Exactly what was this intriguing lady holding back from him?
He’d already asked Frank Carrell to look more deeply into the money trail, but even so, he couldn’t stop himself from being curious about Kendall’s motives. It was part of his driven nature to hunt down the facts.
As his mind flitted from one possible scenario to another, he heard an ominous sound, one that he’d heard many times before on this beautiful island paradise. Within a couple of seconds he heard it again, only this time louder when a deep rumble of thunder vibrated its angry intent in the pitch-black sky overhead. A storm was blowing in from the east and by the sound of it a big one. He knew from experience it would hit with immense force.
It started with a couple of gentle raindrops, tickling the roof of the lanai, followed by a couple more. Then, an eerie, almost contemplative silence ensued before all hell let loose, and the skies opened, allowing a torrent of rain to hammer noisily down onto the tiled roof above his head.
Jesus Christ, he loved the power of nature, and it was something he’d always respected. The way the swimming pool quickly became a frothy mass of water was ample testament to its power. The noise was deafening but invigorating, making him feel alive and vital.
Piercing white light now arced magnificently across the sky, followed almost immediately by the deep rumble of thunder directly overhead. Fuck, it was close. Almost frighteningly close. The frisson of fear he felt only added to the awe-inspiring spectacle of Mother Nature asserting her dominance.
As the sky lit up again, even more luminous in its intensity this time, something registered at the very edge of his peripheral vision. He turned and watched spellbound as Kendall, barefoot and wearing just a skimpy, cream negligee ran past him, barely ten feet from where he sat. Clearly oblivious to his presence in the shadows, she rushed straight from the cover of the lanai and out into the pouring rain. As though bonding with nature, she stood with her arms outstretched and her eyes lifted to the heavens, apparently reveling in the way the sheer force of the rain bounced off her face and hair.
Within the blink of an eye, probably even less, the power of the storm meant her negligee became soaked through, making it totally transparent as it clung like a second skin to her feminine curves. The sexually arousing sight before him caused his cock to twitch and harden with a mixture of raw passion and admiration. Fucking hell, Kendall was so achingly beautiful that thoughts of returning to his bed alone were forced from his mind.
Making sure he didn’t reveal himself, he watched mesmerized as she stood there, seemingly unafraid of being struck by lightning. Christ, what the fuck was she doing? Kendall appeared to be talking to herself, chanting mantra like to the heavens above. Goddamn this rain, such was the noise as it pounded the roof above his head he could barely hear a word she said.
He leaned forward in his recliner. For fuck’s sake, listen, man. You might learn something new. Standing with her legs about two feet apart, she pointed accusingly at the portentous sky. What did she say? Goddamn this rain. Was it Ashley? Is that someone’s name or some godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere?
Feeling frustrated, he listened even harder.
“Bastard.”
Yeah, he caught that word clearly enough.
“Fucking bastard.”
Yeah that, too.
Mac figured she was talking about him. After all, he was the one who’d given her the ultimatum of either a spell in prison or become his sexual plaything for the next ten days. So what choice had he really given her? As he watched her incredibly beautiful form still angry at the sky, he felt an emotion that was almost alien wash over him.
Guilt.
It hit him. It hit him hard.
He needed to know everything, good or bad, and listened even more intently. Almost like divine intervention, a brief lull in the storm came to his rescue, enabling him to hear in perfect clarity exactly what she said next.
“Let her go. Burn in hell, Karl. You fucking sick bastard. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”
Making sure he remained hidden in the shadows, Mac leaned back in the recliner, feeling relief permeate every pore in his body. Relief that Kendall wasn’t talking about him. Relief that she didn’t hate him.
And just who was this Karl guy? A guy she hated with a venom that surprised him. Well, he’d make it his business to find out.
The more he watched her, the more he saw her becoming distressed, distressed enough for him to intervene. He rose from the recliner and strode toward her. She had her back to him, and it was only when he touched her shoulder and she spun violently around that she knew he was there.
Her beautiful blue eyes were wide and fearful, and he couldn’t tell whether the storm water streaming down her face and dripping from her chin contained any tears. From her soulful look, he guessed it did.
With her breathing fast and shallow, Kendall placed a hand to her chest. “Mac, you startled me. I didn’t know you were there.”
“Obviously. What the hell are you doing out here in the rain? You’re soaked through.”
“Nothing. I just couldn’t sleep, that’s all. I guess it’s the heat and humidity the storm brings.”
He had to raise his voice so she heard him above the incessant white noise of the unrelenting torrent of water. “Okay, you’ve answered that question, but who the hell is this Karl guy?”
The mere mention of his name made her eyes grow wide with fear, and she instantly backed away from him. “He’s no one.”
“Liar.” His gut instinct had been right all along. Kendall was no thief. He figured someone with a strong controlling influence over her was calling the shots. His money was on this Karl guy. Feeling that he was getting closer to the truth with each passing second, he took hold of her shoulders and shook her—hard. “Tell me the truth, Kendall. Who’s Karl? What’s his involvement in all this?”
“No. I’ve already told you. He’s nothing. Nobody.” She wildly shook her head from side to side, and he knew she wouldn’t easily divulge her secrets.
Mac was now able to distinguish her teardrops from the incessant rain that pounded heavily down on them. It fell from the heavens in such quantity and with such force that it made it difficult for him to think, let alone hear. When lightning struck again, causing blinding white light to arc across the night sky, he was left in no doubt just how fearful this beautiful lady was.
Needing to know the truth and in no mood for compromise, he shook her again, causing her head to rock violently back and forth as the deep sound of thunder rumbled menacingly overhead. “Make no mistake, lady, you will tell me everything.”
He saw her visibly tremble. “No, I can’t.”
“You will.”
“No, I can’t. Don’t you understand? I can’t.” She collapsed to the ground, sobbing inconsolably. “This deception is suffocating me, crushing me, and I so want to tell you, but I can’t. I just can’t. For God’s sake, leave it at that.”
It made his heart sink to see her so broken like this. Who or what had such control over her, enough control to make her too scared to tell him the truth? As he looked down at her tiny defeated body, the rain hit the top of her head with such force it bounced upward, colliding with the down-coming drops, causing them to splatter explosively on contact. He’d get to the bottom of this, but the way she was now, so bereft of happiness, he figured a gentler approach would yield better results.
Mac took hold of her tiny hands, which repeatedly wiped a combination of tears and raindrops from her eyes, and pulled her upright. “Look at me, Kendall.”
Even if she had stolen his money for purely selfish reasons, which he now very much doubted, he couldn’t hate her for it. In fact, hate was an emotion a million miles away from what he felt for Kendall right now. Her frightened eyes were focused intently on him, and whatever the rights or wrongs of her actions, he knew he was falling for her.
He gently cupped her beautiful face in his hands. “Kendall,” he whispered. “Shhh, shhh, don’t cry, honey. Everything will turn out just fine.”
“I’m so sorry I can’t tell you. Please don’t be angry with me. Just hold me.”
How could he refuse? The way she spoke so submissively appealed to him immensely. Feeling their bond becoming closer with every passing second, Mac immediately wrapped his arms around her like a protective blanket, shielding her from the demons that pursued her. Demons he would destroy as soon he discovered their identity and intent. “Nothing’s gonna harm you, honey. Not while I’m around. Rely on it.”
Her arms were wrapped so tightly around him that he realized just how much pent-up anxiety she held within her tiny feminine frame, and as he rested his chin on the top of her rain-soaked head, he felt her snuggle even closer as though desperate for his comfort and warmth.
Her womanly scent mingling with the rain was a joy, and he breathed deeply, taking it in, feeling more sexually aroused with each lungful he inhaled. All thoughts of sleep were long gone, and his hard-on, shielded only by his boxer shorts, pressed insistently against her belly, the warmth of which permeated her flimsy negligee.