She flopped onto her pillow face-first and gave a muffled scream.
How could she be thinking these thoughts?
Too much sun.
Of course. That was the answer.
She’d had more sun in one day than she’d had for at least three years. It had addled her brain in much the same way sleep deprivation had addled it yesterday.
Feeling calmer, she stretched herself out on the narrow bed, closed her eyes and concentrated on inhaling and exhaling in long, regular breaths, the way she had long ago trained herself to fall asleep when her terrified fears for her sister had threatened to stop her ever falling into oblivion.
* * *
A loud rapping woke Carrie from the light slumber she had fallen into.
The digital bedside clock showed it had just turned midnight. She’d been in her room for less than an hour.
The rapping vibrated through the door again. ‘Caroline?’
‘I’m awake.’ She staggered off the bed and took the one step needed to reach the door, straightening her dress, which she’d fallen asleep in.
She braced herself before opening the door only to find her senses hit immediately with the tangy scent of Andreas’s cologne and the faint spice of his bath foam.
He was standing in a pair of faded jeans, his torso bare, a smile playing on his lips.
‘Were you sleeping?’ he asked with one eyebrow raised.
‘Dozing.’ I forgot that working for you meant only sleeping when you gave the order.
‘Good. I’m in the mood for a nightcap.’
Of course you are.
‘You want me to get it for you?’
He pulled a face that said very clearly that that was what he employed her for.
‘Give me a second to put something on my feet,’ she added hastily.
‘Bring me a tumbler of Scotch—any single malt will do—three fingers, two cubes of ice, and one for yourself. I’ll be on the veranda.’ Then he winked, turned and headed off.
Taking a deep breath while internally cursing him to the heavens, Carrie slipped her toes into the gold designer flip-flops she’d been given and trudged down the stairs to his den, where he kept his indoor bar.
How could any normal self-respecting employee put up with this? she wondered. No salary, however large, could compensate for being at Andreas’s permanent beck and call.
She fixed his Scotch exactly as demanded and poured herself some lemonade. As tempting as the vast array of liquors and spirits was, she didn’t want any alcohol in her bloodstream when dealing with this tricky man. She’d refused wine with her dinner for the same reason.
She carried the glasses outside, where a fresh breeze whispered over her skin, and found him back at the outside table reading something on his phone.
She still didn’t have a signal.
His teeth glimmered white in the moonlight as she put the drinks on the table. ‘Before you sit down, go to my dressing room and get me a pair of swim-shorts. I might want a swim later.’
Later? It was already the middle of the night. Did the man not plan on getting any sleep?
Was she not allowed to get any sleep?
Then she caught something in his eyes, an amusement that immediately aroused her suspicions…
Was he…?
Could he be…?
Was Andreas playing a game?
He stared right back at her, the amusement no longer just in his eyes but quirking on his lips, as if he were biting back laughter. But something darker lurked in those light brown eyes too, something that sent fresh alarm bells ringing inside her.
She backed away slowly, suddenly wary of taking her eyes off him.
Her job had taught her the importance of listening to her instincts and her instincts were telling her loud and clear that something was off and that some unseen danger awaited her.
Climbing back up the stairs, she realised that she’d had this instinctual feeling of something being amiss since her interview with him but Andreas had kept her so busy running around after him that she’d had no time to listen.
She paused at the threshold of his bedroom and gazed around with narrowed eyes. She’d resisted looking too deeply before as there had always been someone around and she hadn’t wanted to seem as if she were doing anything other than what Andreas was supposedly paying her for. The newest members of staff in any organisation always attracted curious glances, whether the work was in a business or domestic environment. It was human nature to watch strangers more closely than people you were familiar with. She’d thought it wise to hold off before she started any snooping.
Slowly she took all the expensive furnishings in, unsure what, if anything, she was looking for.
It was just a bedroom. A masculine, richly opulent bedroom for sure, but still, just a bedroom…
What the heck was that?
Right at the end of the curtain pole that covered his French doors, a tiny round object winked at her.