Pages of Passion

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Authors: Dara Girard
Tags: Fiction
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enough.”
    “You think so?” he asked, with more hope than he’d realized.
    Joy sent him a curious look. “They usually do. Why do you sound so surprised?”
    Michael rubbed the back of his neck. “No reason.”
    “What’s up, Vaughn?”
    He let his hand fall. Joy only called him by that namewhen she was determined to uncover something. “Arlene may be more complicated than we thought. She’s done this before. It may be harder to get what we want.”
    “You always get what you want.” Joy leaned back and crossed her legs. “I saw you and Arlene by the pool and it looks like you’ve finally gotten her under your spell.” She paused and traced a circle on the table. “Or is it vice versa?” she asked while watching him as he maintained his distance.
    “It’s not like that,” he said in a gruff voice. He took his dinner jacket out of the closet. “I haven’t been myself. It’s been a crazy trip. First I was hit by a car—”
    Joy flattened her palm on the table and gaped at him. “What? When?”
    “Last night.”
    She jumped out of her chair, rushed over to him and touched his face. “Oh my God! No wonder you disappeared from the party. Why didn’t you tell me?” She measured him with dismay. “Are you sure you should be up?”
    “I’m all right.” For some reason her concern embarrassed him and he stepped away. Joy let her hand fall and composed herself. Years ago they’d had an affair. They had even flirted with the idea of marriage, but their relationship never got to that stage. Although they were now older and wiser and she was still gorgeous, Michael didn’t want to get that close again. Joy must have sensed it because instead of returning to the table, she sat on the edge of his bed, providing Michael with a fabulous view of her legs.
    “I’m lucky it was a sports car and not an SUV,” hesaid to fill the awkward silence. “I didn’t call because I couldn’t talk and I was drugged up until late this afternoon. Besides, Arlene brought me lunch.”
    “Really?” Joy asked, intrigued.
    “Yes, she was the one who found me. She took care of me and checked on me today too.”
    Joy lifted her brows. “I see.”
    “Look, I’m just playing my part. I’ve finally found a way to get to her and I’m going to use it.”
    “Right.” Joy folded her arms. “Ah, now everything’s becoming clear. I see your problem.”
    “You do?”
    “Yes, she’s not Harris’s type.”
    Michael nodded, glad that she agreed. “Exactly. That’s what I thought.”
    “She’s yours.”
    Michael froze and blinked. “I don’t have a type,” he said flatly.
    A small smile curved her lips. “I think you do now.”
    Her superior grin annoyed him. Michael tossed his jacket on the other side of the bed and rested his hands on his hips. “You’ve got it all wrong.” He tapped his chest. “I’m here to do a job and I’m going to do it. I can get any woman I want,” he said, making a broad sweep with his hand to encompass all the women on the ship. “And I’ve gotten plenty. I don’t need to take someone else’s woman.” He lifted his jacket and started to put it on, then took it off and threw it on the bed. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t want one of the dumb, gullible womenHarris uses as his carriers.” He shook his head. “No way. I’m smarter than that.”
    Joy gave him a look of pity.
    “I am,” he said fiercely. “Don’t you believe me?”
    “I thought you said the profile was wrong. That Arlene isn’t dumb or gullible.”
    “That’s right. She isn’t. She’s smart and sweet and creative. You should hear the way she tells stories. And she’s not sure how she feels about Harris. I think she’s trapped somehow. Maybe he has something over her and that ties her to him. But I don’t think she’s happy. She’s been hurt and worries a lot, but I seem to be able to make her smile.”
    Joy’s look became even more pitying.
    Michael frowned. “I’m just telling you the facts.

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