Camouflage by M J Marlow (ebook reader online free txt) 📕

“So,” he asked thirty minutes later, “what do you think?”
“Are you certain it’s big enough?” Emily smiled up at him. “Your father couldn’t have leased the QE II?”
“Our own floating palace, my dear,” Alexander bowed his head. “When I told Father we couldn’t take time off during the remodel; we needed a place to practice; he contacted my friend, Alastair Murphy,” he nodded to the man in the Captain’s uniform coming towards them. “He volunteered us the use of his home.”
Alexander smiled as Emily stuck her hand out to the Captain. Murph blushed and shook her hand, then muttered something about being needed on the bridge. He hurried away. Alexander took Emily on a tour of the vessel. She had never been on a yacht before, and she was enjoying the feel of the sea breeze against her face. She closed her eyes and smiled, missing completely the look that crossed Alexander’s face as he watched her.
“How long will we be at sea?” Emily asked as the sun set completely and they were standing in darkness.
“The remodel should be completed in a month, Emily,” Alexander replied. He held his arm out to her. “I am certain Chef Jules has dinner prepared. Shall we?”
Emily laid her hand on his arm, smiling up at him shyly. Was it possible to feel so strongly about a person one had only just met, Emily wondered as they went below to join the others in the dining lounge. Whoever this Chef Jules was, he belonged in any five-star restaurant in the world. The dinner was wonderful. The conversation ebbed and flowed around them, but Emily and Alexander had eyes only for each other. He saw her to her cabin and bent down to kiss her on the cheek, his eyes shining.
“We are going to be making landfall at several ports during our voyage. I can’t wait to show you around.” He looked at his watch. “It is very late, young lady. You should be in bed.”
He left her alone then, and Emily stood in the doorway to her cabin watching until he was out of sight. When had they gone from just met acquaintances to something more? Emily found herself thanking Sebastian Townsend for sending his son to Riverton. She had a lot to thank the man for; he had been her guardian since she had lost her parents at the age of ten. He had seen to it that her every wish was met. An hour later, she slipped into bed and fell asleep with a sigh of contentment. While Emily was thanking his father for sending her Alexander; the man she had on her mind as she fell asleep went to the bridge and joined Murphy for a drink.
“What do you think?”
“That is the most beautiful colleen I have ever seen in my long life, Alex,” Murphy replied. “Is she as innocent as she appears?”
“She has a very sharp mind under all that innocence,” Alexander replied. “She pushes herself far too hard for someone just recovering from an accident.” He saw Murphy frown. “Did I forget to tell you? The girl was paralyzed for six months after a car accident. She’s only been on her feet for the past three months.”
“I saw the tape of her dance recital,” Murphy protested. “How can someone who’s only been walking for three months move like that?”
“With a great deal of determination,” Alexander told him. “She doesn’t let anything keep her down.”
“She’s going to need that ability before this is over,” Murphy replied. He saw the expression on Alexander’s face. “You like her, don’t you?”
“She’s grown on me, Murphy,” Alexander nodded. “But I can’t keep her. She needs to get as far away from me and my father as she can.”
“He’d just find her again,” Murphy frowned, remembering one case he had been involved in many years ago. He laid his hand on Alexander’s shoulder. “Don’t you worry, Alex. We’ll look after your girl for you.” He saw the weariness in the younger man’s eyes. “You should get some sleep. I’ll ring you when we make port.”
Alexander nodded and went belowdecks to join Emily in their cabin. Murphy waited until he couldn’t hear the younger man and then pulled a case out of his pocket. He opened it and smiled down at the picture of Stephanie Spencer. She had been his assignment years ago, when Winslow had first appeared on the scene. He had protected her against the stranger who had stalked them during medical school. When she got pregnant; it had been his idea for her to succumb to a sudden illness and leave that school. Stephanie had gone on to finish her degree elsewhere under her grandmother’s maiden name. It hadn’t kept the stalker away for long. He had found Stephanie as she was expecting her second child. Murphy was still convinced that Winslow had been the reason that the still unknown assailant had murdered Stephanie and stolen her infant daughter. It angered him that Sebastian was the one endangering Stephanie’s daughter now.
“Don’t worry, Steph,” he said softly to the smiling woman in the photo, “I’ll look after your girl.”

5*
The next three weeks passed quite pleasantly. The company stopped at three of the Caribbean islands and spent a great deal of time being seen and photographed. Emily was beginning to enjoy Alexander’s company, but he remained distant. She was beginning to hope something was happening between them. She certainly felt her heart speed up every time she saw him. And she had caught him looking at her with more than a detached friendship. Despite his stiff posture, he was beginning to feel something more for her.
She was in the studio, working out the stiffness in her muscles, when she saw him come in. He remained in a corner and watched her become lost in the music. He had never seen such grace in one so young. She turned at the end and her eyes were shining with pleasure. Alexander could not stop himself; he came up to her and took her in his arms. When their lips joined, it was if an electric shock coursed through them both. They pulled apart looking at each other stunned.
“I did not mean…”
“Yes,” Emily broke in over his apology. “You did. And I wanted you to.” She caught his arm as he turned to go. “It’s all right, Alex. Honestly.”
He did not answer her. Instead he went to the radio and found a CD. As the beginning strains of a tango began, he turned and held his hand out to her. Emily took his hand and they began to move to the music. She had never felt anything more electric in her life. It was different dancing with a partner; especially one who could move as well as she did. Even better, as his body swayed to the latin rhythms almost instinctively. When the music ended, they were again looking at each other, stunned. Alexander lifted his hand to her hair and moved it out of her eyes. Then he kissed her and Emily responded to his kiss with an eagerness that shocked and pleased her.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t do this,” Alexander groaned against her lips. He knew he should leave, but he didn’t. Looking down into those glorious emerald eyes, he saw her responding to him. “Please stop me, angel.”
“I…,” Emily choked, unable to move her eyes from his, “…don’t want to.”
Alexander cried out in anguish and left Emily alone. She watched him go, stunned. He had felt what had just happened between them; she had seen it in his eyes. And yet, he had walked away from her. If she had not had any feelings for the man before, this simple act would have changed all that. She found a CD of Gershwin tunes and put on one of the faster ones she would be performing a solo to. If she couldn’t have him, then she would just have to lose herself in her work.
The next three days saw Emily expending a lot of energy in the dance studio; while Alexander worked himself into exhaustion in the martial arts dojo a deck below her. The ship landed on a small island to take on supplies and Alexander took Emily ashore. They spent the day going through the shops, admiring the local artwork, and buying souveniers for her family and friends. As the sky darkened into night, they found a local band playing native music and joined in the dancing. When they were done, the distance between them was gone; as if it had never been. They walked hand in hand, barefoot, in the sand along the beach. It was perfect and they both froze as their eyes met and their heads moved towards each other.
“What a beautiful scene,” Gregory’s cold voice broke into their idyllic moment. He raised his gun as they turned, and Alexander stepped in front of Emily. “Hello, Alex. I see you are keeping yourself entertained.”
“Bastard!”
“Should you use such foul language in front of the pretty little lady, Alex?” Gregory Wainwright laughed as he ran his eyes along Emily’s frame. “Are you going to introduce me, kid, or do I take liberties…”
“Emily Barton,” Alexander surrendered; knowing his old college roommate was more than capable of causing great embarrassment for them all. “This is my old college friend, Gregory Wainwright.”
“I am honored, Miss Emily,” Gregory crooned in southern accent. He picked her hand up and bent over it. “How did you ever wind up with Golden Boy?”
“Golden Boy?” Emily looked from a very embarrassed Alexander to a highly amused Gregory.
“A nickname,” Alexander admitted with extreme reluctance. “So what are you doing on St. Martin’s, Gregory? Last I heard, you were over in France.”
“The love bug has finally bit, my friend.” Gregory smiled and laid his hand over his heart with a dramatic flair. He put his arm around them both. “Come meet her, Alex. I’m sure you’ll love her.”
Alexander looked to Emily and she shrugged. They went with Gregory back to one of the hotels along the beach and entered his room. A tall, leggy brunette rose to her feet, looking at Gregory inquiringly. Her eyes were the color of coffee. Her skin was the shade of honey. Her thick reddish brown hair hung down to her hips and was currently very loosely braided down her back. She smiled welcomingly when she was introduced to the young couple Gregory had brought back with him. Then she went to pour them all a drink, slipping a little something extra into the glasses for Alexander and Emily.
“What’s wrong, Golden Boy?” Gregory asked a few minutes later when the drug started to take effect. “Can’t hold your liquor any more?”
“Damn you, Gregor….”
Alexander and Emily both passed out cold. Emily was carried out of the hotel and put down on the back