Matthias

I made a huge effort to rip my eyes off Jade. That red bikini… Holy hell… It should be outlawed in all seven continents. The easy way in which the furrowed fabric clung to her breasts and showed off the hard peaks of her dark nipples captivated my attention. The tiny string that spanned the lowest point on her hips seemed like a precarious perch for the thin strip that barely covered the mound between her legs. I’d seen Jade nude last night when I undressed her. Hell, I’d seen her naked in my dreams at least a thousand times. But this? This was a gigantic tease and pure, hellish torture. How the hell was I supposed to think straight?

It would help if Rem closed his goddamn mouth. He stared at Jade as if she was his favorite dessert. In fairness, I’d kept Rem updated on the Jade situation, but I hadn’t told him how I felt about her. No problem. He was a smart dude. The mischievous gleam in his gaze revealed that he was catching up at lightning speed. I could almost hear the gears in his brain as he barreled to establish his own conclusions. We were used to communicating without words, so there was no mistaking the message in his accusatory stare: Son of a bitch, you’ve been holding out on me.

Jade’s gaze made a similarly silent charge when it shifted between Rem and I. Oh, shit. In my carefully designed mission flow chart, these two had never been meant to meet. And now I needed to avert a total disaster.

I regulated my breathing, allowed my body to sink into my chair, and worked to control my reactions and appear as relaxed and unconcerned as Rem. It wasn’t easy, because Rem was better at that stuff than I was and Jade had caught a scent. She wasn’t likely to back off. My gut went cold as she narrowed her eyes on Rem like a lioness on a hunt.

“You two old friends?” she asked, flashing the sexy, cocky, seductive smirk that melted men into mere testosterone puddles.

“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Rem admitted, knuckling his scruff.

“You served together.”

Rem grinned. “How did you know?”

“Call it a sixth sense,” she said. “Or maybe I’ve just been around too many of you. What brings you to Zanzibar?”

“The lousy weather in Indiana.”

She didn’t buy it. “Do you work here?”

“I do.” Rem grinned in my direction. “You’re right. She asks a lot of questions.”

Jade launched a rankled look at me. “And you two have been discussing me…why?”

“By day, Rem publishes the local expat newspaper,” I offered, ignoring her most recent question. “By night, he runs a popular night club. That is, when he’s not boating, fishing, diving, surfing or otherwise engaged in extraordinary pursuits.”

“So,” Jade said wryly. “You’re another water pup.”

Rem’s eyebrows came up. “Did you tell her?”

I shook my head. “She figured it out on her own.”

“She’s sharp.”

“I told you.”

Jade let out a long sigh. “I love it when people talk about me in the third person.”

Rem laughed. “She calls it like she sees it.”

“That she does.” I pushed my glass in Jade’s direction. “Something to drink?”

“Thanks.” She grabbed my mug and tasted my beer. “Hmm.” The sound tightened my groin and made me suck in air. “Hoppy and citrus-like. Hits the spot.” She took another, deeper draft then set the mug down. After running the tip of her tongue over her lips, she squared off with Rem. “So, where were we?”

So much for trying to throw her off our trail.

Rem braced his hands on his chair’s arms and fell back on his standard issue smile, displaying an impressive but strained resistance to Jade’s potent charm. “I’ve never met a conservation celebrity before.”

Jade cocked a brow. “Is that what I am?”

“Africa is all agog about you.” Rem took a sip of his draft. “You come out here and suddenly the world back home realizes we’ve got a poaching problem.”

“Not true,” she said. “Nat Geo ran a huge spread on the illegal ivory trade last month.”

“Sure, that’s cool, but when you get in front of the camera people take notice. You’ve managed to reach a whole new audience with your stuff. How about an interview for the paper?”

“No.” The word shot out of my mouth, startling both Jade and Rem. “She doesn’t do interviews. Period.”

“I wasn’t asking you.” Rem’s blue eyes sparkled with irritation. “Surely, Jade can make up her own mind about her business?”

Rem was like a brother to me, but he was beginning to piss me off.

“Matthias is right,” Jade said, shocking the hell out of me. “I’m not the story. I conduct interviews. I don’t give them.”

Good answer. I exhaled in relief. I needed Jade calling even more attention to herself like I needed a bullet to the brain.

Rem flashed his best player’s seductive grin. “Maybe, if we spend a little time together, I can persuade you.”

My ears burned with a surge of heat.

“You can try to convince me all you want,” Jade said, “but honestly? I doubt it.”

Rem smirked in my direction. “Definitely too stubborn.”

Jade glared at me. “You told him I’m stubborn?”

I lifted a shoulder. “It’s the goddamn truth.”

“Jade,” Rem said, “if you won’t give me an interview, then at the very least, will you come to my party tonight?”

Jesus Christ. What was wrong with Rem today? I rumbled a warning. “Rem…”

“What kind of party?” Jade interjected.

“I’m reopening the club tonight,” Rem said.

“Reopening?”

“We had a little trouble with some zealous types earlier in the summer,” Rem explained, a gross understatement. “As it turned out, a renovation was in order. Firebombs can be harsh on the decor.”

“Firebombs?” Jade’s mouth twisted into a grimace. “That doesn’t sound like a little trouble.”

“The risk comes with the territory,” Rem said. “But we’re ready to go and tonight’s the night. It’ll be fun. Lots of interesting folks. People watching at its best. Will you come?”

If looks could vaporize flesh, Rem would be a goner. I peeled my eyes at him and shot him a heated glare. What the hell did he think he was doing? And why was he suddenly ignoring all my cues?

“I love people watching,” Jade said, probing me with her gaze. “Are you going?”

Shit. “I am,” I admitted reluctantly and without an ounce of enthusiasm.

“Then I’m coming too,” Jade said with a finality that kicked me in the nuts.

“I don’t think that’s such a hot idea,” I said as evenly as I could manage.

“Rem invited me,” she said haughtily. “And I said yes.”

When she used that tone with me, I wanted to put her over my knee, spank her like she deserved, and then fuck all that naughtiness and recklessness out of her brain.

“Well, my work here is done.” Rem got up and slapped my shoulder. “My place. Nine o’clock. See you tonight, kids.”

The jerk sauntered out of the courtyard with a cocky, confident gait, greeting some of the patrons that lounged by the pool as he went, a natural politician. I was gonna have to have a heart to heart with my best friend.

Jade’s glare hammered me hard. “Care to tell me what that’s all about?”

“Not really,” I said. “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” she said, “but that was a lame attempt to distract me. Who’s Rem, why are you hanging out with him and why don’t you want me to go to this party?”

Jesus Christ. I chose to answer only the last question. “I’ve got my reasons.”

Jade’s cheeks burned with the same heat that gleamed in her eyes and straightened the rod of her spine. “Sure, Matthias always has reasons and don’t think I didn’t notice you answered one out of three questions.”

“Babe…” I leaned over and reached for her hand, then looked around and thought better of it. I returned my hands to my lap and let out a frustrated huff. “Don’t get upset with me.”

“How could I not?” Jade threw her hands up in the air. “It’s like you leave me no option!”

“Can we please not fight?” I said. “Why can’t you and I just have a nice time together here in Zanzibar?”

“Because you like to keep secrets,” Jade bit out, rising from of her chair.

I squeezed the bridge of my nose and begged whoever the hell was manning the emergency hotline up above for some patience. Why did she have to ask so many questions? Did she have to know everything about everything? Why couldn’t she just trust me?

When I didn’t say anything, she whirled on her heel and took off, giving me the best view yet of her magnificent back, shoulders squared, spine straight, and that tiny strip of fabric wedged between a pair of round, bouncy ass cheeks I craved between my hands.

Oh, fuck. For a smooth operator I was fumbling this majorly. None of this was what I had in mind when I decided to bring Jade to Zanzibar. This was going south and fast.

“Wait.” I pushed off my chair and in three steps, caught a hold of her elbow. “Where are you going?”

“Let go.” She shot me a furious glance and wrestled her arm from my grip. “If I’m going to a party tonight, I need something to wear. So I’m going to the resort’s boutique to see what they can do for me. I’m not leaving the hotel. I’m following your stupid rules. Surely, a guy with as many secrets as you has something better to do other than to hang out with a woman you don’t trust.”

Holy shit. Her rage set my gut on fire. Chin in the air, she marched across the deck, furious and resolute, building the distance between us with every step. I sank my nails into my palms. Why did I have to fall for the most curious, obtuse, hard-skulled woman who’d ever landed in Africa?

Jade wanted nothing to do with me. If that wasn’t bad enough, she was planning on going to that goddamn party. What the hell was I gonna do now?

* * *

Jade

I stalked over to my pool cabana, grabbed my stuff, and marched over to the boutique, pretending I was cool as ice. In reality, I was smoldering inside. Something was up. I could smell it miles away. But Matthias didn’t trust me enough to let me in and that really pissed me off.

The attendant at the boutique was very nice and his selections, though pricy, were excellent. I found a silk halter-top jumpsuit, a sophisticated sleeveless number that fit me well and could’ve come straight from Fifth Avenue.

I stood before the long mirror in the dressing room and turned one way and then the other. The black and white geometrical designs gave the jumpsuit an edgy, modern look. The straight lines elongated my figure. The daring keyholes in the front and back capitalized on the tan I’d inadvertently gotten today and lent the outfit a beachy, sexy look. This was the one. In deference to the local sensitivities, I bought a shawl to hide my skin while on the streets. No need to be sultry on the way to and from the club.

Miraculously, I also found a pair of heeled sandals to match. They were taller than I usually wore, but height wasn’t a problem if I was going to hang out with Rem and Matthias. The attendant even sold me a small evening purse to go with the ensemble. Not bad for a one-stop shopping trip.

By the time I went back to the room, I could tell Matthias had been there, showered, and changed, but he wasn’t around. There was yet another note on my pillow. Pick you up at eight forty-five. I dug my teeth in my lip. I was getting used to this new method of non-communication.

I put some work into my hair and makeup. It always riled me that people assumed women in the military didn’t enjoy fashion. True, the Corps had taught me the advantages of working uniforms. But my true mom, a firm believer in the concept of the well-rounded person, had taught me the intricacies of high fashion, the fun in dressing up, and the pride that came from taking care of oneself. Every so often, I enjoyed being a girly girl, especially when I had time and an entire spa bathroom for myself.

I’d just finished putting on my new shoes and was considering my outfit in the mirror, when the door opened. In came Matthias, with his reddish stubble scrupulously edged along his jaw, sporting GQ style. He wore black loafers, tan trousers and a black button down shirt that highlighted his athletic build and the bronze in his complexion. My heart revved up. He looked…scrumptious. Drop dead fabulous and he wasn’t even trying.

He made a muffled sound in the back of his throat when he saw me.

“What?” I looked down at myself, suddenly wondering if the plunging neckline and the bare back were too much. “Do you disapprove?”

“Disapprove?” His gaze roamed over me like the wild herds that own the Serengeti. “No way. It’s just that…”

“What?”

He cleared his throat. “I don’t want to share you with the world.”

God all mighty. My body temperature shot through the roof. The way he was looking at me made me consider jumping him right there and then. The chemistry between us sizzled. Really, how long could this go on?

I swallowed a groan of frustration and pretended to fiddle with my jade earrings. I swear, some days, I couldn’t make sense of anything, how I felt, how he felt. His stare was glued to my body as I finished getting ready. His attention was a compliment in itself.

We rode in the hired car, which turned and squeezed through Stone Town’s narrow streets for a few blocks, until we came to a stop in front of a massive pair of medieval doors studded with antique brass spikes and metal bosses that were quite beautiful and elaborate. Considering the long line at the door, the club was a happening place tonight.

Matthias skipped the line and led me into the beautifully restored house, constructed around an Arabic style courtyard with a fountain flowing in the middle. The main club occupied the bottom floor. Music filled the space. The throbbing pulse of techno blared from the doors and spilled out into the courtyard, along with flashes of color beams that strobed the crowds dancing inside.

We went past the bouncer and the private party sign, up the stairs all the way to a rooftop terrace. Stunning views of the town’s twinkling lights edged by the dark sea welcomed us. The music echoed up here and the terrace was aglow with a fashionable, high-end crowd.

“Good thing I went to the boutique,” I murmured under my breath.

Matthias eyed me like a cheetah eyes a tommy. “You’re by far the most stunning woman here.”

“Correction.” My smile wilted on my face. “I think that honor may go to your girlfriend, Mia or Mei, whatever her freaking name is. She looks kickass tonight.”

Indeed, across the terrace, the woman’s raven hair spilled over one shoulder in a perfectly curled cascade. Her red minidress, which hugged every curve of her body, outlined every intimate detail under the thin, stretchy fabric. Hell, the dress fit her like a second skin. Her face lit up when she spotted Matthias, but her stare steeled when she saw me.

“Uh-oh.” I lifted an eyebrow at Matthias.

“This could be a tricky night,” he murmured, face blank like a beige wall.

“No kidding.” What the hell was he thinking?

“Can I ask you a favor?” he said.

“Shoot.”

“Don’t believe everything you see.”

“Don’t worry.” I removed my elbow from his grip. “I won’t.”

An exultant Rem welcomed me with a dazzling smile. Freshly shaved, he wore an impeccable linen suit, no tie. His hair’s silky curls were knotted in a ponytail. He looked every inch the rakish dandy. It was soon apparent that he was to be my escort for the night. He took me around and introduced me to the exclusive guests, which included American and European expats, wealthy businessmen, diplomats and sheiks, the interior minister of Tanzania and even the American attaché, on holiday in Zanzibar.

It was an interesting crowd. Men and women flirted with money, power, and each other. The place buzzed with all kinds of intriguing undercurrents. Rem had been right. The night promised a fascinating people-watching experience. I was going to get my answers tonight.

Matthias worked the crowd like a pro, demonstrating a talent for social mingling I hadn’t known he had. The game warden in him gave way to a charming, cosmopolitan flirt who seemed to fit perfectly with this crowd. He spent a great deal of time with Mei and the Chinese folks.

I observed him from afar. I was beginning to figure out how Matthias’s mind worked, which got me thinking about his choice of company, because despite having many outstanding questions about Game Warden Hawking, I’d learned a few things about him: He was no empty-headed hunk and everything he did had a specific, deliberate purpose.

“How long has that chick been in Tanzania?” I asked Rem when Mei appropriated Matthias’s hand and pulled him into her little crowd.

“A while,” Rem said. “She’s a fixture of the diplomatic corps around here.”

I bristled when she brushed her breasts against Matthias’s bicep, a casual but deliberate flirt. “Will you excuse me for a moment?”

“Sure,” Rem said.

I went over to the bar and ducked behind the bartenders. Determined to avoid another accidental encounter with any sort of drug, I chose a flute, opened my own bottle of champagne, and poured myself a drink. Some nights, a girl needed a little extra lift to make it over the hump.

It was difficult to reconcile the stark game warden I’d met at the reserve, the honor-bound soldier and protector who’d cared for me during my date rape drug episode, and the socialite Matthias had become tonight. Talk about multiple personalities.

But my work with the SEALs had honed my observation skills. Watching Matthias and his interactions, observing how he tagged teamed with Rem and worked the crowd, I began to make the connections that had been eluding me until now. By midnight, I had a working theory.

A voice startled me of my ruminations. “I’ll have some of that.”

I looked up to find Mei Cheng standing next to me. She leaned against the bar, just like I did, holding out her empty flute. Her small, sparkling jet eyes focused on me, eyebrows pursed, lips slightly upturned in an expression that said she was queen of the world and I was her lowly peasant.

Looky here. I’d been spinning my brain trying to think of a covert way of approaching Mei. And now she was here. Either my wishes had magically come true or Mei was also looking to measure me up. My money was on the latter. Mutual curiosity. How interesting.

I hadn’t been trained in a variety of interrogation and intelligence gathering techniques for nothing. As a Cultural Support Team member, my work with the SEALs focused precisely on those activities. Females were my specialty. The all-male SEAL teams couldn’t search, assess, or interrogate women when they went on their raids. But I could.

Which meant that, if I had to pass for a lowly peasant to satisfy my curiosity, so be it. I tipped the bottle of champagne over Mei’s flute and poured until the bubbles reached the very tip of her glass.

“Ha.” I smiled when the bubbles didn’t spill. “I may still have a future bartending.”

“Such humble aspirations for Nat Geo’s latest girl-fad.” Mei sipped on her champagne and stared at me with her impassive eyes.

“The name’s Jade,” I said, refilling my glass. Some people just knew how to piss me off, but I wasn’t going to let this self-anointed queen throw me off balance.

“Jade,” she repeated in a slightly mocking tone. “I like your earrings.”

And I liked her less and less.

“If I may ask,” she said in her impeccable English. “Where did you get those?”

“My parents gave them to me.”

“Nice gift.” She reached over, appropriated one of my earrings, and examined it closely. The strong scent of her perfume invaded my lungs; lavender laced with a tad too much champagne.

“Allow me to make an educated guess.” She turned the earring in her fingers. “Elephants. Blah. The design is rather common,” kind of like you, she added with her mocking leer. “Circa 1930s. Strong art deco influences in the mounting and the carving, especially looking at the curl of the trunk.”

“Is it the elephant or the art deco style you don’t like?”

“The style, silly,” she said as if I were a toddler. “We all know that elephants are marvelous creatures. The stones, now, those are a bit more interesting. That bright emerald-green color gives the jade away as a bit of a treasure. I’m going to say it’s Feicui jade, originally from Burma, harvested circa 1800 during the Qing Dynasty.”

I’d never known much about my earrings, other than they’d belonged to Granny Romo’s mother—which probably authenticated Mei’s dates for the carving design—and that my parents had given them to me, which made them the most precious objects I owned. Knowing my parents, I wasn’t surprised the jade was valuable, although the Qing Dynasty bit was a tad over the top. I’d have to talk to them about that. But this wasn’t about me or my earrings. This was all about the fascinating Mei Cheng.

“How come you know so much about jade?” I asked.

“I make it my business to know what’s important.” She lifted half her mouth in a joyless smile. “I’m also an avid collector.”

I wondered what else Mei Cheng collected. Trophies? Ivory? Game wardens?

She let go of my earring and met my stare. “Are you here with Matthias?”

At last, we’d gotten to her reason for seeking me out. My theory suggested I needed to play this in a very specific way. Showtime.

“No way.” I let out a little laugh. “I rode here with him, but only because I had no choice. I’m under his supervision. You know, me, photojournalist, he, chief ranger and all that crap. I came to Zanzibar because I didn’t want to miss a chance to hang out with Rem. He’s hot. Don’t you think?”

“Oh.” Her mouth pursed into a perfect red circle. “You’re here with Rem?”

“Well, I may leave with him…” I flashed a mischievous grin, “if I can have my way.”

A smile sharpened her cheek’s angles, this one a bit more authentic. But I wasn’t sure she was buying my performance. By the look she flashed in Matthias’s direction, she knew what it was like to hanker for a hunk. Down Jade. I felt like slapping the bitch for wanting my man. My man? I almost snorted out loud. I’d never claimed any man as mine. And since when was Matthias my man?

Heads up, Jade. Pay attention. You’re pissing outside the pot.

“Yeah, the game warden is nice on the eyes too.” I refilled her glass of champagne and then mine. “Word on the reserve is he’s hooked on you. Is that so?”

I startled Mei with my own brand of ordinary-American-chick bluntness. Her cheeks flushed and her chest puffed up like a peacock on parade, but she was good, restrained, maybe even trained. She sipped on her champagne and said nothing, lips set in a minimal smile. Her gaze roamed all over Matthias. What I saw in her stare raised the hair on the back of my neck. Hunger. Desire. Designs.

“Come on.” I teased. “Tell me that you guys haven’t been hooking up lately. Aren’t you and Matthias the hottest item on the Serengeti?”

“He has been coming around an awful lot lately.” The glee in her eyes as she threw that uncontestable fact in my face revealed she enjoyed inflicting pain on others.

I didn’t flinch. “Is he any good in the sack?”

She did flinch now. “What kind of a question is that?”

Her body language was a breeze to read. Her back stiffened, her imperious chin jutted out and her knuckles whitened around the stem of her flute. They were the signs of a willing but so far slighted would-be-lover. Jackpot. I did a little jig inside. Matthias may be giving all the right signals to Mei, but he wasn’t banging her, at least not yet.

“My apologies if I was overly familiar,” I said. “We Americans are too informal at times. I thought perhaps you and I could talk, girl to girl.”

“If I can give a piece of advice…” Her stare hardened. “You and I? We’re not in the same category. You may like Rem, but I wager that a hot blooded mare like you would jump into the game warden’s cot any day, given a chance. So beware. The game warden and I have a special relationship. Don’t even think about getting in the middle of it.”

Ignition. Houston, we have liftoff. She’d just shot a warning salvo across my bow and made a big splash in the process. I learned a lot in that instant. This woman was powerful. She was also dangerous.

“I’m so glad we got that out of the way.” She downed the rest of her champagne and set the flute aside. “Now, about your earrings. I may not be a fan of the design, but anything Qing Dynasty interests me. My ancestors were loosely related,” she added, betraying a point of pride. “How much do you want for the pair?”

“Money?” Was she for real? Yep, the look in her eyes confirmed that she was absolutely serious and used to getting her way every time. “My earrings are not for sale.”

“What a shame.” She gave a little shrug. “I, for one, prefer negotiation to war. But either way, I never give up my gains.” Her face shifted quickly from a snarling bitch into a dazzling, smiling beauty. “I’m here darling,” she raised a hand in the air and called out. “Are you looking for me?”

I wrenched my eyes from Mei and found Matthias approaching. His quizzical stare bounced from me to Mei and back to me. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. I launched a conspiratorial grin in his direction and winked at him. His gaze ignited with silent questions. I grinned some more.

Mei seized Matthias’s hand and put her arm around his waist as if she owned him. I gritted my teeth and kept smiling, even though I wanted to knock out her pearly whites. Poor Matthias. He didn’t know what the hell had happened, but judging by the questioning beam he leveled on me, he suspected I was up to something.

Mei squeezed his hand. “Did you miss me, darling?”

I didn’t want to hear the answer to that question. But my foray had been productive. Mei had confirmed my suspicions and advanced my theory. The bad news was that, if my theory was correct, Matthias’s life was a lot more complicated than I’d first anticipated. The good news continued to be…he wasn’t banging Mei, despite her best efforts. I kept my smile neutral, but cheered like crazy inside.

And now it was time to engineer a clean escape.

“There’s Rem.” I tried really hard to ignore the sight of Mei’s pebbled nipples, poking through her dress. It took all I had, but I set the champagne bottle and the flute down and twirled my fingers in the air. “Have fun, you two.”

Matthias gave me the oddest look, but off I went. He wanted to play Mata Hari? Well, now it was game on.