She slipped her hand from his. “Go for it. Be my hero.”
“Do I get a reward for bravery?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Absolutely.”
“Excellent. I’m going in.” Grasping the knob, he pushed open the door. Nothing happened. “Maybe I have to be inside.” He stepped into the room. Still nothing.
“I’m right behind you.” Giselle followed him through the door. “It’s warm in here. They left the heat on.”
“And the video going.” Luke walked over to the TV. “This one’s from her senior year in high school. She was in a lot of numbers that year.”
Giselle moved farther into the room. All the curtains were closed, which made seeing the video easier. Cynthia danced with a group this time. Giselle counted ten girls in identical sparkly outfits of royal blue. The implication that Cynthia wanted to be part of a dancing group again was unmistakable.
For the first time, Giselle saw Cynthia dancing and not simply caught in a still photograph. Bryce had probably seen this video, too, and thank goodness he wasn’t romantically attracted to Cynthia. The video showed that the beautiful child of fourteen had become a stunning woman of eighteen. And wow, could she dance.
Giselle drew closer. “She’s good, Luke. I’m no expert at these things, but she looks perfectly at home on the stage.”
“She always has been.” He stood, hands in the pockets of his jeans, his attention riveted on the screen. “You’ve been right all along. If she doesn’t give dancing a shot, she’ll regret it. And she’ll resent me for opposing her.”
“I think so.” Giselle slipped an arm around his waist. “As you said, at least she’ll be at the Silver Crescent, where you can keep an eye on things.”
Luke wrapped his arm around Giselle’s shoulders. “No water trick yet. Do you suppose they’ve rigged it to the DVD, so whoever takes it out gets drenched?”
“Let’s open the curtains so we can see what might be lurking in the shadows. After all, I’m a Landry, too. I might be able to figure out what Bryce has set up. That would give me some satisfaction, actually.”
“Me, too.” He squeezed her shoulder and released her. “But let me open the curtains. That would be a perfect booby trap.”
“Good thinking.” She stayed where she was while Luke pulled cords that opened the curtains at each window. Again, nothing happened.
But she could see her surroundings much better. Logs were arranged in the stone fireplace as if waiting for the touch of a match. Positioned in front of it were a couch and two chairs upholstered in a green plaid that fit the rustic decor.
The coffee table and two end tables were made from diagonal slices of a large tree trunk placed on a wrought-iron base. Bark rimmed the edges, but the surfaces were polished and lacquered.
“Nice place,” Giselle said. “Cozy.”
“It would be if I didn’t expect a jet of water to come shooting out at me at any minute.” He walked over to the TV and crouched down, examining it from all angles. “I can’t see a single thing out of place, but you’d better stand back while I take the DVD out.”
“Sure thing.” She edged away from the TV. If this was Bryce’s grand finale, it could be a doozy.
Luke gingerly extracted the DVD from the player and turned the machine off, along with the television. Letting out a breath, he stepped back. “That was anticlimactic.”
“I’ll bet they decided not to do a water trick and figured we’d go crazy waiting for it.”
Luke nodded. “Makes sense. And that strategy’s working. I’m like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”
“Speaking of rocking chairs, we could go sit on the porch. That setup looks innocent enough.”
Tucking the disk in the case lying next to the DVD player, he turned to her, a gleam in his eyes. “I’m not in the mood for innocent.”
“Oh?” She’d seen that gleam before. She liked it. It produced a delicious response in her willing body.
“Here’s how I see our situation. They want to meet us at eight tonight, correct?”
“Correct.”
“And do you think we should go along with their timetable?”
“I do. If they’re finally willing to talk, I don’t want to scare them off by trying to set up something sooner.”
He tossed the DVD on the couch and came toward her. “I happen to agree with that, which leaves us with several hours to fill.”
“So it does.” She had no trouble reading his mind, and her heart thudded in anticipation.
“Coincidentally, we’re all alone in a cute little cabin in the woods. But first I need you to tell me the absolute truth. If you’re still sore, then—”
“I’m fine.”
His gaze searched hers.
“Really, Luke. I’m recovered. Magic Epsom salts.”
A smile tugged at his mouth. “I’d be a fool to argue the point.” Heat radiated from him as he stood inches away. Without touching her, he managed to surround her with that heat. “Do you suppose there’s a bed around here somewhere?”
She breathed in his virile scent, and a shiver of delight ran through her. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Then let’s go find it.” Lacing his strong fingers through hers, he led her toward a doorway on the far side of the living room. “Bingo.” He drew her inside.
She gave the room a quick glance although, under the circumstances, she wasn’t about to be picky. But it was a lovely setting. The curtains were open. Tall pines outside the window filtered the sunlight, creating a dappled effect on the navy quilt covering the king-sized bed set into a dark walnut frame.
Looking up at him, she allowed the desire she felt to shine in her eyes. “It will do nicely.”
“Oh, yeah.” Luke gathered her into his arms and backed toward the bed. “Come roll around on the mattress with me, pretty lady. I have the urge to muss you up.”
Laughing, she put up a token protest. “Let’s take off our clothes first. Then we won’t go back looking so—”
“Like we’ve been having sex? I’ve stopped caring whether they know or not.”
“But—”
“Relax. Have fun. Let me wrestle you out of your clothes. And you can wrestle me out of mine.”
“Oh, what the hell.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Why not?”
“That’s the spirit. Hang on. Here we go!” Falling back onto the mattress, he hauled her down with him.
The mattress rolled under them with a sloshing sound. Then what had appeared to be dappled shadows on the comforter began to spread.
“Luke . . .”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “I know. Water bed. And it’s leaking.”
Chapter 20
The combined weight of Luke and Giselle rapidly pushed water up through the quilt and into the material of his jeans and shirt. “Just slide off me,” he said, “and you won’t get wet.”
“Got it.” She eased backward, but the mattress rippled with every move she made.
As the cold water oozed up around him, Luke began to laugh. They hadn’t even taken pity on him and left the bed’s heater on. He’d been in some ridiculous situations in his life, but this might win the prize.
“Give me your hands.” Giselle stood, feet braced on either side of his knees, and leaned forward. “I’ll pull you out.”
“I don’t know.” He cleared the laughter from his throat. “I’m pretty heavy. And the wetter my clothes get, the heavier I’ll be.”
“I’m braced against the bed frame. Your legs are still dangling over the edge. Press your heels against the frame. We can do it.” She wiggled her fingers. “Grab hold before you get any wetter.”