Serpent in Paradise Read Online Free PDF Page B

hair into a coil and clipped it high on her head. The
    easy-fitting, softly pleated white trousers and matching wrap shirt were
    the best she could do by way of dealing with the oncoming heat and
    humidity of the day. She belted the outfit with a sash of black and slipped
    on black-and-white canvas shoes before going downstairs to the small cafe
    attached to the inn.
    The place was filled with a colorful variety of locals and a handful of
    seasoned tourists. Amy took a corner table and ordered coffee. When she
    saw the way a few of the local fishermen were wolfing down the cook's
    fried eggs, she decided to risk some herself.
    From where she was sitting she could see the entrance to the cafe, but
    Amy was too busy examining the huge platter of greasy eggs and toast
    that had just been delivered to her table to notice the exact moment when
    Jase Lassiter entered the room. The first warning she had, in fact, was the
    ripple of familiar greetings that went through the room. By the time she
    glanced up, he was nearly at her table.
    "Good morning, Amy." Jase favored her with a polite, hopeful smile as
    he slid into the booth across from her. "Don't look so surprised. I told you
    I'd be around in the morning, didn't I? I thought you might like to go
    swimming."
    He was wearing khaki trousers and a matching shirt again. The sleeves
    of the shirt were rolled up on his forearms, revealing a sinewy length of
    arm that was sprinkled with mahogany-colored hairs. In the crisp
    morning light the heavy pelt of red-brown hair on his head gleamed
    damply from a shower. The turquoise eyes were vivid and penetrating as
    he studied her cautious expression. He looked, she decided with a feeling
    of confused astonishment, a little younger than he had the day before.
    "That's very kind of you," Amy began carefully, "but I'm afraid I…"
    "Good. When you finish breakfast we can take off for this nice little cove
    I know on the other side of the island. Are you going to eat all that toast?"
    "Er, no. No, I'm not," she admitted, surveying the huge stack in front of
    her. "Help yourself," she invited politely. She couldn't think of anything
    else to say. "But about your invitation to go swimming, I think I'd better
    decline. The man I'm supposed to meet may show up this afternoon. He
    may have been delayed last night."
    "No problem," Jase said coolly, munching toast. "I told Ray to keep an
    eye out for strangers. If the guy shows, he'll be told you're here on the
    island." Jase waited.
    Amy saw the prepared expression in his turquoise eyes and stifled a
    groan. She knew without being told that he would counter whatever
    excuse she thought up. What did it matter? she added silently. She had
    actually been instructed to meet her contact during the evening hours.
    There was no real reason to think that Dirk Haley would show up during
    the day and expect to find her. Why not accept Jase's invitation? "All
    right," she surrendered with a small smile. "Thank you."
    Jase appeared amused by the play of expression across her face as she
    came to the final conclusion. "Don't fret. I'm really quite harmless."
    Amy's brows beetled into a frown. "Why do I keep getting this nagging
    feeling that your self-assessment may not be entirely accurate?"
    "You're not a very trusting sort, are you?"
    Amy thought about that. "No," she said finally, "I'm afraid I'm not."
    "Finish your breakfast and we'll be on our way." Jase reached for
    another slice of toast, smoothly terminating the discussion.
    Twenty minutes later Amy found herself in an open Jeep racing along a
    narrow island road. On one side the surf crashed with a picturesqueness
    that could have qualified the scene for Hawaii. On the other, tall palms
    lined the winding pavement. The island was virtually uninhabited outside
    the small port town, and there was not a house in sight.
    But it wasn't the scenery that kept drawing Amy's cautious, speculative
    glances; it was the profile of the man beside her. Her first