LITMIR.BIZ

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past Gina, no longer interested in the conversation. Her whole body ached with the need to relax.

      The second story of the villa sported an impressive master suite. The room must have been twenty-five by twenty-five, with adjoining dressing areas and a bathroom large enough to accommodate a family of six with room to spare.

      Kicking off her shoes, Destiny pulled her dress over her head as she walked to the bath. The marble floor was refreshingly cool against her feet. The room smelled of exotic tropical fruits. She considered taking a long, hot bath, but opted instead for a long soak in the hot tub out on the patio. Letting pulsating streams of hot water rush over her body was a surefire way to wash away any lingering traces of her anxiety.

      Removing the rest of her clothes, Destiny discarded them carelessly in a pile. As she stood completely naked, she ignored the pang of guilt trying to weave its way into her consciousness. Leaving her father in jail wasn’t as easy a decision as she’d let on. In spite of everything, he was her father and she loved him.

      Taking a few hairpins off the vanity, she secured the knot at the nape of her neck and willed herself not to think about her father’s all-too-familiar plight.

      “Blast you, Carl!” she whispered to her reflection.

      Grabbing the soft white terry robe from a hook on the back of the bathroom door, Destiny sat on the edge of the bed to wait until she no longer heard Gina moving about in the rooms below. She was tired, too tired for another well-intended confrontational scene with her friend.

      It wasn’t long before she padded down the stairs, through the streaks of shadows and light from the moon sneaking in between the blinds. Carefully she opened the French doors that led to the tiled patio. “So far, so good,” she whispered, her voice drowned out by the gentle rustling of the wind through the oleander bushes and the distant crash of waves from the Atlantic.

      Dropping the robe, Destiny stepped down into the circular tub. Heat from the water rose in a swirl of steam before floating off on the breeze. The powerful jets forced ribbons of bubbles over her body, kneading her tense muscles like a patient lover. Closing her eyes, Destiny sank lower, allowing the swirling streams of water to work their magic. It was like being drugged, lulled into a sense of blissful relaxation.

      “Miss Talbott?”

      Her eyes flew open to find two figures near the back gate silhouetted in the moonlight. They were both tall and broad shouldered—and one was recognizable. Her eyes seemed determined to fix on that one form. The sinewy way his body tapered from those shoulders into that very sexy lean waist, she was absolutely certain she was looking at the outline of Wesley Porter. But then she recalled the voice saying her name. It was a voice she didn’t recognize.

      Instantly thinking of the flowers and the notes, Destiny screamed for Gina. The sound of her voice echoed in her own ears as she groped at the edge of the hot tub for her robe. Neither man moved in that fraction of a second.

      Bright lights flooded the patio, blinding Destiny as she pulled the robe into the water. The sodden garment was immediately heavy and difficult to maneuver through the water.

      “Up!” Gina’s commanding voice split the night. “Get your hands up where I can see them! Now!”

      Destiny backed out of the tub, wrapping the robe around her as she went.

      “You okay?” Gina asked, her brown eyes never wavering from the pair standing awkwardly under the lights, their hands high in the air.

      “I’m fine,” Destiny answered in a high-pitched voice. Gina, wearing nothing but a flimsy teddy, stood with her legs shoulder width apart, her small silver revolver pointed in the direction of the intruders.

      “Go in and call the police,” Gina said. “I’ll keep them here.”

      “Maybe not,” Destiny said as she shook the fog of fear from her thoughts. “Sorry, Officer Gina. That’s Dr. Porter from The Rose Tattoo.”

      “Oops,” Gina said in a small voice as she lowered the gun.

      Dylan fished inside his jacket pocket and retrieved his identification. He held it out for them between his thumb and finger in a very nonthreatening manner.

      It seemed appropriate that Destiny be the one to examine his ID while Gina allowed the gun to dangle at her side. With a wad of wet terry cloth in her fist, she moved forward, barely aware that the full length of her leg was revealed with each step.

      Standing in the shadow of the uncharacteristically silent Wes, Destiny scanned the laminated photo and found out that Dylan was some sort of agent for Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

      “Get your permit, Gina,” she said. “Agent Tanner probably isn’t too keen on having a gun waved in his direction.”

      “Okay,” Gina said just before scurrying off.

      Then Destiny got mad.

      “Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing on my patio in the middle of the night!” she bellowed at Wes, certain this late-night call was all his idea. She looked up into his blue eyes. The flash of amusement she saw there only added fuel to the fire of her anger. “And why did you drag him along?”

      Grinning down at her from his superior height, Wesley said, “I called Dylan and asked him to help out. He’s taking time away from his wife and new daughter just for you.”

      “Thank you,” she mumbled. “But couldn’t all this have waited until morning?”

      Wesley crossed his arms in front of his chest, grinning like the proverbial cat, and said, “Probably. But then I would have been deprived of the opportunity to see you naked.”

      Chapter Three

      “See me naked?” Destiny repeated blankly, lowering her eyes to her partially covered body. “You pig,” she grumbled, adjusting the waterlogged robe to completely cover herself. “At best you got a cheap peek.”

      “Really?” Wesley asked in a bland voice. Then he leaned closer and spoke into her ear. “There isn’t anything cheap about that cute little birthmark you have to the left of your navel. It’s about an inch or two below your brea—”

      “That’s enough,” she interjected, shoving him before he could finish humiliating her.

      Cursing, Wesley hit the water with a loud splash and an even louder expletive.

      “Watch your language, Doctor,” she purred before making a mad dash toward the house.

      “Don’t let Porter drip on the hardwood,” she instructed the stunned-looking Gina as she raced up the stairs. “Offer them a drink or something while I get dressed, please.”

      “Whatever you say.”

      Destiny had a limited selection in her closet. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford a decent-size wardrobe, it was simply a matter of practicality. Living for a week here, a month there wasn’t exactly conducive to becoming a clotheshorse.

      “Please let them sell that pilot,” she prayed as she towel dried her body and pulled on a sweat suit in a muted shade of mauve. Glancing at her reflection, she knew she didn’t have time to do anything with her unruly mass of hair, so she simply left the pins in place and shoved any stray strands behind her ears.

      She felt her cheeks warm as she remembered the deep, husky whisper of his voice when he’d commented on her birthmark. The memory alone was enough to make her body come to life with a series of electric pulsations that radiated from the core of her being outward to her fingertips.

      “You’re being stupid,” she told herself as she hopped on one foot and forced the other into one tight espadrille. Wesley was definitely not her type. He was obviously a mamma’s boy. Why else would he still be hanging around The Rose Tattoo with his mother? And she wasn’t about to take on another needful man in her life.

      She switched positions

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