Deadly Honeymoon (Hardy Brothers Security Book 7) (3 page)

The man made a face. “Well, she shouldn’t be dressed like that if she’s married,” he sneered. “She looks like she’s open for offers.”

James’ fist was slamming into the man’s face before Mandy realized what was happening. The man reared back, grabbing his nose as blood poured out.

“You hit me!”

“What’s going on here?”

James shifted his gaze to the approaching police officer, forcing himself to remain calm. “Just a misunderstanding.”

“About?”

“About whether or not my wife was available for groping,” James replied honestly.

The cop nodded. “I see.” He moved closer to the stranger. “Sir, are you all right?”

“That guy hit me!”

“Did you touch his wife?”

“Well, she’s dressed like a slut.”

James took a step toward him, his fist clenched at his side. The cop put up a stilling hand.

“I think you should probably stay away from other people’s wives,” the cop suggested, shifting his attention to James. “Maybe you and your wife should move farther down the street?”

“We’re leaving,” James said, holding out his hand so Mandy could take it. He focused on the stranger, who was still trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. “Don’t ever come near my wife again.”

Mandy took James’ hand, fixing him with a weary look. “You’re always so aggressive.”

“Move your ass,” James said. “I’m going to be really aggressive in about twenty minutes, and I don’t want you to miss it.”

“Me either.”

“I hate surprises.”

“You don’t hate surprises,” James said, brushing off Mandy’s pouty complaints as he read the sign on the dock.

“I do. You know they drive me crazy,” Mandy argued.

“You drive yourself crazy,” James countered. “I think it’s this way.”

Mandy remained where she was standing, hands on hips, and she fixed him with a hard look. “Tell me where we’re going.”

“We’re almost there,” James said.

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“I hate surprises!”

“Our honeymoon destination was a surprise, and you loved that,” James pointed out.

“Yes, but you drove me batshit crazy for an entire month by not telling me,” Mandy said. “It was torture.”

James smiled. “Baby?”

“What?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Now, walk this way,” James said, turning and moving down the dock.

“I changed my mind,” Mandy grumbled as she fell into step behind him. “I hate you.”

“You’re going to love me again in a few minutes.”

“Nope. My disdain is forever.”

James rolled his eyes, but he kept walking. Thankfully, he found the boat he was looking for relatively quickly. “There it is.”

Mandy stilled. “It’s a boat.”

James waited.

“It’s a big boat.”

“What? You don’t like boats suddenly?”

“I just didn’t realize we were looking for a boat,” Mandy said.

“We’re at the docks,” James said, his tone dry. “What did you think we were looking for?”

Mandy shrugged. “Pie.”

“Pie?”

“Hey, you don’t know,” Mandy said. “They could have good pie at the docks.”

James shook his head, frustration starting to bubble up. “Are you trying to make me kill you?”

“I … why are we at the docks?”

“I thought you might want to pick up a fisherman,” James deadpanned. “If you come with me, you’ll find out.”

Mandy scowled. “I hate surprises.”

“You’re going to like this one.”

“I bet you’re wrong.”

“If I am, I’ll give you a two-hour massage tonight,” James offered.

Mandy brightened, clapping her hands together. “Yay!”

“Yeah, you don’t hate me so much now, do you?”

“SO, WAIT,
we’re doing what?” Mandy’s eyes, the same color as the sea they were traversing, were wide.

James smiled, leaning back in the deck chair and stretching his long legs out in front of him lazily. “We’re going shark watching.”

“Like real sharks?”

“No, fake ones.”

Mandy made a face. “Don’t take that tone with me.”

“You’re the one who is being unreasonable,” James said.

“I am not being unreasonable,” Mandy said, pitching forward as the speeding boat hit a hard wave. James reached out, catching her before she could hit the deck.

“You are.”

“I’m just … .”

“Excited?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Scared?”

“I’m not sure.”

“It’s going to be fun,” James said, shifting Mandy over so she was settled into the seat next to him. “Fasten your seatbelt.”

Mandy did as instructed. “What kind of sharks are we going to see?”

James narrowed his eyes. She was excited, that much was obvious. She was also worried. He loved his wife more than anything in the world, but sometimes she got lost in her own head.

“I’m not sure,” James said. “What kind of sharks lives around Bermuda?”

“Mostly Tiger sharks,” Mandy said. “Although, Great Whites have been sighted in the area at times. Do you think we’ll see a Great White?”

James smirked. “How do you know that? That Tiger sharks are prevalent in Bermuda, I mean.”

“What? I know things.”

“You know a lot of things,” James agreed. “That’s just a random thing for you to know. How do you know it?”

Mandy reached up to her neck, zipping the sterling silver shark charm across the chain as she considered the query. James had given her the necklace as a wedding gift, embracing her odd love of sharks and pairing it with a one-word engraving: Forever.

“I watch a lot of
Shark Week
,” Mandy replied.

“I’ve noticed,” James said. “I can never DVR anything when Shark Week is on because you fill the whole thing with shark shows. Then you proceed to watch them and maul me with your tongue.”

“Oh, like that’s some big hardship for you,” Mandy scoffed.

“I never said it was a hardship,” James said. “I happen to like your tongue.”

“You’re a sick man.” Mandy shifted in her seat, staring at the ocean as it passed by in a blur. “I’ve never been on a boat on the ocean.”

James raised an eyebrow. “Are you having fun?”

“I like the ride,” Mandy said. “When are we going to get to the sharks?”

James chuckled. “I have no idea. Just sit back and relax.”

Mandy leaned back against the seat, glancing around at the other tourists on the boat as they chatted amiably amongst themselves. Her attention was drawn to two young women, neither of whom looked old enough to drink. Their heads were bent together, and they were whispering. Occasionally, they would shift their attention from each other long enough to stare at the same spot on the boat. Unfortunately, that spot just happened to be where James was sitting.

Mandy cast a sidelong look at her husband. He was a beautiful specimen of a man. His body was perfect, and tantalizingly bronze thanks to the island sun. His jaw was strong and angular, and he earned attention from the opposite sex whenever he entered a room.

“You have a fan club,” Mandy said.

James lifted his head, turning. “What?”

Mandy inclined her chin toward the two women, one of whom was adjusting her bathing suit top so her breasts looked more advantageous from James’ position. “They’re staring at you.”

James glanced at the women, smiling slyly. “I’m a popular guy.”

“Why is it that people fall all over you wherever we go?”

“I’m the best looking guy in the world.”

Mandy wrinkled her nose. “How old do you think they are?”

James shrugged, glancing back at the girls, who giggled when they caught him looking in their direction. “Eighteen? Nineteen? Does it matter?”

Mandy shook her head. “No.”

James leaned over, chucking her under the chin so she would look at him. “You know you’re the only woman in this world I care about, right?”

“You like blondes,” Mandy said.

“I like one blonde,” James replied. “You.”

“If they were brunette, would that make a difference?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure?”

James sighed dramatically. “You’re the only woman I care about,” he said. “I don’t think you really care about them, though. I think you’re fixating on them because the idea of seeing sharks has your stomach twisted in knots. This is exactly why I didn’t tell you what we were doing beforehand. You would’ve completely melted down waiting for this to happen.”

“I don’t melt down.”

“You always melt down,” James countered.

“I … .”

Whatever Mandy was about to say died on her lips as the engine of the boat died. She leaned forward excitedly. “Do you see any sharks?”

James shook his head, fighting hard to keep from laughing. She was so excited she was about to burst.

The captain of the boat arrived on the deck, greeting everyone and then explaining about the itinerary for the rest of the afternoon. James tuned him out. He didn’t care about anyone but his bride, and she was busy leaning over the edge of the boat as she tried to get a gander of a gray fin.

One of the blonde women took the opportunity to approach James. “Hi.”

James kept his face neutral. “Hi.”

“I’m Dakota,” she said, introducing herself. “And this is my best friend, Hayley.”

“Nice to meet you.” He knew the girl was trying to flirt, and Mandy was so distracted with the water that she was beyond noticing his imminent peril. It was up to him to let them down easy.

“So, this is exciting, isn’t it?” Dakota asked.

“It’s fun.”

“It’s scary,” Hayley said, taking a step forward. “It’s making me all shaky.”

James pursed his lips. “I’m sure we’re perfectly safe. They wouldn’t do these excursions if you were in any real danger.”

“Still,” Dakota said, moving closer as she tried to edge Hayley away. “It’s a big deal.”

James ran his tongue over his teeth. “Sure.”

“So, where are you from?” Hayley asked.

“Michigan.”

“Oh, that’s so cool,” Dakota said, shooting Hayley a territorial look. “We’re from Ohio. That’s really close.”

“Not that close,” James said, wishing Mandy would suddenly remember that she was married for a moment.

“It’s close,” Dakota said. “
Very
close.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So, what brings you to Bermuda?” Hayley asked.

Here was the opening he’d been waiting for. “My honeymoon.”

Hayley’s face fell. “Oh. You’re married?”

James held up his left hand for confirmation. “I am.”

“Happily?”

James glanced at his distracted wife. “Yes.”

“That’s too bad,” Dakota said, pouting.

Mandy picked that moment to swivel around, her face lit with glee. “Look.”

James followed her extended index finger with his eyes, his gaze falling on a distinctive fin as it sluiced through the water about twenty feet away. “What kind is it?”

Mandy narrowed her eyes, studying the shark. “Tiger.”

“Awesome.”

“That’s your wife?” Dakota asked, frowning.

“It is.”

“She seems … nice.”

“She loves sharks,” James explained. “She’s distracted.”

“How can anyone be distracted when you’re around?” Dakota purred.

“Maybe because I know I’ll be seeing him naked again in a couple of hours,” Mandy shot back, still staring out at the ocean.

James smirked. She’d been listening the whole time.

Dakota’s eyebrows knit together as she regarded Mandy, looking her up and down like she was trying to decide if she was competition. Mandy was dressed in cutoff shorts and a simple tank top, her blonde hair tied into two messy buns on either side of her face. She was bare and simple, which was just how James liked her. He found beauty in the angular planes of her face, and the wide smile that was so often tugging at her plump lips. Makeup was unnecessary. Dakota and Hayley obviously hadn’t learned that lesson yet.

“You don’t have to be crude,” Hayley said.

Mandy finally turned, fixing her two rival blondes with a dismissive look. “You’re the ones hitting on my husband while I’m standing right next to him.”

“We weren’t hitting on him,” Dakota squealed, placing her hand on James’ bare forearm. “We weren’t hitting on you.”

Mandy rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just know, he’s already taken. You’re wasting your time.” A splashing fin in the water dragged Mandy’s gaze back to the water. “Look!”

“You deserve so much better,” Hayley said.

James pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “I have the best woman in the world.”

“You’re just saying that because she’s so … mean,” Dakota said.

“I’m saying that because it’s true,” James countered. “And, she’s right, you’re wasting your time.”

“We don’t have to be,” Dakota replied, leaning in. “We even do stuff together – like threesome stuff.”

“Yeah,” James said, taking a step back. “I’m fine with one woman.”

Hayley made a face. “Even if it’s her?”

“Especially if it’s her,” James said.

Dakota and Hayley exchanged a look. “I think he’s got that Stockholder’s Syndrome or something.”

“He must.”

“It’s Stockholm, you twits,” Mandy said.

“Stockholm isn’t a real thing,” Dakota countered. “Don’t try and confuse us.”

Mandy made an exasperated sound in the back of her throat. “Go over there,” she said, pointing. “Those two guys trying to fit those fins on their heads look like they’re right up your alley.”

Hayley didn’t look happy with the suggestion, but the two buff guys were enough to keep her attention. The young blondes started drifting in that direction. When they were gone, Mandy turned to James. “You like me better, right?”

“I like you better than anything,” James said, slinging an arm around Mandy’s shoulders and dropping a kiss on her forehead. “Now, look at your sharks.”

Mandy started to turn back to the water and then quickly swiveled back. “Will you pretend to be Martin Brody for me later tonight?”