Read Online Charmed and Dangerous by Lori Wilde - Free Book Online

never again. She made it a habit to stay away from dangerous guys like the one sitting beside her.
    The sun hunkered on the horizon, a big orange smoldering ball. The mingled smells of pungent fish, aromatic frangipani and sweet tropical fruits defined the aroma of Grand Cayman. They drove down the waterfront road passing quaint restaurants, souvenir shops and financial institution after financial institution after financial institution.
    “What’s with all the banks?” she asked, abandoning the struggle to tame her hair.
    “Offshore accounts, laundered mob money, tax evaders. The Caymans are a great place to stash cash you don’t want other people knowing about.”
    “I see.”
    David leaned back in the seat in a casual but oddly alert posture, like a male lion guarding his pride. One arm lay draped over the steering wheel, his other elbow rested against the window. Maddie tilted her head and surreptitiously studied his profile.
    The wind tousled his short, golden brown hair. It gave him a relaxed, simple look and stirred a surprising appetite inside her. An appetite she tried to pass off as hunger. She hadn’t eaten anything all day except two handfuls of roasted almonds on the plane.
    Without meaning to, Maddie found herself wondering what it would feel like to run her fingers through that thick, unruly hair. What would his heated skin taste like against her tongue?
    Her errant thoughts spun dizzily, wildly as she pondered how his warm body would feel straddling hers, moving over her, supplying them both with stark physical pleasure.
    Beneath her skin, a strange hotness extended, throbbing outward. Something about him, something mysterious yet fundamentally masculine, called to her. But Maddie was determined to ignore the summons.
    Her hormones did not easily influence her. Unlike her earthy twin, she had never been a slave to either her libido or her impulses. So why now was her brain sending her body a dozen frantic messages all centered on sating her sexual desires?
    The uncharacteristic bent of her thoughts alarmed her and she quickly jerked her gaze away from his face, but not before he caught her giving him the once over.
    Jeez, she’d practically been drooling.
    His eyes narrowed, his thick lashes lowered as he swept a glance at her lap. Maddie looked down. Her denim skirt had ridden up, revealing a yard of thigh.
    One eyebrow quirked on his forehead and he grinned like a man with a dirty secret. The faint laugh lines at the corners of his eyes deepened, making him somehow—impossibly—even more good-looking.
    Damn him.
    Maddie tugged her skirt down as far as it would go, which unfortunately wasn’t far enough to extinguish the heat burning her cheeks.
    Both sets of ’em.
    “Eyes on the road, Mister.”
    “I could say the same thing to you.” David chuckled. “I caught you checking me out.”
    Disgruntled with her unruly hormones, Maddie snapped her head around, stared purposefully out the passenger window and wondered why she was having such a hard time breathing normally.
    The sun slipped below the horizon. All along the waterfront festive lights flicked on. Bonfires blazed on the beach. Yachts on dinner cruises bobbed in the harbor. People strolled the sidewalks in brightly colored casual wear. Grand Cayman was a nice island. Too bad she wasn’t here to have a nice time.
    “Where is this place?” she asked.
    “Dead Man’s Cove, tip of the North Shore.”
    “Quaint name,” she said dryly.
    “The Caymans have a bit of a pirate past.”
    “So I’ve gathered. What are we going to do when we get there?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “We’ll play it by ear.”
    “Do you think Shriver is there? With Cassie? Fencing the Cézanne?”
    Was her sister okay? Was Shriver treating her right? Was she getting enough to eat?
    David shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
    “Wow, you’re a real fount of information.”
    “Detective work isn’t an exact