anything, she real ized, half-liking the sensation, half-afraid she wouldn ' t muster the willpower to defy him.
" When we make love, Dana, it won ' t be with some dirty old man listening. " He lowered his head until his lips were almost touching hers. "I ' m not sharing you with anyone. "
8
R ob went back inside the cottage and yanked the telephone out of its jack. He motioned for Dana to keep talking while he unscrewed the receiver and checked for a bug. Sure enough, there it was. Small. Hardly state-of-the-art, but it would do the trick.
" Come on, " he said to Dana as he plugged in the phone again. " I ' m dying to meet your sister. "
They left the cottage and walked along the crushed-lava rock path that wound through artistically placed beds of native Hawaiian flowers toward the pool area. Rob put his arm around Dana and pulled her close. For once she didn ' t resist.
She gazed up at him, her green eyes wide with concern. "You know, I ' ve always felt there was something wrong here. Kapu —forbidden. Now I know I was right. "
Rob stopped, but didn ' t move his arm. " We have to be very careful. It ' s more important than ever that no one suspect why I ' m really here. We ' ll have to watch every word we say, especially inside our cottage. "
" What about out here? " she whispered. " Are there bugs? "
" Nah. Too much humidity. They ' d have to replace the bugs every few days. Judging from the one in our room this is an amateur operation, otherwise Big Daddy would b e using one of the new supersen sitive devices that can hear a pin drop five miles away. " He started walking again. " Let ' s see what ' s in your sister ' s house. "
Rob didn ' t know who he ' d been expecting, certainly not the knockout blonde who answered the door. Tall. Dynamite figure. Sexy as hell.
But he wasn ' t a horny kid anymore. He ' d long since stopped drooling over beautiful women. Ellen had been pretty. Girl-next-door looks, really. That's what turned him on. He pulled Dana a little bit closer and kicked up his killer smile another notch. " Vanessa, " Dana said, " this is Rob Tagett. "
Rob extended his hand. " Howdy. "
" Hello. " Vanessa Coltrane responded with a lot more warmth in he r voice than her cool blonde ap pearance indicated. " How do you like Kau Ranch so far? "
He was half-tempted to tell her. " Great. "
Vanessa stood aside and motioned for them to come in, her eyes on Rob ' s arm draped casually over Dana ' s shoulder.
" You ' re an amateur photographer? " Vanessa asked, glancing at his camera.
"Yeah. It ' s my hobby, " he answered in his best good-ole-boy tone. When he ' d been working homicide he ' d found the more harmless you appeared, the quicker perps let their guard down.
" Rob ' s a reporter, " Dana put in as they sat on a wicker sofa with cushions so enormous he doubted if anyone really ever used it.
" That ' s right. " Vanessa sat opposite them in a fan-back chair that made her look like a queen on a throne, her eyes narrowing. " I read your column, ' Exposed, ' all the time. "
Rob wasn ' t surprised; the Honolulu Sun was the main paper in the islands. He stole a glance at Dana. She was seated next to him, as much "in his space " as those damn cushions would allow. She seemed totally at ease with him. But would Vanessa detect some small gesture he couldn't?
He studied the two sisters. Their eyes. Now there was the major physical difference between the two. Dana ' s expressive green eyes dominated her face, a sharp contrast to her brown hair. Vanessa had sen sual blue eyes and Nordic blonde hair worn long in a style designed to maximize her sex appeal.
No one could deny they were sisters though. It was there in the graceful curve of their cheekbones. They had matching widow ' s peaks, one so blonde it was barely noticeable, the other more prominent because of the darker hair.
"Mommi-e-e, " came a sleepy cry from down the hall.
Vanessa vaulted to her feet. "I ' ll be right
" When we make love, Dana, it won ' t be with some dirty old man listening. " He lowered his head until his lips were almost touching hers. "I ' m not sharing you with anyone. "
8
R ob went back inside the cottage and yanked the telephone out of its jack. He motioned for Dana to keep talking while he unscrewed the receiver and checked for a bug. Sure enough, there it was. Small. Hardly state-of-the-art, but it would do the trick.
" Come on, " he said to Dana as he plugged in the phone again. " I ' m dying to meet your sister. "
They left the cottage and walked along the crushed-lava rock path that wound through artistically placed beds of native Hawaiian flowers toward the pool area. Rob put his arm around Dana and pulled her close. For once she didn ' t resist.
She gazed up at him, her green eyes wide with concern. "You know, I ' ve always felt there was something wrong here. Kapu —forbidden. Now I know I was right. "
Rob stopped, but didn ' t move his arm. " We have to be very careful. It ' s more important than ever that no one suspect why I ' m really here. We ' ll have to watch every word we say, especially inside our cottage. "
" What about out here? " she whispered. " Are there bugs? "
" Nah. Too much humidity. They ' d have to replace the bugs every few days. Judging from the one in our room this is an amateur operation, otherwise Big Daddy would b e using one of the new supersen sitive devices that can hear a pin drop five miles away. " He started walking again. " Let ' s see what ' s in your sister ' s house. "
Rob didn ' t know who he ' d been expecting, certainly not the knockout blonde who answered the door. Tall. Dynamite figure. Sexy as hell.
But he wasn ' t a horny kid anymore. He ' d long since stopped drooling over beautiful women. Ellen had been pretty. Girl-next-door looks, really. That's what turned him on. He pulled Dana a little bit closer and kicked up his killer smile another notch. " Vanessa, " Dana said, " this is Rob Tagett. "
Rob extended his hand. " Howdy. "
" Hello. " Vanessa Coltrane responded with a lot more warmth in he r voice than her cool blonde ap pearance indicated. " How do you like Kau Ranch so far? "
He was half-tempted to tell her. " Great. "
Vanessa stood aside and motioned for them to come in, her eyes on Rob ' s arm draped casually over Dana ' s shoulder.
" You ' re an amateur photographer? " Vanessa asked, glancing at his camera.
"Yeah. It ' s my hobby, " he answered in his best good-ole-boy tone. When he ' d been working homicide he ' d found the more harmless you appeared, the quicker perps let their guard down.
" Rob ' s a reporter, " Dana put in as they sat on a wicker sofa with cushions so enormous he doubted if anyone really ever used it.
" That ' s right. " Vanessa sat opposite them in a fan-back chair that made her look like a queen on a throne, her eyes narrowing. " I read your column, ' Exposed, ' all the time. "
Rob wasn ' t surprised; the Honolulu Sun was the main paper in the islands. He stole a glance at Dana. She was seated next to him, as much "in his space " as those damn cushions would allow. She seemed totally at ease with him. But would Vanessa detect some small gesture he couldn't?
He studied the two sisters. Their eyes. Now there was the major physical difference between the two. Dana ' s expressive green eyes dominated her face, a sharp contrast to her brown hair. Vanessa had sen sual blue eyes and Nordic blonde hair worn long in a style designed to maximize her sex appeal.
No one could deny they were sisters though. It was there in the graceful curve of their cheekbones. They had matching widow ' s peaks, one so blonde it was barely noticeable, the other more prominent because of the darker hair.
"Mommi-e-e, " came a sleepy cry from down the hall.
Vanessa vaulted to her feet. "I ' ll be right
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