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Authors: Robyn Donald
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smartly. ‘New Zealand spends summer under a huge hole in the ozone layer, and wearing hats and slapping on sunscreen at frequent intervals has become part of our national character.’
Cade had to hide a smile. Over lunch, served on the terrace, he asked her about her childhood and, although she spoke readily enough about that, she was surprisingly reticent about other aspects of her life. He already knew she’d been engaged once, but when he’d provided her with an opportunity to mention it, she hadn’t.
Which proved nothing, he thought, irritated by a potent mixture of feelings—the sensual hunger somehow magnified by a growing protectiveness. Clearly she didn’t feel her parents had abandoned her. In fact, she’d snapped at the bait he’d dangled in front of her by mentioning that Fleur Chapman might be able to help them in their mission of mercy.
So the fact that they’d more or less left her to her own devices once she’d left secondary school didn’t seem to concern her. He felt an odd sympathy, remembering his own parents’ sacrifices—the money saved for a trip to France, the gap year they’d insisted on financing …
During the afternoon meeting he found it surprisingly hard to concentrate; his mind kept slipping back to the smooth fall of Taryn’s hair, turned by the sun into aflood of burnished copper, the way her crisp voice was softened by an intriguing husky undertone, her open pleasure in the food.
And that, he thought grimly as he headed back to their
fale,
was something new; no other woman had come between him and work. He’d liked his lovers, enjoyed spending time with them—even Louisa, before she’d decided to change the rules of their relationship. But his previous women had only occupied a small niche in his life.
Taryn Angove was different. How different? He searched for a word to describe her, and could only come up with fresh—
fresh
and apparently frank, intensely seductive.
Had Peter too thought she was different?
Cade welcomed the acid bite of that thought; it dragged his mind back to focus. He couldn’t afford to let his hormones overpower his brain cells.
A call on his cell phone interrupted him; he stopped beneath a large spreading tree with brazen scarlet flowers and spoke to the private detective who’d been investigating Taryn.
When the call was over he pocketed the cell phone and punched one hand into the palm of his other. Beneath his breath, he said explosively, ‘Why the hell did you have to do it, Peter? Why didn’t you just laugh straight back in her face and find a woman who could love you? Why take the coward’s way out?’
The bitter words shocked him into silence. He lifted his gaze to the sea, but saw Taryn walking across the sand towards the
fale,
the
pareu
slung across her hips emphasising their seductive sway. Water turned her hair into gleaming copper and gilded her skin so that she seemed to walk in a golden, shimmering aura. She waseven more alluring than the images his brain had been conjuring all afternoon.
Heated desire gripped him so fiercely he had to turn away. It would be no hardship to seduce her, he thought grimly, no hardship at all.
Yet he could not. Dared not. Never before had hunger fogged his brain, whispering a temptation he wanted to yield to.
CHAPTER FIVE
C ADE dragged his gaze away from Taryn, trying to clear his mind by fixing his attention on the hibiscus bush a few feet away. The fiercely magenta heart of each flower glowed in a silken gold ruff, hues so intense he was reminded of the time he’d visited an official mint and watched molten gold being poured.
Taryn had a quick, astute brain and plenty of character, so she was unlikely to be drifting without purpose. Yet since she’d got back from England her only job had been selling souvenirs to summer tourists, and she certainly didn’t seem to be in a hurry to find more work.
He found himself strongly resisting what should have been the obvious reason. If she
Cade had to hide a smile. Over lunch, served on the terrace, he asked her about her childhood and, although she spoke readily enough about that, she was surprisingly reticent about other aspects of her life. He already knew she’d been engaged once, but when he’d provided her with an opportunity to mention it, she hadn’t.
Which proved nothing, he thought, irritated by a potent mixture of feelings—the sensual hunger somehow magnified by a growing protectiveness. Clearly she didn’t feel her parents had abandoned her. In fact, she’d snapped at the bait he’d dangled in front of her by mentioning that Fleur Chapman might be able to help them in their mission of mercy.
So the fact that they’d more or less left her to her own devices once she’d left secondary school didn’t seem to concern her. He felt an odd sympathy, remembering his own parents’ sacrifices—the money saved for a trip to France, the gap year they’d insisted on financing …
During the afternoon meeting he found it surprisingly hard to concentrate; his mind kept slipping back to the smooth fall of Taryn’s hair, turned by the sun into aflood of burnished copper, the way her crisp voice was softened by an intriguing husky undertone, her open pleasure in the food.
And that, he thought grimly as he headed back to their
fale,
was something new; no other woman had come between him and work. He’d liked his lovers, enjoyed spending time with them—even Louisa, before she’d decided to change the rules of their relationship. But his previous women had only occupied a small niche in his life.
Taryn Angove was different. How different? He searched for a word to describe her, and could only come up with fresh—
fresh
and apparently frank, intensely seductive.
Had Peter too thought she was different?
Cade welcomed the acid bite of that thought; it dragged his mind back to focus. He couldn’t afford to let his hormones overpower his brain cells.
A call on his cell phone interrupted him; he stopped beneath a large spreading tree with brazen scarlet flowers and spoke to the private detective who’d been investigating Taryn.
When the call was over he pocketed the cell phone and punched one hand into the palm of his other. Beneath his breath, he said explosively, ‘Why the hell did you have to do it, Peter? Why didn’t you just laugh straight back in her face and find a woman who could love you? Why take the coward’s way out?’
The bitter words shocked him into silence. He lifted his gaze to the sea, but saw Taryn walking across the sand towards the
fale,
the
pareu
slung across her hips emphasising their seductive sway. Water turned her hair into gleaming copper and gilded her skin so that she seemed to walk in a golden, shimmering aura. She waseven more alluring than the images his brain had been conjuring all afternoon.
Heated desire gripped him so fiercely he had to turn away. It would be no hardship to seduce her, he thought grimly, no hardship at all.
Yet he could not. Dared not. Never before had hunger fogged his brain, whispering a temptation he wanted to yield to.
CHAPTER FIVE
C ADE dragged his gaze away from Taryn, trying to clear his mind by fixing his attention on the hibiscus bush a few feet away. The fiercely magenta heart of each flower glowed in a silken gold ruff, hues so intense he was reminded of the time he’d visited an official mint and watched molten gold being poured.
Taryn had a quick, astute brain and plenty of character, so she was unlikely to be drifting without purpose. Yet since she’d got back from England her only job had been selling souvenirs to summer tourists, and she certainly didn’t seem to be in a hurry to find more work.
He found himself strongly resisting what should have been the obvious reason. If she
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