Beneath the Covers (Kimani Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

it?” he asked when Claudia gasped. “What’s wrong? Did you get bitten or something?”
    “Yes,” she lied, pretending to rub a bite on her leg. She straightened. “We’d better go.” She turned.
    Peter grabbed her arm, making her face him. “You didn’t get bitten, did you? What’s wrong? Am I missing something?”
    Claudia pulled her arm away and kept her face averted. She couldn’t allow him to read her thoughts. Not now. She couldn’t bear it. Her mind raced as she tried to fathom the magnitude of the truth. All this time Peter hadn’t known the real reason she hadn’t shown up, and she couldn’t tell him. “No, you’re right. What I did was cruel and thoughtless.” She took a deep breath then finally turned to look at him. “You can see me as a selfish bitch or a pathetic wimp. Either way, I panicked and you’re better off without me.” When his dark eyes continued to search her face, she forced a smile. “Look how successful you are now, and you can have any woman you want and still stay a happy bachelor. You’re living every man’s dream.” Before Peter could probe deeper, she turned, eager to escape into the safety of a crowd.
    But Peter stopped her. “I said I wouldn’t let you run away from me, and I meant it.”
    Claudia took a hasty step back. “Please, Peter, don’t. Not here.”
    He stared at her, surprised by the fear in her eyes. Not weariness. Not unease. True, glittering fear. Of him. It shook him. He reached out to her, but she moved away. “What aren’t you telling me?”
    “Nothing.” She held up her hands in surrender when he opened his mouth to argue. “You win. I regret everything and I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me.”
    He hadn’t anticipated this. She was supposed to be haughty. Fight him. Not surrender with tears gathering in her eyes. And for one wild moment he just wanted to hold her. He gripped his hands into fists. What the hell was going on? Why was she still able to get to him? Was this another trick? A way to manipulate him?
    Claudia brushed the clinging sand from his shirt, desperate to divert his attention. “I’m sorry—”
    Peter grabbed her hand. “I promise if you’re hiding something from me, I’m going to find out.”
    She didn’t reply.
    He let her hand go. “Let’s get back to work,” he said, then walked past her.
    Claudia briefly shut her eyes, relieved that her secret was still safe.

Chapter 5
     
    A ll Roy Fitcher wanted was a cold beer and a hot woman. Preferably both at the same time. He leaned against a palm tree, waiting for the shooting to restart. He’d been to Hawaii lots of times and was bored. He couldn’t understand how Warren could marvel at the same location each time. He frowned. Peter Warren—what an annoying prick. He hated the guy and his smug smile, arrogant commands and perfect clothes. Unlike everyone else, he rarely wore T-shirts. No, Mr. I’m-Better-Than-Everyone always wore dress shirts, crisply ironed and never wrinkled. The guy was unreal.
    But he’d grown up with money, unlike Roy, who had to fight for everything. Although he was a successful cameraman, he’d always held a secret desire to be in front of the camera one day like Warren had managed to do. But that wasn’t a surprise, everything seemed to come easy to the guy. He wouldn’t even be here if Frank hadn’t called him. Roy liked Frank. He was a man’s man and treated people fairly and paid well. And the money for this assignment was good enough to help him with some gambling debts. But aside from the money, the job had another perk— Claudia Madison. He watched her laugh at something Ashley said and smiled. He planned to get to know her better. Although she’d turned him down for drinks earlier, he was undeterred. He had plenty of time to change her mind.
    Roy paused when he saw Peter go over to Claudia. He waited for Claudia to dismiss him, but instead she followed him down to the beach. They should be getting ready for