Behind her, the doors snicked open. Tony? Her heart stuttered a quick syncopation as she glanced back.
Alys walked toward her, high heels clicking on the tiled veranda as she angled past two guards comparing notes on their twin BlackBerry phones. Shannon forced herself to keep the smile in place. It would be rude to frown in disappointment, especially after how helpful the woman had been.
Too bad the disappointment wasn’t as easy to hide from herself. No doubt about it, Tony was working his way back into her life.
The king’s assistant stopped at the fully stocked outdoor bar and poured a glass of lemonade from the crystal pitcher.
Shannon thumbed the condensation on the cold glass. “Is there something you need?”
“Antonio wanted me to find you, and I have.” She tapped her silver BlackBerry attached to the waistband of her linen skirt. Ever crisp with her power suit and French manicure. As usual the elegant woman didn’t have a wrinkle in sight, much less wince over working in heels all day. “He’ll be out shortly. He’s finishing up a meeting with his father.”
“I should get Kolby.” She swung her feet to the side. How silly to be glad she’d caved and used some of the new clothes. She had worn everything she brought with her twice and while the laundry service easily kept up with her limited wardrobe, she’d begun to feel a little ungrateful not to wear at least a few of the things that someone had gone to a lot of trouble to provide. Shannon smoothed the de la Renta scoop-necked dress, the fabric so decadently soft it caressed her skin with every move.
“No need to stop the boy’s fun just yet. Antonio is on his way.” Alys perched on the edge of the lounger, glass on her knee.
Shannon rubbed the hem of her dress between two fingers much like Kolby with his blanket when he needed soothing. “I hear you’re the one who ordered all the new clothes. Thank you.”
Alys saw to everything else in this smoothly run place. “No need for thanks. It’s my job.”
“You have excellent taste.” She tugged the hem back over her knees.
“I saw your photo online and chose things that would flatter your frame and coloring. It’s fun to shop on someone else’s dime.”
More than a dime had gone into this wardrobe. Her closet sported new additions each morning. Everything from casual jeans and designer blouses to silky dresses and heels to wear for dinner. An assortment of bathing suits to choose from….
And the lingerie. A decadent shiver slid down her spine at the feel of the fine silks and satins against her skin. Although it made her uncomfortable to think of this woman choosing everything.
Alys turned her glass around and around on her knee. “The expense you worry about is nothing to them. They can afford the finest. It would bother them to see you struggling. Now you fit in and that gives the king less to worry about.”
God forbid her tennis shoes should make the king uncomfortable. But saying as much would make her sound ungrateful, so she toyed with her glasses, pulling them off and cleaning them with her napkin even though they were already crystal clear. The dynamics of this place went beyond any household she’d ever seen. Alys seemed more comfortable here than Tony.
Shannon slid her glasses back on. “If you don’t mind my asking, how long have you been working for the king?”
“Only three months.”
How long did she intend to stay? The island was luxurious, but in more of a vacation kind of way. It was so cut off from the world, time seemed to stand still. What kind of life could the woman build in this place?
Abruptly, Alys leaped to her feet. “Here is Antonio now.”
He charged confidently through the door, eyes locked on Shannon. “Thank you for finding her, Alys.”
The assistant backed away. “Of course.” Alys stepped out of hearing range, giving them some privacy.
Forking a hand through his hair—messing up the precise combing from his conference with his father—Tony wore a suit without a tie. The jacket perhaps a nod toward meeting with his father? His smile was carefree, but his shoulders bore the extra tension she’d come to realize accompanied time he had spent with the king.
“How did your meeting go?”
“Don’t want to talk about that.” Tony plucked a lily from the vase on the bar, snapped the stem off and tucked the bloom behind her ear. “Would much rather enjoy the view. The flower is almost as gorgeous as you are.”
The lush perfume filled each breath. “All the fresh flowers are positively decadent.”
“I wish I could take credit, but there’s a hothouse with a supply that’s virtually unlimited.”
Yet another amenity she wouldn’t have guessed, although it certainly explained all the fresh-cut flowers. “Still,” she repeated as she touched the lily tucked in her hair, “I appreciate the gesture.”
“I would make love to you on a bed of flowers if you let me.” He thumbed her earlobe lightly before skimming his knuckles along her collarbone.
How easy it would be to give over to the delicious seduction of his words and his world. Except she’d allowed herself to fall into that trap before.
And of course there was that little technicality that he had been the one holding back all week. “What about thorns?”
He laughed, his hand falling away from her skin and palming her back. “Come on, my practical love. We’re going out.”
Love? She swallowed to dampen her suddenly cottony mouth. “To lunch?”
“To the airstrip.”
Her stomach lurched. This slice of time away was over already? “We’re leaving?”
“Not that lucky, I’m afraid. Your apartment is still staked out with the press and curious royalty groupie types. You may want to consider a gated community on top of the added security measures. I know the cost freaks you out, but give my lawyer another couple of days to work on those restraining orders and we can take it from there. As for where we’re going today, we’re greeting guests and I’d like you to come along.”
They weren’t leaving. Relief sang through her so intensely it gave her pause.
Tony cocked his head to the side. “Would you like to come with me?”
“Uh, yes, I think so.” She struggled to gather her scrambled thoughts and composure. “I just need to settle Kolby.”
Alys cleared her throat a few feet away. “I’ve already notified Miss Delgado, the younger nanny. She’s ordering a picnic lunch and bringing sand toys. Then of course she will watch over him during his naptime if needed. I assume that’s acceptable to you?”
Her son would enjoy that more than a car ride and waiting around for the flight. She was growing quite spoiled having afternoons completely free while Kolby napped safely under a nanny’s watchful care. “Of course. That sounds perfect.”
Shannon smiled her thanks and reached out to touch the woman’s arm. Except Alys wasn’t looking at her. The king’s assistant had her eyes firmly planted elsewhere.
On Tony.
Shock nailed her feet to the tiles. Then a fierce jealousy vibrated through her, a feeling that was most definitely ugly and not her style. She’d thought herself above such a primitive emotion, not to mention Tony hadn’t given the woman any encouragement.
Still, Shannon fought the urge to link her arm with his in a great big “mine” statement. In that unguarded moment, Alys revealed clearly what she hoped to gain from living here.
Alys wanted a Medina man.
Eight
Tony guided the Porsche Cayenne four-wheel drive along the island road toward the airstrip, glad Shannon was with him to ease the edge on the upcoming meeting. Although having her with him brought a special torment all its own.
The past week working his way back into her good graces had been a painful pleasure, sharpening the razor edge on his need to have her in his bed again. Spending time with her had only shown him more reasons to want her. She mesmerized him with the simplest things.
When she sat on the pool edge and kicked her feet through the water, he thought o
f those long legs wrapped around him.
Seeing her sip a glass of lemonade made him ache to taste the tart fruit on her lips.
The way she cleaned her glasses with a gust of breath fogging the frames made him think of her panting in his ear as he brought her to completion.
Romancing his way back into her good graces was easier said than done. And the goal of it all made each day on this island easier to bear.
And after they returned to Galveston? He would face that then. Right now, he had more of his father’s past to deal with.
“Tony?” Bracing her hand against the dash as the rutted road challenged even the quality shock absorbers, she looked so right sitting in the seat next to him. “You still haven’t told me who we’re picking up. Your brothers, perhaps?”
Steering the SUV under the arch of palm trees lining both sides of the road, he searched for the right words to prepare Shannon for something he’d never shared with a soul. “You’re on the right track.” His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. “My sister. Half sister, actually. Eloisa.”
“A sister? I didn’t know….”
“Neither does the press.” His half sister had stayed under the radar, growing up with her mother and stepfather in Pensacola, Florida. Only recently had Eloisa reestablished contact with their father. “She’s coming here to regroup, troubleshoot. Prepare. Now that the Medina secret is out, her story will also be revealed soon enough.”
“May I ask what that story might be?”
“Of course.” He focused on the two-lane road, a convenient excuse to make sure she didn’t see any anger pushing past his boundaries. “My father had a relationship with her mother after arriving in the U.S., which resulted in Eloisa. She’s in her mid-twenties now.”
Shannon’s eyes went wide behind her glasses.
“Yeah, I know.” Turning, he drove from the jungle road onto a waterside route leading to the ferry station. “That’s a tight timeline between when we left San Rinaldo and the hookup.” Tight timeline in regard to his mother’s death.
“That must have been confusing for you. Kolby barely remembers his father and it’s been tough for him to accept you. And we haven’t had to deal with adding another child to the mix.”
A child? With Shannon? An image of a dark-haired baby—his baby—in her arms blindsided him, derailing his thoughts away from his father in a flash. His foot slid off the accelerator. Shaking free of the image was easier said than done as it grew roots in his mind—Kolby stepping into the picture until a family portrait took shape.
God, just last week he’d been thinking how he knew nothing about kids. She was the one hinting at marriage, not him. Although she said the opposite until he didn’t know what was up.
Things with Shannon weren’t as simple as he’d planned at the outset. “My father’s affair was his own business.”
“Okay, then.” She pulled her glasses off and fogged them with her breath. She dried them with the hem of her dress. “Do you and your sister get along?”
He hauled his eyes from Shannon’s glasses before he swerved off onto the beach. Or pulled onto the nearest side road and to hell with making it to the airstrip on time.
“I’ve only met her once before.” When Tony was a teenager. His father had gone all out on that lone visit with his seven-year-old daughter. Tony didn’t resent Eloisa. It wasn’t her fault, after all. In fact, he grew even more pissed off at his father. Enrique had responsibilities to his daughter. If he wanted to stay out of her life, then fine. Do so. But half measures were bull.
Yet wasn’t that what he’d been offering Shannon? Half measures?
Self-realization sucked. “She’s come here on her own since then. She and Duarte have even met up a few times, which in a roundabout way brought on the media mess.”
“How so?” She slid her glasses back in place.
“Our sister married into a high-profile family. Eloisa’s husband is the son of an ambassador and brother to a senator. He’s a Landis.”
She sat up straighter at the mention of America’s political royalty. Talk about irony.
Tony slowed for a fuel truck to pass. “The Landis name naturally comes with media attention.” He accelerated into the parking lot alongside the ferry station, the boat already close to shore. An airplane was parked on the distant airstrip. “Her husband—Jonah—likes to keep a low profile, but that’s just not possible.”
“What happened?”
“Duarte was delivering one of our father’s messages, which put him on a collision course with a press camera. We’re still trying to figure out how the Global Intruder made the connection. Although, it’s a moot point now. Every stray photo of all of us has been unearthed, every detail of our pasts.”
“Of my past?” Her face drained of color.
“I’m afraid so.”
All the more reason for her to stay on the island. Her husband’s illegal dealings, even his suicide, had hit the headlines again this morning, thanks to muckrakers looking for more scandal connected to the Medina story. He would only be able to shield Shannon from that for so long. She had a right to know.
“I’ve grown complacent this week.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “My poor in-laws.”
The SUV idled in the parking spot, the ferry already preparing to dock. He didn’t have much time left alone with her.
Tony skimmed back her silky blond hair. “I’m sorry all this has come up again. And I hate it that I can’t do more to fix things for you.”
Turning toward his touch, she rested her face in his hand. “You’ve helped this week.”
He wanted to kiss her, burned to recline the seats and explore the hint of cleavage in her scoop-necked dress. And damned if that wasn’t exactly what he planned to do.
Slanting his mouth over her, he caught her gasp and took full advantage of her parted lips with a determined sweep of his tongue. Need for her pumped through his veins, fast-tracked blood from his head to his groin until he could only feel, smell, taste undiluted Shannon. Her gasp quickly turned to a sigh as she melted against him, the curves of her breasts pressed to his chest, her fingernails digging deeply into his forearms as she urged him closer.
He was more than happy to accommodate.
It had been so long, too long since they’d had sex before their argument over his damned money. Nearly fourteen days that seemed like fourteen years since he’d had his hands on her this way, fully and unrestrained, tunneling under her clothes, reacquainting himself with the perfection of her soft skin and perfect curves. She fit against him with a rightness he knew extended even further with their clothes off. A hitch in her throat, the flush rising on the exposed curve of her breasts keyed him in to her rising need, as if he couldn’t already tell by the way she nearly crawled across the seat to get closer.
Shannon wanted sex with him every bit as much as he wanted her. But that required privacy, not a parking lot in clear view of the approaching ferry.
Holding back now was the right move, even if it was killing him.
“Come on. Time to meet my sister.” He slid out of her arms and the SUV and around to her door before she could shuffle her purse from her lap to her shoulder.
He opened the door and she smiled her thanks without speaking, yet another thing he appreciated about her. She sensed when he didn’t want to talk anymore. He’d shared things with women over the years, but until her, he’d never found one with whom he could share silence.
The lapping waves, the squawk of gulls, the endless stretch of water centered him, steadying his steps and reminding him how to keep his balance in a rocky world.
Resting his head on Shannon’s back, he waited while the ferry finished docking. His sister and her husband stood at the railing. Eloisa’s husband hooked an arm around her shoulders, the couple talking intently.
Eloisa might not be a carbon copy of their father, but she carried an air of something unmistakably Medina about her. His father had once said she looked like their grandmothe
r. Tony wouldn’t know, since he couldn’t remember his grandparents who’d all died before he was born.
The loudspeaker blared with the boat captain announcing their arrival. Disembarking, the couple stayed close together, his brother-in-law broadcasting a protective air. Jonah was the unconventional Landis, according to the papers. If so, they should get along just fine.
The couple stepped from the boat to the dock, and up close Eloisa didn’t appear nearly as calm as from a distance. Lines of strain showed in her eyes.
“Welcome,” Tony said. “Eloisa, Jonah, this is Shannon Crawford, and I’m—”
“Antonio, I know.” His sister spoke softly, reserved. “I recognize you both from the papers.”
He’d met Eloisa once as a child when she’d visited the island. She’d come back recently, but he’d been long gone by then.
They were strangers and relatives. Awkward, to say the least.
Jonah Landis stepped up. “Glad you could accommodate our request for a visit so quickly.”
“Damage control is important.”
Eloisa simply took his hand, searching his face. “How’s our father?”
“Not well.” Had Shannon just stepped closer to him? Tony kept his eyes forward, knowing in his gut he would see sympathy in her eyes. “He says his doctors are doing all they can.”
Blinking back tears, Eloisa stood straighter with a willowy strength. “I barely know him, but I can’t envision a world without him in it. Sounds crazy, I’m sure.”
He understood too well. Making peace was hard as hell, yet somehow she seemed to have managed.
Jonah clapped him on the back. “Well, my new bro, I need to grab Eloisa’s bags and meet you at the car.”
A Landis who carried his own luggage? Tony liked the unpretentious guy already.
And wasn’t that one of the things he liked most about Shannon? Her down-to-earth ways in spite of her wealthy lifestyle with her husband. She seemed completely unimpressed with the Medina money, much less his defunct title.
For the first time he considered she might be right. She may be better off without the strain of his messed-up family.
The Maverick Prince Page 10