The Mogul And The Muscle

She ran outside in a short white shirt and silky striped pajama pants. Dropping my helmet to the ground, I swung my leg over the seat of my bike and caught her right as she crashed into me.

Her arms flew around my neck, her bare toes barely staying on the ground. I wrapped my arms around her, one hand splayed across her back, the other holding the back of her head. Relief poured through me as her body pressed against me. Thank god she was okay.

Cameron made no move to let go, so I didn’t either. The rain pelted us with fat drops, soaking her hair and her clothes. I was already wet through, but I didn’t care. I’d stand here in the storm until I got struck by lightning if it meant I could keep holding her like this.

The wind was picking up, whipping the vegetation and making the palm trees bend. I smoothed down her hair and she gradually pulled back. Her hands trailed down my chest.

“Sorry, I…”

“Don’t be.” I gently touched her face.

She wasn’t crying or hysterical. Her green eyes were clear, raindrops dancing across her freckled cheeks. Her wet shirt molded over her breasts, her lacy bra showing through the thin fabric. I’d seen her topless, but this tantalizing peek was so sexy.

“Thank you,” she said, keeping her hands on my chest. “That really fucking scared me.”

That reminded me why I was here. Without letting go of her, I did a quick visual sweep of the area. There wasn’t much to see, especially with all the rain.

“God, we’re soaking.” She dropped her hands and stepped back. “The Bluewater security guys are here. They’re checking everything.”

“Good.” I scanned the front of her house again and kept my eyes sharp as we jogged in out of the rain. Nothing looked amiss on her porch. No sign of forced entry here. I did a quick check of the electronic lock, but it seemed to be working fine.

We dripped water on the floor in the entryway. Cameron glanced down at herself and shook her hands, as if it would help. A big guy—although not as big as me—with a Bluewater Security logo on his shirt came down the stairs.

“I’ll go get towels,” Cameron said.

I shook hands with the security guard. He introduced himself as Dante.

“We’ve notified the police,” Dante said. “My guys are checking for how the perp got access, but there’s no obvious sign of a break-in.”

“I’ll check the security footage. Is the house clear?”

Dante nodded. “All clear. Whoever it was got in and got out.”

“Did they take anything?”

“Not that we’ve found so far. But they left something. You just need to see it for yourself.” He gestured toward the stairs.

Cameron came down with an armful of fluffy white towels. She’d slipped a silky pink robe over her wet shirt. I could see water spots starting to spread, but at least the Bluewater security guys weren’t getting an eyeful of Cameron’s amazing rack.

She handed me a towel and I toed off my boots, leaving them near the front door. I followed her upstairs, drying myself as best I could. She patted her long hair with her towel while we walked to her master suite.

Just outside her door, I noticed the faint odor of fish.

“It’s there, on the bed,” she said. “No one’s touched it.”

Her fluffy white comforter was slightly askew, the way it had been when I’d seen it on my first tour of her home. Right in the center of the bed was a red snapper, its reddish scales reflecting the light from the chandelier, its round black eye cold and dead.

She gestured toward the slimy fish. “I can’t decide if the fish is fitting or a total cliché.”

“What?”

She pointed to her hair. “It’s a ginger fish.”

I cracked a little grin. An intruder had been in her house and left a dead fish in her bed, and she could still make a joke about it. That was my girl.

I did a lap around the bed, checking it from every angle. On the far side was a typewritten note on a plain piece of paper, one corner tucked beneath the fish.

THE BOSS BUT STILL VULNERABLE. You got lucky. Next time we won’t miss.

THERE WAS nothing funny about that note, nor the fact that whoever had done this had gotten in and out without tripping the alarm or forcing their way in. I checked the doors to her balcony, but they were secure. No sign someone had come in that way.