table.
He'd dropped Barbara off at Barbados almost three weeks ago and he'd been without a woman ever since. He'd decided the instant he'd wandered into this waterfront tavern and the bar girl had smiled at him so invitingly that abstinence was going to end. She was clean and attractive and willing for anything, according to that husky murmur in his ear. It was exactly what he was looking for tonight. To have his frustration eased with no involvement and only a generous wad of bills left on the dresser in the morning.
He couldn't expect anything better without going farther afield into the town and he had no inclination to do that. He'd heard that the island republic of Castellano was a hangout for half the criminals in the Caribbean, and its government was almost as corrupt as its inhabitants. He wasn't about to wander around its principal city of Mariba and end up rolled and stabbed in an alley. No, he was very content right where he was. He'd stay in Hector's back room with Liane and in the morning go back to the
As usual, he'd made no attempt to dissuade Beau from going ashore. Their compatibility was based on a policy of strict noninterference. Daniel never indicated by word or expression that he approved or disapproved of Beau's escapades… except when he indulged in a rare burst of roguish behavior himself and then he obviously approved very much indeed.
The woman was still murmuring in his ear and Beau supposed he should have been listening. She might have been talking money and he didn't want her to get huffy and think he wouldn't be generous with her. Still, he had all night and wasn't in any particular hurry. If he acted a bit reluctant perhaps it would spur her to greater inventiveness. His gaze drifted casually around the smoky barroom that was boringly similar to a hundred others he'd frequented in the last two years.
Blue eyes, clear and deep and utterly fearless.
He experienced a queer breathless shock as he met them across the room. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone with eyes that reflected quite that degree of bold honesty before. He felt slightly annoyed at his overreaction. It must have been the unexpectedness of that blue gaze in a room full of dark-eyed Latins that had shaken him. After all, the woman possessing those eyes wasn't attractive enough to have disturbed him so. She appeared to be in her early twenties and her features were virtually nondescript except for those incredible eyes framed with long dark lashes. Her lips had a rather nice curve and a touch of vulnerability that was appealing, but her nose was definitely too turned up for beauty, much less glamour.
'You think she's pretty?' Liane asked sharply, following his gaze. 'She's much too thin. Take those clothes off her and she would be all skin and bones.'
'You think so?' Beau drawled, his gaze traveling over the woman standing by the bar. She was a little over average height and dressed in jeans faded by many washings to a pale white-blue. The loose man's shirt she wore was a blue of a slightly darker shade, its tails veiling the curve of her hips. She was no longer looking at him but at a table in the opposite corner of the room and there was a curious tenseness about her stance. 'You can't really tell in that loose shirt and jeans. Do you know who she is?'
Liane shrugged. 'Kate something or other. I have seen her in here a few times.' She leaned forward, revealing a bounty of lush cleavage. 'She is not nearly as popular as me and she would have to take you somewhere else. I am the only one Hector will let use his back room.'
'I'm sure you've earned his generosity,' he said, removing her hand from his thigh. Suddenly her curves seemed a trifle overblown and her attractiveness a little too common for his taste.
The woman called Kate was walking toward the corner table now and she moved with a free graceful stride that was very pleasing. Her short curly hair, sun-tipped here and there to pale gold, was an acorn brown and as baby soft and silky clean as In a shampoo commercial. Her skin appeared that soft, too, he mused, lifting a glass of ginger ale to his lips. He suddenly felt an urgent desire to touch that skin.
'You will go with me, then?' Liane asked with a sultry smile.
'What?' he asked. He set his glass down and rose to his feet. 'Perhaps another time.' He placed a large bill on the table and strolled in the same direction as the blue-eyed, winsome Kate.
That silky-soft skin was too appealing to pass up and he could visualize how delicious she would be with those boyish clothes removed. Thin, perhaps, as Liane claimed, but there was a pert femininity to that little derriere that was very tempting. And he'd never been one to resist temptation when it beckoned so seductively.
The only problem was the lady seemed to have a target in mind. The table she halted at was occupied by two dark-haired men. There was a half-empty bourbon bottle before them; one of the men had passed out. At least he wouldn't be any competition for Kate's favors, Beau thought. It was the one with the little pig eyes who was looking up at her with a grin on his dark bearded face that he'd have to remove from the scene. Money? If not, he might have a more interesting evening that he'd planned. There was suddenly a touch of recklessness in Beau's smile as he quickened his steps. He had a hunch that a night with silky-skinned Kate might be worth a little minor mayhem.
She was saying something to the bearded man now and the man's hand was reaching out and casually fondling her buttocks. She appeared to be paying no attention to the intimacy but Beau found he was experiencing a curiously possessive resentment. He shrugged it off impatiently. For heaven's sake, all he had in mind was a one-night stand with an accommodating bar girl. What the hell was the matter with him?
However, there was still a lingering edge to that possessiveness as he stopped beside the table. The woman broke off in midsentence and those startling blue eyes widened in surprise as she glanced up at him.
He sketched a mocking little bow. 'Sorry to disturb you in the middle of negotiations. I just didn't want you to get too far along before I could enter my own invitation, or should I say, bid.'
'Buzz off,' the bearded man snapped out. He straightened slowly in his chair. 'The lady and I are just reaching an understanding.'
'But that's because she hasn't heard my offer,' Beau drawled, and looked at Kate, his gaze full of a smoldering promise. 'I'm prepared to be more than generous. Come with me, Kate.' His voice was coaxing. 'You won't regret it.'
She looked away, but not before he'd seen a glimmer of fear in her eyes that puzzled him. 'Go away,' she said jerkily. 'Ralph is right, we're having a discussion.'
The man called Ralph gave a low laugh of triumphant satisfaction, his hand once more moving in a caress on Kate's bottom. 'You see, you're not wanted and I definitely am.' He glanced up at her. 'Aren't I, Kate?'
'That's right. How could you doubt it, Ralph? You've always told me how good we'd be for each other.'
'We'd be better together,' Beau said softly. 'And I'll give you whatever you want. Tell me what you want and it's yours.'
'Please.' She moistened her lips nervously, then smiled down at Ralph.
God, she had a lovely smile. It lit up her entire face with such warmth that it made one forget she wasn't really beautiful. Beau found himself resenting the smile she was giving the other man more than he had that hand of his on her bottom. The reaction was just as crazy and totally irrational as all his other responses. He knew he should forget about her and go back to Liane. He was obviously going to have to fight both her and her chosen mark for the evening to obtain her services for himself. He also couldn't say much for her taste in men. The fellow had a distinctly shifty look in those little pig eyes. The eyes reminded him vaguely of someone. George. That was it. Good old greedy gut, Uncle George. He felt his antagonism swell with a sudden intensity that had nothing to do with logic. The Uncle Georges of the world managed to snatch quite enough for themselves without having it handed to them on a plate. There was no way he was going to let pig eyes here get his hands on anything he wanted. And he was beginning to want Kate more every second.
As the tense silence lengthened, Kate glanced furtively at the leather-banded watch on her wrist and then stared at Beau. 'Please go,' she ordered. 'Now!'
