The curves which looked so womanly in a bikini were cinched and supported and hidden beneath the dress.
In acting class, Alex had learned that any character could be described in one word. The word he thought of when he saw Maddy was a simple one: restrained.
She looked as relaxed and loose as a school ma’am from the Victorian era.
“Glad you could make it,” Alex said, wondering if the paparazzi were outside yet. “Any problems getting here?”
“No,” she said taking the seat across the table.
“It’s just that wherever I go, the paparazzi usually follow.”
She shook her head. “No, there’s nobody around here.”
He sat, feeling disappointed. At least he still had his backup plan.
Blaire appeared and took their orders. For a large girl, Maddy didn’t order much. A salad to start followed by a small steak and potatoes. Alex told Blaire he wanted a game soup and a steak medium-rare with chips. “Red wine?” he asked Maddy.
She nodded with little enthusiasm. Alex wondered why everyone he met today seemed to be so lackadaisical. First Josh now Maddy. “A bottle of your best red,” he told Blaire.
When the waitress had disappeared, he leaned forward and said, “Maddy, I feel I should apologize about this morning. I’m sorry about your t-shirt.”
She blushed prettily. “It’s OK, Alex. Like you said, you did save my life. I just don’t understand what a famous Hollywood actor was doing sitting on a beach in Sunnystone Bay impersonating a lifeguard.”
“I wasn’t impersonating anybody. Just doing a little research.”
“For a movie?” Her eyes widened slightly and she seemed interested. He was used to women acting like this. Men too. To them the movie industry was a place of dreams, of magic, and anyone involved in it was something special. It was a misunderstanding Alex was happy to perpetuate, especially if he wanted to get a woman into bed.
Was that what he wanted now? A private movie began playing in his head, a scene of himself in bed with Maddy, her head thrown back with pleasure, eyes closed, curvy body riding him. He remembered the sight of her body in the little bikini. Hell, he wouldn’t mind a piece of that. Why not? It would make a change from his usual menu of models and actresses. A sorbet to cleanse the palette. Maddy was about as different from Francesca as any woman could be. Maybe she was just what he needed.
The last time he had bedded a curvy woman was when he had been with Bonny.
He pushed that thought away.
“Yes, a movie,” he said to Maddy. “The usual thing I’m known for...action, suspense...sex.” He looked meaningfully at her as he said the final word.
“Sounds interesting,” she replied. “What is it called?”
Blaire came back to the table and poured each of them a glass of red. Alex held up his glass and deepened his voice slightly. “To us, Maddy.”
“Err... what do you mean?”
“Well, the night is young. Let’s wait until later to see exactly what it means.”
She said nothing but chinked her glass against his and took a swallow.
“Your movie?” she prompted.
“It’s called A Lifeguard Alone.” Looking around as if there might be spies in the room, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Don’t tell that to anyone. It’s a secret. Only the Hollywood insiders know about it. And now you. I’m trusting you, Maddy.”
She nodded slowly. “OK. Will you excuse me a moment?” She got up and walked between the tables to the restrooms at the back of the restaurant.
Alex watched the sway of her backside and told himself he could definitely live with having that in his bed tonight. Once he got that plain dress off her, underneath he would find the woman he saw on the beach today... fiery and passionate and overflowing with female sexuality.
He took a sip of wine and smiled to himself. If things worked out the way he wanted, he would get the “real women” crowd off his back and he would get a night of sex thrown into the deal.
Maddy was the type of woman who would probably get upset by The Call but hey, she knew his reputation so she couldn’t be surprised. There was no deception here. If she slept with him, she would know exactly what was happening.
* * *
“I don’t know what’s happening,” Maddy told Kim over the phone. “It’s like he’s trying to seduce me or something.” She checked herself in the Ladies Room mirror. Kim had told her to wear something more daring so she could use her sex appeal on Alex and try to get some juicy gossip out of him but Maddy didn’t have anything daring in her wardrobe. The gray dress she wore could hardly be described as alluring.
As for sex appeal, Alex didn’t seem deterred by Maddy’s lack of it. He was providing enough of that himself. Maddy had to admit he was an attractive man. Despite her straight-laced appearance, Alex’s subtle advances made her insides feel hot and chaotic.
“That’s good,” Kim said, “it means he’ll be more open about things. Just try to get some exclusive gossip out of him. Use whatever tactic you have to. Unbutton that dress a little.”
“I’m not doing that.” Even the thought made her feel uncomfortable.
“Remember this is your future career on the line,” Kim told her. “You get a story out of this and you might be able to leave that office forever.”
That did sound good but Maddy wasn’t sure she was up to investigative journalism if it meant putting herself on the line like this. Since the breakup with Eric, she felt safer if she suppressed her desires, pushing them so far inside herself that they couldn’t come out. Alex’s charm wasn’t helping that situation.
She faced the mirror and looked herself in the eyes. “You can do this, Maddy,” she said softly, “get a story out of him but don’t let him affect you.” Smoothing down her dress, she left the restroom and returned to the table.
Alex stood as she took her seat. Her salad was waiting for her and he had a bowl of dark soup in front of him.
“Welcome back,” he said. She detected a definite shift in his attitude toward her. She felt like a deer being hunted by a lion.
“I was thinking,” he said, “perhaps we could carry on this conversation on my boat.”
“Boat?”
He nodded. “She’s docked at the marina. I hired her for the week. A forty-two foot yacht. She’s called The Swan. I’d like to take you out on her sometime. I’m a qualified sailor so there’s nothing to fear about being on the waves with me. I’ll be in control at all times.” He looked at her with his deep gray eyes.
She wasn’t sure if that was the look he used on his leading ladies but it made her feel hot and flustered. She had thought she would be able to come back with a witty retort to his suggestion but instead she found herself unable to speak. Her mind seemed to become hazy. This was not what she had planned for the evening. Instead of her playing Alex to further her career, he was playing her like a master fisherman landing a rainbow trout.
“I...” she said.
He leaned closer. “The master cabin has a wonderful double bed,” he said in a soft, low seductive voice.
A cold finger of fear crept up Maddy’s spine. She was losing control. She must never lose control. She had to remember who she was: Madison Davis... dull, dependable, doormat. Alex was trying to turn her into someone else: a woman who jumped into bed with rich movie stars. A woman who acted on passion and took new experiences in her stride. That was not who she was, despite the urge rising within her to say “fuck it” and become that woman. No. She would not let that happen. She could not let it happen.
She stood quickly, her thighs pushing the table forward with a clatter of cutlery. The other diners looked around. “You have the wrong idea about me,” she told Alex, “I am not that kind of girl.” She felt angry that he thought he would get her into bed that easily. She felt even more angry at the mix of lust and desire rising inside her. He had no right to make her feel this way.
She picked up her wine glass and threw the contents o
ver him. The wine splashed over Alex’s face and dripped onto his shirt, staining it dark red.
Maddy stormed for the door.
Blaire intercepted her. “Is everything OK?”
“No,” Maddy said, pushing through the door. She needed air. Needed to get back to her room and curl up on the bed and cry.
As she stepped out into the cool night air, her senses were suddenly assailed by flashes and voices. Standing outside the restaurant, at least a dozen men with cameras started taking shots of her. She held up her hand in front of her face as the bright flashes blinded her and pushed past the photographers before realizing she had come here in a taxi and there was no way she could get back to the Seagull Inn without calling for one to come and pick her up. That would mean waiting while these men snapped photos of her and shouted questions at her.
“Miss Davis, how was your meal with Alex Stone?” one of them asked, coming closer.
“Leave me alone!” She headed down the road toward town. She would walk all the way if she had to as long as it meant escaping these men. At least she was wearing sensible shoes.
They followed her.
“Maddy, how would you describe your relationship with Alex Stone?”
“Have you thanked Mr. Stone for saving your life?”
“Miss Davis, what are your thoughts on plus-size women in the movies?”
She tried to block their voices out but they pursued her like hounds chasing down a fox, firing questions at her over and over. She quickened her pace but they kept up with her. Their cameras flashed behind her. What the hell were they taking pictures of? Her ass?
A silver car slid quietly to the side of road ahead of her and the passenger door opened. She reached the car and peered inside. Alex sat in the driving seat. “Get in.”
“No, thank you.”
“If you don’t get in the car you’ll never get away from them. There will be others waiting outside your hotel too. Believe me I know how these people work.”
“So I should come with you and see your wonderful double bed?”
“Look, I’m sorry about that. It’s just my way. Get in. I just want to get you away from the paparazzi. Nothing else. I promise.”
The photographers had caught up with the car and were taking photos through the windows.
“Come on,” Alex said.
She got in and shut the door. He pulled onto the road and roared away. The paparazzi became an insignificant group of shadows behind them then disappeared totally as Alex pressed down on the accelerator.
Maddy looked over at him and wondered if she wouldn’t have been safer with the paparazzi.
CHAPTER SIX
“They won’t be gone for long,” Alex said. “They’ll be coming after us in their cars in a minute.”
“What can we do?” Maddy hated all this attention. She felt self-conscious and embarrassed by it all.
“We can take The Swan out,” he said.
She folded her arms and pouted. She wanted to go back to the Seagull Inn but if there were more photographers there she wasn’t sure she could deal with it.
“I won’t try anything, I promise,” Alex said.
Maddy nodded. “Fine.”
He drove to the marina and parked the car. Casting a glance back along the dark road, he said, “Come on, we need to hurry.”
Maddy followed him onto the jetty. The air smelled of salt and fish. Gulls cried from somewhere. Alex led her to a big white yacht with the name The Swan in flowing script on her hull.
“Wow, this is yours?” she asked, impressed.
“I told you, I hired it. I have one just like it in California though.”
“And you know how to drive it?”
“Pilot it, yes.” He untied thick ropes from cleats set into the dock and jumped aboard. He held out his hand. “Come on.”
Maddy stood on the edge of the dock, unsure of herself again. The step across the water to the Swan might seem small but if she took that step she would be alone with Alex. Even if she thought she could trust him but she wasn’t sure she could trust herself. Those feelings that had run through her like a spreading heat had been pretty powerful.
She glanced back the way they had come. Headlights pierced the night, heading toward the marina.
“They’re coming,” Alex said. “If we get out on the water, we can lose them.”
Hoping she was making the right decision, Maddy took Alex’s hand and stepped onto the deck of the boat. Her forward momentum sent her stumbling against him, her chest pressed against his. He put his arms around her instinctively to stop her from falling. Strong arms. Tight grip.
“I’m fine, thanks,” she said, “shouldn’t you start the engines or weigh anchor or something?”
He gave her a mock salute. “Yes, Ma’am.” He climbed a metal ladder that led to a cabin above the deck. The boat’s engines rumbled into life and the water behind her began to churn. Maddy found a padded seat in the stern and sat down before she fell over. She wasn’t used to boats. Or the paparazzi. Or good-looking actors with strong arms.
The Swan slid out of the slip and glided for the open sea. Maddy heard shouts back on the marina and turned to look but all she saw was headlights and dark shadows moving back and forth. As they reached deeper water, the waves lapped against the side of The Swan.
Alex’s head appeared at the top of the ladder. “Everything OK?”
She nodded. “Fine.”
“Isn’t this wild?” He was grinning like a schoolboy.
“Yes, it’s nice.”
She had to admit it was exciting being out here. Sunnystone Bay had become nothing more than a twinkle of lights set over the dark cliffs. The stars above were bright and vivid. The boat’s engine rumbled quietly and the only other sound was that of the waves breaking somewhere in the distance. Maddy felt as if she had stepped into a different world.
“Where are we going?” she shouted up to Alex.
He grinned. “I’m going to take you somewhere special.”
She had no idea what that meant and hoped it wasn’t a euphemism.
Sitting back, she decided to enjoy the ride and watch the stars above in their interconnected constellations. So beautiful.
Twenty minutes later, Alex had piloted the boat around an island that sat a mile out from the shore. He cut the engine and the sudden quietness made Maddy aware of how isolated they were out here, floating on the vast sea hidden from shore by the island which was little more than a black shape in the night.
Alex slid down the ladder and stood there grinning at her. “Well, what do you think? Pretty special, huh?”
“It’s wonderful. How did you know about it?”
“I used to come to this area of the country when I was a kid. One day Tony, my big brother, hired a rowboat and we came out here while our parents were sunbathing on the beach. We explored the island and got back before Mom and Dad even knew we had gone.”
“You’re from around here?”
“No, London. We used to come to the coast here every summer. Rented a small cottage just outside of Sunnystone Bay.”
Maddy turned to the black bulk of the island. “What’s on there? Anything interesting?”
He nodded and leaned on the edge of the boat, looking out toward the island. “Very. There’s a cave in the rocks with its own pool. There must be a hole that goes all the way through the rocks and lets the sea water in. We found it when we were exploring that summer and went back every summer since until we grew up and Tony got married and I moved to America.”
“It sounds wonderful. Your own secret cave.”
“I’m sure other people know about it. Tony and I even named the island. Stone Island.”
Maddy laughed. “Of course.”
He looked at her, the moonlight twinkling in his eyes. “Maddy, I’m sorry about dinner. Sometimes I come on too strong.”
“I’m sorry about your shirt. If you want me to pay to get it dry-cleaned...”
“Never mind the shir
t. I deserved that wine shower. A lot of women wouldn’t do that to me. Most of them are too star struck. But not you. You didn’t even think twice, just let me have it.”
She smiled. “Like you said, you deserved it.”
“Can we start again? I don’t want you to be mad at me.”
“I’m here aren’t I? I can’t be that mad at you.”
He nodded and looked up at the stars. “It’s a beautiful night.” Turning to her he said, “How about a swim?”
“A swim? At night?” The sea looked dark and mysterious out here at night.
He nodded. “Why not?”
“I don’t have my swimsuit for one thing.”
“You mean that microscopic bikini?”
“It is not microscopic.” She wanted to add, “It only looks that way when I wear it on my big body,” but kept her mouth shut.
“Well how about your bra and panties?”
“In your dreams.”
He shrugged. “Fine but I saw you in that bikini so seeing you in your underwear won’t be any more revealing. I’ll turn away until you’re in the water if you like.”
“Why do you want to go swimming so much?”
“We could swim to the island. I’ll show you the cave.”
“Couldn’t you show me in the daytime?”
“It’s prettier at night, more mysterious.”
“I can do without any mystery right now.”
“OK, I’m not going to force you to do anything. How about a drink? I have wine in the cooler.”
She nodded and Alex went through a glass-and-wood door that led to the living area and kitchen. While she waited, she looked over the stern of the boat to the diving platform that sat just above water level. Hell, maybe she should do something compulsive once in a while. If she stripped down to her underwear and got in the water before Alex came back, she wouldn’t be embarrassed about being seen half-naked.
Grinning to herself and wondering what had come over her, she descended the ladder to the diving platform. She pulled her dress off, folded it neatly and placed it on the platform as far away from the water as possible. The cool night air caressed her skin, giving her goose bumps on her arms and thighs. Her bra and panties were white and lacy, comfortable and nowhere near as revealing as her bikini. She wondered if anyone was on the cliffs and if they could see her standing here in her underwear. Strangely, the thought didn’t make her feel self-conscious. It must be the wine she had drunk earlier loosening her up. Yes, that must be it. No other explanation.
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