Mission: Seduction (11 page)

Her father's expression became downright menacing, but Rafe managed a polite smile.

“Maybe we should go ahead and sit down to dinner,” Kelly suggested, before her mother said something else to aggravate her father.

Yet she was smart enough to know that the Raina and Carter show had only just begun.

Maybe they'd get lucky and the storm would hit a few hours sooner than expected.

How sad was it that she'd rather face a tropical tsunami than her parents over the dinner table.

What happened to wanting to impress the marine? Kelly wondered. Her parents were nothing close to impressive, and her dad was as grumpy as she'd ever seen him.

She rescued Rafe from her mother's clutches and led him to the dining room.

As they went, she prayed to the heavens that no one tried to commit murder before the night was over.

Of course, if her parents didn't straighten up, Kelly would be the one going to jail for that particular crime.

* * *

G
AMES
. H
E
'
D
NEVER
come across people who were so fond of playing one-upmanship. Problem was, he didn't understand why they'd want to. In his view, well, at least from what Kelly told him, her parents had made mistakes. But if they just stopped and listened to each other, things would be better.

Rafe wasn't sure if there was a planned seating arrangement at the table. There were only four of them for dinner. He claimed the chair to Kelly's left and deliberately shifted it closer to her and away from the sea of icy tension that churned between her parents. The small grateful smile Kelly tossed him was reward enough.

Silver domes kept their food covered and warm. Glasses filled with ice water sat next to empty wine goblets. He nudged one of the goblets aside and set down his beer while he waited. His mother had taught him that men didn't sit down until all the women were seated.

Raina and Carter were in a staring contest as to who would sit first.

He tucked Kelly into place and made the executive decision to pull out a chair for Raina. The older woman rewarded him with the same grateful smile her daughter had bestowed on him, although Raina's didn't quite reach her eyes.

Her daughter's eyes crinkled at the corners whenever she laughed. She smiled with her whole face. Maybe models didn't want to deepen any lines, but wrinkles, as his mother used to say, gave a face character and demonstrated life.

The surfer girl was full to the brim with those traits. She was everything he hadn't known he wanted in a woman. But their meeting came at an awkward time in his life. A time when he had no idea what the future held and he would be a jerk if he tried to make any kind of commitment to a woman. Hell, that he was even thinking about it after knowing Kelly for only a short time showed he was a fool.

He met Carter's cool stare with a bland look and the two men sat.

Kelly reached over and lifted the silver dome top off his plate and hers at the same time. The fresh grilled fish on a bed of zucchini, carrots and mushrooms smelled fantastic. It wasn't a steak, but after hauling sandbags, hammering up window coverings and trekking back and forth to all the bungalows with Adrien, he was starved.

At Kelly's sigh, he leaned closer. “Everything okay?” He made a show of flipping out his napkin.

She shook her head ever so slightly and murmured, “Dad hates fish.”

So they'd upset her with their sniping. More than likely her mother had chosen the menu so that it would cause her father to lose his temper. Rafe also wasn't terribly thrilled with their choice of battlegrounds, either. Kelly didn't deserve to be stuck in the middle of a private tug-of-war.

He picked up his fork and knife. “I love fish,” he announced with a smile. Personally, he didn't give two figs about fish. He was a beef kind of guy, but Kelly's relieved grin told him he would eat every bite and he would enjoy it, no matter what it tasted like.

“Wonderful.” Raina nodded approvingly and sent her husband a definite look of victory as she lifted the silver dome off her own plate. The meal was a silent one and Carter didn't bother to uncover his plate; instead, he sat there nursing his Scotch.

Kelly tried several times to open the conversation, but she was rebuffed by her parents' single-syllable answers.

Rafe cut into his fish but remained focused on her. Her parents could erect the former Berlin Wall at the dinner table if they wanted; metaphorically, he was moving her to Switzerland.

“So Adrien mentioned the storm could be bad, but probably won't be. Is that right?” He tacked a question onto it to pull Kelly out of the quiet, miserable shell she'd retreated into.

“If the storm hits the island head-on, which it almost always does, it'll be very bad for a few hours and then blow out. However, if it glances by the island and swings around, it won't be as bad, but will last longer.”

“Which are we rooting for? Direct hit?” The fish tasted pretty good. Light and flaky, and he detected some kind of citrus and a spicier hint of chili. The vegetables were vegetables, but Rafe pretended it was the best meal he'd ever eaten.

“Direct hits are better even when the ferocity is increased, since they blow past sooner. Most of the structures on the island can take the battering. It's the flooding and rising tides that will be the real issue.”

Last Resort was located right on the beach. A fast-rising tide might sweep the place away. Her hand came over to lie across his. “We'll be fine.” She grinned. “It's a squall, not a hurricane. Kind of like the terrible twos' version of a storm.”

“So, lots of noise, but not a lot of substance.”

“Something like that.” Her voice gained in strength and she didn't look quite so defeated. He preferred her this way, open and not hiding. He had to wonder if this family tension was another reason she competed so often. She had mentioned traveling a lot on the circuit, farther and farther away from the social circles her sister and mother moved in.

Made sense.

“You want me to stay here with you? I don't mind being in the bungalow, but I'd be worried that something might happen over here.” Not to mention he truly didn't want to leave her with her parents. Squall or no squall, the frosty tempest indoors might be worse than the one outside.

The sound of Carter's chair scrapping back ripped through the stony silence.

“We're not done with dinner, Carter.” Raina's tone had edged into a higher, more dangerous register.

“As there is very little for me to eat at this table, I'll simply take my drink into the other room.” Generals spoke more warmly to misbehaving privates.

Kelly put a hand to her forehead, her gaze focused on her plate.

“In this family, we sit together for a meal and we stay there until our guests have finished. Obviously, you've missed so many family meals that you've forgotten your manners.” Her mother's voice wobbled as though threatening hysterics.

Carter made a faintly rude noise, which incensed the woman. Rafe put down his utensils, a prickle of unease creeping up the back of his neck. He got the same sensation just before walking into heavy fire. Situations like this led to a lot of collateral damage.

“You're embarrassing Kelly, Carter. Sit down.”

“You know, the only embarrassment in this family is the over-fifty female who refuses to age gracefully, flirting with her daughter's lover right in front of her. And for the record, you, too, have missed your fair share of family meals.”

“Me! How dare you? Running off with the tennis floozy! A woman from the club, Carter? One that every man there has slept with multiple times? Surely, you could do better.”

And there it was.

Kelly's fist slammed into the table, making plates and glasses clatter and even Rafe drop his fork. She shoved her own chair back and stood up. “Shut up, Mother.”

“Kelly! Do not speak to your mother that way.” Carter stared at his daughter.

“Can it, Dad. I've never known two more ridiculous people. I'm embarrassed to call you my parents.” She threw her napkin down and Rafe rose, more in support and to protect her in case dishes or crystal started flying. Who needed a storm with these people in a house together?

“Kelly, watch your tone of voice.” Raina sounded impressively shocked, while her hand flattened against her chest like some Southern belle in the midst of having the vapors.

“You know what—Raina—I wouldn't talk to you like a child if you didn't behave as if he'd pulled your pigtail and you want to make him pay. You're my parents. You're supposed to be supportive. I haven't seen you guys in forever. And yes, I'm happy to say it's on purpose. There's an exceptionally good reason why I stopped coming home, even for the holidays. If you aren't fighting, you're acting so gooey-eyed you exclude anyone else who's around. You make Mimi and me feel like third and fourth wheels. You always have.

“And you talk about manners!” She angrily pointed a finger at her mother. “You served a meal you knew Dad would hate. You wanted to get back at him because he runs off without you.

“And you—” She swung her attention to her father. “You could have at least eaten the vegetables and potatoes that we all know you love. No, you have to make a scene.”

Rafe's head bobbed back and forth as if he were watching a tennis match. His girl was mad, and he kind of liked that she was standing up to these irresponsible people. It made him miss his mom and dad.

Her shoulders straightened, and he could have sworn he heard her growl. “Dad, you get pissed off because Mom does something you don't like and you disappear. Mom, you get pissed off because Dad disappears when you won't leave him alone. But instead of talking about it, you bring it
here
to my island. To
my
home where I am trying to get to know the best guy I've ever met and I wouldn't be surprised if he dumped me after meeting the pair of you. Who would want to be involved in this?” She threw up her hands, wildly gesticulating at her parents.

Tears shimmered across Kelly's eyes and his heart twisted. He put a hand on her arm, but she shook him off, trembling.

“I'm sorry, Rafe. I'm sorry my father is a selfish jerk who can't tell Mom what he wants, and I'm sorry my mother is a diva who uses fake affairs to get even with her husband when he doesn't do what she wants. I'm done with you two. I want you out of my resort and off my island. I don't care if you have to swim to do it. Get out! And don't bother coming back until you've grown up.

“Rafe, you are a lovely man. Once again, please accept my apologies.” The last thing she needed to do was apologize to him, but she ran out of the room before he could say anything. He glanced at her shell-shocked parents and grabbed his beer and Kelly's.

“It's not my place, but I care about your daughter. You hurt her tonight, and I'm not okay with that. You stay away from her, parents or not. She doesn't deserve to be treated this way. She loves you both so much, and the two of you just throw it away. I lost my parents a few years ago, and I would do anything to have them back. But I wouldn't blame Kelly if she never wanted to see either of you again.”

The front door slammed and he raced to follow her outside. The tang of rain was in the air, but unlike his first three nights on the island, no moon shone over the sand.

He stood still, letting his eyes adjust to the dimness, and tracked her to where she stood by the water's edge. Quietly, with the steady wind ruffling his hair and clothes, he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She stiffened at first, but then leaned into him.

“You must think I'm a terrible person.”

“Nah. I'm just glad you didn't start throwing food—or china. That would have made a really big mess to clean up.”

Her watery laugh went straight to his soul. He squeezed her tighter to his chest and kissed the top of her head.

“I hate that they do this to me.”

“Me, too. My parents didn't hide anything, which I used to hate. Everything was shouted out right then and there. But now I see the beauty in it. They never built up resentments. They didn't always agree, but they did find common ground.”

“You're lucky to have had such a great example of a loving relationship,” she said sadly. “My parents do love each other in their own way, but I'm tired of being stuck in the middle. So is my sister. I meant it when I said I don't think either of us has been home for Christmas in years.”

She cleared her throat. “But it's lonely. I miss them, even though I can't stand to be around them sometimes.”

In a show of solidarity, of respect and of heart, he turned her around.

“You aren't alone anymore,” he said, putting everything he felt for her in those words.

And he meant them.

Hell, I'm in trouble.

14

K
ELLY
LET
R
AFE
hold her to his chest, absorbing the inner strength he gave her. He didn't even sway with the breeze that tugged at her hair and whipped her skirt around her legs. “The shrinks always say it's better to talk about it,” Rafe said as he caressed her cheek. “I'm not sure I always agree with that, but, in this instance, it may be the right idea.”

Kelly still couldn't believe he wanted to be with her after what he'd just witnessed. Her parents were difficult to accept.

“I don't want to burden you with their theatrics,” she explained. “You've heard enough.”

Rafe kissed her forehead. “You need to vent, though you were doing a pretty decent job of it in there.” He frowned when she started to speak, so she stopped. “They got exactly what they deserved, Kelly, after the way they treated you in your own home. You had every right to say what you did.”

Kelly tightened her arms around his waist. He'd become her anchor in a rather choppy sea. “You really are the best,” she said. “If I were you, I'd be running for the airport.”

“I'm a marine. We face the enemy head-on. Now, tell me what set them off.”

“There was a story in the tabloids about Mom and this male model. They'd been photographed while they were on a shoot. But the pictures were all grainy and low-grade quality. The speculation ran for weeks that the two were having an affair. My dad was livid. He hired a private investigator. He did everything to find out what was going on, and the P.I. always reported to him when we were at the beach. The guy could never find anything on her. She was flirty, but there were no sordid meetings in hotels or anywhere else for that matter. Dad spent a fortune trying to find something that wasn't there. In a weird way, Dr. Ego didn't think he was enough for her.”

“Maybe you should be a therapist.” Rafe pushed a stray hair out of her eyes. The wind whipped around them, but it was welcome after the stuffy atmosphere at the house.

“The waves are my therapy,” she said, and laughed. “I don't think I've ever told anyone that.”

“Hey, I'm the last one to knock therapy. As I said before, I've got my own issues. But tell me more about the beginning of all this. You said your dad couldn't find anything. Why didn't it end back then?”

That had happened the first year after Kelly started competing. It all tumbled into place. Why she stopped caring if her dad was there. Tears clogged her voice. “Mom wasn't having an affair, but she wouldn't tell Dad that. She liked that he was jealous. She thought it was good for him because he did have a surgeon's ego, but never when it came to her. She didn't figure it out that it was because he thought he couldn't cut it when it came to her glamour and expectations and—”

“They obviously made it through that rough patch.” The simple words were an affirmation of the fact that her parents were still together.

“Yeah. Until Mom pushed for another party or another event or something more. When Mimi's star rose, Mom's was in decline. But she didn't let it go. Mom never met a charity function, a political fund-raiser, a movie premier she wouldn't attend. I'm sure it has something to do with the adulation she receives when she's in the public eye. Even today—when her modeling career has been over for decades—it's true.”

“I gather your dad isn't crazy about the publicity.”

She shrugged. “He used to be. He traveled as much as Mom did. He's a specialist and a rare one, so he gets flown all around the world to consult on patients. That's how he and Mom met. The jet-setters. He's retired now. In fact, she was the one who insisted they both slow down.” She smiled a little then.

“But Mom refuses to settle down. When she pushes too hard, he'll take off for a few days. Sometimes he hangs out with friends. Most of the time he goes to this little apartment down near the Santa Monica pier and drinks beer on his balcony, plays music. I saw him there once. Lots of peace and quiet.”

But wasn't that what Last Resort was for her? A sanctuary away from the hectic pace of the pro surfing circuit, no Greg and no drama from her parents? Only she didn't have to worry about a wife to go home to or daughters that needed her.

She didn't have to go back ever.

“It sounds to me like your parents have to work this out on their own,” he said as he hugged her gently. “I'd kick them out for you, but there's a storm coming.”

She laughed at the rueful note in his voice. “I shouldn't have blown up like that.”

“Families need to fight sometimes. It's better to get it out in the open, and then you can start on healing. You've been running away from your family for a long time. They deserve to know why, and you deserve some peace and quiet. You'll have that now—no more resentment because they know exactly how you feel.”

His simple words melted her heart. She barely understood it, but he summed it up so perfectly.

“It's so much easier to love them from a distance.”

“Than it is to be disappointed up close. I get that.” He kissed her hair again. “I thought the same thing about my parents when I was younger. And in her own way, that's probably what happened with Mimi.”

She went still at the mention of her sister.

“Shh.” He gave her a squeeze. “I don't have feelings for your sister. I was surprised when she finally answered my letters, especially when I learned who she was. When we met, to me, she was just another model who had helped out with my friend's fashion show.

“I realize now that she never actually told me anything about herself, or her family. After what I saw today it makes sense. But she invited me here, and for that I will be forever grateful.”

Kelly kept her face tight against his chest. She wasn't sure she had the strength to tell him the truth tonight, but he was her lifeline and she had to do it.

“Rafe, there's something you should know.”

He chuckled. “I wanted to say it first.”

“What?”

She lifted her head and stared at him, confused.

Lightning flashed in the distance. She began counting. At the fifteenth one-thousand the thunder cracked. The storm was still miles offshore.

“Without Mimi's support—even at a distance—I wouldn't have met you,” he said.

“I don't know what I would have done tonight if you weren't here.” Absolute truth. Rafe was her safe harbor.

“You don't have to find out, because I'm right here.”

His mouth closed over hers. Tears salted the kiss, but his mouth moved gently, stealing her breath, her sadness and her loneliness.

She clung to him, the wind pushing them together. Another roll of thunder echoed across the sky and his hands glided down her hips. He lifted her and the wind pushed her skirt wide until his hands skimmed over bare skin and cupped her bottom.

His fingers caressed the softness and the lightning illuminated his positively wicked grin.

Her body was on fire, throbbing from his kiss and his hands. He listened to her, he comforted her, and now he pleasured her.

She would tell him the truth, but she needed this. One more time with him. Moments she would treasure for the rest of her life.

“Make love to me,” she whispered. “Right here. Right now.”

“There's a storm, honey.” He glanced into the distance, frowning, but she caught his face in her hands. Everything had spiraled out of control. Little lies piled on top of big ones.

She didn't want that for them. She wanted to be as close to him as two people could be. “I need you, Rafe. I need to feel you filling me, touching me....”

A low groan vibrated in his throat and he caught her mouth in another slow, sweet, torturous kiss.

“Not here,” he growled. “I don't want someone interrupting us.”

Kelly knew exactly where to go. She ran back up the beach for the sliding glass doors to her bedroom. Just as they reached the doors, a torrential rain began soaking them. Somewhere between one stroke of his mouth and the next, her dress slid down and his shirt was open. Her naked back was against the glass.

Smoothing her hand across the hard muscle of his chest, she found all of his scars and traced them. He buried his face against her throat and used his fingers between her legs to tease her unmercifully. She gasped at the feel of him pushing inside, but he retreated too quickly.

“You're the most extraordinary woman I've ever met,” he murmured against her ear as he drew her arms above her head. The rain pelted down and Rafe's demanding mouth claimed hers. Consuming and filling her at the same time. No one had ever kissed her like this, wanting her to feel his passion for her.

She did.

When he pulled back, she mewed with disappointment.

“Don't we need to do something about this?” He knocked lightly on the glass doors behind her.

“Hurricane proof,” she explained. “Wait here. Give me thirty seconds.” Then she slipped into her bedroom and dashed over to lock the suite's door that led to the main part of the house. She was determined no one would interrupt them tonight. On her way back she grabbed a condom from the table beside her bed. But when she returned to Rafe outside, he wasn't there. “Rafe?”

Picking up her dress, she slipped it on. Where had he gone?

Stepping farther out onto the adjoining deck, she scanned the beach. She spotted him thirty yards away trying to shield something from the rain. She ran to him.

“Who is that?” she gasped.

“Your father.”

“He's passed out?”

The wind and rain whipped around them.

Rafe nodded and made for the closest door to the main house. She followed.

In mere seconds, they were safely inside the resort's large kitchen.

“What happened?” she asked.

Rafe had set her father in a chair and was rousing him out of his stupor. “I heard him calling for you, saw him weaving, heading out to the ocean.” Rafe's voice was gruff from the effort. “I wanted to get to him before you saw, before you were hurt even more, but you were too quick.” He wiped away the droplets in his hair and eyes and stared at her. “You need to know...I wanted you so bad it hurts.”

She stood there, stunned by the emotions overwhelming her.

The silence was only broken by her father coughing and muttering something. They transferred him carefully to a couch in the living room.

Rafe grimaced as he sat down on the edge of the sofa.

“What could he have been doing out there?”

Rafe shrugged, closing his eyes momentarily, his face taut with pain.

She'd noticed all this when he had hurt himself before. “Your leg,” she whispered. “What did you do?”

“I ran after him, since he was right at the water, think he was crazily searching for you. Then a giant wave came up and pulled him under. I got there just in time to grab him, but the force and momentum were so strong.”

The undertow could have killed them.

What had her father been thinking?

“I had to get us out of there before we both drowned. My leg wasn't going to hold up much longer. I hauled him over my shoulder, but when I got him back on the sand he wasn't exactly steady.” He looked apologetic. “He slipped and I—couldn't lift him, so I had to drag him a short distance to make sure we were safe. Sorry.”

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I'm so grateful to you, and I'm the one who's sorry that you're in pain now. This isn't like my dad. He's usually so levelheaded, except when it comes to my mother.”

“I heard that,” her mother chimed in.

She strode into the living room and picked up a throw blanket from the back of an overstuffed chair. She carefully wrapped the blanket around her husband and sat down next to him.

“You should have let him drown.” Her mother smiled and shook her head as she wiped the sand from her husband's face. “He deserved it, but thank you, Rafe, for saving him. He might be an idiot, but he's my idiot.” She leaned down and affectionately put her head on her husband's chest. “Stupid man.”

Kelly's eyes watered.

Rafe stood and hugged her. He could be so tender. She smiled at the thought of him helping her dad, all boozy and absurd, out in this weather.

Then she started to giggle and she couldn't stop.

It must have been infectious, since her mother laughed as well.

Rafe watched them as if they were all certifiable. Weren't they?

“What's sooo funnny?” Her dad's question sent them into hysterics.

Rafe let go of her, but she caught the smile he tried to hide as he ducked his head.

“Can't breeeve,” her father complained.

The two women laughed harder.

It was several minutes before Kelly felt as though she could catch her breath.

When she glanced over at Rafe, he gave her a tight smile, then winced.

His leg. What if he'd damaged it more? She'd never forgive herself. She remembered what he said about the doctors telling him he had to take it easy or he could cause permanent damage.

Her smile instantly disappeared, as did the hilarity that went with it.

“Dad, how sober are you?”

At the serious change in her tone, her parents stared up at her.

Her mother zeroed in on Rafe's tight shoulders.

Kelly nodded.

“Carter, Rafe saved your life, now it's time for you to help him,” her mother said. “He's in a lot of pain.”

Rafe remained still where he was. “I'll head back to my bungalow. Don't worry about me,” Rafe said, but his low voice indicated he was anything but fine.

Her father sat up and blinked several times to focus on his wife, then Kelly and Rafe.

Her mother raised an eyebrow.

“Raina, run upstairs and get my bag, please. It's in the closet.” Her father took the bag everywhere he went just in case of emergencies. “Kelly, what's the storm doing?” her father asked.