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  As she reached for a cover-up and a pair of flip-flops, he grabbed the room key and thrust it in his pocket. “Lead the way.”

  When he opened the door, she sidled past him, looking over her shoulder. “You don’t have to babysit me.”

  Cage let the door shut and checked the lock behind him. Flimsier than shit. Theft was likely a raging problem here if that was the best defense between the contents of a guest’s room and a stranger.

  Shaking his head, he hustled to catch up to Karis, who was halfway down the hall, pretty ass swishing with every step. Fuck, he hadn’t forgotten brushing the underwear from those cheeks, kissing them during his oral travels across her body, clutching them as he plunged deeper into her with every thrust.

  “You been wearing that bathing suit around the resort all week?” He glanced at the round flesh half peeking out from the formfitting fabric.

  Her thighs looked sleek, as if she was the sort of girl whose cardio often included a good run. She had a bit of thigh gap, enough to look good in tiny outfits but not so much that he worried she was starving. Her filigree tattoo began mid-back and wound gracefully to the small of her spine with feminine swirls and curved lines, then disappeared into her bikini bottoms. It turned him the fuck on. Everything about her did, from the wispy ringlets curling at her nape in the humidity to her narrow feet.

  “I’ve got a collection of similar ones. Why?” She pressed the button to call the elevator.

  Because he was hard-pressed to believe that men at this resort hadn’t been tripping all over themselves to get close to her. Instead, it looked as if someone had chosen to take the goodies in her suitcase rather than the goodies in her panties. To him, that didn’t make sense.

  As the elevator doors opened with a ding, she stepped inside and he followed. “I’m wondering if you might have flirted with or rebuffed someone around here who decided to get your attention in a totally different way.”

  “I’ve talked to a lot of people.”

  Cage didn’t want to imagine who.

  When it came to one-night stands, Karis was hardly his first rodeo. He had no idea why he was so hung up…except that there was something about her. She’d felt better than good in his arms. She’d been funny and sensitive, sexy and interesting. Different. Vulnerable.

  He’d never been that guy who lost his head over a woman. Hell, he’d barely had a romantic relationship that lasted more than a few weeks. One-nighters and friends with benefits were more his speed. But he’d hoped Karis took him more seriously, wanted more from him than sex.

  Now, Cage was beginning to think he’d been a dumb ass and that she’d just wanted a good lay after all. It sucked. “Stop dancing around my questions and tell me the truth. Have you slept with anyone since you’ve been here?”

  She reared back at him. “Not that it’s any of your business—”

  “Well, if you want me to help keep you safe until your paperwork comes through, then I have to figure out who might have gone stalker on you.”

  “It was a theft,” she reminded as the elevator descended.

  “Absolutely, but he didn’t take anything of Wisteria’s?”

  Her frown said that puzzled her, too. “No.”

  “I noticed your iPad was still on your nightstand, so he didn’t take that, either. How much was your jewelry worth?”

  “Next to nothing.”

  “How much cash did you have?”

  “Forty bucks I stuck back in case of an emergency. The rest of it was in my pocket.”

  “And has he tried to use your credit cards?”

  She paused, then shook her head. “So far, no.” And she sounded almost puzzled by that. “When I called to cancel them, the banks said there’d been no activity on the accounts at all.”

  He nodded. “Normally, that’s the first thing a thief would use because they know the numbers will be voided soon. So mostly what this guy took from you was your way out of the country.”

  The elevator came to a shaking stop. After a long moment, the doors opened. Automatically, Cage fitted a hand at the small of Karis’s back and escorted her out. She shivered at his touch. He couldn’t miss it, just like he couldn’t escape the zip of heat that flooded his blood and settled into his cock.

  With a little jerk, she pulled away and looked back at him with a warning not to lay hands on her again.

  What the hell? The night they’d met, she hadn’t been able to get naked with him fast enough. She hadn’t been able to pull him inside her deep enough. She hadn’t been able to slake her hunger often enough. In fairness, he hadn’t either. From the moment his younger brother had introduced them, she’d reduced him into a puddle of oil, then tossed her flames all over him. The bonfire they generated had been a fucking combustible conflagration.

  Now she seemed to have the personality of a glitchy freezer.

  “Maybe…you’re right,” she conceded. “I didn’t stop to look at the situation that way.”

  “You were too rattled. You felt violated.”

  “Yeah.” The glance she gave Cage as she made her way to the pool bar said she was more than surprised he understood.

  “And you’re mad, too.”

  “Totally.”

  She looked even more shocked at his insight. Really, it wasn’t that hard to guess. He heard from victims every day on the beat. But it was nice to have found a point of connection with her. Still, it didn’t stop him from needing some facts. “So let’s try this again. Have you slept with anyone since you’ve been here? He’ll be my first suspect.”

  “No.”

  Cage held in his sigh of relief. He didn’t have the right to expect that he was the only man in her life—yet. But he couldn’t deny that he wanted to be. “Anyone who…I don’t know, bought you a drink?”

  “It’s an all-inclusive resort. The booze is included.”

  “Or any gesture like that. Someone who shared a meal with you? Invited you to his room?”

  “No.” She tossed on her sunglasses as they emerged from the brightly colored lobby to the infinity edge pool overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

  At the restaurant’s entrance, they waited for someone to seat them. A few moments later, a smiling young, dark-eyed woman showed them to a table on the waterfront, tucked under the shade provided by the grassy roof overhead, swaying slightly in the warm tropical wind.

  He helped Karis into her chair, then they both grabbed a menu from the table as the sun began to sink to the west. They both did a quick scan before setting the laminated list of foods aside. The moment they did, a Hispanic waiter approached the table with two glasses of water in hand—and eyes only for Karis.

  “Hello, señorita. Buenas noches. How have you been?” He smiled as he set the water down, a glass in front of each plate.

  “I’m all right. Thanks, Miguel.”

  The twenty-something punk—probably closer to Karis’s age—beamed. “Thank you for remembering me, Señorita Karis. You look muy bonita.”

  When he winked, Cage wanted to hurl. How often did the guy use that line on lonely tourists? He was good-looking enough, so it probably worked more often than it should.

  It wouldn’t have any impact on Karis, Cage decided. Not while he was here.

  “I appreciate that.” She gave him a small, slightly dismissive smile, obviously ready to order.

  “Were you not supposed to travel home this morning?” Miguel asked.

  She nodded, looking glum and agitated. “Yeah. Someone stole my passport last night, so I’ll be here another couple of days.”

  The waiter turned a shocked expression her way. To Cage, it looked awfully staged.

  “That is terrible. I’m so sorry someone would mar the Mexican hospitality we have done our best to show you this week with an act so callous. If I can do anything beyond bring you food to be of assistance—”

  “I’ll take care of her,” Cage assured.

  The slick Latin lover finally looked at him, expression tightening. “Señor. Hello
. Are you a new guest with us, then?”

  “Looks like it.”

  His mouth pursed further as he slid another stolen glance at Karis. No doubt, the little shit was displeased.

  “Very good,” Miguel said as if having him here were anything but, then turned his attention back to Karis. “What may I bring you today?”

  She leaned her elbows on the table, probably not realizing how much cleavage she flashed the waiter. “I’ll take a chicken quesadilla and a margarita, heavy on the tequila, light on the salt.”

  “For you, señorita bonita, anything.” He clapped a hand to his heart, then flung his arms out to her as if to say he was giving her all his love.

  Cage resisted the urge to puke—or throw a punch. Instead, he settled for taking Karis’s hand across the table and holding it firmly when she—predictably—tried to pull away. “I’ll have the same. And some privacy to talk to my girlfriend.”

  At his words, Miguel scowled before masking it with a politely bland expression. “Of course. Let me know if you would like anything else.”

  Then the waiter finally melted away.

  “Your girlfriend?” Karis hissed the moment Miguel disappeared from earshot, pulling her hand free. “Let’s get one thing straight—”

  “We’re going to get a lot of things straight,” Cage assured her. “But I can almost guarantee he’s your suspect.”

  “What? He’s just a guy I ordered meals from this week.”

  “He knows your name.”

  “He knew Wisteria’s name, too. Being friendly is part of his job.”

  He snorted. “The guy wasn’t so friendly with me.”

  “Miguel just met you.”

  “Still, I guarantee he’s never going to call me señorita bonita.”

  She stared at him across the table as if he’d lost his mind. Hell, maybe he had. Karis Weston did something to him. He didn’t want to argue with her. He just wanted to get deep inside her and stay.

  “I thought you’d be happy he didn’t call you a pretty lady. But hey, if you want him to, maybe you have a whole private life I don’t know anything about.”

  Cage gritted his teeth. That was it. He was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was eating at her. Sure, she was thrown off by the theft and the abrupt change of her plans. She’d probably wanted the comfort of her sister, not the guy she’d fucked once, then rebuffed. And if she itched to take her frustration out on him, he could deal with that. But her hostility seemed to stem from a different place. He had to understand it if he was going to call a truce and move them past it.

  With a deep breath, Cage looked her way. “My point is, Miguel knew your name and when you were leaving. He’s a terrible actor, and I don’t believe for one second that he was shocked someone had stolen your stuff. Since the moment he opened his mouth, my instincts have been screaming. I think he’s your bad guy.”

  Finally, Karis looked as if she was considering his words. “That would make him a little unhinged. I mean, we’ve talked some, sure. Wisteria, Hayden, Miguel, another waiter, and I closed down the bar one night and had a ball. But nothing happened between us. I didn’t give him any reason to think we were a ‘thing,’ even temporarily.”

  “Some guys have been known to assume more intimacy with less encouragement. I’ll keep investigating, but I’m just saying…I’ve got a bad feeling about him.”

  Karis cocked her head and leaned her elbows on the table. “I can’t tell whether you’re for real or just being stupidly jealous.”

  “Both.” Why lie?

  A little frown settled between her brows, like his assertion confused her. “Wow. That may be the first honest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  What? “I haven’t lied to you once, cupcake. I didn’t lie to you when we met or when I told you that night I wanted you or when I said the next morning I wasn’t sure I’d ever get enough of you.”

  She dipped her head to cover the flush that rushed up her cheeks. “You’re right. But I didn’t realize what a player you are. Don’t worry, I got the message quick.”

  Now, he was getting to the crux of her nose being out of joint. “What message was that?”

  “New Year’s didn’t mean anything, and you already had someone in your life.” She leaned back in her chair and glanced out at the ocean, as if she couldn’t bear to look at him.

  As if he’d hurt her.

  He mulled that for a minute, along with her words. “I don’t have an exclusive relationship with anyone. I never have.”

  Karis flinched, then tried to shrug off her reaction as if it meant nothing. “So it’s normal for you to go from one bed to another. Okay. It’s your life.”

  Suddenly, Cage suspected he knew exactly what had happened. “Look at me, cupcake.”

  She rolled her eyes and sighed, but she reluctantly complied. “What?”

  He wished he could see behind her sunglasses. He had a feeling there was a wealth of info welling in her eyes, along with some tears, too.

  Before he could say another word, Miguel dropped off two huge frozen margaritas and two quesadillas, piled high with sour cream and guacamole. He lingered, offering more napkins and fresh pico de gallo and whatever else he could think of until Cage shooed him away.

  “You saw me with a blonde shortly after the night we spent together, didn’t you?” he challenged the moment the pesky waiter disappeared.

  Karis reared back like she was stunned he’d guessed right. Then she schooled her expression and dug into her plate. “Yeah, but like I said, it’s your life. Your brother told me you’re not into relationships. It’s my fault for not listening and—”

  “I wasn’t into relationships until you. And that’s not a line.” He raked a hand through his hair, wondering if there was any way to tell her what he was thinking without revealing all the raw places inside him. But he wasn’t good at head games. “This is as straight up as I can be: I’ve had a lot of friends with benefits. They were pretty much the only female friends I had. But the night I spent with you changed something for me I still don’t understand and I don’t know how to explain. I’m not sharing benefits with anyone right now because I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop wanting you. And I’m guessing that somehow you saw me with Madison, the blonde, after the night you and I spent together.”

  “Yes.” Her answer sounded curt and crisp.

  She was hurt. Cage understood, and he was relieved to finally have the mystery solved.

  “Madison called me literally two minutes after I left your house. We’ve been friends…” He paused and realized there was no point in being less than honest. “Yes, with benefits, since our senior year of high school.”

  “You’ve had her at the top of your booty call speed dial list for the last…what, fifteen years? Clearly, you’ve tapped that a lot.”

  He tried not to get pissed off that she wanted to cast the worst possible light on his admission. The last twenty-four hours had not been kind to her. And if he’d seen her cozy up to another man right after their amazing night together, he’d be fucking furious and not very gracious about it, either. Besides, she had daddy issues—just like he did. So he had to cut her some slack.

  “Yep. Not even going to deny it. We both treated it casually. She’s a career woman who doesn’t have time for guys and relationships, but she still sometimes wants a man to hold her. Until I got together with you, I didn’t see the difference between screwing and making something more meaningful, so Madison and I never turned one another down. That’s the unvarnished truth. But the morning I left you, she called to tell me that she’d just rushed her father to the hospital. She’s an only child. Her mother died a few years ago. She was all alone, and she couldn’t face what was happening without a shoulder to lean on.”

  “Oh.” Karis stared at him with pursed-mouthed contrition before she took a sip of her drink. “So…you stayed with her while he recovered?”

  “Yes and no. He died the next day, so I couldn’t just lea
ve her. That’s the thing about my friendship. It wasn’t simply about the benefits. I tried to be truly supportive, lend her my strength until she could bury her dad almost a week later.” When Karis chewed on her lip, mulling his words over, he chowed down on a bite of his meal and took another approach. “What would you think of a man who walked out on a person whose last parent was dying?”

  She sighed. “You had to stay. I didn’t realize… And now I feel really stupid. I came by to bring you cookies, you know. I barely know how to bake, but for you I tried. Yes, I was that gaga about you. So when I saw you with her on your porch, hugging her and kissing her forehead, I assumed…”

  “I would have assumed the same thing, cupcake, if the shoe was on the other foot. I would have been mightily pissed off, too. But I swear, Madison and I haven’t exchanged benefits since I’ve been with you.”

  “It was a traumatic time for her, and sex was probably the last thing on her mind—”

  “Well…” He rubbed at the back of his neck, deciding if he was going to be honest, he better be brutally so. “Actually, she…um, hit me up after the funeral. She needed to feel alive, she said. She needed to forget.” He shrugged. “Straight up? I got her off with my fingers so she’d have some relief. I ended it there. Hell, she cried the whole time. But the truth is, after you, I didn’t want her sexually anymore.”

  He glanced Karis’s way to gauge her reaction, but she looked blank and unreadable. “Then what happened?”

  “Well, I told her that I could no longer be that guy for her but I’d always be her friend. Just her friend. She was disappointed but she understood. Then I set about trying to open the conversation with you again. You put me off for weeks. And no matter how much I begged, my brother wouldn’t help. Then you left for vacation. Here we are.”

  “Do you have any more friends with benefits I should know about?”

  “None I won’t think twice about ignoring. I’ll even delete them from my phone while you watch, if you want. I’m serious.”

  “Why do you think what you do matters to me?” She tried to appear unaffected, but he saw her uncertainty.