“No, Gray, don’t run after her,” Cara pleaded. “Not again. Not this time.”
“Cara’s right.” Edward clutched Grayson’s shoulder tightly. “None of us are going to chase her down this time. We’ve all jumped through hoops for that girl. It’s high time we step back and let her do whatever she wants to do.”
Cara couldn’t believe her ears, couldn’t believe that her father was actually going to allow Audrey the freedom to live her own life. If only Gray would do the same, if only he would let Audrey go. How could he love a woman who had treated him so badly, a woman who had wanted a divorce for years?
“But Audrey needs—” Grayson said.
“Listen to Daddy.” Cara interrupted him mid-sentence as she held out her hands to him in a beseeching manner. “Don’t go to Palm Beach. Don’t chase after her. It’s time for you to accept the fact that Audrey doesn’t want to be your wife.”
But I do, Cara thought. Stop loving my sister. She’s never been worthy of you. Just once, look my way and see what’s right before you—a woman who worships the ground you walk on.
“I LIKE THIS,” Audrey said, the evening breeze gently caressing her face and tousling her hair.
“You like what?” Dom asked as he stopped walking, turned her in his arms and gazed down into her eyes.
Tilting her chin, she looked up at him. “Everything. The beach, the starry sky, the ocean waves, the feel of the sand under my feet.” She stood on tiptoe and wound her arms around his neck. “Strolling along the beach, just the two of us, not talking, just…being.”
He pulled her closer. “You know what, Audrey Perkins, you’re an enigma to me. I can’t figure you out.”
She sighed heavily. “I’m not all that complicated.”
He chuckled. “The hell you’re not. Honey, you’ve got to be the most complicated woman I’ve ever met.”
“How can you say that when you just met me? We don’t really know anything about each other, do we?”
“I know that your father is one of the richest men in America, that you’re a married woman, that for some reason you’re here in Palm Beach all alone.”
She eased her hands from around his neck, then turned away from him. “Since I find you very attractive and I’d really like for you to kiss me, that has to mean you’re absolutely no good, that if I give in to temptation, you’ll just wind up using me, and—”
Dom grabbed her upper arms and whirled her around to face him. “I’m not the kind of man who uses women.” He released his tenacious hold on her, reached out and tenderly stroked her cheek. “I’m one of the good guys. I would never hurt you.”
“I’d like to believe that, but I’m afraid my track record speaks for itself.” She clasped his hand. “I seem to attract the rotten apples. The users, the takers, the…” She sucked in air, released his hand and blew out an exasperated breath.
They stared at each other, moonlight, sandy beach and scenic ocean view fading into a blurred background so that all Dom saw was Audrey, and all she saw was Dom.
“I’m going to tell you the truth,” Dom said. “I want you. I’d like to take you upstairs to your suite, strip you naked and make love to you all night.”
Her gaze locked with his. Her breathing grew heavy, her breasts rising and falling rapidly. Her lips parted on an indrawn breath.
“If I let that happen, how do I know—”
He laid his index finger over her lips, momentarily silencing her.
“I didn’t say it had to happen. I just said it’s what I’d like to happen.” He lifted his finger from her lips and trailed it over her chin and down her throat, stopping just short of inserting his finger inside the low-cut neckline of her dress. “We’re both experienced adults. We’ve both had one-night-stands before this. Sex without commitment. No promises. No binding ties.”
“Just sex.” She spoke so softly that he barely heard her.
“It’s your call, Audrey.”
She went rigid, then broke eye contact.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. I—I…Why don’t we just walk for a while longer, then go back to the hotel and get drinks in the bar, maybe talk and dance and…”
“Whatever you want.”
“You really mean that, don’t you?”
He took her hand in his and squeezed tenderly. “I came to Palm Beach on an assignment that I’ve completed. I’ll be flying back to Atlanta tomorrow, but tonight I’m all yours. If you want to walk and talk and dance, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Tell me something.”
“What?”
“Are you married?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Ever been married?”
“No.”
“Ever been in love?”
“Yeah, a couple of times. Or at least I thought I was.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“The first time, I was seventeen and she preferred my older brother.” Dom hadn’t thought about Lori Kaye in years, didn’t even know what had happened to her after she married and moved off to San Antonio. “The second time I was older, smarter. We were actually engaged for six months before we realized it just wouldn’t work. We wanted different things from life.”
“I’ve been in love twice,” she told him.
“Your husband and—”
“Uh-uh.” Once again, her entire body stiffened, as if any reminder of who she was, of the fact she had a husband, disturbed her in a way Dom didn’t understand. “Both times I made a huge mistake and paid dearly for it. I don’t intend to ever fall in love again. No one is ever going to use me or hurt me.”
Was it his imagination or had he actually heard genuine pain in her voice?
He tugged on her hand. “Come on. Let’s walk, then we’ll get a drink and afterward go dancing. If not here, then we’ll find some other place.”
When she clung to his hand, he got the oddest feeling that at least for the time being she trusted him. Trusted him not to hurt her, not to use her.
HE DIDN’T KNOW THE MAN, had never seen him before, but it didn’t matter as long as he paid him in cash. He wasn’t particular about who hired him or what they hired him to do, as long as the price was right. Hell, he’d knock off his own grandmother for enough money.
“The job needs to be done tonight.”
“Why so fast? I might need time to plan—”
“My client is willing to pay twenty-five thousand if the job is done before daylight tomorrow and if the murder looks like either rape or robbery was involved. Take your pick.”
“I don’t mix business with pleasure. I’ll make it look like a robbery.”
“The death should be quick and painless. Is that understood?”
“Yeah, sure. I can slit her throat or shoot her in the head. Does your client have a preference?”
The tall, slender man shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I’ll need half up front and the other half when the job is done.”
“I have the entire amount, in cash, in this briefcase,” the man told him. “And I also have a gun in my pocket.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and clutched the weapon, showing the imprint of the pistol through the material of his jacket.
“Give me the particulars. Who you want killed, where I can locate them, any problems I might encounter.”
“Her name is Audrey Bedell Perkins. She’s staying at the Palm Beach Classico Hotel, in suite number six-ten. She’s a petite redhead. Early thirties.”
“Somebody hates this bitch enough to want her dead, but they don’t want her to suffer. Got it.” He held out his hand for the money.
The guy hesitated, then set the briefcase on the edge of the bed, flipped it open and dumped the cash. “If the job isn’t done by daybreak—”
“It’ll be done.” He eyed all those beautiful greenbacks. “If the lady’s alone, it’ll be a piece of cake.”
THE BAND PLAYED a soft, jazzy number, giving the da
ncers a break from the fast, frenetic beat of the last tune. Dom pulled Audrey into his arms, leading her into the slow, intimate dance. They had shared drinks at the Classico Hotel’s Mermaid Bar before deciding to take her rented convertible and find a place where the music didn’t stop at midnight. The Beachcomber stayed open until dawn, giving customers live music, a dance floor and a bartender who made a mean margarita.
“Having fun?” Dom whispered in her ear.
“Mmm…” Resting her head on his chest, she cuddled closer.
He nuzzled the side of her face, then kissed her ear. She shuddered. “Are you about ready to head back to the hotel or do you want to stay and close the place down?”
“Let’s finish this dance before we go,” she said.
“Whatever you want, honey.”
“Whatever I want,” she repeated in a sleepy, little girl voice.
He held her, loving the feel of her, the scent of her. She was small and slender yet nicely rounded. The girl’s got meat on her bones, his father would say. The more time Dom spent with Audrey, the harder he found it to believe most of the things he’d read about her in the Dundee report he’d been given. Yes, she was guarded, didn’t seem to trust easily and apparently loved to party, but he hadn’t seen any evidence of her being a first class bitch. He suspected that beneath that I-can-take-care-of-myself exterior strength lay an inner core of kindness and vulnerability. If his gut instincts were correct, somewhere along the way, someone had hurt this woman, hurt her badly.
When the dance ended, Dom escorted her off the dance floor and out of the club. Once outside he held out his hand.
“Keys, please.”
She giggled. “Don’t you trust me to drive?”
“Not after two glasses of wine and two strong margaritas.”
She rummaged around in her small handbag, yanked out the car keys and handed them to him. “You’re right. All you had was a sip of one of my margaritas and a glass of wine about—” she lifted her arm and stared at her wristwatch. “Four hours ago. My gosh, it’s nearly three-thirty.”
“So it is.” He draped his arm around her shoulders and steered her into the parking lot.
When he opened the convertible door for her, she paused, lifted her arm and whirled the bracelet-type watch around on her wrist. “Do you know how much this watch cost?”
“I have no idea.” He helped her into the passenger seat, then kissed her on the tip of her nose.
She giggled again. “It cost two thousand dollars. It’s real gold, you know.”
Dom grinned. She was slightly loopy, after two glasses of wine and two margaritas. If he didn’t know better, he’d think the lady wasn’t used to drinking.
“What’s two grand to you, honey? Your father’s a billionaire, isn’t he?” Dom slid behind the wheel.
She reached out, grabbed his arm and glared at him. “Is that why you like me? Because—”
Acting purely on instinct, Dom cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. No preliminaries, no sweet nothings. He’d been wanting to kiss her all night. She responded instantly, returning the kiss, opening her mouth, inviting him in. He took full advantage, probing, seeking, passionately loving her mouth. When they were both breathless, he ended the kiss, but didn’t lift his head. Instead, he slid his hands down either side of her neck and onto her shoulders, then spread hot, nipping kisses across her cheek and down the side of her neck.
“Dom…”
“Hmm…”
She pushed him away and they stared at each other.
“Could you stay on in Palm Beach another day?” she asked.
“Possibly. If I had a good reason to stay.”
The corners of her mouth lifted in a fragile smile. “I’m not going to ask you in when you take me to my suite, but I’d very much like for us to have lunch tomorrow and then dinner tomorrow night.”
“I’d like that, too.”
When he started to kiss her again, she shoved against his chest. “It’s late. I think we should go back to the Classico now.”
Dom covered his heart with his crossed hands and sighed dramatically. “Lady, you really know how to hurt a guy, don’t you?”
She laughed. “And you, Dom Shea, know how to tempt a woman beyond reason.”
“Oh, honey, if only that were true.”
“Believe me, it is.”
Dom removed his jacket, lifted her just enough to slip the jacket around her shoulders, then kissed her cheek. “It’s pretty chilly out here.”
She hugged the coat around her. “Thanks. You really are a nice man, aren’t you.”
Dom reached across the console and buckled her into her seat belt, then latched his before starting the engine. The cool morning air acted as a slap-in-the-face, making Dom fully alert as he drove back to the hotel. He wondered what Sawyer would say if he stayed on in Palm Beach another twenty-four hours. Would his boss buy the excuse of typing up loose ends on the assignment? If not, he could send the Dundee jet back to Atlanta and simply take a personal leave day.
He knew better than to become involved with a married woman, even on a temporary basis. But there was something about this particular woman that had grabbed him from the moment he saw her and whatever it was, it wouldn’t let him go.
THEY STOOD OUTSIDE Audrey’s suite, wrapped in each other’s arms. He lifted his head after their third goodbye kiss.
“I don’t want to go,” he told her.
“You promised,” she reminded him.
He groaned. “How about I come back for breakfast?”
“It’s nearly four o’clock. Breakfast is only a few hours away.”
“I know.”
She giggled, then pushed him away. He grabbed the key out of her hand and inserted it in the lock. When the door opened, she took a step inside the foyer, but didn’t get any farther before he put his arms around her from behind and pulled her against his chest, pressing his erection against her lower back.
“How about an early lunch? Around eleven,” she said.
“How about lunch up here in your suite?”
“If you’ll go away now, like a good boy, I’ll think about it.”
He shoved her mane of long hair to one side and kissed her neck. She squealed. He released her, then turned around and walked away. When he was almost in front of the nearby elevators, she called to him.
“Dom?”
He spun around and smiled. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for the best evening I’ve had in…in a long time.”
“You’re quite welcome.”
“See you at eleven.”
“I’ll be johnny-on-the-spot.”
After they waved goodbye, she went inside her suite. He punched the elevator down button and waited. Then he realized he still had her key and she still had his jacket. The jacket was no big deal. He could get it tomorrow. But what if she got curious and took a look in the pockets? When he’d wrapped the jacket around her after they left the Beachcomber, he’d forgotten that he’d put the photo of her that Edward Bedell had given him inside the inner pocket. How would he ever be able to explain to her why he had a picture of her?
Dom walked down the hall to her door, but just as he started to knock, he heard an odd noise. Something inside the suite had fallen. He pressed his ear to the door and listened. Another thud, then the sound of scuffling. And finally a muffled cry.
His adrenaline pumping, he slid the plastic key down the lock and opened the door.
“Audrey?” he called to her. “Are you all right?”
Deadly silence.
Then suddenly a loud, terrified scream.
CHAPTER FOUR
DOM’S TRAINING as a SEAL told him how to handle the situation, despite being emotionally involved. And damn it all, he was emotionally involved with Audrey Perkins whether he wanted to be or not.
The suite lay in darkness, which meant the curtains had been closed to prevent outside light from entering the area. Someone had entered the suite, prepared it for
an attack and waited for Audrey’s return. He could be dealing with a kidnapper, a rapist or a thief, although one of the first two was more likely, unless he had simply walked into the middle of a robbery attempt.
Dom had no way of knowing if he was dealing with one assailant or more. His Glock 30 was in his room in the safe. After making contact with Audrey and finding out she was alone, he had erroneously assumed he wouldn’t need his gun. Besides, if he’d carried his weapon on their date, how could he have explained it to her? But Dom seldom if ever went anywhere without being armed, especially not when he was working. Keeping his back to the wall, he eased down, lifted his pants leg and removed the Beretta 950 Jetfire pistol from the holster strapped to his calf. Many of the Dundee agents used the small, 10 ounce, 4.7 inch handgun as a backup weapon.
Not knowing his enemy, Dom took extra precautions. He had to work under the assumption that the person or persons involved posed a threat to Audrey, that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill her, especially if this was a kidnapping gone wrong.
When he made his way from the entrance foyer and into the parlor/dining room of the luxurious suite, his Beretta in hand, he heard a loud, agonized grunt, then saw a flash of movement.
Something or someone came barreling toward him, followed by a bulking dark shadow.
Audrey ran straight into him, her breathing labored. “He has a knife,” she whispered. “He’s trying to kill me.”
Before Dom had time to respond, the big, brutal man came at him, but just as Dom aimed the Beretta, the guy rushed past him and Audrey and ran straight for the open door.
“Was he alone?” Dom asked, halfway into the foyer.
“Yes, as far as I know,” she replied.
“You stay here,” he told her, then headed out the door.
“Don’t go. Don’t leave me alone,” she called after him.
Dom hesitated for a split second, but when he saw the man disappear inside the elevator, he turned around to face Audrey.
“I’ll call hotel security,” Dom said, then flipped on a light switch and walked over to the phone in the parlor. “They should be able to catch him when he exits the elevator, if he stays on the elevator.”
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