Happy thoughts. He shut them down and turned his attention back to the moment at hand. Scanning the area, he looked from the beach to the land. It stretched out for acres, then sloped gently up into the knoll where he guessed Rico wanted his house built. There were banyan trees sprinkled across the property, with their weird root systems dropping down from heavy branches to support their weight. Thick stands of woods surrounded the area and flowering vines crept across the ground and over rocks.
The sun shone down on the whole scene like a blessing and Sean inhaled the flower-stained scent of the sea. In his mind’s eye, he could see the resort, spreading out across the ground, wood and glass and bright, tropical colors. It was going to be a beauty.
“It’s a great view,” Melinda said, bringing him out of his imagination. He looked to see her turning her head to where an insanely white beach drifted down to the ocean. The waves rumbled into shore with a relentless rhythm that sounded like the heartbeat of the world.
“I haven’t found a bad view on Tesoro yet,” he mused, then turned his head back around and imagined the sprawl of the exclusive resort that would soon be standing here. “Though I think this is one of the best ones around.”
“I do, too. Grandfather was going to build a house here for he and my grandmother.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she stared out at the sweep of lush green. “But she was killed in the same accident that killed my parents.”
He frowned, thinking about the proud old man and how much he had lost in one fell swoop. No wonder he’d held on to this piece of land so staunchly. It meant something special to him. It was a place of dreams, Sean thought, looking at the land with a new eye.
For just a minute, he wondered what it must have been like for Walter Stanford, alone with a five-year-old granddaughter to raise. It wouldn’t have been easy. But as far as he could tell, Sean thought with another look at Melinda, the old guy had done a hell of a job. Except, of course, for that romantic streak Melinda carried around.
“I think he’ll enjoy seeing your hotel go up here,” she said, looking around as if seeing the land for the first time.
“Hope so.” Sean squeezed her hand as he started walking, tugging her along behind him. “It’s gonna be a hell of a place when we’re done.”
“When do you start work?”
“I’ve already talked to a couple of the guys at the local construction company…”
“Ah,” she interrupted, taking the grassy expanse at a run beside him, “then you’ve met Tomin.”
Sean laughed as he pulled her to a stop in the wide shade of the nearest tree. “Yeah. Quite a guy. Did you know he’s the hereditary prince of Tesoro?”
Melinda chuckled and shook her head. “To hear him tell it, he’s also the prince of Tobago and the rightful king of Hawaii.”
“All of that and a carpenter, too,” Sean said with a grin.
Melinda’s eyes shone with laughter. “A man of many talents and too many stories.”
“Yeah,” he said as he pulled her closer to the tree trunk. “About that. Any interesting stories from your childhood you want to tell me?”
Melinda’s eyes went wide and horrified. “He did not tell you about the banyan tree incident.”
“Oh yeah, he did,” Sean said, laughing at the appalled expression in her eyes. “I’m thinking I should see that tree for myself. Maybe put up a plaque.”
“A plaque?”
“Something small and tasteful,” he teased, “and it can read, Here on this spot, Melinda Stanford went skinny-dipping and got her leg stuck in a root and couldn’t get out until her friend Kathy went for help.”
Melinda smirked at him. “Something small, huh?”
He shrugged and winked. “Smallish.”
“I was fourteen,” she told him.
“Ahh, but in my mind, you were a lot older.”
“Sean…” She tried to tug her hand free of his, but he just held on tighter.
Melinda was fighting her own desires for him and damned if he was going to make it easier on her.
“Can’t blame a man for what he thinks,” he said lightly.
She stared up into his eyes as a long moment passed, then she said, “I suppose not.”
“There, see? We’re getting along great. No pressure, Melinda. No expectations.”
Okay, that was a lie, he admitted silently. But she’d lied first. She hadn’t mentioned the guy she was still pining for before she got Sean to marry her, temporarily or not. So if he let her think he was letting go of his desire for her, then that was fair, right?
As if trying to distance herself from both him and the sudden tension between them, she said, “I wasn’t really skinny-dipping anyway. I was wearing underwear, thank God. While Kathy and I were climbing the tree, our clothes got swept out by the tide. As it was, I was mortified when she had to go get Tomin to rescue me.”
Well, now the image in his mind was of Melinda, as she was now, wearing only a lacy bra and a thong—pink, in his imagination—sitting in a tree, smiling down at him. His blood pumped a little thicker, hotter.
“Banyan tree, huh?” He patted the heavy trunk beside them.
“What’re you thinking now?” she asked, giving him a wary look.
He smiled. “You don’t want to know.”
“Probably not,” she agreed, then changed the subject. “So, what else did Tomin, the big gossip, have to say?”
“Lots of things,” Sean told her with a grin. “But don’t worry, most of his chatter was about the island construction team. How good they are, how professional and how we’d be stupid not to use them.”
“Well, he’s right about that,” Melinda said. “Though I bet he didn’t mention that he and his five sons make up most of the crew.”
“No, he didn’t.” Sean’s smile got wider. “Doesn’t matter though. Now I like him even more. He’s standing with his family. Working for them. As a King, I can understand that better than most. We’re all about family.”
She leaned back against the banyan tree. “I always wanted a big family. Growing up an only child was lonely sometimes.”
He planted one hand on the trunk over her head and leaned in. “Yeah, I get that. I grew up an only child, too.”
She looked up at him. “Excuse me?”
He frowned to himself. Couldn’t believe the stuff he was blurting out to her. Things he never talked about with anyone. But it was too late to pull the words back and she was staring at him, waiting for an explanation. So he kept it as brief and as light as possible.
“My brothers and I, we’ve all got different mothers.”
Her eyebrows went up. Yeah, he could see how it sounded. Hell, he’d grown up with the reality, and sometimes even he had a hard time believing it.
“My father Ben, he believed in spreading himself around,” he said wryly. “He didn’t marry any of the women he was involved with, but he managed to leave a son behind everywhere he went.”
“No daughters?”
“Nope.” Sean shrugged, bent down and picked up a rock. Turning toward the ocean, he swung his right arm back and threw it as far as he could. Then he watched for the splash. “At least, not as far as we know. Kings tend to run toward boys. Though a couple of my cousins have had girls recently.”
“You have a lot of cousins?”
He snorted. “Can’t throw a rock in California without hitting a King.”
“Must be nice.” She sounded almost wistful.
He thought about it for a second. “Yeah, it really is. Nice to have people who will watch your back no matter what.” He paused, gave her a half smile and added, “Don’t tell them I’ve been saying nice things about them though. They’ll never let me forget it.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Good to know.” He looked from her to the banyan tree she was leaning against.
“What’re you doing?” Melinda asked, coming up beside him.
“I’m trying to picture you stuck in a tree.”
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She snorted a laugh. “It didn’t happen here. I was on the other side of the island.”
“Uh-huh.” Sean looked from her to the great old tree and back again.
“Sean…”
“Yep, gotta see this for myself.” He picked her up, cradling her close to his chest.
“Sean, put me down.”
He grinned at her. Damned if he didn’t enjoy the feel of her body pressed in close to his. Looking down into her eyes, he saw the laughter there and that zip of something different shot through him again. He pushed that thought aside though. “I need a visual aid.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Just curious.” He grinned again, reached up and plunked her down on a thick branch. Instantly, she slapped her hands to the wind-worn wood to keep her balance while spearing him with a hard look.
“You are crazy.”
“Nope, just wanted to be able to imagine you in this tree.”
“Fine. Now get me down.”
“Not done yet,” he countered and laid his hands on her knees. She stilled and took a breath. He wondered if she was feeling the heat sliding back and forth between their bodies. Then he looked into her eyes and realized that yes, she felt it too.
Seconds ticked past while they stared at each other. She was nervous. He sensed that much. Good, he told himself. Nerves meant she wasn’t as sure of herself as she pretended.
“Have you seen enough?” she asked.
“Not nearly,” he told her, meaning it.
“Sean…”
“Do I make you nervous, Melinda?”
She took a breath. “Of course not.”
“Liar.” He said it with a smile, but he saw that single word hit her.
“Help me down, please.”
Sunlight dappled through the branches. The thick green leaves surrounded her, dancing in the wind, and she looked like a damn nymph up there.
He set his hands at her waist and lifted her off the tree, setting her on her feet. But he didn’t let her go. He indulged himself in the feel of her. In the heat flashing in her gaze. In the soft sigh of her breath.
She looked…smaller, somehow. More vulnerable. And he really didn’t need to start thinking of her like that. It wasn’t his job to protect her, was it? Because he couldn’t seduce her and look out for her at the same time.
And he’d really rather seduce her.
He supposed that made him a supreme jerk, but Sean was willing to live with that. As long as it got him what he wanted—Melinda in his bed.
Several days later, Melinda watched Sean with Tomin and his sons and it was a revelation.
Sean King was one of the wealthiest men in the world. His family was famous and counted royalty among their friends. Yet, he stood here in boots, jeans and a T-shirt, talking to regular working guys as if he were one of them. She saw the easiness in his manner, the genuine smile, and she knew this wasn’t an act. This was who he was.
She tried to picture Steven standing around laughing with Tomin and couldn’t quite manage it. Steven had always been more interested in the finer things than in simple pleasures. He had always talked about when they got married and had her trust fund, how they would leave this island and travel where they could meet the “right” people. She hadn’t liked the sound of it at the time any more than she did now. Tesoro was home. Would always be home. But Steven hadn’t been happy here. Funny that she hadn’t actually realized that before.
She frowned slightly at the disloyal thoughts. Steven had been the love of her life. She had been devastated when he died. She still missed him. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t agreed on everything.
“We can get started leveling the field,” Sean said, his voice capturing her attention, “then by next week, we can map out the foundations.”
Sunlight was bright, and the trade winds were blowing hard today. Sean’s thick black hair was tousled, and Melinda was forced to curl her fingers into her palms to avoid the temptation of reaching up to smooth it back. Shaking her head again she gave herself a good talking-to. Reminding herself that she would never betray Steven’s memory. That she wasn’t interested in another man.
Her body wasn’t listening.
“Sounds good.” Tomin nodded as his practiced gaze swept the area. “I can bring in extra crews from one of the outer islands if we’ll need them.”
“We will,” Sean promised. “This is going to be a huge job and when we’re finished here, we’ll be moving on to the ridge to build the house my cousin is designing.”
“Good news for all of us, then,” Tomin said with an eager grin. “What about the trees?” he asked. “You want us to take them all out when we’re doing the level work?”
A whisper of regret slid through Melinda at the thought. Of course, she knew that they would have to tear down the old banyans to build the hotel but she hated thinking about it. They were so old. So…breathtaking. They were as much a part of the island as anything else and the thought of losing trees that were more than a century old broke her heart.
Of course, she thought, Steven would have chuckled at that. He’d always teased her, telling her she cared too much about things that didn’t matter. She chewed at her bottom lip as she admitted silently she had always hated that.
“I don’t think so.”
She blinked in surprise at Sean’s statement. He looked right at her as he added, “We’ll build around the trees. Seems a shame to cut them down, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” Tomin agreed, not even realizing that Sean’s focus was on Melinda. “But it’s going to cost you, redoing some of the plans to accommodate the trees.”
Sean shrugged. “Sometimes it’s worth going an extra mile or two.”
Melinda flushed and wondered if he was talking about the banyan trees? Or her? He’d been nothing but attentive for the last several days. She’d taken him around the island, introducing him to the residents. He’d charmed Kathy and her kids and when they had left her best friend’s house, Kathy had given Melinda a smiling thumbs-up behind Sean’s back. Everyone on Tesoro liked him. He played chess with her grandfather every afternoon and had the hotel staff eating out of his hand.
But with Melinda he was even more charming. He seemed to be touching her all the time. Taking her hand, draping an arm around her shoulders, brushing her hair back from her face. And every little touch was like a burning match thrown on to an unstable stack of kindling.
And now this.
He would save the banyan trees. Because of her. Looking into his eyes, she knew he was remembering being with her, lifting her onto the branch of the tree. That one, tension-filled moment in the sun-spattered shade. And something inside her turned over.
Honestly, she didn’t know what to make of Sean King—which worried her a little. In the beginning, this had been all business. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Now, she felt as though she really had married a stranger. None of the research she’d done on Sean had prepared her for his thoughtfulness. Generosity. Kindness.
Her gaze locked with his, and he gave her that half smile she was becoming way too fond of. Something sizzled in the air between them and Melinda knew she was on a slippery slope.
An instant later, their connection was broken as he turned back to Tomin and said, “So let’s talk equipment. How are we stocked for big machinery on the island? My brothers will be getting a cargo ship out this time tomorrow. If we need specific things, I can arrange it.”
Tomin clapped his hands together and rubbed them in keen anticipation. “Well now, let me tell you what I’m thinking.”
Melinda walked behind the men, half listening to their conversation and half concentrating on the wayward thoughts careening through her mind.
“We’ll need at least two front loaders with the large buckets,” Sean told Rafe that afternoon in a conference call. “The guys here have a bulldozer and a forklift, but we’ll need the scraper too and an extra forklift would probably be a good idea along with everything else.”
&nb
sp; “Got it.” Rafe made notes, then looked back into the webcam. “We’ll round up a couple of crews, offer them room and board, plus their pay for the duration of the job. Shouldn’t be hard to get a lot of volunteers to sign up for work on a tropical island. So how’s it going out there?”
“Not bad,” Sean said, leaning back in his desk chair.
The hotel suite he had set up as a temporary office was roomy and efficient, but damn, he felt as if he spent every waking moment in the Stanford hotel. If he wasn’t in this office, he was in the restaurant or the bar or, God help him, trying to sleep on that hideous couch in the suite he shared with Melinda, wondering what she was wearing to bed.
How pitiful was that?
“Yeah, you do a great job of selling that,” Rafe said with a snort. “I really believe you.”
Sean gave his brother a snide smile. Sarcasm. Another thing the King family was known for.
“Fine. Work’s great. Everything else, not so much.”
“Told you not to marry that woman,” Rafe muttered.
A flicker of temper ignited inside Sean at hearing his brother call Melinda “that woman.” He didn’t ask himself why his protective instincts kicked in. He simply accepted it. “Just what I needed. I-told-you-so’s are so helpful. Thanks.”
Rafe blew out a breath and tapped his pen against his desktop. The sound was so clear, the action so familiar, that for a second or two, Sean could almost believe he was sitting in his brother’s office at their headquarters in Long Beach. Though, if he were at home, things would be a lot simpler in his life.
There wouldn’t be a Melinda making him insane, for one.
“So, I heard from Garrett.” Rafe watched him, waiting for a reaction.
He didn’t wait long.
Sean jolted forward in his chair. “What the hell kind of family loyalty is that? I talk to our cousin, and he talks to you?”
He had only called his cousin, Garrett King, the day before and already the word was out? Some security expert, he thought with a sneer. Garrett and his twin Griffin owned and ran the country’s foremost security company, and in between working for the idle rich, spoiled celebrities and the occasional royal…they did jobs for the family. But Sean hadn’t known about Garrett’s whole unable-to-keep-his-trap-shut issues.
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