Free Then You Hide by Roxanne St. Claire

the straw again, his mouth puckered, his cheeks not quite as clean-shaven as they were hours ago when she’d run away from him. The little bit of whisker made him even more rugged, and the look he gave her was downright sinful.
    “Why are you staring at me like that?” she demanded.
    “I’m just curious about how badly you want it.”
    “How badly I want…” She raked his face and chest with a long, slow look, lingering on his wide shoulders and the few golden hairs at the top button. “What?”
    “To get into the Palm Grove villa.”
    She held his gaze, awareness and understanding sparking at the same time. He closed the space between them enough for her to smell the wind on him and the salt of the sea.
    So he’d been in an open-air car, too. Right behind her on that hairpin turn that she had taken too fast. Warmth curled up inside her, tightening her belly and kicking up her pulse.
    “You’d like to go there and see who answers the door, wouldn’t you?”
    Of course she would.
    “And if no one is there, you’d like to go inside to look for his things or a clue to where he might be, am I right?”
    So, so right.
    He took his own slow trip from eyes to mouth to body and back, leaving every inch well scrutinized and warm. “How badly, Vanessa?”
    “Not badly enough to make deals with the devil.” She gave him her profile again in an act of sheer self-preservation. “Nice try, but forget it.”
    He leaned right in to her ear. “I can get you in there.” He breathed just enough to move her hair and curl her toes. “I can do that.”
    She’d bet her next commission check he could. “How?”
    “I found you, didn’t I?”
    She tightened her fingers on the glass. “In exchange for what? A big happy family reunion at the South Carolina jailhouse?”
    “Dinner. With you. Tonight.”
    Her fingers slipped. “That’s the price for getting me into that villa?”
    “You make it sound like torture. It’s just dinner.”
    Right. Dinner, where he would wear down her every last defense with that silky drawl and warm breath on her hair, with meaningful gazes and teasing touches. And, of course, his pocketful of pictures.
    But the fact was, he probably could get her into that villa, and that could take her one giant step closer to finding Clive. Who might be in that very villa right now.
    “Tempting, but your price is too high.” She backed away from him and this dangerous negotiation. “I’m sure I can get the help I need from the concierge. Enough cash will persuade him to bend the rules.”
    “You think?” He cocked his head toward the lobby. “Why don’t you try? I’ll wait here.”
    “Don’t bother. I’ll have them take me to the villa. If no one is there, I’ll convince them they should let me inside.”
    He pointed the straw at her. “Good luck with that.”
    Damn it all, he was right. She was so losing this one. The problem was, she was bargaining blindly. She needed to know more about her opponent.
    She settled back into the chair and took a drink of water. “So, what’s your background that you know all this hide-and-seek stuff?”
    “I’ve spent most of my life looking for things that didn’t want to be found.” He got close again. “Like you.”
    She didn’t back up but met his smoky gaze with a direct look. Did he really think she was some hopeless female who’d melt from his cocky flirting? “And how did you learn to do that?”
    “First, I ask questions of the right people. Then I use all my senses to track.” He drew in a slow, deep breath as if he was sniffing her. “I get all the necessary intelligence, move at an effective speed…” He brushed some hair from her forehead, curling the strand around his finger. “And then I zoom in…and…” He tugged the hair gently. “Getcha.”
    She corralled the three brain cells that hadn’t turned to hormonal mush and gave him her best power stare. “Nicely done. But that doesn’t answer how .”
    “How isn’t