Which didn't explain why the sight of Damien du Bourg made her mouth go dry, her palms sweat, and her inner thighs pulse with interest.
He didn't look upset or surprised to see her, or anxious to get Marie's letter from her. Unconcerned described him best. And he looked tousled, sexy, hair wet, like he'd just stepped out of the shower. His smile was casual, relaxed, as she got out of the car.
"Good morning, Marley."
"Hi." He wasn't wearing bells as promised, but he still looked pretty darn chipper. Marley felt hot and sticky and her night of tossing and turning was catching up with her. Patience was not going to be her word of the day.
"Would you like to come in? Have a drink? Give me the letter?"
Marley glanced over at him, not sure if he was joking or not, and irritated either way.
"No?" He shrugged with a smile. "Well, it was worth a try. And just so you know, it's very possible your sister won't show up at my next little gathering. There's nothing I can do about that."
"Then why am I here?"
He gave her a mocking frown of disapproval. "So negative this morning. You're here so I can gather facts about your sister, so I can be accurate in what I'm telling people. In order to find someone, we have to know whom we're looking for."
"What do you want to know?" She got the sense he was toying with her, and it made her frustrated and angry.
"Let's get inside, relax, have a seat, and we can talk. Did you bring Lizzie's picture? I'll scan it and send it to some friends."
"I have it but you'll have to cut Lizzie out. I don't want Sebastian's picture shown around." Or hers, for that matter.
"Whatever you say, Miss Marley Turner." He opened the door and swept his arm out to let her enter.
While he was polite and cheerful, Marley suddenly wondered if she was making a huge mistake. It slammed into her consciousness that she was being remarkably trusting. No one knew where she was. They were completely alone on God only knew how many acres. Damien could kill her, toss her in the swamp, and she'd never be found. Maybe that was precisely what he had done with Lizzie. The thought about made her heart stop.
She couldn't believe that the idea of Damien being guilty had never occurred to her before. But it did now, with a glaring Technicolor horror film hugeness, and she came to a complete halt in the doorway. This was a stupid, girl move waiting to happen.
"You've stopped walking," he commented from behind her. "In case you hadn't noticed."
"I just had a thought…" That he might be a murderer. Marley couldn't think how to finish the sentence in a way that wouldn't raise his suspicions. She just stood there, heart pounding, grappling with her purse. She'd feel better if she had her cell phone in her hand. Instead of her phone, her fingers landed on the snapshot of her with Lizzie.
"Here's the picture." She turned around and shoved it at him.
His eyebrows went up. "That was your thought?"
"Well, yes, and also…" Turning had been a mistake. She was way too close to him, close enough that she could see a faint caramel-colored stubble on his chin, like he'd forgotten to shave. She could smell him, hear his breathing. He was so incredibly attractive, so sexy, so… arousing, and yet he could be sick, twisted, violent, evil, for all she knew.
"Yes?"
He was waiting for an answer and she had no clue what to say.
"Damien, who's your friend?" A woman's voice came from outside, behind Damien.
Marley relaxed, relieved to have his attention distracted from her.
Damien, on the other hand, winced when he heard the new arrival. "Rosa. What a surprise." From the tone of his voice, it wasn't a happy one.
A head of black curly hair popped out from behind his shoulders. The woman had deep dark eyes, coffee-colored skin, and an uncertain ethnicity, her features exotic and striking. She was smiling. "Hi. I'm Rosa." She slid around Damien, putting her hands on his elbows and squeezing through a nothing of a space when he didn't move out of her way.
"I'm Marley. Nice to meet you," she said automatically, as her heart rate attempted to return to normal. Damien couldn't murder her without someone else present. She didn't think. God, this had been such an idiotic thing to do.
"So what brings you to this dump?" Rosa asked cheerfully, plopping down onto the sofa and crossing her legs. She was thin, with legs probably longer than Marley's whole body, and she was wearing a flowing cotton skirt with espadrilles.
"She's looking for her sister," Damien said. "What are you doing here?"
"We had plans, remember?"
"No, we didn't."
Rosa smiled, her mouth full of perfect, sparkling white teeth. "Yes, we did. You said you were going to take me car shopping."
"Over my dead body."
Rosa seemed to think that was funny. She laughed and swung her leg back and forth. "You're not going to die anytime soon, Damien."
"Precisely my point. I'll see you later, Rosa. Thanks for stopping by." He gave her a pointed stare.
Marley stood uncomfortably just inside the door, debating the merits of bolting. She could probably make it to her rental car before he could catch up with her. She patted her pocket for the keys.
"Fine, I'll leave since you're in such a lousy mood." Rosa sighed and stood up, smoothing her tight, scoop neck shirt across her nonexistent belly. "I hate this painting," she commented as she straightened the framed piece of art above Damien's sofa. Rosa took her time crossing the room, a sly little smile on her face.
"I'm sure I'll see you around, Marley," she said. "Maybe we can chat when sourpuss isn't here to ruin it."
Marley ripped the photo she'd brought back out of Damien's hand. "Do you recognize my sister? She's missing and I think she was at one of Damien's parties."
Rosa looked at the snapshot, then shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I've never seen her before."
Then she went to the door and put her hand in Damien's.
Marley watched in surprise as Rosa gave him a full kiss on the mouth, her lips lingering so long that he finally set her away from him.
"Bye." She gave a little wave and left.
Damien grimaced. "Sorry. That's… Rosa. She loves to irritate me."
"Is she your ex-wife?"
He looked startled. "No. Why?"
"You look like you have a past." Despite Damien's annoyance, they were clearly comfortable with each other. Rosa's mouth had covered his with no awkwardness, no hesitation.
"Well, that is certainly true. We've known each other a long time." Damien leaned against the wall.