Millionaire Playboy, Maverick Heiress

by Robyn Grady

  Elizabeth crawled to the middle of the bed, popped a plump purple grape into his mouth and another into her own. Sweet juice bursting in her mouth, she rolled down onto the bed and wriggled into the covers.

  “I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

  “When was your last break from Royal?”

  “Beginning of the year. A lovely, long skiing vacation in Canada and a shorter trip to the South of France. I visited some friends in L.A., too.” She rocked up to slice off some Camembert. “Time went way too quickly.”

  “Do your friends come down to visit?”

  “Sure. But college days were different. It was like we were part of a big family. My L.A. friend, Kayla, is like a sister to me.” She accepted a glass of champagne. “When I was younger, I used to bug Mom nonstop for a sister of my own.” Grinning, she raised her glass. “Even a brother.”

  “Yeah. Me, too.”

  “Really?”

  “I mean I wish I still had a brother.” His eyebrows pulled together. “My parents had a second child after I was born. Jonas died when he was eight.”

  The news hit her in the chest and, for a long moment, Elizabeth could only gape. She’d had no idea.

  “I thought you were an only child,” she said, “like me.”

  “Not initially.”

  She put her next grape down. “Would you like to tell me about him?”

  Daniel gazed into his glass and she knew he was thinking back, deciding whether or not to open up.

  “Well, he was a gentle soul,” he said finally. “Always trying to stick up for one or the other of our parents.” His smile came slowly. “And he could make me laugh. He used to put on shows, dancing and singing and clowning around. He liked to paint, too.” He sent her a quick look. “Mom wanted to give him lessons. Dad said it would make him more of a sissy than he already was. Our father would have preferred we both follow in his esteemed footsteps.”

  Forcing himself to remember, he joined her to sit on the edge of the bed.

  “We were due to visit Carolina,” he went on, “when I came down with tonsillitis, so Jonas went on his own. The chauffeur picked him up, the jet flew him down, another limo drove him to the mansion and…” His jaw tensed and his throat burned. “I never saw him again.”

  She held his hand. “What happened?”

  “The old man wanted to take him hunting. Jonas would do anything to make his father happy, except that. Still he dragged him along. There was an accident. If I didn’t hate that SOB before—”

  When she put her arms around him, Daniel took a moment then said, “I’ve never told another living soul that story.”

  He wasn’t sure how he felt about sharing it even now. He kept a photo of himself and Jonas in his bottom drawer at work. But he purposely hadn’t looked at it in years. Moping over photos wouldn’t change anything. He’d rather just try to blot it from his memory. Try to cover and bury the wound.

  “Anyway, that’s all in the past.”

  “The past makes us who we are. The future’s ours to create,” she said with a wisdom that made him look twice. But, “I’m living my future,” he reminded her, then downed a mouthful of bubbles. “I have everything I need.”

  “If you say so,” she muttered.

  He eyed her almost pitying expression and gave in to a short laugh.

  “What’s so wrong about letting go of the past?” he asked. “Better than hanging blindly on to it.”

  Living with regret and anger and wanting to slam someone in the jaw.

  “Daniel, my situation and yours are completely different.”

  He huffed under his breath. “Damn right they are.”

  When she drew away, hurt, he cursed himself a thousand ways and reached for her hand. He normally didn’t let the past, those suffocating emotions, get to him for precisely this reason. Right or wrong, it got the better of him. He hadn’t meant to diminish the pain in her past.

  “I’m sorry.” His thumb rubbed the underside of her wrist. “I can’t imagine how it feels to lose your parents.”

  She tried to hide the upset from her face and, gracious as ever, said, “I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a sibling.”

  It was the worst pain I’ve ever lived through. Something I never intend to experience again. For anyone. For any reason.

  Suddenly that food he’d been salivating for no longer seemed appetizing. Instead he took her glass, set both aside then brought her to lie beside him while he snuggled her in.

  He loved every minute of being with Elizabeth. He was happy he’d brought her here, and yet there was a part of this situation he didn’t like. He was afraid she might want to change him, and that wouldn’t happen. He was scared she’d end up wanting more. Maybe “forever.” He wasn’t in a position to do that. Risk himself that way.

  Even if a part of him wished he could.

  Eleven

  They lay together with the quiet of the island wrapping around them and Elizabeth pondering a much younger Daniel standing at the foot of his little brother’s grave. He blamed his father for Jonas’s death and had never forgiven him. She felt ill imagining the anguish that had made a horrible rift within the family that much more difficult to repair.

  As he stroked her hair and every so often dropped a kiss on her crown, she felt torn. She wanted to help him, as she tried to help the families who came to her in need. But for Daniel, her money wouldn’t make a difference. He had enough of his own. More than he could spend in three lifetimes. Daniel’s problem was far worse.

  He might pretend that he had his past sorted, but he was filled with resentment, so much so that it didn’t take much for the bitterness and mistrust to come pouring out. Daniel Warren had grown to be a man who needed to keep a firm grip on his own fate, and that meant avoiding what had survived of his family.

  Had he ruled out having a family of his own?

  Later, they nibbled at the platter’s fare then dressed, donned sneakers and headed off inland to explore. Meandering over sandy ground, marveling at the colorful birdlife peering curiously down at them, she and Daniel stopped when they heard a distant whooshing sound. They resumed walking and a few minutes later a picturesque waterfall and crystal-clear pond came into view. Giant water lilies floated in tranquil patterns, and ancient-looking boulders dotted the pond’s boundaries. Elizabeth couldn’t wait to feel the soft, pure water against her skin.

  “It looks like something out of a movie.” She inhaled and sighed. “It smells so fresh.”

  As they trekked nearer, Daniel angled to get a better view and then pointed. “I think there’s a cave behind the waterfall.”

  “A pirate-type cave?” Her pulse spiking, Elizabeth crept nearer. “Maybe there’s a treasure.”

  He set down their backpack of provisions and grabbed her hand. “Let’s find out.”

  With a choir of birdcalls radiating throughout the canopies of palm fronds and tropical perfume filling their lungs, they skirted around the perimeter of the pond and its boulders. The rush of water grew closer until finally they stood before a swift vertical stream. Spray clung to their hair and dotted their clothes as they tried to see past the fall to the cave in the cliff behind. Daniel had to raise his voice to be heard over the roar.

  “You game?”

  Navigating the slimy ledge, she pushed past him. “Darn right I am.”

  She heard Daniel calling for her to wait, and as the rock beneath her rubber soles grew more treacherous, she did, setting a palm against the cold cliff wall to steady herself. Over the rush, he shouted near her ear.

  “Take it easy. We have all day.”

  Actually, she had two days here with Daniel. Before they flew back to Royal, she wanted to enjoy every adventurous minute to the hilt.

  When the rock curved in, forming a shelter in the cliff from the spray and some of the noise, she moved to wipe down her drenched face. When her footing slipped and heart catapulted to her throat, Daniel lunged. His grip on her arm might leave a bruise b
ut it had kept her from falling into the drink unprepared.

  “Why don’t I go first,” he called, looking mock stern as he overtook her. “Hold on to my belt.”

  Elizabeth grinned. She liked that he wanted to protect her but she couldn’t let the opportunity slide. “So now you think I need looking after?” she asked, remembering their earlier conversation that had revolved around Chad Tremain.

  He looked back over his shoulder. A shadow crossed his face before he returned her smug smile. “Special circumstances.”

  They edged deeper inside the rock-walled shelter until the temperature dropped to chilly and the crash of water falling receded to a far-off echoing rush. Scooping back wet hair clinging to her cheeks, she squinted around. Stray prisms of light threw relief on areas but it was too dark to see if any pirate chests lay half buried nearby.

  Daniel’s deep voice reverberated off the tunnel walls.

  “Can’t see any Spanish gold glittering at our feet.”

  “Maybe if we go farther in.”

  She crept off deeper toward the slanting shadows and the unknown.

  After a few minutes, he said, “We should have brought a flashlight.”

  “You’re not getting nervous, are you?”

  “Me? I happen to think bats are cute.”

  Blinking in the dark, she pulled up. “Bats?”

  “Must be some interesting species of cave spiders in here, too.”

  A vision of things big, black and hairy falling on her head filled Elizabeth’s brain and a run of shivers scuttled up her spine. But then she swallowed the lump of fear, threw back her wet shoulders and inched farther in. Soon the smell of damp was beaten only by the constant trickling drip down limestone.

  Daniel’s hand tightened around hers. “Had enough yet?”

  At the same time he spoke, a distant squeak filtered down through the dark. Or maybe she imagined it. Either way, the vision of black wings beating toward them finally got the better of her.

  “Well, if you really want to go…”

  In the shadows, she heard him chuckle.

  When they reached the ledge again, this side of the waterfall but far enough away not to have to shout, Elizabeth sat down, pumped and happy.

  “Wasn’t that fun?”

  He lowered down beside her. “If I’m not mistaken, Miss Milton, you’re a bit of an adrenaline junkie.”

  “Only when it’s available.”

  “You’re not into white-water rafting, by any chance? Climbing Eiger’s north face?”

  “Not yet.”

  “What about bull riding?”

  “Only if Daddy wasn’t watching.”

  “He liked to keep you good and safe.”

  Truth was that her father liked to keep her under lock and key. As rich as they were, if it weren’t for her mother she’d never have got the chance to board overseas, see and learn what she had. But then Elizabeth thought of Daniel’s father, putting Jonas in danger, and felt ashamed. His father had been reckless with his children’s safety and the Warren family had paid the ultimate price.

  I guess there’s a balance, she conceded, trying to see past the fall of water. It was up to each individual to find it.

  “What would you think if I said I had thought about ignoring the will?” she admitted. “About simply walking away.”

  Daniel looked at her as if she’d said she wanted to sell Manhattan to the Queen of Mars.

  “I’d say Tremain would have a fit.”

  She threw a rock at the water. “I don’t care what Chad thinks.”

  “He cares about you. And more than a financial advisor should.” She shot him a glance. “Guys know these things.”

  She looked away. She couldn’t help if fortysomething Chad would like something more from their relationship. She’d never given him any reason to believe she felt the same way. As far as she was concerned, the only reason they spoke on a regular basis was because of the ranch. That was what she needed to do to keep her inheritance.

  “I never would, of course,” she told him, carrying on her thread. “Leave the ranch, I mean. I could never simply walk away.”

  “Although you might not believe me, I understand.”

  She blinked across. “You do?”

  “I’ll never leave New York.”

  While water continued to spray their already damp clothes and course down their faces, he looked at her steadily. But he didn’t manage to stare her down. They both knew where the other stood. They were both adults and they hadn’t come here to analyze each other. They were here to have a good time.

  She pushed to her feet and, carefully, they edged back out into the dappled sunshine. After spreading out a blanket near the pond, they picnicked on chicken and potato salad, listening to the different hoots and clicks while discussing plans for the morrow.

  “It’s hard to believe we were in Royal this morning,” she said, looking around the tropical setting for the hundredth time.

  “You missing it?”

  She sent a sly look. “No.”

  “Have you got any more stories I should hear?” He sat up and scooped together some stones and leaves. “Anything scandalous?” he asked, thinking of Bradford Price.

  “About the Cattleman’s Club?” He nodded, making a small base, or floor, with the stones. “The Club is all about public service. Honor and duty. There was talk that they broke up a black-market baby organization.”

  His hand hesitated, starting on a stone wall.

  Black-market babies.

  “Is that a fact?”

  “It’s said they helped stop a bloody overthrow of a European principality,” she went on. “And there’s the stories surrounding the feud between the Windcrofts and the Devlins, two of Royal’s most prominent families. But I’m particularly fond of the legend surrounding Jessamine Golden.”

  “Was she an heiress?”

  “An outlaw who is reputed to be an ancestor of our own Abigail Langley. She stole a pile of gold. It must have been around 1900. She was in love with the sheriff but when he rode off to bring her in, he disappeared. The mayor went after him. Later, he and all his men were found dead. A discovery was made a few years ago. Saddlebags, a purse, a set of six-shooters and a map, which was supposed to have belonged to Jessamine.”

  “Was supposed to have belonged to her?”

  “It was authenticated by our Historical Society Museum’s historian and was reported to be ‘an exceptional and significant find.’”

  “And the missing gold?”

  “A few years back, the Cattleman’s Club was involved in a mystery, and murder, surrounding that map, which was meant to lead to her gold. But, far as I know, none was ever found.”

  Daniel put one too many stones on his wall and it all fell down. He dusted his hands.

  “Sounds like you ought to set up your own treasure hunt around Royal.”

  She gave a wicked grin as she leaned over for a kiss. “Maybe I’ll do that.”

  That evening, they dined on fresh crawfish and all manner of exotic fruits. Daniel found a sound system and, after cleaning the table, they danced beneath an ocean of glittering stars. When his mouth found hers and he kissed her in the moonlight, Elizabeth was taken aback to feel the threat of tears sting behind her eyes. When she was young, time seemed inconsequential. Now it either dragged or flew by. Right now it was racing.

  They made love in a lazy way that left Elizabeth only longing for more. When she opened her eyes early the next morning, she sat up in surprise. The last thing she remembered was Daniel leaving the bedroom around midnight to get two glasses of water. The day’s adventure—and romance—must have taken more energy than she’d thought.

  After a leisurely breakfast of eggs, fruit and pastries, they played volleyball across a net provided on the beach, waded knee deep in the tide, laughing whenever a friendly stingray fluttered past their legs, then went for a long swim before a relaxed lunch and afternoon nap, although they didn’t get much sleep.

&n
bsp; Late afternoon, they emerged again. The island was cooler and particularly quiet.

  “It’s like another world,” she said, as they sat with tall, cool drinks on the balcony, gazing over the shimmering blue waters that would hopefully never know the word civilization.

  “You wouldn’t rather be in Rome or London or Singapore? The shopping’s excellent there, so I’ve heard.” He leaned close and stole a lingering kiss from the corner of her lips. “Or maybe bungee jumping off an African precipice.”

  “You’re just old and staid,” she joked back.

  “And you’re beautiful.”

  The teasing smile in his eyes faded and Elizabeth swore it had been replaced by his heart.

  But then awareness seeped back into his expression. He drew slowly away and, looking around, nodded toward the left. “I vote this afternoon we explore that way.”

  Elizabeth was still gathering herself, quelling the butterflies released in the pit of her stomach.

  “I second the motion,” she said, telling herself to hold it together. Yes, they were having an extraordinary time here alone, with New York and Royal left far behind. But no matter what they were feeling, tomorrow meant a return to reality. She’d best not forget that.

  Slipping on hats, they walked along the edge of the water, around the horseshoe bay, over a patchwork of rock, which had been flattened and smoothed by millennia of gentle waves. The headland terrain petered out to sheltered mud lands where the occasional crab scuttled past.

  In the near distance, Elizabeth spotted movement…precise, elegant. It was a bird, about five feet tall. Its plumage was a magnificent orange-pink. She covered her mouth to contain the gasp turned laugh.

  “Look.” She shook her hand at the form picking its way over the flats. “A real-life flamingo.”

  Daniel shaded his eyes. “Well, I’ll be. A little different from the plastic jobs they dropped on your lawn.”

  She inched forward. “I wonder if there’s more.”

  Careful not to alarm the bird, they edged closer. But it seemed the flamingo wasn’t up for an audience. On stick legs, it walked slowly away.

  Daniel caught her elbow. “We should probably leave him be.”