Misconduct (Hot Ice series Book 6) (6 page)

Several big steps and he leaped into the air, curled himself
over and I watched, mesmerized, as his buttocks were the last thing to
disappear beneath the dark surface.

My heart was racing. Really? Naked swimming. He’d only been
here a few minutes and he was diving into the sea in the buff. I was part
horrified, part full of admiration. I could never swim in the sea like that,
dive in as though I belonged there. It was too damn scary. What was lurking in
the hidden depths?

I scanned the waves, looking for him. Waiting for his head
to appear.

It didn’t.

I stepped from the fronds and into the sunshine.

Shit. A shark had got him, or a ray or something lethal. It
must have. He’d been down about ten seconds at least.

I darted my gaze around, tried to see over the breaking
rollers. He’d really gone. Quickly I rushed to the edge of the decking. Went on
my tiptoes, scanning the wider horizon.

Fuck.

In a sudden rush I sped onto the sand. It was burning hot
but I hardly felt it. I reached his abandoned clothes, set my hand over my eyes
to shield them from the sun and peered into the distance.

Suddenly he burst upward, not too far out at sea. His chest
and shoulders were shining like polished bronze and his super-short hair
sparkling with trapped drops. He stood waist deep and looked my way.

“What the hell are you doing?” I called, scanning his arms
for signs of shark attack, checking the water for a slick of blood.

“Painting a fucking picture,” he shouted. “What the hell
does it look like?”

“I thought you’d…”

“What?”

“Drowned or…or something.”

“Drowned?” He began to walk toward me. “What, in this
shallow part?”

“Well, yes, things like that do happen, and…” Oh fuck, as he
got closer the waterline dropped each time the ebb of the waves receded. I was
getting glimpses of seriously thick hair below his navel, leading a dark trail
to his groin and yes, there was a silvery appendectomy scar, right where I’d
imagined he’d have one, in a perfect groove of muscle.

“And what?” His continued to push through the waves. He took
no notice of the crests of foam breaking around him or the lowering water
level.

“And there are creatures in there.” I pointed at the sea.
“Predators, they might…”

He wasn’t going to, was he?

Oh yes. This was Dustin Reed after all. Of course he was
going to. Why was I surprised?

He gave me a full frontal visual of his flaccid cock as he
reached the shallows.

“What might these predators do?” he asked, seemingly
completely unembarrassed.

“They might,” I made a pincer movement with my fingers,
“they might bite you, you know, especially there.” Oh God, now I was staring
and pointing at his cock. “They might think it’s a worm or something if you
skinny-dip.”

He put his head back and roared with laughter, a great big
guffaw that must have rattled right across the beach and into the lush forest
beyond. His chest heaved and the muscles on his belly tensed, his cock waggled.

“A fucking worm. Oh my God.” Mercifully he quickly dragged
on his boxers, making himself decent. “Me and my dick have been called many
things over the years, sweet cheeks, but never a fucking worm.” He laughed
again, screwing up his eyes and placing his hands on his hips, bending forward
slightly.

I frowned. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, and it’s damn funny that you think I have a worm.” He
rubbed a small hand towel over his legs then pulled on his jeans. Still
chuckling, he grabbed his t-shirt and sneakers from the sand. “It’s made all
this fuss worth it hearing you say that.”

“I’m just trying to explain that it’s dangerous out there.”
I pointed at the water. “I’ve seen shark fins many times, and I know some of
the locals have been injured or had near misses.”

“But I was only a few feet out.” He still grinned.

“They’ll come right up to the shore if they’re hungry.” I
folded my arms. “And besides, it’s not just sharks, there are barracuda, rays,
jellyfish, sea snakes, sea wasps, eels.” I paused for breath. “And down by
those rock pools there are crabs that will draw blood and urchins that have
poison in their barbs.” I shook my head. “You have to be careful. Really
careful.”

“Jesus, you really have got a thing about the sea.” He
furrowed his brow. “Yet you have this fabulous place right by it.”

“No, not the sea. The things that live in it that want to
eat me. That’s what I have a problem with.”

“But you’re missing out. That was wonderful to have a swim
after a plane ride. And there’s nothing there that will bother me if I don’t
bother it. You should try it, I bet you’d like it.”

“No way, and certainly not in the…” I wafted my hand in the
direction of his groin again. “In the nude.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting to
swim so I didn’t pack trunks. And then, well, after the shit that went down at
the airport, and then here, you with the hotel thing, I just needed to cool the
hell down before I punched something. I figured you were still in the villa, as
you’d shut yourself in your room, and no one would see.”

He certainly looked cooled down. The sun was rapidly
evaporating the seawater from his wide chest and golden shoulders, and his hair
was so short it was almost dry already.

“I guess I’ll go find a shop, buy trunks if I’m here for a
few days.” He grinned suddenly, crinkling the skin at the corners of his eyes.
“That will save you from adding worms to your list of things to worry about in
the sea.”

I tsked. “I’m going to the market. It’s about a mile down
the beach and today is the only day of the week it’s on. I’ll grab you some
trunks while I’m there.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“What?”

“I’ll come with you, to the market. You don’t know what size
I am.”

I raised my eyebrows. I’d just seen his size, exactly. And
it was pretty impressive for a man who was emerging from cold water. But I
wasn’t about to tell him that. That would just add to his ego.

“I know you’ve read my file,” he said, pulling on his
sneakers and grinning. “But that doesn’t list
all
of my statistics. Some
of the most important ones are missing.”

That didn’t deserve a response and I knew that was what he
wanted. So instead I shifted my sarong on my hips, dropped my thongs to the hot
sand and slipped them on. When I looked up he was studying me, his eyebrows
were pulled low and his grin had slipped. He looked angry again.

“What?” I asked, twirling the thin strap on my purse and
quickly glancing at my bikini top to make sure it hadn’t shifted.

“Nothing,” he said huffily. “I’ll just put this towel back
and go lock the villa door. Wait here.”

He turned and jogged up the beach, sending little kicks of
sand up behind himself. His moods were like ice and fire and could flick like a
switch. It was beginning to get tiring. Kiss me, don’t kiss me. Shout at me,
smile at me.

I sighed.

After he’d gone onto the deck I didn’t wait. Instead I
turned and marched along the beach in the direction of the nearest village. If
I walked quickly enough, perhaps I’d lose him. Then again, that wasn’t likely
to happen, him being a super-fit athlete and all.

I huffed to myself. Honestly. The worm thing hadn’t been
that
funny. It was simply a fact. I’d like to see how much he’d laugh if something
in the sea really did have a nibble on his cock. I was sure he’d be crying
then.

Of course Dustin did catch up with me, easily. But his mood
had switched again and he didn’t even complain about my leaving him behind when
he’d told me to wait. In fact he went on to chatter animatedly about his last
trip to Austria and some of the things he done there with kids in the Alps. It
made me long for another ski trip to Europe. I’d been several times to Lech
growing up. I’d made the most of the long runs while my parents had enjoyed the
glamour of the resort. I told him about that, and it turned out he loved to
ski, but hadn’t done so for years because of winter play commitments and
insurance issues.

When we reached the small fishing village market on
Honeysuckle Key, I saw that it hadn’t changed since the last time I’d been.
There was still a stall on the first corner selling fish in blue crates of ice,
and opposite was another stall laden with fresh fruit and salad greens. As was
always the case, the narrow aisles were heaving with locals stocking up for the
week. Old women in head scarves and kids with tatty clothes made up the
majority of the customers, though I noticed more tourists than usual, which
made sense, what with the hotel being full.

“I’m going to the far end,” I said to Dustin. “There’s a
clothes stall just beyond the fruit. I think you’ll get something that will
work as swim trunks there.”

“Yeah, and a hat,” he said, rubbing his shorn haircut. “I’m
more used to cold than heat. Don’t want to get sunstroke.” He turned and ambled
off, head and shoulders above everyone else. I didn’t need to worry about
losing him. He’d be easy to spot if I decided to walk back with him.

I pushed through a group of young men, one of whom leered at
me, then I moved to the west end of the market. Perhaps I should have put on a
t-shirt, rather than just my bikini and sarong. Habit I guessed, I’d always
ambled up here in swimwear, since I was a tot.

“Gina, my treasure.” The old man at the sweet stall greeted
me with a tip of his hat and a beaming smile. “You never change, you’re still
my little girl.”

“Hi, Raymond, how are you?”

“I am very well.” His grin widened and I noticed he’d lost
yet another top tooth since I’d last seen him. He now had a grand total of
three, from what I could make out. I guessed that was the risk he took spending
his life sitting at a sweets stall.

“I saw your father last week,” he said. “He told me he’s
retired now.”

“Yes, that’s the plan. The doctors have advised him to take
it easy.”

“And who is running the team, what is it…” He crinkled his
face, each line deepening until his skin was like crumpled paper. “The Cobras?”

“The Vipers, and that’s down to me now. Well, with help
obviously.”

He pressed his gnarled fist to his chest. “Child, what a lot
to cope with.”

“It’ll be fine when it settles down.” I pointed at the pink
coconut sweets I loved. “A big bag of those will help. I’ll put them in my
office, keep them for emergencies.”

“Yes, you should.” He set about filling up a bag with a
small silver shovel. “Double your usual amount then?”

“Yes, please.”

“Mmm, they look good.”

I turned and came face to chest with Dustin. I looked up and
let the scent of warm male wrap around me. He was wearing a red Honeysuckle Key
cap.

“They are,” I said. “But I don’t share, you’ll have to buy
your own.”

“I intend to, and some of that.” He pointed to a tray
holding fudge dotted with pistachio. “But I
do
share.”

“Raymond,” I said, wishing I hadn’t sounded so spoiled
brattish about sharing. “This is Dustin Reed, one of the players.”

Raymond swung the bag over to seal it. “I am happy to meet
you,” he said, smiling broadly. “You get the points?”

“No, I stop the opponents from scoring. I’m in goal.”

“Ah, I see.” He nodded but I’d bet he’d never watched a
hockey game in his life. “And you are vacationing with my Gina, this must mean
you are very happy together. A wedding soon, yes?”

Dustin laughed. “Well, she is, but I’m not.”

Raymond frowned.

So did I. What was Dustin on about?

“Can I grab a big chunk of that taffy?” Dustin asked,
gesturing to the sticky cubes and then turning to me. “And you’ll be pleased to
know I’ve got trunks.” He held up a pair of neon green shorts between us. The
brightest material I’d ever seen. Worse than my purse.

“So you don’t get any more…shocks,” he said.

“Good.” I slipped on my shades and grinned. “But the color
is so shocking they might blind me.”

“Can’t do anything right, can I?”

“Well, wearing something when swimming will be halfway
there,” I said, shaking my head and still smiling.

“Sure thing, boss.”

I took my sweets from Raymond, paid and bade him farewell.
Dustin seemed quite taken with sampling honey-coated peanuts, so I left him to
it and wandered to a purse stall next door. There was a great variety to choose
from, all handmade. I fingered the material, admired the stitching and then
chose a deep-purple, velvet shoulder bag that would fit a book, sun protection
and a towel, perfect to go with my bikini.

I hunted for some bills and then paid the woman who unfolded
white tissue paper and started to carefully wrap it.

“No, no,” I said. “I’ll use it now, don’t worry about that.”

“Are you sure, madam?”

“Oh yes, this one is terrible.” I pointed at my garish
orange bag. “I’ll switch everything over straightaway.”

She smiled and then her attention was caught by another
customer, a man with dark, greasy hair who was roughly unzipping and zipping a
bag. It looked like the guy who’d undressed me with his eyes earlier.

Dustin was still talking to Raymond, a small crowd of
children had gathered around him and I saw that he had a bag of jellied sweets
that he was handing out to them.

“Two each,” he was saying as he stooped over. “And if you
all just take two I’ll buy a bag of those pineapple cubes and you can have two
of them each as well.”

A squeal of delight went up and I smiled. He was like the
Pied Piper, kids were just drawn to him despite his giant size and gruff voice.

Guessing he’d be a while, I maneuvered my way out of the
market and set my new and old bag on a stone wall overlooking the harbor. I’d
switch my wallet and phone to my new bag and fold the old one into it to take
home. The new one was much nicer, it had an unusual diamond pattern on the side
that was shaped sort of like sideways fish.

Suddenly a rush of air pummeled into me and then a sharp jab
hit between my shoulder blades. The heat and solidity of another person’s body
whacking into mine hard had me crying out. I lurched forward, tried to grab the
wall but missed, and instead crumpled onto the ground, my breath knocked from
me.

“Oi!” A deep shout rang through the air, breaking through
the sound of my rushing pulse in my ears and the drag of air surging back into
my lungs.

As a blur of orange flicked past me, I twisted and saw the
shady guy from the purse stall pelting away. My purse was falling to the floor
but he had my wallet in his hand.

There was another burst of energy at my side and I realized
it was Dustin who’d called out. He must have seen the guy wallop into me, and
now he was tearing forward, his feet pounding, his arms thumping.

I pushed onto my hands and knees, head spinning and watched,
in what seemed like slow motion, as Dustin caught up with the guy in the mouth
of an alley.

Damn, he’d run fast.

Dustin grabbed the thinner man’s arm, flung him ’round as
though he were a ragdoll and shoved him up against the wall.

“Gina, Gina, oh sweet mother of mercy, are you okay?”
Raymond was next to me, his hand on my shoulder. “Oh, this is terrible.”

“I’m fine, really,” I said, watching the chaos unfold.

Dustin had his thick forearm beneath the thief’s neck,
pushing his chin up. His captive’s feet were lifting off the ground and he was
clawing at Dustin’s forearms.

A loud whistle piercing the air told me one of the island’s
few policemen was on scene.

Thank goodness.

“Get off,” the captured man half gasped, half shouted. Even
at a distance I could sense the panic in his voice. He really hadn’t expected
an Olympic athlete to be in the area. Not only that, one who was twice his
size.

“Give me that, scumbag,” Dustin sneered, plucking my wallet
from his hand. “Were you never fucking taught that stealing is wrong?”

“Leave me the hell alone. Get off.”

Dustin kind of growled again, that noise that made my belly
flip and my thighs clench.

“Shit,” the guy squeaked, “it’s just a wallet, fuck…”

Dustin had increased the pressure. The man’s cheeks were
bright red, his feet were a good few inches off the floor now and he was
tugging violently at Dustin’s t-shirt.

Dustin didn’t seem to notice.

“I’ll take it from here, sir.” An officer ran up to the
alley, handcuffs at the ready, his voice loud and commanding. “I saw it all.
Please step back.”

Dustin released the criminal as quickly as he’d caught him,
but he didn’t step away, instead he stayed looming over the man who was
clutching his neck and gasping for air.

“Gina, you are hurt?” Raymond asked. “Your knees. Look.”

I glanced down as I straightened. Sure enough my right knee
was grazed and a fat globule of blood was trickling down my shin.

“Come, sit on the wall. I will get you something to clean it
with.”

I allowed Raymond to help me up. The lady from the purse
stall rushed over.

“Oh dear, that was terrible. I saw him before and I knew he
was bad. He had those eyes,” she said, winding her hands together. “Eyes that
hold many bad deeds.”

“I thought the same thing.” I swiped my palms together to
rid them of grit, bent my leg up onto the wall and thought how dramatic the
blood looked seeping toward my foot.

But I knew I’d gotten away lucky. A shove in the back was
preferable to a knife in the back.

A small crowd had gathered now to watch the policeman
handcuff the thief. I could still see Dustin. He was nodding and speaking to
the policeman. I saw him hold up the wallet and then point my way.

“Here you are, here you are,” Raymond said, rushing back
with a wet cloth. “Quick, you must stop that terrible bleeding before you run
out of blood.”

“I’ll live, it’s very superficial,” I said, “but really, go
and mind your stalls, you two. Dustin is coming now, he’ll help me. I’ll be
okay.”

As I said it I realized how glad I was that he
had
been there and that he’d chased down the man who’d pushed me and stolen from
me. That he’d shown everyone, including the children in the market, that
stealing was wrong and wouldn’t be tolerated.

He was coming toward me now with a grim look on his face but
a softness in his eyes.

Raymond and the other stall owner left me, obviously anxious
about their unmanned wares.

I began to shake, not a lot, just a little. I pressed the
wet cloth to my knee and tried to suppress a wince.

“Are you all right?” Dustin asked a little breathlessly.
“Well, clearly you’re not.” He glanced over his shoulder at the cop who was
marching his prisoner away. “Bastard, I should have fucking strangled him. That
way he’d never do it again.”

“It’s just a graze,” I said, dabbing at more blood and
watching it soak onto the wet cloth. “It was the fright more than anything.”

“Yeah, that must have been a real shock getting pushed to
the ground like that. I saw him rush up to you, he was running pretty fast.” He
handed me my wallet. “Here, yours I believe.”

“Thanks.” I juddered in a breath. Willed my eyes not to fill
with tears, but they were, the sting behind my eyeballs told me it was
inevitable. I thought I was tough, but the shock of the attack was rattling
through me like a mini earthquake.

“You’re shaking,” he said, taking the cloth from me and
cupping my hands in one of his. “Did he hurt you anywhere else?”

He swept his gaze over me, but not like he had on the beach
or even in the locker room. This was a functional check for mangled limbs and
bleeding arteries.

“No, no I don’t think so.” A tear broke free and I swiped at
it with my shoulder as I huddled over, hoping he wouldn’t notice. “I’m fine. I
just want to go back to the villa.” As I’d said villa my voice broke on a sob.

“Ah shit, don’t cry,” he said, “You’re all right and I got
your wallet back.”

“I know, and I’m grateful, really I am, it’s just…”

“What?”

“I’ve been coming here since I could only just walk and
nothing like that has ever happened. It’s always so lovely.”

He shook his head, squeezed my hands. “There will always be
bad people in the world, so we just have to make the most of the good ones.” He
frowned. “I saw him follow you from the purse stall. I had a gut feeling then
he was thinking of doing something he shouldn’t. I’d have been quicker if I’d
followed him then rather than waiting.”

“How could you have known?”

He blew out his cheeks, sighed and shook his head. He seemed
really quite cross with himself despite having saved the day.

“Mister, mister, you dropped your sweets.” A small boy stood
in front of us holding a torn paper bag containing dusty yellow candy. He wore
no shoes and his t-shirt was ripped on the lower seam. “I picked them up for
you. All of them.”

Dustin’s face softened. “That was really kind of you.” He
took the sweets, studied them. “But I don’t think you can eat these now,
they’re all dirty, they’ll give you belly ache.” He plucked out his wallet.
“Here, go and buy a new bag, but you have to promise me one thing.”

The little boy nodded, his dark eyes so wide I could see all
the whites.

“You have to share them,” he said, “with all of the other
children at the market. Can you do that?”