Free Hot and Dangerous (Decorah Security) by Rebecca York

 
    HOT AND DANGEROUS
    It should
have been a perfect afternoon in paradise, yet Jenna Brockhurst sensed
something unsettling in the air as she stepped onto the marble terrace of the
tropical resort.
    A gentle
breeze played through her long blond hair and the gauzy shirt she wore over her
bikini top and shorts. Raising her head, she scanned the terrace, then the wide
beach and the bay beyond, where sailboats skimmed across the blue water of
Honeycomb Bay.
    Was she
looking for danger? Or looking for him ? The lean, dark-haired guy with
the broad shoulders, the shadow of a beard where he hadn’t shaved in a few
days, and eyes so dark they were almost black, except for the touch of fire in
their depths. The same guy who radiated a leashed power that made her want to
run. Toward him or away? She wasn’t exactly sure. He’d met her gaze that first
night in the resort’s elegant dining room where they’d both been eating alone
at separate tables. In those first seconds of eye contact, she felt a hot
shiver go through her. She was sure he was going to get up and walk over. He
was going to ask if he could join her. Instead, he turned back to the slab of
steak on his plate and left the baked potato before signing the check and
disappearing.
    She took a
gulp of her Margarita, trying to swallow her disappointment. She hadn’t come to
this tropical resort looking for a hot summer fling, but she hadn’t discounted
it, either. And if she was going to pick a bed partner, it would be the guy who
had just blown her off.
    Over the next
two days, he’d disappeared from view for long stretches of time. Then she’d
catch sight of him again. He was always alone, and she had the satisfaction of
knowing that he hadn’t rejected her and hooked up with someone else. One time
she saw him out on a jet ski. Another time, he was pumping iron in the gym,
lifting weights that would have been impossible for most men. And always with a
look on his face that warned he didn’t want company. Yet she understood men
well enough to know that he was interested in her.
    She heard one
of the hotel employees call him Señor Marshall. And from the sign-up sheet in
the gym, she knew that his first name was Zack.
    Had he looked
at her name, too?
    It was hard
to believe he was shy, but maybe that was it. Why not just walk up to him the
next time they encountered each other and start a conversation? What was the
worst thing he could do? Walk away, then send a letter bomb to her room? Tell
her that slim blue-eyed blonds weren’t his type at all?
    She’d come to
San Marcos because she’d known that if she didn’t get out of the U.S. and away
from her high-pressure medical research job, she was going to snap. Luban, the
company where she headed a research team, was pressing for a breakthrough on
the cancer vaccine project, and she’d just run into another dead end.
    She needed a
break, and if they fired her for a two-week escape, so be it. But she’d had to
get out of the lab and into a totally different environment. So far the
peaceful atmosphere of the resort had helped to rejuvenate her. The only thing
missing was a romantic adventure. Apparently that was too much to ask. There
were maybe a hundred guests at El Sol y Enrolla , but few singles, as it
turned out.
    Except for
Mr. Mysterious Marshall. She’d dreamed about him, sensuous and disturbing
fantasies that had left her lying in bed, hot and bothered. Thinking of the
dreams brought back the hot sensations that had accompanied them. With a silent
curse, she sat down at one of the glass-topped, umbrella-shaded tables that
dotted the patio and took a sip of the iced latte she’d brought outside.
Perfect as usual. Maybe the cold drink would cool her down.
    Exotic
vegetation and flowering shrubs screened the patio. From hidden speakers, the
hotel sound system played light sixties rock. Stretching out her legs, she
examined their hue. She’d gotten a little tan since she’d been here, but not
enough to wipe