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Her husky voice was his undoing. He froze. He wanted to kiss her, but she seemed fragile. He didn’t want to push her—yet.
He handed her a helmet. She climbed on the bike, wrapped her arms around him and held on.
They’d make new memories on this machine tonight. Ones he could take with him when he left Plunder Cove once and for all.
Four (#u09ebbd11-0500-560d-b941-c1c34eb85b47)
Matt loved driving his old, faithful Harley with Julia on the back. It felt familiar, comfortable and so damned good. Instead of winging through the curves like he used to do, he drove slowly along the coast. Sure, he was stretching out the ride, but Julia didn’t seem to mind. She put her head on his back and seemed to relax.
The night was warm with the ocean fog hanging in the distance. The sliver of moon winked at him as if it knew how hard Matt’s heart was beating. The breeze against his face smelled like the sea and Julia.
The long lane to Casa Larga came up too quickly. He drove under the lacy pepper trees and purple jacarandas. Luminaries lit up the driveway, making the normally private mansion seem strangely inviting. He idled in the driveway in front of a line of parked cars. Julia’s cousins were right—everyone was here. For an extra beat, he sat there memorizing the feel of Julia against him.
His Julia. One last time.
He cut the engine, swung his leg over and offered his hand to her. “Ready?”
She took his hand quickly and held on tight. “Yes?”
“I heard the question mark, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay. Trust me.”
She bit her lip. “I...do?”
He laughed. “Getting closer. Think the word...” Circling around, he came up behind her and whispered in her ear, “Fun.”
He couldn’t help but notice the shiver and slight roll of her shoulders. She was still ticklish. Good to know.
“Fun,” she said softly.
“What we have here is a two-part mission. Part one—” he lifted his finger “—get inside the mansion to seek intel to stop plover destruction. Part two—” another finger lifted “—have the time of our lives. We’re not leaving without having fun. Got it?”
She nodded.
“Good enough.” He led her toward the front door.
She stopped. “Oh, no. There’s a guard at the front. See him?”
“Yes, I see him. Let’s go around the side,” he said. He’d recognize his dad’s bodyguard anywhere. The man had been one of the two goons who’d escorted Matt off the property ten years earlier. It still pissed him off. The itch to bloody the man’s nose was real, but what good would that do?
She cocked her eyebrow. “You found a secret entrance since this afternoon? You’ve been busy.”
What was he supposed to say to that? If she thought hard enough, she’d remember how to get in through the side garden. This wasn’t the first time he’d snuck Julia Espinoza inside Casa Larga. He took her hand and they walked past the rose garden. Up ahead was the gazebo under the coastal oaks. He’d kissed her against the railing in the gazebo the last time they were here.
“We don’t have to go in just yet.”
“Okay,” she croaked. Her voice gave her away. That and the way she didn’t know where to put her hands. They went to her throat, by her sides, clasped.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“You’re not?”
“A little.” Hell, okay, a lot. About the party. About her. “But we’ve got this.”
“This is all foreign to me. Last week I was taking my finals in Environmental Science and Law and I was restricted from entering Casa Larga. Now I’m here with a...a...date.”
Could it be any harder for her to say the word? He didn’t want to dwell on it so he changed the subject. “Do you like your classes?”
Her eyes lit up. “I love them. I want to be a lawyer. I really do. Those poor birds can’t defend themselves against corporate monsters.”
“Like RW.”
Her eyes widened. “Um, and others who suck all the goodness out of the environment for their own personal gain. Meanwhile, species are going extinct and our air and water is becoming polluted. I want better for my son, for everyone.”
Passion for her cause lit up her expression. God, she was magnificent. He ran the backside of his knuckle over her cheek. “I agree.”
She closed her eyes, leaning into his hand. “That’s why I study so hard. Two more semesters and I can take the bar exam. Next to being Henry’s mom, it’s the one thing that gives me purpose. Something I can be good at.”
It pleased him that she had found a noble cause. She’d always been a caring person and a spitfire. It made perfect sense that this is who she would become—a strong woman who knew her mind and fought for the innocent creatures of the world.
“I like that. Julia Espinoza, Planet Saver.”
She cocked her head. “Now you’re making fun of me.”
“No, way. Your eyes light up when you talk about environmental law. Strong women are sexy. It’s great to be doing what you were born to do.”
“Yes.” Her voice was very soft.
“Setting difficult goals and flat-out going for them? In the Air Force, we call that ‘balls to the wall.’”
She laughed. “I don’t have balls.”
“Are you kidding me? A single mom raising a son while putting herself through college? Your cajones are humongous, lady. I’m jealous.”
She blushed.
Thinking about his package, was she? He dragged his thumb across her bottom lip. Silky, warm, his. No woman he’d known had a mouth like Julia’s. He bent to put his lips where they belonged.
Used to belong.
A woman screamed in the distance.
“What was that?” Julia asked.
Another woman yelled, followed by a slew of Spanish words. Julia ran toward the sounds and Matt was quickly in pursuit. They raced across the aggregate pathway and stopped in front of a large dolphin fountain where two elderly ladies had climbed in. They splashed each other like kids at a public pool.
“Tía Alana! Tía Flora! What are you doing?” Julia asked. “Get out of there before anyone sees you.” Julia looked at Matt. “They’ve fallen off their rockers.”
“Watch it or you and guapo will be next,” Alana threatened, lifting her arm to splash them.
Flora laughed, hiking up her dress and exposing her thick legs. “Señor Harper said to enjoy ourselves. He’s the boss.”
“You’ll have restraining orders on you, too, if you don’t get out of there.”
“Nope. We have to take our fun where we can get it. We don’t have hot hombres,” Alana said in a teasing voice.
Julia slapped her hand over her mouth in the cutest version of horror he’d ever seen. She hooked her arm in his and started pulling. “I don’t want to be here when the guards show up.” As they walked the lantern-lit pathway, she added, “I have a big family and they’re all a little crazy.” She smiled. “But I love them.”
“You’re lucky to have a family who cares for you.”
They’d made it to the house. “You don’t have a family?”
He looked at her with his uncovered eye. “I don’t have anyone.”
What in the hell? He hadn’t meant to say that. He ignored his feelings 99 percent of the time. Julia could pull his inner thoughts out of him in a way no one could.
“Really?” The mix of compassion, sorrow and longing on her face made him want to demand answers.
I did have someone, butyou gave up on us. Why’d you stop loving me?
He ground his teeth. She wasn’t going to see him fall apart. They were past that now. Instead, he opened the side door and stepped into his favorite place in the mansion—the kitchen. As a kid, he’d sought solace here when his parents were fighting. The kitchen ladies had made growing up a Harper bearable.
“Evening, ladies,” he called out.
Donna, his favorite chef of all time, was using a scary-looking knife to slice large barbecued tri-tips. “Busy here.”
The other staff members were plating appetizers and refreshing the cheese and fruit displays.
“Just passing through.” He snagged a chunk of hard cheese and two glasses of champagne. “Sustenance.” Breaking off a piece of cheese, he fed it to Julia. “Need your strength to keep up with me on the dance floor.”
She chewed, and swallowed a sip of champagne. “You said dancing was for women.”
“That’s what I was taught, but I picked up some moves.”
“I’d like to see them.”
“You will.” He laced his fingers with her empty hand and led her down the hall toward the music. “I’m going to use them all tonight, sweetheart.”
* * *
Oh, mama.
She wanted to learn a few moves from this smoking hot man. Okay, all the moves.
She’d only slept with one man—Matt Harper. And calling him a man was laughable. He’d been seventeen and she’d started to wonder if she’d ever have hot sex with a grown man. At this time in her life she didn’t need a husband, or anything long-term. Where would a man squeeze in between her son, her family, school, animal activism and her budding career? No one should feel like he was the last priority on her list.
But, heaven help her, she missed passion. And being touched. Sheesh, when Captain whispered in her ear and touched her cheek, she’d all but combusted. When he’d fed her and laced his fingers with hers, she felt...cherished.
Which was a big batch of crazy mole. A man she’d just met couldn’t adore her like Matt had.
Captain was a hot pilot who’d happened to land on her doorstep. For tonight only. He was a good choice for a few hours of passion, no doubt about it. As long as she kept her memories from jumping out right and left to attack her heart. The bike, the garden where they used to walk hand in hand, the gazebo where she’d received her first kiss... Matt was everywhere.
The first year after he’d died, she’d seen him in every guy’s face, every swagger. She’d heard him calling her at night and would run outside in her pajamas to find an empty yard. It had taken a long time to get control of her desperate imagination and yet here it was bringing Matt along on the first real date she’d had in years. It wasn’t fair to her date or to her.
How could she tell Captain he walked like her old boyfriend? Sort of smelled like him. And his voice, although deeper, had the same cadence. When he touched her cheek, she’d closed her eyes and Captain was Matt. Gah! She couldn’t tell him that.
The only difference was the way he drove the motorcycle. Matt would’ve taken those curves faster and leaned in like he was one with the machine. This guy was far too safe on the bike for her liking.
But she did like him. He was sexy, strong, gentle...and did she say sexy? Plus, when he’d admitted he didn’t have anyone, her heart had puddled in her chest. Her instincts were to reach out and pull him under her wing like she did all strays. She sensed a deep sadness in him. Maybe because she was sad, too.
If she had a hot man to heat up her sheets for a while, maybe she could forget about the deep chasm in her heart that refused to heal. Captain was just here for a few days. She couldn’t keep him. No, this connection with him was about one hot night.
I’m definitely going to learn his moves.
“Ready to be blown away?” he asked, his hand on a door handle.
The sounds of music and people were coming from the other side of that door. She knew what she’d see when he opened it—the grand hall. The last time she’d been in there she’d danced with Matt during his seventeenth birthday party. Well, she was dancing and he was crunching her toes. She’d had to throw her sandals away after the party. Bruised toes and broken shoes hadn’t mattered one bit because that night he’d told her he loved her.
Pressure built behind her eyes. No. Stop. Matt is gone.
“Julia?”
She let out a deep breath and fixed her harlot blouse. “Show me what you’ve got, Captain.”
“That’s my girl.” He threw the doors open wide.
Five (#u09ebbd11-0500-560d-b941-c1c34eb85b47)
“The music’s getting loud downstairs.” RW poured champagne into a crystal flute and handed it to Angel. “To you, my darling.”
She clinked her glass with his water bottle. “To second chances.”
He’d toast to that. She was his second chance, even if she didn’t want to be. Couldn’t be because she was his therapist. He’d never known what it felt like for someone to understand him, to see his inner demons and not run away.
Angel had saved his life, plain and simple, and now she pushed him toward the final phase of his therapy. Together they had hatched up an intricate plan designed to heal all the wounds created by his illness. He didn’t think the plan would work, but for her, he would try.
After her first sip she asked, “Did they all come?”
“Chloe and Jeffrey arrived this morning. I haven’t seen Matthew yet, but the staff tells me he’s around. I’m waiting for him to make his presence known.” RW tried to relax his fist. He was holding his bottle too tightly. The veins in his neck were pounding. “I’m sure however he chooses to arrive, it will be a showstopper.”
“Give him time. He’ll come around.”
“Maybe. He’s a Harper, after all. We’re all a bit bullheaded.”
“Don’t I know it.” She winked at him. Playful and sweet. He’d be lost without this woman.
“You’ve changed me. You see that now, don’t you?”
She eyed him. “Well, you do look as handsome as a pirate.”
