Page 38 of Beachcomber Danger

Chapter 11

Shana heard the screen door squeak and sat up with a rush. Untangling the sheets from around her, she scrambled to dress and meet the agents with as much professional aplomb as she could muster absent a shower or any kind of grooming to erase the signs of recent lovemaking.

“Hello?” It was Sassy.

Stopping with her hand on the doorknob, Shana looked at Dane to see him staring at her, his signature unreadable expression in full force. He stood naked and glistening, with a pair of pants in one hand.

“Go ahead, girlie. I won’t stop you.”

The flare of heat made her move more than her desire to leave. The heat was anger, equal measures aimed at herself as much as Dane. He was way ahead of her. He’d already extracted himself from their lovemaking haze.

Damn the man. Damn her girlie hormones. Damn this mess of a mission coming at the worst possible time when she actually wanted to be a girlie girl, when she was planning her wedding.

For the love of God, get your act together. You’re still the same woman who vowed to devote her life to kicking ass.

Not giving him the satisfaction of a response, or a chance to see her pink shame—whether it was unfair to blame him or not, it was easier—she turned the knob and pushed the door open.

“We’re here, Sassy.”

Shana walked into the kitchen and found Sassy and Ronnie each holding several bags, including one that looked like food.

“I got back as soon as I could. While the agents were out. They’re not back yet?”

“Didn’t you hear about the incident at the airport?” Shana reached across the kitchen peninsula where an old thirteen-inch television sat and turned it on. There was no remote, but it had push-button controls on the front panel, making her think of visiting her old aunt’s house as a girl.

“Agents Andrews and Goodley are at the President’s vacation house, I’m sure participating in an after-event conference. I’m surprised it wasn’t on the news.” She fixed the channel to the local news station.

“I’m not surprised.” Dane stepped into the kitchen.

She recovered from the flinch, damn the man, and turned to face him. He was half dressed, wearing jeans and no shirt. Shana noticed Sassy’s eyes widen. He was obviously rumpled, with mussed hair and a stubbled chin and that look, shamelessly advertising where he’d been and what he’d been doing. He moved in her direction and the scent of their lovemaking assaulted her.

God, he was incorrigible. Darting away before he could touch her, before she could lose her armor of anger, she grabbed for the bag of food Ronnie held and hauled it to the counter, putting it between her and Dane. She needed more than a bag of food to keep her reason, to remember their mission. It could just as well have been Andrews and Goodley who’d walked in that door and then—

She wouldn’t think about it, but mortification was too easy a concept.

“Why aren’t you surprised? There were plenty of news cameras and press at the airport covering it and hovering while we were taken away.”

“Because the Secret Service, DHS, and most importantly the President all want to keep this as low profile as possible.”

“Since when does that count for anything?”

“Maybe they were particularly persuasive.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sassy wanted to know. Shana watched her eyes. They were still wide, but there was an edge now. Ronnie visibly gulped. But it was easy to see him gulping with his skinny young neck still waiting to mature. He had no stubble.

“Nothing,” she said.

“It means they were promised some extra access to the President’s vacation, maybe some extra photo ops, that kind of thing.” Dane smiled at Sassy.

Shana was surprised. Surprise was immediately followed by warmth. But then that was all ruined when her skepticism slunk in to take over. He wasn’t trying to be nice. He was sugarcoating the situation because Sassy was a girl. The cad.

Ronnie’s head bobbed up and down. Shana had almost forgotten about his sensibilities. They were at least as tender as Sassy’s. Now she felt like a cad. But there was no way she’d let go of her anger with Dane. She had to hold on tight.

She met his eyes and he gave away nothing. A blank wall was less neutral than his face right now. That jolted her anger to the hot-pink zone.

“Are we supposed to sit here and wait for them?” She lifted her chin. She was in no mood for waiting around.

“I was going to suggest an outing to the Lucky Parrot,” Dane said. “Ronnie won’t mind if we leave him and Sassy to enjoy their food.”