Now she seemed to have the personality of a glitchy freezer.

  “Maybe…you’re right,” she conceded. “I didn’t stop to look at the situation that way.”

  “You were too rattled. You felt violated.”

  “Yeah.” The glance she gave Cage as she made her way to the pool bar said she was more than surprised he understood.

  “And you’re mad, too.”

  “Totally.”

  She looked even more shocked at his insight. Really, it wasn’t that hard to guess. He heard from victims every day on the beat. But it was nice to have found a point of connection with her. Still, it didn’t stop him from needing some facts. “So let’s try this again. Have you slept with anyone since you’ve been here? He’ll be my first suspect.”

  “No.”

  Cage held in his sigh of relief. He didn’t have the right to expect that he was the only man in her life—yet. But he couldn’t deny that he wanted to be. “Anyone who…I don’t know, bought you a drink?”

  “It’s an all-inclusive resort. The booze is included.”

  “Or any gesture like that. Someone who shared a meal with you? Invited you to his room?”

  “No.” She tossed on her sunglasses as they emerged from the brightly colored lobby to the infinity edge pool overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

  At the restaurant’s entrance, they waited for someone to seat them. A few moments later, a smiling young, dark-eyed woman showed them to a table on the waterfront, tucked under the shade provided by the grassy roof overhead, swaying slightly in the warm tropical wind.

  He helped Karis into her chair, then they both grabbed a menu from the table as the sun began to sink to the west. They both did a quick scan before setting the laminated list of foods aside. The moment they did, a Hispanic waiter approached the table with two glasses of water in hand—and eyes only for Karis.

  “Hello, señorita. Buenas noches. How have you been?” He smiled as he set the water down, a glass in front of each plate.

  “I’m all right. Thanks, Miguel.”

  The twenty-something punk—probably closer to Karis’s age—beamed. “Thank you for remembering me, Señorita Karis. You look muy bonita.”

  When he winked, Cage wanted to hurl. How often did the guy use that line on lonely tourists? He was good-looking enough, so it probably worked more often than it should.

  It wouldn’t have any impact on Karis, Cage decided. Not while he was here.

  “I appreciate that.” She gave him a small, slightly dismissive smile, obviously ready to order.

  “Were you not supposed to travel home this morning?” Miguel asked.

  She nodded, looking glum and agitated. “Yeah. Someone stole my passport last night, so I’ll be here another couple of days.”

  The waiter turned a shocked expression her way. To Cage, it looked awfully staged.

  “That is terrible. I’m so sorry someone would mar the Mexican hospitality we have done our best to show you this week with an act so callous. If I can do anything beyond bring you food to be of assistance—”

  “I’ll take care of her,” Cage assured.

  The slick Latin lover finally looked at him, expression tightening. “Señor. Hello. Are you a new guest with us, then?”

  “Looks like it.”

  His mouth pursed further as he slid another stolen glance at Karis. No doubt, the little shit was displeased.

  “Very good,” Miguel said as if having him here were anything but, then turned his attention back to Karis. “What may I bring you today?”

  She leaned her elbows on the table, probably not realizing how much cleavage she flashed the waiter. “I’ll take a chicken quesadilla and a margarita, heavy on the tequila, light on the salt.”

  “For you, señorita bonita, anything.” He clapped a hand to his heart, then flung his arms out to her as if to say he was giving her all his love.

  Cage resisted the urge to puke—or throw a punch. Instead, he settled for taking Karis’s hand across the table and holding it firmly when she—predictably—tried to pull away. “I’ll have the same. And some privacy to talk to my girlfriend.”

  At his words, Miguel scowled before masking it with a politely bland expression. “Of course. Let me know if you would like anything else.”

  Then the waiter finally melted away.

  “Your girlfriend?” Karis hissed the moment Miguel disappeared from earshot, pulling her hand free. “Let’s get one thing straight—”

  “We’re going to get a lot of things straight,” Cage assured her. “But I can almost guarantee he’s your suspect.”

  “What? He’s just a guy I ordered meals from this week.”

  “He knows your name.”

  “He knew Wisteria’s name, too. Being friendly is part of his job.”

  He snorted. “The guy wasn’t so friendly with me.”

  “Miguel just met you.”

  “Still, I guarantee he’s never going to call me señorita bonita.”

  She stared at him across the table as if he’d lost his mind. Hell, maybe he had. Karis Weston did something to him. He didn’t want to argue with her. He just wanted to get deep inside her and stay.

  “I thought you’d be happy he didn’t call you a pretty lady. But hey, if you want him to, maybe you have a whole private life I don’t know anything about.”

  Cage gritted his teeth. That was it. He was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was eating at her. Sure, she was thrown off by the theft and the abrupt change of her plans. She’d probably wanted the comfort of her sister, not the guy she’d fucked once, then rebuffed. And if she itched to take her frustration out on him, he could deal with that. But her hostility seemed to stem from a different place. He had to understand it if he was going to call a truce and move them past it.

  With a deep breath, Cage looked her way. “My point is, Miguel knew your name and when you were leaving. He’s a terrible actor, and I don’t believe for one second that he was shocked someone had stolen your stuff. Since the moment he opened his mouth, my instincts have been screaming. I think he’s your bad guy.”

  Finally, Karis looked as if she was considering his words. “That would make him a little unhinged. I mean, we’ve talked some, sure. Wisteria, Hayden, Miguel, another waiter, and I closed down the bar one night and had a ball. But nothing happened between us. I didn’t give him any reason to think we were a ‘thing,’ even temporarily.”

  “Some guys have been known to assume more intimacy with less encouragement. I’ll keep investigating, but I’m just saying…I’ve got a bad feeling about him.”

  Karis cocked her head and leaned her elbows on the table. “I can’t tell whether you’re for real or just being stupidly jealous.”

  “Both.” Why lie?

  A little frown settled between her brows, like his assertion confused her. “Wow. That may be the first honest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  What? “I haven’t lied to you once, cupcake. I didn’t lie to you when we met or when I told you that night I wanted you or when I said the next morning I wasn’t sure I’d ever get enough of you.”

  She dipped her head to cover the flush that rushed up her cheeks. “You’re right. But I didn’t realize what a player you are. Don’t worry, I got the message quick.”

  Now, he was getting to the crux of her nose being out of joint. “What message was that?”

  “New Year’s didn’t mean anything, and you already had someone in your life.” She leaned back in her chair and glanced out at the ocean, as if she couldn’t bear to look at him.

  As if he’d hurt her.

  He mulled that for a minute, along with her words. “I don’t have an exclusive relationship with anyone. I never have.”

  Karis flinched, then tried to shrug off her reaction as if it meant nothing. “So it’s normal for you to go from one bed to another. Okay. It’s your life.”

  Suddenly, Cage suspected he knew exactly what had happened. “Look at me, cupcake.”

  She rolled her eyes and sighed, but she reluctantly complied. “What?”

  He wished he could see behind her sunglasses. He had a feeling there was a wealth of info welling in her eyes, along with some tears, too.

  Before he could say another word, Miguel dropped off two huge frozen margaritas and two quesadillas, piled high with sour cream and guacamole. He lingered, offering more napkins and fresh pico de gallo and whatever else he could think of until Cage shooed him away.

  “You saw me with a blonde shortly after the night we spent together, didn’t you?” he challenged the moment the pesky waiter disappeared.

  Karis reared back like she was stunned he’d guessed right. Then she schooled her expression and dug into her plate. “Yeah, but like I said, it’s your life. Your brother told me you’re not into relationships. It’s my fault for not listening and—”

  “I wasn’t into relationships until you. And that’s not a line.” He raked a hand through his hair, wondering if there was any way to tell her what he was thinking without revealing all the raw places inside him. But he wasn’t good at head games. “This is as straight up as I can be: I’ve had a lot of friends with benefits. They were pretty much the only female friends I had. But the night I spent with you changed something for me I still don’t understand and I don’t know how to explain. I’m not sharing benefits with anyone right now because I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop wanting you. And I’m guessing that somehow you saw me with Madison, the blonde, after the night you and I spent together.”

  “Yes.” Her answer sounded curt and crisp.

  She was hurt. Cage understood, and he was relieved to finally have the mystery solved.

  “Madison called me literally two minutes after I left your house. We’ve been friends…” He paused and realized there was no point in being less than honest. “Yes, with benefits, since our senior year of high school.”

  “You’ve had her at the top of your booty call speed dial list for the last…what, fifteen years? Clearly, you’ve tapped that a lot.”

  He tried not to get pissed off that she wanted to cast the worst possible light on his admission. The last twenty-four hours had not been kind to her. And if he’d seen her cozy up to another man right after their amazing night together, he’d be fucking furious and not very gracious about it, either. Besides, she had daddy issues—just like he did. So he had to cut her some slack.

  “Yep. Not even going to deny it. We both treated it casually. She’s a career woman who doesn’t have time for guys and relationships, but she still sometimes wants a man to hold her. Until I got together with you, I didn’t see the difference between screwing and making something more meaningful, so Madison and I never turned one another down. That’s the unvarnished truth. But the morning I left you, she called to tell me that she’d just rushed her father to the hospital. She’s an only child. Her mother died a few years ago. She was all alone, and she couldn’t face what was happening without a shoulder to lean on.”

  “Oh.” Karis stared at him with pursed-mouthed contrition before she took a sip of her drink. “So…you stayed with her while he recovered?”

  “Yes and no. He died the next day, so I couldn’t just leave her. That’s the thing about my friendship. It wasn’t simply about the benefits. I tried to be truly supportive, lend her my strength until she could bury her dad almost a week later.” When Karis chewed on her lip, mulling his words over, he chowed down on a bite of his meal and took another approach. “What would you think of a man who walked out on a person whose last parent was dying?”

  She sighed. “You had to stay. I didn’t realize… And now I feel really stupid. I came by to bring you cookies, you know. I barely know how to bake, but for you I tried. Yes, I was that gaga about you. So when I saw you with her on your porch, hugging her and kissing her forehead, I assumed…”

  “I would have assumed the same thing, cupcake, if the shoe was on the other foot. I would have been mightily pissed off, too. But I swear, Madison and I haven’t exchanged benefits since I’ve been with you.”

  “It was a traumatic time for her, and sex was probably the last thing on her mind—”

  “Well…” He rubbed at the back of his neck, deciding if he was going to be honest, he better be brutally so. “Actually, she…um, hit me up after the funeral. She needed to feel alive, she said. She needed to forget.” He shrugged. “Straight up? I got her off with my fingers so she’d have some relief. I ended it there. Hell, she cried the whole time. But the truth is, after you, I didn’t want her sexually anymore.”

  He glanced Karis’s way to gauge her reaction, but she looked blank and unreadable. “Then what happened?”

  “Well, I told her that I could no longer be that guy for her but I’d always be her friend. Just her friend. She was disappointed but she understood. Then I set about trying to open the conversation with you again. You put me off for weeks. And no matter how much I begged, my brother wouldn’t help. Then you left for vacation. Here we are.”

  “Do you have any more friends with benefits I should know about?”

  “None I won’t think twice about ignoring. I’ll even delete them from my phone while you watch, if you want. I’m serious.”

  “Why do you think what you do matters to me?” She tried to appear unaffected, but he saw her uncertainty.

  “Cutter told me about your mom, about all the selfish douches who have cheated and strayed and abandoned your family. My dad was the same kind of asshole, so I know how hard coping with that as a kid can be. It sucks to look up one day to find your dad gone.”

  Karis bit her lip, and behind her sunglasses he could see her emotion. He was getting to her. Reaching her. He didn’t know precisely where they were going, but his every instinct as a cop and as a man told him that nothing right now in his life was more vital than winning this woman back.

  “It changes you. I was a kid when my dad walked out. Apparently, he had a girlfriend, and one day he decided that being with her was more important than staying with his wife and daughter. I don’t think I ever really forgave him. And it definitely changed the way I approached men and relationships. I was always looking for the guy who wouldn’t do that to me.” She laughed at herself. “I was looking for Prince Charming.”

  “And I didn’t seem like him.”

  “That night, I believed you were. I really hoped that you were the guy for me, the faithful one my mother never has found. When Jolie got lucky and fell for Heath, I started letting myself believe it was possible for me, too. Then you felt so…I don’t know, right is probably the best word. Like we fit together or something. Like we belonged, you know? Or maybe you don’t and I’m just babbling.”

  “No, I get you totally. I was feeling it, too. So when I was sure Madison wasn’t going to fall apart anymore and she understood our relationship now, I called you. When you didn’t want to talk to me, I won’t lie. I was kinda devastated. But I wasn’t going to give up. I’m still not. That’s why I’m here.”

  Karis tucked away another forkful of her quesadilla and washed it back with a sip of her drink. “I have to admit, I’m shocked. I didn’t see myself ever being this close to you again.”

  “How did us being apart make you feel?”

  “Crappy. Sad.” She hesitated, then finally tore off her sunglasses, revealing the tears pooling in her eyes, just about to spill over the rims. “It hurt.”

  “Me, too. And that’s not bullshit. I don’t have any experience with making a woman happy out of bed, but I want to try, see where we could take this.”

  A pretty little smile crept up her face, which she promptly hid behind her napkin as she wiped her mouth. “All right. I’d like that.”

  “Me, too. Still hungry?” He nodded at her plate.

  “Not really. What about you? You’ve only eaten two bites.”

  “Fuck food. I’d rather be with you.”

  She gulped back the last of her half-melted margarita and left her barely touched plate. “Me, too.”

  As they rose, Cage caught Miguel staring. He narrowed his eyes at the smooth waiter when his prying glance followed Karis retreating.

  The guy approached him, adjusting the jacket of his starched uniform. “Would you like your food to go? I will be happy to find you a box so you can have your meal later.”

  He didn’t like Cage any more than Cage liked the waiter, so the sudden desire to be helpful only made him wonder if Miguel had tainted or poisoned his food. The guy was definitely up to something. “No. But here’s what you can do for me: back away from Karis. She’s not available. I’m pretty sure you know something about the theft of her passport, and I’m telling you now that I’m here for—and with—her. She doesn’t need your ‘help’ and she never will. Fucking get lost.”

  Miguel pressed his lips together, seeming to hold in his temper. Cage almost heard the gnashing of his teeth, but the guy collected himself, as if suddenly remembering that he was supposed to deny the accusation. “I stole nothing. I would never do such a thing. I was not aware that attempting to be helpful and friendly would be misconstrued as flirting. Of course I respect our guests’ lives and privacy.”

  Every word Miguel said sounded like a preplanned speech, and Cage wanted to call bullshit. But Karis was waiting at the sliding double doors heading back into the lobby. As much as he’d like to have it out with the waiter until the guy understood that he needed to fuck off, he would ten times rather be with Karis, kissing her, peeling off her clothes, whispering in her ear, making her feel good. Convincing her that he cared about her more than he probably should after one night—and he didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

  “Great,” he growled. “Stay away.”

  Cage didn’t wait around for Miguel’s reaction. He also wouldn’t underestimate the guy. He’d be willing to bet Karis wasn’t the first guest to have her passport and other goodies stolen from her room. He’d also bet the majority of those guests had ended up warming Miguel’s bed for a few days.

  Racing over to Karis, he hustled her inside the air-conditioned common area, away from the watchful waiter’s prying eyes, and took her hand in his. “Can you wait for me by that fountain for two minutes, cupcake?”