Page 61 of Dagger in the Sea

That crooked grin of his was etched across his lips, but something softer flickered over his face for just a moment. “You’re very good at conquering, baby.”

18

Adriana

“There you are, beautiful!”

Kaspar lifted me in his arms, brushing his lips against mine. I pulled back from his embrace. “Good to see you.”

He placed me back down gently onto his narrow stage platform which had been set up over the shoreline of the beach club. Just beyond the stage, the sea sparkled with the lights from all the boats and yachts crowding the cove before us.

“Gorgeous as ever.” His infectious grin widened.

Kaspar wasn’t the most handsome man, but his outgoing personality and reckless enthusiasm for life were so charismatic and mesmerizing that he left you breathless; you wanted to be a part of his energy. We always flirted with each other, although he flirted with everyone. We’d snogged after a concert of his in Montenegro last summer, but that had been it. And that had been enough.

His bright blue eyes teased me as he raked a hand through that perpetually messy blond beach hair of his. “You never showed up in Abu Dhabi last September like you promised, sweetheart. You broke my heart.”

Dip a toe in, use the Alessio card, run the other way. That always worked for me, but then I’d met Turo. I’d dipped my customary toe in, but now, oh now, I craved a full bath.

“I know, Kaspar. I’m sorry,” I said. “Bad timing, I couldn’t make it happen. But I’m so glad you’re here. Did the sound check go okay? You have everything you need?”

“Yah, it’s good. All good.” For the third time he shot a quick look at Turo who stood to my side, but he quickly re-focused his attention on me. I could feel the barbed prickle of heat that was Turo’s glare. His annoyance was a force of nature.

Having security wasn’t unusual, and security guards were everywhere here. Huge, tall, ruggedly attractive men every five feet kept a close eye on everyone and everything. Turo may not have been large and brawny like all these superhero types, but he was fit and sharply handsome, and he was my very own security superhero.

His dark tapered suit fit him perfectly, and every time our eyes met, my pulse raced and I found myself staring at him a bit longer than I should. And he, cocky devil that he was, always returned my looks with loaded ones of his own—part respectful appreciation, part protectiveness, part outright lust. That heady perfume still lingered in the air between us from the moment he’d taken my hand and guided me onto the launch earlier.

“You need a drink, love,” Kaspar said, gesturing at the generous shots of vodka being served with ice cubes that had colorful flowers frozen inside. Alessio had partnered with a trendy new Polish vodka company for tonight’s party. All organic ingredients and interesting flavors. Add the sculpted hand-painted glass bottle encrusted with Swarovski crystals and that was supposed to make it worth one thousand euros a bottle.

“I will, very soon. Too much to do just yet.” I winked at him.

If I had a drink now, it would be too easy to keep drinking, and I’d convince myself I was more at ease than I actually was. I was working tonight. Tonight I had responsibilities and I would see them through.

The screaming tension that had tightened my every muscle to the point of a full-on, dizzying, chest-crushing, cold sweat panic on the launch coming over had evaporated bit by bit under his shadow, and I felt much more comfortable than I’d expected to be. From the moment Turo and I arrived at the club, I pushed back my panic and focused on Alessio’s panic, the models’ last minute snafus, the restaurant manager’s thousand questions, the lighting designer’s issues, Theo, the PR man’s checklist. One by one, I answered questions, made decisions, insisted on changes, gave lots of hugs brimming with enthusiasm.

As the sun set and the club filled with people, my anxiety bit at the edges of my jagged pulse like a desperate wild dog wanting to get his way. But Turo’s presence at my side, at my back, him watching me insistently with those bright hazel eyes of his made the few embers of confidence inside me blaze to life again and the dog receded. Turo was a consummate professional, a constant presence, unobtrusive, but always there, always within my reach. And that uneasy panic that had become so familiar had been slowly dissolving.

“Come on, love, wish me well—” Kaspar held out a glass of vodka to me as he grabbed one for himself.

Behind me, Turo cleared his throat.

“You will slay them all tonight.” I grinned brilliantly as he tossed back his shot. “I have to check in with the restaurant. I’ll see you later, okay?” I touched his arm. “Have a great show.” We double kissed in goodbye and I moved back, leaving the stage. Kaspar was immediately swarmed by his staff and the entertainment coordinator from the beach club, fans hungry for him. He and his vodka were gone in a vortex of enthusiasm and cacophony.

I turned to Turo with a slight dip of my head, and he immediately leaned in closer. “I need to check in with Alessio and the models. It’s almost time.”

He glanced at his watch. “Right. Ten minutes.”

His eyes scanned the crowd as he guided me toward the restaurant area. He held out his hand and I took it as we mounted the few steps to the restaurant and my insides fluttered. He knew, he knew exactly what I needed and when I needed it. Either for him to hover when a journalist began to ask me overtly personal questions, as one had earlier, or simply a hand reaching out for support as I made it up three deep steps.

And thank God because these bloody shoes were merciless. My feet were already killing me. They were good for taking a few steps to your table and sitting there for hours, then getting back in the car to go home. Not charging around like an army captain drilling his regiment, keeping close watch that every soldier was in form. And this battlefield was full of wooden steps, pebbled pathways, irregular stone tile.

That distinctive touch of Turo’s settled on my bare back and my pulse skipped a beat once again. It didn’t matter that we had spent the entire day together, that he’d been in close proximity all evening long. With his every touch, no matter how slight, my body reacted. I reacted.

Flanked by the hair and makeup artists, Alessio was going down the line of the ten models who wore his jewelry. The models, Athens’s finest along with a few imports, had been strolling through the cocktail party wearing Alessio’s creations for an hour already. It was now time for the grand finale.

“How’s it going?” I asked Alessio who was arranging the leather bindings of a choker around a model’s neck.

“Bene.”His fingers worked quickly, his focus on his task fierce. “Have you seen Kaspar? He was asking for you.”

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