Lip Lock (15 page)

“
I
have?”

“You have no right to kick me off this island. It’s not like you own all the land.” She paused. “Do you?”

“Why do you want to stay?” Molly was up to something. He could feel it in his bones.

She swallowed roughly. “I like it here.”

“What’s really keeping you on the island?” He stood in front of her. “You’re trying to get the blueprint, aren’t you?”

Molly groaned and slumped against the door. “Are we back to that again?”

“Sorry, babe. I didn’t bring the blueprint with me. You’re out of luck.”

“Kyle, I don’t care about the stupid green book.” She rolled her eyes. “Drop this obsession. Move on.”

“No, you move,” he told her through clenched teeth. “Move out. Now.”

“But…but…” She looked wildly around the entry hall.

“On the count of three,” he warned softly. “One…”

“What will the neighbors think?”

He could care less. “Two…”

“Not to mention, we have guests.”

“Three.”

“Ack!” Molly turned around and whipped the door open. She ran out of the house and scurried down the steps.

Kyle was right behind her, determined to get Molly off his property. His pace didn’t falter when he saw his neighbor walking along the circular driveway.

“Oh, hi, Diana,” Molly said breathlessly as she tried to pass the older woman. “Can’t stop and chat.”

“I heard Kyle was back. Kyle!” Diana smiled, the wrinkles along her cheeks deepening. “So good to see you again.”

“Hello, Diana.” He saw Darrell and Bridget turning the corner of the house. He had to get Molly out of here before she opened her mouth and told another whopper of a lie. “If you can excuse me for a moment, I need to see Molly off the—”

“I understand.” The older woman positively beamed and looked at his guests. “Engaged couples only have eyes for each other, you know.”

“Engaged?” Kyle heard Darrell’s surprised voice directly behind him.

“Oh, right.” Diana snapped her fingers. “It’s supposed to be a secret.”

Kyle grabbed a hold of Molly’s arm, his mind working at rapid speed. He had hoped Darrell and Bridget wouldn’t overhear. He thought he could have gotten rid of his “fiancée” before they set eyes on her. No luck. He now had two choices.

He could oust Molly Connors. In front of his guests and neighbors. Have her either arrested or thrown off the island and get her out of his life for good.

But that was the problem. He lost track of Molly last time. If she was working for his competitors, he wanted every move documented.

So that left his second choice. Go with Molly’s lie. Keep her close until the week was over. Real close.

“Yes.” He forced a smile. “Darrell and Bridget, this is Molly.” He swallowed. “My fiancée.”

“I didn’t realize you were engaged,” Darrell said.

“We haven’t announced it yet.” Was that the story Molly fed the islanders? He felt like he was playing catch-up, and he hated that feeling.

Kyle wrapped his hand around Molly’s shoulder and gathered her resisting body close to him. When her heat nestled against his side, his muscles tensed.

Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. But it was too late. He’d committed to this course and he’d finish it.

“Molly, this is Darrell Fields and Bridget Howell of plaza+tag.” He watched Molly shake their hands, noticing the tense edges of her friendly smile. “I brought them down for the week to handle negotiations.”

Bridget’s eyes widened. “You didn’t know we were coming?”

“Kyle gave me some notice today,” Molly replied. “And I’m thrilled to have extra company.”

Oh, yeah
. Kyle reluctantly admired his “fiancée’s” technique.
She’s good
.

“And this is our neighbor, Diana,” he told his guests. As he watched them exchange greetings with the older woman, he felt Molly inch away from him.

He gripped her shoulder. His arm locked.
Not so fast
…If she made a run for it now, it would make him look worse. Damn, he should have gone for the first choice.

Molly glanced up at him. He slowly turned and met her gaze and found her brown eyes flashing with warning.

She
was warning
him?
The woman was audacious. He couldn’t have that. It might be the attitude he wanted in his bed, but not when he had a major business deal on the line.

Kyle slid his hand down her arm and allowed it to rest on the curve of her hip. Molly went rigid as he patted her bottom. The others might take it as a possessive claim and not as the warning it was.

“I just made some coffee,” Molly announced to the group. “Would you like some? How about you, Diana?”

She stepped away, ready to bolt into the house. Kyle knew she was trying to get some distance and a few bodies between them. He moved like lightning and clasped his hand around her wrist.

“That would be wonderful,” Diana replied.

Molly gestured to the front door with one hand and jerked her other hand away from Kyle, but he wouldn’t let go. He rubbed his thumb against the pulse point. It fluttered wildly under his touch.

“So, Darrell, Bridget, where are you from?” Molly asked with a touch of desperation as she made another attempt to break away.

Kyle lowered his hand and speared his fingers through hers. He worked his fingers between hers and held on tight.

“New York,” Darrell said, as they moved toward the house.

“Is that right?” Molly asked as she tried to shake Kyle off, but he wouldn’t let go. “I’ve never been there.”

“I’ll take you there for our honeymoon,” Kyle said.

Molly went rigid. “What a
wonderful
idea,” she replied sweetly as she squeezed his hand tight.

Kyle ignored the powerful grip. Nothing she threw at him was going to change his mind. She’d figure it out. Sooner or later, she’d discover that wherever she went for the next week, he was going to be right there with her.

She had to make a break for it.

Molly glanced at the double doors in the living room. It had just turned dark and she was wearing dark clothes. She could creep around the island undetected and—

“Don’t you agree, Molly?”

Molly flinched and her gaze collided with Kyle’s. He was too close. Way too close. She could feel his heartbeat. It was powerful, solid, and not comforting in the least.

She wanted to get away, but he had her curled up against him as they sat on a very small settee in the formal living room. Every time she tried to get up, he was able to pin her back. Every time she was reminded that he was in charge.

“Whatever you say, Kyle,” she said with an overly bright smile. The guests chuckled, but they didn’t know her statement had an underlying hint of truth.

Because Kyle had caught her and wasn’t done with her. She felt like a field mouse being tormented by a wild cat.

She definitely had to escape.

She had tried when Diana left after coffee. It would have been so simple. She could have walked the neighbor home and kept on walking.

But Kyle had gone with Molly to the door. Worse, he held onto the back of her jeans. Her nerves had been in one messy knot, especially with Kyle’s knuckles brushing against the small of her back.

How was she going to get out of here? Molly kept going over the problem at different angles. The island was very isolated and cold. Rural and hilly. Kyle knew this place better than she.

She also couldn’t get off the island until the ferry arrived. Which was once a day. She
could
try and get one of the islanders to transport her to the mainland on a boat. But in the night? Would they do that? Would anyone?

“I’m going to see to dinner,” she suddenly decided and made her move. He couldn’t argue with that, right? And she needed to get away. For just five minutes. Or better yet, just not touch him.

Because even after all that happened, he still turned her mind to mush. She still got hot all over by his touch. And that was
not
going to work for her.

“Would you like some help?” Kyle asked, rising from the settee.

“See, Darrell?” Bridget asked, swatting her husband on the arm. “Kyle helps Molly in the kitchen.”

“That’s because he hasn’t put the wedding ring on her yet,” Darrell said as he playfully rubbed his arm. “He still has to make a good impression.”

“I don’t need any help, but thank you.” She collected some of the coffee cups and the tray. The tray served well as a shield from Kyle. “You’d probably prefer going into your office. I can call you when dinner’s ready.”

The office was on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen. Kyle must have picked that up because his eyes twinkled in response. “If you like, we can all go in the kitchen.”

“No!” She realized how bad that sounded and tried to soften it with a casual smile. “Stay where you are. I’m a…very messy and…noisy cook. Very noisy. I’m sure it would interrupt you.”

“Molly, you know it’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” Kyle said. “I just can’t keep my eyes off of you.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet.” Bridget turned to Darrell and narrowed her eyes in a pouty glare.

Darrell moved out of swatting distance. “Kyle, try not to make me look bad.”

Molly retreated, grateful for the reprieve. She was stuck for now. Maybe she could make a break for it at daylight. She glanced over her shoulder. Kyle met her gaze, his light green eyes icy and alert.

Make that before daylight.

It was only nighttime and Kyle didn’t think he could last a week of this. Of watching Molly only to remind himself why he was angry with her. A week more of following her, but keeping his emotions detached. Touching her without getting intimate.

He would go crazy.

Because she was proving to be more trouble. More of a threat. She was uncontrollable. Molly was the unforeseen variable in his guarded world.

“Good night, Molly,” Bridget said and yawned. “I don’t know why I’m this tired.”

“Good night,” Molly said, pausing from unloading the dishwasher. “You don’t want to miss the sunrise. It’s so beautiful.”

Kyle’s breath caught in his chest as he watched her face. She seemed to glow from the simple pleasure.

Oh, yeah. He would be crazy before the week was up.

“Good night, Kyle,” Bridget said.

“Let’s talk business tomorrow,” Darrell said as he escorted his wife out of the kitchen.

Kyle gave a nod of agreement and watched the guests leave. He turned and walked out of the kitchen, through the laundry room and to the back door. He slid the deadbolt home and heard it echoing in the quiet, small room.

“What are you doing?” Molly called out to him.

He thought it was self-explanatory. “Locking up.”

“Would that be locking people in, or locking them out?” he heard her muttering loudly.

“What do you think?” he asked. He wished he had a security system installed. That would be top priority when he got back to the mainland.

But for now he had to watch Molly like a hawk and forget about sleeping. Kyle turned off the lights in the laundry and walked back into the kitchen, reminding himself that he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep ever since he met Molly Connors. Or whatever her name was.

“There’s no need to lock the doors,” she said as she wiped her hands on the dish towel. “Everyone on the island is very trustworthy.”

“Everyone?”
He gave her a pointed stare.

“Everyone,” she said as if she didn’t hear the innuendo. “I haven’t heard of any crime since I’ve been here.”

“And how long would that have been?”

Molly shrugged and looked away. “A while.” She cleared her throat, braced her shoulders, and met his gaze head-on. “Kyle, why are you here?”

“Molly, you are wearing my patience.” He rested his elbow on the kitchen counter and looked her in the eye. “Let’s try this again. Why are you here in my house?”

“I needed a place to stay,” she admitted. She opened her mouth to say more, but apparently thought better of it. She pressed her lips tightly together.

“What happened to your truck?”

“It was stolen or towed,” she answered, her shoulders drooping. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know,” he repeated with disbelief.

“That’s right,” she said, her temper flaring. “I don’t know. I reported it stolen and I haven’t heard anything else about it.”

“Maybe if you had stuck around you would have found out it was stolen and it turned up.”

“It did?” Her expression brightened at the news. “Was there anything left?”

“Just the sofa.”

“Why is it no one wants that sofa? I couldn’t even give it away to charity.” She shook her head and paused. She tilted her head and looked at him. “How do you know about my truck?”

“It was in the report.”

Her eyebrows dipped as she frowned. “Why would the police give you a report?”

“The police didn’t.” She could figure out the rest for herself. He wasn’t surprised that it didn’t take her long.

“You—” She glanced in the direction of the stairs and dropped her voice a level. “You had me followed?”

“Molly, if I had you followed, you would never have had the chance to step into this house.”

“That’s true,” Molly said. “But then how did you know?”

“I had you investigated.”

“Aha!” She jabbed a finger at him. “That’s the same thing!”

“No, it’s not.” He noticed that her reaction wasn’t what he expected. He wanted to see guilt. Concern. Panic. Instead he saw righteous anger. Either she’d led a life of good, clean living or she was a sociopath. Either possibility did not sit well with him. “Is Molly Connors your real name?”

Her mouth dropped open with shock. “I don’t believe this,” she said in a daze.

“Well?” He didn’t want to give her time to concoct a story. “Is it?”

She tossed the dish towel onto the counter. “I’m going to bed,” she announced. “Good night.”

Molly marched out of the room. Kyle made sure he was right behind her. He quietly turned off the kitchen lights, noticing that she never did explain why she chose to stay at his house.

She went up the stairs and he followed her. He found that suspicious. Did she plan to jump off the balcony? Wiggle her way out of the bathroom window? But that would ruin her plan, wouldn’t it? There was a reason she was here the same week plaza+tag came for a visit. Her mission was far from accomplished.

Molly stopped on one of the steps and looked over her shoulder. She glared at him when she discovered he was one step away from her.
Too bad
, Kyle thought.
She had better get used to it
.

When she showed no signs of moving, Kyle decided it was time to share the step. His placed his foot between hers and moved up. His chest rubbed her back, one vertebrae at a time.