and I tried to remember to breathe, grappling with my seat belt as the car pulled away from the curb and accelerated along the road.
“What the fuck is going on?” I slammed my hand to my mouth.
Tobias jumped up into a crouching position on his seat and then brought his right foot onto the window ledge as though surfing as he leaned out.
“Careful.” I gripped the wheel and then let go when it turned freely.
“Thirty miles an hour, Jade,” Tobias snapped. “Make that forty.”
Our Ferrari aligned with the skateboarder zipping along and the man gawked when he saw us. Tobias reached out and snatched the camera from him and then flung himself back into his seat. As we sped along he turned the camera screen for me to see.
I stared horrified at the shot of me looking completely naked beneath my wet dress as though I wasn’t wearing any underwear. Tobias removed the memory card and tucked it into his pocket.
“Jade,” he ordered. “Park.”
The Ferrari slowed and then parked curbside. Tobias flung open his door and climbed out. He leaned against the car and waited for the skateboarder to catch up. He threw his camera back to him.
The man looked shaken. “I’ll report this,” he snarled. “This is harassment.”
Tobias gave a confident smile. “Without evidence?” He gestured for me to switch seats and then came around to the driver’s side. “Tell your boss ‘Hi’ from me.”
“Fuck you.”
“Have a great evening.” Tobias snapped a salute.
After sliding over to the passenger seat, and pulling his jacket back over me, I felt grateful to see the man skate off without my naked image on his camera.
Tobias watched him scoot off down the sidewalk. “He’s paparazzi.”
“Thank you.” I reached out to squeeze Tobias’s arm.
Once that photo was unleashed on the internet there’d be no turning back. That was the second time he’d saved me tonight. And of course, if anyone had a self-steering car it would be Wilder.
He stared dead ahead with his face scrunched in discomfort.
I’d left a wet seat. “I’m sorry.”
He pulled the car away from the curb. “You have enough time.”
“For what?”
“To come up with an elaborate plan on how you’re going to make it up to me.” He grinned at his cheekiness. “Let’s go home.”
A flutter of excitement swirled around my stomach at the thought he was taking me to his house.
“Warm enough?” He fiddled with the dial to blow heat over me.
Get a grip, Zara, I warned myself, remember the mission. Tonight, I could have access to the kind of evidence that could stop Icon.
I had what it took to save this man.
We arrived at Tobias’s Malibu home within the hour.
He led me around the side of the impressive house and into the garden. The scenery exuded peacefulness, from the lavish lawn to those towering palm trees and the sun loungers surrounding the infinity swimming pool, all overlooked by his Mediterranean mansion.
I imagined it was just as beautiful in there.
It was easy to become distracted by the awe-inspiring ocean view and the rhythmic sound of lapping waves rising over the bluff.
A few stars twinkled through the cloudy sky and the cool breeze brushed over me, making me grateful for the warmth emanating from the heat lamps he’d turned on.
Tobias eased my wet gown over my hips, and I stepped out of it so happy to be free of the clingy dampness. He laid it on the back of a lounger and neared me again to remove my shoes, his caresses comforting and making my skin tingle beneath his touch. He eased my panties down my legs and threw them toward the dress. I swooned when he stood behind me and unclipped my bra and removed that too. He wrapped a soft towel around me.
He unbuttoned his shirt and tugged it off, undressing, and all the while giving me an endearing smile.
God, all this beauty—
That tattoo on his left shoulder was dazzling with its Aboriginal symbolism and served as a warning this was no ordinary man. And God, I was enraptured by that inked italic writing running along the side of his groin that he’d once translated for me as “Retribution where there is none. He who is about to win salutes you.”
This man was wild and dangerously smart and oh so mesmerizing, a vortex of erotic pleasures waiting to be explored. If I allowed myself to surrender, I’d be drawn into the whirlwind of his universe. Still, this wasn’t why I was here and, rising from this daze, I questioned the sanity of staying. Yet when he reached out and took my hand in his and interlocked our fingers my doubt lifted.
Tobias led me toward a bubbling Jacuzzi and I freed myself from my towel and made my way in, sighing with contentment because this was the warmth I’d pined for all the way here. Tobias stepped down to join me and settled opposite. He leaned back against the blue tiled wall and closed his eyes to bask in the heat. Steam cloaked around us. I couldn’t stop looking at him, couldn’t drag my gaze away from his unnerving allure.
He opened his eyes and gave a heart-stopping smile. “I like seeing you happy.”
“This place...” I gave a wistful sigh.
“You’re the first woman I’ve brought here.”
My breath stuttered at his sincerity and I sunk lower until only my head was above the water. All this grandeur felt overwhelming.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Yes, much.”
“Good.”
“Don’t blame me for never getting out, though.”
He chuckled. “Maybe I’ll stay in here with you.”
My gaze found that my dripping Escada gown was hanging over the lounger. “I hope no one remembers.”
He gave a comforting smile. “Remembers what?”
Scrunching my nose, I replayed the embarrassing scene of the weather room with me in the starring role as water princess.
I turned my focus to his house with its sweeping large windows, that terra-cotta tiled roof and a large central balcony. Tobias had incredible taste and I’d thought his Oxfordshire house was remarkable. This was off-the-charts decadent.
Then there came the memory of those stolen paintings he’d stashed away in his English home.
I rose out of the water. “I should go.”
“Stay.” He gestured behind him. “I have a guesthouse if you prefer?”
A flash of movement—
I froze in dismay when I saw a floating contraption behind his shoulder. The drone hovered closer and there was a glint of moonlight reflecting off the two champagne glasses it balanced on its surface.
Tobias turned and he reached out to pick them up by the stems. “Thank you, Jade.” He handed a glass to me.
Jaw gaping, I accepted the drink. Jade was mobile now?
Surely this isn’t a good thing?
I set the delicate glass down and watched the drone making its way back toward the house.
Tobias set his down too, and moved toward me, reaching up to cup my face with his strong hands as he crushed his