Somewhere I'll Find You (8 page)

What in the hell does a man have to do to get a bit of time with her? 
He cursed twice, each epithet rising in volume as it left his lips.

Two men frowned at him while a woman in a backless gown giggled.

Ignoring them to the best of his abilities, Michael saw a familiar face and caught her wrist.  “Serena?  Come and talk to me.”

“You found her, I see.”

“Oh, I believe I did, yes.  In fact, I’ve got the wounds to prove it.”

Serena patted his hand gently.  “Sorry, Michael, I’m afraid that Paige can be a bit prickly.”

“Prickly isn’t exactly the word that I would use,” he grumbled.

“It hasn’t been easy for her, you know.”  She paused; when she spoke again, Serena’s voice became soft with sympathy.  “She’s young, lovely, and very honest.  That’s a difficult combination in this business.  She’s put up with a lot of . . . nonsense to get where she is. Half of the men here behave as if a woman should remain barefoot and pregnant.”

Michael cocked a brow, his lips sliding into an ironic smile.  “You mean that they shouldn’t?”

“Repulsive insect!”  Serena laughed as she slapped at his fingers.  “I happen to know you’re one of the most open-minded males I’ve ever met.”

Tucking her hand in the crook of his arm, Michael’s face inched forward.  “Tell me about her, Serena.”

“Paige was on holiday when we first met.  She was on some sort of scholarship for the summer, catching some writing classes at University.  We hit it off, ran the usual tourist deal and then one day she just . . . slipped away.  I thought that she’d met some chap and gone off for a little fun. The next I heard, she was in hospital and soon after moved to California.” Pausing, her eyes searched Michael’s face.  “Look, she’s not one of your usual runway beauties o
r overindulged actress.  She’s n
ice and she’s vulnerable.  Leave her alone.”  Serna’s voice grew surprisingly hard.

Spotting Paige in the throng, Michael frowned as Richard Severance slipped an arm about Paige’s slender waist.  When he laughed, and it seemed to Michael that the man laughed a great deal, he saw amazingly white teeth.  “What about
him?
”

Serena turned.  “Richard?  Oh, there was something between them once.  I didn’t ask and Paige never said.”

Michael watched as Paige’s slender back disappeared through the doorway, and Richard was left standing alone. Slowly, Michael shook his head.  He would be a damned fool to pursue this any further.  Dream or no dream, Paige O’Neal could complicate his life in ways he’d never thought of.

Turning his attention back to Serena, he murmured softly, “I heard a saying once.  Pity any man who trusts a clever woman, for she’ll drive him mad and leave him howling at the moon.” 
Especially, Michael thought
if the woman had hair as soft as satin and burning amber eyes.

Serena touched his cheek. “Maybe with the right woman, howling could be fun.”

“About as much fun as taking a slug in the leg,” Michael muttered.  He knew because he’d done it.  More than once.  “Where is she going?” he asked tightly. 
She might complicate my life
, but I can’t just let it go at that.  I’ve come too far.

Tilting her head, Serena gazed at him thoughtfully.  “Why all the questions?  Michael, you and I have known each other for years, and never have I seen you show this much interest in a woman.  In
any
woman.”

He wasn’t about to explain that he was chasing a dream. 
A dream that is swiftly turning into a nightmare.
“Let’s just say that we have things in common.  Things that are better left between she and I.”  His eyes seemed to burn as he continued to stare at Serena.  “Where is she going?”

“Forget it. You’ll never find her.”  Serena’s eyes gleamed with warning while her lips pursed tightly.

Michael ground his teeth, and the urgency
that
lit his voice before
,
suddenly doubled itself as his gut screamed of danger he was too familiar
with to ignore.  It
had
s
omething to do with Paige
. B
ut what
was it
?  He had to know, had to find her – had to figure all of this bloody mess out!  “Please, Serena, I won’t charm her, I won’t push her.  I just need a chance to talk with her somewhere private.  I promise, I’m not about to hurt her.”

Something in the tone of his voice cut through Serena’s obvious reluctance.  “I don’t suppose you’d care to be more specific.”

“Sorry, Serena, I can’t.”

“You promise you won’t be a pest?”  There was genuine concern as she looked into Michael’s face.

“Who
,
me?”  He gave her his best imitation of an innocent look.

“Yes, you!” she insisted, slapping at his hand.

“I promise on my honor as a good Etonian.”  Mockingly, he crossed himself.

“Etonians don’t
have
any honor, only a universe full of charm.  Dangerous charm.”  Serena had been involved with enough of them to know.

Michael frowned.  “If I have
any charm, Ms. O’Neal didn’t appear
to see it.”

“Didn’t fall for you?”  There was an amused chuckle that bubbled in Serena’s throat.  “Come to think of it, that could be a unique experience for you.”  Smothering another giggle behind her hand, Serena continued, “She’s probably half way to her little cottage in Malibu by now.  She always goes there after a party; she says it helps her keep her balance, whatever that means.  If I know her, Paige will go there for a bit, and maybe change before she takes the drive to that awful house of hers on Mulholland
– you can’t miss it
.
  It’s the one that the old actor, Erik what’s-his-name, used to live in.  If you get lost, stop and ask.  Anyone will know how to get you there.
”
  Scrawling the address on a tiny slip of paper, she handed it to him a moment later.

“Thanks, my dearest Serena.”  Placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, Michael grinned as he pocketed the address and moved toward the door.

And now I have you, Ms. O’Neal
, he thought smugly.

* * * *

Frowning, Paige trudged up the drive to the lawn skirting her home.  She had spent the last two weeks at her cottage
by the sea
, needing the peace and serenity that she only found there.  Looking at the large mansion that loomed in front of her, she wondered if the house was worth the trouble.  True, it was a thing of beauty, and one she had restored back to its last stick of furniture.  But the upkeep and the cost of insurance was enough to give her pause, turning a dream into a nightmare.  And yet there was magic in that old house and its well-kept grounds.  A magic that for all of her talent she had never been able to explain.

Then Paige noticed someone coming up the drive.  Some instinct had her sliding behind an Olive tree so that she could watch unobserved.  A dashing tuxedoed form ra
n
from his car just as the first fat drops of rain began to fall.  She was close enough to see the slash of dark hair that curved down over his eyes, but in the sudden gloom of the storm, Paige couldn’t make out more than that. 
Except
that,
he looked cool, quiet, and dangerous.

Then he turned, and Paige felt her breath catch.

Michael Sinclair?  How had
he
gotten her address? 
She stepped over gravel, not even bothering to smile.  “What do
you
want?”

One dark brow arched.  “How about shelter from the storm?”

“I’m waiting
,
Mr. Sinclair.”  Paige had little use for peerage in general and she certainly wasn’t going to make an exception for him.

Michael sighed.  “Is it so hard to believe that I just want to take you to
supper
?”

Her slender brow arched while she eased a hand inside the pocket of her jeans.  “You expect me to believe that you chased me all the way here, just to take me to
dinner
?  I will give you credit for being original.  Now, wh
at is it that you really want?” 
Thick drops of rain continued to plop, something of which she seemed to take little notice.

Michael flicked water from his dark hair.  “At the moment
,
I just want inside and out of the bloody rain.”

Sighing, she slid her key inside the heavy lock, swinging the door carefully open.  “I suppose I can’t let you drive back down with this storm brewing.  But once it stops . . .”

“By then
,
we’ll be the best of chums, Ms. O’Neal.”
  He assured her, with a self-confident grin that made her want to strike him.

“Don’t bet on it.”

He followed her to the living room,
speaking up
when s
he moved towards the fireplace. 
“Here, allow me.  Perhaps while I get a fire going
,
you could . . . fix a brandy.   It’s damned chilly in here.”

Emitting a low growl, Paige stepped aside. 
Odd that I don’t notice a chill . . . good God, I hope that he’s not ill.

Still, it was interesting, watching the play of muscles when he started a fire from the stacks of applewood logs.  She had to admit, the sound of the crackling fire was soothing against the sound of rain spattering against the windows.  It had been a long time since Paige had entertained guests.  Even longer
since,
she had been alone with a man.

W
hen he turned from the fire, he
felt her dark eyes watching him, suspicion flickering behind them.  “Why don’t you like me?” he asked quietly, attempting to quash the wistful note he was certain she could hear in his voice.  “You don’t even know me, yet.”

It was a question to which she had no answer.  She knew Serena would never have allowed him anywhere near her if he wasn’t everything he seemed.  And yet . . . and yet there was something about him that filled her with caution to say the least.
  She glowered at him. 
“And I’m not going to. As soon as this squall has passed, I want you on your way.”

“You still haven’t answered my question.  My credentials are excellent.  If you would like you can always confirm them with Commander Carver.”  Moving towards her, he found a snifter shoved into his hand while she moved away.
 
Damn. 
Carver’s name – and with it, the proof that he knew at least a little of her past, had been his last ace, and it had scared her away, not into accepting him as he’d hoped.
 

Unable to speak, Paige found she was having trouble even breathing at the mention of Carver’s name.  Furthermore, the guards she had in place against the thoughts of others fell down around her.  Without the distraction of the crowds at the museum, Michael’s thoughts bombarded her until they threatened to consume her.  Helpless against them, she let the emotions come.  Anger, suspicion, and something she couldn’t name, all mingled in him so strongly that they were almost tangible.