“And just an hour ago, you were trying to convince me that I needed to find a man who made my heart race,” Tess said, grabbing Alison’s hand and pressing against her chest. “Feel that? It’s racing.”
Alison glanced over her shoulder at the closed door. “If you go, then I want some assurance that he’ll bring you back in one piece.” She opened the door to the bedroom and called Derek inside.
“Give me your wallet,” she said.
Derek regarded her suspiciously, but then pulled his wallet out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. They both watched as Alison rifled through the contents. “You can always see inside a man’s soul by going through his wallet.” She pulled out a photo of a girl. “Who is this? Your wife?”
“My sister,” he said. “Chloe. That’s her on her twenty-first birthday.”
Alison pulled out a black American Express card. “I suppose you use this to purchase the services of call girls?”
Derek chuckled. “No. I’ve never been with a call girl. At least, not that I know of.”
She held up a condom. “What’s this?”
“I think you know what that is,” Derek said. “It’s always a good idea to be prepared. I’m a guy who believes in being safe.”
“Good guy,” Drew commented from the door of the bedroom.
Alison gave him a cool look. “All right,” she replied. “Well, I think Tess should keep the condom.” She closed the wallet and waved it under his nose. “If you do anything to hurt my friend, I will hunt you down and relieve you of the manparts that make that condom necessary. I want her back on Monday morning at the latest.”
Tess stepped between them, grabbing Derek’s wallet and handing it back to him. “Enough.” She drew Alison toward the door. “I’ll call you when I get there, I promise. I have my cell phone.”
“What are you going to tell Jeffrey?”
“I’ll figure that out when he calls,” she said. Tess threw her arms around Alison’s neck and gave her a hug.
“I still think you’re crazy,” Alison muttered.
Tess grinned. “I know. But it feels so good.”
DEREK GLANCED AT THE SEAT next to him and watched as Tess slept, her head resting on his shoulder. He bent close and drew a deep breath, letting the scent of her perfume tease at his nose.
After jumping through a few hoops, he’d managed to get her on the plane and off the ground. She wasn’t keen on flying, worried about the size of the plane and only having one pilot on board. But Derek had assured her that he was a licensed pilot and could land the plane if their pilot dropped dead.
She spent the first half hour on edge, questioning every sound and bump. Then, after a few glasses of champagne, she’d kicked off her shoes, curled up in one of the large leather seats, and dozed off. He smiled to himself, reluctant to wake her. Derek relished the chance to look at her freely.
He hadn’t noticed before, but she had the most perfect mouth, in the shape of a Cupid’s bow. How would it feel to kiss that mouth, he wondered. Though he’d assured her he had no expectations, that didn’t stop him from thinking about seducing her. After all, he did find her incredibly attractive. And the more he got to know her, the more interested he became.
What kind of woman would walk away from her engagement party and get on a plane with a complete stranger? Except for her habit of saying whatever popped into her mind, she didn’t seem like the impulsive sort. Yet, here she was, running away to paradise with him. She hadn’t revealed much about herself, beyond the fact that she managed a horse farm, that she’d moved around a lot as a kid and that she was about to marry the boss’s son.
But he saw something in her eyes, in the way her brow furrowed while she was making the decision to escape. It was as if his offer had lifted the weight of the world from her shoulders. It wasn’t just a marriage proposal she was trying avoid. That could have been settled with a simple “no.” Derek suspected there was something else, something much deeper that was pulling her down.
Everyone had at least a few secrets, he mused. His love life hadn’t been a bed of roses. Five years ago, he’d been ready to consider marriage. But after a prolonged engagement, his fiancée, an interior designer working out of their corporate offices, dumped him—for his older brother, Sam. Since then, every family gathering was an exercise in awkwardness for Derek.
He turned to stare out the window of the Lear jet, searching for the lights of the landing strip at Angel Cay. His family had owned the island in the Caribbean since his grandfather had bought it forty years ago. At the time, his board of directors had fought the purchase. Back then, it had been little more than a small patch of sand and scrub northwest of Abaco. But over the years, the island had become a pet project of his grandfather’s and he’d turned it into a lush, tropical paradise with palm trees and gardens and white clapboard buildings.
He’d designed a beautiful plantation house, built to weather the hurricanes. The airstrip had been lengthened to accommodate small jets ten years ago and private cottages had been added on the north end of the island, creating an exclusive resort popular with the Hollywood crowd.
Though the cottages were probably booked, Derek knew the main house was empty. His family was spending the holidays at their newest hotel in Bermuda, Sam and Alicia included. Derek had left them there the day after Christmas, making his excuses that he was needed for a week of meetings at some of the U.S. properties.
Though he’d been prepared to greet the New Year alone, in a comfortable suite somewhere, Derek was glad he’d chosen to enter a balky elevator. He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing with Tess or where their time together would lead, but from the moment he’d set eyes on her, he’d decided not to waste too much time thinking about it.
Derek reached out and touched her knee. “Hey,” he whispered. “Tess. Wake up.”
She opened her eyes, then frowned, taking in her surroundings. At first, it seemed as if she didn’t know where she was, but then she stared straight at him. “Is there something wrong with the plane?”
“No. But we’re going to be landing soon.”
“Too much champagne,” she murmured, stretching her arms over her head. “And no sleep last night.”
His eyes took in the smooth expanse of her shoulders and the soft flesh of her breasts above the deeply cut neckline. Drawing a ragged breath, he ignored the desire racing through him. He’d made a promise to her and he intended to keep it—no matter how difficult it was. “You need to put on your seat belt.”
She straightened and searched for the ends of the belt, but fumbled with fastening it. Derek slid out of his seat and knelt down in front of her to help. As she leaned forward, they bumped heads. He glanced up to find her lush lips just inches from his and the impulse to kiss her was impossible to deny.
He brushed his lips against hers and her breath seemed to catch in her throat. Time seemed to stand still, the soft roar of the engines lulling them both into a quiet contemplation of what had just happened. Derek had never put a whole lot of thought into kissing a woman. It normally just happened in the course of events. But with Tess, there was much
