A Howl for a Highlander (13 page)

“I see,” Sal finally remarked, sounding extremely vexed.

She was sure that Duncan’s offer had more than unsettled the cheat, who she guessed was used to getting his way in most situations. Money could buy a lot of things. But not her.

“All right. What about tomorrow?” he asked, and he truly sounded like he thought he still had a chance with her.

Shocked that he’d ask her out again, she felt her mouth drop open. She’d suspected that once she said she was seeing another man, Sal would get the hint and butt out. Apparently not. He had the arrogance of an alpha male backed by tons of ill-gotten money. If she went anywhere with him, all she’d be thinking about would be how Sal was spending Duncan’s clan’s money on her. She’d want to shift and tear into him herself to convince him to give it up.

“I… don’t know about tomorrow.” She hated coming up with excuses on the fly. But even though she didn’t want to see the bastard again, she might be able to help Duncan get his money back.

Duncan didn’t even look at her, saying louder than he needed to, “We have a pirates’ sailing-ship excursion tomorrow, remember? The Jolly Roger?”

“Oh, yeah.” Damned if she’d known that. This was getting to be one really super-fun vacation. Except for this business with Sal Silverman.

Again, silence.

“That’s in the afternoon, isn’t it?” Sal said, sounding perturbed. “Unless it’s the dinner cruise again.”

She figured he was doubly irritated because he now knew Duncan was listening in on the conversation. Being alpha to the max, Duncan intended to thwart Sal in every way he could, which made her smile.

“Yes, I guess.” She had no idea which cruise Duncan had in mind.

But Sal wasn’t about to be thwarted, either. “Then we can have dinner later in George Town.”

One thing about wolf hearing: they heard. From quiet talks to phone conversations, they heard.

“We have dinner plans,” Duncan said self-assuredly.

Of course he was right in thinking that if she wanted to go out, it would be with him. She enjoyed his company immensely. Even so, why was
she
bothering to speak with Sal when the two men were having a fine conversation without her?

She frowned at Duncan and held the phone out to him as if to allow him to talk it over with Sal. Duncan ignored the offer of the phone.

She pulled it back to her ear but before she could relay Duncan’s words, certain that Sal had heard them anyway, Sal said, “I’ll call you back later.” The phone clicked dead.

She slipped her phone in her pocket and folded her arms. “He’s angry.”

Duncan gave her a self-satisfied smirk as he parked the car at the dock and opened her door for her.

“Well?” she said. “How are you going to get the money out of him if you piss him off over me before you can even ask him about your stolen investments?”

Duncan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and headed down the dock. “You know, maybe now that he’s got a little female wolf to pursue, he’ll come out of hiding—no goons, no girlfriend—and then I can take him to task one-on-one.”

“That could work. You’re a genius.”

He kissed her cheek. “You should tell my brothers that. But in truth, I don’t want you involved.”

“As soon as he tried to pick me up at the reserve, I became involved. Are we really going out on a pirate ship tomorrow?”

“Aye, lass. In the 1600s, pirates made port here. So the Jolly Roger excursion is a way to have some sporting good fun with a poke at the past.”

She thought he was too broke. She truly believed him in that regard. “But… what about your finances?”

“Ian will understand the necessity. The money I was paid as an extra is mixed in with the clan’s money, but even so, I should have some say in this. Besides, the expense of a room is not the same as an expense in drawing out the enemy.”

Drawing out the enemy? Or doing whatever he could to protect Shelley from the bastard coming after her? She wished she was swimming in money so she could pay for the extra excursions for both of them. “Does the pirate ship have a gangplank?”

“Aye, what respectable pirate ship would not? Now, if I had my trusty claymore, I’d make all the scurvy pirates walk the plank and take my sea wolf on a nice long sail. You do have sea legs, don’t you, lass? You seemed to love the water, but I didn’t ask if boats bothered you.”

“Oh yes, I love the water and I love to sail.” She settled next to him on the catamaran where other couples had found places to call their own for the cruise.

Duncan ordered Baileys Irish Cream for Shelley and a whiskey for himself.

The turquoise waters were so inviting that she wanted to slip into them and swim right beside the boat. “Maybe if we’re not too tired tonight, we could swim with the sharks again.”

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her as they sailed out to sea. The lulling feel of the boat cutting through the placid water, with Duncan holding her like this, made her feel as though she was in heaven. About twenty people were on the boat, all having their own conversations and enjoying the wind in the sails and the trip out to sea just like Shelley and Duncan were.

“It might be tempting fate to swim in the water at night again with the sharks feeding more often then. But aye, if you want to risk it, I’ll protect you,” Duncan remarked.

She smiled and sipped her Baileys. “You are such a brave Highlander. What about stingrays?”

“What about them? I’m not sure punching them in the nose would keep them away from you if one decided to attack.” He finished his whiskey and paid for another.

She laughed and squeezed his arm. “No, you can take a boat out to an area to snorkel and feed the rays. Would you want to swim with the stingrays? My treat.”

His eyes sparkled with merriment. “When you put it that way… how can a Scot resist?”

“You wouldn’t be afraid they’d eat you, would you?”

“Not me. I would be afraid they’d grab one of those bikini strings of yours and…” He frowned at her. “You have to wear something else on the pirate ship and when we go snorkeling with the rays. If any man looked you over for even a fraction of a second wearing so little—and he’d be doing it for a lot longer than that—I’d have to rearrange his face.”

She laughed. “I only wear the bikini when swimming at night, normally just when I’m out with my girlfriend. I hadn’t expected you to follow me down to the water. If I’m to walk the plank and jump into the deep, blue sea, I definitely would risk losing my bikini. Besides, it’s family fare during the day, so I’ll dress modestly. Swim trunks down to my knees with a big billowing skirt and a high neckline.”

He laughed. “That I’ve got to see.”

But she was certain he’d prefer seeing her string bikini again.

After they finished their drinks, the catamaran anchored, and they were served bowls of potato soup to start the three-course gourmet dinner. Then the main course came. Both chose mahimahi with Cayman-style sauce to enjoy the island experience, rather than selecting the chicken with mushroom sauce. Their fish was served on a bed of rice with steamed vegetables on the side, and slices of white bread and creamy butter. Coffee and rum cake finished the meal.

Everything was delicious, and as they ate each course, the catamaran rocked slightly in the Caribbean Sea. Shelley realized then that she’d never actually eaten on a boat, just sailed a few times. But anchoring and eating at a candlelight dinner shared with Duncan was romantic and casual and unique enough that she’d remember it fondly forever.

Feeling full after eating the last of her rum cake, Shelley didn’t think the night could get any better. But Duncan took her to the bow of the boat and pulled her to sit between his legs, well away from everyone else. Loosely draping his arms about her shoulders, he held her like that as they watched the sun sink lower in the sky. It was as if none of the rest of the people on the boat existed, just two wolves enjoying the sunset on a dinner cruise.

The bright ball of fire slipped into the blue water, leaving wide pink, purple, and orange ribbons stretched across the sky as if an artist had stroked his paintbrush across it. Skimpy clouds, a darker shade of purple, floated across the ribbons, growing darker as the sun sank lower.

Duncan wrapped his arms around Shelley’s waist, tightening his grip as he leaned down and kissed her ear. She sighed, loving every minute of the colorful display, wishing she had her camera with her to catch the vibrant colors that made the night even more perfect, and loving being in the Highlander’s arms. But she’d left her camera in her backpack in the car. “Hmm, Duncan, this beats drinks with Sal at his place any day.”

She shouldn’t have mentioned Sal when she was having such a good time with Duncan, but she couldn’t get the crook off her mind.

“I’m sure he’s rethinking his miserly offer of a date with you. Hell, for you, he should have offered the moon. He sure can afford it.”

Sal had to be pissed off that Duncan had taken her out. “Most likely women rarely turn him down, no matter what his offer is.”

“He’s not that outstanding looking,” Duncan grouched.

Shelley gave a little laugh. “No, not at all. Distinguished but not movie-star handsome. Not like you. I dare say he’s never been in a movie.”

Duncan grunted. “I was an extra.”

“Right. But he has sort of an appeal, like a man used to getting his way, someone who has money and power.” She shrugged. “A lot of women are drawn to that.”

“But not you.”

“No. I know what a rat he is, but it wouldn’t have mattered. The only reason I didn’t turn him down outright was that I thought I could help you get to him. So I didn’t want to burn bridges right away.”

“I don’t want you near him. This is strictly my business, understand?” Duncan had the stern look of a warrior who didn’t want a woman getting hurt or involved in any way.

“Of course,” Shelley said, not about to get into an argument with Duncan. If he wanted her help, she’d do what she could. If not, that was his call. “Will you drop me off at the reserve again tomorrow?”

His mouth parted, and then he frowned. “Didn’t you already record every plant there was in the forest?”

She smiled. “More than one hundred species and more than five hundred and fifty plants live in the forest. I think I missed one or two.”

He shook his head.

When the catamaran began to sail back to port, Shelley was in wolf heaven, snuggling next to Duncan as if the two of them were on a honeymoon. Or like wolves might do, curled up together under the light of a silvery moon.

She wanted to stay up all night. Run as a wolf with him. Swim as a human. Play until she was too exhausted to do anything but sleep. She wanted to enjoy all of that for now, and nothing more. She’d never had this much fun in her life. Going on a cruise like this with Wendy would never have been the same.

Her thoughts shifted to the problem with Silverman and what his next move might be.

“What if Silverman calls me again in the morning?”

“He’s not going to wait.”

She stiffened and looked up at Duncan. “What do you mean?”

“You only told him your first name over the phone, right? He hadn’t even asked for it before this, expecting you to be blown away by his bold interest in you. He figured he’d learn all he wanted about you when you had drinks with him tonight.”

“Yeah, he never did ask, and I wasn’t about to offer until I spoke with you. I wanted to see if you thought we could use his interest in me to your advantage.”

“That’s the thing. He’s going to want to know who you are, who your girlfriend is, and who I am before long. He’s going to want to find out where we’re all staying. He’ll think you’re rooming with a girlfriend. He’ll have the notion of visiting you early tomorrow before I have a chance to pick you up for the pirate cruise. Try to ingratiate himself with you before it’s too late. Maybe even attempt to turn your head so much that you’ll forget you had a date with me in the afternoon.”

“He can’t think I’d be that interested in him. You don’t think he believes I might consider being his mate, do you?”

Duncan snorted. “Money can buy just about anything. The thing of it is that the man’s already got a mate.”

Her jaw dropped.

“I wouldn’t put it past him to take another, pretending he doesn’t have one already and hiding that fact from his first mate while he hides her from you.”

“Wolves don’t do that.”

“Normally, it’s not done. Then again, normally they don’t pick up other women, wolves or otherwise, once they have a mate. But he’s got one, and she’s still in the U.S. while he’s dallying with some other woman here.”

Shelley folded her arms, her back still stiff. It was one thing to pretend to be interested in a bachelor wolf to help Duncan out if she could. It was quite another to pretend to be interested in one who was not only mated but also having an affair with a human woman. He truly was a bastard.

Then another thought struck her. “Does his mate know about the money he’s been stealing?”

“Aye, lass. Before he went into hiding from the authorities, he deposited a whole lot of the stolen funds in her name. She didn’t steal any of it that we know of, but she and Sal are attempting to avoid having to give up any of the estates they have all over the world—and luxury cars, two planes, and a couple of ships—by saying it was her wealth and had nothing to do with his stealing.”