CHAPTER 1

Mike's eyes wandered dispassionately over yet another woman's body. There were dozens of them, alone or in pairs, all bright-eyed and eager. Every one of them seemed more than ready to leave the frigid temperatures that gripped the Lower Great Lakes area for a blast of sunshine and fun. One tall, dark-eyed woman of about his own age met his gaze with a challenging smile and an appreciative scrutiny of her own.

Too aggressive, he decided, a little taken aback by her frank interest in the lower part of his anatomy. Have to make sure I'm the predator here.

He was having trouble believing that he, Mike Garson, senior partner of Garson Construction International, was leaning against a concrete pillar, blatantly girl-watching like a lout in a fifties' movie. All he needed was a Fedora tilted down over his eyes and a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

From his vantage point near the entrance to the departure lounges, he had a good view of the passengers lined up to go through airport security. Many of them would probably be heading for the charter flight that connected with the MS Theseus. If the right ones were taking it, the cruise mightn't be a total washout. He hadn't expected so many of the women traveling alone to be young and attractive. So far, two or three of them had been well worth his critical appraisal.

Of course, no one else was in a class with the blonde being kissed good-bye by the smooth article in the gray suit. She had the cool Scandinavian look that had always intrigued him. Her shoulder-length hair was the color of the palest yellow rose, her back slender and her bottom curved and tempting.

Mike was getting a kind of vicious satisfaction from this cold-blooded search for an acceptable woman. He continued to study every woman who passed, but his eyes kept returning to the blonde. Gray Suit was going a little overboard on the kiss, but he was keeping his hands discreetly above the waist. Mike, however, could feel his own palms itching to cup the round firm flesh discreetly covered by well-tailored, pale green trousers.

Whoa, Mike! An angry man could too easily get caught up in this role. Trying to steal someone else's woman had never been part of his plan. All he wanted was to salvage his vacation, and some of his pride. He felt a twinge of distaste at the self-centered male on the prowl he had decided to become.

Gray Suit was still kissing her! The woman evidently was beginning to find it tedious. He watched her open one startling turquoise eye to peek at her watch. Another insincere blonde. This one had Gray Suit fooled. The poor sap was probably convinced she cared about him. She had the grace to blush when she realized Mike had caught her checking the time, but he recognized her type.

There was no danger of emotional involvement with this woman. If she was taking the cruise, and if she wasn't meeting another man on the ship, she might fill the bill, not to mention the empty half of the double bed in his stateroom. His pulse quickened at the thought. Yes, it was a long shot, but if he played his cards right, there was a chance he could become intimately acquainted with that luscious body. And that was definitely something to look forward to.

At the moment, all Sara Tolberg was looking forward to was distance from Stephen. She was beyond mere annoyance at him. In spite of the fact she had booked an airport limousine, he had insisted on driving her in from Rochester at four o'clock this morning. And now he was acting as if they were lovers parting. It wasn't that she found his embrace repulsive; she simply wasn't enjoying it. Didn't he care she wasn't kissing him back? She tried to move away, but he pulled her firmly back to him.

She would never have tolerated this display from any other man. However, since the senator's health had forced his retirement, Stephen and his fledgling political career had been very important to her father, and, of course, to her. Stephen knew very well that, although she was seething, she'd never make a scene. Short of hitting him or kneeing him in the groin, she didn't know how to make him end his one-sided kiss.

She hadn't agreed to his marriage proposal, but he seemed to think that simply stating his intentions gave him some sort of rights over her. Of course, her father had led him to believe it was just a matter of time before she came to her senses.

She managed to pull away from him and take a deep breath.

"Good-bye, Stephen," she said, patting his cheek. "You can tell the senator you got me safely to the plane."

"I will. Is there anything else I can do for you, my sweet?"

"No, nothing," she said, a little too vehemently. She lightened her reply with a laugh. After all, she reminded herself, she was fond of him. "You even provided more than my quota of kisses for the next two weeks," she added, dryly.

Stephen joined in her laughter, but though his lips smiled and his laugh lines crinkled, there was little amusement in his blue eyes.

"That was my intention," he said.

A few feet away, Mike wondered if maybe he'd heard a trace of relief in the blonde's laugh when she finally ended the kiss with some sort of quip that made Gray Suit smile. She looked more approachable when she laughed.

As she was disengaging herself from Gray Suit's arms, a short, gray-haired man in a three-piece suit with a folded Wall Street Journal tucked under his arm walked briskly past them. Without a hesitation in his step, he stooped slightly, then continued on his way with the blonde's briefcase in his hand.

It took Mike a full second for the theft to register and for him to shout, "Hey! Put that down."

It took even less time to get his body in motion. He was already in full flight when he heard the blonde cry, "Stop him."

The gray-haired thief must be younger than he looked. He sure could run and, from the way he was dodging around, he seemed to know the airport. However, Mike's deck shoes had a better grip on the tile floor than the thief's leather soles and his speed was fuelled by a completely inexplicable rage at the thief for choosing the intriguing blonde as his victim. Mike had almost caught up to him when his quarry suddenly turned a corner and headed toward a door marked "Airport Personnel Only."

Mike became aware someone else had joined in the pursuit.

Copyright © 2006 by Dee Lloyd.