I hesitated outside, but when I didn’t hear any movement from within, I stepped into the space. It was some kind of equipment building. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I recognized tools hanging from hooks on the walls. A riding lawnmower sat against the back of the space. I eyed a pitchfork and considered how I could use it as a weapon if need be.
Disgust rolled through my belly at just the thought, because I knew I’d never be able to do something like that. I turned out of the building.
And slammed smack into a rock-solid body.
I bounced back and hit the ground on my butt. Pain spiraled up my spine, making me wince. Looking up, I frowned, expecting to see Luc, but the person blocking my exit wasn’t nearly as tall as Luc. With the sun at his back, all I could see was the shadowed shape of him, and in a rush, my memories raced back to the man who’d attacked me in my house in Idaho and the way he’d obstructed my exit from the bathroom just like this. My pulse went stratospheric, turning to a roar in my ears.
“Miss Natalie!” The man jerked forward and wrapped long, slender fingers around my wrist before I could react . “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.”
In seconds, I was on my feet, helped by the mystery man at my front. I gasped and pulled my hand back as soon as he released me.
He held up both hands in a non-threatening way. “I hope I didn’t scare you.” He shifted, and sunlight shone through the open door, spilling over his tanned skin and smiling face. “I’m Haych. We didn’t get to meet before. I take care of the island.”
The groundskeeper. I swiped at the dirt on my legs, remembering what Luc had said about the man, which, granted, hadn’t been much.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” I stepped back, wary and feeling stupid that I was so wary, but I had Luc to thank for that too.
Haych’s smile wobbled. He quickly crossed the dirt floor and reached for a rake from a hook on the wall. “I just came back to get this. We have quite a few downed trees from the storm. Already broke one of these.”
He turned back to me, then stopped a few feet away and tipped his head. And with the sunlight sliding over him, I saw that he was both sweaty and dirt-streaked, but also quite attractive with an angular face, dark hair and eyes, and a toned body from hours spent working outside. A lot like the men who worked on my stepfather’s ranch back in Montana. In fact, before I’d gone to New York, he was the kind of guy I’d probably have dated.
“Were you looking for Mister Luc?” Haych asked.
The sound of Luc’s name snapped my attention back to the reason I was stuck here, and my spine stiffened. “No. I’m not looking for him at all. I was just…going for a walk.”
Haych chuckled. I sensed he knew something about me I didn’t want him to know. Instinctively, I shifted my left hand to my back, hiding that hideous tattoo on my finger.
He shook his head and stepped past me, out into the sunlight. “Well, Mister Luc will be looking for me if I don’t get back soon. Nice to meet you, Miss Natalie.”
I moved out of the building and watched Haych head away from the house until he disappeared in the jungle. I didn’t trust anyone on this island, not the kitten in the house or this man out here in the trees, and I absolutely did not trust Luc to tell them the truth about who I was or why I was really here.
When the last of the brush settled in his wake and I could no longer see him, I turned toward the beach, intent on exploring as much as I could before exhaustion got the best of me. The sun was hot and the air humid, but the farther I moved from the main house, the better I felt. At least out here, I wasn’t a caged animal, and though the water around this island was still a prison of sorts, I couldn’t deny it was pretty.
I spotted a long dock that ran at least fifty yards out into the water, but there were no boats tied to it. Continuing on my way, I stayed on the grass that edged the sand. Farther down the beach and set back from the water, I came across two cottages, both smaller than Luc’s main house, but built in the same Balinese architectural style, both just as stylish as his.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it very far before fatigue pulled at me. Slowing my steps, I stared at the cottages, remembering what Luc had said. One had to belong to Haych and the other to Sela. I should be relieved to see for myself that the kitten had her own place, but for some insane reason, just staring at the cute little building Luc had built for her only made me feel worse.
Turning away from the cottages, I wandered out to the stretch of white sand. More than anything, I wanted to keep searching for a way out of this nightmare, but my body was quickly telling me today wasn’t the day for that kind of adventure. I sank down to sit in the shade of a palm tree, wrapped my arms around my legs as I dug my toes into the sand, and stared at the waves rolling against the shore.
At some point, I must have fallen asleep, but it hadn’t been a restful sleep. It had been filled with images and dreams that made no sense and left me feeling more isolated than before.
I twirled on a checkered dance floor, in the arms of a man wearing a black tux and matching mask that covered all but his sensuous mouth. My purple gown swayed behind me, but I barely noticed. Nor did I pay much attention to the masked couples around us. I was too focused on the man in my arms. On his mesmerizing, one-of-a-kind gray eyes with that defect on the left side I absolutely adored because it made him him, on his broad shoulders, on the way he smelled—like jasmine and musk and rum—and the way I was the only thing he could see.
But the dream had shifted before I was ready. Suddenly, I was alone in a dark and ominous forest, still wearing my gauzy purple dress but now surrounded by a menacing, creeping fog coming toward me from every angle. I called out for help, again and again, knowing the man in the tux was somewhere close, but I couldn’t find him. And with every second the fog rolled closer, I grew more afraid, knowing if it reached me, I was doomed.
And then I felt myself being plucked from the ground, lifted in the air, above the trees where the fog couldn’t touch me. I fought the hold. Cried out. Tried to break free. Couldn’t. Something warm surrounded me, closed me in from every side, and slowly, I realized it was a cocoon. Keeping me safe. Protecting me from the outside dangers.
I relaxed. Snuggled in. Reveled in the knowledge the evil fog couldn’t reach me here. Yet lurking in the distance, outside the shielding walls around me, I sensed a growing light, luring me forward. Begging me to break free and follow. Toward what end, I couldn’t see.
I awoke in a breathless sweat. Rolling to my side, I half expected to see Luc beside me in the sand, but when I sat up, I realized I was no longer on the beach, but back in my bedroom suite. Early morning light slanted through the wide windows, shining over the foot of my bed, the sitting area of my room, and the flowers on the dresser. And as I sat there, trying to figure out how and when I’d made it back to Luc’s house, I watched a wilting red petal break free of its flower and float to the hard, cold surface of the dresser.
A sense of loss swept through me. One I didn’t expect or understand. My gaze drifted down to my hand resting against the comforter, and I spotted the letters tattooed into my skin. But instead of the quick rush of anger, pain lanced my chest, and I thought of Luc. Not the Luc who’d trapped me on this island, but the one who’d awoken me with coffee in Rome. The one who’d pushed the limit of my desires in Venice. The one who’d begged me never to leave him in Tuscany. And before I could stop myself, I wondered where that man was right this minute. Whether he was asleep or awake. If he was alone or if another on this island warmed his bed.
I flopped back into the pillows and stared up at the beamed ceiling, feeling that hole inside me open wider. I’d known love wasn’t real. I’d known it was a myth, but I’d let myself be fooled by a handsome face, by an empty promise, by meaningless words. And that was what hurt the most. Not that Luc had trapped me here. Not that he’d etched these letters into my skin. But that I’d fallen for him when I’d known there was no such thing as hap
pily ever after.
Tears I didn’t want to shed burned my eyes and tickled my nose. Pulling the covers up to my chin, I rolled to my side, away from the light, away from the flowers Luc had left for me, away from reality and into myself where I knew I’d be safe. Into the cocoon I’d created for myself so many years before.
Love was an illusion. The truth had been unmasked. And I had no one to blame for my stupid gullibility but myself.
I just didn’t know how to ignore the voice growing louder in the back of my mind. The one telling me the real threat wasn’t from Luc. That it wasn’t from anything tangible lurking beyond these walls or waiting past the waters surrounding this island.
The real threat lived in me. Deep inside. In a dark corner of my heart I’d always been too afraid to face.
Chapter Six
Luc
My plan to woo Natalie back wasn’t working.
Three days had passed. Three days in which she’d stayed in her room and never once ventured out. I hadn’t pushed her. I’d figured she needed time to rest and regain her strength. I’d also rationalized she was using the time to come to terms with everything that had happened. But when the fourth day came and went and she still didn’t step foot out of her room, I realized she wasn’t doing any of those things. She was hiding. From me.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Sela asked behind me as I loaded the sandwiches she’d prepared into my backpack on the counter in the kitchen. “I mean, she’s made it more than clear she doesn’t want to have anything to do with any of us, most of all you. How are you going to convince her to go anywhere with you when you can’t even get her to open her damn door?”
I paused what I was doing and glanced over my shoulder with a scowl.
Sela rolled her eyes, capped the canteen she’d been filling with water, and crossed toward me. “It is a logical question, you know. You’ve already forced her into a whole bunch of things she clearly doesn’t want. This isn’t going to endear you to her any.”
I knew what she was getting at. The same damn thing she’d been hinting at since our conversation here in the kitchen three days ago, but I wasn’t falling for it. I wasn’t about to give Natalie any more reason to hate me.
“She’ll go.” I swiped the canteen out of her hands. “Trust me.”
Sela grabbed a grape from the bowl on the counter, moved around the island, and slumped into a chair at the table. “If you ask me, this little excursion has disaster written all over it.”
“No one asked you,” I muttered, shoving the canteen into my backpack.
The screen door creaked open as I latched the top of my bag, and Sela’s voice lifted behind me when she said, “Hey, Haych. Those are sure pretty. Did you bring them over for Natalie?”
“No. They’re for you.”
The wobble to Haych’s voice made me glance over my shoulder. My groundskeeper obviously didn’t realize I was in the kitchen, because he was standing near the back door, holding a bouquet of flowers, looking only at Sela like a lovesick puppy.
“For me?” The legs of Sela’s chair scraped the bamboo floor. “They’re beautiful.” She took the flowers from his hands and pushed to her toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
Haych’s face turned bright red, and as Sela lowered to her heels, he smiled in a way that looked both relieved and absolutely pathetic.
Shit. My housekeeper and my gardener were an item? This was news to me and the last thing I needed at the moment. If their relationship went south, it could damage the delicate balance I had going here on the island. Finding people who were trustworthy enough not to reveal the location of my off-the grid island was near impossible. I’d lucked out when I’d found these two.
I narrowed my eyes as I watched them awkwardly flirt. I’d known they were friendly—they were the only two on the island when I was gone—but Sela had sworn off men when she’d left Italy, and it hadn’t once occurred to me she’d even be interested in someone like Haych. Whatever was going on between them was new, I could tell that much by the nerves dancing over Haych’s features. I could still put a stop to this before it got out of hand.
Haych’s gaze drifted my direction, and his smile immediately faltered. “Mister Luc. I didn’t see you there.”
Yeah, no shit you didn’t, asshat.
Behind Haych, Sela lowered her face into the flowers still in her hands and grinned like a smitten schoolgirl.
Fuck. I needed to put a stop to this today, but I didn’t have time to deal with it right now. Grabbing my backpack from the counter, I slung the strap over my shoulder and made plans to talk to both of them separately tonight. “Sela, I’m leaving. We’ll be back by dinner. Haych, I want the rest of that debris cleared on the north path before I get back.”
I moved for the hallway, but at my back, I heard Haych whisper, “What’s wrong with him?”
“Girl trouble,” Sela answered. “Are you hungry?”
Rounding the corner in the hall, I forced the future problem my employees’ budding romance was going to cause me from my mind and focused on what I had to do next. As I picked up the hiking boots I’d left on the floor in the living room earlier, my stomach swirled with unease.
Sela was right. This probably wasn’t going to go over well, but I was out of options. I had to get Natalie out of that room. If she didn’t start adjusting to our current situation, we were as good as dead.
I didn’t bother to knock. Wasn’t about to give her any chance to say no. I pushed the door open and spotted Natalie on the window seat, gazing out at the view.
Her head shifted my way as I entered, her cute little body covered by a black tank and white-and-pink-striped pajama bottoms, but all I could see was the scowl that seemed permanently etched into her features whenever I was near.
Oh yeah, we were off to a rockin’ start.
Crossing the room with the backpack slung over one shoulder, I dropped the boots I’d had flown in for her last night on her lap. “Put these on and meet me outside in ten minutes. We’re getting out of here.”
She caught the boots in her hands and sat straight up, slinging one sexy leg over the side of the bench seat. “We’re leaving?”
The hope and excitement I heard in her voice sent a whisper of guilt twisting inside me, but if stretching the truth now propelled her out of this room and lifted her from this funk, I figured it was worth the lie. “Yes.” I turned for the door. “Make it fast.”
Warm air surrounded me as I stepped out onto the porch, and I drew in a breath of fragrant tropical air that didn’t do a thing to calm me the way it usually did. This island used to feel like an escape. Right now, it felt like a ticking time bomb. One I wasn’t sure I could defuse before our reality exploded around us.
The door behind me opened and closed, and as I turned, the vision of Natalie standing in the sunlight, looking my way expectantly, hit me like a hard punch to the gut. She’d changed into a short-sleeved white T-shirt that pulled tight at her breasts, and denim shorts that showcased the long sexy line of her legs. A dozen images of those legs wrapped around my waist flashed in my mind, making my skin heat and blood rush into my groin, but I fought the arousal, knowing it was the last thing she wanted or needed from me at the moment. Yet even so, I couldn’t help but think that with her hair pulled back in a tail, her skin free of makeup, and those clunky hiking boots on her feet, she looked outdoorsy and cute and every bit the fresh-faced American I’d fallen for in Rome.
A hot flood of want swept through me. I ached to feel her skin against mine. I craved the feel of her hands in my hair and running down my back as she pulled me close. But most of all, I yearned to see the same hunger in her eyes that I felt in every inch of my body for her.
I also realized I needed her to eat. A new sense of worry hit me when I noticed how loose the shorts I’d gotten for her were. She looked thin—like she’d lost five to ten pounds in the last week.
I shifted the backpack and told myself I was taking the first step in fi
xing all that today. “Ready?”
“Yes. Where is the helicopter picking us up?”
I moved toward a familiar trail that disappeared into the jungle. “We have a bit of a hike.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. I just hoped she was as interested in the end result as I wanted her to be.
We moved onto the trail, and she followed me through the jungle in silence for at least twenty minutes. I pushed vines and palm fronds aside for her, keeping my pace slow, knowing she was still weak. Every now and then, I glanced back to make sure she was doing all right. The wound on her leg had healed enough so it was now just a long, jagged red scab on her shin that didn’t even need a bandage, but I kept an eye on that as well—just in case.
When we reached the stream that ran down from the highest peak on the island, I paused so she could catch her breath. She moved near the stream—careful to stay a good three feet from me—and leaned forward to rest her hands on her knees as she sucked back air.
“You doing okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine.”
She was so not fine, it wasn’t funny. But I didn’t tell her that. Reaching back for the water bottle from my pack, I held it out to her.
“Thanks,” she mumbled. For just a split second, my fingers grazed hers, and electricity arced in my nerve endings. But she showed no sign of the same sensation. She just straightened, tipped her head back, and poured water into her mouth.
I looked away, because even that simple action heated my blood to boiling, and I didn’t want her to see how it turned me on. Swiping a hand across my sweaty forehead, I nodded across the shallow stream. “Trail continues on that way.”
She capped the water bottle and handed it back to me, this time, I noticed, pulling her fingers back so she wouldn’t have to touch me.
Frustration bubbled inside me, but I told myself I was reading too much into things. Shoving the canteen back into the side pocket of my pack, I moved to the edge of the stream where a series of rocks zigzagged a path across the water and held out my hand for her. “Come on. You first.”