“And what refresher course were you taking when you were staring at my ass?”
The elevator doors ding open, and she steps inside with a flick of her hair over her shoulder. Guess I wasn’t as sneaky as I believed.
I step onto the elevator and press the button for her floor. I’ll need to be more cautious if I want to steal glances. Or maybe I should stop stealing glances at all. It’s not like I haven’t seen everything she has to offer. I’ve seen her pussy more often than her gynecologist at this point.
But it’s different in person.
My internal voice argues with me, telling me what I don’t want to hear. Because it’s speaking a truth I don’t want to admit.The woman affects me more with her clothes on than she does with them off. It was almost easier before, when I was playing at being friends. Now that the rose-colored glasses are off, now that we’re both aware of what’s going on, I almost find it more difficult to focus on the task at hand.
Then again, she doesn’t know everything. She is still blissfully unaware of her heritage. Or of the fact that in a circus tent a few blocks from here, Jim and Ice are probably watching a child molester get his head lopped off.
And that’s the biggest difference between me and these people. I don’t want the kill brought to my doorstep. I want to work for it. I want tohunt. I feel like the dinosaur inJurassic Parkwhen they plopped down a fat cow for her. Yeah, it would quell the hunger to take the kill, but it wouldn’t satisfy the urge to kill. It’s not the same thing.
Maybe that’s why Quinn intrigues me more now than before. As we step off the elevator and turn right down the hallway, that theory gains a foothold and begins to climb. Pretending to be her friend took away any effort on my part. It was too easy. Now that it’s hard? It’s going to be a problem. A man never wants something more than when he’s told he can’t have it, and a man who has to work for what he wants is more apt to appreciate it. Murder and relationships are not so different.
But I don’t want a relationship. I don’t want any stumbling blocks to prevent me from reaching my ultimate goal. Quinn is a means to an end, and that’s all she’ll ever be. Once Desmond is dispatched and she’s reunited with her family, I’ll collect my pay and be on my way to Scotland before they’ve even realized. No, I won’t allow anything to stop me from getting back to my homeland. Not even her devilish green eyes will sway me otherwise.
“Enjoy the show,” she says with a roll of her eyes as she opens the door to her room. “I know you’ll be watching.”
Aye, I will. But with my eyes a little more open this time.
Chapter Five
Quinn
Isit on a lounger by the pool and shimmy my shoulders to the upbeat island music drifting through speakers tucked away in the little bursts of greenery scattered about. Sweet flavors tickle my tongue as I suck down the best piña colada I’ve ever tasted. Lying back, I grab the digital camera Jim gave me so that I can continue to make content without my phone.
It's a high-tech device that creates beautiful images, but it’s clunky and much harder to use than my point-and-click cell phone. In the week that I’ve been here, I’ve managed to drop this camera on my face no fewer than six times. Today is no different. As I frame the overhead shot and push my cleavage into God’s face, my fingers lose their grip. The heavy camera slips from my hand and crashes into the bridge of my nose. I let out a yelp and clutch my poor face.
“Being so self-centered is dangerous,” Aven says beside me.
Yeah, that’s still going on. My watchdog never lets me out of his sight. Even in my room, he’s watching. I’ve found thecameras. The only place where I’m free from prying eyes is the bathroom.
I hope.
If anyone has been watching me in there, I’ll be mortified. My diet doesn’t usually consist of this much red meat, and my bowels haven’t exactly adjusted well. At least the chef has been diligent about avoiding my allergen.
Another clue that he was watching me was the way he’d always pop out of his room the moment I planned to leave mine. That first night, I tried to sneak out, but he was right there waiting for me when I emerged in the hallway. How convenient that his room is directly across from mine.
And today, when I stepped out of my room in a swimsuit, there he was in blue board shorts, ready to join me. He even made me put on sunscreen. It’s quite annoying, actually.
I hold the camera toward him. “Could you take the picture for me so that I don’t end up with a concussion?”
He folds his arms over his muscular chest and shakes his head. “Not a chance, lass. My duties begin and end with keeping you safe.”
“Wouldn’t preventing self-imposed bodily harm be part of that?” I wiggle the camera and refuse to relent. “Please?”
With a rumbling grumble from deep in his chest, he stands and reaches for the camera. Pleased, I hand it to him and begin planning poses. This will be so much easier now that?—
Click, click, click.
Aven tosses the camera at my bare feet on the lounger. “There. I took your damned pictures. Can we just sit quietly now?”
“No, we cannot just sit quietly. I’ve been sitting quietly for days, and I’m bored. We can’t visit the amusement park. My subscriptions are dropping off because I’m not posting as much content without my phone. And we haven’t even heard a peepfrom Desmond since the day you hauled me to this vacation from hell! I’m beginning to wonder if this entire exercise is necessary at this point.”
“Just because he isn’t saying anything doesn’t mean he isn’t scheming in the background.” He flops onto the lounger beside mine and places his hands behind his head without a care in the world. “Suit yourself, though. If you want to take a risk and go back to the mainland, be my guest.”
“Do you mean it?”
