“Ace, I have eyes on Colton,” Lucky informed him. His cousin sounded too amused for his own good.

  “Where is he?” Ace fumed.

  “Eh, the pool.”

  Ace stormed toward the back of the house and took the steps down two at a time. There in the pool, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world, Colton sat on a pool float in the skimpiest pair of bright blue swim trunks Ace had ever seen. He smiled at Ace, his blue-tinted aviators hiding his eyes. Not that Ace needed to see his eyes to know the man was thrilled at having gotten one over on him. He rubbed sunscreen over his chest.

  “There you are. I was beginning to wonder where you’d gone. My father’s right. I should take some time off, and what’s more relaxing than a swim in the pool? Beautiful day for it, don’t you think?” He held the bottle of sunscreen up. “Would you be a dear and get my back?”

  “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

  “What do you mean? I couldn’t go for a swim without changing.”

  “You weren’t in your room,” Ace replied through his teeth. “You weren’t anywhere.”

  Colton pointed behind him. “I was in the cabana. Where else would I change to get in the pool?”

  If the stalker didn’t kill Colton, Ace just might. “Cut the bullshit, Colton. You were running from me.”

  “Maybe you need to be a little quicker.”

  “Quicker?” Ace inhaled deeply through his nose and let the breath out slowly through his mouth. Since when did he let himself get riled up? No matter how much of a pain in the ass a client could be, he was always calm and in control. He smiled sweetly at Colton. “You know what? You’re absolutely right.” He stepped up to the edge of the pool and crouched down. “Why don’t you hand me that lotion. I’ll help you out.”

  Colton floated over, his grin wide. “See? We’re getting along better already.” He held out the bottle to Ace, and Ace moved Colton closer, turning the pool float so Colton’s back was to him.

  Ace popped open the lotion’s cap and leaned in to murmur by Colton’s ear, aware of the way the man shivered at his husky tone. “You’re right. It’s a beautiful day for a swim.” Colton looked up at him from over his shoulder, his lips parted sensually. He really was a beautiful man. Ace leaned closer, their faces only inches away, and Colton’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink that had nothing to do with the sun. It would appear Colton was as attracted to him now as he’d been when they’d first met. Shame Ace couldn’t do anything about it. Didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun. If Colton wanted to play dirty, Ace was game. “You look a little warm. Let me help you with that.” He dipped his hand beneath the water, grabbed the pool float, and flipped it over with Colton in it.

  Colton yelped and flailed before he hit the water. With a laugh, Ace moved away so he wouldn’t get soaked. He made sure to stand back from the pool when Colton surfaced, sputtering and cursing. Ace straddled one of the lounge chairs closest to Colton, dropped down onto it, and lay back, enjoying the shade of the umbrella. It was still hot as balls, but at least the sun was no longer trying to melt him.

  “Geez, Colton. You should be more careful.”

  Colton let out a frustrated growl as he wiped the water from his face, followed by his hair. He glared daggers at Ace. “Fuck you, Ace.”

  “That’s against company policy, sweetheart, but it’s awfully flattering.”

  Colton scoffed. “Please. Like you could handle this.”

  “Well damn,” Ace said with a laugh, not having expected that. The guy continued to surprise him, which wasn’t an easy feat these days. He also secretly loved the fire Colton possessed. “I see.”

  “No, I don’t think you do.” Colton reached the end of the pool and climbed out like some Bond babe, water dripping from his sleek, well-toned body. He ran his fingers through his hair as he sauntered over and stopped in front of Ace, rivulets of water running down his flat stomach, soaked swim trunks, and long legs.

  Ace trailed his gaze up, his sunglasses allowing him to hide the hunger that undoubtedly filled eyes. He made sure not to linger on the bulge between Colton’s legs. Fuck, was that as gorgeous as the rest of him? Look but don’t touch. Ace discreetly gripped the edges of the lounge chair just in case.

  Colton dropped one knee onto the chair between Ace’s spread legs. “Take your sunglasses off.”

  “What are you doing?” Ace ignored the request and frowned. “You need to back away.”

  “Why? Am I getting you wet?” Colton’s voice was low and thick. He reached for Ace’s sunglasses, and Ace caught his wrists. “I thought you said you could handle me.”

  “Actually, I didn’t address that statement at all.”

  Colton slid forward, and Ace jerked when Colton’s knee brushed against his dick. He should release Colton, but instead his grip tightened on Colton’s wrists. What the hell were they doing? Anyone from his team could appear at any moment. The umbrella was the only thing keeping anyone inside the house looking out from getting an eyeful.

  “Do you like what you see?” Colton loomed over him, droplets of water falling on Ace, and Ace swallowed hard.

  A droplet trailed down Colton’s neck, and Ace wanted to follow it with his tongue. Fuck, he needed Colton to not be so close.

  “Tell me, Ace. Is it a conflict of interest when you want to fuck your client?”

  Ace clenched his jaw tight. “I think you need to step away.”

  “What if your client wanted you to fuck him?” Colton’s smile was sinful, but thankfully, he stood, turned, and started walking toward the cabana. “It’s a shame, really. Had we met under different circumstances that night at the club, I would have taken you in the back and let you fuck my brains out. Oh well.”

  Ace cursed under his breath, adjusting himself as he got up. He’d expected some resistance from Colton, but nothing had prepared him for the sultry minx. What did it say about him that he wasn’t putting a stop to this behavior? He supposed their start at the club hadn’t helped, but he could have easily snuffed that flame the moment it ignited, but he hadn’t. Why? As Colton slipped into a plush white robe, his eyes closed as he lifted his face to the sun and dried his hair with a towel, his long neck exposed. Ace was in trouble if he didn’t get ahold of himself. Colton opened his eyes and smiled knowingly at Ace. Fucker winked at him before sauntering off.

  It very quickly became clear that although Colton told his father he was going to cooperate, he neglected to mention he would do so by being the most annoying, frustrating human being on the planet. Everything he did was designed to push Ace over the edge. Patience had never been a problem for Ace. He’d spent hours upon hours completely still during special ops. His military career had prepared him for everything and anything his new career might throw his way. It did not prepare him for Colton Connolly, and it sure as shit didn’t prepare him for shopping with the man. After four hours of shoe shopping, he was ready to gouge his eyeballs out with a shoehorn.

  “Hm. I don’t know. Ace, what do you think?” Colton turned to him with two pairs of white shoes.

  “They’re the same,” Ace grunted. At least they were indoors with air-conditioning. He sat on some soft pouf thing, his ass going numb as Colton tried on every pair of designer shoe in the place.

  “They are not the same,” Colton insisted. “This pair is snow white, and this pair is baby-powder white.”

  Ace squinted at him. “So, what you’re essentially saying is they’re both white.”

  Colton huffed and turned away from him to speak to the cute little blond assistant who kept sneaking less than wholesome glances at Ace when Colton wasn’t looking.

  “How is it going?” Lucky asked, stepping up beside him.

  Ace stood, speaking quietly so Colton wouldn’t hear him. “I’m about to strangle him with a pair of shoelaces. I swear on my abuelita’s life if he doesn’t pick a pair of fucking shoes in the next ten minutes, I’m going to Tase him.”

  Lucky cackled, the bastard. Did he not understand the extent of Ace’s pain? It wasn’t like he hadn’t accompanied clients on lengthy shopping trips before, but none had ever spent this much time in one damn store. “He’s been in this store for four hours, Lucky. Four hours. There are no shoes left for him to try on!”

  Colton tapped his chin before turning and smiling when he spotted Lucky. “Lucky, you look like a man with taste.”

  Ace’s brows shot up near his hairline. Now he had no taste? Colton remained oblivious to Ace’s telepathic attempts to smack him with the shoe in his hand.

  “Snow white or baby powder?”

  “Actually,” Lucky said, picking up a couple of pairs of shoes Ace was pretty sure Colton had tried on about two-and-a-half hours ago. “I would go for the Jimmy Choos or the Louboutins.”

  “Those look like slippers,” Ace grumbled.

  “Because they are, Capitán Obvio.”

  Ace mouthed the words “I’m going to kill you” to Lucky.

  “They’re hot this year,” Colton supplied before the assistant—who was staring at Lucky’s ass like he wanted to crawl into it and take up residence—shot his head up and let Colton know how much the shoes were.

  Ace laughed and held up a hand. “Hold up. I’m sorry. For a moment there, I thought you said those shoes were thirteen hundred dollars.”

  The assistant nodded. “Oh yes. That’s the members-only discount.”

  “Discount,” Ace repeated. “Oh my God. I could get ten pairs of shoes for that. Good shoes.”

  Colton didn’t look amused. “Tell me, Ace. Do you own shoes that aren’t combat boots?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I do.”

  “He has sneakers too,” Lucky offered cheerfully.

  Ace turned to his cousin, who he was going to strangle after he strangled Colton with some designer shoelaces that probably cost more than his rent. “Why don’t you go patrol over there?”

  “Can you believe he actually wore his old combat boots with his suit to our cousin’s quinceañera party?” Lucky shook his head in shame.

  Oh my God, he was never going to live that down. Thanks to his Cuban family, there wasn’t one person in the whole fucking state of Florida who didn’t know about his wearing his damn boots to Marissa’s party. It was like six degrees of separation. If anyone knew anyone in his family, they—and everyone they knew—had heard about the damn boots. He had relatives in Cuba, who he’d never even fucking met, calling him to ask about the damn boots.

  Colton looked horrified. “You didn’t.”

  “Seriously, it’s not that big a deal. We were on leave, I couldn’t find my dress shoes, and it was too late to go out and buy a new pair, so I had to wear combat boots.”

  Colton peered at him. “You only own one pair of shoes that are not boots or sneakers?”

  “What the hell would I need dress shoes for?”

  “And then,” Lucky added, “because we’ve been close since we were young, it’s my fault for letting him leave the house like that, you know? I wasn’t even with him! I mean, I met him at the place, but do you think that matters? No. I have to hear it from my mother, his mother, and our tía. I’m still hearing about it, and Marissa turned thirty years old six months ago. I’m going to be hearing about his damn boots when I’m old and retired. It’s going to be my legacy. My grandchildren will be talking about it all like ¿Recuerda cuándo el primo del abuelo se apareció en la fiesta de Marissa con esas botas? Que pena. Pobrecita Lucia.” Lucky held his hands up. “Gracias a Dios my mother wasn’t wearing her chancletas. It would not have been pretty.”

  Colton burst into laughter, and then suddenly he was laughing so hard he had to sit down. “Oh my God, I can’t. My side hurts.”

  “You two are hysterical,” Ace grunted.

  Lucky grinned at him and shrugged. “What can I say? I live to please others.”

  “Are you two done? Can we go now?”

  Colton wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded. He turned to the clerk, smiling brightly. “Thank you so much for your assistance. Please charge the valet box, belts, and socks to my account.”

  The clerk nodded before hurrying off. He returned in no time flat with a fancy bag containing Colton’s purchases, none of which were shoes.

  “Wait, what about your shoes for the White Party?”

  Colton waved a hand in dismissal. “Pft, I bought those months ago.”

  “Then why…?” It dawned on Ace, and he was all but breathing fire through his nose. Calm. Breathe. Putting your client in a chokehold is frowned upon, and you know King won’t appreciate you shoving the client headfirst into the trash bin outside the shoe store. “I hate you.”

  “You don’t know me.” Colton’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he threw Ace’s words back at him.

  Ace stopped in his tracks and stared at Colton as he walked away chuckling to himself. Lucky patted his shoulder.

  “Wow. He’s good, bro.”

  Ace flipped off his cousin and stormed after Colton. Thankfully Colton was ready to go home, and when they arrived, he announced he’d be in his room relaxing. Lucky went off to find Red, and a second later Ace received a text from King letting him know he was catching up with Red and Lucky and would meet him in the kitchen in fifteen minutes. Ace sent one of his men to stand outside Colton’s room. He didn’t know how long his meeting with King would take.

  Needing some more caffeine, Ace made himself an iced coffee and sat at the island counter with his drink while he waited for King. He’d washed up his glass when King showed up.

  “How’s Colton?”

  Ace grunted at the mere mention of the man’s name. “God, he’s so annoying. I really want to punch him in the face. Can I?”

  King sighed. “No, you can’t punch the client in the face.”

  “But what if I really want to? I’ll make it quick, I promise. Just a pop.” Ace demonstrated with a swift jab. “Won’t even make him bleed.”

  “No.”

  “You used to be fun,” Ace replied with a huff.

  “Yeah, well, one of us needs to be the adult.”

  “Screw you. I’m an adult. I had bran cereal for breakfast this morning. Bran. Not even my grandfather eats that shit. It was foul, and considering we’ve had Jack’s cooking, that’s saying something.” Ace shuddered at the thought. Never again would he get so drunk he thought Jack’s turkey, potato chip, banana, and Nutella sandwich was a good idea.

  “Are you done?” King asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

  “For now. I reserve the right to bitch about him some more later.”

  “Duly noted.” King’s rumbling chuckle made Ace smile.

  “How’s the investigation coming along?”

  “We’ve cleared most of the employees at Connolly Maritime and are looking into Colton’s friends and ex-boyfriends. He really didn’t like me asking for that information.”

  “Paxton did say Colton hated personal questions.”

  “He also said the man was stubborn as hell, and he wasn’t wrong. Colton’s determined to make things as difficult for us as possible. I’m having to work around him a good deal of the time.”

  “Have you looked into the grandfather?”

  King eyed him. “On his mother’s side or father’s side? Not that either one will be very helpful, considering they both passed away years ago.”

  “Father’s side. The other day in Paxton’s office, Colton alluded to his grandfather going behind his back with something, and now Paxton had done the same. Whatever it was, it really did a number on Colton, and I’m positive it’s connected to why he’s fighting this so hard.”

  King looked thoughtful. “Do you think you can get close enough to find out what it is? It might help us understand him better, and maybe find a way to get his cooperation.”

  “I’ll try, but trust is a big issue for Colton, and he barely tolerates my presence as it is. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize what progress I’ve made with him.”

  “Okay. If you can broach the subject, do it. Otherwise, we’ll continue to work around him. I’ll keep digging on our end. Let me know of any changes or concerns. I’ve already checked in with Red and Lucky, so I’m going to head back to the office.”

  “Sure you don’t want to stick around?” Ace asked, smiling sweetly.

  “Why? What are you going to do?”

  Ace laughed at the suspicion in King’s expression. His best friend really knew him too well. “Colton’s got that White Party this weekend on Fisher Island. We’re supposed to be leaving in the next couple hours. I’ve been trying to convince him to cancel.”

  “Let me guess. He’s refusing.”

  “Refusing is such a mild term. Did you know the man can freeze your balls off with a look?”

  King’s eyes danced with amusement. “I didn’t know, but thanks for the warning.” His smile fell away, and he was all business again. “How’s the emergency evac plans coming along? I can have an extra team ready for extraction if necessary.”

  “Thanks. Island security cleared us right away, but that’s not surprising, considering our previous and current clients who reside on the island. The teams have escape routes ready, though with the limited transport options available to us, we all know how quick that can go to hell. The SUVs are prepped and ready to go. I wore Colton down and got him to let us helo him in, but he’s really not a fan. The rest of the team will be leaving ahead of us, and they’ll take the ferry onto the island. They’re meeting us at the helo pad. We’ve got a couple of speedboats docked and ready just in case. Lucky’s going to lead the team on the island, and Red’s going to stay here with the rest of the team in case our perp is planning to take advantage of Colton being away. The island’s seclusion and exclusivity can either work in our favor or against us. Red’s done checks on all the guests. The list is extensive. We’re talking over two hundred guests and their plus ones. Drill’s the same as before. Firearms are not permitted, only nonlethals.”

  “Good work. Keep me informed.”

  “Always.”

  King left, and Ace went in search of Colton. When he walked through the downstairs of the house and didn’t see him, he knew where to find him, which meant going outside. Unless he believed Colton was in immediate danger, he wouldn’t intrude on the man’s privacy. Not that it was necessary. All he had to do was go to his room, the balcony of which connected to Colton’s balcony. It was the reason he’d picked that particular bedroom. In case of an emergency, there were two ways for him to get into Colton’s room. At the moment, they had no such emergency, so if Colton wanted to keep him out, all he had to do was close the doors to his sitting room, and draw the curtains, but Colton loved the ocean view too much to let Ace ruin that for him.