Carol Ericson - The Wharf

What the hell? The bellhop had told her the pool area was open all night and the sign on the door had verified that. There was no way they’d be locking up now. And why would they lock the sauna from the outside?

She pushed at the doors again and heard a rattle against the wood.

“Hello? Is anyone out there? Can you open the doors?”

Only the hissing and dripping of the rocks answered her.

She scanned the walls of the sauna for a phone, an emergency shutoff or a call button and saw nothing but smooth, dry wood.

“Hey!” She pounded her fists against the doors. “I’m in here.”

Sweat poured off her face and she mopped it with her towel. Trickles of it ran down her chest to her belly and more droplets crept down her spine.

Her breathing shortened and she parted her lips to drag in a long breath. The dry air filled her lungs.

She dumped another ladle of oil on the rocks and gulped in the rising steam.

Someone had to come in there shortly. If the pool was open twenty-four hours, maybe the cleaning crew came in the middle of the night.

She tried one of the doors again, driving her shoulder against it. Again, she heard a rattling on the outside. Was there something blocking the door? A sauna wouldn’t have a lock on the outside.

She planted her feet on the wood floor and flattened her palms against the double doors. She dug in and pushed with her entire weight. One of the doors moved past the other about a half an inch.

She pressed her eye to the crack, but the doors were too thick and there was very little space between them.

She put her lips to the space between the doors and screamed. “Help! I’m locked in the sauna.”

The yelling weakened her, and her knees wobbled. She put a hand out for the bench and sank to its hot surface, which scorched the backs of her thighs. Everything was hot now.

She ran her tongue around her parched mouth and tipped her head back to peer at the ceiling. She eyed a square vent with mesh across it. Could she fit through that? Where did it lead?

She stood on the bench and reached for the vent, her fingertips skimming the mesh. She rolled up her towel and stood on top of it. She slammed the heels of her hands against the vent and then noticed the screws.

With nothing gained except sore palms, she lowered herself to the bench.

Her robe. She’d left her robe hanging over one of the chairs. Maybe someone would notice it from the gym that looked out onto the pool and come out to pick it up.

She pressed her face against the double doors again and screamed. “Help! I’m in the sauna.”

She was going to meet her death in a hotel sauna. A laugh bubbled to her lips. Her parents were going to have a helluva lawsuit.

She pressed her hands to her hot, moist face and her eyelids fluttered. How long had she been in there? Maybe she’d just pass out, and they’d find her in the morning.

She dropped to the bench before her knees could buckle under her. She’d try screaming again in a minute or two—when she got her breath back.

A voice! Had she imagined it?

She hopped up, adrenaline surging through her body. “Is someone there? I’m in the sauna.”

Scratching and scraping noises echoed from outside the sauna and the doors wobbled. Then they flew open and cool air rushed into her wooden prison.

She heard a male voice, strong and angry. “What the hell happened?”

Her legs couldn’t support her and she fell forward.

Her rescuer caught her in a pair of solid arms, and for a moment she melted against him. “Thank you. Oh my God, I was trapped in there.”

“You’re burning up. You need water.” The man took a step back and tilted up her chin.

Her gaze met a pair of murky green eyes, which widened and grew lighter.

Her mouth dropped open, and her body jerked. She’d just fallen into the arms of the enemy.

Chapter Two

Ryan swallowed and then choked. “I’ll be damned.”

Kacie Manning’s eyelids drooped and her body went limp again. He swept her up in his arms and carried her to a chaise longue. “Hold on. I’ll be right back.”

He dashed into the gym next door and grabbed his bottle of water from the floor next to the fly machine. By the time he’d returned, Kacie had opened her eyes, but they still hadn’t lost their glassy look.

He held the bottle to her dry lips. “Drink this.”

She parted her lips and he tipped the water into her mouth. She sputtered and coughed, then chugged half the bottle.

He poured some of the water into his cupped hand and splashed her face. She blinked a pair of impossibly long lashes and sniffled.

“Sorry, but you need to cool down.”

“I—I’m okay.” She reached for the bottle and downed the rest of the water.

“How long were you in there?”

“I have no idea. Was it locked from the outside? Why didn’t it open?”

He held up a finger. “Hold on.”

He grabbed the empty bottle, filled it up from the water dispenser in the gym and swung by the sauna to pluck the pool net from the tiled floor.

He sat in the chair next to Kacie’s chaise and handed her the bottle. “More.”

While she wrapped her lips around the bottle, he held up the pool net by its long handle. “This was shoved across the doors.”

“What?” She dropped the bottle onto the tile, where it spun, its mouth ending up pointing his way.

“I was working out in the gym. I just sat down on the fly machine and noticed the handle of the net wedged between the door handles of the sauna. I didn’t know if it was a joke or what, but it looked dangerous.”

“Someone shoved that across the handles while I was in there.” She dabbed wet fingers across her forehead. “But it was no joke. I was getting weak and dehydrated.”

“Was there anyone out here when you went into the sauna?” Her flushed red cheeks and bright eyes made her look younger than her picture.

“There were some teenage boys horsing around in the hot tub when I first came down, but they’d left by the time I hit the sauna.”

“They could’ve come back.”

Her eyes darkened to rich chocolate and her nostrils flared. “Maybe. I’m reporting it to the hotel.”

“Of course.”

It seemed ridiculous to introduce himself now after he’d held her half-naked body in his arms, but protocol demanded it if they were going to work together. He cleared his throat and thrust out his hand. “I suppose we should start from the top with a more formal introduction. I’m Ryan Brody. It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Ms. Manning, even though the circumstances could’ve been better.”

“Kacie Manning.” She gripped his hand in a firm shake and then her face reddened even more as she glanced down at her wet bikini, plastered to her body and covering just the bare essentials.

Dropping his hand as if he had the cooties, she jerked upright and swung her legs from the chaise.

He hunched forward in his chair, ready to catch her in case she toppled over. “Whoa. You shouldn’t be making any sudden moves. Do you want more water?”

“I want,” she said, her gaze darting across the pool, “my robe.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea yet.” He swirled his finger in the air. “You want to give your skin plenty of ventilation.”

It sounded good, anyway. Truth was, he didn’t want her covering up that beautiful body just yet. The small triangles covering her breasts and nestled between her legs left the rest of her curves on stunning display. The photo on her book cover of her in a blouse and jacket hadn’t done her justice. She’d probably sell even more books if she posed in this bikini.

Good thing she couldn’t read his male-chauvinist thoughts. His earnest look must’ve won out over his lustful one because she collapsed against the chaise longue, crossing her legs primly at the ankles.