Page 59 of Exposed

His eyes misted and his hands curled into the arms of the chair. Hector was dead set that Maddie had something to do with his disappearance, and after witnessing her in the video, he’d had a hard time denying the possibility. Anger spread through him like a wildfire.

There was no way he’d been stupid enough to let a woman fool him. If she’d had something to do with Tony’s death he would find out. She’d already made him look stupid with that fucking video.

Carlos didn’t fuck up. Ever. And he sure as hell wouldn’t let her ruin his reputation.

CHAPTER 20

Buzzz… Buzzz… Buzzz…

Maddie blinked and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She stretched her arms over her head and groaned. Fatigue brought her eyelids back down and sleep clouded over her. Her hand curled into the cool sheets next to her and the gentle hum from the shower reached her ears.

Last night she’d lain awake, her senses on high alert, waiting for Carlos to return to bed. After their fight she’d called the front desk to move to another suite, but the ship was filled to capacity. Thankfully, it had been after four in the morning when he’d finally passed out on top of the covers beside her.

His deep rumbling snore had assured her that he wouldn’t slit her throat while she slept.

Buzzz… Buzzz… Buzzz…

Shit! Her phone. She jumped into a sitting position and lifted the device from the night table where it sat plugged in. Zoe’s name and number illuminated the screen. Maddie swallowed, her thumb hovered over the icons. She couldn’t chance answering it and having Carlos come out. She’d have to wait and call her back. With all that had been going on she’d been completely out of touch with her friend.

She peeled back the covers and pressed her feet into the cool area rug. The water shut off and her back straightened. Her fingers curled into the mauve duvet comforter and she debated crawling back under the sheets and pretending she was still asleep.

No. The last thing she wanted was for him to catch her in bed. It could give him ideas. Her phone vibrated again and she picked it up to read the message. It was Zoe again. Guilt gnawed at her. She needed to get better about returning calls while on a job, but when her mind was on a task she thought of nothing else.

Where are you? I’m worried. Call me asap.

She moved her fingers over the screen.

I’ll call in a bit.

She had to talk to her. If Carlos asked her to come downstairs with him right away, she’d tell him she needed to call her mom or—

Shit! She slapped her palm to her forehead. She’d completely forgotten about the lie she’d told Carlos about her mother having a heart attack. Damn, she was rusty.

She got to her feet and the bathroom door swung open. Carlos stood in the doorway, a mauve towel draped around his hips. Curly black hair swarmed around his chest like bees to a hive, trailing their way down to the towel.

Carlos had a lot of body hair. Nate kept his body hair nicely groomed, nothing like Carlos’s hot mess. His body lacked the thick, muscular build that Nate worked so hard for.

His bloodshot green eyes landed on her and his face twisted. “Morning,” he said and stepped out of the bathroom. His still wet feet left a trail of footprints on the marble floor. “Are you coming down for breakfast?”

“After I take a shower and call my dad.” She kept her voice terse and carefully enunciated each word. If they had a real relationship, she’d still be pretty pissed about his accusations yesterday. She met him at the bathroom door, intending to brush past him.

He didn’t budge. His eyes moved over her face. She folded her arms tightly across the thin material of her pajama top, blocking her braless nipples.

“I need to check on my mom.”

A muscle at the corner of his mouth jumped, but he didn’t say anything. His eyes moved down to her crossed arms, stopped on her belly, and slid back up even slower. If it was possible for his stubble to get any darker, it did. His eyes turned hard with need.

Her pulse beat frantically against her throat.

It wasn’t the hungry, soul-consuming need that she’d seen reflected in Nate’s eyes. This was different. Up close, Carlos didn’t look good. Instead of being deeply tanned from hours spent in the sun, his olive skin tone held a shade of ash beneath the brown. His eyes were bleary and red, and his lips bone-dry.

Her stomach muscles clenched and she sucked her breath in. Had he done drugs last night? He’d never appeared high around her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t do them. Sober, Carlos was terrifying—if he was using drugs that was a whole other ballpark. Her skin prickled with the need to curl away from him.

Carlos’s chin lifted with an air of entitlement and he took a step closer, bringing the towel in contact with her abdomen. Her blood turned to ice. The back of his knuckles stroked over the bare skin of her bicep.

She cleared her throat. “We should hurry before it gets too busy down there. I could sure use some coffee before we dock.” With any luck, coffee would get him moving.

This morning, they would be stopping at St. Thomas. Their original plan was for her and Carlos to spend the day together, but she’d also told him yesterday that she was flying home. Dammit, she’d taken a gamble by saying that, and unless he begged her to stay, she had to follow through. His eyes snapped up to hers.

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