The Billionaire's Prize: Taken & Tempted: (Book 3 Billionaire Bodyguard Series) (18 page)

Then again, maybe Slone was a good man to guide Kylie through this emotional aftermath, a more seasoned pro at weighing the risks of preserving a life versus taking it, and he’d offer a decent distraction for Kylie’s tumultuous thoughts.

“Slone,” he called out.

“Yeah, boss.” Slone’s voice echoed up the staircase.

“Think you can find some rum and pour three shots?”

“Yep,” Slone said, a faint congeniality returning to his tone.

Cade hoped the three of them could begin to heal one or two of their freshly opened wounds, and lingering confusion, over a bottle of liquor. It couldn’t hurt, right?

*

That evening Cade and Kylie lounged on a deck chair together. A contained fire within a concave discus offered heat to them. She leaned back against him, relaxed between his legs, while Antonio made them laugh all hysterically with his showmanship.
Turned out the kid had a theatrical side to him, and he proceeded to entertain them for most of the evening.

After Antonio took himself and his entertainment below deck for the night, Kylie stood and staggered a little, as she passed the bottle of rum to Slone, who reclined on a
chair beside them.

Slone reached out and grabbed the neck of the bottle. “Thanks, gorgeous.”

“Any time.” Kylie swayed in an attempt to find equilibrium. “I have to go use the ladies room.” She giggled, and Cade stood and helped steer her toward the stairs.

“She’s pretty amazing,” Slone said, his gaze focused on the pit fire crackling in a metal basin at the center of the
seating.

“Yes,” Cade agreed, settling back in his chair.

“You’d better hold onto that, Soren.”

“You’d better forget you ever laid eyes on that, Rowan.”

“Yeah, I know.”

To Cade’s surprise, Slone vaulted off of his reclining chair, ambling toward the opposite side of the yacht.

Holy crap. Cade stiffened. He hadn’t meant that literally.

Damn. Had Slone actually considered pursuing Kylie, when this was all through? Jealous fire burned in his veins.

Didn’t matter, he thought, a powerful possessiveness roiling
inside him. He knew in the deepest crevices of his soul, Kylie belonged to him. Slone had to know that, too, and it stunned Cade that Slone would admit
even the smallest interest in
his
woman.

No matter what happened in the future, Cade would never reveal the
momentary lapse concerning Slone. He’d never tell Kylie she had another admirer during their ventures out at sea.

Because she belonged to him.

And he’d be damned if another man claimed her out from under him.

*

When the yacht moored in its designated slip on El Dorado Island, and Cade helped Kylie from the plank onto the dock, it took a few minutes to regain her land legs.

“The island is bobbing,” she said, entertained by the way she swayed despite being on solid ground.

Cade glided his arm around her. “That’s typical. The sensation should disappear in an hour or two.”

An assembly of staff greeted them promptly, helping Antonio carry their luggage from the yacht into the stunning antebellum-style plantation house she assumed was The Montgomery Hotel. Towering trees dripping with Spanish moss stood like ancient guardians around the manor. Eight tall white columns fronted the hotel, stretching the full height of the two story building, lending an air of neoclassical grandeur. The symmetry of long, evenly spaced windows and the gabled rooftop of the third floor gave a sense of solidness and history to the mansion.

As evening descended around them, she watched the shifting interplay of light from the dozens of windows chase away the lengthening shadows. The winding walkway that led up to the front of the palatial hotel meandered through an immaculately manicured gardenscape.

Elegance emanated from the hotel the way charm emanated from Cade. She could hardly believe this magnificent façade had teetered on the brink of ruin only four years ago. The result spoke to Carter Stratton’s determination and his wife Ellie’s design taste. Kylie wished she were here on an extended vacation instead of a pit stop meant to harbor her and Cade from the ugly reality hunting them.

As they approached, a shadow moved on the porch and a man came into view cupping two fingers around a tulip-shaped glass with a squat stem, reminding her of a brandy snifter. His sandy hair was a little darker and cut shorter than Cade’s lighter, longer layers. He wore a pair of snug-fitting jeans and a loose button-down oxford that stretched tight across his broad chest, with the sleeves rolled back to reveal well muscled forearms. He and Cade could easily have been mistaken for brothers.

Cade strode up the steps to shake hands and clasp shoulders with the man, whom she guessed was Carter Stratton.

“Welcome to our little slice of paradise, my friend,” Carter said with a handsome grin. “It’s been too long.”

“Don’t I know,” Cade said. “The southern climate must be agreeing with you. You don’t walk around with a scowl looking like a demon from hell.”

“It’s not the climate,” Carter said with a private smile. He shook his head. “You need to quit running a billion dollar empire and hang out with me more often.”

Cade grinned. “Give me some of your minions, and I will.”

“Nope. I’m not parting with any of them. You’ll have to find your own minions to do your bidding.”

Cade stood in a relaxed, loose-limbed stance Kylie had never seen from him. He looked close to carefree, and his smile dazzled her. “Who are we kidding?” Cade asked. “You know I’d never give up control the way you have, leaving the important details to someone else.”

“My wife would disagree that I’ve given up any control over my holdings.”

“Speaking of your wife,” came a melodious voice from the doorway. “I’ve waited a long time to meet Cade Soren in the flesh. Show some southern manners and introduce us, darling.”

Carter reached out to his wife, draping his arm around her shoulders. “Ellie, this is Cade. Cade, meet my better half.”

“A pleasure,” he said, embracing Ellie. Carter’s wife was a stunning beauty, Kylie thought, with long dark hair touched with blonde highlights and the most striking golden-hazel eyes. “Anyone who could
tame this confirmed bachelor into domestic bliss has my full respect and overwhelming sympathy.”

Carter threw him a mock glare. “You’d better keep your hands off. She’s all mine.”

“I’m good with that,” Cade said, tossing Kylie a wink. He motioned to her, and she approached his side with nervous hesitation. This reminded her of the first awkward introduction when meeting a new boyfriend’s family, and since she and Cade weren’t exactly dating, she wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Nice to meet you,” she said with a stiff smile. The husband and wife each shook her hand, then paused as if awaiting further explanation. Which she didn’t provide.

“Come inside,” Ellie said, cutting short the silence. She waved toward the open front door where inviting light glittered from a crystal chandelier and spilled out onto the porch. “We can head straight to the bar, or we can give you a quick tour first.”

“I want the tour.” Cade grinned. “Stratton emailed me photos of the hotel at different stages of the renovation. I can’t wait to see the finished product in all its restored southern glory.”

Automatically Cade reached for Kylie’s hand as they entered the establishment. He didn’t let go through the entire main floor tour. Kylie kept glancing at the place where their palms met and fingers locked, wondering at the cause for his public display of affection, laying obvious claim to her in front of his longtime friends. She couldn’t deny how good her hand felt enclosed in his, long tanned fingers wrapped around her small pale ones in an easy, confident grasp. He made her feel special and desired, and the sensation enfolded her in a haze of warmth.

Her heightened awareness of his tall, athletic body brushing against her as they moved from room to room disrupted her concentration, though she meant to focus on their surroundings and the history tucked into every nook and crevice.

The wide central hall beckoned them from the moment they stepped foot in the door, a grand semi-circle staircase with a crimson runner stealing the show. They passed two parlors with ample seating for guests. The original elaborate crown molding adorned chair rails and the upper and lower edges where walls met the ceiling and hardwood floors. Kylie could almost imagine the industriousness involved in building such a manor, so many craftsman and woodworkers devoted to hand-sculpting the ornate beauty surrounding them.

Also, she noticed that Cade had a way of owning any room he stepped foot in, his charisma tangible as he admired and complimented the overall beauty of the hotel. He pointed out architectural specifics and nuances, using words she’d never heard.

By the end of the tour, the Strattons glowed with pride under his praise of their accomplishments. Out of all his God given gifts, Cade’s natural ability to make people feel good about themselves was the one Kylie admired most. She squeezed his hand lightly, and he stroked his thumb across her knuckles.

The last room Carter led them into was the library. Kylie found herself surrounded by bookshelves covering two walls from floor to ceiling, crammed with books—exceptional books, with leather bindings, half of which surely held a copyright date prior to 1950. She could’ve spent all day exploring the wisdom and knowledge held in these tomes.

“Now for the grand finale,” Stratton said.

Reaching for a book tucked into a random place on a random shelf, he tugged the top of the binding. Suddenly one entire bookshelf popped open, leaving an inch crevice that alluded to hidden possibilities beyond.

“Our genuine, circa nineteen twenties speakeasy.”

“No way,” Kylie gasped. “A trap door and all?”

“The guests have made it an unexpected hit, almost as much of a draw as our golf courses.” Stratton’s eyes glittered. “And you need the secret password to enter.”

Cade snorted. “You
don’t
want to let me guess what that might be. Your wife would never look at you the same way again.”

Stratton’s gaze drifted to his wife. Their eyes met and something special and unspoken passed between them. “We only have secret passwords around here. There are no secrets between us.”

Kylie watched the magnificent glow in their eyes, emotions they exchanged without a word. An incredible loving bond that transcended the physical.

She wished she hadn’t seen it. Since she had yet to reveal to Cade her own secret—that her mother had been murdered, and every cold case she investigated and helped solve gave her fleeting hope that one day she might lift the burden from the past she carried like her own personal albatross.

Of all the men she’d ever met, Cade was the only one who would understand her grief and strife, her
sense of personal failure.

Still, she couldn’t go there. She wasn’t ready to let him see that deeply into her soul. Maybe she would never be ready. Because that meant admitting defeat, admitting that while she could solve the murder of a stranger, she couldn’t solve the murder of her own mother.

Some wounds were too obvious to hide, yet too painful to acknowledge.

“Okay,” Cade said, “how about abracadabra?”

Carter shrugged. “That’ll work.”

With a swift tug, he opened the bookshelf and flipped on a light to reveal a stone staircase and masonry walls leading downward.

“It looks so medieval. Like a dungeon.” Kylie felt Cade’s hand adjust its grip firmly around hers.

Ellie grinned. “There are no ghosts or skeletons or iron chains, I promise.”

Stratton added, “They might’ve designed it that way on purpose. To throw off the authorities if they ever caught onto the bootlegging.”

The four of them descended into the shadowy depths. Another light came on, and an art deco stained glass fixture overhead cast an inviting glow throughout the room. The scents of lemon oil, faint cigar smoke, and mature masonry filled the air. On the left side of the room across from the long bar, high-top tables sat evenly spaced along the exposed brick wall.

“Oh, it’s lovely,” Kylie exclaimed. “Look at this room, Cade. It’s like we traveled back in time.”

Dark wood panels gleamed with fresh polish, supporting the bronze countertop and encasing the shelves and storage behind the bar. A long mirror fixed to the wall reflected a two-tiered row of elegant bottles. Glasses hung upside down from their bases in rows of cut-glass stemware that reflected the light like miniature chandeliers. The clean linoleum floor tiles bore linear symmetrical patterns in gold, black and turquoise flourishes, busy but pleasing to the eye, and a nice contrast to the simple solid colors used in the rest of the space.

“Everything looks spot-on authentic.” Cade nodded at Stratton. “Impressive. Nicely done, my friend.”

“This part was entirely Ellie’s domain. She chose the finishes and details.”

Beaming, Ellie walked over to an antique bronze phonograph, its flower-shaped cylinder horn and crank handle adding to the authenticity. She raised the hinged top to reveal a record player beneath. She placed the needle on the record and closed the lid. After several crackles a Scott Joplin ragtime tune filled the air with lively piano rhythms.