Prince barely remembered anyone from this town. He hadn’t cared to. Though few had forgotten him and his family.
He wondered how long Ari had lived here? She had to be a few years younger than him. He would’ve never forgotten a face such as hers, definitely not her voice.
Ari leaned close to him. Prince felt her soft breath on his cheek. It took everything in him to not reach out and grab her, to pull her into an embrace, and hold her close. It would be insane. He'd only just met the woman. Yet he knew that he didn't want to be parted from her anytime soon. Being near her was the balm his wounded soul had been in search of since he'd woken from the bomb blast.
"My name is Ariana."
Prince inhaled the sweet smell of her hair. The rainwater hadn't taken the scent from her. The wet strands were the exact color of the blast from his nightly terrors. He felt not a hint of fear as he gazed at them.
"You have a beautiful voice, Ariana," he said. His voice just above a whisper into her ear.
She pulled back. But only enough to look him in the eyes. There were golden flecks at the edges of her eyes. Made sense that she would sparkle from the inside out.
What was she searching for, he wondered? Whatever it was, he vowed here and now that he would endeavor to be that man for her.
Chapter Twelve
It had been years since someone had told Ari that she had a beautiful voice. Because it had been years since anyone outside of her family had heard her voice. And now, the man who had sent her into silence praised the sound of her voice.
"Thank you," she said.
With each word that escaped her lips, Ari was surprised to hear the sound of her voice. She’d tried hard to speak in the days and weeks after The Incident, but she’d choked every time she opened her mouth. With each word she’d spoken in the last couple of minutes, her throat functioned effortlessly. The words seeming to want to gush out and greet this man.
For his part, Prince's gaze was so intent upon her lips. Ari knew that each of her words was spoken quietly. She still wasn't used to using her voice with others. She’d never thought she’d use them with him. She might be able to talk to him, but he couldn’t expect her to do it loudly.
Prince’s smile told her that he understood her every syllable. His gaze, which continued to track her mouth’s every move, told her he was eager for more. His breath, which it became clear he was holding, told her that he anticipated a new word to drop any second like she was dropping a new album that he was first in line for.
This had to be the most surreal day of her life. Ariana Carol was sitting with Eric Prince, sitting close enough that if someone happened upon them, they'd think that she and Prince were lovers. He held one of her hands in his. Her other hand rested on his shoulder after it had inspected his ear for any damage her shouting might've caused him.
He didn't look hurt. He looked at her as though she was what he said she was. He'd said she was beautiful.
The interest was clear on his handsome face. If she had any doubts, then the way his gaze kept dipping to her lips when she wasn't talking would definitely clue her in. The feel of his thumb making lazy circles over her knuckles would certainly alert her to his intentions.
Eric Prince wanted to kiss her. Ari didn't have to have ever kissed a man to know the signs. And Ari had never kissed a man. No one had ever gotten close enough to try. Because no man could get past her first line of defense, the whole not speaking thing.
But she'd spoken to him. She wanted to speak to him more. And tell him what? That he was the cause of her suffering.
A loud crack of thunder sounded outside the boat. The crack reverberated inside the walls, and the boat rocked. Prince squeezed her hand. Hard.
Ari yelped from the spark of pain. She tried to pull it away. But his grip was firm. His eyes were closed. Pain was etched into the grooves of his handsome face.
Another crack of thunder sounded. This time closer. Water sprayed at the windows. The untouched mug crashed to the ground, spilling its contents and shattering on the hardwood floor.
Prince's arms came around her, pulling her flush against his chest. Just like in the restaurant when the feedback had screeched. He covered her with his body. His hand tucked her head under his chin as he used his body like a shield for her.
His breathing was labored. She could feel his chest pounding against hers. He gripped her to him, but no longer hard. His hold was now protective.
Ari’s heart caught in her throat. She couldn’t imagine the horrors this man had faced for the protection of others. Her hands were trapped between them. She found some space between his muscled abs and her soft middle to snake both of her hands around his back.
Up and down, her hands went on along his spine. Her mouth was on the side of his good ear. She took a deep inhale. And then she began to sing.
It was a lullaby her father had sung to her during storms. Ari sang the tune softly into Prince’s left ear, having learned her lesson the first time. By and by, the storm moved past. The thunder moved on. The rains lightened.
Ari knew that Prince had calmed before the storm was over. She kept singing, kept running her hands up and down his back. His hold on her lightened. Still, he did not seem willing to let her go. But every song inevitably came to an end.
Ari closed her mouth as she ran out of lyrics. Prince didn’t let go of her in the silence. She didn’t try to pull away.
The world had stopped. Nothing existed outside of these four walls and the two of them.
His fingers grazed her forehead. The pads of his fingers were rough, but his touch was nothing but gentle. She wanted to curl into him like a kitten. When he spoke, it was so quiet that she almost didn’t hear him.
“The storm has passed,” he said.
That it had. But Ari felt like she had been shipwrecked. She had been pulled apart, rung dry, and rescued by the man who held her safely in his arms.
Chapter Thirteen
Prince knew how to disassemble and reassemble an AK-47 blindfolded with only the touch of his fingers. More times than he could count, he’d thumbed the curve of the magazine, had traced the lines of the cleaning rod, had brushed the coiling springs of the bolt. Handling that lethal weapon had nothing on holding a woman in his arms.
To be sure, he’d masterfully unraveled his fair share of girls in his timel. But holding Ari close to him, inhaling the strands of her hair, feeling her flesh warm at his touch, Prince was at a loss.
He worried he was holding her too tight. He worried if he loosened his hold that she might escape. That was the last thing he wanted. Holding Ariana like this, he felt she was the only thing holding him together.
For the past year, Prince had struggled to hear most sounds. Storms and thunder, he struggled with the most. Not because he couldn't hear them. It was to the contrary. The weather events never failed to penetrate the barriers in his ears. Once the sounds infiltrated, they inevitably brought him back to his time in a combat zone.
The crackle of lightning could always split the ringing in his ears. The rumble of thunder out blasted the sounds of rock and building crumbling around him. Every time a storm passed over him, Prince would be transported back to the nightmare of combat in his waking hours. And every time, he would be helpless to shut it out.
Until now.
It was in part due to holding the precious treasure he’d marauded. It was mostly due to Ari's soothing lyrics. She sang quietly, but her song resonated into the heart of him. Her voice rose up inside him, reaching his ears and tuning the storm out.
His entire world shrank down until there was only this woman in his arms. He would face an army of insurgents for her. He would stare down the barrel of a gun to protect her. He'd run headfirst at any man with a suicide vest if it meant she would be safe.
Prince burrowed his nose in Ari's hair, breathing deeply. Her sweet scent soothed away all of his fears and anxieties, better than any prescription he'd been offered by the VA hospital. The feel of her heart beatin
g against his chest calmed any stressors that had once plagued him. There were only the two of them and this moment.
For the first time in a year, all was blessedly silent and quiet. Ari's song had come to an end. The storm had passed. The peace remained.
"It was a bomb."
Ari stirred in his hold at his admission. She didn’t try to pull away. Her head moved against his chest in acknowledgment that she’d heard him.
Prince didn't talk about what had happened to him with anyone. No one except the psychologist on the Purple Heart Ranch. Dr. Patel had been easy to talk to. Likely because the man was a pastor as well. Prince hadn't been raised a religious man. But he'd met his fair share of clergy when he'd joined the military, surprised that so many men and women of faith were prepared to take arms.
Many soldiers believed they were doing God’s work. It was the Creator who had given mankind the edict to maintain law and order and keep the peace. Prince had gravitated toward each man and woman of faith and eventually developed his own relationship with God. Prince was certain there was a lesson in the blow he’d been dealt on the battlefield. He just hadn’t found it yet.
"We were out on a routine patrol. Me and my team of five guys and a bomb dog.”
“A bomb dog?”
Prince took a moment to inhale. His heart rate had increased, and there was sweat trickling down his spine at the memories he was allowing free. But just the sound of Ari’s sweet voice in his ear brought him peace.
“The military trains dogs to sniff out explosives. When they smell the chemicals, they’re taught to sit and whine. The bomb dog sat down outside of a building. Inside was a family of three strapped into suicide vests.”
Tension rattled through Ari's shoulder. Prince took the opportunity to pull her closer. He didn't want her to know all the horrors of war, but he wanted her to understand how he came to be the man he was today. He just hoped that man could prove himself worthy of her.
"The husband had refused to join the insurgents' army, and so they’d marked him and his family for death. The bombs were on a timer. My specialty is in EOD; that means Explosive Ordnance Disposal. The husband insisted I get his wife and child-free first.”
Save them. Save my wife and child. They are my world.
“I tried, but… there wasn’t enough time to free him as well.”
His voice broke. Soft hands cupped his face. He looked down to find Ari's blue gaze on his.
Prince hated the sight of pity. That's not what her eyes told him. Her gaze was filled with strength and compassion. He felt it pour into him, allowing him to continue his story.
"I said a prayer with the man as the time ticked down. At that moment, I knew that his God and mine were the same. The devil was the cowards who would use a woman and child to fight their battles and further their cause."
Prince took a deep breath. The anger bubbling up in him made the ringing in his ears louder. He wanted to clench his fist and punch something. But he had the soft flesh of Ari in his arms.
"Running away from him was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And you know what? The man didn't ever cry. He just kept praying. Not for himself. For his family. He prayed that his wife and child would be all right."
“And they were. You saved them.”
Her words were softly spoken directly into his ear. She'd found the perfect volume for him to hear her. Ari’s voice and her breath against the cone of Prince’s ear sent a shudder down his spine.
"We got them out in time." Prince leaned the side of his head against hers. The movement was so intimate for two people who didn't know each other.
No -that statement felt false. He might not know the details of Ari, but he felt he knew her.
“His family is alive because of you.”
She was right; there was that. But that thought rarely penetrated through Prince’s guilt, until Ari said it. Very few things had penetrated until he’d heard Ari’s voice.
“I can still feel the heat on my back from the blast. It shook the earth under my feet, and I fell. The sound of it still rings in my ears. The ringing never stops. Except when you were singing. Or even now, when you’re just speaking to me. The sound of your voice… it feels like it’s healing to me. I know that sounds crazy but…”
An unreadable expression settled across her features. Ari searched his face. Prince didn’t blink while she did so. He wanted her to know that he would never hide anything from her. Including the feelings he was having for her, feelings that were funneling deeper with every moment.
Ari looked down and pulled away from him. “I should get home. My family will worry.”
Prince reached for her hands, bringing them back to him. Even just that distance between them was unbearable. But he loosened his hold. He didn’t want to frighten her. Neither did he want to lose the treasure he’d found.
“I want to see you again, Ariana.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ari's feet squished as she walked up the steps to the back door of the restaurant. Prince had insisted on walking with her as far as the marina, but she'd stopped him there. He'd reached for her then. His hand came to graze her forearm.
At the last second, he’d balled his fist and put his hand behind his back. But he hadn’t turned from her. He’d gazed down at her, staring at her mouth as though he wanted to kiss her.
Ari’s chin had lifted. Her lips had parted. And then she’d shut her mouth.
Prince had pursed his lips. His once open gaze had retreated behind a wince. They’d been in each other's arms only moments ago. Now it was as though they were looking at one another from across an ocean.
But a kiss would’ve been insane. They weren’t dating. Yet
Ari slipped off her wet shoes as she came into the back door. The floor was hot from the heat from the stove. The restaurant’s kitchen smelled divine, like a spice mixture whose aroma warmed Ari on the inside. But the warmth of her sister’s cooking had nothing on what she’d felt when she’d been inside Eric Prince’s arms.
Ari was going on a date with Prince tomorrow. She’d said yes. She’d actually said the word to him. Her voice hadn’t shaken or quivered. It had been a resounded agreement. He’d been the one holding his breath when she’d spoken. He’d been the one vulnerable while she’d taken his measure. His smile when she’d acquiesced to his invitation had been palpable. She’d had Eric Prince uncertain, unsure, at her mercy, and she had granted him a boon.
Ari was coming to believe she’d come out of that storm and walked into an alternate version of her life. She was having a hard time reconciling the man who'd rescued her from a downpour today with the boy who had made fun of her all those years ago. She should've told him about their shared past when they were on his boat. But she couldn't. Not after he’d shared the story of his private pain.
Prince had had an awful effect on Ari’s life. But she hadn't died as a result of it. And he was no longer that reckless boy. He'd risked his life to save others for years with his service in the military. That was something to be commended.
Or was she just making excuses?
Ari didn't know what to think. All she knew was that she wanted to see him again. She wanted him to lean in to hear her words. She wanted to sing to him again. She wanted him to hold her against his broad chest. She wanted him to kiss her.
"Where have you been?" Adelle’s voice broke through Ari's dreams of kissing. "And what are you wearing?"
"I got caught in the rain."
The storm had passed over Indigo Bay. It had left Ari in disarray. A peak out of the passthrough door told Ari that there were a fair amount of customers at the tables and bar.
"Are those a man's clothes?"
Ari opened her mouth to respond. But to say what? That she's spent the afternoon with Eric Prince, who had done a one hundred and eighty in the behavior and attitude department. Oh, and he didn't even remember how he had ruined Ari’s life.
After The Incident, Ari’s sisters had been readying t
o go on a warpath of their own. But Prince and his family were already gone. As a military family, they moved around the country a lot. It was Prince’s mother that had ties in Indigo Bay, but she’d died shortly after The Incident happened. And then, Prince was gone. Shipped off to military school they’d heard. So, Alanna and Adelle had never been able to enact their revenge.
But her sisters never forgot the evil Prince or his dastardly deed. So, Ari kept quiet about her current attire. Adelle didn’t push. These were times when having been mute for most of her life worked for her.
Ari ducked into the back closet. There she changed out of Prince's shirt and into one with the restaurant logo on it. There was also a spare pair of yoga pants with a grease stain that she stepped into. She'd have to keep the squishy shoes on, though. The insides were uncomfortable, but the nonstick soles would keep her from slipping on the floor.
Once she was presentable, Ari joined her sisters at the bar. It was a little busier than she’d seen through the passthrough. Mostly regulars, but a few out of town visitors were present. With the holidays around the corner, family and friends were starting to gather. The karaoke machine wasn't due to start up for another hour, so there was blessed quiet. Enough to hear Miss Lucille call from down the bar.
“Alanna, I ordered a drink not five minutes ago. And Princess needs a bowl of water. She’s parched from the walk over."
Miss Lucille patted at a non-existent stray hair from her perfectly coiffed bun. Then she patted the white pouf of her twin, the little, four-legged, Bichon Frise in her arms. Princess, Lucille’s emotional support dog, was carried everywhere the elderly lady went. Today, Princess’ collar perfected matched Lucille’s pink pumps.
“Just a second, Ms. Lucille,” Alanna called from the other end of the bar. She was thumbing through the driver’s license and identification cards of a group of college kids who were reluctantly handing them over.
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