Kidnapping the Brazilian Tycoon by Carmen Falcone Page A

ghost.
    “What the hell?”
    Sharp nails bit into his skin.
    He searched for what had alarmed her. Besides the humming of the wind and the chirping from crickets, the night was quiet.
    Addie gasped, hinting that her source of danger neared. As his gaze followed hers, there it was—a small brown frog resting on the tile, completely aloof to what went on around it.
    “Afraid of frogs?” he asked, amused.
    She nodded, staring at the frog with a caution intended for much bigger, scarier animals.
    He leaned down and watched the frog closely. The cute amphibian didn’t even jump away from him. It enjoyed the coolness of the tile, a refuge from the hot evening.
    “I’m surprised a tough girl like you would be afraid of these little guys.” Especially since you’ve experienced far worse sleeping arrangements.
    Her eyes met his and widened. Then she looked down and saw her fingers still clasped around his arm. She withdrew her hand and tucked a couple curly strands behind her ear. “They’re slimy and slippery.”
    “They need to be slippery, otherwise they wouldn’t survive.”
    Addie frowned.
    He straightened. “How did you live at Toca do Tigre? I’m sure there are hundreds of frogs there.”
    Her fingers drummed the place just below her neck. Sometimes, she brushed her fingers on her neck absentmindedly. Other times, she pressed her palm hard against her neckline as if she tried to get something off her chest. He often tried to figure out why she did that.
    “Well, I wasn’t always scared of frogs.” She leaned against the stone column. “They’re just unreliable…and sneak up on you when you least expect.”
    “Is this one of those female analogies? When you’re actually talking about something else?”
    “Why? What did you think I meant?”
    Her curiosity made him smile. “I thought you were talking about men.” The words flew out of his mouth light as a feather, quite different from the sudden, growing anxiety forming in his stomach.
    She chuckled, but the hearty sound didn’t bring him any comfort. “I actually don’t like them since a big one sneaked up on me in Toca do Tigre.”
    “A man?”
    The hint of a smile tipped at the corner of her mouth. “No. A frog.” She smoothened her hand over her T-shirt.
    He shook his head. He took another long look at her and smiled. Her outfit spoke volumes of the woman who wore it. Addie Reed. Bold enough to kidnap and blackmail him. Naïve enough to believe her romanticized idealism could change the world. “I take it you aren’t scared of those perfect real relationships you’re lecturing about?”
    She opened her mouth to speak then closed it. He was about to say something, anything to fill the tension in the air when she blurted, “I haven’t given it that much thought lately.”
    He gave her a minute, hoping for a follow up to her reply. Nothing besides a frown on her face. “That’s it? I expected a long answer. You accuse me of closing up, and I’m talking about this…stuff.”
    She folded her arms. “It’s easy when you’re the one asking questions.”
    “Mad because I’ve figured out your strategy?”
    She tilted her chin up. “Do you miss Erika?”
    He scratched his chin. “No.”
    “But you would have married her,” she said, a pang of accusation in her voice.
    “Yes, and I would have made it work.”
    He tightened his hold on the beer bottle he still held but no longer drank from. Time for a change of subject. He reached out for her. “Maybe it’s time you faced your fears. Frog fears. You can pet him. I’ll help you.”
    Addie bit her lip, wavering over his offer. She didn’t take his hand and shook her head. “Thanks, but not tonight.”
    He acquiesced and loosened the grasp on the bottle, and, with a swift hop, he sat on the black-iron railing, ignoring the other seats available. He wanted to be where he could look at her from every angle and process the urge building inside him to discover more about her.
    Addie folded