Tempest - Kris Michaels Page 0,36

doc had said it was because he'd never been so vulnerable, and it was normal to want to show the woman who'd given him back his life, he was worthy of it.

Tempest shook his head. He'd give the doc credit. He'd gotten close, but his real motivation was to show Pilar he was worthy of her. Worthy to be in her life. Those considerations had caused him countless sleepless nights because he couldn't tell her until he'd completed his vendetta against the Fates. Work he couldn't dismiss, or delay, prevented him from declaring his true feelings for her. Stupid. He'd known her a handful of hours, although it seemed like so much more.

Regardless, his feelings weren't the important issue here. He'd hunt down Stratus and the Fates like the animals they were, and he was going to use her mother as a stepping stone to reach his goal. His drive to use her mother was enough to damn any future with Pilar to hell and back. She wanted her mother to be brought to justice. He didn't deal with terms such as justice. He wanted revenge. He wanted to destroy Stratus and inflict a slow torturous death upon the Fates. If pressuring Pilar's mother would advance his goals, the Fates' continued existence would be brief and agonizing.

He moved closer. "Is something wrong with the wine?"

She gasped and jerked around, spilling half of the wine on top of her and the chair. "Shit!" She moved quickly and then hissed as she stood too fast. He grabbed her arm to stabilize her. "I was so worried. I thought you weren't going to be here." She looked at him. "You're all wet."

He grinned. "So are you." The wine had turned her white shorts transparent. She wore hot pink panties.

She glanced down and groaned. "Perfect." She gave the remaining wine in her glass an evil glare.

"Let's sit over here." He pointed to the built-in couch along the side of the ship. He helped her totter to the seat and waited until she got comfortable before he sat down. He bent down and cradled her injured foot on his lap, elevating the ravaged foot and giving him an excuse to touch her.

"Where were you?" She seemed to notice her wine glass and took a sip. Her eyebrows rose, and she murmured, "This is nice."

"Inside. I didn't want anyone who might be watching to see me."

"In case I was followed."

"Exactly."

"So, what happens now?" She took another sip of her wine. “And why are you wet?”

"I took a small side excursion. Your luggage was tagged with a GPS and RF device which are no longer there, but it still has a recording device in it."

"What?" She scrambled to catch her glass when it went sideways again.

He reached for the glass and took it away from her. "The GPS and RF tracker were in your suitcase. One in the pen of your planner. One in the case itself."

"What did you do with them?"

"I planted them on another vessel which I believe is about to set sail."

She blinked at him and shook her head. "The recording device?"

"Old tech and not installed well at all."

"The butler did it."

Tempest couldn't help the chuckle and smile. "He usually does."

Her brow creased for a moment before she reached out and smacked him on the arm, but her smile made an appearance. "I'm serious. The butler came to my room this morning while I was in the bathroom. He works for my mother."

"No worries. They won't get much from it unless..." His mind dipped into darkness, but he shook his head.

"Unless what?"

"Would your mother ever blackmail you?"

"Blackmail?"

"Yes, if she couldn't get you to do what she wanted, would she blackmail you?"

Pilar grabbed her wine glass back from him and downed the remainder. She handed him the glass back and flopped back into the cushions. "I wouldn't put anything past her. Look what she did to you."

The defeated resignation in her voice galvanized his hatred for a woman he'd never met. "Yeah, but I'm not her daughter."

Pilar ran her hands through her hair and re-anchored the blonde curls in the ponytail they were trying to escape. "I’m quite certain my mother would use whatever was at her disposal to get her way. With me, or you, or anyone else. Why do you ask?"

"If she taped you having sex..." He let the words drift.

Her eyes widened. "Is there a camera?"

"No, only audio."

She blinked and shook her head. "Ummm... yeah. That's really sick, but like I said,