’d hiked my way through the plants, the little plane had landed and circled back to the start for another takeoff. It still looked flimsy and unsteady, reminding me of a plane on a carnival ride.

I reached the clearing and had to remind myself to breathe as the pilot’s door popped open. He was once again wearing that damn hat and that cocky smile and that face. That damn perfect face. He leaned against the plane and crossed his arms as he waited for me to finish my journey across the runway.

I stopped just a few feet short. His pale green eyes glittered beneath the shade of his hat. Nothing in my body seemed to be working right. My heart was racing. My pulse was pounding. My knees had forgotten how to stay steady, and my tongue was tangled, leaving me speechless.

Dax pushed off the plane. If smiles were given price tags, his would surely have been worth a million dollars.

I finally managed a few steps toward him. “Why are you smiling like the cat who just swallowed a big fat mouse?”

“Well, I was just pondering something.”

I peered up at him. The fresh scent of his soap tickled my nose. I wasn’t sure what brand he used, but it had quickly become my favorite. “Pondering? Sounds important.”

“I was just pondering—is it love at first sight if it happens every time I see the girl?”

Even in the cool, brisk air I could feel my face warm. I shook my head to show him I wasn’t falling for his line. I strode purposefully to the passenger door. He reached past me to open it.

“Well?” He was close enough that I could feel the heat of his body behind me. “I think that’s pretty philosophical and deep, don’t you?”

I climbed in and smiled down at him. “Yes. You are about as deep as a puddle after a ten second rainstorm.”

His laugh could have a million dollar price tag too. “Damn, I missed ya, Rabbit. Let’s get this dinosaur in the air.” He shut the door.

Chapter 6

Dax

I climbed into
the cockpit and looked over at Kinley. She seemed to be going through a mental pep talk about the impending flight. It was cute as hell to watch as her brows knit together and then smoothed out. I hadn’t seen her since I’d dropped her off at the island, but everything about her, from her caramel colored silky hair to her intense blue gaze and button nose had become permanent fixtures in my mind, like indelible black ink on a pristine white notepad.

During the flight to the island, I’d decided I needed to steel myself by putting on my distant, non-caring attitude. It was something I’d perfected over the years to keep me from needing anyone and getting bogged down with connections and relationships. The last thing I needed was to fall for a woman and most especially one of Katherine’s recruits.

But my resolve had crumbled the moment Kinley stepped clear of the ferns and shrubs. I’d leaned against Tero to watch her walk toward me and all I could think was that Kinley was one of those people you wanted in your life. She was one of those people who could make your life richer and more meaningful just by having her near. It might have been the way she carried herself with a sort of spunky grace, like an ice skater with attitude. Or it might have been the way she seemed to always be smiling to herself as if she knew things, great things about the world that no one else knew. Or it might just have been her big blue eyes that could make you forget your fucking name. Whatever it was, it made me hate all this even more. She wasn’t meant to be on that island, sitting beneath the cold shadows and the conniving, watchful eye of Katherine Underwood.

Just as Kinley had on the first trip, once I got the plane leveled off, she relaxed.

“So, how do you like life with the Addams family? Is Lurch behaving himself?”

Her face popped my direction. “Are you an Addams family fan?” she asked, effectively ignoring my barb against the Underwoods. “I have every episode memorized line for line.”

“O.K. I do watch the show when it comes on television, but you take fandom to a whole new level.”

“That boast does sound a little kooky.” She laughed. “Just like them. When I was twelve we spent a year in this little village somewhere between Hungary and Romania. Our one room cottage had an old black and white television with the rabbit ear antennas. There was a funky little media station in the next village, and the person running the station was either a huge Addams Family fan or that was the only show they had at their fingertips because every night they played three shows back to back. The only other channel that came in was with some big, red cheeked man with a heavy British accent who cooked gourmet food while completely sloshed on wine. I complained about the fuzzy picture and the lack of channels. So naturally, my parents spent an annoying amount of time telling me about how when they were young there were only a few good channels and you had to walk four miles in the snow to change the channel and all that violin worthy stuff.”

“Their televisions were four miles out in the snow?”

“No, I added that part for interest, but you get my point.”

“I do. In fact, it sounds familiar. No wonder you memorized those shows. Wow, a village near Romania. Was it close to Transylvania?”

“Yes. It’s a beautiful place, actually. No vampires wandering around. Or at least not that I noticed.”

“What’s the scariest place you’ve ever been? Besides Wildthorne Island, I mean?”

“Wildthorne is lovely,” she protested. “And I adore Becky.”

“True, she does make the place a lot more livable. So, any place scarier than Transylvania?”

She tapped her chin in thought. “Let’s see. The Edinburgh Vaults are pretty frightening.”

“That’s right. There’s a whole maze of underground catacombs in Scotland. I read about them in a book.”

Kinley’s finely arched brow lifted a little. “I’m finding it hard to picture you with a book.”

The airport interrupted our conversation and my attempt at looking insulted with a message about another aircraft fifty miles to the east. I picked up the radio. “Tero one here. Copy that.”

“Actually, probably the scariest place I’ve been is the Whaley House in California, which considering how many pyramids, mausoleums and castles I’ve visited, that’s saying a lot. We were on a tour in the old house and something cold touched me when we were climbing the stairs. I was one creaky sound away from running out of the place.”

“Yep, I think something cold touching you on the stairs would be grounds for a quick exit. California? Sounds like you didn’t always live in exotic places? You spent at least some part of your life in the states.”

“I did. And as much as I love adventure, I’ve always loved being here in the states. It just feels like the ground under my feet is more solid and the air above my head is clearer. So when an opportunity arose for me to come back here, I decided it was time to venture out on my own.” Her face turned to the passenger window. She stretched her legs out and wiggled her nose. It seemed whatever she was thinking about had caused her some anxiety. Her thin shoulders lifted as she drew in a breath. “Only that opportunity turned out to be wrong for me. That’s why I’m here now.”

Kinley rested back and fidgeted with the zipper on her sweatshirt. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had looked that damn hot in a sweatshirt and jeans, but she could have been wearing a raincoat and galoshes and I’d still be looking at her.

She grew quiet and stared out the window as the rest of the islands floated below us. “He’d probably hate knowing this and I’d never let on, but I feel bad for Marcus.”

I hadn’t expected her to return to my initial question. There was genuine sympathy in her tone.

“That might change once you get to know him.”

That comment earned me a serious scowl, only a scowl on her face was pretty damn adorable. “Just be thankful then that you don’t have to live with his burden,” she said sharply. “Can you imagine how hard it would be to live on a planet that is teeming with bacteria and germs and be terrified of their very existence?” No one had ever worded Marcus’s phobia in that way, with the empathy of a person trying to see it from his point of view. She was right. And if Marcus wasn’t always such an asshole and if I hadn’t so badly wanted Kinley to dislike him, I might just have worked up some sympathy for him.

“Hey, your job on that island is none of my business.” I had to work hard not to clench my jaw when I spoke.

Kinley turned slightly sideways in her seatbelt and looked at me. “It kind of seems as if life in general is none of your business.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Feeling satisfied that she’d rankled me, she shifted back to stare out the front windshield. “You seem to make it your business not to give a darn about anything.”

“Yep. Makes life that much fucking easier.”

She crossed her arms and gazed out the side window. Our conversation had come to a brisk end. It bothered me plenty. Just like it bothered me plenty that she thought I was some shiftless guy, who, when I wasn’t hopping between islands in my crummy plane was spending my nights in a shithole bar drinking beer and getting into fist fights . . . Fucking hell, she already knew me like a damn book.

The King’s Beach landing strip came into view. Kinley was still watching out the passenger window, avoiding any conversation. She reached up clumsily to rub her nose and stop the twitching. Having her mad at me, having her think badly of me made me feel as if I’d swallowed a bucket of nails.

“Hey, Rabbit, I can’t get through the day thinking you hate me.”

“I never hate.” She looked down at her hands. “Actually, that’s a lie. I do hate occasionally.” She finally lifted her dark lashes and looked at me. “But you’re not hate-able. You’re annoying and a bit of a cad, but I could never hate you.”

Chapter 7

Kinley

Redmond’s Super Mart
was the one true bastion of civilization in an otherwise vacant dead-zone along miles of coast. The massive buy-everything store was in the center of a triangle of towns, King’s Beach to the south, Green River City to the north and a larger suburb to the east. And since it was one of the only local places where you could buy whatever you might need, the parking lot was packed.

I wasn’t sure exactly what type of agreement or service contract Dax had with Katherine, but it seemed that he was expected to not just drop me off at an airstrip but to drive me around for errands too.

Our conversation during the flight had become somewhat strained, but we were able to move quickly past it. I decided it was silly to quarrel with or anger the man who was going to be flying me back and forth from the island. We were going to be spending a great deal of time together in the cramped cockpit of his plane and in the front seat of his jeep. It would be especially hard to endure if we didn’t like each other. Fortunately, Dax was a hard person to dislike. He just had that quality about him that made even his irritating traits appealing. He did seem to have some real anger issues when it came to the Underwood family, but to use his favorite phrase, it was none of my business.

“So, let me get all your hats straight,” I said as I clutched the edge of the jeep door to keep from being ejected from my seat.

Dax peered up in the mirror and straightened his fedora.

“Looks straight to me.”

“Yes. Do you glue that on your head? Can’t believe it doesn’t fly off in this jeep. Anyhow, I meant metaphorically. I was talking about all the hats you wear during the day—pilot, mechanic, ticket sales, taxi driver—” My list was disrupted when two women climbed out of a convertible and blew kisses toward the jeep as Dax drove around for a parking spot.

I glanced his direction. “I’m going to assume those kisses were meant for you?”

Dax beeped the horn in response, which earned him two wide smiles.

“There’s a hat I forgot, the town Casanova.” I sat primly back, satisfied that I’d given a thorough list.

“Shit, now that I’ve heard the list out loud, I need to ask for a damn raise.”

“From who? Aren’t you your own boss?”

“Good point. And when it comes right down to it, I’m kind of a cheapskate.” He whipped the jeep into a parking spot. I climbed out and pulled my list from my purse. “Are you going to wait?” I glanced at the list for the first time. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see things like plastic gloves, cellophane and a gallon of antibacterial soap on the list, but I did a second take nonetheless.

Dax laughed. “Guess you haven’t shopped for Lurch yet.”

My shoulders sank with exasperation. “Please don’t make fun of him. He’s a lost soul. I wouldn’t wish his malady on my worst enemy.”

Dax nodded once. “Right. I’ll try to be nicer . . . to my worst enemy.”

I spun around quickly to let him know I was done listening to him.

“You aren’t mad are ya, Rabbit?”

I waved him off over my shoulder and carried my list into the store. The automatic doors slid shut behind me. I found myself standing in a gigantic warehouse where the shelves were stacked and on top of each product shelf there were layers of boxed items just waiting to fill in the vacancies. Aside from the popcorn for our slumber party, all the other items on the list had to do with cleaning and staying germ free.

I was several items into my list when I heard a woman cheerily call Dax’s name across the store. I kept a stealth position behind the bottles of chlorine and ammonia to keep an eye on the interaction without letting on that I had any interest whatsoever in what Dax was doing. Just curious, I assured myself. It had nothing to do with having a particular fondness for the man. He was the absolute last type of man I needed in my life. It was the last firm decision I made before, in my attempt to get a better look, nearly wiping out an entire pyramid of shampoo. With all the grace of a single-clawed lobster, I managed to keep the bottles from clattering to the floor. I righted the display, not to its original symmetrical glory, but to a reasonable likeness.

By the time I’d finished rebuilding it, Dax had moved on to a different
acquaintance
. He leaned casually against the end of a check stand and carried on an animated conversation with a cashier who was wearing a black lace bra beneath her pale yellow uniform.

I decided it was time to refocus on my task. I walked through the maze of aisles to the first aid items where I hoped to find the plastic gloves. A gregarious giggle pulled my attention to the checkout stands. A lull in customers checking out had allowed a small, gushing group of women to circle around Dax. The amount of direct eye contact, lash flutters and tilted smiles was more than most men probably garnered in a lifetime, but it seemed just another typical day in Dax’s life. Before I could pull my nosy stare away, his gaze floated my direction. Our eyes locked. A hint of a teasing smile crossed his face before he returned to his blushing, wide-eyed audience.

I hurried to pick out the last items on the list, feeling it was my civic duty to the other customers to remove the six foot plus diversion from the checkout area. Much to my dismay, by the time I reached the register, Dax had left the store.

The cashier, a young girl not more than twenty with brown eyes and a nose ring, popped her strawberry scented gum as she began to swipe the items in my basket. She took a few seconds to retrieve all the parts of the bubble gum with her tongue before speaking. “Did you find everything you needed?”

“I did. Thank you.” As she continued to ring me up, my attention drifted to the parking lot. Dax was leaning against his jeep laughing with yet another woman. “Jeez, like moths to a flame,” I muttered.

“Huh?” the cashier asked over her wad of gum.

“Oh nothing. Sorry.”

She glanced back toward the window to see what had my attention. Another bubble emerged and disappeared. “Is Dax waiting for you?”

“Yes, he’s my ride. Are you friends with him?” I asked, and quickly reminded myself that every woman in town seemed to be friends with Dax.

She laughed from behind another bubble. Her talents with gum seemed to have no boundaries. “Dax? He’s such a sweet talkin’ scoundrel. What’s not to love? Never gives his heart to anyone though. Broken plenty, that’s for darn sure.”

“A sweet talkin’ scoundrel. Yep, that sounds just about right.”

She looked at the box of gloves and was easily thrown to another topic. “You must be the new tutor on Wildthorne Island.”

“Uh—yes, I am.”

“I could tell by the gloves. Not too many people buy ‘em. How long have you been out there?”

“This is my first week.” Not wanting to stay for a long chat, I began boxing my items.

“The last girl was gone in two.”

“Well, then I’m halfway there.” I shot her a smug smile as I handed her the money. She dropped the change into my hand. I wrapped it up in the list to keep it separate in my purse. I picked up my bags and headed out to the parking lot, trying not to think about what she’d said and yet finding it impossible not to wonder why the last tutor left after two weeks. The island had its charm and its obvious drawbacks, but Becky was a wonderful kid. I just couldn’t understand what the problem was or why someone like Dax, who seemed to be the cocky-grinned toast of the town, hated the Underwoods so much.

Dax was still leaning against his jeep as I walked outside. The pert little brunette who had been talking to him gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before sashaying away. He reached for the bags as I neared the jeep. I watched the woman head over to her car as Dax put the bags in the back. He turned around.

I shook my head. “You’re like the only piece of candy in a town where every girl has an insatiable sweet tooth.”

“Yeah? Never thought of it like that.” Then, without warning, he stepped so close to me the tips of his work boots touched my sneakers. “What about you, Rabbit? Do you have a sweet tooth?”

I fidgeted under his pale gaze for a second. A horn blasting somewhere in the parking lot snapped me out of the haze his nearness had created. “Nope. I like no nonsense vegetables. They’re much healthier. They don’t cause cavities.” I was actually having to steel myself to look up at him. He had the kind of face that you just couldn’t stop looking at.

The tilted, teasing smile had faded as his gaze locked with mine. My heart did a ‘double shot of espresso’ tap dance, which caused a chain reaction that pushed a rush of oxygen through my body and right up to my head.

“Rabbit, remember?” I said weakly, just before giving way to an urge that I hadn’t expected or known how to control. I hopped onto my toes and threw my arms around his neck. His mouth covered mine long before I could finish what I’d started.

In one swift, barely perceptible move, he had me spun around and pressed between his hard body and his jeep. “Kinley.” His warm breath caressed my face as he uttered my name with a tone that made me want to turn to liquid right there in his indisputably solid arms.

As the kiss deepened and I lost myself more and more in his scent, his touch, his warmth, an irritating thought kept poking at me, like a sharp finger. ‘What are you doing, Kinley?’ it asked.

I pulled my mouth from his. Before Dax could kiss me again, I ducked out from between his body and the jeep.

He pushed his fedora down low on his head and took a deep breath. “Kinley.” He reached for my hand, but I stepped out of his reach.

“No, I can’t,” I said plainly as if I was just turning down a second scoop of ice cream. “I’m just trying to erase some bad choices and start a new life, and this, you—I promised myself I’d make better decisions.” I knew the words had come out all wrong the second I ended them. His face clearly showed it. “What I mean—”

He put up a hand to stop me. “It was just a kiss, Kinley.” He headed to his side of the jeep. “Don’t get so fucking worked up about it.”

His harsh tone caused tears to burn my eyes. I was such an idiot. I climbed into the jeep and shut the door hard enough to rattle the front windshield. He started the jeep and cranked the radio, signaling that we were through with conversation and niceties.

We drove back to the airstrip in a thick, bitter silence. I badly wanted to kick myself for losing control and kissing him. At the time, it was the only thing I could think of, kissing Dax, being in his arms. Now I was suffering the consequences of my rash decision.

My hand shot forward. I turned down the music. Dax kept his indifferent expression trained on the road in front of us. The wide open jeep caused my hair to swirl around my face like long, furry tentacles. I wrapped my hand around it to hold it back, deciding I couldn’t make a point with hair whipping my face.

Dax continued to stare straight ahead as if he hadn’t noticed me turn down the music.

“I just want to apologize. I started the kiss. I don’t know what got into me. Just to be clear, I’m not a tease.”

The sound of his dry laugh assured me I’d just made things worse with my silly declaration.

He pulled his eyes from the road for the first time since we’d climbed into the jeep. “Tease? You think I’m mad because you were taunting me with those pink lips as if I’m a sixteen-year-old kid with a permanent hard on?”

“Well, when you say it like that—” I released my monstrous, Medusa hair. It whipped around my face as I used my arms to hug myself against the cold wind. “Now I’m feeling extra foolish. Thank you for peeling away every layer of confidence I’ve built up since my awkward preteen years.”

The jeep tires chirped as we left paved road and rolled onto the dirt lot lining the runway. His little plane waited for us in front of the hangar. Dax turned off the engine and climbed out, leaving behind a chilly silence in the air.

I climbed out of the passenger side and walked to the back of the jeep. “Dax.” I decided to use his own words to make my point. I hadn’t expected it but he stopped and faced me. I nearly lost my nerve under his direct gaze. “I couldn’t get through the day thinking you hated me.” I said it so quietly, I was sure the distant thunder of the ocean had muted it.

Dax moved closer. “Unlike you, I hate plenty.” The heat rolling off his body made me lightheaded.

I held my breath, certain that if I took in air, it would be a shuddering sob.

Unexpectedly, he reached for my hand. He stared down at it, looking small and frail in his. He lifted his gaze to my face. “But I could never hate you, Rabbit. Never. I just wish you were in King’s Beach for a different reason. I wish you weren’t working on Wildthorne Island.”

His words, his touch, the heady scent of his soap, had left me stunned and speechless. I couldn’t for the life of me puzzle out why my job at Wildthorne had him in such a twist. Before I could form a decent, logical question, he headed off toward his plane. I didn’t follow immediately, instead I watched his long legs carry him across the runway. There was less confidence and a hard edged anger in his broad shoulders. It seemed there was a lot of past history in this place, and somehow, I’d landed right in the middle of it.