His Hotcakes Baby (2 page)

A vein twitched in Chase’s temple when
he watched the bewitching groupie being pulled onto the boat by two young men.
He handed the binoculars back to Billy and spun around.  His anger now
exponentially increased.

“Keep an eye out Billy. I won’t be
surprised if they come back here.  Sent out a warning to the coast guard.  They
are supposed to monitor the traffic in this direction!  I want to know how they
slipped by.”

Chase refused to acknowledge that this
was one woman he wished were not just a groupie enamored with his fame.

“I
am really sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Paxton, but we have experienced
major losses of dolphins over the past six months.  All the recent activities
leads to the area around your islands.  We have to conduct a series of tests
and studies in that area to ensure it is not going to affect other marine life
and to find the cause of the deaths.”

Chase sighed.  He really did not need
this now.  He just started on his latest thriller and had no patience with
strangers underfoot.  The exact reason why he bought this Island three years
ago in the first place. On the main land he was always surrounded by paparazzi
and females.  Femme fatales and socialites that wanted what the paparazzi so
blatantly reported on.  The millions he made with his thrillers, movie rights
and investments.  Then there were the groupies.  The ones that were after a
quick tumble with a famous celebrity. He sometimes accommodated them when he
was on the main land.  He never had to pursue a woman, they constantly pursued
him. 

His one mistake when he was young,
taught him that a woman was there for one purpose.  To fulfill a sexual need
and that was what he used them for since.  He never bothered with relationships,
he didn’t need to.  There were enough woman after him to fill his bed every
night with a different one.  Not that he indulged to such an extent. Nor nearly
as much as the tabloids reported.  He at least had to desire the woman and he
was highly particular whom he took to bed.  The past year since his father
passed away has been difficult and he spent most of it on the Island.  Except
for that one excursion into Miami for a book signing. Where the black haired
groupie caught his eye.

No one except his family knew where
his home was.  Where he disappeared to when he’s had enough of the fake
affection.

Musha Cay was a quarter of a square
mile sized island in the Exuma Chain, in the southern Bahamas. It was located
85 miles southeast of Nassau. He bought it from the illusionist David
Copperfield. Musha Cay was surrounded by three smaller islands that added to
the privacy and the appeal it had to him.

“Mr. Paxton?  Are you still there?”

“Look, Mr. Loxley was it?”

“Yes, Sean Loxley.  I am the
Operational Director at the Florida Institute of Oceanography. This is a real
problem, Mr. Paxton and we would not impose on your privacy if we had any other
choice.”

“How long can I expect to have people
underfoot?”

“Hopefully no more than six to eight
weeks.”

“How many people?”

“The team consists of the Assistant
Director of Marine Conservation and Fisheries, Mack Lewis and four Marine
Biologists and a further two Mammal Biologists.”

“No. You have fully equipped vessels. 
Why not use them?  I refuse to have my home turned into a research lab.”

“We only have a smaller vessel
available at the present time.”

“Good.  The vessel can dock at the
Rudder Cut Cay Island, which also belongs to me, and there are two large
cottages they can use.  Your Assistant Director will stay here and I want a
daily report on their findings and movements.  My assistant will email you a
confidentiality agreement that everyone on that team is required to sign. Only
once my attorney receive the signed copies and copies of their passports will I
agree to it.”

“I’m not sure Mack will want to be
separated from the team.”

“It is the only leverage I will have
to ensure my privacy remains intact and where they will be every minute of
every day.  If it is not acceptable, don’t bother returning the signed
agreements. No one will be allowed within ten miles of the Islands.  The coast
guard will make sure of that.”

“Very well.  We will have everything
in your attorneys’ hands first thing in the morning.  We would like to get
started as soon as possible.”

Chase
flung the receiver down and stomped out on the porch and stared out to the
tropical sea surrounding the Island.  Here, was where he found peace and now he
was forced to share that peace for weeks!

Billy
took the speed boat to Rudder Cut Cay Island at late afternoon, two weeks later
to collect Mack Lewis.  The FIO vessel arrived earlier in the day and was
instructed to dock there directly.

He maneuvered the boat expertly
against the jetty and secured it within minutes.  He turned around and his jaw
tightened when he watched a small woman and a tall man walk towards him.  The
man carried two large duffel bags. He nodded at them and took the duffel bags
and loaded them on the boat.

“I am Billy Paxton, the Estate Manager
of these Islands.”   

“Pleased to meet you.  I am Frasier
White and this is Mack Lewis.”

“You are Mack Lewis?” He frowned at
the female, shook his head and turned to the boat.

“He is going to be seriously pissed
off about this!”

“Is there a problem, Mister Paxton?” 

She not only had a sirens body, she
also had a husky and raspy voice. Chase was going to be furious.

“Apart from Chase believing you to be
a male … no problem whatsoever!”

He turned to the tall man.  “Have you
settled in well enough?”

“Yes and thank you for the trouble you
went to with setting up the rooms for us.”

Billy nodded and waved the woman on
board.  She greeted Frasier and they agreed on the time they will start the
following day.  Billy said nothing, knowing that the start of their day will be
dependent on what Chase’s instructions will be.

“I assume Chase is Mr. Paxton?  The
owner of the islands,” asked Mackenzie once they were on their way.  Billy just
grunted.

He brought the boat to a stop against
a jetty in front of a colorful beach cottage a short time later.  The jetty was
made of wood and tracked across the beach to the few steps that led up to the
cottage.  The cottage had a black slate roof with a white chimney.  The walls
were painted bright yellow and the doors and window frames, bright blue. The
windows facing the sea where in fact floor to ceiling glass doors that opened
all the way.  There were blue shutters that were folded back to the sides of
each door at the moment. There was a porch that surrounded the whole house with
a low trellis all the way around, also painted yellow.  It was encapsulated
within the greenery of the palm trees and shrubs and looked absolutely
idyllic. 

Visible on top of the hill sat a
magnificent two story house, with a three hundred and sixty degree view.

Billy carried her bags into the
cottage and walked back towards the boat.

“At the back of the house is a four
wheeler for you to use.  Chase is expecting you at the house on the hill at
five. Follow the paved road at the back of the cottage to the right.  I suggest
you are on time.  He does not like to wait.”

He turned and walked a few steps
before he turned back to her.

“There is a phone on the bedside table
of the main bedroom.  If you require any assistance dial nine.  If it is an
emergency, dial zero.”  He nodded at her.  “I’ll see you later, Miss Lewis.”

Mackenzie sighed watching the middle
aged man, she guessed him to be in his late forties, with light brown hair and
a well formed tanned body, jump on the boat. He pulled away and with a wide
arch on the surface of the sea disappeared around the side of the Island.

“Why the devil did he insist I stay
here if it is clear they did not want me here?”

On the other hand if he was a friend
or family of that damn jerk Hawk Carter, she should not be surprised!

She cursed and closed her mind.  She
refused to think of him.  Of the mind blowing climax he gave her that made her
scream.  A first for her.  Her core throbbed every time she thought of his lips
and hands on her body; of his hard and big …”

“Aaarrggh!  Stop it Mackenzie!”

She
ripped her top and shorts off and threw them on the chair on the wooden jetty
and dived into the clear, quiet tropical sea.  Her body speared through the
water as she forced her mind clear of the treacherous thoughts that just would
not quit!

“What is she doing here, Billy?”

Billy frowned at Chase whose face
looked like thunder itself.  He looked down at the woman next to him and she
looked like lightning ready to explode.

“I am afraid I am a bit lost, Chase. 
This is Mack Lewis from FIO.”

Chase cursed and he glared at her. 
“You are Mack Lewis?”

“Mackenzie Lewis, everyone calls me
Mack. You’re the owner, Chase Paxton?”

He nodded, his jaw rigid and his body
stiff as a board.

“Bloody hell!”  Her curse reverberated
through the room and Billy glanced at her with raised eyebrows.  She looked at
him.

“You can just as well take me back to
the other Island.  I am not staying on the same Island as this … this …
Lothario!  Famous writer indeed.  He is nothing more than a debased …
douchebag!” 

Billy looked at Chase and said with a
sound of humor in his voice.

“I take it you two have met?” 

“You could say that.”

“It would appear as if she is a tad
annoyed with you?”

“A tad?  A tad?  I am not annoyed …
that would indicate that I gave this … this … creep any thought.  Which I have
not! I am nothing if no …”

“I don’t know, Billy.  To me it sounds
a lot like the lady is protesting too much.”

“Hmm … you could say that. Care to
fill me in?”

Mackenzie incinerated Chase with eyes
that shimmered like green crystals. Her lips were pressed flat and her body
trembled with anger.

“Well we beca …”

“Don’t you bloody dare!”

“Very well, little groupie ...”

“If you refer to me once more as a fatuous,
senseless groupie, I swear I will break your nose! I have never even read one
of your stupid books!”

Both Billy and Chase’s eyebrows rose. 
Billy chuckled.

“She called your books stupid.  Good
thing her view is not shared by a million others.”

“What were you doing at the book
signing if you’ve never read them?”

“My little brother thinks you are the
best writer ever.  I was doing him a favor.”

Chase’s heartbeat increased. 

“What were you doing here four weeks
ago?”

“We were tracing a trail of
micro-organisms that has been present in all the carcasses we’ve found. 
Believe me, had I known you were here, I would never have set a foot on this
bloody Island!”

A slow grin formed around Chase’s
mouth which made Mackenzie’s temper soar and she scowled at him. 

She refused to acknowledge his
massive, perfectly sculptured, muscled chest and torso that he flaunted over a
black loose fitting bathing costume. Nor would she take a glance towards his
corded, muscled legs or his damn bunching muscles of his shoulders, rippling
down his arms. He had the body of a magnificent and powerful animal.

Unfortunately that left her looking at
his face, which has been inked into her mind for the past month since she met
him at the book signing in Miami.

He had thick, wavy medium brown hair
that he negligently flicked backwards from his brow.  He exuded strength and
intelligence. He was physically imposing with a strong face and chiseled strong
jaw line. His aquiline nose rose over a strong wide mouth with a full bottom lip,
which she knew kissed like heaven.  The tanned body made his amber eyes shimmer
like liquid sunlight.

There was an air of confidence that made
you believe he was capable to do anything and made you feel safe as a woman.  Add
to that intelligence that was visible when you looked into his eyes. There was
a quick and agile mind behind that handsome face.

Mackenzie has always found intelligent
men extremely sexy.  His body and face added to that … she groaned inward.  She
was not staying on this Island with this man!

She swung around and started walking to
the door. She flung the instruction over her shoulder at Billy.

“I will be done packing within ten
minutes.  You can pick me up then.”

“I am afraid, it does not work like
that, hotcakes.”

She froze and turned to him slowly,
shooting green arrows at him.  Her lips were clamped together, refusing to
voice the question.  Chase’s grin widened.

“I assume you were made aware of the
conditions?  If you leave, honey, so does your team.  All the way back to
Florida.”

“You … you … you …”

“As a writer I can assist you with
your vocabulary, honey.  Just make a few gestures …”

Billy and he burst out laughing when
she flung him a finger. Mackenzie has never been subtle when she was angry and
they were standing so nice and close to the pool.  She stalked closer with long,
deliberate steps until she was toe to toe with them.  Her glare nearly scorched
them.  Her smile should have warned them, but there was no time.  She shoved
hard against their chests and they tumbled backwards into the pool.