Flash (20 page)

He forced himself to think logically. “We can't be certain of that. Someone could have delivered the note before we sailed.”

“I just told you, it wasn't in my room earlier when I went downstairs to my cabin to change for the evening.”

“What time was that?”

“Shortly after we sailed.” She clutched the lapels of his jacket very tightly. “It has to be someone on this boat, Jasper.”

“Not necessarily.” He put his hands on her shoulders. Gripped her hard to get her attention. “The note could have been delivered to the
Private Island
before we sailed. A crew member might have been tipped to put it under your door.”

She turned abruptly to search his face. “There must be a way to find out if that's what happened.”

“Let me handle it. You've got work to do. I'll talk to some of the crew. See if anyone knows anything about a note that might have been delivered to the ship before sailing.”

She looked briefly stubborn, but in the end the logic of his suggestion overrode her resistance. She nodded once. “All right. Thanks.”

He glanced at his watch. “It's nearly two. You said you were going to try to catch a nap between three and five?”

“I'm not likely to get any sleep now.”

“Maybe not, but you might as well go on down to your cabin at three, anyway. Put your feet up for a couple of hours, at least. I'll meet you there as soon as I've checked with the crew about the note.”

She hesitated again. At that moment the lounge door opened. A couple swept through the opening. They were laughing uproariously at some private joke. Music spilled out behind them.

Jasper watched Olivia pull herself together and smile graciously at the guests. The fury in her eyes disappeared behind a thoroughly professional mask. When the couple moved off toward the aft deck, she looked at Jasper.

“All right, my cabin at three.” She went to the lounge door and paused, fingers on the handle. “Thanks, Jasper.”

“Sure.” He waited until she got the door open. “Just one more thing.”

She slanted him a quick, questioning look. “What's that?”

“My jacket. It might look a little strange if you wear it back inside.”

She looked startled. Then she hastily removed the coat and tossed it to him. “Three o'clock.”

She disappeared back into the warmth and the music of the lounge.

Jasper remained at the railing for a few minutes and absently inhaled the scent of Olivia's perfume that
clung to his jacket. She was more than just angry, he thought. She was afraid.

What did the blackmailer know that made him think Olivia would even consider paying blackmail?

At three o'clock Olivia let herself into her cabin. The ship was quieter now. Some of the revelers had retired to their rooms. She had seen nothing of Jasper since she had left him out on deck an hour ago.

She switched on a small lamp, sat down on the bed, and kicked off her shoes. Jasper had been right. She could not sleep, but it would be a good idea to put her feet up for a while. She still had the breakfast buffet and disembarkation to handle.

She lay down on the bunk and propped her heels high against the wall. It was a trick she had learned long ago, one that she found to be remarkably restorative. But the tactic did not work tonight.

Someone knew her secret. She clenched her fists at her sides on the bed. Adrenaline surged through her system.

After a while she took her feet down off the wall, stood, and started to pace the small confines of the cabin.

No one alive now could possibly know about Logan and Nina. She had destroyed the journal, herself, every last damning page.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. She hurried across the room and opened the door. Jasper stood there, jacket hooked over one shoulder, black tie hanging loose around his neck. His shirt was unfastened at the throat.

A wholly unwarranted sense of relief shot through her. He looked so incredibly solid and strong and substantial, she thought. The kind of man who controlled his inner demons. Not the sort who would ever be controlled by them. Not the kind who would use them as an excuse for weakness and self-indulgence.

This man was nothing like Logan.

“Well?” she demanded. “What did you find out?”

He glanced meaningfully back along the hallway. “You want to discuss this out here in the corridor or inside where we can have some privacy?”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” She stepped back quickly. “Come in. Hurry. The last thing we need is for someone to notice that the event producer is entertaining one of the guests in her cabin.”

He quirked a brow as he moved past her, but he said nothing.

She leaned out into the hall to make certain that no one had witnessed Jasper entering her cabin. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she closed the door and leaned back against it. Her hands squeezed around the knob.

“Did you learn anything useful?” she asked.

“Yes and no.” He tossed his tuxedo jacket down on the foot of the bed and went to stand looking out through the small porthole. “The note was put under your door by one of the crew.”

“Where did he get it?”

“He told me that a cab drove up to the dock just before the
Private Island
sailed. The driver said he'd been paid to deliver the message to a member of the crew with instructions to put it in your room.” Jasper
glanced at her. “Which the crewman did as soon as he had a free moment.”

Her spirits plummeted. “So the blackmailer is not on board after all.”

“Doesn't look like it.”

“That's unfortunate, isn't it?” She continued to grip the doorknob. “It would have made everything so much easier if he were. At least we would have had a finite number of suspects.”

“Yes. But I doubt that the blackmailer would have made things so simple.”

“No, of course not.” She closed her eyes. “This is so bizarre.”

“We'll find him,” Jasper said quietly. “But I need more information.”

She opened her eyes. “I've told you everything I know. Maybe the crewman could give us a lead on the taxi driver.”

“He doesn't even remember what kind of cab it was.”

“Damn.”

Jasper turned slowly around to face her. His eyes were impossible to read in the dim light. “What does the blackmailer know that makes him think you'll pay him for his silence?”

She had been expecting this, she reminded herself. It was the same question he had asked after he had learned that Zara was being blackmailed. A logical, rational question under the circumstances. A question that she would have asked if their positions had been reversed.

Olivia shook her head slowly. “Please don't ask me that.”

“I can't help unless I know what I'm dealing with.”

She sighed. “If it was a secret that affected only me, I would tell you, Jasper. I swear it. But this affects other people. People who will be badly hurt if the truth comes out.”

“Are we going to play the guessing game again?”

She glared at him. “Don't push me on this.”

“Why not? Someone else is already pushing you pretty damn hard.”

The soft, lethal edge on his words startled her. She measured him through half-lowered lashes. So much for Mr. Tall, Dark, and Reassuring, she thought. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dangerous had just materialized in his place.

She released the doorknob and straightened her shoulders. “I've got to think about this.”

“You do that.” Jasper moved toward her. “Think about the fact that someone knows your secret. Think about all the possibilities.”

She had to fight the instinct to step back when he came to a halt directly in front of her. “I will.”

“Think about the fact that I'm involved in this, too.”

“I know you're involved.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but it was not easy. He was so close, almost on top of her. “And I realize it's my fault.”

“That's right.” He captured her face between his big hands. “I'm in this because of you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the moment I seem to be the only ally you've got.”

“Well, yes, in a manner of speaking, I guess you could say that.”

“That's exactly what I'm saying.” He looked into her eyes. “I thought we agreed we'd form a united front.”

“That was in regard to business, for heaven's sake. It hardly applies to this mess.”

“You're wrong. It does apply to this mess.”

She reached up to catch hold of his wrists. “I told you, I need to think.”

“You'd better do your thinking in a hurry because we both know you're not going to pay off a blackmailer.”

The icy reality of his words struck her like cold winter rain. He was right. She could not, would not pay blackmail.

“Just give me a little time to sort out a few things,” she whispered.

“What's the problem here, Olivia? Don't you trust me? Your uncle did.”

She'd had enough of feeling cornered. “Stop pressuring me, damn it. I told you, I've got to think about this before I make any decisions.”

Lightning crackled in his eyes. “While you're at it, think about this.”

Before she realized his intent, his mouth was on hers, hard, demanding, and very, very hungry. Her nerves, already inflamed by an unholy brew of adrenaline, fury, and desperation, exploded on contact.

Desire flooded her veins.

She managed to tear her mouth free for an instant.

“Jasper. This is so crazy.”

“Tell me about it. No, on second thought, don't say a damn word.” He took off her glasses and set them on the tiny bedside table.

Then he covered her mouth again and tightened his hold on her.

She gave a small, half-choked exclamation, put her arms around his neck, and flung herself headfirst into the kiss.

Jasper made a hoarse, half-strangled, extremely urgent sound and fell back onto the bed. He pulled her down on top of him. She sprawled across his chest and thighs. He caught her legs between his own.

She was shocked by the fierceness of his erection. She could feel the shape and size of him beneath the fabric of his trousers.

His fingers were at the nape of her neck. He found the zipper of her dress and dragged it the length of her spine all the way to where it ended at the small of her back. He slid his hand inside the opening. His palm was warm and heavy on her bare skin.

“You have a great back,” he muttered. “A really terrific back.”

She raised her head and looked down at him. “You're not going to break this off if it suddenly starts to rain in here tonight the way it did on my balcony, are you?”

His eyes gleamed with wicked amusement. “I don't think I could end it if an entire tsunami came through that porthole.”

“Good.” Relieved, she went to work on his shirt.

It took her a while to bare his chest, but once she had accomplished the task she could see that it had been well worth the effort.

“Nice.” She splayed her fingers across his flat belly and bent her head to kiss his shoulder. He felt warm
and powerful and utterly male beneath her hands. “Very, very nice.”

“My turn.”

He rolled her over onto her back and peeled down the black and silver gown. The front clasp of her black lace bra came apart in his hands. He looked down at her breasts with an expression of stark wonder. Then he cupped her in his fingers and took a nipple very gently between his teeth.

A luscious, liquid heat pooled in her lower body. A deep, tight urgency assailed her. Olivia closed her eyes as the exquisite sensations sizzled through her. Nothing had ever felt like this, she thought. Nothing. But all Jasper had done was kiss one breast. She would surely shatter into a gazillion stars if he did anything else.

She put a hand over her mouth to muffle a tiny shriek.

Jasper paused. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She could barely get the single word out between her lips. She reached up and clutched at him. Sank her fingers into his shoulders.
“Yes.”

“Glad to hear it.” His laugh was low and husky, more of a groan. He eased her dress off and hurled it out of the way. “You had me worried there for a minute. I told you, my timing isn't always the greatest when it comes to this kind of thing.”

“You took me by surprise, that's all.” She sounded breathless. She could not help it. She
was
breathless. “It's been so long. I'm a little tense, I guess. I mean, I've been busy. You know how it is.”

“Yeah.” He slid his warm hand slowly down over
her stomach. “I know. You've been too busy, and I don't get out much. We're a real pair, aren't we?”

She blushed, and then she giggled.
Giggled
. She never giggled. Olivia was mortified.

By the time she had recovered, Jasper had his hand inside the waistband of her black lace panties. She shivered when she felt his gently probing finger. The bubbling laughter dissolved in a heartbeat. Excitement flared in its place. She knew she was already soaking wet.

“This,” Jasper said in reverent tones, “is the most amazing thing that's happened to me in a very long time.”

Olivia buried her face against his shoulder. He stroked her until she was so desperate that she began to nip gently at the muscle in his arm.

Jasper rolled to the side for a moment. When he rolled back he had his pants off. Her mouth went dry as she watched him sheath himself in a condom.

“Oh, my.” She could not think of anything else to say.

“Thank you.” Jasper's eyes gleamed as he watched her stare at his erection. “It would have been a little disconcerting if you had started to giggle again.”

“This,” she said, wrapping her fingers around him, “is no laughing matter.”

He gave a muffled exclamation and came down on top of her. Before she could even begin to orient her senses or prepare herself, he was easing slowly, deliberately, completely into her.