Was Bastian some kind of pervert?
He was certainly odd. Bo paced in his bedroom while waiting for Ismay to get back to him. He didn’t like that she was at the cottage alone with Bastian, not with the way things were going. Actually, he’d never liked it. He hated to step in—it really wasn’t his place and risked his job—but who else was going to do it?
Tomorrow she’d be out of the cottage and away from Remy’s brother, he told himself. Surely, she’d be safe until then. But after he received her text, he was no longer so confident.
It’s not there.
Too impatient to bother continuing to write, he called her.
“Hello?” she said, her voice barely audible.
“What do you mean it’s not there?”
“It’s not there,” she reiterated.
“Where could it have gone?”
“Bastian has to have taken it. He’s the only one here.”
“Shit.”
“Maybe he realized the danger of me finding it, since I’m staying in this room. Or maybe all the talk about Lyssa spooked him, and he decided to get rid of it. I don’t know. My mind’s racing.”
So was Bo’s.
“And something else is weird,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“I’m pretty sure a pair of my underwear’s gone missing.”
This was more alarming than all the rest. “Are you kidding me?” he said, leaving out the expletive that nearly wound up in that question.
“No. I... I didn’t keep a strict count when I packed. I just brought a lot since I knew I’d be here all summer. That’s probably why I didn’t notice until now. But after I found that duffel bag gone, I knew Bastian had been in my room, so I started looking through everything.”
“Considering what was in that duffel bag, your underwear would be a good place to start.”
“I’m pretty sure he took a white pair with lace around the top. I know I brought those, because I just bought them and remember packing them, but they’re not in here and I haven’t taken anything down to the laundry yet.”
Bo had lived with violent criminals for twelve years. He’d met all kinds of men—some who were downright perverts. But he’d never expected to run into something like this after he was released, especially here on Mariners. “You should come over. Right away.”
“I’m scared to unlock my door, to be honest. I don’t want to have to talk to him.”
Bo wasn’t worried about what Bastian might say. He didn’t want to let his background cause his imagination to run wild. Neither did he want to spook Ismay. But the dude probably thought he could get away with anything. “He’d be stupid to hurt you. You’re Remy’s fiancée.”
“Was Remy’s fiancée.”
“Yeah, but...”
“He holds a grudge against Remy for whatever happened with Lyssa,” she said. “Maybe he blames him for the fight, which caused the fire that took her life. I don’t know. But having something happen to me could be his idea of the perfect revenge.”
“God, I hope not.”
“He’s been in the kitchen for a while. You don’t think he’ll try to burn this place down...”
“You’re scaring the hell out of me,” Bo said. “I’m getting dressed and walking over there. If you’re not at the back door when I arrive, I’m coming in to get you.”
“What about all my stuff?” she asked.
“Bring what you absolutely need and leave the rest. I’ll make sure you get it back.”
“I don’t want to keep pitting you against your employer! I’m worried that...that I’m messing up your life.”
He scratched his head. Feeling he had to protect Ismay was the last thing he’d expected, but he didn’t trust Bastian any more than she did and wouldn’t leave her vulnerable. “Let me worry about that. Just do as I say, all right?”
She didn’t answer.
“Ismay?”
“Bastian’s coming up the stairs,” she whispered.
“All the more reason for you to get out of there!”
Silence. Then he heard her talking to someone else, presumably Bastian. “What do you want?”
Bastian’s response was loud enough that he could pick that up, too, since Remy’s brother was yelling through the door.
“I’d just like to talk to you. Even if you’re not engaged to Remy anymore, you don’t have to leave the cottage. There’s plenty of room here for both of us.”
“You knocked on my door at nearly one o’clock in the morning to tell me that?” Ismay said.
“Is it that late?” Bastian replied. “I didn’t even realize.”
“We’ll talk in the morning, okay?”
“If you’re already awake, why can’t we talk now? Why won’t you open the door?”
“I’m in bed, Bastian.”
“Are you scared of me, Ismay?”
There was a slight pause, but then Ismay said, “Of course not.”
“You don’t trust me,” he said.
Bo held his breath as he awaited Ismay’s response.
“Don’t create a problem that doesn’t exist. I’m just trying to get some sleep,” she finally said. He didn’t hear anything more from Bastian afterward.
Bo waited two or three minutes, during which there was only silence, before asking, “Is he gone?”
“I think so,” she whispered.
“Good. Slip out of the house as soon as you can. I’ll be waiting for you.”
He thought she might refuse, say she’d be fine until morning. Given the late hour, she probably believed she’d successfully navigated her final encounter of the night with Bastian. But as erratically as he was behaving, Bo wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t come back, and this time, he might be angrier—angry enough to force her door open.
So he was relieved when she said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Ismay slung the bag that held a change of clothes, her toothbrush, and makeup over her shoulder and pressed her ear to the door. She could hear the TV in the master but nothing else.
Still nervous because Bastian had seemed so agitated tonight, she checked her watch. One twenty. Surely, he’d gone to bed by now. Even if he hadn’t, she couldn’t keep Bo waiting. She had to take her chances, leave now.
Grabbing her purse, she carefully twisted the knob until it clicked and peered out through a narrow crack. The light was on in the master. Some of it spilled into the hallway, indicating the door stood open. But she couldn’t hear any movement.
The floor creaked as she stepped into the hall, and she cursed to herself.
Was Bastian, who was probably in bed, still awake? Or was he going through that duffel bag and fantasizing about what was inside it? Were those panties of hers that’d gone missing now part of his collection?
She grimaced in distaste. He’d been in her room. Imagining him fondling her belongings made her angry and tied her stomach in knots at the same time. She didn’t want to see him. She was afraid of what she might say—about her panties, Lyssa, the duffel bag, all of it. But she was more afraid of what a man like that might do...
If he was in the master, he was behind her at the end of the hall, so she was probably in the clear. He might call out to her if he heard her tread on the stairs, but she didn’t plan to answer. She was just going to duck her head and go straight through the living room to the kitchen, the mudroom, the screened-in porch—and, finally, the stairs down to the garden, where Bo would be waiting for her.
She made it to the living room before realizing that Bastian wasn’t in the master—and he wasn’t asleep. He’d probably been on the couch, and the moment he heard her come out of her room, he got up to intercept her at the foot of the stairs.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Although it was mostly dark, there was enough light streaming through the large windows from the moon—in addition to the light from his bedroom falling into the hallway above—that they could see each other. “N-no,” she stammered.
His eyes immediately locked onto the bag she was carrying. “What’s that? Where are you going?”
She tried to skirt around him, but he cut her off.
“Ismay? What’re you doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said. “I’m leaving.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t sleep.”
“Where will you go?”
“To see my brother.”
“At the hotel?”
“Yes.” She didn’t want him to know she was going to Bo’s, didn’t want to take the risk that Bo would be penalized for trying to help her.
“Do you know how far that is?” he asked.
She eyed the front door, but she’d have to go around him to reach that, too. “Of course. I can get an Uber.”
“Why don’t we sit down and talk for a few minutes?” He tried to take her bag, but she jerked it out of his hold.
“I don’t want to talk. My brother’s expecting me. I have to go.”
“Is something wrong?”
She wouldn’t be leaving in the middle of the night if there wasn’t, so she didn’t bother denying it. “You know what’s wrong.”
“Remy,” he guessed.
She nodded. “Now...if you’ll excuse me.”
“He won’t like it that you’re leaving,” he said, his voice a warning. “He always has to be on top, the one to say goodbye.”
“I don’t care,” she said.
“You think he’ll just let you go?”
She was more afraid of Bastian trying to stop her. Was he projecting his own controlling nature onto Remy? She’d known her former fiancé wasn’t the most nurturing person, but he’d never given her reason to be afraid of him. “I’m not asking for permission.”
There was a noise at the back door, after which they heard movement in the kitchen and Bo came into the room. He had a bat in one hand, which made him look even more formidable than he usually did. “You ready?” he said as soon as he saw her.
Shit. She hated that Bastian had held her up long enough that Bo felt he had to come in. “Yeah. I’m... I was on my way,” she said.
“You used your key to let yourself into this house in the middle of the night?” Bastian said to Bo. “While I’m here?”
Bo’s gaze shifted from Ismay to Bastian. “You’ve been acting a little unpredictable lately, Bastian. Your behavior tonight—with all the drinking and wandering around and muttering to yourself—spooked her. So I said she could come stay with me.”
Ismay had just told him something different, and he immediately called her on it. “The hotel, huh?” he said. “You’re not going to the hotel. You’re going to stay in the bungalow I fucking own!” Bastian gestured at the bat. “And what, exactly, were you going to do with that?”
Bo lowered the arm that carried it, but his expression suggested he’d use whatever he needed to—if it came right down to it. “Just making sure there won’t be any problems.”
“How dare you?!” Bastian cried. “You work for me! You’re only staying on this property because of the kindness and generosity of my family—”
“It’s not a handout,” Bo interrupted, his voice almost a growl. “I’m staying on the property because it’s a good place for a caretaker to be, and it’s part of my compensation package, which I earn, by the way, so don’t act like you’re doing me any fucking favors.”
Bastian seemed shocked that Bo would come back at him so strongly. “Whoa! The real Bo comes out.”
“That’s right,” Bo snapped. “So don’t push me.” He gestured with his free hand for Ismay to walk over to him. “Let’s go.”
“You two are making a big mistake,” Bastian said. “I keep trying to warn you, but you won’t listen.”
“We have the right to live our lives as we see fit,” Bo said. “The fact that I’m working for your parents doesn’t change that.”
“And are you going to live your lives together?” Bastian asked.
“That’s nothing you need to worry about.” Ismay spoke up so Bo wouldn’t have to take all the heat. “We’re both single adults. We can do what we want.”
“Oh, boy!” Bastian clapped his hands. “I can barely wait for Remy to get here.”
Bo’s hand closed around her wrist as soon as she reached him, and he led her out while Bastian started to whoop and holler, saying all hell was going to break loose.
“This is going to be one hell of a summer!” he yelled after them, but Ismay didn’t reply and neither did Bo. Bo’s hand slipped down to catch hers, and they laced their fingers together as they jogged down the porch steps to the damp earth.
“You okay?” he murmured when they reached the ground.
“I’m fine,” she replied. “Just sorry Bastian caught me before I could get out. I really didn’t want you to have to come inside. I feel terrible that I’ve dragged you into this when it isn’t your fight.”
“I guess it’s my fight now,” Bo said. “Because there’s no way I’m going to let that douchebag, or his douchebag brother, give you any trouble.”
Ismay was out of breath from all the excitement. “Everything that’s happened since I left LA has been...” She shook her head, unable to find the words.
“I’m sorry,” he said as they reached his front door.
“Don’t apologize. Because the thing is...”
“What?” He’d lowered his voice as he let them in so they wouldn’t disturb Jack, and she followed suit.
“It hasn’t all been bad.”
“It hasn’t been very good,” he said as he set the bat aside.
She caught him before he could advance any farther into the house. “We could always make it better,” she whispered and kissed him.
He didn’t want to do it, but Bo managed to make himself set Ismay aside. He told her she was on the rebound at the moment and in no position to get involved with him or anyone else, and he made himself a bed on the couch, so she could have the privacy of his room. But then he lay there, his senses filled with the smell of her hair and the taste of her kiss—until enough minutes passed that he began to fear she’d go to sleep and he’d miss his opportunity, which propelled him to his feet.
When he knocked on the door, he wasn’t sure if she’d heard him—he’d done it softly so he wouldn’t wake her brother—and was just ordering himself to go back to the couch where he belonged, when she opened the door a few inches and looked out at him.
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know if—I don’t know what, exactly, you were offering out there, but...”
She didn’t help him by clarifying. Her eyebrows arched as she gave him an innocent expression. “But?”
“Whatever it is, I want it too badly to turn it away.” He lowered his voice even more. “You’d be wise to say no,” he added.
A sexy smile curved her lips. “You’re advising me against getting physical with you, but you’ll take it if I’m still offering?”
Feeling a bit sheepish, he stretched his neck. “I guess that about sums it up.”
She’d been teasing him, obviously. She sobered as her eyes met his, but she didn’t make a move to let him in, so he nodded and turned to go.
“Wait,” she whispered, and caught his hand.
His heart started to race as she pulled him into the room with her. Now that she was no longer behind the door, he could see that she wasn’t fully dressed. “You’re gorgeous,” he said as he slid a hand inside the white tank top she was wearing with nothing but a pair of panties. “You should really send me away.”
Her eyes closed as his palm reached her breast. “You said that already,” she whispered.
“Because it’s true.”
“Why would I do that?”
“For all the reasons I gave you before. And I don’t have any birth control.”
She chuckled breathlessly as he slid his other hand up under her shirt. “I’m on the pill. And you gave me one reason. You said I was on the rebound.”
“Isn’t that true?”
“Who can say? I know my future looks a lot different than it did just a couple of weeks ago. But Remy and I have been struggling for a while. This summer was supposed to bring us back together. Instead, it’s broken us apart—before he could even get here. All I can tell you right now is that I’m completely untethered and have no idea where I might drift. It’s frightening, but it’s also...liberating.”
“I don’t want to add to your confusion—” He started to pull away, but she caught his hands and kept them on her breasts.
“The only thing I know I want is to feel your mouth on mine, your skin against mine, your arms and legs intertwined with mine as we make love, which is shocking, because I should be too hurt to be thinking of that.”
“Maybe you’re looking for revenge.”
“I don’t think so. I feel relieved, set free. Not angry.”
“You just made it impossible for me to stop,” he said. “You realize that?”
She smiled as she pulled her shirt over her head. “Why would you stop?”
As he gazed down at what she’d revealed, he couldn’t help bringing his mouth to her breast. Maybe she was looking for an escape from what she was going through, a few moments to feel good and receive some emotional support. He was happy to provide that. It was everything that might come afterward that could become a problem...
But he’d already screwed up his job. He was pretty sure there’d be no saving it, not once Annabelle heard what Bastian had to say. And he couldn’t believe an educated beautiful woman like Ismay would be interested in him long-term. So what was he really worried about? If he was about to be fired, he wouldn’t be on the island much longer. He needed to go back to Louisiana, anyway.
She tugged on the T-shirt he was wearing with a pair of basketball shorts, so he took it off. Then she slid her arms around his neck, bringing her breasts in contact with his chest, and he thought he might climax before he even made it to the bed.
What the hell, he thought. Something like this didn’t come along every day. After what he’d been through, no one knew better than he did how important it was to savor the good times.