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Cage strolled inside her hotel room, his tall, rangy body crowding her against the doorway. He peered at her with dark, hungry eyes as he dropped his bag. “You look good.”
She glanced down at herself. Her entire vacation wardrobe had consisted of bikinis, cover-ups, an occasional pair of short-shorts, and high-heeled sandals. This morning after tossing and turning sleeplessly, she’d rushed through a shower, wondering if whoever had scared the hell out of her intended to come back and finish the job. Absently, she’d tossed on an off-white, almost-too-small bikini with a rose-and-swirl pattern over her breasts. The contraption was held together by thin, sunny yellow straps. Cage’s stare walked all over her top before straying to the lone flower barely covering her down there. Sure, she’d tossed on a lacy cover-up but it was entirely transparent, there for decoration more than actual protection from the sun or prying eyes.
If she’d known she was going to have to deal with Cage, she would have brought turtlenecks and mom jeans or a nun’s habit—something to ensure he’d never look at her twice.
Refusing to let his perusal fluster her more, Karis shut the door behind him with a soft snick. This wasn’t about them or the night they’d spent together, just about ending this ill-advised vacation and getting home.
“You mean I look good for a girl who’s had everything important stolen from her hotel room and currently has no way of getting home? Don’t bother with the compliment. I don’t need it.”
Her reply came out bitchier than she intended. It had been a rough night, and she was always grouchy when she hadn’t slept. Coupled with all the uncertainty, the hint of danger, and the feeling that she’d been violated, Karis wasn’t at her best.
“You need help.” Cage’s face softened. “I understand and I’ll help you. But just saying…you always look good to me.”
The unexpected compliment came out both sincere and serious—two things she would never have imagined Cage was capable of. She tried not to let his words make her feel marshmallowy inside.
“Thanks.” She gave a halfhearted shrug. “I’m sorry your brother sent you to ‘rescue’ me. I know you have better things to do.”
“I don’t.”
She frowned. “This is awkward.”
“Not for me.”
Of course not. Everything seemed to roll off his back, even the feelings she’d shared with him that breathtaking night. Whatever. It wasn’t as if she cared. Okay, she did…a little. But he didn’t need to know that. The best way to convey ambivalence was to simply pretend that he didn’t affect her one way or another.
“Great. I appreciate you coming here to help me out. Did your brother have you bring my passport photo so I can get home?”
“Yeah.” He made no move to hand it over. “But you still haven’t told me what happened.”
She sighed. For whatever reason, he wasn’t going to just hand over the picture. Did he think that after what happened a few weeks ago she’d be amenable to falling into bed with him once more?
Think again, buster.
“I’ve been on this vacation with Jolie’s receptionist and my friend, Wisteria. She just broke up with her boyfriend.” Again, but this time most likely for good. “I came back to the room after dinner and a couple of drinks at the pool bar. The door was wide open. Someone had picked the lock on my suitcase and taken everything—cash, what little jewelry I have, credit card, and my passport. I told Wisteria to go home on the flight we’d originally booked this morning. No sense in her losing a plane ticket and missing work when she couldn’t help me. Then I called my sister, who called Cutter, who apparently called you. That’s it.”
He nodded. “Anybody following you while you’ve been here?”
Now he was slipping into cop mode. It was his job, and she was glad he had skills, but it probably wasn’t going to help this far from Dallas. “Not that I’m aware of.”
He scowled. “Anybody been flirting with you?”
Karis refused to answer that question. She’d come here in part to escape the sudden cold that had enveloped the North Texas area as January came to a close…and in part to forget Cage. They’d spent one hell of a New Year’s Eve together, and with every kiss and touch, she’d believed they had something special. What she’d discovered the following week had blown that foolish hope to hell.
She lifted her shoulder in an offhanded shrug. “It’s not as if I came here to be alone.”
Karis hadn’t planned to be…but she had somehow ended up by herself. On their first night here, Wisteria had met a hunk from the Hill Country, located a couple of hours south of Dallas. The two of them had hit it off instantly. Hayden seemed completely different from her previous douche of a boyfriend, and they had been inseparable for the seven days and six nights they’d vacationed in Cancún. In truth, she’d barely seen Wisteria after the woman had met him. And as luck would have it, he’d been able to change his flight to travel home with her. She was probably landing in Dallas now and finding something way more interesting to do than dealing with the former lover she wished she’d never taken.
Cage’s jaw clenched. “Who have you been spending time with while you’ve been here?”
He sounded a little bit jealous.
“I’m sure it hardly matters, especially to you.”
“Is that what you think?” He cocked his head and sent her a challenging stare. “Enlighten me why.”
She had this fantasy of telling him she’d figured out he was a cheater and a liar, but what would it solve? She refused to give him the satisfaction or to care what he did anymore. And if she kept her attitude nonchalant, he would back off sooner or later.
She shrugged. “Well, the night we spent together was pretty meaningless, so—”
