Page 60 of Rio

“More?”My body slumps with disappointment.

He gives me an apologetic smile.“It could be less than that ...but ...”He’s trying to be optimistic and failing.

I think we’re talking hours, realistically.Maybe all night.That won’t do.That can’t happen.I wonder if Rio orchestrated this.Then I wonder if the heat is making me paranoid.

“I’m sorry.”The young man smiles nervously.Clearly, relaying this news hasn’t been easy on him and my amateur theatrics are only making him feel more guilty.It’s not his fault, and I shouldn’t be venting my frustration on him.“It’s not your fault.”

“There is a storm coming.It happens sometimes.I’m sorry.If you need anything, we’ll try to assist.But the backup generators have also failed.Just a few hours, ma’am.We’re trying to get it together.”

“I’ll be fine,” I say, with a determination I don’t feel.Meu Deus.This poor boy must think I’m a monster.I close the door and walk back to my desk, deciding that I will work through this no matter what.There’s another knock at the door.

“It’s really quite alright ...”The words peter out.It’s not the apologetic concierge.

It’shim.

“It’s reallynotquite alright.You’re staying here, princesa?This place should be shut down.”He looks around in disbelief.

“How did they let you up here?”

“Small establishment.“They don’t have much security or care about your privacy.”He folds his arms across that broad chest, forcing me to gawk at his biceps that stretch the sleeve of his T.His stance is all dominance and quiet challenge, as if he can’t decide whether to throw me over his shoulder and haul me out of here.

“What do you want, Knight?”My tankini clings to me, patches of it still damp from the heat.

“You look like you just stepped out of the shower,” he remarks.

“I’ve been working.”

“You’re wet.”

His skill for innuendo is unmatched.I feel a throbbing between my legs.It happens so easily.He says something and my body reacts.Now I really will be wet, with arousal, and desire, for this cocky man who yet again, lives to distract me.

“May I come in?”His gaze runs over me, slow and deliberate.I cross my arms, suddenly aware of how little I’m wearing.In answer, I step out of the way, still curious as to why he’s here.Why, suddenly, I’m seeing him everywhere, all the time, all at once.He walks in, looming large in the small stuffy little room.

“If you’re hoping to replay the strip poker night, it’s not happening,” I tell him.

“If you’re hot and sweaty and not fresh out of a shower,” he says, “then strip poker is the last thing on my mind.”

“What are you doing here?I’ve seen enough of you today.”

“We didn’t finish our conversation, at the end of the community hall.”

“We did.”

“I didn’t like how we left it.I want to talk about it away from prying ears and eyes.”

“In my hotel room?”

He looks at me like he doesn’t understand.“You’re here, melting by the second, I might add.I needed to see you.”

“To say what?”

“You didn’t have to go so hard on me, princesa.”

Meu Deus.Can’t he let it go?“Your ego was really battered in there, huh?I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt, can’t have been easy standing up there trying to look like a stud, only to get shot down again.”

“You think I looked like a stud?”That infuriating grin is back.Caraca.This man thinks I’m paying him a compliment.I don’t even dignify that with a reply.

“I’m here, in Belize, for a reason,” I retort.“Not a vacation.It’s a fact-finding mission and people like you need to be held accountable.”