Chapter Eight
Trinity was caught off guard by the warm gesture. She was used to her friends caring about her, but Maxwell King was a stranger. She eyed him suspiciously, trying to figure out exactly what his game was.
Smiling, he said, “As you said, we’re connected through friends and family. I’d like to have dinner with you and get to know you better.”
She rolled her eyes as she continued eating. If he wanted to keep her company, she was fine with that. Besides, that meant she could have a little fun. She held back a grin when he groaned softly as she sucked some cheese off of one of her fingers. Then, she did it again with another finger, sucking slowly.
He cleared his throat. “May I ask you a question?”
“Fire away.”
“I heard you mention Breakers. Are you really considering moving to Texas?”
“I might be spending a few months there off and on.”
“We just opened a new hotel in the neighboring town, Ever After.”
“I heard about that,” she said. “I’ve never been down there, but some of my friends recently attended a wedding at your new hotel.”
“Jared Caufield and Kali Redford’s wedding, right?” After she nodded, he said, “I heard it was a blast. Technically, I’m still in charge of the property there, but my sister, Rachel, is managing it right now. She recently graduated, so we’re still supervising before we let her take over a few of the properties on her own. So, who do you know who lives in Breakers?”
She eyed him for a heartbeat or two, trying to figure out if he was just curious or digging for information. Determining it was a little of both, she still decided to answer. “Nikita Nuria. She owns the tattoo parlor in town.”
“I’ve met her. And now what I know about her makes a whole lot more sense. So, this new training facility you were talking about would be for IAD agents?”
She grimaced. “I guess I shouldn’t have said that in front of you.” She paused as she reconsidered. “Then again, considering your new sister-in-law is the co-director of a division of IAD, I guess you are already privy to this type of information.”
He just smiled again, neither confirming nor denying.
“My friend Dare also moved to Breakers recently,” she told him.
“Daryk Nyght?”
She raised a brow. “You know him, too?”
“I’ve heard about the good doctor, but I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet.” He paused before adding, “He’s engaged to a friend of mine, Evelyn Beaumont.”
“The owner of a rescue center.” She smiled. “Got to love small towns. Everyone seems to know everyone.”
“Did you grow up in a small town?”
“Hell, no,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve lived in Chicago for most of my life.”
“Is your family still there?”
Her smile slowly faded. “I grew up in the foster system, so I don’t really have any family.” When the doorbell to the suite rang, she said, “That must be our dinner.”
“I’ll get it.”
She was relieved when he got up again and went to retrieve their meal. Talking about her past wasn’t difficult, but it wasn’t pleasant either. When he brought back the dinner he’d ordered for them, she had to admit that he had been right. The steaks were perfectly cooked, and as they ate, the conversation turned to a safer subject concerning what she had found out about the hotel expansion project.
“Basically what you have is a project that is over cost and behind schedule on the surface. I know they claimed they would be back on schedule by the end of the week, but I don’t think that’s going to solve the problem. In fact, I know it won’t. I have a few theories right now, but I’d really like a closer look at the site before I make up my mind.”
“We can tour the site tomorrow. But in the interim, what are those theories?” he asked as he refilled both of their glasses again.
“Well, for one. Something is seriously wrong with this build if someone is willing to kill to keep it covered up.”
He froze with his glass halfway to his lips. Then, he set the glass down slowly, giving her his full attention. “Explain.”
Trinity explained what had happened when she’d gone to the construction site the day she’d arrived on the island. As she did, she watched the fury burn bright in his blue eyes and found herself comforted by how pissed and worried he looked.
“You’re all right? He didn’t hurt you?”
“I’m fine, but we weren’t able to catch him. Still, I’ve tried to get ahold of the security guard, Billy, that I met on-site, but he’s been on the mainland for the last few days. They said he should be back in a few days, so I plan to go talk to him to see if he knows anything.”
“We. We will go speak to him. I don’t like the fact that he was the only one who saw you there, then you were practically run off the road right after you left. No, I don’t like that at all.”
“Neither do I. Which is why I want to get a better look at the construction site from another perspective tomorrow, too.”
Finished with his meal, Maxwell leaned back in his chair. He was amazed by the amount of food Trinity packed away, but he guessed it was understandable for someone as active as she was. He loved watching her eat since it was like she was savoring every bite. He couldn’t remember ever seeing someone appreciate a good meal like she did, and he felt a strange surge of satisfaction knowing he was the one who had provided it for her.
He wanted to groan when she moved on to dessert. Watching her eat her piece of key lime pie was borderline obscene. God, that woman had a wicked tongue. Imagining what it would feel like on his body made his cock swell, and he shifted in his seat to relieve the pressure so he didn’t permanently damage himself.
Bloody hell, everything about her fascinated him.
He could stare at her beautiful face for hours, and her throaty laughter sent shivers down his spine. When she smiled, he imagined pressing his lips to hers, and the way she licked at her fork made him ache to grab her and sink into her heat.
Forcing himself to focus back on their conversation, he ignored his growing attraction to her. For now. He would have time for that later. But at the moment, dealing with the clusterfuck of a construction project took precedence. He was furious that someone was messing with his hotel, and he was determined to figure out exactly who to blame.
And then he would make them pay.
“Another perspective? What exactly does that mean?”
“It means that I called the marina today and arranged for a boat rental tomorrow. Damn, this is really good pie. Actually, everything was good.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Unwilling to let her distract him, he asked, “Why do you need a boat?”
“I want to see how people react after I show up and stir up some shit, but I want to see it when they don’t know I’m watching.”
“Smart.” He paused, then added, “I hope you know that I’ll be going with you.”
Sighing, she said, “I thought you were going to say that.”