Bahama Mama

by Tricia Leedom

  Selena sat stiffly in her seat. “I know she had nothing to do with that.”

  “Then cut Molly some slack and help me set the record straight. I need to know you’re on my side, Fry.”

  Warmed by his intentional use of the nickname he’d given her, Selena smiled at him. “I’m always on your side. You know that. The only reason I’m here is to look out for you.” She tucked a limp strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  The air traffic controller from NAS broke into his headset, giving Anders his approach instructions, and the conversation inside the airplane died away while he concentrated on landing.

  Molly was shoved aside by the small stampede of fans who rushed Anders the moment he entered the airport terminal. His temporary anonymity was gone, but he took it in all in stride, smiling amicably for the dozens of photographs snapped in his face. He bent down for selfies and scribbled his autograph on everything from plane tickets to a pretty young women’s Hard Rock Nassau, Bahamas T-shirt, which she was currently wearing.

  Selena announced that she’d be back with security and marched off somewhere while Molly held tightly to Obie’s hand and found a safe place to stand on the outskirts of the madness. The publicist was back in minutes with four uniformed airport security guards who shoved their way into the mob. Then Anders was on the move, stopping just long enough to invite Molly and Obie to join him in the circle of bodyguards who ushered him toward the black SUV that was waiting for them.

  The mob dispersed when they realized Anders wasn’t stopping for any more autographs, but the security officers stayed with him. They were passing one of the baggage claim carousels when something made Anders stop abruptly. Not expecting his change of direction, everyone in the group kept moving toward the exit. Molly was the first to realize Anders was making a beeline toward a tattooed man dressed in black.

  She fleetingly wondered if he was a musician. Maybe a drummer or something from a metal band whom Anders had met in the music industry. But the hostile looks the two men exchanged suggested the guy was something more than a passing acquaintance.

  “What are you doing here?” Anders growled.

  “None of your business.” The other man’s voice was gravelly and low.

  The airport security officers caught up to Anders. They were ready to step in, but he lifted a hand communicating that he didn’t need assistance and they backed off, giving him space. Missing the whole thing, Selena stood just outside the doors to the terminal, talking on her cell phone.

  “First, you turn up at Linus’ house and now you’re here. Is there something you want to tell me about Winston Wade?”

  The man said nothing but stared at Anders with a face made of granite.

  “Answer me,” Anders hissed, and his rage was so palpable both Molly and Obie jumped. She tightened her grip on the boy’s shoulders.

  The man in black didn’t even twitch.

  Anders stepped forward aggressively, sticking his nose in the other man’s face. Mindful of the onlookers, he kept his voice low despite his fury. “If you have anything to do with Winston Wade or the man he killed, I will personally escort your ass back to prison.”

  The man in black’s eyes flickered with a look that dared him to try it, but the rest of his face remained passive.

  Anders cursed under his breath, turned on his heels, and stalked away. When he came even with Molly, he gave her a look that said let’s go.

  She grabbed Obie’s hand and walked faster to keep up. “Who was that?”

  Anders’ jaw tightened. His turbulent gaze remained fastened on the direction he was moving as he spoke through gritted teeth. “My brother.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  When Molly stretched out in bed that night, staring at the rotating ceiling fan, she found herself thinking about the encounter with Anders’ brother at the airport. On the drive to their B&B, the only thing he said about his brother was that his name was Jonas and he should be in prison. Then he changed the subject and Molly felt uncomfortable bringing it up again. She wondered if Jonas was the reason Anders didn’t talk publically about his past. Was he embarrassed by his brother’s criminal record or trying to hide the truth about his sketchy family from the media? Jimmy Panama might be a former Navy SEAL, but he was no saint. He’d done his fair share of dabbling in questionable activities.

  In the public eye, Anders had a reputation for being a squeaky clean, salt-of-the-earth, all-around good guy with a sweet, affable disposition. Casey Conway’s shocking death had certainly put a dent in the world’s perception of him. And Molly was discovering things about him she never would’ve guessed. Like the fact that he was an unsure parent and had been an apathetic husband in his marriage. He intensely disliked his youngest brother. And he could be as stubborn as a steel pole in a windstorm.

  She still liked him too damn much.

  The rain had woken Molly from a light sleep when it came down in a deluge, pounding against her bedroom windows. Mitch had made good on his promise to meet them in Nassau and arrived in time for dinner. He said the outer bands of the hurricane were nothing to worry about, but Molly had lived in Florida long enough to know what a tropical storm felt like and this was different. The short bursts of intense rain were just a taste of what was coming.

  A sense of impending doom hung in the air, but that had more to do with Wade, who was out there somewhere waiting for Cheyenne. Her ship was still scheduled to arrive at 8 a.m. ahead of the eyewall, which wasn’t expected to make landfall until mid-afternoon, but Molly worried the forward momentum of the storm was stirring up the water and causing high seas. She couldn’t do anything about it but pray the ship would make it safely to Nassau.

  Mitch had arranged lodging for them at a secluded bed and breakfast near Love Beach on the northwest side of New Providence Island. When they arrived at the inn, Selena went inside with Obie to get their rooms situated while Molly helped Anders with the bags. She wanted to speak with him privately about their game plan in the morning, but he wanted to wait until Mitch arrived to talk about it. Anders was still in a pissy mood and walked off before their conversation was over.

  Ms. Vivian, their good-natured hostess, lived in the attic of the old, three-story Victorian farmhouse and rented out the other rooms. A young, athletic-looking couple from the UK occupied one of the four units on the second floor, so someone had to stay in the small room off the kitchen on the first floor and Selena made certain it was Molly. But she didn’t mind. The bed was comfortable and it was probably a lot cooler sleeping on the first floor of an old house with no central air conditioning. She hoped Selena was nestled in her bed and sweating like a pig trying to pass a peach pit.

  Molly rolled onto her side and admonished herself. Maybe she was being a bit harsh, but the woman just rubbed her the wrong way with her contemptuous looks and subtly disparaging comments. This will never be your seat. Did she treat all of Anders female friends that way? Did he know how Selena acted behind his back? Probably not. But it wasn’t Molly’s place to enlighten him. He’d figure it out someday and kick the woman to the curb.

  Or at least a girl can hope.

  Fluffing the pillow, Molly turned away from the window to stare at the old wooden door and its ancient brass knob. A light flicked on in the kitchen, filtering through the one-inch gap at the bottom of the door. It had to be after midnight because she’d managed to sleep for at least an hour or two before the heavy rain band blew in and woke her up. The sound of running water from the sink made her sit up in bed. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes before sliding her bare legs out from under the bedsheet. She padded barefoot to the door, cracked it open a few inches, and peeked out.

  Anders was standing in profile in front of the farmhouse sink, a glass of water forgotten in hand as he stared out the rain-soaked window. He wore a black muscle shirt and loose black boxers. His dirty blond hair was sleep-tousled and a day’s growth of beard shadowed his jaw. He looked so gorgeous and disreputable he
made her palms sweat.

  He must still be angry about the run-in with his brother. Not only could she see the tension in his shoulders, she could feel the hostility simmering inside him like a pot ready to boil.

  She never knew Jimmy had a younger brother. Jonas didn’t have the look of an Ostergaard. Was he a half-brother then? Or adopted? Did Jimmy have an issue with him too? Whatever the circumstances, it was clear Anders and his youngest brother did not get along.

  Anders had been mostly introspective on the plane ride to Nassau, but he’d been flat out brooding since the airport. After disappearing into his room, he’d gone out for a run while Molly played a game of Monopoly with Obie. Ms. Vivian served dinner at six and Mitch had arrived just in time to join Molly, Selena, and Obie for a meal that would’ve been tense and awkward without his presence. After dinner, Mitch went off to find Anders, and Molly took Obie to the beach to watch a spectacular sunset. They had to dodge a rain band on the way back to the house, but it had been worth it.

  Molly went to bed around ten and fell asleep listening to music on her phone, but she was wide awake now and feeling restless. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. “Wanna talk about it?”

  He took a sip of water before he set the glass down and stared at it. “No.”

  She probably should’ve left well enough alone and gone back to bed. “What’s the deal with your brother? Jimmy has never mentioned him.”

  Anders snorted softly. “Let’s just say he’s the black sheep of the family.”

  Molly cracked a smile. “Well, I know a little something about that—”

  Anders slammed his hand down on the counter so hard the glass jumped. “You know nothing about it.”

  Molly stiffened. She knew he was just redirecting his anger at her, but it still got her hackles up. Instead of fighting with him though, she stepped back and shut the door firmly.

  As she stood frowning at the rustic wood panel, her irritation grew. Where did he get off shouting at her and saying she didn’t know anything?

  She reached for the brass knob, yanked open the door, and nearly walked into Anders who was standing on the other side preparing to knock.

  She gasped and took a half step back.

  The expression on his face was unreadable, but there was a storm brewing in his somber blue eyes. Quietly, he said, “The deal is he’s a dangerous ex-con. I tried to fix him once, but he’s broken beyond repair. Jimmy and I wrote him off years ago.”

  She was surprised by his sudden willingness to open up to her and glad he thought he could, but she was still angry. “So, you’ve got family baggage. We all do. It doesn’t mean you get to dump on people because you’re still moping about what went wrong. Your brother is a grown man. He’s made his own choices. But you have a choice too. You can choose to stop letting something you can’t control have so much power over you. You’ve been sulking around here like a slug in a salt factory and now you’re biting my head off? No, sir. I think you owe me an apology.”

  He nodded and looked down at his feet. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “See, I—”

  He tugged her forward and kissed her. Surprised by the unexpected assault, her fingers dug into his shoulders and she groaned with approval. He tilted his head and pushed his tongue inside her mouth and her body went up in flames. Goose bumps rose on her skin as his left hand slid under the hem of her long T-shirt and over her panty-clad ass. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her off the floor, took a few steps inside her room, and shoved the door shut behind them.

  As he kissed her deeply, her brain melted and she couldn’t think of anything beyond the taste of him and the feel of big hands cupping her bottom. Her blood hummed and her stomach tightened.

  He emitted a low, primal growl before he tumbled her back onto the bed. She sank into the plush mattress and spread her legs for him as he settled between her thighs. He was hard and eager beneath his silky black boxers and her body wanted him as much as he wanted her. But her brain reminded her she didn’t want this. Friends. She just wanted to be friends. She turned her head to the side, and he took it as an invitation to explore the tender spot behind her ear.

  “Anders…” She gave his broad shoulders a gentle shove.

  “Hmm,” he mumbled as he found a particularly sensitive spot behind her ear and concentrated on it.

  She let out a sound halfway between a grunt and a purr, but she didn’t let the tingly sensations he was making her feel deter her. “Anders, stop. Please.”

  His head came up. His blue eyes were dark and glazed with passion. The skin across his cheekbones was tight and rosy with desire. He smelled of soap and the woodsy, masculine scent that was uniquely his. Heat radiated off of him, another symptom of his need for her.

  Molly cleared her throat before she spoke, but her voice was still low and gravelly and didn’t sound like hers at all. “What are you doing?”

  “I reckon it’s kinda obvious, ain’t it?” His voice was low, too. The husky tones brushed over her skin like sandpaper, making goose bumps rise in their wake.

  “I mean, what are your intentions?”

  The corner of his mouth quirked into a sexy smile. “I intend to have my way with you. If you’ll let me.”

  Molly’s heart leapt like a cheerleader at a pep rally. While it was doing high kicks and backflips, making her blood pound, her brain blew the whistle on all the fun. “This is a bad idea.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not a groupie.”

  He rose up on his elbows and his heavy erection inadvertently pressed against the juncture of her thighs. Or maybe the move was intentional. Either way, Molly was all too aware of the fact only two thin scraps of fabric separated her from the heat pulsating against her tender skin.

  “I know you’re not a groupie. I never thought you were. Look.” furrowing his brow, he shook his head slightly. “I can’t promise you anything beyond this moment. I just know I want you and I need this.”

  Molly frowned. So, he was using her after all. She snorted softly. “Now that makes more sense. This sudden hankering for me. You’re just looking for a warm body to fuck out your frustrations. Go to hell!” She shoved him away and started to sit up, but he caught her by the waist and flipped her back down.

  Hovering over her, pressed belly to belly, his eyes glittered in the dim light. “There’s nothing sudden about my desire for you.”

  “Move out of my way.”

  He growled in frustration and flopped back on the bed beside her. In his sudden absence, Molly felt shockingly bereft. Sexual longing hummed through her veins despite the fury making her tremble. She took a deep, steadying breath. “Do you want to sleep with me because your brother got your hackles up and you need an outlet?”

  When he said nothing, she turned her head. He was trembling too and his erection was tenting his satin boxers obscenely. Her traitorous body tightened in response.

  She needed to come to terms with the fact she wasn’t going to have her world rocked tonight. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she tried to hush the dancing butterflies, but when Anders spoke again, the deep rumble of his voice stirred the tiny flutters.

  “You’re right about me being frustrated.” He met her gaze. “But it’s not about my brother. Molly, I reckon I’ve wanted you since the moment you doused me in hot coffee and landed in my lap at Dixie’s.”

  The butterflies leapt and swarmed. Molly swallowed the sudden thickness in her throat and smiled faintly. “I was just trying to get you to take your shirt off.”

  He snorted. “Figured as much.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

  As they stared into each other’s eyes, the sounds from the room crept into their intimate space. The rain had slowed to a trickle, at least for the moment. The fan blades whirred softly, spinning around and around, in no hurry to get anywhere. The old-fashioned clock on the nightstand audibly ticked away the seconds.

  Molly let out a shaky breath. “Is that
true?”

  Anders shifted, turning toward her, and the old bedsprings groaned and squeaked beneath his weight. His eyes gleamed in the dim light from the lamp on the bedside table. His voice was like a caress. “Yeah. It’s true.”

  “Dagnabit,” she muttered softly.

  He shifted a little closer and his warm, faintly minty breath touched her cheek. “Is wanting you such a terrible thing?”

  I’d be lying if I said it was, but—”

  “Molly, I want you so badly it’s making me half nuts, but I don’t do long-term relationships. Not anymore. What happens next is up to you, but I want you to go into this with no expectations.”

  This was exactly what she didn’t want, but the offer was so tempting. She wasn’t sure if she had the strength to refuse. Saying yes to no-strings-attached sex with Anders Ostergaard would be so easy, while preserving her dignity and their friendship by saying no thank you would be anything but. She had to do it, though. If only to protect her heart.

  “I—” The words stuck in her throat.

  Anders rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling fan again. The soft patter of rain outside suddenly intensified, pounding against the bedroom windows in a deluge.

  “I shouldn’t have asked that of you.” He drove his fingers through his hair, mussing it up more before he tucked his hand behind his head. “I’m sorry. It was wrong. It’s just, you’re unlike any woman I’ve ever met and it’s twisting me up inside.”

  The sincerity in his voice tugged at something deep in the core of her being and made her ache for him.

  She sat up and turned to face him. He looked so big and sexy laying in her bed, her good intentions didn’t stand a chance. She grabbed the hem of her oversized T-shirt and lifted it over her head. The scrunchie in her hair went next. Her mass of long, red curls tumbled down around her bare shoulders as she sat before Anders, naked except for a pair of skimpy cotton panties.

  Though he stayed very still, watching her with heavy-lidded eyes, his chest rose and fell like he was in the midst of running a marathon.