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“This the girl?” Roberto’s English was perfect. Aside from the Northern Mexican accent on his words, there was no indication he wasn’t a native speaker.
“Hi,” Emily said, offering her hand. “I’m Emily Marone.”
Roberto sized her up once more. No doubt he, like me, was keenly aware of how gorgeous she was. The consummate professional, however, he gave her the sort of once-over that made it clear he wanted to know if she was trouble.
“Roberto.” He took her hand and shook it in a professional and polite manner. He didn’t say another word before turning to me. “The staff will come for your bags, Logan.”
“Excellent,” I replied. “Let’s get inside. I’m desperate for a little rest and relaxation.”
With that, we started toward the house. Emily made her way in front of me, my eyes going right to that perfect ass of hers.
With a wry smile, I considered how rest and relaxation weren’t the only things on my mind. I could behave myself, sure. But with a woman like Emily, I had to ask myself the question ofhow long?
Chapter 10
Emily
Everything felt so damn surreal. Logan and Roberto, both huge, hulking men, strode just behind me as we made our way toward the enormous estate, the green of the island, the white of the beach and the blue of the ocean combining to paint a perfect picture of paradise.
I could hear Logan and Roberto speaking in low, quiet tones to one another. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, other than that the subject of their conversation seemed to be Logan wanting to make sure the security of the island had been bolstered.
It was strange. Did Logan really think that I was going to try to escape? I’d told him that I had no idea how to drive, well,anything. Did he not trust me? Or was there some other reason why he wanted to make sure that security was boosted?
Either way, the conversation ended when Logan’s phone rang. He clapped his hand on Roberto’s shoulder to signal that he was happy with whatever they’d talked about, then slipped his phone out of his pocket and took the call.
“This is Stone. Sure, go ahead.”
With that, he slowed his pace until he was well behind us, far enough that I could only hear the uttering of his conversationand not the words. I spotted Roberto ahead and decided that this would be a good time to get to know the man who was either in charge of my safety, or in charge of keeping me prisoner on the island—depending on how one chose to look at the situation.
“Hey,” I said, hurrying up to his side. “How are you?”
Roberto turned his head slowly. Like Logan, he was the sort of man who didn’t do anything in a rushed manner. Even behind his pitch-dark aviator sunglasses, I could sense that he was sizing me up in the way he likely did with everyone he met, giving them a once-over and determining whether or not they were a threat.
No doubt he decided that a woman half his age and height was nothing to worry himself about, at least for the time being.
“I am well, thank you.”
“You speak Spanish, right?” I asked, switching over to that language.
Another skeptical look. “Yes, I do.” He didn’t give away anything more than a direct answer to any of my questions.
“I’ve been speaking it for years, ever since I was a little girl. I’m excited to have so much opportunity to practice it.”
He grunted, his eyes fixed forward. The noise suggested without words that he didn’t give a damn whether or not I was excited about practicing my Spanish. I decided to try another angle.
“So, this whole thing with me living on the island… it’s weird. Nice, but weird. I’m sure that you’ve got a ton of stuff on your plate managing security normally, and having another person to worry about probably only makes your job harder. Is there anything I can do to, well, maybe make it easier?”
He said nothing at first, the silence dragging on long enough for me to wonder whether or not he’d simply decided to end the conversation.
“You’re an unknown factor,” he finally said. “Follow the rules of the house, stay out of the way of my men, and we’ll get along just fine.”
The certain way he finished the sentence sent the message that this was the end of our little getting-to-know-you chat. Roberto seemed to ease up a bit, suggesting that my efforts in trying not to be a pain in his ass had done a little good. I made a mental note to work on him a bit more, see if I could get on his good side.
I smiled at Roberto one more time before falling back a bit, taking the opportunity to admire my surroundings. The estate was stunning. A sandstone path led from the dock all the way to an enormous gate, behind which was the complex itself. The style of the buildings was what I’d consider palatial, with columns and high roofs and arched doors. There were modern touches, however, like the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the property.
I breathed in the salty air, closing my eyes and smiling as the sun warmed my face. Sure, the place was just as much of a prison as my home in New York, but it didn’tfeelthat way. Rather than being confined to my room for most of the day, I had the run of the island. I could wake up with the sunrise and start my day on the beach with a dip into the sea.
Freedom was what I wanted. In the meantime, my month with Logan was shaping up to look pretty damn good.
