Damn! A fire alarm at this time of night? I was still up, of course, concerned about Ruby. Where was she? I opened the door to our room. People were congregating in the halls, trying to get to the stairwells. It was a giant clusterfuck.

I sniffed. No smoke. It had to be a hoax. Some kid probably thought it was funny to pull the alarm. High school bullshit. I went back into the room and shut the door. I wasn’t leaving.

Quickly I checked my phone. Nothing. I paced the living area, most likely leaving a trail on the thin hotel carpeting. Her apartment hadn’t yielded any clues other than the book and the paper, but neither of those gave me any idea where she might be.

I couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not ever.

I thought back to our first walk on the beach in Jamaica in the moonlight.

---

Her eyes were the clearest blue. Amazing I could see them in the dark, but they were mesmerizing.

Was this truly the mousy woman I’d sat next to on the plane? God, what would she look like when she was really dressed up for the wedding?

Wow. Just wow.

I grinned. Enter Ryan Steel ultra-flirt mode. “Maybe I wanted to walk with you.”

She rolled her blue eyes. “Please,” she said sardonically.

“Please walk with me?” I widened my grin.

“Thanks. I’d love to.”

I touched her arm again.

Again, she pulled away. “Grabby, aren’t you? And you know that’s not what I meant.”

Man, this wasn’t going to be easy. Her lips were still dark, though the meal had probably taken care of most of her red lipstick. This was Ruby’s natural lip color, darker than I remembered from the plane, and God, it was a turn-on.

I hadn’t dared to think it before, but this woman was beautiful.

Stunning.

“We’re both here, and it’s an amazing night.” I looked up at the night sky aglow with the moon and stars. “What would a walk hurt?” Though I longed to, I didn’t touch her again. She obviously didn’t appreciate it, though I wasn’t sure why. I hadn’t done anything to her that I wouldn’t do to anyone else. Just touched her forearm pretty innocently. Man, she was jumpy.

She let out a sigh. “Fine.”

I held out my arm, thinking it would be no big deal for her to slide hers through it. She shook her head and started walking.

This one was certainly going to be a challenge, but I hadn’t yet met a woman I couldn’t lure into my bed. The thought surprised me. When had I decided that I wanted Ruby Lee in my bed? But there was no doubt about it.

I did.

She was about Jade’s size, probably around five feet seven inches. Although her boobs weren’t quite as big as Jade’s, they were close. Bigger than Melanie’s, and even bigger than Juliet’s. Perky too. Little hard nipples protruded through her blue cotton tank. She was clearly going braless, and if I had it my way, she wouldn’t wear a bra this whole trip.

How to approach her—that was the question. Normally, I’d try taking her hand, especially for a midnight walk on the beach. But Ruby clearly didn’t want to be touched. I didn’t know why, though it could definitely have to do with her father. He had, after all, raped my brother and his own niece.

And then my jaw clenched.

Oh my God. Had that beast raped his own daughter?

That wasn’t something I could ask her, obviously. Maybe Ruby was a woman to stay away from. Maybe I should leave her alone. After all, she hadn’t asked for my advances, though I’d hardly even made an advance yet.

I should definitely stay away from her.

“It is a gorgeous night,” she said, interrupting my thoughts.

And it was. I looked again at the myriad stars sprinkled across the night sky, at the nearly full moon reflecting light upon the water before us.

And I looked at her.

She was the most beautiful thing in the night.

The thought entered my mind from seemingly nowhere. Had I ever thought that of any woman? More beautiful than a starry night?

No. I hadn’t.

---

I couldn’t live without her now. Finally, I understood what my brothers had with their wives, and why they were so determined to keep it at all costs.

I wasn’t giving her up.

That goddamned fire alarm was still blaring. Still no scent of smoke anywhere.

I didn’t have my laptop with me, but my phone was a minicomputer. I began typing, trying to figure out what to do next, whom to call.

My brothers of course. I started punching in Joe’s number when a pounding on my door startled me.

I opened the door to find a burly security guard standing there. “You have to leave, sir. Fire marshal’s orders.”

“I don’t smell any smoke,” I said.

“Doesn’t matter. It was probably a prank, but we have to check everything out.”

“Sorry, I’m not leaving. I’ve got important things to do here.”

“Don’t make me take you by force.”

You and what army? The words were on the tip of my tongue. But the guy was armed.

“Crap.” I pushed my hair off my forehead. “All right then.”

Still holding my phone, I followed the guard down the hall to the stairwell. A few stragglers were walking down the stairs. No one seemed the least bit worried about a fire.

Guests in pajamas and robes had congregated outside the hotel in the atrium by the swimming pool, which was closed for the season. I scanned faces in the darkness, not looking for anyone in particular, when the most beautiful pair of blue eyes pierced back at me.

Ruby!

I ran toward her, nearly knocking down an elderly man. I apologized quickly, steadying him, and then walked swiftly through the throng of people to my love.

“Ryan!” She nearly jumped into my arms.

I kissed her cheeks, the top of her head. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

“You won’t believe where I was and who’s responsible for this stupid fire alarm.” She sighed. “My father was here.”