Serpent in Paradise Read Online Free PDF Page A

interest in Haley?"
    "She's interested in him," Jase said simply.
    "And therefore you're interested in him?"
    "Sam, you missed your calling. You should have studied for psychology
    instead of aiming to run the desk of a sleazy little inn on some forgotten
    island in the Pacific."
    Sam considered that. "Do shrinks get to read girlie magazines while on
    duty?"
    "No. They're aware of the fact that it might make them go blind," Jase
    explained.
    "In that case I think I'll stick with my chosen profession," Sam decided,
    and picked up the magazine again.
    Jase walked back toward The Serpent with a strange feeling of new
    energy. He ought to be feeling frustrated, he told himself as he headed
    toward the bar. Frustrated and angry and annoyed at one particularly
    uncooperative little tourist with spice-colored hair and honest eyes. Or
    else he ought to be disgusted with himself for wasting his time on a
    woman he knew wasn't the right sort.
    But he didn't feel any of those things. In fact, Jase decided with wry
    amazement, he was feeling a curious sense of anticipation. That kiss
    tonight had been oddly satisfying in its own way, even though it had left
    him hungry for more. The feel of her body on his had made him long for a
    warm bed and her willing agreement to share it with him, but the kiss
    would hold him for tonight.
    And he would be seeing her tomorrow.
    That was where the sense of anticipation came in, he thought. He was
    looking forward to seeing her tomorrow, even though he hadn't gotten
    what he wanted and needed tonight. Jase wasn't used to thinking about
    tomorrow.
    He was on the veranda of The Serpent when another thought struck
    him: How would he be viewing the prospect of seeing Amy Shannon
    tomorrow if he had managed to talk her into bed tonight?
    Some instinct told him that he would be feeling something a hell of a lot
    stronger than mere anticipation. His fist closed a little violently around
    the bamboo railing. He didn't want to consider the ramifications of that.
    The last thing on earth he could afford to do was to find himself feeling
    possessive about a woman like Amy Shannon.
    But the irony of living at the end of the world was that a man
    sometimes found himself thinking about the last things on earth.
    "Damn!"
    "Something wrong, boss?" The bartender arched an eyebrow as Jase
    slid onto a stool and hooked a foot over the brass rung. Ray finished
    drying a glass and slid it into the overhead rack with one hand while
    reaching for a bottle of rum with the other. Without being asked, he set up
    Jase's drink. "You strike out with the lady tourist?"
    "No, I dragged her down onto the beach and made mad, passionate love
    to her in the sand. Just like in a movie." Jase reached for the glass in front
    of him.
    "You don't look very sandy," the younger man noted with a grin.
    "I'm neat by nature," Jase growled. "Ray, do we know anyone named
    Dirk Haley?"
    Ray Mathews went through the incredible mental file of names and
    faces acquired by an active bartender and then shook his head slowly.
    "Doesn't ring any bells. Should it?"
    "The lady is looking for him," Jase explained with a frown as he downed
    a swallow of the rum.
    "Ah."
    "What the hell's that mean, 'Ah'?"
    Ray shrugged, refusing to be intimidated by the glittering turquoise
    eyes of the man who was his boss. From long experience he knew when
    Jase Lassiter was dangerous and when he was not. "It means 'Ah'! Now I
    know why you're interested in this Haley character —because the lady is
    interested in him."
    "You know, you and Sam over at the Marina Inn both seem to have
    missed your calling," Jase muttered. "Should have been shrinks, what with
    your amazing ability to see through to the inner motivations of folks like
    me."
    "I didn't miss my calling. All good bartenders are pretty fair
    psychologists. We just don't make as much money as our colleagues who
    happen to have formal degrees."
    "Get a degree to hang up on the wall behind the booze cabinet and