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A thud came from around the side of the house. Gray straightened, staring that direction, but with the low lights glowing through the three-story windows behind him, he couldn’t see anything. A dart of apprehension made the hot tub feel even hotter. Had the Russian mafia somehow found out where he was? The house had been rented in an umbrella company’s name that wasn’t affiliated with his name at all, and he hadn’t so much as gone to dinner or anywhere besides skiing, where his face had been completely covered.
He’d waved to Tim a few minutes ago as he’d walked by the side of the massive patio through one of the trails he and the guys had dug into the deep snow. The backside of the patio dropped off into nothingness, so at least there was one angle that couldn’t be approached without a lot of tactical gear.
Scrambling out of the hot tub, Gray’s bare feet hit the cold patio and steam rose from his body. His body temperature was high enough from his soak and the quickening of his pulse that he welcomed the piercing cold air.
Not bothering with the stack of towels, he hurried to the edge of the patio where Tim should be monitoring, and tried to peer into the darkness. If there was trouble, more of his men would come running, but Gray knew his way around a fight. He’d been raised in East L.A., and he’d learned young how to keep him and his mom safe from thugs—and his own father.
“Tim?” he questioned.
A small person sprang out of the darkness and knocked him flat on his back. Gray bucked his body and rolled, holding on to the person’s arms and pinning his assailant underneath his much larger frame.
His attacker was a … woman. His eyes widened. An exquisitely beautiful woman. He could only stare in shock as she smiled sweetly up at him, her blue eyes lit with mischief and her smooth skin crinkling at the edges of her lips and her eyes. Her gorgeous smile conveyed she was ecstatic he was pinning her down.
He felt a rush of desire fill him that was completely out of line for the situation. This woman had attacked him. He should be afraid, or at least annoyed. Was she an ultra-fan, affiliated with someone who was targeting him, or a completely different kind of danger? Sparks swirled between them and her small frame underneath him felt really, really nice. He listened for other sounds, but the night was still. Was she alone? Where were his men? Even if she’d bested Tim, which was highly unlikely, someone would’ve seen this woman knocking Gray down on the cameras. They should be bursting out the patio door with guns drawn.
“Well, hello, handsome.” She was slightly out of breath, probably because he was twice her size and pinning her down, but he liked the sound of her voice and the breathlessness of it. “I liked the reversal. Don’t tell anyone I let you get away with that. I have a reputation of ruthlessness to uphold.”
He almost laughed at her smart-aleck response, but he realized immediately … This woman wasn’t a fan or dangerous to him. He knew her, and he really shouldn’t be feeling sparks of desire, or be pinning down, this famous and very happily married woman. Why was Scarlett Lily sneaking onto his back patio and knocking him down when she should be in California with her husband and son? It was out of character for her to flirt with or tease anyone besides her husband.
“Scarlett?” he questioned, easing off her, standing, and offering a hand up. She took his hand and stood easily, still grinning at him.
He pulled his hand back quickly, trying to ignore how right her smaller hand had felt in his. What was he thinking? He helped all manner of women around the world, but if they were married, even if their husbands were despicable scum balls, he was very careful not to cross any boundaries or have untoward thoughts. He’d controlled himself even around the gorgeous Malory Grange when she’d been married to that loser Senator Ted Malouf. After she was divorced, Gray had made his play and had been shot down by a woman for the first time in his life. But if he could control himself around the likes of Malory, he could definitely keep himself from feeling attracted to Scarlett.
Scarlett Lily Quinn was one of the top A-list actresses in the world. He’d known her for years, hosted the Grammy awards with her, and had run into her at numerous events and parties. Her husband, Griff, was a tough ex-Navy SEAL who Gray had been impressed with, the furthest thing from a scum ball. Scarlett was expecting their second child; Gray thought she was due soon. He looked and her stomach was far too flat to be anywhere close to expecting. She looked fit in tight black clothing that outlined her lean frame and all her curves. Very, very fit. And he shouldn’t be looking at her like that. He scrubbed at his beard with his fingertips.
“Close, but no cigar,” Scarlett drawled. “Sara Sanderson. I’m Scarlett’s stunt double.”
“Oh. That’s right.” Relief filled him. He wasn’t attracted to a married woman.Thank you, heaven, above.But Scarlett’s stunt double … interesting. Very interesting.
He still had no clue why she was here or why Tim or one of his other security people weren’t rushing out here to intercept her. He stared at Sara’s beautiful face with her startling blue eyes and smooth, dark hair. It was incredible how much she and Scarlett looked alike, except for the eye and hair color. Did Sara dye her hair, or wear a wig for her stunts? Colored contacts, or did they not really get close enough to show a stunt double’s eye color?
“We met in …” He was grappling. He remembered meeting her. Very well. But he traveled so often that most of the locations blended together. It had been tropical. An incredibly lush jungle. The cloud forest. A high-profile wedding. A benefit concert.
“Costa Rica,” she supplied. “Colt Quinn and Kim Heathrow’s wedding, and you did a benefit concert for Jex and Pearl Steele’s extreme sports camp for the refugees’ children.”
He nodded, all the pieces clicking. She remembered their first meeting; he liked that. She’d been beautiful, sassy, and grinning then as well. He’d felt an instant attraction to her but hadn’t seen her since, and finding her phone number had proven tougher than he’d imagined it would be. That had been a couple years ago, and he’d been busy composing songs, playing on his saxophone or the keyboard, recording songs, and traveling on tours like the one he just finished and the one he was set to start in a couple weeks. At least the Caribbean would be a short tour.
“It’s good to see you,” he said.
“It’s good to be seen.” She winked and looked over him. “You’re lookingfabulous,as always.”
“Thank you.” He was pretty sure she was teasing him, not flirting with him. He resisted flexing to make sure she knew how hard he worked to look ‘fabulous.’ He stayed extremely fit with both his own personal trainer and a world-renowned chef who traveled with him and cooked healthy and delicious food.
“You’re not going to return the compliment?” She flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder and winked.
He laughed. She was irresistible. It was the same impression he’d had last time he’d met her. No wonder he’d tried so hard to track down her number. But Scarlett had insisted she couldn’t give Sara’s number out to any of the many men who asked. He’d hated that response, and even his impressive assistant Janie had struck out. But Janie was always jealous of any woman he was interested in, so he suspected she hadn’t tried as hard as she should.
“You look even more gorgeous than last time I saw you. Your beautiful face is more exquisite and mind-blowing than the sunrise over the Jungfrau.”
“Ah.” She patted his cheek and said almost condescendingly, “That smooth tongue of yours. Maybe if you wrote a song about me, I’d believe you were sincere.”
He chuckled. “All right. Challenge accepted.” He shivered, the cold wind brushing over his half-clothed and wet body. His temperature was dropping, and quick. The water still dripping from his suit had gone from warm to freezing. He’d probably gotten her wet from pinning her down, but she didn’t shiver or act cold.
“Let’s get you inside,” she said, tilting her head toward the glass doors.
He gestured for her to go first. Sara smiled and shook her head. “Gentlemen,” she said in a scoffing tone.
His eyebrows rose. What was that about? He had a lot of questions for her. But first … “How did you get past my security guy?”
