Duty At What Cost?

Seriously, it was time to stop mooning over those blue, blue eyes and the honeyed taste of her mouth and remember she wasn’t a goddamned date.

He cursed low under his breath as he realised he’d given himself this same pep talk once before. Then it had been as effective as trying to milk a cow while wearing gardening gloves. Something else he and his brother had tried once. And what was with all these childhood memories streaming into his consciousness as silent and insidious as floodwater?

His gaze slid to Ava’s face. A soft wave of her hair had fallen across her cheek and he gently moved it back. The lump in his throat returned with interest.

Dammit, he had to pull back. If he didn’t do white picket fences he certainly didn’t do bluestone rock with a moat and a drawbridge! But there was nothing he could do to stem the flood of feeling her near-death had opened up in him. He’d do anything to protect her. He knew it. And it was only sensible that he hated that feeling.

About to move off the bed, he felt her arm stretch and settle across his waist. Helpless to do anything else, Wolfe watched her sleep.

CHAPTER TEN

AVA HADN’T HAD any time to feel embarrassed over her crying stint. Once they’d landed Wolfe had hustled her from the plane and led her to a waiting Jeep. She knew instantly that they weren’t in Anders, where she had assumed he had been taking her. It was the humid night heat and the smell of eucalyptus in the air.

‘Where are we?’

Wolfe stopped beside the black Jeep. ‘An island.’

Ava gave a short laugh. ‘You’re kidding?’

‘No. Why?’

She shook her head, wondering if she was still dreaming. ‘No reason.’ She knew she must have been dreaming that Wolfe had sat with her during the whole flight and stroked her hair. Ava hesitated before preceding him into the car. ‘Which island?’

‘Cape Paraiso. It’s a small private island off the west coast of Africa.’

She studied the carved planes of his profile in the starry sky, noting the sense of ownership in his voice. ‘Yours?’

‘It was on sale. Get in.’

Ava already knew that Wolfe hadn’t grown up wealthy, which meant he was a self-made man, and she couldn’t help but like how unassuming he was about his success.

She stifled a yawn as the car zoomed along a rough track. She gingerly held on to the door to stop herself from sliding against Wolfe’s solid frame, but he didn’t even notice as he scrolled through some sort of document on his phone.

‘Do you have any ideas as to who is responsible yet?’

He glanced at her briefly, his expression guarded. ‘I’m working around the clock on it.’

Ava let him read. The wind was up and it rustled through towering hardwood trees. The glint of the moon shone silvery streaks on the inky ocean. She could just make out a solid stone house that looked to be set into the side of a cliff, and as they drove closer she saw that it was finished with a tiled roof and acres of glass.

When the car had pulled into a short circular driveway Wolfe jumped stiffly from the Jeep. Her eyes followed him as he walked around the front of the car. If she wasn’t mistaken he was very much a man in pain. She remembered the blood on his torn jacket before he’d changed out of it and reluctantly acknowledged that she had become so absorbed in the horror of what had happened she hadn’t thought about his injuries at all.

Wolfe hovered by her side.

‘I’m okay. I can walk.’

After a brief pause he nodded. ‘Follow me.’

The tiles were cool and slightly gritty with sand beneath her bare feet, but Ava had only a moment to admire the massive front door before she was inside a foyer-cum-living area that could comfortably house his plane and the Jeep and still have room to spare for an ocean liner.

‘Wow!’

‘You like it?’

Ava glanced at him. ‘It’s enormous.’

‘The size is deceptive. This is the largest area because of the aspect. Are you hungry?’

Her hand went to her belly and she shook her head. ‘I couldn’t eat anything.’

He nodded. ‘I’ll take you to your room.’

She followed him along the narrow hallway.

‘This corridor leads to the bedroom. The other one leads into the kitchen, gym and pool area. The house is all on one level so I doubt you’ll get lost.’

He led her down a long hallway that had various other hallways leading off it and she wondered absently if they shared the same idea of size. ‘Is it just us?’