Unexpected Temptation

by Samantha Hunter

  Watching Luke as he busied himself with getting ready to leave, and knowing how sexy Mariana was, Vanessa found it hard to believe that they had never been lovers.

  And here she thought she was up to the task of seducing him? Suddenly, her sexy clothes made her feel ridiculous, but there was no time to dwell on her insecurities.

  “Why do they think we’re here?”

  Luke shifted uncomfortably, not meeting her eyes. “I told them I was here on a getaway and needed some privacy. Believe me, with how crazy Mariana’s life has been since the books and the movie, she understands.”

  “A getaway. You mean, as lovers?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you said that we couldn’t...um, that it was a distraction.”

  “It’s just a cover. We have to act like that when we have company. I can’t say I find that all too difficult, do you?”

  “No. Not at all. I can do that.”

  The problem would be dealing with the fact that it was playacting, when for Vanessa, wanting and caring for Luke was becoming very real. It would be so easy, even if they were only pretending, to let her heart slip further into trouble than it already had.

  “Good. You’ll like Mariana—she’s great. Very down to earth. I think she’ll like you, too.”

  Vanessa muttered something noncommittal as they crossed the deck to the level below, where they could access the motorboat that would take them to the island.

  “Go pack up what you need, and I’ll meet you in twenty minutes.”

  He was gone, heading down to the boat before she could say another word. Distracted by the notion of seeing Mariana perhaps?

  Oh, there was a nasty, green monster rearing its head in her life, Vanessa realized.

  When was the last time she was jealous of anyone? She often was a little envious of people who had seemingly perfect families or relationships, but not in a truly jealous way. But the idea of Luke wanting someone else...it created emotions inside that she had no right to feel. He wasn’t hers. She had no claim.

  Back in her cabin, she closed the door behind her and drew in a slow, deep breath, then released it.

  She needed a moment alone. A moment to deal with everything. Her feelings for Luke, the fact that she was here, trying to find her sister and who knows who else. That Luke didn’t want her involved in the search, and how she’d changed his mind. Now she was about to meet a famous author, one of her idols, who was Luke’s college buddy and likely a former lover.

  It was a lot for someone to deal with, on top of everything else that had happened to her in the last three days. Vanessa’s life was usually predictable and routine. On purpose. She liked it that way. Now it was moving at a breakneck pace, and her emotions were changing every other hour.

  She could deal with it. She would because the stakes were too high. While it might be difficult to act like lovers when they had agreed that they wouldn’t allow themselves to be romantically involved, she could pretend if she had to.

  Julie was out there somewhere, she thought as she peered through the porthole. Her sister was here, and no matter what Luke said, Vanessa didn’t plan to just sit back and be an observer. Julie might need her.

  It was that thought that strengthened her. Vanessa grabbed her bag and headed from the room, ready for anything that came her way.

  8

  “LUKE!”

  Mariana came toward them from across the lush breezeway built between two wings of the large home. It provided a covered but open space that overlooked the jungle and the ocean. Luke had always loved this house and once thought he would buy or build one that was similar, but none of that was important anymore.

  “Mari, I’m so glad to see you.” Luke’s smile was full as he stepped forward to embrace his longtime friend.

  Mariana was one of the only people who had always been there for him, other than his cousins. She gave him straight answers, even when he didn’t want to hear them. Luke could count on one hand the number of people he could say he trusted completely, and she was one of them.

  She’d never liked Nicky, he remembered as she slipped from his arms, looking in mild surprise at Vanessa.

  “Is this your friend?” Mariana asked.

  “Yes. Mari, this is Vanessa Grant. Vanessa, you know Mari from her books—Vanessa has read them all.”

  “Welcome, it’s so nice to meet you,” Mariana said cautiously, taking Vanessa by the elbow. “And it’s always nice to meet someone who likes my work.”

  “You’re a wonderful writer,” Vanessa said, clearly a bit starstruck, which made Luke repress a smile. “Your books keep me up at night, reading,” Vanessa added, making Mari smile more widely.

  “Ah, but now you have Luke to do that,” she said mischievously.

  Luke let out a relieved breath. He hadn’t anticipated what Mari might say upon meeting Vanessa, considering her resemblance to Nicky.

  Vanessa’s cheeks turned a deeper pink, like one of the lush flowers that lined the breezeway. Luke swept in to the rescue, sliding his arm around Vanessa and pulling her in close to his side, where she fit perfectly.

  “Mari, behave.”

  “Oh, what fun is that?” she said with a laugh. “But you are in time for brunch. Let’s go eat and get to know each other.”

  “Actually, we were hoping to go—”

  “You can go after. What kind of hostess would I be, sending you off without a proper meal?”

  Mari sent him another covert, curious look when Vanessa wasn’t paying attention, and he knew he had some explaining to do. The question was how much he should tell her about why they were really there. He could trust Mari, he knew that, but he didn’t want to put her in any more danger than they did simply by being here. The less she knew, the better.

  Luke didn’t want to make any trouble for Mari and her husband.

  As they turned a corner toward the dining area, Luke heard a growl and paused.

  Two black dogs—looking like black Retrievers, though one had a white crest on her chest—stood before them, and the one with the white advanced, putting herself between Mari and Luke and Vanessa with a warning growl.

  “Luna, baby, it’s okay,” Mari crooned in Spanish, leaning down to pet the dog. The other waited cautiously in the doorway, assessing the situation. “These are friends, see?”

  She hugged Luke and then Vanessa, and while doing so, snuck something into their hands.

  “Treats,” she whispered to Luke.

  He bent down to the dog’s level and put his hand out.

  “She responds to Spanish better than English.”

  “Luna, aren’t you a brave, special girl,” Luke said in a soft tone in Spanish, as Mari instructed. “What is the other’s name?” he asked, looking up at Mari.

  “Wendy. She’s a bit shy. Luna is very protective of her.”

  Luke made friends with Luna first, who sniffed him tentatively, and then Vanessa, before accepting treats. Wendy also came to meet them. Before long, both dogs were happily munching on treats and licking the hands of their new guests.

  “They’re lovely animals, and you’re so remote, it’s good to have some protection here.” Luke petted the dogs, both of whom had taken faster to Vanessa and were nearly knocking her over with doggy affection.

  “Thank you. We have three more, but they’re off for grooming right now. Luna and Wendy stay with me. We got them a few months ago from a local rescue organization I support, Save a Sato. They were both satos, or street dogs. Very hard life, very abused, starved. They are getting better, but are still nervous, as you could see, but very friendly, good souls. They just need love, and time. As we all do.”

  “You’ve always been good-hearted, Mari,” Luke said approvingly, but then looked up. “You have five dogs?”

  “Yes,
and eight cats, three birds. Several wild pets that come and go.” She laughed. “They are our babies. For now.”

  “Wait, are you saying...?”

  “No, no,” Mari corrected him quickly. “Not yet, anyway. While the books and the movies are happening, and my husband is working all the time, pets are more than enough.”

  Vanessa finally extricated herself from the dogs’ attention and stood up, smiling.

  “They’re wonderful. I wanted to get a dog of my own, but I didn’t want to have to leave it alone all day when I worked. I think it’s great that you have so many pets, and that you have rescued these pups,” she said.

  “They know you now, so there shouldn’t be any problem. They are very smart and will remember that you belong here,” Mari said, squatting down to ruff the dogs’ ears one more time before they all proceeded to the dining room. Wendy and Luna joined in happily, probably hoping for more treats.

  “So,” Mariana said as they sat. “How long have you two known each other?”

  Vanessa froze, and then broke into a forced smile. Luke knew that she was nervous.

  “Would you mind if I washed up before we eat?” she said, clearly wanting to escape this conversation.

  “Of course! Down that hall, to the left, you will find the washroom,” Mari said graciously.

  As soon as Vanessa disappeared down the hall, Mari turned a knowing gaze on him.

  “So, do you want to tell me what’s really going on here? Not that I doubt you are lovers. I can tell that by how she looks at you, and how you touch her. But she’s almost exactly like—”

  Luke put up a hand. “Yes. Until we were standing in the breezeway and I saw your expression, I’d forgotten to warn you about that. I know you met Nicky that one time.”

  “Once was enough,” Mari said with characteristic bluntness, frowning. “I didn’t like her at all, but then what she did to you, how she left you. I wanted to hunt her down myself. I’m surprised to see you with someone so similar in appearance.”

  “You know I never stopped looking for Nicky. Turns out, I thought I got a hit on her ID and then it ended up being Vanessa. I met Vanessa in Florida, and mistook her for Nicky, at first. But it doesn’t take long to realize they aren’t the same at all,” he said. “They are completely different people.”

  For one thing, Vanessa was kind. She was generous and sincere in a way that Luke couldn’t even imagine Nicky being. Everything he’d experienced with Nicole Brooks had been an act. Vanessa was incapable of being hard-hearted. That had been evident with him, and with the dogs—Nicky would have been screeching about getting dog hair all over her designer clothes.

  “She is different. I could tell that right away, too. She’s also bruised and favors her left side.”

  Luke sighed. Mariana was a writer, after all, and observant. He should have known she’d figure out there was something more going on.

  “Someone else mistook her for Nicky, as well,” he said, and told Mari about the attacks, but nothing about why they were on the island. He’d said enough.

  “How terrible for Vanessa. It sounds like something out of a book, but she’s living through it. So you are her bodyguard?”

  “Yes,” Luke said with a cautious glance toward the hall, where he heard a door open and shut.

  “And you’ve become involved? I thought that wasn’t allowed,” Mari said with a teasing smile. “Has the great Luke Berringer finally met a woman who has gotten under his skin?”

  “There is definite chemistry. I don’t know if it’s because of Nicky, those memories, or the situation or if—”

  Mari waved him off. “Luke, don’t be a coward. You’ve never been that. Vanessa deserves better, too.”

  “You’re right, but sleeping together was an error of judgment, and it can’t happen again. There’s too much at stake, and when this is over, we will go back to our own lives.”

  Mari wasn’t able to respond to him as Vanessa entered the room looking refreshed and smiling—maybe a little too much—as she took her seat next to him. She smelled wonderful, like some exotic flower. The humidity was making her hair curl prettily around her face and neck. Luke wanted to sweep her hair back, plant a kiss there to ease her nerves. Then he realized he was staring.

  Mari was also watching him with keen interest. His friend was far too observant.

  “I saw your new movie poster on the wall in the room next to the bath,” Vanessa confessed. “I hope you don’t mind that I peeked. I couldn’t help myself.”

  Mari laughed. “No, I was going to show you. I’ve had to keep it secret until it’s officially released, and it’s killing me. I’m so happy to be able to share it with someone.”

  “Any time you want to talk about it, please feel free,” Vanessa invited with a wide grin. “I’m so eager to see them, but I hope they are running close to the books. I hate when the movie or TV show completely reinterprets the story.”

  Mari allowed the detour in conversation as they ate, always happy to discuss her work and clearly touched by Vanessa’s genuine enthusiasm. Luke was aware that she wasn’t going to let him off the hook, however, when it came to knowing more about his relationship with Vanessa.

  Though he didn’t have a relationship with Vanessa, or at least, it was only a temporary one, formed by their attraction and common goal. Once all of this was over, there was a good chance she’d feel very differently about him.

  He would be happy to have captured Nicky once and for all—to have found justice—but he knew the price of doing so would probably be losing Vanessa.

  It was how it had to be. Nicky had hurt too many people, and she had to be stopped. She’d almost hurt Vanessa—and Luke would never let that happen again, even if it meant that she hated him in the end.

  * * *

  VANESSA STOOD in the entryway of the beautiful room beside Luke, staring at the single, huge bed. The door clicked behind her with a resounding finality as one of the housekeepers, Madra, showed them to the room.

  “I hadn’t expected this.”

  She was unable to take her eyes from the large, extremely elegant four-poster. It was draped in satin and delicate mesh curtains, and piled with luxurious pillows. It looked out over a fabulous view of the ocean. The patio had a hot tub and was surrounded by the same lush hillside vegetation as the rest of the house.

  It was the absolute perfect lovers’ getaway. Except that she and Luke weren’t lovers. Not in the truest sense of the word. They’d had a night or two of sex. Which he had termed “an error of judgment”—something Vanessa had overheard on her way back to the dining room. He’d also said when this was over, they would simply go back to their lives. She knew he was right, and they had even said as much to each other, but it had stung, nonetheless.

  “It won’t be a problem,” Luke said, his tone sounding a bit forced to her. “I can use that lounge, or the floor, even. I could even sleep on the patio.”

  Vanessa didn’t reply, but went to look at the view as she struggled to clarify her thoughts. She was both scared and happy to be here with Luke, but still there was so much unknown.

  Luke put his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her intently.

  “This is good. I want to be where you are.”

  “You do?” Surprise at his words made her slightly breathless.

  “It makes it easier for me to keep an eye on you and make sure you’re safe. So don’t worry, okay?”

  “Oh. What did you tell Mari when I was in the washroom?” she asked as she went to the veranda.

  “She knows what happened to you in Florida, but not the bigger picture, what’s happening with the software or that Julie is your sister. She knows you are under my protection, and I assume giving us this room is her attempt at matchmaking. She knows that—”

  “That you suffered an error of j
udgment?”

  So much for being able to let that one go, but she was human, after all.

  This time Luke had the grace to wince, and he didn’t hide it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound so hurtful. It was only a means of trying to get her to understand.”

  “Maybe it’s just as well. We shouldn’t let anything distract us, like you said.”

  Vanessa wanted to sound normal, but the hurt of it all seeped into her tone. Luke walked up behind her, though he didn’t touch her.

  How messed up was she that she wanted him to touch her so much she was aching with it?

  “I didn’t mean any of this to cause you any pain. We’re in a very dangerous situation and we need to stay focused. And the knife cuts both ways, you know. This isn’t easy for me, but will you want anything to do with me after I put your sister away? Because that’s what I’m going to do. That hasn’t changed.”

  Vanessa swallowed the hurt; it helped to hear him say it wasn’t easy for him, either.

  He was also right. Someone wanted her dead, and that someone might be her own sister. Luke wasn’t her knight in shining armor; they only had mutual lust in common and a mutual goal to find Julie.

  Yet they were also on opposite sides, as he pointed out. Would she be able to accept him taking her sister away from her? It had been stupid to give in to her desire for him in the first place, knowing what he ultimately wanted.

  Her thoughts left her empty and cold, in spite of the tropical heat, but with that chill came a certain clarity. As if all emotion fell away and now she could see the truth.

  “I understand. I’m sorry for being overemotional. I’m not used to this.”

  “Vanessa, I hope you never have a chance to get used to situations like this.”

  He planted a kiss on her hair and then moved away. The tenderness of the gesture made her heart hurt as much as the distance between them did.

  “You should stay here, enjoy the place. You’ll be safe, but don’t go too far away from the house or gardens. I’m going to set our plan in motion and see what happens. I might be gone for a while. Will you be okay?”