NIGHT LIGHT

Sea Smoke Island ~ Book 3

Excerpt

From her previous time on Sea Smoke, Tina recognized the reception clerk, a young local named Heidi Ochoa. The girl stiffened as she approached. “What now?” she asked warily. 

Tina laughed. She could hardly blame her, since her past two visits had been during times of crisis. 

“Relax, I’m here on vacation. I just, you know, fell in love with the place.”

Heidi narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced. But she couldn’t argue with a reservation, now could she? She tapped the keys of her computer, much louder than necessary.  

With her card key in hand, Tina grabbed the handles of her rolling suitcases. “I do have one little question.”

“I knew it,” Heidi muttered. 

“Is there any chance I could take a peek at the Honeymoon Suite?” 

“Are you getting married?” 

“You never know.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Tina caught movement in the bar to her right. A man slid off a bar stool and headed toward the reception desk. A quick glance told her that he looked vaguely familiar, sort of dark and stern and rough around the edges—definitely her cup of tea. He wore jeans, a gray sweater, and work boots, and he wore them well.

For an instant, she regretted her choice of all black, from her t-shirt to her half-boots, but that was what she generally wore in all circumstances, so why should vacation be any different?

“That sounds like a no,” said Heidi. “Anyway, someone’s staying in it. I can’t let you just look at someone’s room without their permission.” 

“When are they checking out?” 

“That’s confidential. I can’t reveal anyone’s checkout date, sorry.” 

“Okay…” Tina wished she could pull out her badge and insist, but she wasn’t here on any kind of official investigation. “Look, I don’t want to bother anyone, but—”

“Not a bother at all.” 

She jumped. The strange man stood next to her, meeting her surprised gaze with calm gray eyes. God, he looked so familiar. But she hadn’t seen him on Sea Smoke Island before. It was from somewhere else… “Sorry?” 

“I’m staying in that suite. You can take a look around if you like.” 

“Oh. Thanks.” So he was here on his honeymoon. Kinda disappointing, but that wasn’t the point right now. “Appreciate it.” 

“Not a problem.” He seemed to be waiting on her. 

“You mean now?” 

“I’m here, you’re here. Why not?” He pulled a card key from his pocket and flashed it at her. “I was about to head up and grab some suntan lotion.” 

Suntan lotion? He wasn’t even wearing beach attire. Maybe it was for his new bride. “How about I meet you up there? I need to drop my bags off first.” 

He nodded and ambled in the direction of the elevator.  

“The Honeymoon Suite is on the top floor,” Heidi explained. “You’re on the ground floor.” With the plebes, said her expression, if not her words. 

Tina almost asked the man’s name, but put her chances of getting an answer from Heidi at about zero. She’d ask him herself. 

She let herself into her own room—pink climbing roses outside the window, a view of rolling lawn and a charming gazebo—and dropped her luggage next to the bed. Try as she might, she couldn’t place the strange man, but she was a hundred percent sure that she knew him from somewhere. She had a good eye for faces and could recognize someone she’d interviewed for a case years after the fact. 

About ten minutes later, she tapped on the door of the Honeymoon Suite, which wasn’t labelled as such—the Lightkeeper Inn was all about understated, old-money luxury, after all. As the door swung open, her quick impression was…well, heaven. Light flooded in from the tall windows. A fragrance so delicate she couldn’t possibly identify it floated through the air. It must be some custom-mixed room fragrance with ingredients so rare she didn’t recognize them. 

She blinked at the man ushering her inside. It might take her eyes a minute to adjust to all this blazing beauty. Give her a dark alley and she’d know how to cope. A rich man’s paradise—different story. 

“Thanks so much for letting me look around,” she told him as she stuck out her hand. “I’m Tina Chen.” 

He shook it, saying simply, “Jack.” 

Well, okay. He had no obligation to fully introduce himself just because she had. “Nice to meet you. Are you and your wife enjoying your stay here?” 

“Hard to complain.” 

He seemed to be a man of few words, so far. And those words didn’t exactly answer the question. 

“Why are you so interested in this suite?” he asked her. “Are you planning your honeymoon?” 

Tina used the same line as with Heidi Ochoa. “You never know. Do you recommend it? Any downsides I should be aware of? Roses, thorns?”

She scanned the large sitting room, which featured a stonework fireplace and a fully-stocked mini-bar. A fruit platter sat on a polished table under the tall windows, but it had barely been touched. A bottle of champagne sat in a bucket filled with water, and a brown leather jacket was draped over the back of a chair.  

She saw no signs of a woman, she realized, as a sense of unease creeped across her skin. 

What was she even looking for? Even if “Adam” had left something behind, the cleaners would have found it. 

“It’s been great so far,” Jack said. “But it really depends on what you’re looking for in a honeymoon suite.” 

“I mean, the usual. What does anyone look for?” Face it, she had no idea about these things, and no real craving for luxury. She’d always thought a quickie exchange of vows and back to work would be the way to go. “Privacy? A bed? I don’t know…” She scrambled for something that might seem useful on a honeymoon. “Lube?” 

He nearly choked on his laugh. “No lube, sorry.” 

“Rich people don’t use lube? Never mind.” She waved him off before he could answer. “This might sound strange, but do you mind if I test out the vibes in here, in private? I just want to see how it would feel to come in here with my sweetie and be all alone, just the two of us.” 

Shrugging, he raised an eyebrow. “Sure, you want me to step outside?” 

“Yes, please.” 

He snorted, not budging an inch from his position. “Sorry, but I’m not leaving a strange woman alone in my hotel room with all my stuff.” 

Oh. So he’d been mocking her. She shot him an assessing glance, reevaluating her impression of him. Not just a pretty face. More of a quick-thinker than she’d realized. 

“My?” she asked. 

“What?” 

“You said ‘my’ stuff. What about your beloved’s stuff? Where is she, by the way?” That uneasy feeling was getting stronger. Good thing she was a cop and knew how to handle herself, even against a fit-looking guy like Jack. 

“Where’s yours? Seems kind of odd to plan your honeymoon when you don’t even have a fiancé.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

“No ring.” He gestured to her right hand. “Also, you give off a very single vibe.” 

“No, I don’t.” Offended, she tucked her hands into her jacket pockets. 

“You’re right. It’s more of a back-off-before-I-dropkick-you-out-the-window vibe.” 

She frowned at him. “Rude. I’d never do that because it would be against protocol.”

“What are you, in the military? What are you really doing here?” He took a step toward her, but she held up a hand. He stopped where he was, a few feet away from her. 

“Why is there no woman in this suite with you?” 

“I gotta point out that I’m looking at one right now.” He gave her a one-sided smile.

“Answer the question.” She might be on the small side, physically speaking, but she knew how to project authority and get people to do her bidding. 

“Maybe she dumped me, ever think of that? Maybe I couldn’t get my money back on this suite.” But she was already shaking her head. Who would dump this guy? He was lethally attractive, with the kind of charisma you saw in the movies…a flash of almost-recognition came to her. It was right there, on the edge of her brain, where she’d seen him before…

“No? Not buying it? Right back at you, because I don’t believe for a second you want to book this suite, and I highly suggest you come clean because I do not like being lied to and—”

He made a move toward her, maybe not a menacing one, per se, but confronting enough so that she automatically responded. 

She stepped forward and used a quick kick to sweep his legs out from under him. He toppled onto the floor on his side with a loud crash. Oops, she’d managed to upend a dainty Queen Anne-era side table along with Jack.  

“What the—” Jack was already scrambling out of that embarrassing position when she pounced on him. She rolled him onto his back and sat on his chest, her knees pinning his arms to his sides. He twisted from side to side, but she hung on with all the tenacity she could muster. “What are you doing? Who are you?” he demanded. 

Interesting response. Even though she had him on his back, he wanted answers from her. Down, but not defeated.  

She stared into those startled gray eyes, felt his muscles flex under her thighs. 

And then it clicked. Where she’d seen him before.