Barefoot in the Sun (Barefoot Bay)(70)
“You live on a resort?”
“I run the gardens.”
That explained the sun-kissed skin and shapely shoulders.
“What do you do?” she asked.
“I don’t run anything,” he admitted. “I just run.”
“From what?” She gave him a curious look, and he cursed himself again. What was wrong with him tonight? The scotch mustn’t be watered down enough.
Instead of answering, he put his hand around the back of the booth, letting his fingers graze her shoulder, getting a quick rise of chill bumps on her arm in response.
“You’re pretty,” he said, happy to note that this time his standard line was actually accurate. She was very pretty, in a simple, sweet, completely real way. Another thing that reminded him of—
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Because I’m still f*cked up. “Because you’re so pretty I forgot what you asked.”
She fought a smile, shaking her head in dismay.
“What do you want to know, pretty Tessa?” Not that he’d tell her anything, ever.
“Why do you have a lethal insect tattooed on your neck?”
He angled his head to let her get a real good look, remembering the unspeakably dark night when he’d gotten the ink in some hellhole off Balestier Road.
“Do you have a death wish or something?” she prompted.
“Something.” He slugged the rest of his scotch. Shit, he’d better keep the small talk focused on her or his survival instinct would have him closing up shop and going home alone. “What about you?”
“Me? Well, I don’t wish for death.”
He stole a look at her, lost for a second in the honesty in her eyes. Damn it, sometimes the small talk wasn’t enough. Maybe this meaningless chatter was a necessary evil before getting a woman on her back but for one brief instant, Ian ached for…more.
More information, more revelation, more than banging a babe to kill the pain for a very short while.
But John Brown couldn’t have more. And Ian Browning best not forget that.
“Then what do you wish for?” he asked, his mouth obviously ignoring the warnings in his head.
“You want the truth?” She dropped her head back, her hair brushing his arm.
Not if she wanted truth in return. “Sure.”
“The fact is, I’m wishing for a man.”
He threaded his finger into her silky locks, gently turning her face toward his. “Looks like you found one.”
“But I want something…specific.” In her eyes, he could see the flecks of gold… and a hell of a lot more. Goodness. Understanding. Truth. All things he could never reciprocate.
“Whatever floats your boat, Just Tessa. I’m yours for the night.” He inched back. “No promises for anything else.” At least he could be that truthful.
He could have sworn she laughed a little as she leaned a centimeter closer. “Actually, that’s perfect.”
He let his lips brush hers, tasting a hint of the ale and something warm and hopeful. Sorry, but he wasn’t her hope, not by a long shot. Whatever pretty Tessa wanted, she’d never get it from him.
But by the time she figured that out, he’d be long gone.
THE DISH
Where Authors Give You the Inside Scoop
From the desk of Debra Webb
Dear Reader,
It’s very exciting to be back again this month with RAGE, the fourth installment of the Faces of Evil series.
Writing a series can be a challenge. There are many threads related to the plots and the characters that have to be kept in line and moving forward (sometimes the characters like to go off on paths of their own!). Former Special Agent Jess Harris and Birmingham Chief of Police Dan Burnett have their hands full as usual. Murder hits close to home in this story and takes us to the next level of evil: rage. We’ve explored obsession, impulse, and power already and there are many more to come. The face of evil is rarely easy to spot. But Jess and Dan won’t rest until they solve the case and ensure the folks of Birmingham are safe.
While I was writing this story, a new character joined the cast. I wasn’t expecting a new character to appear on the page and demand some special attention, but Dr. Sylvia Baron, Jefferson County associate coroner, has a mind of her own. She stepped onto the page in her designer stilettos and her elegant business attire and told me exactly what she wanted to do. From hello Jess and Sylvia butt heads. The two keep Dan on his toes!
I hope you’ll stop by www.thefacesofevil.com and visit with me. There’s a weekly briefing each Friday where I talk about what’s going on in my world and with the characters as I write the next story. You can sign up as a person of interest and you might just end up a suspect!
Enjoy the story and be sure to look for Revenge coming in July and Ruthless in August!
Happy reading!
From the desk of Roxanne St. Claire
I packed a lot of emotional themes and intense subjects into my writer’s beach bag when I penned BAREFOOT IN THE SUN, from faith and trust to life-threatening illness and life-altering secrets. The Happily Ever After is hard-won and bittersweet, but that seems to come with the Barefoot Bay territory. The heroine, Zoe Tamarin, has to overcome a tendency to run away when life goes south, and the hero, Oliver Bradbury, must learn that, despite his talents as a doctor, he can’t fix everything. During their reunion romance, Zoe and Oliver grow to understand the power of a promise, the joy of a second chance, and the awesome truths told by Mother Nature.
But this is Barefoot Bay, so it can’t be all heartache and healing!
In lighter moments, Oliver and Zoe play. They kiss (a lot), they laugh (this is Zoe!), they swim (some might call it skinny dipping), and occasionally Zoe whips out her deck of cards for a rockin’ round of Egyptian Rat Screws (ERS).
I’ve mentioned Zoe’s penchant for ERS in other books, and readers have written to ask about the card game. Many want to know the origin of the name, which, I have to admit, is a complete mystery to me, as the game has nothing to do with Egypt, rodents, or hardware of any kind. The secret of the name is one of many aspects of the game that reminds me of Zoe… a character who reveals in the opening scene of BAREFOOT IN THE SUN that she’s not the person everyone believes she is.
Like the woman who loves to play it, Egyptian Rat Screws is fast-paced, intense, and not for the faint of heart, but I promise a good time. So grab a deck, a partner, and your most colorful curses, and I’ll teach you the two-person version. ERS can also be played with more people, but I find one-on-one is the most intense… like any good romance, right?
The object of the game is simple: The winner ends up holding the whole deck. Of course, play can easily be transformed into something even wilder, such as Strip Rat Screws (Oliver’s favorite) or Drinking Rat Screws, a game our four best friends, Tessa, Lacey, Jocelyn, and Zoe, played a few times in college.
Before playing, the players face each other across a table and choose who goes first. Player One is selected arbitrarily—closest birthday, rock-paper-scissors, or the ever popular “least hormonal.” Leading off is no advantage, so save your voice for more important arguments, because there will be many. Each player gets twenty-six well-shuffled cards and may not look at them.
To begin, Player One flips the first card face-up on the table. If this card is a 2 through 10, Player Two puts her first card on top of the card on the table. Again, if that card is a number card, Player Two goes again.
The action begins when either player puts down a Jack, Queen, King, or Ace. When a face card is revealed, the other player must try to “beat” it by placing another face card of equal or higher value on top of it. Depending on the face card Player One has put down, Player Two has only a certain number of tries to beat it: one for a Jack, two for a Queen, three for a King, and four for an Ace.
If Player Two can’t beat the face card in her allotted number of tries, Player One gets all the cards on the table. (“Strip” ERS losers would shed one article of clothing; drinkers, take a gulp.)
If Player Two lays down another face card in her allotted tries, then Player One has the same number of tries to beat that card. (If more than two players are in the game, just keep moving around the table.) It’s not uncommon for the pile to grow to five or even ten cards, which results in a constant shift of power as each play becomes more and more valuable.
That’s it. Oh, except for the slap rule. And I don’t mean each other. When two of the same card is laid on the pile consecutively, the first player to notice can “slap” the pile and gets to keep all the cards in it. This is why it is very important that a player lays down his or her card without looking at it.
In the case of a simultaneous slap, whoever is on the bottom gets the pile. (Hint: Remove rings and clip nails; there can be blood!)