Chasing Glory (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

The storm died and steam
rose off the road they took toward St. John’s. The adrenaline that had charged through him had waned, leaving sweat and muscles sore from tensing in its place. Nearing a populated area, Tal stopped. The air that had flowed as he drove was replaced by the smell of heavy, wet vegetation.

Glory glanced behind them. “Why are we stopping?”

Tal pulled his phone out of his shorts pocket. In a few seconds he was scanning pictures. He held out the phone. “I took a chance there’d be an open back door to encourage any stray breeze while they were working. There was. When they finished unloading and went out front for a smoke, I ducked in and took half a dozen pictures.”

She took the phone and scrolled through the images, her eyes widening. “You did it. These are really good.”

He allowed himself a few seconds to bask in the warmth of her approval. “I’ll copy everything for the local feds and the U.S. consular agent. Hopefully, these pictures and the bill of lading I found will be enough to build a case.”

Glory handed back the phone. “I can attest to seeing the truck and driver leave the first road and go down the second. I also saw him standing near the same truck backed up to a small concrete building.”

Tal put away the phone and tapped the steering wheel. “Samson’s cousin is an officer at the local police court. He’ll be our contact with the authorities here on the island. It also couldn’t hurt to pay him to act as private security to keep an eye on the fake product. The island’s not big, but there could be lots of places to hide a small operation.”

Glory nodded. “Hotel or police court?”

“Hotel. There’s a small self-service IT center off the lobby where I can make those copies.” He reached for the ignition key, but Glory laid her hand on his arm.

“Back there … When I waited for you. What I said wasn’t just nerves. I meant it.”

Tal’s stomach somersaulted. He pushed aside a damp strand of her hair. “You’re killing me, you know that. I am past willing, but this isn’t the place or the time. Business first, then we celebrate.”

Glory blushed, but grinned back.

A half hour later they pulled into the small parking lot at the police court and Tal cut the engine. He pushed out a sigh. “The easy part will be making the report. The hard part will be having them attach any urgency to it.”

He took Glory’s hand. “I’m launching a big mess here, but I don’t have time to go through all the official hoops and channels. If the police and other authorities decide to come down on the side of O’Mara, it could get sticky. I want you to admit to your part if I ask; otherwise you need to be an observer only.”

She squeezed his hand. “Okay. Let’s go.”

They walked into the relatively plain offices and over to a young man in uniform.

Tal spoke. “I’d like to speak to Lieutenant Costa, please.”

“May I tell him your name and what this is regarding?”

“My name is Talbot Kingston and it’s about a counterfeit operation here on Antigua.”

The man’s eyebrows rose. He waved toward a bench. “Please have a seat. I’ll bring your request to the Lieutenant’s attention.”

He went down a hallway, then returned in a few minutes. “Lieutenant Costa is on a phone call. He’ll be with you shortly.”

Twenty minutes later they were still waiting. Tal knew he should be more patient, that being kept waiting for an official, even if you had an appointment, was SOP in some countries, but that didn’t lessen his anxiety. He stood to pace when a buzz sounded on the young officer’s phone.

The man left, returning less than a minute later. “This way, please.”

He showed them to a small office. The first thing Tal noticed upon entering was the carriage of the man standing behind the desk. He was tall and muscular, with a military bearing.

Tal extended his hand. “Tal Kingston, and this is Glory Danvers. Thank you for seeing us on short notice.”

The officer shook his hand firmly, seeming to take Tal’s measure by the strength of his grip. “My cousin said you might call on me today. What can I do for you Mr. Kingston?”

“There’s a counterfeit operation on the island, run by locals. I need your help shutting it down.”

The lieutenant’s posture lost some of its ramrod straightness as the topic drew him forward. “American currency? How did you run across this operation?”

Tal shook his head. “Not money. My company’s gourmet food products are being copied and distributed at local hotels. The quality is poor, and if not stopped, could ruin my reputation.”

A half eyeroll, bordering on disinterest or impatience, crossed Costa’s face, but he waved his fingers. “Oh. Enlighten me.”

Tal decided on a slightly edited version. He didn’t want the police to know he’d snooped on private property, so he left out the part where he’d entered the first building. Instead, he claimed to have found the copy of the bill of lading outside, near the track. He also modified Glory’s part to a few horn honks due to a flat tire. Otherwise, he included everything from receiving the customer’s letter, to the discovery of the second location. When he finished, he slid a packet containing copies of the photos and bill of lading across to the older man.

“Very clever,” the lieutenant said, not opening the packet. “But it looks like as if you’ve just unearthed a bit of free enterprise.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Glory said.

The man behind the desk ignored her and kept his attention on Tal.

“I’m all for free enterprise,” Tal said, trying to curb his temper. “But this is outright theft of an established name. As I said before, my company’s reputation will be ruined, along with my chances at establishing a market in this part of the world. I’d like to file an official complaint, to be followed up on the federal level via the U.S. State Department. My attorneys have already started the ball rolling.”

“Of course.” Costa sounded like he was placating a child. “If that’s what you wish. But I cannot guarantee the start of an
official
investigation right away. These things take time and manpower. Two commodities of which we are in short supply.”

Tal saw the direction this was going and wasn’t above playing the game, although he wished now he hadn’t been so generous with Samson. “I see. How long do you think that will take?”

Costa looked unconcerned. “At least a week.”

Time to play the card up his sleeve
. Tal sat back, leveling an unblinking gaze at Costa. “Their operation is so portable, that might not work for me.” He paused as if coming up with a new idea. “If it doesn’t fall under conflict of interest, would I be able to hire an off-duty officer? To provide security of the situation until it becomes official? Say at fifty dollars U.S. per day?”

The lieutenant smiled for the first time since they’d entered. “I think you would need two men. One to watch each building.”

Tal shook his head, returning the smile. “I disagree. One man per day at forty dollars for the occupied building, with an extra twenty to check out the empty building. That’s really more than fair. This man should not be seen, of course.”

Costa’s smile widened. “Agreed. I happen to know such a man. He is very trustworthy and can start right away.”

“Directions to the entrances for the two roads are in the packet,” Tal said, pulling some money out of his wallet and sliding it across the desk. “I’ll bring the rest tomorrow. Tell your man to be careful. If we’re successful in pulling the plug on this, some people will be very unhappy about losing the income.”

The money went untouched as the lieutenant’s stern, military bearing snapped back into place. “The man I have in mind is efficient and discreet.”

“Good to know,” Tal said. “And tell your man I’d hate to find out he accepted money from the counterfeiters to look the other way.”

“We understand each other perfectly,” Costa said. He pushed a button on his phone. “Please bring forms for Mr. Kingston’s complaint.”

Costa stood. “My officer will escort you to a room to complete your statement.” He held out his hand. “We will do everything in our power to bring justice to your request.”

Tal shook his hand, still not certain if involving the local police was a good idea, but it seemed the only alternative. “Thank you for your time.”

He and Glory were taken to a small, stuffy room and given blank forms. Tal filled in the narrative to support his claim and they took it to the front desk. “Lieutenant Costa has the paperwork that belongs with this.”

The man took the forms and nodded.

Chapter Twenty-Six

By the time they’d returned
the rented bicycles and Jeep, it was early evening and Tal had been sitting mere inches from Glory for several hours. He stopped in their progress across the lobby in
Deux
, telling her a white lie. “I need to talk to Samson, if I can find him. Can we meet in the room?”

Glory nodded and he leaned in for a soft kiss.

What he really needed was time to himself. When she’d surprised him with her brazen invitation at the tree, then backed up her offer in the Jeep, he’d been more than ready. With the sobering events at the police court, however, his certainty had diminished. Not his certainty about his feelings for her, but the whole tropical island, romantic setting, we both have an itch, thing. As much as he wanted Glory, maybe the trip back to the states and some time and distance was what they both needed. He didn’t want her to think … . He paced through the courtyard and down to the beach. Hell, he was probably overthinking the whole thing.

• •

Glory was relieved. A shower and shampoo would be great. She felt like a big sticky mess, with a few bug bites that needed tending. It would also give her time to consider her behavior. Not that she was ashamed. Well, maybe the whole high energy, we could be caught by the bad guys and the drama of the sudden storm had contributed to her impulse, but she didn’t mistake the look in his eyes, he had wanted her as much as she wanted him.

She wondered why he would go looking for Samson, then shrugged. After being around Tal for less than a month, she’d learned he was methodical about everything he did. Her initial impression of his focused and methodical ways led her to believe his personality was sterile. A shiver ran through her. Tonight that focused, methodical, beautiful man would make love to her.

“Glory!”

She snapped around, guilt at her thoughts of Tal making her blush. It was Patti and Johnny coming up the steps toward her.

“Hey,” Patti chirped. “Where’s Tal?”

Once again, the redhead was perfectly manicured, pedicured, and coiffed. Glory reflected on her own appearance after hiking, surviving a rainstorm and running through the rain forest. “He’s talking to Samson. We just finished our bike ride.”

“Johnny and I are going out for dinner and dancing. Since you’re leaving tomorrow, I was hoping to have one last drink with you guys and exchange phone numbers and addresses.”

Glory groaned inwardly. They probably wouldn’t even make it to Christmas cards, but Patti was so sweet, she hated to turn her down. “A quick drink sounds great, but it’ll have to be just me. I don’t’ know when Tal will be back, then we’re having dinner in our room.”

Patti fanned herself. “That sounds really romantic.”

Apparently Johnny’s breakfast in bed exercises didn’t count as romance for Patti. That made Glory a little sad. “Let me leave Tal a note and I’ll meet you in the lounge.”

“Great.” Patti beamed as she clutched Johnny’s arm and tottered away on tall, shiny bronze sandals.

The quick drink took a half hour. By then Glory was more than ready to leave. After her third half-hearted answer to Patti’s bubbly questions, the redhead giggled and stood. “Guess we should be going. Enjoy your last night on the island.”

Glory saw Samson in the courtyard with his camera. Thank goodness he waved instead of approaching for a picture. She slipped into her room and heard the shower going. Tal had made it back first.

She sat at the table and watched the sun paint the cream-colored walls of their suite with golden light tinged in pink. The soft rustle of leaves of the privacy-bushes on their veranda almost lulled her to sleep. Antigua had been quite an adventure. Tomorrow she would go back to her house at Greenlake and Tal would return to Queen Anne. He’d accomplished both tasks he’d set for himself, discovering who was bootlegging his products and becoming a hero.

No turning back or dialing down her feelings. She wouldn’t be satisfied with the few kisses they’d shared, no matter the consequences tomorrow.

The shower stopped and Glory crossed the room to pull some fresh clothes from her carryon. When Tal stepped through the door, her heart started knocking.

He smiled. “It’s all yours.”

Glory concentrated on the wash-softened t-shirt and shorts she held. “That sounds fine. I’ll take a rain check on the dancing.”

Thirty minutes later Glory turned off the bathroom switch and walked into the bedroom. A dozen flickering candles provided the light. She stopped and stood perfectly still, her eyes adjusting to the dimness. She felt a surface tension, and her nerves tingled.

She started when Tal spoke from a chair in the corner. “I didn’t order dinner. Hope you don’t mind.”

When Glory shook her head, he continued. “I know exactly how I want to make love to you, where I want to put my mouth, and how I’m going to feel when you go to pieces.”

Glory sucked in a breath and brought a hand to her throat. She thought she was prepared; ready to take the one night he offered and worry about being in love with a man she couldn’t have, later. A heavy coil of desire unwound in her belly and traveled to weight her extremities, but she couldn’t find words to respond.

Instead, she walked toward him, staying his hand as he reached for the hem of his t-shirt.

Hazel eyes regarded her solemnly as she pulled it over his head and ran her lips from his shoulder, up his neck to below his ear. A breath sighed in his throat as he cupped her face and lowered his mouth to hers.

This was not a photo opportunity kiss. This was a world tilting, soul drugging, let’s get naked kiss.

Glory pulled off her t-shirt and stood in only silk panties trimmed in deep lace. Her hands slid to his waist, pressing his hips tight against her.

Tal kissed her again, then moved his lips within an inch of her ear. “You have knocked me off course and out of the box I created for myself. I can’t think straight.”

“Not time for thinking,” Glory said as she ran her tongue across his collar bone and tried to picture the room in her mind’s eye. Where was the nearest piece of heavy furniture? All she needed was something to hold her against him long enough to get him inside her. Long enough to take away the ache of wanting him. She slid her leg up his inner thigh.

Tal ran his thumb under the stretch of lace on her bikinis, smiling against her mouth when she shuddered at his intimate touch.

“Bed,” he mumbled and started walking her backwards. Pulling away the netting with one hand, he lifted her to the center, closing it behind them.

Stunned pleasure rode through her as he slowly slid off the last trace of her inhibitions, kissing the band of skin he exposed. “Did I tell you how much I wanted this? Wanted you?”

Glory licked her lips, heat now threatening to wash away her self-respect. “Guess I got my own point across earlier.”

“That you did,” he said. “And it was nearly my undoing.”

Tal took off his shorts and put on a condom, then stretched out beside her, propping himself up.

Glory realized he had stopped his assault on her senses and her eyes drifted open. Candlelight illuminated the passion in his eyes. So intense she wasn’t sure she could return it in kind.

“Thank you,” he said, kissing the curve of her neck. “For this, for you.”

Before she could respond, he covered her mouth again with a kiss so wild and sweet and raw with desire, she could not have held anything back. She quivered and laughed and moaned as his fingers stroked a dozen places, coaxing her into an ever more spiraling need. “Faster,” she gasped, driven to the edge of sentience.

“Faster, it is,” he said, rolling over and slipping into her.

Glory gasped and rocked against him, bracketing his hips with her lean thighs.

Tal hissed in air. “It is you,” he said with amazed clarity as he moved faster to her urgent pleas.

She gripped his shoulders, anchoring herself as a gratifying climax engulfed her. In the same moment, she smiled as she heard Tal’s deep sough of release.

Glory ran her hand over his slick ribcage, feeling his heartbeat. He lowered his forehead to hers, breathing hard. “Did that satisfy our healthy curiosity?”

“Not quite,” she breathed, reaching to trace a damp curl at his forehead, “but close.”

The glint in his eyes promised retribution. He pushed back on his heels and laughed. “A challenge. I think I can work that into my schedule.”

He rolled sideways through the opening, landing on his feet. After a half minute, she heard running water. Well, he could have at least let her use the bathroom first.

Maybe not, she thought, stretching in glorious satisfaction. So this is what they meant by
bathe in the afterglow
. Before she finished the thought, Tal returned carrying a big fluffy towel and a damp washcloth.

Glory lifted herself on her elbows and grinned. “Is that for me?”

He came through the netting and knelt beside her. “For me, too.” Then he slowly stroked her face with the cool cloth.

She closed her eyes and lay back, giving in to the sensation. He continued down her neck until he reached her breasts. Each one received his undivided attention.

Glory curled and uncurled her toes as he dragged the damp square over her breast, then replacing that stimulation with his mouth. That distraction lasted only until he got to the heated place below her belly. She arched and moaned, intense pleasure washing over her in waves, again. They connected through heavy-lidded eyes as he worked his way back up to her mouth. His kiss was deep and demanding. “How about now?”

“Let me make a contribution,” she said, curling her hand around him and smiling at his gasp. She rolled her hips upward and repeated the proposal she’d made against his mouth that afternoon. He slipped into her again.

“Tal … ,” was all she could manage as a more intimate language of whispers and whimpers strained from her throat. Her restless hands circled his wrists, then skittered up his arms to slide across his chest and around to the curve of his spine. She ran the pads of her fingers in a silky trace of the muscles and bones beneath them.

His tongue followed the line under the brow of each of her eyes, then dipped her lips to mate with her own.

“So beautiful in candlelight,” he said. “I’m going to buy candles by the dozen when we get back.”

He whispered something else she heard only part of. Her heart beat heavy and wild in her ears as she pulled Tal to her and cried his name. His release followed immediately. Glory licked the seam of his lips and kissed the tip of his nose before closing her eyes and falling back exhausted. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll get your washcloth.”

She awoke later to Tal’s even breathing against her neck. Her body felt as warm and pliant as heated wax and she wanted him to make love to her again. Most of the candles had gone out or guttered in puddles, but there was enough light to see by. She sat up and slipped through the netting.

“Come back soon,” Tal said softly. “No hiding.”

When she returned with the washcloth, he had rolled to his stomach. “No fair,” Glory said, slipping in to kneel beside him. “Leaving the good parts to last.”

“Didn’t get my massage,” he mumbled.

“Oh, I see,” she teased. “You’re the lonely tourist and I’m the unsuspecting masseuse.” She ran the washcloth across his neck and shoulders, then down his spine, trailing damp kisses in its wake.

He hummed low. “Play your cards right …”

Glory curled over his back and blew on a damp spot.

Tal flipped over faster than she would have thought possible and grabbed her. “Come’ere,” he said, then kissed her senseless.

• •

The first emotion Glory felt on waking was peace. The second was self-recrimination. She’d embarked on Tal’s project to avoid borrowing money to meet a balloon payment on her house. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, right?

Despite the fact that she’d fallen in love with Tal, she’d selfishly given in to a situation that would end up hurting them both. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Her instinct now was to consider Tal’s lovemaking a gift and revel in its memory.

Then run like hell.

Getting Tal to accept that their relationship had to go back to the way it was four days ago, would be the hardest thing she’d ever done, but it was for the best. Tal’s position as the owner of Kingston Limited meant he needed a wife from his own socio-economic level, not a woman with an entirely different agenda for her life.

She swallowed, resolution an ache in her chest. Tal’s even breathing drew her gaze as Glory got out of bed and put on her panties and t-shirt. He lay sprawled on his stomach with tousled hair, his dark brown lashes curving against a tan cheek. She hugged herself and turned away, walking onto the cool veranda in the pre-dawn strata of violet light.

Her solitude was short-lived. She heard the soft padding of his bare feet as Tal walked up behind her chair.

He kissed her neck, then gently massaged her shoulders. Glory loved the feel of his hands and leaned into his touch. Mental images of what those hands had done to and for her last night rose in her mind.

“Come back,” he said. “It’s still early. We can watch the sun light up the water, then order breakfast in bed.”

Glory heard her heartbeat in her ears, her mouth went dry. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”

Tal stepped around her chair to crouch in front of her. He was wearing only his athletic shorts. Glory dug her nails into her palms to keep from touching him.

His gaze narrowed. “I know you aren’t talking about breakfast. So, if you think last night was a mistake, tell me, now.”

“No,” she said. “Last night wasn’t a mistake, but getting more involved would be.”

Tal frowned. “It wasn’t a mistake. Just a one night–thanks for being a pal?”

Tears burned as Glory swallowed against his coarse words. He didn’t bother to hide his hurt, but dammit, she couldn’t allow her feelings, physical or emotional, to derail her long-term plans. She’d barely recovered from the last time.
And
Ethan’s rejection was nowhere near
as awful as what she had to do
today
.