Fire and Ash (Immortal Touch) (27 page)

“
Every breath. Every heartbeat. Every thought and movement...” He traced her collarbone with a finger and the heartbeat that he claimed began to double its efforts. “My touch has one hell of an effect on you, doesn’t it?” he observed smugly.

Not to be outdone, Sami
drew one leg over him and rubbed her thigh across his manhood, smiling in satisfaction at his body’s immediate reaction. “I could say the same for you.”

“You better watch it with that. Don’t think
for one minute I’d by shy about having my way with you right here in front of everyone.” In one abrupt motion he pulled her on top of him, mindful of the Ruger. “Stop trying to distract me. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”

“Says the guy with the hard
-on...” Sami straightened herself into an upright position, straddling his lap with a naughty grin.

“Watch the gun
, baby.”

“Why?
What’s it about to do?”

“
Well, I see you’re not sleepy anymore,” he remarked dryly.

“No
pe…I’m wide awake now.”

“
Good.” His hands reached underneath the tank top to caress her bare skin lightly. “Oh…this is much, much better.”

She knew he was referring to her removal of the bandages. The cuts had closed up and were
healing nicely, but any mention of them made her uneasy. His idea of edgeplay went way beyond the boundaries of her comfort zone. She might be open to a lot of things, but having his declaration carved into her flesh wasn’t an experience that sanctioned repeating.

He followed the lines on her abdomen, outlining each letter with his index finger. “It won’t be there forever.”

“Really? You don’t think it’ll leave a scar?”

“That’s not
what I meant.”

S
he was just about to ask him what he
did
mean when a familiar voice interrupted her train of thought.

“Hey
there, sunflower!”

None other than Laiken
, of course. Turning her head to greet him, she saw that he was with Danielle and a number of other people she’d seen around but didn’t know personally. Great. It wouldn’t be long now before the entire staff of Vestal Sands got wind of this. Although she had to admit, the look on Laiken’s face when he recognized the figure beneath her was pretty darn funny.

“Holy
fu…uh…what’s up Reid - how’s it goin’, man?”

Ash smiled
innocently. “Couldn’t be better, thanks for asking.”

“
Not working tonight?” Sami stated the obvious while her libidinous position sent warmth into her cheeks. God, this was awkward.

“
No, Dani and I got the night off. Rob and Nicole are covering the bar. Kinda dead around there tonight anyway.” Laiken seemed in a huge hurry to be on his way. She couldn’t blame him. “So hey…I’ll see you guys later then. Enjoy the fireworks.”

“
Yeah…see you tomorrow.”

As the group continued on their trek towards the pier
, she overheard Danielle make a comment that prompted laughter from the others. Something that sounded like
fireworks of their own.

Asher looked as if he wanted to laugh, himself. “
Busted…”

Rolling her eyes, Sami
moved to the spot beside him. “I can’t believe they didn’t notice us out by the pool Saturday night.”

“They were probably too busy.
What difference does it make?”

“I don’t know. None, I guess...”

“If anybody says anything disrespectful to you, just let me know. I can promise you it won’t happen more than once.”

She
had no reason to doubt him. Back when she was first hired, Logan had discreetly informed her that their employer had a notorious hairtrigger temper. It wasn’t hard to believe.

With a catlike stretch,
Ash glanced at his watch and lazily swung his legs over the side of the lounge chair. “Time to go, babydoll. Up and at ’em.”

Assuming they were moving closer to the pier
for a better view, Sami stood and plodded through the deep sand behind him. They did approach the growing crowd, but instead of joining them he steered her away from the shore and closer to the line of privately owned beachfront cottages. His destination appeared to be a pastel green one that, judging from the absence of any lighting, was probably vacant. The small square area shaded by the elevated deck was eerily dark.

T
his was where he chose to stop, dropping to his knees behind a thick wooden support beam.

“Are we playing hide and seek?” she joked
nervously, kneeling in the cool sand beside him.

“You might look at it that way.” His eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness. “Do you like playing games?”

“Depends on the game.”

“Still trust me?”

“I really wish you’d stop asking me that!”

“Come closer.”

She obediently shuffled through the sand on her knees until her body grazed his. Reaching for her hand, he pressed it against his hard thigh.

“
Tell me again, now. Would you do anything for me?” His low voice was a serenade.

“
You know I would.”

“No matter how distasteful
it might seem to you?”

“Anything,” she promised.

“Would you kill for me?”

The request, though shocking, was not entirely unexpected.
So this was his ruse. Thinking of the gun with its empty cartridges, she agreed without hesitation. “Yes. I’d kill for you.”

“That’s my girl,” he
softly praised her. Stroking her hand, he closed his eyes with a rapturous sigh. “Ah…my Samara…you always know exactly what I want. How is it that you’re so perfectly attuned to my needs? I want to mold you into the perfect woman. Yes, that’s it…you’ll be my perfect angel…” His eyes opened. “It’s all or nothing with me, sweet angel. All or nothing. No gray areas, no second chances. Keep that in mind. Will you do that for me?”

She nodded her silent assent.

“Now let’s see…who should we take out?” Scanning the mass of faces, he caught sight of Laiken’s golden locks not fifty yards away. He sat cross-legged on a huge blanket with his friends, who were passing around something that looked suspiciously like a joint. Right in public - they must have balls of brass. “How about the surfer boy? He looks like someone the world could do without. What do you say…
sunflower?
”

“Whatever you say.”
As he’d already pointed out, this was just a game. No one could really get hurt. She bit back a smile, wondering how he’d react when she calmly pulled the trigger. He probably wouldn’t be expecting that.

Reaching
underneath his shirt, he retrieved the Ruger along with something from his pocket that was unidentifiable in the darkness. “You’re being unusually cooperative. I wonder why that is.” He released the gun’s magazine and let it fall into his lap.

“What are you doing?”

“Swapping out for an extended magazine.”

“
What!?
”

“This one holds ten rounds instead of six. The extension will also make it easier for you to grip.” He glanced sidelong at her with a faint smirk. “You didn’t think you’d be able to kill him with blanks, did you?” There was a distinct
clack
as he racked a round.

Then h
e knew. The bastard had known all along.
Brilliant plan you had there, bonehead! Now what?
Panic began to set in, and as she felt her stomach flop sickeningly the realization hit her - she’d never had the upper hand, never even come close. And she never would. He was always one step ahead of her, ready to turn her world upside down and scatter her logic to the wind.

A
s if on cue, the dark sky above the ocean suddenly exploded in bursts of blue and red. The rowdy revelers along the beach cheered and applauded their approval.

Still on his knees, Ash maneuvered himself so he was directly behind her, one hand placed gently on her right shoulder while his
soft breath tickled her neck. His left hand reached stealthily around her. “Take the gun, Sami.”

She accepted it with shaking hands
in the vain hope that he’d withdraw at the last second, tell her she didn’t have to do this, that it was all just a test of obedience and he’d never meant for her to actually shoot anyone. He couldn’t possibly be that warped, could he? To ask her to murder someone in cold blood, in the midst of hundreds of witnesses - surely the man wasn’t
that
depraved.

His
hushed voice was sensuous against her cheek. “Relax, baby. Just watch the fireworks. We’ll wait until they light the Thunder Kings. Some anonymous donor was thoughtful enough to contribute two hundred cartons of them. They have one hell of a report and the gunfire will blend right in.”

“Ash…” Her anxious plea cracked helplessly and she
found herself unable to vocalize anything further, all language forgotten as her mind raced desperately in search of an out. Refusal wasn’t an option with him. But it was possible, just possible, that the replacement magazine contained blanks as well…wasn’t it? She clutched that thought to her like a security blanket.

“Shh…” His lips brushed her jaw, trailing feathery kisses down her neck
that reawakened her intense longing for him despite her predicament. “For me, sweet angel. Do this for me. Be perfect for me.” He was practically purring against her skin, seducing her with his charisma in a way that only he could. When he turned on the charm there was nothing she could deny him - nothing.

Not even this.

His hands covered hers over the grip. “Suppose I help you aim…just in case you get the notion to deliberately miss.” He forced her to lift the Ruger. “When I tell you to, I want you to unload the entire magazine. There’s a bullet in the chamber - you’re good to go. All you have to do is pull the trigger. Nothing to it, right?”

Nothing to it. Nothing at all.

All or nothing.

Her heart skipped a beat when the echoing reports
filled the air, and the honey-sweet voice in her ear urged, “Go ahead, baby. Don’t fail me.”

She didn’t allow herself any hesitation, didn’t grant her conscience the time to form a protest, simply
closed her eyes and mindlessly squeezed the trigger. Again and again and again, until the weapon in her hands produced nothing but empty clicks that sounded in their finality even more ominous than the shots themselves and she waited, waited with pounding heart…

There were no screams. No cries for help.
The steady drone of voices from the beach went on as before, the fireworks continued to boom and crackle in the night sky, and reluctantly she opened her eyes. Seated on the blanket beside Danielle, Laiken leaned forward to listen to something one of their group was saying, shaking his blond mane with a broad grin, oblivious to his brush with death. Unharmed. Alive.

At her feet, the sugar-white sand was littered with empty shell casings.

And against her ear was his soft, velvety laugh.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

He stood at a safe distance in the huge lobby, cloaked by the multitude of chattering people wandering in and out and up and down the halls. Ignoring the exuberant Friday arrivals, most of them excited spring breakers already ramped up for their vacations. Not really seeing them, seeing only her. Watching only her. The one person in the world he was supposed to have loved, and the one he’d wronged in so many ways.

She looked more beautiful than
ever. Her skin glowed radiantly from the Florida sunshine, the white shorts she wore emphasizing her smooth tanned legs. Her wavy mocha tresses hung loose for a change. She never used to wear her hair down.

Beach life
seemed to agree with her.

Captivated, h
e observed while she finished explaining something to one of the check-in clerks, read her lips as she formed the word
okay?
with a patient smile. The clerk nodded her understanding, and Sami left the lobby to head down one of the hallways with a short, dorky-looking man in thick glasses. He followed behind them, feeling like some sort of pathetic stalker.

Which, when you got down to the cold hard facts, he technically was
.

The
y pushed through a set of glass double doors, walked over to an outdoor café whose brightly colored sign read
Renegade Island Grill
, and stood waiting in line. It looked as though they were about to order lunch. He should approach her now. He should, but somehow he couldn’t persuade his stubborn feet to move.

Laughing at something the short guy said, she tossed her head, turning her face just enough that suddenly she caught sight of him standing there
watching her. The smile on her face slipped away. Which was a crying shame, considering he used to be the very one who could put it there. He finally forced his legs to move, and they were able to carry him over to where she stood frozen, suspicion evident in her golden eyes. It hurt to see her look at him like that.