by Cyndi Raye
“Don’t stop, I like to hear you talk.” Josh rested his arm across her shoulder.
She turned to him and smiled. “Cross off Mallory square, and the bonus on that one. I also want to watch the sunset from a sail boat, walk semi-naked in Key West wearing body art -”
He cupped her chin and turned her to face him. “I need to kiss you.”
“Again?”
“Again.” He dipped his head until their mouths touched. They both opened up to each other, deepening the kiss, exploring each other. He heard her sigh and reach up to touch his face with her hand. Josh wanted her. They were both drunk and he didn’t care. Did that make him a heartless jerk?
“We can’t do this,” she mumbled, kissing him back with no intention of stopping. Her hands began to explore his chest, sliding down his side. Josh groaned. Her mouth said one thing and her actions another.
“We can,” he told her. “We’re getting key west wild, remember?”
“Well, if it’s on my list, then yes, we can do this after all.”
All of a sudden Josh was the one with reservations. He could carry her off to his bed in this moment. She was drunk, no doubt about it, but not used to alcohol, not like him. He wanted to make sweet love to her, but he couldn’t use her. In the morning, when she came to her senses, she’d be abused all over again, just like whoever hurt her before. Josh wouldn’t be in the same category.
It sucked coming to your senses.
Josh moved away from her touch. She flung her head back and stared at him with half closed eyes. “I’m dizzy,” she mumbled.
He stood, picked her up in his arms and carried her down the long hall to her room, glad her room was on the first floor. He kicked the door open and switched on the light. Then he laid her on the bed and watched her shiver.
“Are you cold?” he asked, concerned.
“Yes, freezing. Come warm me.”
Josh would love to but he was going to be a good guy this time. It was important she woke up knowing that she trusted him. He took the blanket at the bottom of the bed and unfolded it, then placed it over her. As he reached across, she turned and took him by surprise, pulling him on top of her.
“Ah Sara! Stop clowning around.”
She giggled as he rolled off, his back against the cool mattress. It felt really good. Josh got to thinking he would stay there for a second or maybe a minute or two. He threw an arm over his eyes and stretched out the other one.
She wriggled against him, and placed an arm across his chest. He should get up, he thought. Soon. But if he did, the warm body curled up against him would be disturbed. No, he couldn’t be so cruel. A grin split across Josh’s face. Soon.
Chapter 3
Sara blinked, afraid to open her eyes. She remembered reading off her list to him, giggling about the things she planned to do. There were some things she hadn’t wanted anyone to see, like the one about boinking the best looking guy in Key West.
She wondered if it was a possibility to mark that one off the list since she had no memory of how she fell in to bed. She reached down check if her clothes were still intact.
“You’re dressed,” a voice said in her ear.
Sara let out a deep breath. “That’s a relief. I’m not sure what I would’ve said if you asked me how I liked it,” she admitted.
He chuckled. “You amaze me Sara, like a breath of fresh air.”
“Compared to what?”
“Everyone and everything,” Josh told her. “Don’t worry, nothing happened except we passed out together, I promise.”
She stretched her toes and yawned. “I’m not surprised, you were pretty drunk.”
“I was sober enough to get you back here.”
“True. I’m afraid to move.” Or was she enjoying being so close to him?
“Jake will be calling soon.”
Sara struggled to sit up. She held her head in her hands and groaned. “I need some hair of the dog.”
“Do you even know what that is?”
She shrugged and moaned again. “I don’t. Tomato juice?”
Josh laughed at her innocence. “It’s a drink of what got you drunk in the first place. It’s supposed to smooth a hangover.”
“Forget that. My drinking days are over for a while.”
He grinned. “But you said you wanted to do the Duval crawl”
She shook her head. “A virgin crawl.”
He stood and held out his hand. She grasped it as he helped her stand and looked into her eyes. “That was a good time last night.”
Sara raised her eyes to look in to his. “I agree, from what I can remember.” She used the wall to help her get to the door. “Maybe I’ll do the hair of the dog thing after all.”
“It may or may not help. There’s the phone ringing.”
Sara made her way to the kitchen where a desk was sat in the corner. She slid into the seat and answered. Her hand shook as she held the receiver and said hello.
“Jake here. Sara, is that you?”
“Ah yes, it’s Sara. Hi Jake.”
“Is Josh there? If so you can put me on speaker phone so he can listen too.” Sara struggled to find the speaker button, but then a hand reached across and pushed the right one.
“Hey Jake, speaker is on.”
Sara looked up to find Josh standing beside her. She took a good look at him and realized he had a bit of a hangover too. He held one hand flat on the desk to steady his own self. She smiled, realizing they must have been quite a site. If only she could recall what she did and said towards the end of the night.
He grinned. “We look the bright and cheery bunch.”
“What’s that?” Jake asked.
“We tried to do the Duval crawl last night.” Josh admitted. “In one bar.”
The roar of Jake’s laughter had Sara grabbing her head in her hands. She swore he spoke louder when he addressed them. “How’s things going at my Inn?”
The two looked at each other. They had no clue, hadn’t seen one person yet. “Ah, well, we aren’t sure yet,” Sara told him. Jake chuckled through the speaker phone.
“It’s still early, but your guests will be needing breakfast.” He talked a bit to Sara about her salary and she found it hard to follow his words. “Irene Kepple, the former owner, put a manual together. It’s in the desk drawer, so you may want to read it first. I gotta run, so I’ll check in towards the end of the week. Any questions, call Maggie. She’s here writing, eh, working.”
After Jake hung up, Sara turned to Josh. “He must have plenty of faith to trust you with his business.”
Josh nodded. “We have a bit of a history together.” He turned towards the kitchen and began searching in the cupboards. “You find the manual in the desk and I’ll start breakfast.”
Sara rummaged through the top drawer and pulled out the home-made book. She opened it, studying the neat typewritten words. “This lady was meticulous,” Sara whispered, delighted how much she could relate to the woman who wrote this. “Every job is detailed, her lists organized and separated in columns. This is a goldmine!”
Josh was banging cupboard doors. Sarah reached up and held her ears. “Josh, please!”
He closed the door and leaned his head against it. “I have no idea what I’m looking for.”
Sara leaned back in the chair and grinned. “I have an idea. There’s a phone book over there. Wow, they still have those things.”
Twenty minutes later, a smorgasbord of pastries, lite breakfast sandwiches, fruit, coffee and tea sat on the buffet in the dining room from the cafe down the street. A few guests worked their way downstairs and helped themselves. It was all Sara could do to stand and act as hostess. She had a splitting headache but smiled anyway.
At least Josh stayed by her side, dealing with some of the guests by answering questions, like where to go in the local area. Sara wondered why there was no information available. She looked around the office but didn’t find any brochures for the guests. Later, she’d work on that, bu
t for now, all she wanted to do was find a hot shower and a place to hide.
Josh checked his watch. “I believe most guests are finished. Let’s clean up.”
“Agreed,” Sara told him, gathering up leftovers. She finished in the kitchen as Josh slowly put things away. She noticed his face for the first time. “What happened to your cheek?”
He looked puzzled at first. Josh shrugged. “Hard to say, it’s no big deal.”
Sara stared. “Looks like someone punched you.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, right. No one’s big enough to try.”
Sara supposed he was right, she sure wouldn’t want to try if she were a man. She knew bruises, she’d gotten enough over the years trying to get away from an irate husband. She sniffed. The bad part of it all was her ex-husband only hit her once before she put a stop to it. The rest of the damage came from herself, by running from him. She ran into walls, bumped her head on furniture and even tripped several times until she could find somewhere and lock herself away from his temper.
The bruise on Josh’s cheek looked like someone hit him. “Did I do that?” she whispered, afraid she may have swung at him during her blackout.
His cell phone rang. He looked down at the screen. “I’m sorry, I have to take this call,” he mumbled, avoiding her question and stepping outside the French doors in to the garden.
She slid into the chair. Had she hit him, she wondered, terrified. Her hand went to her throat. Was she becoming the monster that she had gotten away from! Sara worked so hard these past two years to flee from the cruel world of abuse. She never drank, ever, except an occasional glass of wine. She didn’t like what it had done to her marriage and now she was doing the same thing! “Oh! God help me!” she cried out.
“Sara! What’s wrong?” Josh was by her side, kneeling down and took her hands in his. “Hey, baby, what is it?”
She shivered. “Oh Josh, I hit you, didn’t I? In my drunken state, I hauled off and gave you a-”
He let go of her shaking hands and lifted her face up to his. “No, you did not hit me. I promise.”
She stared into his eyes. Darkness, danger and secrets lurked there. Yet, behind it all, she could see the truth. He wouldn’t lie to her, she felt it in every bone in her body. As she stared in to those dark orbs, they silently reassured her.
Sara shivered. “I believe you,” she whispered. “But if I didn’t do it, someone did.”
He nodded. “You’re right. I had to break up a fight outside the bar. I just forgot. Are you sure you’re okay, because I have to go out for a while.”
She nodded. “I’m fine. Go, I’ll see you later.”
She watched him stroll out the door and down the steps. The white gate slammed behind Josh as he took off down the street. She let out a deep, shuttering breath and put her head in her hands, allowing herself pity for only a moment.
Her inside wounds were still raw, more so than she ever realized. She spent the last two years building a new life for herself, thinking she had put all the hurt and heartache aside. Sara thought she had buried it deep down and now it was rearing its ugly head. She had to deal with these issues, but not now. All she wanted was a long, hot shower and a warm few hours of blissful quiet.
<>
It was all Josh could do to put one foot in front of the other as he walked to the cafe. Any other day he’d take another drink and the hangover would go away. He cracked a smile, remembering Sara’s hair of the dog remark.
Special Agent Sophie Eden was sitting at the table in the back of the cafe, waiting. Her long nails tapped the top of the plastic table. “Hey sis, what’s up?” he said, slipping into the seat beside her.
She swung her long dark hair back and stared at his dishevelled appearance. “I see you’ve been doing what you do best.”
“Shut up. It’s my life.”
“True. It’s just a shame to waste it on booze and women,” Sophie told him.
She was right, but he didn’t need to be badgered by his own sister. He grunted. “You know what it’s like working undercover. I just need a break from it all,” Josh said, drawing a hand through his hair. “Is there a reason we’re meeting today? I’m not in to lectures at the moment.”
Sophie crossed her arms and leaned forward. “I’d say big brother, you tied one on last night but good. Listen up, I don’t have time to waste.”
He smirked. “That’s what all agents say. You’re no rookie any more, are you, kid?”
“No, not any more and I want to be the first to tell you I’m going undercover.”
He shrugged. “Okay. What’s the big deal, you’ve been there before.” When she didn’t say anything at first, Josh sat up a bit. What was she up to? “Spill it!”
Always confident, Sophie looked frightened. It reminded him of his years raising her after their parent’s died. She was ten years younger than him and when they died, she was a frightened little girl, not the smart-mouthed agent she had become. He grabbed her hand. “Sis?”
She sucked in a deep breath. “Morgan’s in trouble. I think they may be on to him. He contacted me because I’m the one he trusts on the team. I think we’ve got a rat.”
“Ah Sophie! You’re kidding me, right?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“You’re in love.” He didn’t have to wait for her nod to see the truth. She had this thing for Morgan, but she tried to hide it and pretend they were just friends.
“Josh, I need you for a back-up, in case something goes wrong.”
“Let me go in, Sophie. I’ll bring him back. I don’t want you hurt.”
“No Josh, not this time. It’s what I have to do. They found out he has a sister.”
Josh stiffened. Was Sara in danger, he wondered. Then he realized what Sophie was doing. “You’re going in as her, aren’t you?”
She nodded and took his hand. “I’ll be fine, I’m good at what I do.”
He nodded, knowing it was true. “You need to keep me in the loop, at all times. I mean that. Because I can come in with or without an okay from you or anyone else.”
“I don’t doubt that,” she said and got up to give him a hug. “I love you big brother. Would you mind keeping Scarlet for me?”
<>
Josh walked through the gate carrying a ten pound aquarium with an eight inch gecko. Scarlet. She was Sophie’s prized pet. The little monster kept escaping her tank, but he would fix that. He wasn’t about to have the little leopard-looking thing climbing all over the bed and breakfast, scurrying about scaring people. Jake would not be happy if he lost revenue because of a lizard.
As he opened the door, he didn’t see anyone around, so Josh set the glass house on a deep windowsill, tucked back out of sight. Sophie told him Scarlet needed plenty of light, so it was the perfect place to keep her for now. He hoped Sara wouldn’t mind.
Josh strolled to the kitchen and helped himself to a cold beer. As he raised the bottle to his mouth, he noticed the soft sound of music coming through the kitchen window. He walked over and looked out but he couldn’t see anyone. “Must be one of the guests in the hot tub,” Josh mumbled to himself. Which wasn’t a bad idea at all.
He headed to his room to take a hot shower. As the water poured over his sore, aching muscles, Josh recalled the scene from last night, the way Sara fit against him. Was she the one, he wondered. The one who would catch his heart?
He raised his sister when his parent’s died. As soon as she was in college, he decided to go undercover and fulfil his dream. He wanted to be able to do something about thieves and criminals and injustice in this world. He became the best agent he could be and spent many years dedicating his life to putting the bad guys away.
Now, after a ten year assignment, which put away major players in the drug and gun rings of Southern Florida, he struggled with continuing down the same road, or beginning a new life. He was getting older, maybe it was time to settle in one place for a while. Men like Morgan and the others, they were in their prime but Josh
knew he wanted to move on.
It was relaxing in Key West. He loved the sunshine year round, the access to the ocean, the people and the lifestyle. He wanted to be here, but not to sit in a bar every single day and drink his life away. It seemed to be what he was doing every night. His sister was right, he was wasting away.
Would it be any different now that he met Sara? It seemed she wanted to do what he’d been doing the past few months. Drink, live and let live and forget about her past, which seemed to be filled with demons. He could tell her right now it wouldn’t make a difference. Life still went on, it still sucked if you didn’t have something to live for. But she would have to figure that one out for herself.
He leaned his head against the door. A long soak in a hot tub sounded like just what he needed right now. He grabbed a towel and headed to the gardens. It was quiet in the bed and breakfast and Josh checked on his sister’s monster. Scarlet tried to crawl up the side of the glass. He pushed her back down and slid the lid over top. She needed to get a better cover, he thought as he strolled out the door.
The gardens were his favorite part of the house. Walking down a stone pathway, with plush foliage on both sides, Josh set out to find the hot tub occupied. A towel and robe lay over a white wrought iron bench. Sara was in the tub, her head flung back. She wore an eye mask and never noticed when Josh slipped into the bubbling water. He heard the soft music that drifted in through the kitchen window earlier and closed his eyes as well, enjoying the lull of soft music and moving water.
The water pulsated around his muscles, relaxing him to the point where he almost nodded off. In the distance he heard her hum and kept his eyes closed, enjoying how her voice cracked a bit as she half sang, half hummed to the music on the radio.
“Josh?” he heard her ask. “Is that you?”
“Yes, I’ve been here enjoying your hum singing.”
Her throaty laugh made him smile. Eyes closed, he waited for the little sound of her giggle sigh. “I like that,” he told her.
“What do you like?”