Sanctuary

Sunday. They have to be cleaned and resupplied for incoming guests by three.”
    “More housekeeping. What the hell did they do when you weren’t here?”
    “Kate lost the two girls she had on cottage duty the week before I got here. They took jobs on the mainland. And since I’m here, and so’s Lexy, she hasn’t bothered to replace them yet.”
    “How many are on your list?”
    “Six.”
    He considered, nodded, rose. “Well, then, we’d better get started.”
    “We?”
    “Sure. I can handle a vacuum cleaner and a mop. And this way you’ll get done faster and we’ll have time to find the least occupied spot on the beach and neck for a while.”
    She shifted, slid her feet—her incredibly happy feet, she had to admit—into her shoes. “Maybe I know a couple of spots—if you’re as handy with a vacuum cleaner as you are with reflexology.”
    “Jo Ellen.” He put his hands on her hips in a gesture she found shockingly intimate. “There’s something you should know.”
    He was still married. He was under federal indictment. He preferred bondage to straight sex. She let out a little breath, amazed at herself. She hadn’t been aware she possessed that much imagination. “What is it?”
    “I’m thinking about sleeping with you too.”
    She snorted a laugh, backed up. “Nathan, that’s been a load on my mind since you found your way back to Desire.”
     
     
    HE was so happy to be back, to be so close to her. Just watching her brought him that quick zing of anticipation for what was to come. In his own good time.
    He thought he might prolong it. After all, he’d planned carefully and money was no problem. He had all the time in the world. It would be even more satisfying to lull her into complacency, to watch her relax, bit by bit. Then he would yank her back, a brisk tug on the chain she wasn’t aware linked them.
    She’d be afraid. She’d be confused. She would be all the more vulnerable because of the calm he’d provided before he rearranged the composition.
    Yes, he could wait. He could enjoy the sun and the surf and before long he would know every minute of her routine. Just the way he’d known her habits in Charlotte.
    He would let her drift along, maybe even fall in love a little. And what delicious irony that was.
    All the while she would have no idea that he was there to control her fate, to grasp his own destiny. And to take her life.

SIXTEEN
    “ I DON’T see why you can’t take one day off, just one, and spend some time with me.”
    Giff put his nail gun down, sat back on his heels, and studied Lexy’s sulky face. It was one of those wicked whims of nature, he supposed, that made that pouty look so damned appealing to a man. “Honey, I told you this was going to be a busy week for me. And it’s only Tuesday.”
    “What difference does it make what day it is?” She threw her hands up in the air. “Every day around here is the same as the other.”
    “Well, I’ll tell you what difference it makes to me.” He skimmed a hand over the edge of the decking he’d completed. “I told Miss Kate that I’d have this porch addition finished and screened in by Saturday.”
    “So you’ll have it done by Sunday.”
    “I told her Saturday.” That, to Giff, said everything. But since it was Lexy he was talking to, he worked up the patience to spell out the rest. “The cottage is booked for next week. Since she needs Colin at the campground full-time right now, and Jed’s got this week of school to finish before the summer break, I’ve got to see to it on my own.”
    She didn’t care about the damn porch. The floor was nearly finished anyway. How long could it take to put a silly roof on it and screen it in? “Just a day, Giff.” She crouched down next to him, letting all her charm slide into her voice as she kissed his cheek. “Just a few hours. We can take your boat over to the mainland. Have a nice lunch in Savannah.”
    “Lex, I just can’t spare the time. Now if I can get this done, we can go next Saturday. I can juggle some things around, and we can take the whole weekend if you want.”
    “I don’t want to go Saturday.” Her voice lost its purr and edged toward mulish. “I want to go now.”
    Giff had a five-year-old cousin who was just as insistent on having her way and having it now. But he didn’t think Lexy would appreciate the comparison. “I can’t go now,” he said patiently. “You can take the boat if you’re so antsy to get gone. Go do some