Holiday in Danger (3 page)

A seventeen-year-old Holly had ogled that ink every chance she could get. But instead of lanky limbs, the dragon now covered impressive muscles.

Holly cleared her throat. Two gorgeous sculpted hunks of men. Live and in the flesh. It was enough to turn any woman’s legs to jelly. She didn’t even know where to look.

As she tried to smile hello, Trent frowned. He grabbed a towel and rubbed the water off his body like he needed a good sanding. His face turned stony and impassive. Did he not want her here?

She cleared her throat. “If staying in the guest house is a problem, I’m sure I can—”

“It’s not.” Ian interrupted her with a smile. “Don’t let the grouch over there fool you. He just needs to relax. Right, Trent?”

He grunted a reply.
Great
.

“Ignore him. He just skipped dinner.” Ian reached out and took her by the arm. The moist pressure of his fingers had Holly tensing to avoid a shiver. “How about I give you a tour? The main house has an enormous kitchen. It’s a baker’s dream.”

Holly swallowed. “I could make a cake if you’d like.”

Ian’s lips twitched and he leaned close. “I’d love to taste it as long as it’s not all over me. And I bet if you made one, Grumpy might even crack a smile.”

Holly stifled a laugh and glanced behind her. Trent stood at the edge of the pool, brows knitted as he stared at her and Ian. “I’m not sure, he seems pretty mad.”

“Then you better put some liquor in it. You can do that, right?”

Holly grinned. “How’s bourbon chocolate delight sound?”

“Dangerous.” He grinned and reached for the handle to the back door. “Come on, let’s start the tour.”

* * *

TRENT

“This is a terrible idea.” Trent stalked back and forth behind the couch and rolled his shoulders. He needed Ian to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Relax. There’s nothing to get so worked up over.”

“Someone should.”

Ian leaned back on the soft brown leather. “Why? Because you don’t get the guest house? Come on. There are plenty of rooms for you choose from here in the main house.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Then what the hell has your panties in a bunch?”

Trent popped his knuckles. “It’s not safe for a woman like that to be here. Not with what’s going on.”

“You can’t be serious. First of all, there’s nothing going on. Second of all, it’s Holiday. She lived next door to me for years. Shit, you mowed her damn lawn.”

Trent scrubbed his face. “Times have changed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Trent pinned him with a stare. “She’s not safe here. It was one thing when I had to keep track of you. But her, too? It’s not a good idea.”

Ian scoffed. “What happened to being the best in the business? Or does that only apply when your client’s got a dick?”

“Don’t be an asshole, Ian.”

“Then don’t be so uptight. You’re here to relax. Take a load off and have a damn vacation.”

Trent narrowed his eyes. “No. I’m here because someone’s harassing you. If you don’t figure out who it is, it will escalate. Trust me.”

He couldn’t make heads or tails of Ian’s attitude. He’d hired him for security. Ian wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t understand the risk. But now? Trent paced toward the window and turned around. Did one look at Holiday really make Ian think with his libido instead of his brain?

Ian stretched out on the couch like he didn’t have a care in the world. “So I’ve gotten a few threatening emails. So what? I called you so we could relax and catch up.”

“Then you shouldn’t have hired me.”

“How else would I get you to come?”

Trent bristled, but the man had a point. Trent was all business these days. Gone was the brooding teenager who cared more about a good time than a good job. The Army had straightened him out. Put him on the right path. Now security was his business. He figured out threats before they turned into problems. Ian needed him, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

His friend rolled his eyes and pushed himself up to stand. “Come on, we’ll throw a few parties. Have a guys’ week. You can find the source of the emails and that will be that.”

Unbelievable. If he’d known how Ian would blow off the job the minute a sexy woman entered the picture, he’d never have agreed. Having it be Holiday was a million times worse. How could he concentrate now?

Trent turned toward the windows and stared out at the pool. “It’s a mistake. You shouldn’t have invited her. Not when you’ve got a security issue to deal with. Now you want her baking you a cake? Having dinner? Christ, Ian. What are you thinking?”

Ian poured himself a scotch and capped the bottle. “That she’s a hell of a lot better company than you’ve been the last few days.”

Trent frowned. He’d seen the way Ian leaned in and whispered in Holly’s ear and how he held her arm as they walked away. Good conversation had nothing to do with it. “You just want to get in her pants.”

“And you don’t?”

“You should be thinking about your business. Not Holly.”

Ian flopped on the couch and let out a sigh. “So you’re the only one who gets to multitask?”

Trent spun around. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You heard me. I saw the way you looked at her.”

“Don’t be an asshole.”

“Don’t be a liar. You had a thing for her, didn’t you?”

Trent turned back to the window. “We were kids back then, Ian.” He remembered running through the neighborhood with Holiday. Causing mischief. Having fun. She made him forget his mom and the revolving door of boyfriends, the bounced rent checks, and the empty fridge.

He might have left her to join the Army, but she’d never left his memories.

Ian interrupted his runaway thoughts. “Last time I checked we’re both adults now.” He took a sip of his drink. “And Holly…”

Trent tensed. “What about her?”

“All those curves. Those hips. Don’t tell me you don’t want her.”

“I shouldn’t.” Trent ground his teeth together. He could deny it all he wanted, but it was true. The minute he saw her standing there, shocked and embarrassed as he wiped off the cake…it all came back. “You’re putting her at risk.”

Ian leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “So I’m supposed to stop living while you hunt down this supposed threat? We don’t even know who it is. Or what they want. For all we know, it’s some kid with an iPad and too much free time.”

“Those e-mails read like someone who knows your business. Someone who wants to hurt you where it counts.”

“No one in China’s going to bat an eye at vague rumors or threats.”

“What if that’s just the beginning?”

“Then you’ll take care of it. That’s why you’re here, right?”

Trent raised an eyebrow. “I thought I was here for a vacation.”

Ian grinned. “That too.”

Right
. He walked over to the opposite couch and sat down. “I still think she should leave.”

“Too late. We’re having a party tomorrow night. I’m inviting her.”

Ian leaned back with a smug tilt to his mouth and Trent fought to keep his voice even. “What?”

“A little food, a few drinks. We can see where the night goes.”

Trent clenched a fist. “Holly’s not that kind of girl.”

“That’s the thing. You don’t have any idea what kind of girl she is.”

“I know her.”

“No. You know what she used to be. People change.”

Piss
. As much as he hated to admit it, Ian had a point. He didn’t know Holiday anymore. She could be into crazy sex parties and snorting cocaine off strippers stomachs for all he knew.

The woman who’d dumped a cake all over him didn’t seem like that type of girl. She seemed honest and innocent. Confident but unsure. Sexy as hell.
Damn it.
He needed to get ahold of himself before he did something stupid. Before she distracted him from the job.

Trent pushed himself up to stand. “I’m gonna call it a night. See you in the morning.”

Ian sipped his drink and nodded. “Party starts tomorrow at eight. Don’t be late.”

Trent walked out of the room without another word. He knew that look in Ian’s eyes. It meant he’d set his sights on Holly. And what that man wanted, he usually got.

After all these years, did Holly want him too?

Trent stalked down the hall and swung open the door to his room. He preferred the guest house. His own kitchen. Living room. A place to work without Ian or his staff. He walked over to the window and looked out into the night.

Landscape lighting cast a warm glow over the grounds, illuminating the path to the guest house. If he squinted, he could make out the ocean in the distance. He stared out at the shadows, lost in thought about Ian and Holly and what it all meant, when a guest house light turned on.
Shit
.

Holly appeared in the window—a silhouette in the bright yellow light. Trent knew he should look away, but he couldn’t. The sight of her had him spellbound.

She raised her arms over her head and in moments, her shirt was gone. A shimmy of her hips and her jeans slid to the floor.
Damn
. Her hands reached behind her back and the ghost of a bra peeled off her skin.

Even in shadow she was beautiful. Full, luscious hips. Ample breasts he could stroke for hours. Waist he could wrap his arms around. Gone was the awkward teenager from all those years ago. In her place was a woman who checked all of Trent’s boxes. A woman he’d love to tangle himself up in all night.

In any other situation, he’d be all over her. But the timing was terrible. He should be running away from her instead of toward her. Trent turned from the window and closed his eyes. No matter how sexy, Holly was off-limits. For her own good.

HOLLY

“Y
OU
SHOULD
HAVE
seen him, Hillary.” Holly motioned out a hulking man shape with a batter-covered spatula. “All muscles and wicked smile. He’s…”

“Sexy?”

“Sinful. Better than cake.”

Hillary’s mouth fell open. “He can’t be. Better than your double chocolate? No way.”

Holly grinned. “Maybe not that one. Definitely better than your standard white wedding, though.” She ran the spatula around the edge of the bowl and folded the rest of the batter into the cake pan.

Whenever Holly stressed out or had a dilemma or just a bad day, she baked. Cookies. Brownies. Three-layer cakes. It’s how she’d ended up a dessert chef in LA and shacked up in a crazy guest house in Midnight Cove. She sighed.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. The house is so over the top. It’s got all these rooms. Formal gardens. It’s even got a spa. Who needs a spa in their own house?”

Hillary almost swooned. “Sounds dreamy.”

“It’s just not what I’m about, you know? I never thought Ian was, either.”

“What about Trent?”

Holly snorted. “What about him?”

“Last I heard he was into high-end security.” Hillary put the eggs back in the fridge and talked over the door. “You know, private bodyguard stuff. I can only imagine what that does to a guy.”

Thank God for fridge doors. Otherwise, her best friend would catch her flaming cheeks. At least she knew where he got those arms. “He looked good. But I don’t know. Something’s off. He barely said a word to me outside and then at Ian’s, he seemed upset. Like I was wrecking his visit. I don’t think he wants me there.”

Hillary palmed her apron-clad hips. “Well that’s not his decision to make, now is it?” She wiped her hands and opened the oven. “You’re Ian’s guest. That place has what? Ten bedrooms? I’m sure Trent can find one to sleep in.”

Holly eased the cake pans into the oven and Hillary shut the door. “That doesn’t mean he’s got to be happy about it.” She frowned and focused on the oven. “He seemed tense. Distracted.”

“Maybe Ian’s got something going on.”

Holly bit her lip. “Maybe.”

Hillary grinned. “One bite of that cake and he’ll forget all about it. Trust me.”

With an eye roll, Holly turned back to the counter. Her best friend had the most unrealistic expectations. “Stop trying to get my hopes up. I don’t stand a chance with either one.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Or those baking skills. What man can resist chocolate fudge?”

Holly rolled her eyes. “You’re terrible.”

“No, I’m devious. There’s a difference.” Hillary waggled her eyebrows and opened the dishwasher. “You’re still going to help cater the party next week, right?”

Holly groaned. “Do I have to?”

“Yes, you have to. That’s why you’re here, silly. I can’t do all the catering and all the baking for a million weddings. I need your dessert skills. Please? They want puff pastry. You know I hate puff pastry.”

Holly shook her head. “I thought I was just baking. A behind-the-scenes kind of thing.” She grabbed a rag and wiped down the counter while Hillary loaded the dishwasher.

Parties in Midnight Cove were the absolute last thing she wanted to attend. All those snooty rich people looking down their noses at her too-wide hips and round backside. People who cared more about what car they drove and street they lived on than whether their kids were happy.