Never had a man looked at me the way Ryan Steel was looking at me now. Like he wanted to eat me alive. I couldn’t decide whether it disturbed me, frightened me, or excited me.

Honestly, all three.

I wanted to get back to my room and continue the research I’d begun last night. My father was nowhere to be found, of course, but a lot was coming out in the wake of Tom Simpson’s death.

But not now. Not this week. Not until we got home.

I couldn’t burden any of them with this during our vacation. I needed the vacation as much as the rest of them did. So why was it that all I could think about was getting back to my research?

I let out a chuckle.

Because of the man sitting next to me. I needed an escape. An escape from him and the feelings he evoked in my mind and my body.

Needed an escape.

Not wanted an escape.

Oh, God.

“What’s so funny?” Ryan asked.

“Nothing.”

“I distinctly heard you laugh.”

“It’s just nervousness.”

“Why are you nervous?”

Because the most magnificent man I’ve ever laid eyes on is watching me eat? “I don’t know.”

“You just had a killer workout. You should be floating in endorphins right now. I know I am.”

He was. I could see it. He was as relaxed as anything. He was endorphins on steroids. Did anything ever get to him?

“How do you do it?” I asked.

“Do what?” He took a mouthful of omelet.

“Stay so calm. After all you and your family have been through.”

His countenance became serious. “I owe my brother everything. I never forget that.”

“I know that. I didn’t mean to presume that you didn’t. But you’re always in a good mood. Always smiling. How do you manage?”

“I try to focus on the present. Tal is getting married. He’s healing. Two of the monsters have been caught.”

Monsters. One of those monsters, the one still out there, was my father. That fact always hovered around me, always colored my life.

“I’m lucky, I guess,” he continued. “I’ve never been prone to the darkness that Joe and Talon are. That my mother was. I guess I take after my dad more than my mom.”

“Your dad was always happy?”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t say that. He could pack a mean punch. Figuratively, I mean. He didn’t hit us. But he demanded our respect and didn’t put up with any shit. So he wasn’t always happy. But he wasn’t prone to darkness either.”

“But your brothers were?”

“Yeah. Joe always was. Talon was after he was taken. Understandable.”

“Definitely.”

“I was only seven when he got taken, but I have lots of memories before that time. Tal was usually happy. I think, anyway. I was just a kid.”

“I can’t even imagine how you all got through it.”

“I can’t imagine how you got through living with your father.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I didn’t live with him for very long.” Of course my esteemed father hadn’t needed much time to inflict damage. “I can’t help who my father is. I just hope I don’t take after him in any of the bad ways.”

He smiled. “You don’t. You’d know by now.”

I returned his smile, though tentatively. He was right, of course. Still, I worried. I didn’t have to worry about passing any undesirable traits to children since I planned never to marry and never to have kids. I was fine on my own. The worry that niggled at me was for myself. I had to catch my father and stop him before he decided to come after me again.

So far, he’d kept his distance, though he’d reached out to me a few months ago when he was in town with his new girlfriend, Brooke Bailey, who just happened to be Jade’s mother. Brooke was now convalescing at Talon and Jade’s home after a nearly fatal automobile accident. Courtesy of my father, or so the Steels thought. They had no proof though.

I’d find that proof.

My father was a smart man. A cunning man. He’d never left a trail in his life.

But now I had an eyewitness. Talon Steel.

I already had enough proof to arrest him for what he did to Talon. And Talon, unlike my cousin Gina, was not afraid to press charges. He’d already pressed them against his half uncle, Larry Wade.

And there were others out there. Other victims of my father. I knew they were out there. Sometimes, in my dreams, I heard them calling to me for help.

I would help them.

Somehow.

“Earth to Ruby.”

I jolted back to reality. “Yeah?”

“You seemed on another planet there for a minute.”

No, just thinking about my father and bringing him to justice. “Sorry. A lot on my mind.”

He eyed my plate. “Are you done?”

I’d eaten most of it. The ackee and saltfish had been…interesting. Not bad, but not something I’d be eating a lot of. I was glad I’d tried it though. I was more interested in sampling authentic Jamaican jerk chicken and curried goat. “Yeah.”

“Good. Want to go for a swim?”

“What about waiting an hour after eating?”

“That’s an old wives’ tale. You don’t really believe that, do you?”

I smiled. “No. But I’d rather wait until later. Right now I think I’ll take a walk.”

He nodded. “Great. I’ll tag along.”

I hadn’t actually wanted company. My brain was churning now, mostly about my father. Besides, having Ryan Steel near me wasn’t good for me.

It made me want things I had no business wanting.

“I…”

“You going to run away from me again?”

“No, it’s—”

He stopped me by placing his hand on my forearm. My skin burned where he touched me.

“Look. You have nothing to fear from me. I just want to get to know you. We’re both here for the week. We’re both free as birds. I’m not asking for anything other than friendship.”

“Friends don’t usually kiss their friends on the mouth,” I said. God, my skin was on fire.

“That won’t happen again. Not if you don’t want it to.”

“I don’t want it to,” I lied.

He smiled. “I can’t say I’m not disappointed, and I can’t promise I won’t try to make you change your mind.”

My heart thumped. I needed some cool water on my forearm. If I didn’t know better, I’d expect a red handprint to be there.

I cleared my throat. “I won’t change my mind.”

He finally let go of me and stood. “Okay, then. Where do you want to walk?”

“I figured the beach. Walking in sand is incredibly good exercise.”

“Great.” He smirked. “I’m a little more dressed for the occasion today.” He held out his arm. “Shall we?”

I looked at him, raising an eyebrow, and he put his arm down.

Then we walked side by side out of the restaurant and into the gorgeous air that was Jamaica.

A concrete walkway led to the beach. When we hit the sand, I stopped to take off my flip-flops. He did the same and then took mine from me to carry them. Again I felt like a blushing schoolgirl. So un-Ruby-like. I crushed my toes into the soft sand. Wonderful.

“Feels good, huh?”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

We walked toward the water. It was early yet, for island-timers, so there weren’t too many people on the beach—a few dotted here and there, either sunning themselves or swimming. I looked around for jellyfish. I didn’t see any.

We didn’t talk much, just chatted about inane stuff, but when we’d been walking for about twenty minutes, I noticed something different.

More bodies appeared on this side of the beach. Naked bodies.

“Uh…Ryan?”

“Yeah?”

“I think we need to turn around.”

He laughed. “Why?”

“I’m a little uncomfortable.”

“You’re a resort guest. You have every right to be here.”

“Isn’t this the nude beach?”

“Very observant, Ruby.” He laughed again. “Does nudity bother you?”

“No. But honestly, I’ve never been around it like this.”

“Neither have I. Except for last night when I visited the nude pool before dinner.”

“That must be where you met Blondie.”

“Juliet. Yes.” He laughed. “Although Blondie suits her better.”

“I don’t mean to be rude or anything. I don’t have anything against blondes.”

For the third time, he laughed. “Ruby. It’s okay. You’re funny. I like your sense of humor. I don’t think you have anything against anyone. Except criminals, of course. I mean, you’re a cop.”

“Doesn’t everyone have something against criminals?”

“I do. My brothers do, obviously. Probably not everyone.” He smiled. “Not the criminals themselves.”

That got a smile out of me.

“How’d you decide to become a cop?”

That was a long story that I didn’t want to get into right now. “Are you trying to distract me so I don’t feel weird around all these naked people?”

“Guilty. But you know how you could feel a little less conspicuous?”

“How?”

He grinned. A real shit-eating grin. “Get undressed.”

Yeah. When hell froze over. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Hell, no. This is a nude beach. Look around you. There are all shapes and sizes of bodies here. No one will think anything of yours. If that overweight couple”—he glanced at a man and woman sitting nearby—“isn’t embarrassed, why should you be? You have a great body.”

It was too early in the trip to be sunburned, but my body felt like an inferno. God only knew what my face was doing. I didn’t want to know. “I…can’t.”

“You can.”

I looked around. He was right. No one was ogling anyone. People were talking, sunning themselves, swimming. Some were at the bar. Why not?

Wait. Was I truly considering this?

Yes, I was. And for only one reason. If I took off my clothes, Ryan would have to take his off too. And oh my God, I wanted to see him naked.

Not that I’d do anything with him naked. But to see him… To see, just once, what a perfect man looked like in all his glory. Something I never thought I’d see. Something I was curious about and wanted to see, but I had kept those feelings at bay.

I looked around again. No one on this beach could hold a candle to Ryan Steel. A few men looked good. A few women too. Most were average. Normal people who liked to get naked at the beach, I guessed.

I laughed. “Why not?” I gathered all my courage and lifted my sports tank, which doubled as a bra, over my head. My full breasts fell gently against my chest.

And Ryan Steel stared.

Shit. This had been a mistake.

Sure, no one else on the beach was ogling anyone. But I hadn’t thought about what Ryan would do to me.

My nipples hardened instantly under his gaze.

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“That kind of defeats the purpose,” Ryan said.

“You were staring.”

“I was looking. I can’t help it. You’re beautiful. Your breasts are beautiful.”

I hugged myself harder, clenching my tank in my fist. How could I get it back on without Ryan seeing my boobs again?

“Would it help if I took my clothes off?” he asked. “All of them?”