Page 41 of Twister

“When did my ferocious bear turn into a teddy?”

He stared at her, and she could tell by the expression in his eyes that he didn't know whether to be amused or ticked off over her implication. “Are you calling me…cuddly?” he growled, his tone mock offended, and she smiled.

“If the Care Bear shoe fits.” She giggled again. So damn cute, especially with that intimidating scowl. “Let me see if there is a pretty rainbow on your tummy.” She went to lift his T-shirt, but her mouth only went dry at the hardness of his rippling abs instead. Damn, she was caught in her own tease.

His body stilled, and he looked at her, his eyes narrowing dangerously, a glint of reprisal appearing. He continued to watch her with that dark, heavy-lidded look, then, the husky timbre of his voice loaded with gravel, he said, “I don’t do pretty, but I’ll get one tattooed on my ass if you want some hard, fucking rainbows.”

“I’m sure there’s a tattoo parlor around—” She squealed, noting the devilish twinkle sparking to life in those burnished depths.

“Woman, you are going to have to pay up for that.”

“Oh, really? You're going to need your whole team to—” A half second later, she was on her back, on her bed, another squeal of surprised delight whooshing out of her as Twister’s weight pressed down on top of her.

“I don’t need any team to battle oh-so-tough with you,” he said, thrusting his hips against hers, and her thoughts scattered as he held her gaze for the longest moment, then he dropped his head, and she completely got lost in him.

Sadie woke before dawn,tucked into the curve of Twister’s body, his arm secure around her waist, his breath warm against her neck, and she let her eyes drift shut, loving the feel of waking up in his arms. She couldn’t have had more than three hours of sleep, but she was feeling surprisingly rested. They had ended up talking into the night about their childhoods, and she had found out more information about the way he both loved and resented his father. He confessed that he didn’t often talk about his dad, not wanting to fall under his shadow. He’d also told her he was from Bethlehem, New Hampshire, a small town in the White Mountains with lots of winter sports, rock climbing, hiking and old-fashioned festivals, outdoor concerts, and art shows. He said his mom owned an antique shop, and she was a genius when it came to turning other peoples’ junk into treasure.

But now it was morning and the sun would be up soon, and her PT waited for no man or daybreak. Softly rubbing the back of his hand, Sadie shifted and looked at the clock. She lifted his arm and eased away from him. As soon as she moved, Twister rolled over onto his stomach. Smiling down at him, she pulled the sheet up to cover him, and her stomach dropped. She’d felt it a couple times when she’d run her hands over his back, a circular-shaped scar. Now she realized it was a bullet wound healed over.

She took a hard breath, realizing that if it came to any kind of violence, this man was going to be her shield. Feeling that sober thought all the way through her, she dragged her gaze away and covered him, then leaned down and lightly kissed his temple. Stars, she hoped she had made things better for him like he had done for her. She had a lot of work to do to overcome a lifetimeof skewed thinking, but she felt she was on the path to a better understanding of herself for sure.

Once she was out running, she kept experiencing this feeling of being watched. Breathing hard, she stopped and turned, just catching a glimpse of a man who disappeared from view, but her heart lurched a bit. David Burton.

She was sure it was him because he was wearing that goofy Jiminy Cricket T-shirt they had gotten at Disneyland when they’d visited it in dive school while on leave. Dylan had insisted, because he’d joked that David wanted to be his conscience, and it had been an uncomfortable situation.

Feeling strange at the thought that David was watching her, she finished her run and entered the building.

“Petty Officer Tompkins,” a man called, and she turned to find Special Agent Beck. “Could I have a word with you?”

“Of course,” she said as sweat slipped down her temples and cheeks.

“After talking with Petty Officer Lancaster, he revealed that you had a relationship with Petty Officer Mercer in dive school and that it caused a rift between the two men. Has Petty Officer Burton been acting strange at all?”

“It’s true we had a relationship, and David was totally against it to the extent that he tried to break us up. As for acting strange…he has been hostile to me on several occasions.”

Before she could tell the agent what had just happened, he asked, “Have you seen or heard from Petty Officer Burton?”

From the look on his face, she got the feeling this wasn’t a casual question. “Um, yes. I just saw him on the running path.”

“When?” he asked sharply.

“About ten minutes ago. I think he was following me.”

“He’s currently AWOL, and he’s wanted for questioning in Petty Officer Mercer’s death at this time,” he said, motioning to Special Agent Berenger. “If he approaches you or you hear fromhim, please urge him to turn himself in.” Then he and Agent Crawford were gone.

Shaken, she walked back to the room.Was the whole world going crazy?She thought Dylan had been killed by a terrorist group. How and why did he have information about Dylan’s death? A shiver went down her spine, and she didn’t want to think about it, but Twister’s words came back to her.He has the hots for you.Had Dylan and David argued over her again? Had David seriously been jealous enough to have murdered Dylan? Those thoughts were mind-boggling.

Once they were officiallyon leave, Twister still felt he couldn’t let down his guard. David was still gone, somewhere on the island, and he was fixated on Sadie. After what Sadie told him yesterday regarding the fact that David had been following her, and he was wanted in questioning regarding Mercer’s death, he almost canceled their outing, but he realized that Sadie would be very disappointed, and if David thought to do harm to Sadie, he probably already would have.

She was safe with him. They took a taxi through Denpasar's bustling city, seeing much of the residential and urban parts, most of it filled with greenery and ancient temples. Their hotel was located to the south of the city near the ocean, so they could go to a few snorkel places, avoiding scuba diving altogether to flush the nitrogen from their systems. There was heavy congestion during the late morning hours running up to lunch.

After they checked in and dropped their bags into the room, they opted to go out of the hotel for lunch to experience the Balinese cuisine. They chose a fresh seafood restaurant that had an ocean view and was within walking distance of the hotel. Thecatch offered up for consumption had been caught by locals and grilled using a traditional method of cooking on a coconut husk.

They weren’t going to dive until the next day, spending a leisurely time having lunch, doing some shopping, and then crashing at the end of the day by the pool.

Twister was looking forward to a nighttime stroll with Sadie.

When they were seated, they ordered, and just as their drinks were delivered, Sadie stiffened.

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