Blaine, Destiny - Breakfast by the Sea (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Destiny Blaine

  “Me, either,” she told him, finding him all the more attractive when he winked and smiled.

  Connor returned, bandaged her hand, and then pulled her away from Jeff’s legs. He glanced down and smirked.

  “Damn right,” Jeff said proudly while she pretended not to notice his bulge or the fact he was quite proud of his erection.

  “I definitely need that drink now,” Connor grumbled, washing his hands.

  Jeff poured them. They all drank them. And they didn’t stop sipping until the bottle was dry.

  Chapter Nine

  “Is this your idea of getting close to her?” Adam asked, peering under the brown mane covering Paige’s face and admiring how sweet she looked curled against Jeff’s chest.

  “Looks like it’s working out pretty good, don’t ’cha think?” Jeff teased.

  “Not for me, it isn’t,” Adam said sourly. He noticed how comfortable Jeff seemed with Paige’s lean body in his arms. “Take her upstairs, tuck her in, and then get your sorry ass back down here.” Had something changed between Paige and Jeff?

  Adam glared at the monitors Miles recently discovered. The surveillance cameras didn’t capture anything current. The monitors flashed with images from Ramone’s home, but the rooms were bare. There wasn’t any sign of the life Ramone left behind outside of the ostentatious furniture pieces and atrocious nude statues erected at the entrance of every bedroom.

  Adam reached a decision. “Callan, get over to Jekyll Island Club Hotel. Book the Presidential Suite. I’m told Ramone used to vacation there in one of the cottages. If he’s here, he’s staying there.”

  “I’ve researched the accommodations there. We’ll be more comfortable in one of the cottages, too,” Callan advised.

  “The whole team won’t be going. If we can get Paige to sober up enough, I want her and Jeff checking in later this evening.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” Connor asked, storming downstairs. “Jeff won’t protect her.”

  “Then she’ll have to watch her back, won’t she?”

  “No,” Connor objected. “You didn’t see her today. She’s vulnerable. If Ramone Carpasia goes after her, she won’t fight him. She thinks she’s dead already.”

  “The hell she does,” Adam remarked. “If you believe that, then she’s played you like an expired instrument.”

  “She is afraid of him,” Jeff informed them, walking downstairs.

  “Is she frightened of you?” Adam asked, determined to see if his sixth sense was right.

  Adam couldn’t remember a time when Jeff had chased after a woman, caught her, and done nothing to punish her. After the episode on the beach, Adam had suspected Jeff would lock Paige in her room or at the very least, attach a handcuff to her wrist and his. Instead, prior to Miles uncovering her communication center, Jeff had planned to take Paige shopping. Who would’ve thought?

  “She’s terrified of me,” Jeff finally answered, smiling.

  “Exactly how many drinks did you slurp down before you reached this decision?” Adam asked, pointing toward the stairs. “Miles, let me know when Paige is awake.”

  Miles disappeared. Connor glared at Adam. “Let me go instead. Jeff, this isn’t your kind of job.”

  “What’s that?” Jeff asked, acting like he hadn’t overheard the new assignment.

  “Adam wants to send you in with Paige.”

  “Send me where?”

  “You’re checking in tonight at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. You’ll go in as yourself. Check in as Jeff and Paige Jacobsen. We’ll put on a big show. You’ll flash a lot of cash, play croquet, take a carriage ride, rent bikes, and—”

  “You’ll act like a happy couple,” Connor grated out. “Think you can manage that?” A beat later, he said, “I didn’t think so.”

  “Yeah, man, I can do it. Give me a blushing bride and I’ll find a way to pass away the time.”

  “Good, because that’s exactly what she’ll be for the time being—your wife.” Adam studied his operatives. Connor would’ve been his first choice. Unfortunately, Connor couldn’t handle his booze. He was slurred after a few drinks in the kitchen.

  Normally, Jeff wasn’t much of a drinker. It cost him far too much to catch a good buzz, and he refused to waste his money.

  “You’ll get settled in, and then later, you’ll sit in the bar and toss back a few highballs, maybe boast about your beautiful new bride so everyone around can buy you drinks. Think you can handle that?”

  “What else?” Jeff asked, propping his chin under a closed fist. “I need details on the good stuff.”

  “That’s up to Paige,” Adam replied, grinning. “But I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you.”

  “Paige won’t go for any of this,” Connor stated flatly.

  “What makes you the Paige expert all of a sudden?” Jeff asked in a tone certain to raise eyebrows around the room.

  “She finally got to him,” Callan said, voicing what Adam already suspected. “Things are about to get real interesting around this island. I hate to miss the show, but I’ve gotta go if you want that Presidential Suite. Sure you don’t want me to book a few other rooms while I’m over there?”

  Adam shook his head. “We’ll get the suite wired. We should be okay. This is a small island.”

  “Callan, make sure you put champagne and roses in the room. I want to do this honeymoon thing up right,” Jeff teased, digging at Connor.

  “Adam, are you crazy?” Connor asked.

  “Not yet,” Jeff reported, jumping in before Adam earned a chance to respond. “But I bet Paige knows how to drive any man out of his mind.”

  Connor sneered. “When all hell breaks loose, do me a favor and call hotel security. Don’t phone a friend.” He pursed his lips and addressed Adam. “I don’t like this. He’ll get her killed.”

  “Jeff will have Paige under lock and key. If they’re out and about, some of us will tail them. They’ll be fine. If you want to worry about someone, worry about us. Ramone Carpasia and five key players in his organization landed at the club’s private airstrip early this morning. We’re getting intelligence on his associates later this evening. We should have five cards in our deck if Ramone is traveling with his usual entourage. I want to be prepared.

  “Carpasia killed one wife. We have enough evidence to suggest his first wife is, in fact, dead. He may be ready for the second kill. Lucky for Paige, she has friends in high places. My guess is after Carpasia gets settled at the club, has a nice meal and time to relax, he’ll come here in hopes of finding dessert. We’ll be waiting.”

  “Then why don’t you keep the entire team in place? Why parade her around the island with Jeff?”

  “Don’t fret, honey,” Jeff drawled, “Adam will protect you while I’m away.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Jeff,” Connor bellowed. “You’re not the best guy for this job, and we both realize why. You’ll frighten her.”

  “I’ll take care of her,” Jeff promised. “No funny stuff, honest.”

  “I can take care of myself,” she said, stumbling down the stairs with Miles following behind her. “You don’t understand the significance of all this, do you?” She tripped, and Miles tried to catch her. “I’m fine.”

  And drunk.

  Adam watched the clumsy descent of one intoxicated innkeeper. Dressed in worn denim jeans and a loose red shirt off one shoulder, she was appealing enough to drop jaws around the room. She took a seat on the third step and folded her hands in her lap.

  “He’s not going to kill me,” she announced.

  “I thought you believed he wanted you dead,” Adam pried, raising a brow.

  “I’ve had time to reconsider.”

  “Is this the alcohol talking or you?” Adam asked, uninterested in pure babble.

  “He can’t kill me until he replaces me. His men would think he’d lost it if he disposed of Ramona and then me within a short period of time.”

  “She has a point,” Jeff agreed.

  “Most
of his guards liked me, and many of them respected me. It doesn’t make sense that he would kill me only hours after he’d tortured Ramona.”

  Jeff and Connor made eye contact. They bought her theory.

  “Why didn’t you tell us about the surveillance equipment?” Miles asked, notably irked. Paige hid a few playthings Miles would’ve enjoyed. That must’ve pissed him off.

  “I wanted to keep an eye on Ramone. Everything hidden behind that portrait is all I ever want to have with Ramone Carpasia. If I could watch the house in Cairo and his place in London, then I didn’t have to worry or wonder when he was coming for me. With the cameras in place, I knew when to expect him.”

  “He’s here in JekyllIsland, Paige.”

  “He arrived this morning,” she confirmed, unaffected by Adam’s revelation. “I played back the tapes and realized he was on his way. Plus, I have friends at the resort. My contact notified me when his plane landed.”

  “Why not show us your surveillance?” Adam wondered aloud.

  “I trust no one,” she said. “Not even you, Jeff.” Smiling, she looked at her hand and wrapped her fingers around the bandage Connor had used to cover her open wounds. “I might trust Connor.”

  “I told you,” Connor said, triumphantly. “I’m the man who belongs in the marriage bed.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Adam said. “Jeff, get packed. Paige, I hope you’ll go along with this. Jeff isn’t the ideal husband, but if he’s not on his best behavior, I’ll take care of him.”

  “I doubt anyone handles Jeff,” Paige said, slurring.

  Jeff took her hand and helped her up. “Want to walk, or should I carry you?”

  “Very funny,” she replied. “I’m light-headed, but I can handle my liquor.”

  “Right,” he said, rolling his eyes.

  Jeff walked next to her, not behind her as he typically would’ve when he escorted a woman. His hand went to her lower back, and he acted, much to Adam’s surprise, like a gentleman.

  “He’s falling,” Adam said regrettably.

  “Hard,” Miles added.

  Connor shook his head. “He’s full of himself. The day he falls for her or anyone else is the day I retire from this business.”

  “Then you’d better decide which continent you want to call home, because Jeff is a finished man.”

  * * * *

  “When did you move your things in here?” Paige asked.

  “After your temper tantrum.”

  “Which one?”

  He shot her a wicked smile. “The one when you almost got fucked in the water.”

  “Are you always this charming?”

  “Sure. Most of the women I take to bed think I have quite a way with words.”

  “I’m not in your bed.”

  “Yet,” he said, flashing a promising smile.

  Paige found his demeanor alarming. At what point had Jeff decided to play nice? When did he begin to view her as an ally more than an adversary? And why in the bloody hell couldn’t Adam go to the resort with her? Or Callan. Yes, Callan made sense. He was safe.

  Retrieving a large piece of leather luggage from the top of her closet, she started packing. Jeff stood near the French doors, eyeing the beach. “Tell me about the resort.”

  “The Jekyll Island Club is swanky, a throw-back from yesteryear with many of the same upper-class families vacationing there. The old families have been coming to the island for generations. As a business owner, it’s hard to compete. The resort appealed to the upper echelon of society for a great number of years.”

  “What about security?”

  She looked right through him. “I’m sure you’re aware of Ramone Carpasia’s reputation. I hope you won’t put untrained guards in harm’s way. The rent-a-cops at the club are no match for Ramone. If Ramone goes public for a battle, hotel security won’t stop him. We may not.”

  Jeff snickered. “I’m not afraid of your ex, baby. Besides, we’re not facing off with him tonight. We have time to put a plan together. We’ll go out to eat, enjoy a little wine, a little dancing, maybe even a little—”

  “Take me off the menu,” she advised him, walking to her closet and throwing a few dresses into her suitcase. At the same time, he walked over to her dresser, and as luck would have it, he didn’t have to search for the lingerie. He removed the narrow top drawer from the bureau and dumped all the contents into her luggage.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m making sure you’re prepared.”

  She glared at him. “Have I missed something? You’ve been here for about a month. You stare at me like you hate me, threaten me whenever the opportunity presents itself, and now you seem hell-bent on fucking me.”

  “Sounds about right,” he said, fingering one of her favorite lingerie items, a thin, royal blue silk negligee with lace cups, thin threads barely holding them in place, a satin tie at the waist, and a transparent skirt.

  “I’d rather be married to Connor.”

  His head jerked. Winking, he said, “If we were talking a true honeymoon and wedding here, I might choose Connor for you, too. But since we’re trying to keep you alive and secure our target, I’m the man for this job. At the end of the day, you’ll be glad I’m me and you’re you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, tossing a blouse toward him and watching him fold the soft cotton like the feel of material she’d worn against her skin excited him.

  “We are what we are, Paige. Men aren’t that different from women. There are men you fuck, enjoy the hell out of in bed, but you wouldn’t take them home to Mama.”

  “I’m not sleeping with you.”

  “You didn’t let me finish,” he said. “Those are the men you want standing beside you when you meet an enemy. They have testosterone on their side. It’s what gets them going in the sack, and it’s the same thing you see coming out when a man fights for what he believes in.”

  “But you won’t fight for me. You might fight beside me, but you won’t draw your gun for me.”

  Moistening his lips, he caught her wrist when she tossed another article of clothing toward the luggage. “If I’m standing beside you, or anyone else, I’m fighting for you. I don’t step into the line of fire without knowing why I’m there and who I’m responsible for protecting. Got it?”

  She tried to break his grip. When she failed, her gaze met his.

  “We’re working together. For the time being, trust me to guard you.”

  She swallowed. “I wonder how many women you’ve led to your bed with similar promises.”

  “All of them.”

  “And they ended up dead,” she stated flatly.

  “So I’ve been known to tell a lie or two.”

  “I’ll sleep with both eyes open.”

  “Perfect. I knew you were a woman after my heart.”

  “Bah! That’s the last thing I’m after.”

  He patted her behind. “After you rubbed this all over my hard-on, I know what you’re after. My heart won’t get you off, but I have something that will.”

  She grated back the urge to curse him. “God! You are so full of yourself!”

  “I’d like to show you why sometime. Maybe I’ll get a chance on our honeymoon.”

  “I hope I never get that desperate.”

  “You will,” he promised. “I’ll make you wet, Paige, fucking wet. And then I’ll do something about it. That’s not a promise. That’s a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.”

  She picked up her luggage, and he immediately took over, placing his hand over hers until she released the handle. “I won’t be used by you or anyone else.”

  “Maybe not, but I’m still going to fuck you. That’s what it’s going to take to make us both happy.”

  Chapter Ten

  Paige only had a few minutes to spare. After Callan returned from the resort, Adam called a meeting. While they discussed surveillance, Paige disappeared into the cellar. If they thought she would leave her home
without her toys, they underestimated her.

  Opening another duffle bag, she moved a workbench out of the way and started packing. Grenades, hunting knives, Uzis, semiautomatics, powerful rifles, and countless rounds of ammunition for each weapon were shoved into several pieces of luggage. She took the smaller bags and stuffed those totes into a larger suitcase.

  When she finished, she zipped up, threw the soft luggage over her shoulder, and turned out the overhead light. At the same time, someone slapped his palm over her mouth.

  Squirming, she tried to knee her captor, but before she successfully delivered a swift kick, Connor pulled the string to the lone light bulb and glared down. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he whispered, removing his hand.

  “I can’t go in there with Jeff without some added assurance. You know that.”

  “He’s not going to hurt you,” he grumbled. “He’ll follow Adam’s orders.”

  “Then why did you act so apprehensive about Adam’s decision to send him instead of you?”

  Connor’s eyes twinkled. “You have to ask?”

  “Yes.”

  Connor backed away from her. He ran his hand through his thick short hair and stroked his mustache. “Damn, woman, you’ve been driving me crazy since I got here. If you don’t know why I’m the man for this job then you haven’t been paying attention.”

  Paige set the bag down. “All of you treat me like I’m wearing a tramp stamp. After you found out Ramone Carpasia was my former husband, you couldn’t dismiss me fast enough.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “The hell it isn’t,” she remarked, picking up the bag again and stomping by him.

  “You’re still alive, aren’t you?” he asked, a low roaring tone to his voice.

  “Yes, but I wonder for how long.”

  “You’re not even in the card deck anymore, Paige. Adam is working on removing you from our handler’s radar altogether.”

  “He’d do that for me?”

  “Apparently so.”

  What did she say to that? She couldn’t think of anything, so she started upstairs once more.

  Connor stopped her with one arm gently wrapped around her waist. “Paige, Jeff doesn’t play around. Even if he finds you attractive, which he does, he will kill you if you get in his way. He may not want to, but if you do something stupid, he could do it by accident. It’s in his nature and who he is. Self-preservation always comes first with this guy unless he’s working with the team.”