Seduction on the Sand (The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay #2) (20 page)
Read Seduction on the Sand (The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay #2) Online
Authors: Roxanne St. Claire
“Over here.” She gestured toward an empty table on the patio that had been transformed into a press conference just a few minutes ago. The wait staff of the Casa Blanca Resort & Spa were already cleaning up, and the event attendees had all gone to the beach to watch the game.
Which was where he suddenly wanted very much to be.
“Whatever it is, make it fast,” he said, irritation and maybe a little fear taking all the tease from his tone. She was hot, no doubt about it, but he smelled trouble. Big trouble in this little package.
She responded by scraping a chair over the wooden deck as she pulled it out...for him. He stayed where he was while she took the other chair and opened up a large handbag.
Damn it, he hated women who had to have all the control.
“Okay...Liza.” He rolled the name on his tongue, taking time to appreciate the sassy and sexy sound of it and wishing she were just a little more of both. Why the hell couldn’t he remember where and when they’d met?
“I really think you’re going to want to be sitting down for this.”
Son of a bitch. “What do you have?” he asked, irritation prickling his spine. Irritation and worry. He’d sworn on his life that there wouldn’t be any more trouble, no more headlines, no more...sex tapes. Oh, that had been a bad week.
She placed a large manila envelope on the table.
“Pictures?” he guessed with a choke. “How original.” Every stinking blackmailing female in a nightclub had their secret cell phone shots. Which was why he’d sworn off nightclubs, too. “Oh, don’t tell me, TMZ has offered five figures.” He took a step closer, unable to resist knowing what she had. Not that it would surprise him. “Let me guess. You’ve got ‘Naughty Nate’ bare-ass naked in Vegas or Cabo. He’s got a joint in one hand and a fifth of Tito’s in the other. Some dot-com billionaire’s wife has her hand on his johnson and they’re about to fall into a hot tub with four more blondes.”
Sickening that he could describe that situation just a little too clearly. No wonder he was in such hot water. And not the kind with four blondes waiting for him.
She didn’t answer, but slid a long white paper from the envelope and a spiral notebook.
What the—
“Nate! You’re on deck!”
He ignored the announcement, hollered from the sand, instead dropping into the chair next to her.
“So, how much?” he demanded. “You want me to beat the highest bidder?” The question went against everything he’d been taught as a member of a family with the ironic—and iconic—last name of
Ivory
. A family that was anything but pure and had trained all members that the first check was just that...the
first
. A blackmailer never went away.
But he absolutely refused to get embroiled in one more scandal and, damn it, if he had to pay to get rid of her, he would. Whatever it took to prove to Wilhelmina Ivory that he was worthy of the family name she and the General had built from nothing.
His grandparents had given him one last chance, and he was not about to blow it.
“I don’t want you to beat the highest bidder.”
Okay, not money. Access to the Hollywood studio his older brother ran? A meeting with his other brother, the senator? Maybe inside-trading information from his cousin on Wall Street?
“Everybody wants something, Liza,” he said on a sigh. Especially from an Ivory.
For the first time, the closest thing to a sweet expression settled on her lovely features. Her lips softened from a tight line to a soft hint of a smile. Dark brows unfurrowed, and a slight blush of pink deepened her creamy complexion.
“Yes, everybody does want something,” she whispered. “And I want you to sign this document.” She slid the paper toward him. “And then I will go away and you can play softball and drink in Cabo with other guys’ wives and have cocktails on your
yacht
.” She slathered the last word with disdain. “I promise, you will never see or hear from me again.”
A few minutes ago, that would have disappointed him. But now? He had to slide off his shades to read the paper. “What is this?”
She didn’t answer as he focused on the words.
He blinked at the legalese, his name typed neatly in the blanks. And hers. And...
Dylan Nathaniel Cassidy, age four.
“Who is Dylan?”
“Your son.”
The words slammed like a power-punch to his temple, and for a second he actually saw stars. A
kid
? He’d been so careful. His whole freaking life, he’d been so damn careful about this. Very slowly, he lifted his gaze from the page to her face, digging like a dog in dirt for a shred of a recollection of this woman, a date, a night, an encounter, a damn quickie in the back room of a party.
He had nothin’.
“I don’t even remember you,” he said, the words sounding as jagged as they felt. He looked at her, the impact of her striking blue-green eyes another blow to the brain. How wasted had he been to forget this girl?
“Of course you don’t remember me,” she said. “I’ve never met you.”
“But...this...” He looked at the paper, trying like hell to focus and read as a slow fire of horror sparked in his gut and rolled up to burn his chest. Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights? “This isn’t a paternity suit?”
“No, this is my guarantee that I can live in complete peace without any ax hanging over my head.”
What the hell was she talking about?
“I don’t want to wake up some morning and find out the Ivory family machine is out to take Dylan away from me.”
“You just said he...we...” He let out a shredded breath. “I don’t get this at all.”
She nudged the paper closer. “His mother is dead, and I’m his legal guardian. And all you need to do is sign right there, and I’ll handle the rest of the red tape. I’m good at that.”
Dead? Was she saying this boy was an
orphan
? “Where...how...who...” He finally shut his mouth to stop the babble. After a second, he asked, “What happened to her?”
“She was in a car accident.” She held out a pen. “Just pretend it’s an autograph, Nate. You’ve signed a thousand of them.”
Yes, he had. But he wasn’t signing this one. Not until he got to the bottom of this and not until...he saw his son. Or did some unraveling himself...of a very creative scam. Which is what this could be.
“No. I will not sign that.”
She leaned forward and speared him with her glittery gaze. “I have enough information about you in this notebook to fill a year’s worth of the National Enquirer.”
Her tone actually sent a cold chill up his spine.
Cold enough to tempt him...to sign. It would be so easy. Two scratches of a pen and he could go play baseball and drink scotch and live his life. No scandal, no problems, no...way.
“Bring it, Liza.” He took off his glasses and tossed them on the table just to be certain she could see his eyes. “I’m not signing anything.”
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Seduction on the Sand!
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About the Author
Roxanne St. Claire – Biography
Roxanne St. Claire is a
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of more than thirty novels of suspense and romance, including three popular series (
The Bullet Catchers
,
The Guardian Angelinos
, and
Barefoot Bay
) and multiple stand-alone books. Her entire backlist, including excerpts and buy links, can be found at www.roxannestclaire.com.
In addition to being a six-time nominee and one-time winner of the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA Award, Roxanne’s novels have won the National Reader’s Choice Award for best romantic suspense three times, and the Borders Top Pick in Romance, as well as the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, the Maggie, Booksellers Best, Book Buyers Best, the Award of Excellence, and many others. Her books have been translated into dozens of languages and are routinely included as a Doubleday/Rhapsody Book Club Selection of the Month.
Roxanne lives in Florida with her husband and two teens, and can be reached via her
website
, or on her
Facebook
Author page,
and on
Twitter
.
Books by Roxanne St. Claire
The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay
(Contemporary Romance)
The Barefoot Bay Series (Contemporary Romance)
The Guardian Angelinos (Romantic Suspense)
The Bullet Catchers (Romantic Suspense)
Pick Your Poison
(a novella)
Stand-alone Novels (Romance and Suspense)
Don’t You Wish
(Young Adult)
Critical Reviews of Roxanne St. Claire novels:
“St. Claire, as always, brings a scorching tear-up-the-sheets romance combined with a great story: dealing with real issues starring memorable characters in vivid scenes.”
Romantic Times Magazine
“Non-stop action, sweet and sexy romance, lively characters, and a celebration of family and forgiveness.”
Publishers Weekly
“Plenty of heat, humor, and heart!”
USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog
“It’s safe to say I will try any novel with St. Claire’s name on it.”
www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com
“The writing was perfectly on point as always and the pace of the story was flawless. But be forewarned that you will laugh, cry, and sigh with happiness. I sure did.”
www.harlequinjunkies.com
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