In the Arms of Danger

FOUR

Splashing in the Bermuda waters, two strong hands wrapped around Taylor's middle, bringing her against a muscular male chest. She leaned back and covered his hands with her own. His heady scent covered her as his tender lips trailed kisses down her neck. She smiled and cuddled against him, her heartbeat accelerating. His hot breath tickled her skin, and she laughed.

The man holding her in the warm beach water was merely a dream. Being with Cory all those years ago had been wonderful...but he was dead. Right? She wanted to open her eyes and look at his face, but her eyelids were too heavy and wouldn't cooperate. She couldn't move her arms, either. They were dead weights against her sides.

The more she struggled to lift her arms and hold him closer, the faster the man faded from her mind. The pressure against her body decreased to nothingness.

With a gasp, Taylor bolted up in bed. The sheet had been tangled around her body, pinning her. Breathing irregularly, she glanced around the room to get her bearings.

My room...in Dad's house.

Letting out a deep sigh, she swiped back the hair that had fallen across her face as she lay down. She blinked and breathed slower; happiness still ran rapid through her chest because of the dream. This was definitely not a good emotion to have at this particular moment.

Cory Ross. Alive? How could that have happened? She saw him shot. Saw him fall. Nobody could survive that...could they?

Taylor squeezed her eyes closed. Why couldn't he have remained dead? She didn't want to have feelings for a murderer. Was she now in more danger than her dad had realized?

Oh no! Again, she sat up with a start.

Instead of trying to keep her safe, her father had invited mayhem into his house under the guise of a bodyguard. Although her father must know Cory from somewhere, he obviously didn't know Cory had killed a man.

She slipped out of bed and rubbed her hands over her face, the motion bringing her fully awake. The nap she'd just taken had been needed, but now she had to think about the future.

Her future with her new bodyguard.

Threading her fingers through her hair, she walked to the bathroom. The woman who stared back at her in the mirror looked pathetic. So many times as a child she had wished to grow up so she could leave her over-protective father, leave the comfort and security of Mitchell Mansion, and live as a regular person. She'd been determined to control her life. Alone. With no help from her father.

Yet the reflection in the mirror resembled the girl from her past. The girl she never wanted to be again. The only way to be the woman she was this morning was to face her father and demand he release Cory Ross from his current position as her protector. She didn't want to rely on someone ever again.

Especially since he was a killer.

If her father insisted that she have a bodyguard, she'd find one herself.

On her way down the hall, she peeked into her daughter's room. Heavy curtains had been pulled closed over the window, letting only a small amount of light inside. She tiptoed to the bed. Meggie lay curled on her bed, asleep. So small. So helpless. Poor girl. Would she ever forget today's terror? Taylor certainly wouldn't.

As she continued down the long hallway toward the stairs, she passed a large framed picture on the wall of an ocean as the moon settled in the horizon at sunset. Her heart twisted, and her mind spun with memories. Bermuda had been so beautiful, especially at dusk.

She'd only been on vacation there one day before she noticed Cory on the beach. She, and her friend, Susan, had been laying out on their beach chair, soaking in the sun's rays, and checking out all the good-looking guys when her attention landed on one of them.

Dressed in a pair of light blue shorts... and nothing else, Taylor couldn't stop watching the muscular, tanned, gorgeous man with the wavy black hair, playing volleyball with a bunch of other people. She didn't know if they were all friends, but the longer she watched and listened to their conversations, the more she could see that most of them didn't know each other.

After about thirty minutes, the ball rolled toward her, coming to a stop by her feet. She moved off her beach chair, and picked up the ball. Some of the men in the game, motioned for her to come over, and being a girl who wanted to meet men anyway, she didn't turn down the offer. She reached the net and threw the ball to the nearest player, who happened to be another good-looking man.

"Hey, do you want to play," the guy asked.

It wasn't that she'd never played volleyball before, but she didn't think she was that great. "I don't know..."

"Oh, come on," the man said. "It's fun, and we need another player on our side."

She moved her gaze to the guy she'd been watching for the past little while. He smiled at her and nodded, pointing to the space next to him.

"Yeah, play with us. You can stand by me."

Her heart skipped a beat. "I'm not that good." She shrugged.

"That's all right. We all help each other."

Taylor glanced back at her friend. Susan still lounged on the chair with her sunglasses on, and in the same position she'd been the last time Taylor looked at her friend. Apparently, Susan had fallen asleep. Playing volleyball with a lot of good looking men suddenly became more interesting than sitting on a beach chair all afternoon.

"Sure, why not." Taylor smiled.

As she passed the players on her side, they greeted her and told them her name. She, of course, told them her name. When she stopped near the man with the great body, his grin widened.

"I'm Cory."

"I'm Taylor."

They resumed the game, and she realized how much fun she had. So, she missed hitting the ball when it was knocked to her, but she hadn't worried about it. All of those playing the game were goofing off, or showing off their muscular bodies, so it really didn't matter.

When the ball was smacked toward her, she dove for it, but missed. Thankfully, someone else hit it. However, when she stumbled to the ground, two strong arms kept her from plowing her face into the sand. Lifting her, he purposely pressed her against his hot, hard, body. She looked into his eyes...and lost her breath. His gray eyes were so dreamy, she literally felt herself melting.

Or it could have been the heat from Bermuda's hot weather.

She laughed off the tingles of desire shooting through her, and continued on with the game.

Soon, the exhausted players ended the game. Closing her eyes, she stretched her achy arms above her head as she took in deep breaths of air. It had been a long time since she'd been put through such a workout.

"Want a drink?"

She snapped open her eyes. Cory stood in front of her, holding a water bottle, still dripping with the ice water from the cooler where it had been kept.

"Yes, thanks."

Taylor unscrewed the lid, brought it to her mouth, and tipped it back. Cory copied her actions, but held her gaze the whole time. Butterflies danced in her stomach. She was definitely interested in getting to know him better, and by the heated way he watched her, she suspected he felt the same.

"There, you are."

Susan's voice jerked Taylor out of the staring contest with Cory. She lowered the bottled water and smiled at her friend. "Yeah, I'm here. I've been playing volleyball." She motioned to Cory. "This is Cory. Cory, this is my friend, Susan."

Cory reached a hand out to Susan in a polite handshake, but Susan rolled her eyes and glared at Taylor, ignoring Cory's hand.

"We need to get going," Susan snapped. "It's almost four o'clock."

Where had the time gone? Laughing uncomfortably, Taylor turned toward Cory. "It was fun playing volleyball with you, and it was a pleasure to meet you."

"Same here." He nodded.

Disappointment washed over Taylor. If only they could have talked more. But Susan had to get a pedicure at four o'clock, and of course, that was more important than being with a hot guy.

She waved. "Catch you around." As she turned to leave, his warm fingers wrapped around her wrist, stopping her. Excitement jumped in her chest.

"Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?"

She smiled, not being able to stop it. She was sure he could see how enthused she was over the invitation. "Sure," she said quickly...and then remembered about her friend. She frowned as she glanced at Susan. "Oh, but..."

"Your friend can come, too," he said.

Susan flipped a manicured hand in the air. "No, go ahead and go to dinner with him. I won't be a burden."

Taylor turned back to Cory, hoping he couldn't tell how every nerve in her body jumped with excitement right now. "What time?"

"Seven?"

She nodded. "Do you want me to meet you there?"

He shrugged. "I thought about having dinner over there," he pointed in the direction of the outdoor restaurant where a live Mariachi band had continuously played all afternoon.

"Sure. I'll meet you there at seven."

He smiled, but his lips titled slightly as one side of his mouth lifted higher than the other. And the dimple in his cheek was simply adorable.

"See you." He winked, turned, and walked away.

As she headed back toward her hotel, she felt as if her feet were on clouds. She had loved this feeling...wanted more of it.

Taylor snapped out of her memories of yesteryear and realized she'd been standing on the edge of the stairs. Sighing, she slowly descended the long, winding stairs toward her father's den. As she reached the main level of her father's estate, men's voices rose and echoed through the corridor. With each step closer, her legs shook, and the rhythm of her heart cranked up a notch.

What were Cory's memories of their time in Bermuda? Had he wondered where she'd been all these years? Was he upset because his little wife hadn't stayed behind to care for him? Of course, she thought he was dead. And she was scared to death from what she'd learned about Cory Ross... the man she had been in love with.

Wiping her moist hands against the T-shirt with a hint of tummy showing, she slowed her steps as she neared the room. With her bottom lip pulled between her teeth, she hesitantly peeked inside.

Her father sat behind his huge oak desk, leaning back in the chair as he drummed his fingers on the desktop. His jaw hard, eyes narrowed as they aimed toward the window. Pacing the floor was Zack Jacobs, her father's right-hand man. Her father didn't want to acknowledge Zack as his bodyguard, although that's how Zack earned his paycheck. Right after she graduated high school eight years ago, Zack had become part of her family.

She moved her gaze to the man standing by the far window and sucked in a breath.

Cory Ross.

Or Agent Ross, as her father had referred to him.

With his shoulder against the window frame and his arms folded across his chest, his profile made her heart stop, if only for a brief second. The descending sun highlighted his physique, creating a halo about him.

Halo? She rolled her eyes. He should have horns sprouting from his head and a pitchfork in his hand. And he'd be standing in a light of fire.

She could not think of him as they'd been. He was a liar and a murderer, and she'd never forgive him for what he'd done.