Billionaire's Island Bride (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) (8 page)

But she had to
prepare for the worst.  As she signed the papers she thought of the tiny life
growing inside her.  ‘Don’t you worry, little one,” she whispered silently. 
‘You and me, we’ll make it together.”

***

“Dare.  Are you
with me, man?”

Dare dragged his
eyes back into focus and stared across his desk at the grinning man.

“You’ve been out
of it lately,” his long-time friend and business associate said with a laugh.  "If
I didn’t know you I’d say you were in love.” 

Dare frowned at
him but said nothing.  The statement did not warrant an answer.  Bart knew
him.  He had no time for women, least of all the money-hungry kind.  There were
always plenty of those around.  He had his pick.  The problem was, he wanted
none of them.  But there was one woman he could not get off his mind.  A
slender woman with chestnut hair that curled around her heart-shaped face, a
woman with hazel eyes that flashed with the fire of her passion.  Bart was
right.  There was something wrong with him.  He was not in love but damn it, he
was obsessed.  He could not get Erin out of his mind.  “Sorry about that,” Dare
growled then pulled his chair close to the desk.  “Let’s get back to the
business at hand.”

“Cool.”  Bart ran
his fingers through his spiky blonde hair then tilted the chair back until it
looked dangerously close to tipping over.  “It’s a sweet deal.  You can’t pass
up on this one.  I got a tip on it.  Going real cheap, considering.”

“You're sure?”
Dare admired his friend’s ability to find great real estate deals.  Bart found
the deals and he financed them.  That was how he’d acquired resorts on four
other islands.

“Trust me, man. 
You can’t lose out on this one.”  Bart leaned forward, his face earnest.  “I
can sniff out a deal a hundred miles away.  You know I’m good at that.”

He was.  Dare
could not deny it.  Working together they’d become billionaires in the real
estate business, buying up resorts in the Caribbean and condos in the United
States and Canada then renovating and selling them for far more than they’d
invested.

“This one’s big
though, Bart.”  Dare watched the other man intently.  “My biggest investment
yet.”

“The one you’re
going to make the most money on,” Bart responded.

“But I'm paying
almost full price for this one.”

“You can buy this
resort ‘as is’.  You’ll be filling it with guests in no time.  Guaranteed.”

“We’ll see,” Dare
said.  Then, against his will, his mind drifted to other things like the heat
that coursed through him every time he thought of curly-haired Erin.  It was no
use.  He couldn't concentrate.  “Let’s call it a day,” he said and got up. 
“I’ve got some other business to take care of.”

“Why is my mind
telling me it’s got something to do with a woman?”  Bart was giving him that
Cheshire Cat grin again.

“Go home, Bart.” 
Dare walked over to the door and held it open.  “This one's got nothing to do
with you.”  He softened his statement with a brief smile.

“Alright, my boy. 
But if you need any advice you know who to call.”

It would be a dark
day before Dare turned to Bart for advice on women.  The man had married and
divorced three times already.  Still, he chuckled.  “I’ll bear that in mind.”

After Bart left
Dare walked over to the large bay window that looked out onto the ocean
breaking against the shore.  He crossed his arms and as he stared out onto the
blue water his mind, as it had done so many times over the past few months,
went back to Erin Samuels.

He’d pulled the
hotel records and checked her out.  Erin Samuels, student at Canucka College in
Vancouver, Canada.  Her home address was recorded as well as her cell phone
number and e-mail address.  For emergency contact she’d conspicuously left it
blank.  She probably didn’t want her family being informed of her antics while
on spring break.  She could have any number of reasons.  He’d seen guests leave
out that portion before.

So he'd had all
her information for the past three and a half months and he’d done absolutely
nothing with it.  Wimp.  He grimaced as he berated himself inwardly.  He wanted
to see Erin Samuels again.

Dare gave a bitter
laugh.  He knew what she was but he’d held out long enough.  He had to see her
again, if even for the sole purpose of getting her out of his system.  First
order of business, he'd get his P.I. to check everything out, make sure she was
still at the location in the file.  Then he'd go there himself.

His mind made up,
he went over to the desk and pressed the intercom.

“Yes, Mr.
DeSouza.”  Cool and efficient, the voice of his personal assistant crackled
through the speakers.

"Book me on a
flight to Vancouver, please.  I want to fly in day after tomorrow.”

“Very well, Mr.
DeSouza.  Consider it done.”  Always discreet, Claudia didn’t ask for any
further details.  She knew he would tell her all she needed to know.

Satisfied, Dare
grabbed his keys and headed for the door.  Erin Samuels was in for quite a
surprise.

CHAPTER FIVE

Erin’s first day
on the job was a whirlwind of activity.  The party of twenty-two showed up at
one o’clock and after that there was a steady stream customers so that by the
time the restaurant closed at ten o’clock that night she was worn to a near
frazzle.  How was she going to keep up with this pace, pregnant as she was?

She’d rejoiced at
the job offer and she’d appreciated it.  Really, she had.  But what she hadn’t
anticipated was to be on her feet for twelve hours at a stretch with only two
fifteen minute breaks and a half an hour for lunch.

That night when
she got home, despite her best intentions, she was too tired to tackle step two
in her plan - look for a cheaper apartment.  She needed to move as soon as
possible but her search would have to wait one more day.

Day two was almost
as busy as the first.  Benny’s Restaurant was clearly a popular destination for
all three meals of the day.  From the moment Erin got to the restaurant she was
kept running back and forth between the kitchen and the tables.  Now she
realized why ‘Yogi Bear’ as she’d come to think of him had hired her on the
spot.  She’d learned he’d lost a server the day before and clearly he had too
much business to be short-staffed.

The work was
tiring but her greatest consolation was the tips.  She was almost collecting
enough in tips as she would from her salary.  Yet another perk of working at a
restaurant and one she was so grateful for.  She was saving every cent of it
for the time when she’d need it most.

By nine o’clock
that night the ache in Erin’s feet turned to numbness and she kept glancing at
the clock, willing it to speed up toward closing time.  The crowd in the
restaurant had thinned out with just a few diners lingering for dessert and
coffee.  Those, she could handle.  With a sigh she was turning toward a high
stool by the counter, intending to rest her feet for a minute, when a man, tall
and dark-haired in a dark, immaculately tailored suit, walked in.

Erin frowned,
feeling a twinge of recognition, and then her heart lurched as she recognized
the man who filled the doorway.  She could never forget those steel-gray eyes,
eyes that now held her transfixed.  It was Dare.

Suddenly feeling
faint, Erin grabbed for the counter and held on.  What was he doing here?  He
was from another time, another life.  How in the world had he ended up at the
very restaurant where she was working, thousands of miles from Santa Marta?  He
hadn’t come looking for her, had he?  He was walking toward her now, his eyes
never leaving hers, and she stumbled back against the counter then froze. 
There was nowhere to run.

Why had he come? 
To insult her again?  To throw her wantonness in her face?  Her breath caught
in her throat, her anxiety rising, knowing that his appearance could only mean
trouble.

Dare was right in
front of her now, looking down at her as if the two of them were the only
people in the place.

“Erin Samuels.  We
meet again.”  His lips curled in a sardonic smile as he rested a hand on the
counter beside her, trapping her into a corner.

“Dare, what are
you doing here?”  Her voice was little more than a strained whisper.  She was
fighting to regain her composure but his nearness, the earthy fragrance of his
cologne, were overwhelming her senses.  At that moment all she wanted to do was
lean into him, feel his hard body against hers, have his arms wrapped around
her.  But it would not happen, it could not. Not when he despised her so much.

That thought
ripped her out of her trance.  Dare hated her.  He’d used her then thrown her
out of his bed.  Now he’d strolled back into her life thinking she would do
what?  Swoon and throw herself at him again?  He must be out of his mind.  She
glared up at him as he towered over her.  “Excuse me but I have to get back to
work.”  Her voice was as cool as the steel of his eyes.  “I’m sure there is
someone else who can assist you."  If he thought she was going to serve
him he’d better think again.

She stepped around
him, intent on putting as much distance as possible between them.

His hand shot out,
halting her flight.  “Not so fast, honey.  We need to talk.  When you finish working
I’ll be waiting.  Over there.”  He jerked his chin toward an empty booth by the
window.  Without another word he released her and walked away.

For a second Erin
could only stare.  The nerve of him.  We need to talk?  About what?  Apart from
one night of mind-blowing sex there was nothing that existed between them. 
Absolutely nothing for them to talk about.  And then she remembered.  The
baby.  How in the name of heaven had he found out about the baby?  That had to
be the reason why he’d suddenly stomped back into her life.  And what was he
planning to do about it?

She gasped as a
thought flashed into her mind.  Had he come to demand that she terminate her
pregnancy?

Blindly, she
stumbled into the kitchen and leaned against the counter to catch her breath.

“Hey, are you
alright?” Mildred, the sous chef, approached her, a look of concern on her
face.  “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“N…no.  I’m fine,”
she whispered then sucked in a deep breath. 
Come on, Erin.  You’re stronger
than this.
  She lifted her head and gave Mildred a smile.  “It just got a
bit too hot out there.  I’m okay now.  Are any trays ready?”

Mildred pointed to
a tray laden with cups and a pot of coffee.  “Table sixteen.”  She shook her
head.  “Thank God the day is almost over.”

Those last thirty
minutes of her workday were the hardest of her life.  Out of the corner of her
eye she could see Dare sitting in the far booth, a glass and a bottle of wine
in front of him.  She’d moved with feigned ease, serving the customers, chatting
with them and laughing where appropriate.  But she could feel Dare’s eyes burning
into her.  As discreetly as she could she slipped a paper napkin into her hand
and turned away to dab at the perspiration beading her brow.  She would never
let him see her sweat.

As it neared ten
o’clock Erin sidled into the kitchen then headed for the changing room.  Moving
swiftly, she shed her uniform and donned her street clothes then grabbed her
purse.  Tonight she would not leave through the front door as she normally did. 
She almost giggled as she thought of Dare waiting patiently for her return. 
He’d have a long wait.

She bid her
farewell and slipped out the back door that led into a dingy alleyway then she
hurried up the path and out to the main road where she took off, walking at a
brisk pace.

She heard the purr
of an engine and looked up just in time to see an ink-black Mercedes Benz
convertible pull up beside her.

“Get in.” Dare was
scowling at her and his tone brooked no argument.

“I…don’t need a
ride,” she said, clutching her purse tightly to her chest.  “I’m fine.”

She was backing
away when his voice, clipped and cold, stopped her.  “Don’t make me come get
you.  I’ll lift you up and throw you in here if I have to.”

Erin froze.  Then
she slowly approached the car.  He would do it.  She could see it in his eyes. 
This time, she knew, it was best to give in.  With a sigh she pulled the door
open and slipped into the passenger seat. 

She hadn’t even
settled in before he took off down the road, making her whip around to stare at
him.  “Where are you taking me?” she demanded.

“Home.”

“But…you don’t
even know where I live.”

He didn’t even
bother to respond.  That was all the answer she needed.  He did know.  Was he
having her watched?  Had he been spying on her ever since she’d returned to
Canada?  Erin’s heart pounded at the thought.  He knew she was pregnant.  He
knew where she lived.  What else did he know about her?  Did he know about her
past, too?

That thought was
sobering, so much so that it left her at a loss for words.  She’d meant to
blast him with her rage, demand an explanation, but she could not.  She was too
worried about how much he knew.