Sunset Rivalry: The Caliendo Resort (By The Lake: The Caliendo Resort Book 2) (2 page)

Quinn Barker? Quinn Barker!

Oh, it figured, her dad’s top man would be the one pinning Anya to her own bed. This man was relentless. This man had no heart. This man definitely got his hands dirty...only he was
so
good that he didn’t leave a trail of evidence.

What was he doing here? In her suite? At the resort at all? Why hadn’t Marc given him the boot after her dad’s death?

Marc wouldn’t pay Quinn the big bucks their father had paid him to keep him employed. She didn’t believe for a second that Marc had followed in their father’s footsteps of deceit and pain...and yet here was Quinn. The master of digging up the garbage her father needed to bring people to their knees.
People like Rebecca.

Through gritted teeth, her body squished between the mattress and this man’s over six-foot tall weight-training body, she said, “You’re going to get more than your hands dirty when I have you arrested for breaking and entering
and
assault.”

Quinn chuckled.

Chuckled? Chuckled!
The nerve.

Having her pinned to the bed, in a non-sexual pleasure sort of way−even if her panties may have been getting wet with each passing second−and he had the nerve to
chuckle
?

“Get off me,” she demanded.

Besides the fact that this very position was bringing back undeniably breathtaking memories of time spent with this man, there was something deeper going on inside her. Something that had nothing to do with sexual pleasure, but instead like his presence was bringing amity to her core...when she didn’t deserve it.

Anya’s mind was reacting to just the sound of him, telling her to turn around, hug him and let his strength take away all the struggles and fear she was dealing with. He might have her pinned, but was that concern within in his voice?

How could a man who handed over confidential information to a man who destroyed the victims have concern in his voice?

That exact question had plagued her the evening before she left when the truth about his career had been revealed...warning her to walk away from him....which was exactly what she had done.

What had begun as a quick fling, soon turned into something more, but they hadn’t admitted it at the time. Not until Anya confronted Quinn with the truth her father provided. The information should have been an easy out for her. They’d gone into the relationship−if that’s what you could call it−on a sex only basis. Quinn was a “no strings attached” kind of man.

But what did Anya do?

She’d gone and developed
feelings
for him.

Feelings!

Feelings for a man who guarded himself, and his personal life−a man harbouring pain, regret, and sorrow. He’d fooled himself into believing he hid it from the world.

Was that what first attracted her to him? Her desire to fix him?
No, it was his damn hot body first, and then along came her craving to be the woman to heal him...only to discover he was a giant ass who screwed with people’s lives just as ignorant as her father.

Quinn hadn’t denied it either. He’d admitted to working as head of security at the resort was a cover to his real job: Illegally investigating people’s lives for Robert. He’d given no remorse for his actions, leaving her decision to end things between them easy.

Now, wanting him to soothe her made her feel weak.

S
oothe it yourself. Fix this yourself. Don’t rely on others.

Ugh.

Now here she was, two years later, and all she could think about was how much she missed Quinn.

What is wrong with you?

“I recall a time when you liked this position.”

Did he have to sound so damn sexy?

She wished every seductive word out of his mouth would make her angry rather than turn on.

You don’t have time for this.

“What do you want?” she snarled.

Quinn didn’t know her deep dark secret. She hadn’t told him about that night and she sure as hell wasn’t about to tell him now. He’d kept enough lies from her about himself and was thankful her father conveyed them with his last dying breath. Otherwise, who knew where they would have ended up?

His next sentence left her debating two possibilities. “The same thing as you...”

You? No, not him. Maybe a little him. Yeah, you need a little of him like you need another secret of your own.

Anya pushed away her current thoughts about
him.
None of it mattered anymore. Not who she was or what she wanted. She had an obligation to one person: Rebecca. An innocent person doomed by Robert’s wicked ways.

Anya breathed in her strength...but all she smelled was the distinct scent of all man that Quinn was and sent chills of desire through her.

Desire? Desire! Are you serious Anya?

“And that is?” She was thankful when her voice came out confident and not trembling like her body and her thoughts. 

Quinn paused for a long moment, as if contemplating whether to admit the reason he was following her and restraining her on the bed.

Finally, he said in a low voice, “The file room.” 

Anya stiffened.

How did he know? How did he know! Did he know everything?

Did he know what Anya had done? Did he know about Rebecca?

Calm down. Of course he doesn’t know about Rebecca.

But, then again, it was his job to keep tabs on things.

Was he keeping tabs on her? This entire time?

“So that
is
what you’re looking for,” he said, taking note of her rigid body and silence.

Darn it. 

“You never were good at hiding your true feelings. You’re not like Violet,” Quinn said.

What did that mean? Did he know Anya had felt more for him?
She’d never told him.

Anya had had enough of this game. It was far worse than the cat and mouse game earlier. This was lion versus zebra and her pretty stripes were a dead giveaway.

She wanted to push him off her and demand respect, but she knew that wiggling beneath him would be useless and humiliating. Quinn had her cornered, just as he always had. Just like her selfish heartless father.

If Quinn was after the file room it was for one file and that would be the one to save his hide. His own file.

Selfish prick, as usual. 

“If you don’t get off me now, I
will
have you arrested and on top of assault I will add a shit load of your dealings with my dad to the record.” 

He let her go, but she knew her threat fell on deaf ears. Quinn could protect himself from anything brought forward...
or could he?
Maybe that’s why he wanted the file.

The mattress shifted as his weight lifted.

Anya had to dig deep down and pull all the self control she could find inside her trembling body not to scramble to her feet and put distance between them.

Under the circumstances one might presume it was because he’d had her nailed to the bed against her will.

It was quite the opposite.

She feared her willpower would ignore the signs that Quinn was nothing but trouble, and nail him against the wall with her mouth.

Scary and mind blowing. 

Anya stood at the end of her bed and resisted the urge to straighten the ponytail she’d pulled her medium blonde hair into, or smooth over her black tights and sweater. She’d tried to dress for rogue and camouflage in the shadows. Apparently, if one was watching and waiting−aka Quinn Barker−it wouldn’t have mattered what she wore.

Now Anya felt foolish, like a teenager sneaking around thinking she was
so
clever only to be busted by her parents. Only parents didn’t give her the smoky hot eyes of Quinn that bore straight into her soul.

Smoky hot eyes? After all these years? Really?

Swallowing hard, she knew if Quinn gave her the smallest hint that he was interested in more than arguing over a key, she would let him take her.

Right here. Right now.

She would tear every last piece of clothing off his body to feel his strong, flexing muscles beneath her fingertips.

Oh for crying out loud! Now you’re acting like a horny teenager. 

Quinn’s dark eyes held hers for what felt like hours locked in a moment of sharing everything they’d done together, and that last night.

Anya’s body trembled remembering how cold he’d been after she confronted him in her suite...right here in her bedroom where they stood now. He’d shut down and detached from her, confirming everything her father had said about him was true.

Now his eyes slowly traveled down her body, in a slow way that perceived every part of her. It was part of his job to assess people, monitor them and then invade and dig into their personal lives, their decisions, their actions...anything to use against them.

Did he notice she’d lost weight?

Anya knew she was stick and bones as a result of her appetite loss, struggling every day to push passed the sickness of her guilt and eat. Eat to survive.

Did he see the sadness in her eyes?

Her life was no longer her own and she was indebted to the life she’d ruined until she found Rebecca’s family and reunited them. Maybe afterwards Anya could resume her life.

Here? At the resort? With her family?

The notion was amazing, but how could Anya resume a normal life after everything that had happened? How could she smile, laugh and be happy? Deep down, she didn’t feel that was a possibility or something she even wanted. 

Quinn saw all of it. It didn’t matter, because he didn’t care.

Anya could hardly stand still as Quinn finished his profile assessment of her and stopped at her eyes, forwarding his unmistakable disapproval in her appearance.

That made her angry.

He had no idea what she’d been through. Who the hell did he think he was giving her a disapproving look? 

Without a better solution, she did exactly the same thing as him. 

Standing only a few feet away, with her eyes adjusting to the darkness, she ran her eyes down the same dark colours he wore as her.

She might not be able to see the rippling muscles of the workout body she knew was under the clothes, but the width and height of him made her luxury bedroom seem like the size of a mouse hole. 

“Marc asked me to find you.” His words came out strong and confident. She would have retaliated if panic hadn’t arose through her body.

Marc? Why?

“When I find you, I’m to report to him.” 

Report to him?
Clearly she was wrong about her brother.

Quinn pulled his cell phone out. 

The thunderous sound of her own panic inside her head released a
no
that only she could hear, deafening her.

She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t face her family right now. But that was exactly what would happen if Quinn phoned Marc.

The Caliendos were a close-knit family and although the bonds between them were amazing for support and love, they wouldn’t understand.

“Wait,” she said, as his finger’s touch lit the screen. “What do you want?”

The way his breath released told her he was bargaining for himself. “I want into the file room. Obviously you’ve lost the swipe card−”

“I didn’t lose it.” 

Quinn didn’t bother arguing. His raised eyebrow was proof enough that he was fully aware she’d lost the key.

His perspective annoyed her. 

“I didn’t lose it,” she repeated, losing her patience.

I left it in my desk, which is no longer there.

Anya didn’t tell Quinn this fact because then he would wonder why her family member had taken it. She wondered the same thing. Another reason not to confront them.

Did they know about the room hidden behind her father’s office? Until her father had passed away she’d been the only one with access to that room and knowledge of the files hidden behind the fake wall.

“How do you plan on getting in without the card?” he asked.

“I plan on finding the card.”

It had to be here somewhere. It had to be one of the damn maids cleaning up when really they should leave well enough alone.

“And asking your family about it...” he inquired, as if that was even an option.

Anya glared at him. “That is out of the question,” she said.

“What swipe card do you need?” 

She was wary to answer, but what choice did she have? At least with Quinn on her side, she knew her presence would be left in the shadows.

“My dad’s office. The one just beyond the doors of the suites.” 

He nodded.

And in that exact same know-it-all-tone he said, “Consider it done.”

That’s how sneaky this man was. Sneaky and successful with a one hundred percent rate of never getting caught.