Tropical Panther's Penance (Shifting Sands Resort Book 6)

by Zoe Chant

  Then his phone rang.

  Chapter 10

  It wasn’t terribly surprising that a man named Wrench was exceedingly good at swearing.

  Lydia took her hand back as he dug into his suit pocket, blistering the air with his displeasure. She grimaced as he found the offending phone and thought for a moment that he was going to throw it directly into the pool. But his eyes fell on the message on the screen and his face went from angry to grim. “Renna,” he said apologetically. “I have to take this. She wouldn’t call. Not unless…”

  Lydia waved at him to take it, hoping she looked more patient than she felt. She walked back around to her seat at the table, wishing she had more of her drink left.

  She watched as Wrench paced around in the shadows just out of earshot, clearly agitated. He raised such a tempest of feelings in her. She’d been wildly attracted to him when he was flexing muscles in the sun of her courtyard, but in a suit, she’d barely been able to catch her breath. He walked like he owned the very ground he passed over, like he had a place to go, and the place he had to go… was to her.

  Their conversation had been deeply confusing. She didn’t know how to reconcile his rough speech with a man who could use ‘indiscriminate’ and looked that good wearing a suit. Even if it did look faintly like he had a fading black eye.

  When she’d talked about her family, his face had been so hungry and full of longing behind his scowl. But when she imagined bringing him to meet her family, she balked. He was just so rough around the edges. Her sisters had brought home lawyers and doctors. She would be bringing home… a felon?

  Footsteps along the pool caught her attention.

  Laura’s arrival with a tray bearing a second drink for her was a welcome distraction.

  “Tex says that if you need him thrown in the pool, he’s happy to oblige,” the curvy woman said with a knowing wink.

  “I don’t think it will come to that,” Lydia said gratefully, taking the drink.

  “He’s on the phone,” Laura pointed out. “During your date.”

  “It was really important,” Lydia said swiftly, surprising even herself with her quick defense.

  Laura didn’t pursue the subject. “I’ll take your empty glass,” she offered. “If you need anything, or you change your mind about having him dumped in the pool, just wave.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lydia watched her walk away down the long edge of the pool, and turned to find that Wrench had hung up and was dropping into the seat opposite her.

  “Everything okay?” she asked tentatively.

  Wrench raked fingers through his cropped hair. “Not really. Renna’s been put in witness protection.”

  “Witness protection? What happened?”

  “Blacksmith happened.” Wrench’s face was a deep scowl that Lydia could sense held a world of worry.

  “Blacksmith?” she prodded. The name was familiar.

  “The cartel. The one I’m supposed to testify against. They tried to blow up her car.”

  “She’s okay, though?” Lydia knew that something else was causing Wrench’s distress. “She didn’t get hurt?”

  “She’s okay, but she doesn’t trust the people in the witness program,” Wrench growled. “Says there’s probably a mole, and she doesn’t want them to know about Ally.”

  “Your niece?”

  “She was with her dad this week, hasn’t been entered into the system, and Renna wants to keep it that way. She wants Ally to come stay with me here.” Wrench stood, pacing to the edge of the pool.

  Lydia could almost feel his agitation, and could imagine his panther’s tail lashing. She stood and followed Wrench.

  “Her dad can’t keep her?”

  Wrench snorted. “Her dad couldn’t protect her from a wet piece of toilet paper,” he said derisively. “And he travels a lot. I gotta go back. If I can’t bring her here, I gotta go take care of Ally myself.”

  “Would you be safe? If someone is after your sister…”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he growled. “Got no choice.”

  “There has to be another option,” Lydia said, exasperated.

  Wrench stopped and pivoted to face her. “It’s not that I want to go,” he said mournfully. “I finally felt like I had a chance here, and you…”

  “Have her come here,” Lydia said impulsively. “Wait, Jenny’s going to LA tomorrow to do something at her law firm for a few days, she could bring Ally back with her.”

  Wrench stared at her, looking suddenly hopeful. “Would Scarlet be okay with that?”

  Lydia frowned. “Probably not. She doesn’t want kids at the resort because it’s clothing-optional.”

  All the hope that had started to light up his face drained out.

  “She doesn’t have to know,” Lydia suggested.

  Wrench looked dubious.

  “Ally can stay in my room. I have a private bathroom, and no one else uses my courtyard. It wouldn’t be for long, would it?”

  “Jenny said that she’d heard from Tony that they were still prepping for the big sting. It might be before Christmas, but that’s not for sure.”

  Lydia frowned. “Well, that’s just a month away. And she could come here while we worked out something long term, if it ends up taking longer.”

  “I ain’t got money for the plane ticket,” Wrench growled.

  “I’ve got airline credits,” Lydia said swiftly. “They bumped me off my last flight home and I’ve got enough to get her this far.”

  “Why would you do this for me?” her mate asked wretchedly.

  Lydia had been very careful about reaching out to him, seeing how he avoided it. She liked to touch people when she was talking to them. She was used to standing close to people and would frequently pat them, or even put her arm around them if they were friends. She couldn’t resist now, sliding her hand into his carefully and twining her fingers with his. He stiffened, but didn’t pull away.

  “You are my mate,” she said simply. “I would move the stars for you.”

  The feel of his fingers against hers made her shiver. He was so strong, his fingers calloused and rough against her skin.

  He stared and her, then slowly squeezed her hand, using it to draw her nearer, until she was close enough that he could put his other hand at the small of her back and bend down to kiss her.

  Chapter 11

  Lydia’s lips were everything Wrench had suspected they’d be, her hot mouth opening at his touch. He was not sure how her fingers had slipped from his, but both her arms were somehow around his neck. She was stronger than she looked, and if Wrench had wanted, he was not sure if he could escape her.

  He had no desire to escape.

  He did have other desires, and when she pressed herself against him, he knew she could not be unaware of the need he was feeling. His erection was not in the slightest way disguised by the suit he was wearing, and when Lydia slid against it, he wasn’t the only one whose breath hitched.

  She was more woman than he’d ever held in his arms, more eager, more alive. Her hands were at his neck, his shoulders, sliding along his jaw. Her tongue was demanding, and when he finally had to break away for breath, she was panting.

  “That’s more like it,” she said, sounding raggedly delighted.

  Wrench wasn’t great at conversation, but he was better at this, so he kept silent, and when Lydia tugged at his tie, bent willingly to kiss her again.

  This kiss was brief and relatively chaste. “I don’t know what time Jenny will leave tomorrow,” she said warningly. “If we want to talk with her about it, we should catch her tonight.”

  Wrench couldn’t quite keep from growling in displeasure, both at the interruption, and at the reminder about Ally. He nodded, and reluctantly let go of Lydia, first one hand, then the other, giving her shoulder one last caress.

  She fixed his tie and rubbed her lipstick from his mouth, to his bemusement, then turned and marched down the pool deck, her heels clicking commandingly on the tile.
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  Wrench followed, moving silently behind her.

  The guests gave them no more than a glance, but Tex and Laura, behind the bar, both smirked knowingly at their approach. Wrench suspected they’d been watching, and glowered an unspoken challenge at the bartender.

  “Is Jenny here?” Lydia asked firmly.

  “At The Den with Travis,” Laura supplied, turning serious. “What’s up?”

  “Is she still planning to spend a few days in LA?” Lydia asked.

  Laura nodded. “As far as I know. She’s planning to leave on the charter tomorrow morning.”

  Lydia exchanged a look with Wrench. “She may be coming back with a… visitor.”

  Laura and Tex both leaned in eagerly. “Who?” Laura asked avidly.

  Wrench would have kept them out of the mess, but Lydia clearly had other plans. “Wrench’s niece, Ally.”

  That earned him surprised looks. “How old is this niece?” Tex asked suspiciously.

  “Eight,” Lydia explained, and both Laura and Tex made little noises of protest. “And she’s in trouble, with the same lovely people who brought you to us in the first place.” That was to Laura, and Wrench had to smother a smirk.

  His lady was no dummy.

  Laura’s look of pity and guilt was immediate. “Blacksmith?” she said quietly.

  Wrench nodded an affirmation. “My sister’s in witness protection. I need Ally out of his reach.”

  “Just until we figure something else out,” Lydia added quickly.

  Laura and Tex exchanged worried looks.

  “Scarlet won’t approve,” Tex warned.

  “She doesn’t have to know,” Lydia said firmly. “Ally can stay in my room and never leave my courtyard. We just need a little interference.”

  “It would be easy enough to smuggle in food for her,” Laura said thoughtfully. “And Scarlet doesn’t come to the spa much.”

  “Not that you’d guess it by her nails,” Lydia said with a sideways smile.

  “Blacksmith is bad news,” Laura said with a shake of her head. “Tony says that they are pretty close to making their move against the cartel. Maybe even before Christmas, thanks to the extra evidence Wrench was able to give them.” She sighed. “I’m in. You know it.”

  Tex looked sideways at Laura. “It’s an eight-year-old damsel in distress. What’s a cowboy to do?” When he extended a hand across the bar to Wrench, Wrench shook it heartily.

  “Scarlet can’t fire all of us,” Lydia said merrily. “Not right before the Christmas rush!”

  Wrench wasn’t as sure, but he followed his mate as she led the way back past the pool steps and up through the garden to the staff house known as The Den.

  Travis and Jenny were cuddled together at the couch, watching Graham and Breck play a first-person shooter video game on the TV screen.

  Wrench would have left Graham and Breck out of the plan, but Lydia didn’t pull the others aside like he thought she would, sitting instead on the other leg of the L-shaped couch. Wrench settled awkwardly next to her and Travis and Jenny sat up to give them their attention.

  “What’s up?” Travis asked.

  “You’re going to LA tomorrow?” Lydia asked as an opening.

  Jenny nodded, looking from one to the other. “That’s the plan,” she said. “I’ve got a few things to do in person at the law firm.”

  “You know Blacksmith, the charming individual that is the reason Laura and Wrench are both here?”

  “Can’t say I’ve actually met him,” Jenny said wryly. “But we do have some history.” She smirked at Wrench, who kept his expression carefully shuttered.

  “He’s put Wrench’s sister in witness protection and his eight-year old niece is in danger.”

  The silence that met that statement was amplified by Breck or Graham pausing their game to turn and listen more obviously.

  He scowled at them indiscriminately.

  “That’s terrible!” Jenny said in horror.

  “What can we do?” Travis asked.

  Realizing that the lynx shifter’s hand was twined with Jenny’s made Wrench aware that Lydia’s was similarly resting on his; he took a moment to marvel that it felt so natural that he hadn’t even noticed when it happened. It took all his willpower not to pull it away once he was aware of it.

  “Bring her back here from LA with you,” Lydia said.

  Jenny didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, of course.”

  “Are you sure?” Travis said at the same time. “No kids allowed at the resort.”

  “Scarlet doesn’t have to know,” Lydia said.

  “Scarlet knows everything,” Breck interjected.

  Graham’s growl might have been agreement.

  Wrench had a feeling this was going to be a harder sell than it had been to Laura and Tex. Laura at least had an idea what Blacksmith was capable of.

  Lydia’s skirt rustled as she leaned forward earnestly. “Ally is eight. She’s old enough to understand that she needs to stay out of sight. But we need to keep her off the radar of the cartel.”

  Lydia was not just smart, Wrench realized. She was masterful. It was hard not stare at her beautiful profile and want her.

  “I’ll bring her back,” Jenny said firmly. “What will I need?”

  “I’ll get the plane ticket sorted,” Lydia said. “Give me your phone number and we can stay in touch as we work out the details.” She produced a phone from somewhere impossible within her dress.

  “I dunno,” Breck said skeptically as the girls exchanged numbers. “I’ll do what I can, but Scarlet doesn’t fool easily.”

  “She’s got a lot on her plate right now,” Jenny said soothingly. “She’d probably just rather not be bothered.”

  Travis smothered a dry laugh. “If by that you mean she is totally fed up with lawyers—present company excluded—and insurance company bean counters, and we should all just stay completely out of her way anyway, that’s probably true.”

  “I thought she seemed tense,” Lydia said knowingly, as she sat back again. “That’s settled then. Thank you.”

  Wrench added, gruffly but sincerely, “Thank you.”

  He was rewarded with smiles from all but Graham.

  They stood up, and Wrench gave firm handshakes all around.

  “Now then,” Lydia said, standing and brushing out her skirt. “I believe we were in the middle of a date?”

  Wrench frowned and stood at attention. “Yes, ma’am.”

  This earned them a round of smirks and knowing looks, which Wrench chose to ignore as Lydia slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. Head as high as it went, he led her out of The Den and back into the darkness that was just theirs.

  Chapter 12

  “You are amazing,” Wrench said gruffly to Lydia, once they were out of earshot of The Den.

  It was astonishingly meaningful. Lydia looked up at his face, already so familiar. “I couldn’t do anything less,” she said simply.

  He stopped, and Lydia drew up in front of him. Just as she had hoped he would, he gathered her gently into his arms. “Thank you,” he said. He looked like he might want to say something more, but only repeated, “Thank you.”

  Then he kissed her again, and Lydia put her arms around him, wherever she could reach, and kissed him back.

  His shoulders were ridiculously wide under her hands, and his mouth was insistent and strong on hers. His hands seemed to hold her entire torso with no effort, big thumbs making patterns along her muscles. Every nerve in her body was alive with hunger.

  “My room,” Lydia breathed, when they broke apart for a moment of air. Wrench’s hands gripped harder, then he let her go free with visible effort. She made herself let go as well, stepping back. She smoothed her mussed hair back, then took his elbow again.

  They maintained a decent charade of self-control all the way up the gravel path, breaking it only as they came to the front entrance of the spa. Lydia wasn’t sure who reached first, but they fell into the doorway pulling at each oth
er’s clothing, desperate for the feel of skin against skin.

  His plain gray silk tie came untied with a whisper and was flung to the tiled floor. Lydia’s fingers were trembling with need as she unbuttoned the tiny buttons of the shirt beneath, and she had to pause to run her hands up underneath the crisp material.

  Wrench’s hands were trying to make sense of her dress, baffled by the lack of zippers or buttons, while his mouth was distracted on her neck and at her collarbone.

  Lydia finally took mercy on him and backed far enough away to get her dress off over her head.

  The way he looked at her, amazed and longing, made Lydia pause, wearing nothing but her heels and underthings.

  “You are so beautiful,” Wrench said breathlessly.

  Lydia realized that he wasn’t going to move again without help, and stepped into his waiting hands. “You’re wearing too much,” she told him chidingly.

  Moving much faster than a man of his size ought to, he sent the jacket spinning across the room, shortly followed by the shirt. Lydia wasn’t sure if he managed the buttons or simply tore them off, and didn’t find that she cared either way, as his free hand was touching parts of her like they’d never been touched before. When she moved up against him, she was keenly aware of his erection between them, pressing in tantalizing places.

  He lifted her up onto one of the chairs, kissing her neck and running big hands down her thighs. He toyed with the lace of her underpants, but didn’t offer to remove them, making Lydia sigh in delicious frustration.

  “You’re still wearing too much,” she pointed out.

  It was quickly obvious that the chair wasn’t wide enough for their intended activity, and Wrench growled near her ear, then lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his bare torso. He refused to be distracted by her kisses, and carried her to one of the curtained alcoves. He sat her on the massage table and returned swiftly to his attention to her breasts, barely contained in her bra.

  Lydia unclasped his pants and ran the zipper down slowly, thoroughly distracted by his stubbly kisses on the delicate skin of her chest. She reached questing fingers into his underwear as he let the pants slip down, and freed the member that was waiting impatiently there.