Kane by Jennifer Blake

of excuse before. She hadn’t appreciated it then, did so even less now.
    What on earth made Kane Benedict think she might be so gullible, much less so accommodating? It must be because she had come with him so easily, because she had not thought to let anyone know where she was going.
    What was she going to do? Should she risk insulting him with her accusations, or wait and see if it really was the cheap trick she suspected? Would it be better to make her position clear in no uncertain terms, ormight that only warn him that she was going to be difficult?
    She felt sick. It was hard to believe Lewis Crompton’s grandson would try this, in spite of the incident in the coffin yesterday. It was so isolated out here, so far away from everything she considered safe and civilized. No passersby, no telephones, no police. She had no weapon, no way, short of tooth and nail, of fighting back.
    The most devastating question, then, was the one with the most doubtful answer. Was there any way on earth she could stop whatever he had in mind?

4
    T he truck neared an avenue of live oaks that led to a West Indies–style house with a hipped roof that overhung deep, railed porches on the front and back. A mud-splashed Jeep came down the shady drive, halting at the highway for them to pass. Regina noticed the brief movement as Kane lifted his fingers in a wave to the other driver. Instead of returning it, however, the man in the Jeep blew a quick tattoo on his horn. Kane braked to a stop, then reversed until he was at the drive again. With an expert movement, he whipped the truck off the road and in front of the sports vehicle.
    A tall, dark-haired man climbed out and came toward them, walking around to the driver’s-side window. “How’s it going, Kane?” he said, then looked past him to Regina and touched the bill of his cap. “Ma’am.”
    â€œCan’t complain,” Kane answered, sitting relaxed with one strong wrist resting across the steering wheel. “Miss Dalton, my cousin, Luke Benedict. Regina’s here on business, Luke.”
    Regina leaned across Kane to offer her hand with a conventional greeting, then added, “We were just speaking about you, I believe.”
    â€œWere you now?” Luke said, grinning as he retained her hand. “I can’t imagine anything Kane could say about me that a lady like you should hear.”
    â€œBoyish exploits,” she answered, responding with a smile to the unabashed admiration in Luke Benedict’s eyes and sheer joy of living that radiated from him. It was easy to see the resemblance to Kane in the height, rangy build, and strong bone structure. At the same time, Luke was different, with a more blue-black shade to his hair, deeper olive coloring, and eyes of such a dark brown that the irises and pupils seemed to merge, creating laughter-bright depths like sunlight striking through dark pools.
    â€œEven worse,” Luke returned with a droll wag of his head. “But Kane can’t have bad-mouthed me too much, since he must have been in it up to his neck, too. Not like now, when he’s too much of a stick-in-the-mud to have fun.”
    â€œFor that, you can unhand Regina,” Kane said, grasping her wrist in one hand and Luke’s in the other and pulling them apart. “Why the devil did you flag us down? Make it fast. We’ve got places to go and things to do.”
    â€œBusy, busy.” Luke winked at Regina as he spoke across his cousin. “You do know he’s a driven personality? You’ll have to make allowances?”
    Regina hardly knew how to answer that, even if she had been paying strict attention. Her concentration was on her wrist that was still imprisoned in Kane’s grasp. He seemed to have forgotten he held it, forcing her into an awkward position as she leaned across him, almost in his lap. She tugged experimentally. He didn’t let go, but turned his head to stare down at