Trade by Tabitha A Lane Page A

touched you at the premiere.” His mouth lowered,
bringing his face so close, it blotted out the sun, and narrowed her world to him,
and him alone. “Kiss me.”
    He could have just touched his
mouth to hers, but instead, he gave her the choice. For a split-second, Max
considered. She could keep her distance. Reject him with a smile. Or…
    Screw it. A tiny movement and
the die was cast. She tilted her chin, and leaned in to press her mouth to his.
With a groan, his lips parted and his tongue invaded. His hand cupped her face,
holding her in place as he kissed her more thoroughly than anyone ever had. Her
eyes were closed, blocking out every other form of stimulus. She felt as though
she was on a surfboard, speeding through the water at the whim of the elements.
Carried away on a wild ride over which she had no control. She wanted to be
closer, wanted to climb up and straddle…
    “Melati Island!” shouted the
captain.
    Max pulled back with a gasp. She’d
forgotten where they were—that they weren’t alone.
    The hand cupping her face fell
away, and instead, Sholto curved his arm around her shoulders. “Wow.”
    He wasn’t talking about the
island. His gaze was firmly on her reddening face.
    *****
    The island was so small it looked as though it could be
traversed in a day. White sand. Clear water. Picture postcard. The speedboat
slowed as it travelled over shallow water, then Adam cut the engine. The splash
of waves lapping against the hull was the only sound.
    Adam leaped into the crystal
water, and tugged the boat to shore. Max took off her shoes, grabbed the bag,
and stepped into ankle deep water. Sholto did the same. Fine sand stuck to his
feet as they walked from the water. He breathed in warm air, redolent with the
scent of salt, of trees, of damp leaves and the dark jungle interior.
    “Thank you, Adam.” Max shook the
man’s hand.
    “No problem, Miss Max.” Adam
pointed to a large rock with a white blaze painted on top. “This is the meeting
place. In nine days, I’ll be here to pick you up. I’ll make a noise.” He took
an air can bullhorn from his pocket. “You’ll hear it all over the island, but
better to be close by, just in case.”
    She nodded.
    “The phone’s working?”
    She rooted in her bag and checked
the satellite phone. “Yes.”
    “Okay.” Adam thumped Sholto on the
back. “Have fun!”
    He waded back to the speedboat,
fired up the engine, and in a few moments was just a speck in an ocean of blue.
    Sholto wanted to kiss her. To wrap
his arms around her, and take her on the sand. But Max was a flurry of
activity. She started away from the beach, toward the point where the jungle
met the sand.
    She glanced at him over her
shoulder. “We’ll set up two camps.” She was all business. “I don’t know how
high the tide comes.” She stopped to examine a wavy line of tiny shells. “I
guess about here, but we should make camp higher, just in case.”
    She was cute in Sergeant-Major
mode, so he let her take charge and followed her into the shade of the tree line.
    She dropped the bag and examined
the ground. “Okay, let’s set your camp here.” She picked up a dry branch, palm
leaves curled and brown, and swept the ground with it. “First, we need to make
sure there are no insects lurking where you’re going to sleep.” She pulled two lethal
looking long, slender machetes out of the bag, and handed one over.
    “Did John have one of these?”
    She nodded. “He found one
abandoned on the island. This parang is new, so it’s sharper than the one he
found, but it’s within our guidelines.” She walked to a nearby tree and slashed
off a leaf frond. “We’ll use these to make your shelter.”
    “And yours.”
    She shook her head. “I’ve brought
a tent.”
    “Oh, you have, have you?”
    “Like I said, Kincaid, it’s your
fantasy, not mine. Mine includes a nice dry tent, whisky and hard candies—which
I won’t be sharing.”
    He frowned. “Or eating in front of
me, if