Ethan stared at the phone and wondered what he’d said to make Dane so angry. His brother wasn’t one to let his emotions drive him...or he never had been. Had that changed? Considering they hadn’t spent too much time together in the past, oh, couple of decades, Ethan couldn’t really consider himself an authority on his brother anymore.
All Ethan had said was that if Robert showed up at Mirage in Sunset Cove, then Ethan wasn’t sure he could wait for Dane to tie up loose ends and get down there to join him. They’d waited all this time, years, to build up their resources, their finances, their power. The time to strike was now and there wasn’t a chance in hell Ethan was going to let Robert slip out of their grasp again.
Ethan didn’t mention that he happened to already be at Mirage. Dane thought he was just in California, but Ethan figured he should keep his plans to himself. He trusted his brother—even with the distance between them, there was no one he trusted more than Dane. They may have grown apart, but they would always have a bond like nothing else in the world. But that didn’t mean his brother needed to know everything.
Shoving his cell back into the pocket of his shorts, Ethan strolled out of the open lobby area and straight toward the beach. While he was waiting on dear ol’ stepdad to make his appearance, there was no reason he couldn’t take in the sights while he waited...and by sights he meant that sexy, lush lady sporting a red bikini. Suddenly he had a new favorite color.
Who said he couldn’t enjoy himself while on the hunt for Robert? Besides, Ethan planned on being at Mirage for a while—like forever.
As soon as he secured this place in his name, as his mother had originally intended, he planned on living right here where he belonged to manage the place and keep it prosperous. The beach, the ocean, they were home. Ethan may have grown up in Montana, but there was nothing like that salty breeze and the sand between his toes.
And the views. Had he mentioned that already? Because he never could understand why anyone would rather be bundled up around a fire when they could be showing off sun-kissed skin and enjoying their favorite beachside beverage.
The lady in red sprayed herself with sunscreen and tossed her bottle back in her striped beach bag. He glanced up and down the shoreline. With this as an adults-only resort, there was a peacefulness not many beaches had. There were no screaming, running children since this was a private island.
Family vacations were great, but Mirage was not that type of destination. His mother, a lifelong romantic, had built two stellar resorts all with couples in mind. Her sense of romance had led to her commercial success, but also her personal downfall. She’d wanted to marry for love, she’d wholeheartedly believed in it, and she had married...but Ethan highly doubted love had entered anywhere in that equation.
Her father had passed and Lara had been left raising two boys on her own. The scenario seemed to be tailor-made for Robert because he obviously preyed on the weak and vulnerable.
The Michaels boys were neither weak nor vulnerable now. They were angry, they were still hurt, and they were ready to fight back. There was nothing Ethan wouldn’t do to honor his mother, and she’d raised strong boys. This was what she would’ve wanted.
Ethan slipped off his flip-flops and looped his fingers around the straps as he made his way across the warm sand.
Walking along the edge of the water always relaxed him, always helped him see a clearer picture. That was why he’d come out to Mirage instead of waiting. He needed to be here to sort through all the mess in his head, to figure out the precise steps he needed to take. He had to act fast, but he also had to be smart about it.
The sexy, curvaceous woman in red glanced his way and Ethan didn’t even try to hide his smile...and he didn’t move when she made her way over. A woman who knew what she wanted was one of the sexiest qualities.
Considering her smile widened as she crossed the sand toward him, well, apparently they wanted the same thing.
* * *
“I’m sorry, sir. Who did you say you were again?”
Dane didn’t fault the young male for questioning the stranger who was in the midst of checking on the generators in the maintenance area. No guest should know where this room was, as rooms dedicated to the staff or the maintenance of the resort were hidden from the guests.
The entire resort had the illusion of running on fairy dust or some other magical oddity. That had been imperative to his mother who wanted couples who came here to only see the perfection, the fantasy, the beauty. “Real life” shouldn’t exist on vacation, she’d always said. And she was correct. People wanted to get away from all cares and responsibilities, and she provided exactly what patrons wanted.
“Dane Michaels,” he stated again as he settled his hands on his hips. “Miss Garcia asked me to check on this and she said you might be down as well since you’re so thorough with your job.”
The BS just rolled off his tongue, but hit the mark as the twentysomething puffed his chest with pride.
“I wasn’t aware we had a new maintenance guy,” the other man said. “But I checked on these yesterday.”
Dane wasn’t about to get into an argument or contradict the guy’s mistaken assumption. But Dane would feel better if he checked on all of the “behind the scenes” things himself. After all, he had to keep up with all sides of his property.
“The storm closed the mountain.” Dane purposely dodged the questioning stare from the other guy. “It’s not going to let up for a few days. These generators will likely be put to use very soon.”
The worker nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”
The radio clipped to his hip crackled and a female voice came over the airwaves. He knew that voice and she may not like knowing he was in here checking things out. He listened as she requested any available hands to get to the dining area to set up for the lunch crowd.
With the storm, so many employees were unable to make their shifts, which meant the ones stuck here were pulling overtime for the foreseeable future.
And that meant Stella would be running from one end of Mirage to the other, taking little time for herself—if any. He’d make sure his mother’s resort was running just fine, the guests were happy, and Stella’s needs were met...every single one.
The worker turned his radio down and started looking over the area with the generators. Dane stood back and crossed his arms over his chest, calculating and contemplating.
“These are all set to go,” Dane assured him. “Aren’t you going to the dining area to help?”
The boy shrugged. “Other workers will help out.”
Dane stared at the back of the guy’s head and clenched his jaw to keep from yelling at the boy for his lazy, entitled attitude. In due time. This jerk had no clue who Dane was or that he’d be fired for that earlier comment as soon as Dane was in charge.
“This is all covered,” Dane stated once again. “You and I can both pitch in. This is a nasty storm and every employee here needs to help anywhere they can.”
The other guy stood up and turned, his brows drawn in. “I thought Mitch was over maintenance. What’s your position?”
Higher than yours, asshole.
“Miss Garcia is waiting on help.” Dane gestured toward the doorway. “Let’s go.”
Dane thought there was going to be an argument, but the guy finally nodded and headed out the door. There was no need to let Stella know about her lazy employee, but Dane wouldn’t forget the kid.
By the time they got to the dining area, several employees, all dressed in black, were already bustling around and setting sprigs of evergreen and simple white votives on each of the tables. The lunch decor was quite a bit different than the dinner ambience. For one thing, it was a lot busier. Many couples chose to eat in their room or one of the fantasy rooms during the evening.
There were little changes Dane saw that hadn’t been implemented while his mother had been here. The changing of decor being one of them. He liked the touches Stella put on the place—no doubt with her father’s permission. The idea of giving the guests a different restaurant feel each time was smart.
The more he saw of Stella—the way she ran this place, the way she actually cared and wasn’t just in this for money or recognition—the more he wondered what his mother would’ve thought of her.
Not that there was any reason to wonder, really. He knew exactly what she’d have thought.
Lara would’ve loved Stella.
Dane crossed the dining room and cursed himself. What the hell did he care what his mother would’ve thought of Stella? The thought was absolutely irrelevant. Stella and her father weren’t going to be part of Mirage much longer and Lara would be proud of Dane for getting back what belonged to him.
There she was. Across the room against the two-story windows encased with stone. Stella had on another one of those sexy little dresses that stopped at her knee...this one in red that made her look only more exotic with that dark skin and hair.
Instead of her usual brown boots, she had on black. There were several inches of bare skin between the top of her boot and the hem of her dress. He clenched his fists, aching to touch her.
Soon, he promised himself.
Stella turned to talk to an employee, pointing in the direction of the kitchen, then she nodded and spun back around. He watched for only a minute before she shifted that dark gaze to him. Even from across the room he could read her body language. She was exhausted, but running on pure determination.
She offered him a soft smile and the gesture hit him square in the gut. Out of this crowd of people she focused on him and the unspoken bond that they shared shouldn’t have his heart clenching, but damn it...
There was no room for distractions, no matter how tempting and captivating. He wanted her physically, something he hadn’t expected. But he could at least control the passion. Desire and sex were easy—as long as he stayed in control, kept himself from getting too attached and kept her away from his ugly scars.
The true problem came from all the other unwanted, unexplained feelings that were flooding in before he had a chance to shut the damn door on his emotions.
Hadn’t he locked that once already? How the hell had this woman, in such a short amount of time, managed to kick it down?
Dane made his way across the room, circling the tables and weaving through chairs not quite set in place yet. Once he reached her, Dane used every ounce of his willpower not to reach out and touch her or to pull her out of this room so he could force her to rest.
But resting wasn’t Stella’s style. They were cut from the same proverbial cloth in that they didn’t rest when there was still work to be done.
“All hands on deck, huh?” he asked when she came to stand right before him.
With a smile and a nod, she replied, “Something like that.”
“What do you want?”
Stella quirked her brow. “That’s a loaded question.”
“It was meant to be.”
He might not be able to touch her, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t let her know exactly what he wanted.
“In that case, I wouldn’t mind being away from here, somewhere secluded so I could do anything I wanted for just one day.” She closed her eyes and sighed before meeting his gaze again. “But since that’s not happening anytime soon, maybe you could check in at the front desk and make sure everything is okay?”
Dane nodded. “Not a problem.”
When he started to turn, she called his name. “Be in my room at eight.”
Already turned on by her demand, Dane leaned toward her to whisper, “You’d better be ready for me.”
Her visual tremble had him whistling on his way out. Damn if she wasn’t sexy. She’d been all authoritative, but then when he’d turned the tables, she practically melted to a puddle.
Dane had every intention of doing whatever he could to help her make sure this storm went unnoticed by the guests. But tonight, well, Stella would be his and there was no better recipe for seduction than to be snowbound with a sultry vixen.