KissedByASEAL (12 page)

He was on the path to the room when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out, thinking it might be Darci wondering where he was. It wasn’t. He saw Jon’s name on the read-out.

Chris hit to answer the call. “Hey, boss.”

“Hey. Are you there?” Jon asked.

“I am. And I’ll tell you what, you can send me to work for this guy anytime you want.”

Jon laughed. “I take it you like the resort.”

“Hell, what’s not to like? But seriously, this guy’s not as bad as I’d feared he would be. I just met with him and judging by what I’ve seen, he actually might not make my job any harder than it has to be.”

“Unlike our command used to, you mean?”

“Exactly.” Chris laughed. “There was one thing he threw at me that I wasn’t expecting. Did you know there was a boat trip planned?”

“Uh, no. What kind of boat trip?”

“Apparently instead of the usual rehearsal dinner or whatever else you normally do the night before the wedding, the bride and groom are taking all of the out-of-town guests out on a yacht. It leaves tomorrow afternoon. We’re going to float around and have cocktails and food, and then come back later that night after dark.”

“All right. That doesn’t sound too bad. At least it’s a contained environment. It’s probably easier for you to keep an eye on everybody on a boat than at the hotel where they’re free to come and go.”

“Agreed.” As long as nobody got drunk and fell overboard, it would probably be a pretty uneventful evening.

“Any other surprises?”

“No. Not really. Tomorrow, up until the cruise leaves, the guests are free to do whatever they want. I figure I’ll stick close to the family in the public areas whenever I can and keep my eye out for anything strange. And then Saturday the wedding is pretty early in the afternoon. The bride and groom leave early Sunday morning for the honeymoon. The guests have a brunch, but then we’ll leave.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a tough job. My heart bleeds for you.”

Chris laughed. “Hey, don’t blame me. You sent me here. You and Ali could have come if you really wanted to.”

“I wish. Zane and I have what I hope will be our final meeting with the shipping company tomorrow.”

“Good luck. I know you’re gonna nail the presentation.”

“Thanks. I hope so. Good luck to you too.”

Chris snorted. “Not that I’m going to need it, but yeah, thanks. Talk to you later.”

“Later.”

He’d reached the door of their room, just as he disconnected the call with Jon. There was music coming from inside, and if he wasn’t mistaken, singing.

After sliding the key into the lock, he pushed the door open, slowly, quietly, so as not to disturb Darci before he got a peek at what she was doing.

She sat in one patio chair and had her bare feet kicked up onto another as she faced the ocean. She’d changed into a sundress and looked completely relaxed as she sipped champagne and sang along to the song on the room’s clock radio.

The scene was so perfect and peaceful he didn’t want to disturb anything. But it looked so inviting he couldn’t stop himself from joining her.

First, he had to handle this gun situation. He set the bag on the floor of the closet, happy to see a good-sized safe inside. It was big enough to hold a laptop plus some. He hadn’t bothered packing his laptop, but he did have the contents of his weapons bag to store safely, and it looked as if it would fit.

He took his extra weapon and ammo out of the bag, and then closed and locked the safe door before he wandered outside.

The warmth of the sun hit his face. No wonder Darci was enjoying the weather. It was a far cry from what they’d left at home.

“Hey.”

Darci swiveled her head and smiled at him. “Hey. How was your meeting?”

“It went very well, thank you.”

“Sit down with me. Ooo, but grab the basket first. There’s cheese and crackers, and chocolate and strawberries in there.”

“So I see.” There was a strawberry in her champagne glass and just a dot of chocolate on her upper lip. He reached down and, as she gazed up at him from behind sunglasses so big they reached halfway down her cheeks, swiped the fleck of chocolate away. “You had a little bit of chocolate.”

“Oh. Thanks.” She raised her hand to her lips.

Chris drew his hand back and sucked in a breath. “No problem. I think that cheese sounds pretty good. I’m as hungry as a hostage.” It wasn’t only food he was hungry for.

“Then why don’t we go get something to eat?”

“Because the damn welcome cocktail party starts in like an hour and I wanted to head down a little early to check out the layout.”

She jumped up from her chair and spun to face him, panic written clearly across her face. “Less than an hour. I have to change. What should I wear?”

“It’s poolside, so I think you’re dressed perfectly, just the way you are. I mean you might want to put on some sort of shoes, but that’s it.”

“Really?” She glanced down at the floral dress she was wearing.

It was loose, but with the ocean breeze whipping the cotton around her body, it outlined every curve.
Damn
.

“Really.” He turned and headed for this supposed stash of cheese and crackers. He might as well feed one hunger, since he couldn’t feed the other.

She followed him inside. “Everyone from the wedding’s going to be there? I’m not ready for that.”

“Relax, it’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s not just for the wedding party. The way Mr. Collins explained it, the resort serves cocktails and food out by the pool every afternoon. They decided it would be nice to add it to the agenda for people in early for the wedding. We’ll go and sit by ourselves. Only talk to whoever talks to us first, then you can come back here. Okay?”

“Where will you be?” Her voice rose with undisguised angst.

“I want to do a sweep of the property. Get familiar with the layout.”

“Can’t I come with you for that?”

He’d never even thought of asking her to do a sweep with him, thinking she’d rather relax in a lounge chair during her down time while he worked. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Yes.” She lifted one shoulder. “And besides, you know, it might look less suspicious. I mean if we’re taking a stroll together won’t it look better than you creeping around on your own?”

He hadn’t planned on creeping, or at least he wasn’t planning to look like that’s what he was doing, but she was right. It might look better if they were just two new arrivals taking a tour together.

“A’ight. You can come.”

“Can we go now? I’m dying to see the pool close up and everything else.”

“Okay.”

“Let me get some shoes.”

He glanced up to see her make a beeline for the bedroom, just as he’d shoved a hunk of cheese into his mouth. She came back into the room in just seconds with shoes in one hand and a small purse in the other.

This girl was like a whirlwind, changing on a dime. She was sure going to keep him on his toes and he wasn’t complaining.

He swallowed his snack, figuring she was ready to go. “Let me throw on a jacket so I look presentable.”

She nodded and he made his way toward the closet, hoping the jacket still rolled up inside his bag wouldn’t be too wrinkled.

Inside the closet, he spotted the safe. The jacket would give him the added benefit of being able to hide the Glock at his back. He unlocked the box and drew out the holster and gun.
 

Call him crazy, but he’d feel better knowing it was with him and not locked in a safe where he couldn’t get to it.

Happy with that plan, he kneeled down and unzipped his pack. He found his shaving bag on top of his jacket and remembered he’d most likely run into their hosts at this party. He figured he’d better shave.

With the kit in hand, he stood and popped his head around the closet door to say to Darci, “Give me one minute to run a razor over my face and then we can go.”
 

“Sure.”

“It’s early for the Welcome Party yet, but we can take a look around the property and then head to the pool.” He talked as he made his way to the bathroom.
 

“Sounds good.” She was sure easy to please today.

Then again, they were in paradise. What was there not to be pleased about? He could think of one thing that would make his trip a bit better, and it involved that big bed and the woman waiting on him.

Shoving that pointless thought out of his mind, he unzipped the shaving case and halted when he saw what was inside.

A strip of condoms and a note. Chris picked up the small piece of paper and read his brother’s familiar scrawl.

Just in case. Have fun
.

Fucking Brody. Now Chris would never get his mind off sex.

Shoving the note and the condoms deep into his shaving bag below all the stuff he’d packed, Chris started to search for his razor. When he found it he glanced into the mirror and took a long hard look, trying to see himself as Darci did.

Why would a woman like Darci want to be with him? An older man who she’d known for years and always treated like a joker. A guy who’d had a good career once, but hadn’t done shit since retiring except kill time.

Chris sighed. He would be returning Brody’s gift on Sunday, accompanied by a nice hard punch in the gut for even putting the idea into his head that Darci would ever fall for a guy like him.

He shaved quick, only nicking himself once in his haste. Then he shook the wrinkles out of the jacket slipped it on and checked to make sure the holstered gun at his back wasn’t showing.

That was it. This was as good as he was going to get. He opened the bathroom door and found Darci sitting in a chair watching the waves outside. “Ready. We can go.”

She jumped up, a wide smile on her face. “Yay.”

He couldn’t stop from smiling at her enthusiasm.

Hell, if all it took to make this woman happy was to let her walk the property with him, he’d take her on as many walks as she wanted. It probably wouldn’t get him
everything
he wanted from her, but just seeing her smile was good enough.

CHAPTER 11

As they stepped from the path that led from their room, and onto the stones surrounding the pool, Chris leaned low. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m nervous.” Annoyed at his observance, and at her body’s reaction that she couldn’t seem to control, she still remembered to keep her voice low so no one nearby would hear.

“Don’t be.” He offered her his arm. She didn’t know how he could be so calm.

“Easy for you to say.” Mumbling the response, she took his offered forearm, gripping him tight with both hands.

She felt how solidly he was built, but even holding on didn’t stop her from worrying she wouldn’t be able to pull this off.

Chris had already explained the story Mr. Collins had told his family. As far as she was aware, he didn’t know how to act like some corporate mogul’s protégé any more than she knew how to play the girlfriend of one, so why wasn’t he as nervous as she was?

He squeezed her hand on his arm. “It’s going to be easy. Just follow my lead.”

That was pretty much all she knew how to do. Cling to Chris’s arm and follow him wherever he led her.

It seemed her nerves had erased everything else from her brain. She was lucky she could put one foot in front of the other and still form a sentence.

He led them toward a table where red fruity-looking drinks were already poured and set out for guests to take. He lifted two and, facing her, handed her one. She took a sip and tasted the cold sweetness of the drink slide over her tongue.

She noticed he didn’t drink his, only held it. From this close, she could see him visually scanning the area from behind his sunglasses. “Is everything okay?”

 
He smiled and gazed down at her. Resting his arm on her shoulders, he led her away from the table. “Everything is great. Our host and hostess are the older couple standing by the food table—Howard and Laura Collins. The younger couple with them is the bride and groom. They are Margaret, aka Maggie, and Matthew, the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly.”