Mal leaned forward and looked at her intensely. His brown eyes were flecked with gold, Scarlet realized, and it took a moment for his words to register: “Because your resort isn’t safe.”
Chapter 9
If Scarlet had not been his mate, and if he had not been half in love with her before he first set eyes on her, Mal was still sure this would have been a difficult conversation.
He was used to delivering bad news and had no qualms giving hard truths to people. It was second nature to steel himself against emotional investment before all such meetings.
But Scarlet...
It wasn’t just the threat of her sizzling power and it wasn’t just her beauty, though both of those complicated things more than he liked to admit. He wondered if she knew exactly what she did to his body when she tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. The curve of her neck, the grace of her fingers, the line of her collarbone, just visible at the open neck of her blouse; it was enough to make him adjust his seat... and Mal never brought his libido to a negotiation.
It wasn’t even his desire that was making it so hard to speak.
It was the vulnerability he’d glimpsed behind those flinty green eyes, the aching longing he doubted anyone else saw. He wanted to be her safety... he had never desired anything in the world so much as to be someone she could trust. He desperately wished he could tell her what she wanted to hear.
Instead, she thought he was her enemy, and he was bringing her news that would break her heart.
Scarlet narrowed her eyes. “Is this the point in our negotiations where you start threatening me?”
“No,” he promised. “It’s out of my hands, I swear to you. This island... it was an unfortunate place to build. It was never meant to be developed and you can’t stay here much longer. I didn’t realize how close to the end it was, before I came and saw for myself.”
“I’m going to need more than a vague statement of doom to convince me cancel the purchase,” Scarlet told him flatly. Then she gave a devastating smile, shook her head, and added, “Though I have to admit, that’s a more creative angle than I was expecting.”
“It’s not creative,” Mal protested. “I promise. Just hear me out, because benea—”
“Scarlet, I’m sorry to bother you...”
They both looked around to find Breck, looking very sorry indeed to bother them. “The cruise ship is in early with our new guests,” he said apologetically. He looked at Mal warily, his tray clutched like he feared he’d have to use it as a shield.
More guests, Mal thought, his hands clenching around the beer. More innocent shifters.
Scarlet was standing. “We’ll have to continue this conversation later,” she said dismissively to Mal.
Mal stood as well. “Today,” he insisted. “It’s important, and we’re running out of time.”
For a moment, he thought she was going to refuse.
“Please,” he added as an afterthought.
She pursed her lips and said reluctantly, “I should be free later this afternoon, after four.”
Mal extended a hand. “At four,” he said firmly.
She eyed his hand a moment before gingerly taking it and Mal savored the feeling of hers in his own. “At four, Mr. Moore,” she agreed faintly, and there was that spark of uncertainty in her gaze that made him want to fold her into his arms and protect her from anything.
“Mal,” he corrected. “Call me Mal.”
She scowled and her eyes shuttered. “Mr. Moore,” she repeated coldly and her hand was simply not in his any longer.
Her low heels clicked away over the hard tiles with a sound that Mal was already able to distinguish from anyone else and he watched her go with a smile of amusement.
Did she feel it? Did she already know that she was his mate, that he was hers, completely and utterly? Was she being coy, or simply defensive?
Alice had sworn that Scarlet wasn’t a shifter; was it possible that she honestly didn’t know about the bond they had? Humans supposedly felt overwhelming attraction when they met their mate, but she certainly wasn’t human. Mal had seen warmth and interest in her eyes when they danced, but little of either since then. Was she denying their connection because she was angry with him, or was she truly not aware of it?
Mal realized that Breck was still standing there, watching him watch Scarlet walk away.
The waiter cleared his throat. “I owe you an apology,” he said stiffly.