LITMIR.BIZ

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his company was always lively and interesting when we did get together. Barry was very likable.”

      His stock in trade, Annabel thought cynically, wishing her sister hadn’t been drawn in by it. Although she could understand the attraction, the wicked appeal of a sexy seducer. After eleven years of marriage to Neil Mason—so upright and unimaginative he probably never deviated from the missionary position—Isabel could have been ripe for some creative attention. Annabel inwardly groaned every time she heard Neil pompously declare there was a time and place for everything.

      “I shall miss him.”

      The rueful note in Daniel Wolfe’s voice jolted her. He was human, after all. Not the cold, calculating machine she’d been building him into. It also forced her to realise she shouldn’t be judging Barry Wolfe as nothing but a two-faced rat.

      There had been many sides to him. Despite his crookedness and lack of conscience about it, he’d been a very popular personality. He’d coloured people’s lives. Perhaps that was valued more highly than integrity by people who overlooked anything if they were being entertained by lively company.

      “I’m sorry,” she said impulsively, then frowned over what seemed an insincerity. She didn’t regret Barry Wolfe’s death, though she was sorry about the loss his brother felt. Family was family, however black the sheep.

      She felt Daniel Wolfe’s sharp glance at her. Disbelief? Scepticism? She kept her gaze trained ahead, telling herself she was wasting sympathy on him. He was out to get her. Something was niggling him and he wouldn’t rest until he had the answers he wanted.

      They passed the bridge that led to the administration centre. Annabel thought about checking out of the resort. It wasn’t far to Port Douglas. Plenty of facilities there to give her a pleasant vacation. If Daniel Wolfe followed her, she’d know for certain he was pursuing a purpose.

      “The last time I saw him was at a fund-raiser for his political party,” he said in quiet reminiscence. “Barry was in top form that night, working the crowd for hefty donations. I enjoyed watching him. He had a knack of making people feel good. Their faces lit up.”

      Annabel kept her mouth firmly shut. They’d reached the parking area below the administrative building. She mentally measured the distance to the Long House. Only another five minutes until she could effect a reasonable parting from this troublesome man.

      “I saw him talking to your sister.”

      Alarm bells clanged through her mind. She clenched her teeth. No comment was the safest course. Let him spill out what he knew about Isabel.

      “She seemed very taken with him.”

      Her heart turned over. Had the sexual signals been obvious? Surely Isabel hadn’t been too indiscreet, or had she thought herself unobserved? Whatever suspicions Daniel Wolfe harboured, damage control had to be put in place. The need to divert this man’s dangerously acute perception, colour it differently, was immediate and critical.

      She summoned up a fond smile and said, “Isabel responds warmly to everyone. She’s the perfect political wife for Neil. It balances his tendency towards aloofness.”

      He ruminated over that as they crossed the public road that cut through the resort. Then he startled her by asking, “Have you always been protective of your sister?”

      “Whatever made you think that?” she demanded, her eyes wide and innocent.

      “Steel and putty.”

      “I beg your pardon?”

      He shook his head at her show of incomprehension. “You’re a very smart lady, Annabel Parker. Quite the most tantalising woman I’ve ever met. So many layers to peel.”

      “You’ve lost me.”

      “No.” A ruthless glint in his eyes. “You’re with me. Every step of the way.”

      Annabel had the sense of a trap closing inexorably around her. Rebellion stirred. She stopped in the middle of the parking lot for passing tourists who wanted a drink or a meal in the Long House. There was no incoming or outgoing traffic. She stood stock-still, defying his assertion.

      He stopped, too. He turned to her, one eyebrow raised in mocking challenge. “Something wrong?”

      “Has anyone ever told you you’re insufferably arrogant?”

      He grinned. The transformation of his face from hard authority to dazzling magnetism was mesmerising. “Have you noticed how politicians always descend to personal abuse when they don’t have a good argument to defend their position?”

      It took several seconds for the implication of his words to register. “I wasn’t arguing or defending anything. I was stating the literal truth,” she insisted tersely, fighting the compelling attraction of eyes sparkling with teasing lights.

      “Ah, the truth!” He spoke with relish. “Are you afraid of it, Annabel?”

      “No. But I don’t necessarily like what people do with it, Mr. Wolfe.”

      “Call me Daniel. I have a passion for truth. I do hope you share it.”

      He was dangerous. He could turn on a pin, dodge and weave and strike with devastating cunning and speed. The barrister who could turn black into white.

      “I’m not sure I want to share anything with you, Mr Wolfe. I don’t know you.”

      “At this point, you only need to know one thing about me. If one path is blocked, I find another.”

      He was threatening her with going to Isabel. She sensed the ruthlessness behind the teasing challenge in his eyes. Would he care what he trampled on in going down that path? Isabel’s guilty conscience would make her an easy target for him. Then what damage would be done?

      “Have dinner with me.” He flashed another disarming grin. “It’s always better to know the enemy.”

      Annabel ignored the flutter in her heart and bluntly asked, “Are you my enemy?”

      The grin turned into a whimsical smile. “Lovers would be more to my liking.”

      It took Annabel’s breath away. This was no whimsy. He meant it. She could feel it, his desire—will—to peel back every layer of her until nothing was unknown to him.

      Well, two could play at that game, she thought with reckless determination. As long as he was engaged with her, he would leave Isabel alone. But becoming lovers? A shiver of apprehension ran down her spine. Daniel Wolfe was not the kind of man who would be satisfied with anything less than everything. All the same, she would give him a hard run to the line he’d drawn, and maybe he’d back off in the end.

      “I don’t take lovers lightly,” she warned.

      “Neither do I.”

      “Dinner I’ll accept.”

      “It’s always exciting, embarking on a journey of discovery.”

      “Yes.” Her eyes taunted his confidence. “A pity the reality rarely lives up to the anticipation, but the food is good here. I’m sure we’ll find something to enjoy.”

      With an adrenaline rush at the thought of pitting wits with him over the next couple of hours, Annabel strode ahead, disdaining any fear of him. What was more, she would eat a good dinner even if she choked on every bite. She would not let Daniel Wolfe spoil anything!

      CHAPTER FOUR

      ANNABEL sipped the pina colada, enjoying the sweet creaminess of the tropical cocktail and the energy lift it gave her. She needed to be sparking on all cylinders in Daniel Wolfe’s company. Nevertheless, her primary aim was to appear relaxed and completely unruffled by the situation.

      She had deliberately requested a table on the wooden deck by the pool. The atmosphere was more intimate but she preferred to be distanced from the busy comings and goings inside the Long House,

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