Fire and Ash (Immortal Touch) (11 page)

“My ex?” She traced a pattern on her frosty glass. “What do you want to know?”

“What happened between you?”

“I wish I knew. One minute everything’s fine and dandy, the next he’s off banging some twenty-year-old.”

“Huh. So how
’d you find out? Did you catch them together?” He’d be willing to wager his bank account that any man caught in the act of running around on Samara Porter would have his balls handed back to him in a plastic bag.

“No. It was just…this huge mess. It’s complicated.” She shook her head and sipped her drink.

“And you think this guy - what’s his name - might be the one making those calls to you?”

“Rick.” Her hands fidgeted with the linen napkin. “His name is Rick. Maybe it’s him, I don’t know. If it keeps up I’ll
just have my number changed. I hate to do that though - I’ve had the same number for six years.”

His eyes rested on the two tiny, almost indistinguishable marks he’d left on her shoulder. So tiny she probably hadn’t even noticed them. “Are you afraid of him, Sam
i?”

What she said next was completely and
effectively the last thing he’d expected to hear from her.

“Yes. I
guess I am. You see, the girl he was cheating on me with…she sort of turned up dead.”

~*~*~*~

“Didn’t I tell you it was good?”

Sami put down her empty glass and smiled. One daiquiri, one Rum Runner and dinner on top of that. She felt like a stuffed flounder herself. “You did. I gotta admit, you didn’t steer me wrong.” Her words were a little slurred. Was she really buzzed from two drinks? Yikes.

Ash slid some bills into the guest check holder and dropped it on the table. “You up for a walk on the beach? Work off some of this food?”

“
Okay.” Sure, why not. A walk was just a walk. It wasn’t as if he’d try to make it with her on a public beach with other people around. Would he? No, of course not.

They made their way down to the beach behind the Royal Marlin, pausing long enough to remove their shoes
and leave them beneath an empty rental chair. Ash assured her that nobody was likely to swipe them. And what did he care if they did? The cost of a pair of shoes was nothing to him.

When he reached for her hand she permitted it, only because it helped to steady her. She was feeling a
bit lightheaded from those drinks. Maybe two was one too many. She’d always been a lightweight when it came to drinking.

They splashed along the shore in silence for a while, leaving
footprints behind in the wet sand that filled in almost immediately. She loved the tranquil sound of the tide coming in at night. You could hear it so much better then, uninterrupted by the noise from crowds of sunbathing tourists. The sea breeze tonight was cool, almost chilly.

“Do you swim?”
he asked, breaking the silence.

“In a pool, yeah. I swim like a fish.”

“Not in the ocean?”

“I don’t like to go that far out. I have this thing about sharks.
Didn’t you ever see
Jaws
?”

He laughed. “Who hasn’t?”

“I’ll just stick to a nice chlorine or salt water pool, thank you very much. Nothing swimming around in there is liable to take a bite out of me.”

“
You never know.”

“You kinda remind me of a shark.”

“Yeah? How do you figure that?”

“I dunno. You just do.” He’d kept his word to be nice tonight so far, so she wouldn’t tell him that she pictured him as a predator. A ruthless sexual predator who gobbled up women like minnows.

“You’re a hard one to read, Sam-I-Am.” His fingers, entwined in hers, tightened their grip slightly. “Okay, so I wasn’t going to pressure you in the restaurant. But are you going to finish telling me about Rick the cheater and his dead mistress?”

Oh. That. Where did she even begin? “It happened here.”

“Here, where?”

“At the
Jade Palms, actually.”

His head snapped to the side and he stared at her in astonishment, but said nothing.

“She was staying there with Rick. He was supposed to be here auditioning for a gig with his band, only I couldn’t go with him because my grandmother had just passed away and I was helping arrange her funeral. Guess he didn’t want to go alone. Anyhow, she…um, supposedly she got really drunk and fell from the balcony. There wasn’t any foul play suspected or anything since the band members all verified that Rick was with them when it happened.”

“Is there some reason for you to think otherwise?” Ash
watched her expression carefully.

“I don’t know. Rick never seemed
like the violent type before…but then he starts drunk-dialing me and saying some oddball stuff. Like, he would start crying and saying Paisley’s death wasn’t an accident, that she was murdered. Then he’d start getting
really
weird. He’d just keep saying the same thing over and over. ‘It was me but it wasn’t me. It was me but it wasn’t me.’ I never told anyone what he said. Maybe I should’ve, but at the time it just seemed to me like he was losing it because of everything that happened. Between her death and me breaking our engagement, he was drinking himself into a coma. And I couldn’t honestly believe he had it in him to hurt anyone.

“
But still, I couldn’t get it off my mind. So I drove down here, checked into the Palms and asked around - discreetly, of course. Everyone I talked to pretty much had the same story. It was an accident, no one was with her when it happened, yada yada yada. Anyway, while I was here I took the opportunity to pass around a few resumés on the off chance someone might be hiring, since I was suddenly unemployed on top of everything else. Plus, I needed to get away from there. Away from Rick. Start over fresh.”

“And here you are.” His voice was filled with awe. “That’s
a hell of a story, Sami. If it makes you feel any better, I heard the same thing you did…the girl was alone when she fell and her blood alcohol level was pretty high. I really don’t think you have anything to worry about. The police would’ve already arrested Rick if they had any reason to suspect him.”

“You’re probably right.” She was beginning to feel better about the whole thing. People said screwy things when they were drinking. It was more than likely a guilt complex putting
strange ideas in his head. Maybe he blamed himself for Paisley’s death because he hadn’t been there to keep an eye on her. “You know what, I’m just glad to be free of all that. Glad to be here.”

“You like it here?”

“Are you kidding? I
love
it here.”

“Good to know. Stuart
’s been raving about you, by the way. He thinks you’re the best thing to come along since sliced bread.”

“
Well, I’m flattered. Does that mean job security for me?”

“You’re doing fine. You don’t have to worry about job security.”

“So…I don’t need to worry about you firing me after you realize you’re never going to get into my pants?” She said it jokingly, but it wasn’t a joke. Not to her. She didn’t want her newfound happiness blown to bits when the king of condos had a conniption fit because he didn’t get something he wanted.

Furrowing his brow, Ash gazed off into the distance at the
infinite ocean of dark water. “Is that what you think? That I’d have you fired if you didn’t give it up? Damn, Sami, you really do have a jacked up opinion of me. I already told you, I don’t mix business with pleasure. Your work ethic is exemplary. You have nothing to worry about.”

She released a
sigh of relief, almost ready to admit that maybe, just
maybe
, she’d misjudged him. But it was still too early to yield to that conclusion. Way too early. Reluctantly, she suggested, “Maybe we should head back. I’ve been feeling kinda tired all day.”

“All right.” They turned around and started walking back in the direction of the restaurant. The lights from the rows of high
-rise condominiums illuminated the night, a romantically modern version of candles in the dark. The rush of the waves lulled her into blissfulness, cool foamy water washing over her toes while they dug themselves happily into the smooth wet sand. Stress and tension melted like ice to be consumed by the vastness of the aquatic paradise. She never wanted to leave this place. She’d found her niche in the world.

“Have you always lived in
Panama City, Ash?” Her question was directed quietly so as not to intrude on the ocean’s lullaby.

“Not always. I was born
in the area, though. For a while I lived in Camden, among other places. Jekyll Island…Cape Charles…Southport…”

“Always near the ocean,” she noticed.

“Always. I like it best here. This seems more like home to me.”

“You don’t have
much of a southern accent.”

“No, I
guess I don’t.” He didn’t bother to elaborate.

“How long have you been back?”

“Not that long. Maybe four years.”

“
Mm. This is too weird.”

“What is?”

“Having a civilized conversation with you. I didn’t think it was possible.”

“And the claws come out again.” He grinned over at her. “Your buzz wearing off?”

“Nope, not yet.” She paused to uncover a sand dollar, and seeing that it was broken tossed it back into the water.

“I take it you’re ready for some
un
civilized behavior then?” The hand holding hers moved quickly, twisting her arm behind her back and using it to pull her firmly against his muscular body. “This is what you want. You know it is. Why don’t you save us both a lot of time and just admit it. You. Want.
Me.
”

Sami pulled away and struggled to keep her breathing even. Her heart felt like it
wanted to drill right through her chest. Even Rick had never elicited such an intense reaction out of her, and the revelation was alarming. “I should have known! You can’t even pretend to act like a gentleman for very long, can you?”

“I never said I was a gentleman.”

“News flash, stud monkey - you’re not my type.”

“If you say so.” He looked pretty darn confident regardless. “There are still twenty-nine days left. Is it really worth it to you? Tossing and turning every night out of sheer sexual frustration, denying your body what it’s aching for until the need literally becomes painful…just to win a bet?”

“I don’t toss and turn at night!”

“You will tonight, sweetheart.” The vain smugness in his voice was maddening.

“I can pretty much guarantee you I’ll sleep like a baby,” she retorted, sounding a lot more certain of that than she felt.

“Sure you will. Like a baby
- up every two hours. Well, if you find yourself unable to tolerate the ache anymore, you know where to find me, don’t you?”

CHAPTER SIX

At the sound of the rap on the door, Eva turned to give Julian one last anxious look. Her nerves were on edge over this prearranged meeting and having no idea what to expect made it so much worse.

He cupped her chin in his hand and smiled encouragingly. “Don’t be afraid, love. You know you’re safe with me.
Now remember what we talked about. As little information as possible, right?”

Nodding, she
clenched her fists and waited breathlessly while he opened the door.

“Julian Winter? Pleasure to meet you...Asher Reid.”

The glimpse she caught of the man from her spot behind Jules was enough to calm her jangled nerves, and she released the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding, feeling silly for having been so worried. A beast hadn’t entered their suite, just a man - well, yes, a vampire to be precise - but he certainly didn’t look like the wild-eyed caricature of Bela Lugosi she’d half expected. He was attractive, clean-cut, dressed casually but elegantly in khakis and a golf shirt. A mental image of Bela Lugosi swinging a nine iron on a fairway sprang absurdly into her mind.

Relax, Eva…

Then again, maybe she had a right to be on her guard. Especially when she stopped to consider Edan Guthrie. He’d seemed perfectly auspicious, too.

His blue eyes caught sight of her, and he hurried over to take her hand in his. “And this
must be our new arrival!” To her surprise, he gallantly pressed his lips to her hand. “Miss Spencer. What a charming addition you’ll make to our group. I hope you’re adjusting well.”

“As well as can be expected, thank you. Won’t you come sit down?” She motioned to the
sofa and love seat in the condo’s living room. “Can I get you a drink?”

“
That’s very considerate of you,” he said as he headed for the love seat. She noticed he carried a laptop under one arm. “But no, I wouldn’t care for anything, thank you. How are you finding your accommodations?”

“Oh, they’re lovely. But it really wasn’t necessary for you to cover our expenses,” she responded. Julian settled beside her on the sofa, watching their visitor warily.
She could feel that he was tense, but didn’t understand why. Their host seemed normal enough. He’d already put her at ease.