Read Online Take Me If You Dare by Candace Havens - Free Book Online

the beach. It was a place where those with money, who valued their privacy, went to relax. The woman had the funds, but he wondered why Mariska had picked it. She didn’t seem like someone who liked the solitary life.
    Well, she wasn’t exactly solitary.
    How the hell did I end up at a beach resort with this woman?
    What would she expect from him? He was used to lying, but it didn’t feel right to do something false with Mariska. Well, any more than he’d already done.
    Jackson wasn’t one to live with regrets or guilt, but he didn’t like using her.
    If it keeps you alive it’ll be worth it.
    It wasn’t that he didn’t want her.
    That’s the problem. I want her too much. And she’s too damn good for the likes of me. The last thing she needs is some renegade spook putting her life in danger.
    He should deposit her in her room, and make an excuse that he had business back in the city. He’d accidentally keep her computer and send it to her when he heard from Dawson. Honestly, he had no idea why his handler had arranged for them to meet. The more he had come to know Mariska, the less the dots connected.
    They stood on the beach watching the horizon. The waves lapping against the shore were the only sound, and it was the most peaceful moment Jackson had experienced in years. He forced himself to concentrate on the scene before him and let his mind rest for a few seconds. He could figure out his next move later.
    “Is it me or does the sun seem even bigger here.” Her voice was soft as a feather and full of awe. She leaned back against his chest. It seemed such a natural move, like they’d been together for years. Automatically, he wrapped his arms around her.
    After all, the woman deserved some comfort after what they’d been through. She was a trouper, this one, and hadn’t complained about the zigzag path he tore through Bangkok to lose the tail they’d picked up while trying to leave the hotel. The dark black sedan that had followed them at the airport had been waiting outside the garage. Knowing it might be a possibility, Jackson had planned ahead, and lost the car about three minutes into the chase. Then after he was sure they were safe, he’d backtracked to make sure the casino thugs thought they’d gone the opposite direction.
    Mariska had held tight to him, never saying a word, though he did feel her hands fist with nerves a few times. Hell, if he hadn’t been gripping the handlebar of the Japanese motorcycle he might have been doing the same thing. If he told her to lean right or left she did, never questioning his instincts.
    He was surprised that she didn’t begin her nervous chattering as soon as they were free of the nuisance. He figured she needed to process the fact that they’d been so close to danger. The more he was around her the more he realized she wasn’t used to being in the middle of the action.
    “The sun does seem larger,” he said. “Of course that probably has something to do with a serious lack of pollution, which can dull—”
    She slapped at the arm he’d wrapped around her waist. “Don’t ruin it for me with facts, let me have the magic.”
    He grinned. She was definitely a woman who deserved some magic.
    He already knew about her mother, but more research revealed that she’d taken over her mother’s agency right out of college. She had finished her Ph.D. in clinical psychology with an emphasis on the criminal mind.
    That explained why textbook-wise she seemed like a smart investigator, but she didn’t have many practical skills.
    The confidence he’d seen earlier had been an act. He knew that now and it made him like her even more. She did whatever it took to get the job done. That was something they had in common. She also had goodnatural instincts. At the club and the massage parlor she’d acted the parts as if she’d been born to them.
    She needed to work on watching the world around her. Maybe he could teach her to be more observant before they had to part