Exposed (Tropical Nights) (14 page)

Chapter Seven

Rachel swept her hair back in a loose bun at her nape and secured most of it with silver pins, letting a few strands fall around her face. She brushed some mascara over her lashes and applied lipstick, adjusted her top and skirt, and then stepped back to critique the final results.

She was sporting a hint of tan even though she had been fastidiously applying sunscreen to ward off the tropical
rays, and while it was her nature to fret over long-term skin damage, she had to admit it had turned her northern-winter pallor into healthy-looking glow. Her eyes were picking up the green tones in her shirt, making them look like they were a deep emerald color, and her rare use of makeup further accentuated their size and almond shape. She wasn’t very experienced with the whole hair and make-up thing, but she was liking what she saw in the mirror. The tropics definitely agreed with her. She looked relaxed, happy, utterly carefree—and maybe even a little sexy.

Her rumbling stomach reminded her Leo was waiting downstairs
to take her to dinner. She’d spent twice as much time getting ready as she normally did, and she had to laugh at how much she was fussing over her appearance. She couldn’t help it, she wanted to look good for Leo. She wondered if that meant she was turning into a shallow twit, but she thought it more likely it was just what normal women—women not so wrapped up in avoiding life and relationships—did when they were madly attracted to an incredibly hot, amazing guy. Leo seemed to like her in whatever state of put-togetherness he found her—dressed in plain work clothes with no makeup, carefully done-up and squeezed into a borrowed cocktail dress, streaked with dust and sweat while hiking through the forest—but that didn’t stop her from wanting to step it up a little so she could see his reaction.

Finally ready, Rachel headed down to meet Leo. She spotted him across the outdoor area, leaning casually against the poolside bar and deep in conversation with the man standing next to him. She could tell by the easy way they talked Leo know the guy, and knew him well.

She couldn’t take her eyes off
Leo as she threaded her way through pool chairs and milling guests. His usual demeanor was back in place, all smooth confidence and dominating presence, and he was every inch the intimidating businessman she had first met. Then he suddenly stopped talking and jerked his head up like he’d caught sight of her in his peripheral vision, and everything changed. His gaze locked on her, watching her closely as she moved toward him. His eyes widened and his body stiffened in appreciation as he shot her a roguish smile. His one hand seemed to involuntarily flex into a fist and the other curled around the beer bottle he was holding, reminding Rachel of the alligator-wrestling impulses he said he felt whenever he saw her. She was glimpsing hints of his hidden playfulness again and it made her want to run the last few steps and throw herself into his arms.

“Rachel,” Leo said when she reached him. He put an arm around her waist and drew her in for a quick kiss on
the cheek. Before he pulled away, he gave a low growl near her ear, so quiet only she could hear. Rachel shivered at the message: she was bringing out the animal in him again. Leo’s hand lingered at her waist and they stood staring at each other like they were under a spell, unable to move or look away, until the man next to Leo cleared his throat pointedly.

“Oh, right,” Leo said
, finally remembering the presence of his friend. “Rachel, this is Laine.”

Rachel felt a blush creep across her face,
mortified to have an audience as she mooned over Leo. She tried to take a step back and put some distance between them, but Leo’s hand on her hip tightened, holding her in place. She smiled at Laine, hoping her embarrassment wasn’t too obvious. “I’ve heard so much about you, Laine. It’s nice to actually meet you,” she said.

“
And you,” Laine replied as he offered a hand. Rachel extended hers, expecting a handshake, but Laine clasped her hand gently and brushed a kiss against the back in playful flourish. Rachel felt Leo stiffen slightly. “Leo’s said a lot about you, too” Laine said as he lingered over her hand, “but he never told me how beautiful you are.”

“That’s because I know enough to k
eep her away from you.” Leo said. He spoke with a grin, like he recognized Laine was just ribbing him, but Rachel also heard a note of real possessiveness in his voice. He squeezed her more tightly to his side and pulled her back until Laine was forced to drop her hand. Then he subtly angled her away from Laine, putting more of his body between Rachel and his friend. Laine looked both surprised and pleased at Leo’s reaction.

“
This is a beautiful resort,” Rachel said.

“Thank you, I’m glad you like it.” Rachel could see Laine was just like Leo
—confident and self-assured almost to the point of cockiness. Not that he was jerk or had an overabundance of ego; he was just good at what he did and he knew it. “Have you had a chance to explore the island yet?” he asked.

“
Some. We spent today hiking up the river through your private land. Leo told me how you hope to use it to spur more eco-friendly tourism on the island. I’d love to talk to you sometime about the details.”

“Right. Leo mentioned you’re an economi
c journalist and how you write articles on issues like this. I’d be happy to spend some time with you to discuss it.” Laine gave her a devilish smile. “Maybe now, over drinks?”

Leo shook his head. “We’re about to have dinner.”

Laine’s smile widened, grew more mischievous. “Great. I’ll join you.”

“Sorry, it’s dinner for two,” Leo said forcefully. “Rachel and I
being the two,” he added before Laine could teasingly suggest he be the one to dine with her.

Rachel wanted to laugh at how the two friends interacted wi
th each other. They clearly had much common: they were both extremely confident men who were wildly successful, both the type to see what they wanted and take it. They were obviously close and held a lot of affection for each other, but she could tell they were also fiercely competitive. She saw it in the way they were good-naturedly goading each other, with Laine needling Leo about her and Leo pushing back. They were like two wolves play fighting with each other, nipping and growling in mock aggression, just messing around in good fun but not afraid to draw blood in case one needed to be reminded of the other’s real strength.

Men were so ridiculous sometimes.

“Shame,” Laine said. “Maybe we can talk tomorrow or the next time you two are on the island.” His gaze skipped from Rachel to Leo and back again.

“I’d like that,” Rachel said
, deciding to just go with Laine’s pointed assumption that she and Leo would return to the island together.

“Enjoy your dinner then. It was very nice meeting you.” Laine extended his hand to her, no doubt hoping to get
in one last jab at Leo by kissing her again, but Leo grabbed Laine’s hand before she could and shook it, his grip so hard Laine’s fingers went white. The wolf was bearing his teeth.

“Good night, Laine.
” Leo gave his friend’s hand one last bone-crushing squeeze before dropping it and leading Rachel from the bar area. Rachel could hear Laine chuckling softly behind them as they walked away.

“I’m glad I got to meet Laine,” Rachel said once they were out of
his earshot.

“Yeah, he’s a good guy.”

“He seems to like to razz you a little.”

“I’ve known him so long, we’re like brothers, always giving each other a hard time. And like
brothers, we always know exactly which buttons to push. I guess he picked up on how I feel about you and went right for the jugular.”

Rachel heated at hearing Leo’s words, at the implication that his feelings for her were strong enough to be used against him.
“It seemed to work.”

He rolled his eyes, and Rachel wondered if it was o
ver the accuracy of Laine’s jabs or his own reaction to them. “So I guess you noticed my raised hackles. I told you what you do to me, how you trigger my possessiveness.”

“Hey, as long as you don’t pee a circle around me to stake your territory, it’s all good,” she blurted without thinking.
Why had she said that? She cringed inwardly at how crass it sounded, but Leo threw his head back and laughed.

“Don’t give me any ideas.
You make me crazy enough to try it. God, Laine must be gloating in his beer right now. It’s almost impossible to get a visible rise out of me. So far, you’ve been about the only thing that can do it.”

Rachel ducked her head.
Leo’s words were as embarrassing as they were incredibly sweet. She wasn’t used to hearing things like that, wasn’t used to what it stirred up in her. It took her breath away, how much and how deeply she felt for Leo. She was drawn to him on every level—intellectual and emotional and physical. He had insinuated himself in her mind and her heart, gotten all tangled up in her, and she never wanted him to break free. That someone like Leo seemed to feel the same way about her continued to take her by surprise. When he said things like that, when he let her know how much she affected him and what she did to him, it flooded her with such chaotic emotions it made her go almost light-headed. She could never think clearly enough to respond, couldn’t think of the words to tell him what he meant to her.

“Here we are,” Leo said.

Rachel had been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed Leo had led them to the most formal of the resort’s many restaurants. “Oh, Leo, I don’t think I’m dressed appropriately for this.” She motioned to her short-sleeved shirt and wrapped skirt. “I didn’t even pack anything remotely nice enough to change into.” She wasn’t going to mention that she hadn’t packed anything because she didn’t actually
own
an outfit that would fit in with the swankiness of this place.

Leo
raked his gaze over her, slowly moving it up and down her body with such a hungry expression on his face Rachel felt herself redden. Then he leaned into her and brought the palm of his hand to her cheek, his fingertips tracing along her hairline. He brought his head down until his lips brushed against her ear and whispered, “You look absolutely, amazingly stunning tonight. Everything about you is perfect.”

Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but h
e drew his thumb across her lips and her knees went weak. She promptly forgot whatever it was she’d been about to say.

“
From the moment I saw you walk across the pool area,” he continued, his breath tickling her cheek, “that tight shirt hugging your curves, that skirt clinging to your luscious hips that sway so goddamned sexily when you walk; it’s taken everything I have not to sweep you into the first private place I find and lay you down. It’s taken every ounce of self-control to stop myself from easing that shirt off you, to unwrap that skirt as slowly as I can, like I’m opening the greatest present ever given, until you are naked before me and I can run my tongue over every inch of your bare skin.” He brought his other hand to rest possessively on her hip. Rachel instinctively leaned into him, seeking the balance she suddenly lacked.

“
I want to kiss and touch every hidden part of you until you are hot and quivering and begging for more. And only after I’ve explored you everywhere, only after you’ve felt the heat of my mouth and my hands on every last bit of you, only then do I want to sink myself into you and make you cry out my name, over and over and over.”

His lips grazed her earlobe and then he nipped it lightly, making Rachel tremble. When she felt the barest hint of his tongue, she couldn’t be certain she didn’t whimper.
“And I promise you, before this night is over I will do all of those things.” His husky words were making Rachel sway, her strength now officially gone. “But right now I want to sit across the table from you in this restaurant, the candles lighting your beautiful face while the string quartet plays softly in the background and we hear the sound of the ocean waves rolling in through the open windows. I want to ply you with expensive champagne and lobster and decadent desserts, every bite a sensual prelude to the other delights this night will hold. Will you let me do that?”

Rachel nodded, dazed.

Leo raised his head and locked eyes with her. “Are you sure? Because if you really won’t be comfortable here, we’ll go someplace else.”

“Yes,
I’m sure,” Rachel murmured breathlessly. “Of course I’ll be comfortable. Why? Did I say something about not wanting to eat here? I can’t remember.” She was only half joking.

Leo looked at her with an expression of satisfied amusement, clearly loving how easily he worked her into a breathless haze. “Good, let’s go eat.” He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and then nudged her toward the restaurant, smiling broadly when it took her a moment to remember how to work all her limbs in concert to produce forward motion.

The were greeted warmly and promptly seated at a private table tucked in the back corner, every member of the staff eager to please the co-owner of the resort. The entire back wall of the restaurant consisted of louvered shutters made of heavy wood that were folded open to give a completely unobstructed view of the ocean. Leo had been right about the candlelight and the string quartet and the sounds of the waves rolling in, and Rachel thought is was the most romantic setting she’d ever seen, much less actually been in.