Gregor grunted and waved his hand. As suddenly as they’d appeared in the cave, they were back in the family conference room.
Vincent nodded to his father. “Emilio and I await your instructions.”
For once, looking at Vincent and Emilio didn’t cause anger or dislike to rise up within Roman. Instead, he felt sorry for the men.
His oldest brothers were being sent on a quest without the slightest idea what they were really up against. He opened his mouth to give warning but knew, even as he searched for the words that would change destiny, there wasn’t anything that he could do to stop what was to come.
His brothers were presented with a challenge, and his brothers had accepted. They alone could alter the course of what would happen next. Roman understood there’d be a moment of choice for them—a moment when all would be won, or lost.
May the goddess have mercy on him and Emilio both. And on me, too, because I am a part of this, whether I like it or not.
Roman knew his brothers, and he knew the greed that lived within them. And he knew that, before this quest was done, mercy would indeed be the only thing that would save his oldest brothers’ souls.
Chapter 5
“You’re both surgeons?” Cheri’s eyes focused on their hands. They each had long fingers, which she supposed would be an asset to them in performing surgery. She’d also noticed they seemed very precise with the movements of those hands. Something in the way they held their forks, in the way they picked up their drinks showed her this. It seemed as if each movement of their hands was calculated for precision.
Hands that reached out, fingers caressing her flesh, making her shiver, making her burn. Her nipple, caught between a thumb and forefinger, hardened as arousal speared through her, as other fingers began to strum her clit and moved on to fuck her pussy…
Cheri banished the image as heat crept up from her tingling clit and nipples to decorate her face. She focused anew on the conversation at hand.
“Different fields of medicine,” Max said. “I’m trauma, and Tony is thoracic.”
“I imagine it takes a lot of discipline and hard work to be successful in your fields. I’m in awe of those who can do that—dedicate themselves to healing others.”
“From where I’m sitting, taking on a room full of second-graders for months at a time is awe inspiring,” Tony said. “Don’t get me wrong, I like kids. It’s just…” He let the thought drop off, as if he really didn’t know how he’d finish it.
“You like kids but not thirty all at once?” Cheri smiled because Tony’s comment wasn’t so unusual. She’d heard variations of it, often even from the parents of her students themselves, since she’d taught her first class.
“Exactly.” Then his expression sobered. “I think everyone has their own talent, and the secret to success isn’t found in the dollars made or the promotions won. It’s finding your talent and making the most of it.”
“I think you’re exactly right.” Cheri had sat down at this table nearly an hour before, wondering what the next few minutes would hold. She’d had her doubts that the three of them were as well suited as destiny seemed to think they were.
She was feeling much better about things now.
Recalling some of the stories she’d heard from other professionals—she’d met a few doctors on those nights when Ginger had dragged her out to the local bar—she looked from Max to Tony. “Aside from discipline, hard work, and nerves of steel, the other thing you need to have, I imagine, is focus. I’ve heard horror stories from a few in the medical field about the mountain of debt they have to pay back once they get working.”
It was just another aspect of life here that had shocked her—the cost of education. How did society justify charging those with talent hundreds of thousands of dollars so they could develop that talent to save lives while paying equally ghastly huge sums to sports figures?
“Well.” Max said only that and looked at Tony. The two men really did seem to have some sort of communication going on between them. That, and the fact they were both talented surgeons—she didn’t need to be told that, she just knew—was due to their having been descended from the Chosen.
The ember within each had actually grown just a bit brighter over the last hour, but beyond that, their natural-born power revealed itself in that they were both exceptional people.
“Why not?” Tony asked.
Before she could ask what he meant, Max cleared his throat, drawing her attention. “The truth is that we both knew we were meant to be doctors, but neither of us wanted to end up with mountains of debt, as you called it. We didn’t want our folks going into debt for us, either, which they’d offered to do. We managed to win some scholarships, but they were a drop in the bucket compared to what we needed once we hit medical school. So we looked at all our options and decided to trade on our good looks and became male models. You might have seen some underwear ads a decade or so ago that featured one or both of us. Modeling paid very well, and we were able to graduate debt free.”
“Oh, that’s brilliant! No, I didn’t see any underwear ads featuring the two of you. I would have remembered if I had.” Cheri tilted her head to the side. “Did I just past some kind of test?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t an intended test. Or maybe it was.” Tony’s smile looked sheepish. “There’ve been generally two reactions on the part of women when they learn we were male models. One, of course, is shock.”
“But you have to admit that usually comes from ladies of our mothers’ generation,” Max said.
“You got me there.” Judging by the color on his face, Tony’s embarrassment had eased.
“What’s the other reaction?” Cheri asked the question, but she was pretty sure she knew the answer.
“A kind of lecherous fascination,” Max said. “That happened to us all the time, when we were in the business. Women wanted us without knowing anything about us. You’ve heard of buckle bunnies? Groupies that follow the rodeo circuit and rodeo cowboys, fixated on having sex with as many of them as they can? Well, we had groupies, too.”
Actually Cheri hadn’t heard of buckle bunnies, but from what she knew of life here, she could well imagine.
“At first—for about the first three months—we thought it was the ultimate cool.” Tony shook his head. “We’re guys, and like guys from time to time, we can be pigs.”
“But after that, it got to be annoying.” Max met her gaze. “They didn’t care anything about us. We were just…meat to them.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you. I guess it’s not just guys who can be pigs.” Who would have thought they’d have something so basic, so…personal in common? She’d been judged because of her appearance, and so, obviously, had they.
She thought back to earlier by the pool, when Tony had copped that attitude. Maybe there’s more to this story than they’re telling me. She’d thought something had happened to make him suspicious of women, in general. Her intuition was telling her she was right. Maybe, someday, he’d tell her.
* * * *
“I wonder what the odds are that we’ll see Cheri at dinner tonight. I understand the formal dining room is very big.” Tony sat in one of the chairs in their cabin, his hand spasmodically squeezing a small exercise ball.
Cutting into people’s chests required a great deal of strength. Tony could often be found exercising his hand, especially if he was watching television or reading a book or, as he was now, simply sitting and waiting for Max to finish getting ready for the evening.
Max turned and grinned at his friend. “Is this where I tell you that, while you were taking your shower, I tracked down the dining room manager and made sure we’d be sitting together?” It had actually surprised Max how willing the woman had been to do that over the phone.
“I admire the way you think.” He stilled his hand. “I like her, Max. I like her a lot. I really do want to get to know her better.”
“Then let’s do that. I thought to bring along the list of exc
ursions being offered at the two ports of call in Bermuda during this cruise. Perhaps she’d like to join us in exploring the islands.”
“That sounds like a hell of a good idea.”
Their dinner seating was for eight o’clock. They’d left Cheri at three after a very fast two hours at the grill restaurant on deck seven. She’d wanted to relax for a few hours before dinner, and they’d needed to finish unpacking.
Neither he nor Tony liked living out of a suitcase. Their mini suite was large enough for the two of them and economical compared to the cost of having individual cabins.
“There is one other thing I’m wondering about, and it’s not such a happy thought,” Tony said.
“You’re wondering if we’re going to have that stalker chick shadowing us again this evening the way she has all day so far?”
“Yes. Tell me something, pal of mine. Are we wearing an invisible sign or something? One that perhaps reads ‘former male models, onetime man sluts’?”
“No. I’ve been thinking about this all day. I think we really need to let the past go. We were nineteen and behaving like normal nineteen-year-old boys at the time. I don’t think there are many boys that age that would turn down the pussy buffet we were offered back then. It only took us half a year to figure it out and change our ways. Cut yourself some slack, will you? I’m sure as hell going to do the same.”
Tony’s expression sobered. “I always just figured that what happened with Madelyn was payback, our particular slice of karma cake for behaving like total horn dogs back then.”
“Maybe it’s time for us to both get our heads on straight. Madelyn was a callous woman with serious issues. She wasn’t payback for anything. She was just plain mean.” Max sighed. “And she was just one woman. We’ve worked with lots of women these last few years, and many of them I consider good friends. They wouldn’t have behaved the way Madelyn did.”
“You’re saying we should stop being wary of a relationship because continuing to do so is painting every woman with Madelyn’s colors.”
“Yeah, I am. And when I think about how we draw the attention of the occasional player the way we do, I think about Mary Sue Griffin.”
“Head OR nurse back at the General in Chicago?”
Max nodded. She’d been the best OR nurse he’d ever worked with—she’d also been stunningly beautiful. “Remember how she used to complain about running into men who seemed to only want her because of her looks? Well, I’m thinking that’s not a dilemma limited to women.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right. I wonder how long it’s going to take us to think differently.”
“I don’t know. Let’s just take it one day at a time and begin right now.”
They left their cabin, headed for the formal dining room on deck seven. They were a half-hour early and decided to take a walk on deck to kill some time. The vastness of the Atlantic Ocean stretched out on every side, nothing but water as far as the eye could see.
“It occurs to me that this view is one of the rare ones on earth that is essentially unchanged since our ancestors got up and walked on two legs all those millennia ago,” Tony said.
Max grinned. “As long as no jets or other cruise ships come into view, you’re right. And isn’t that a damned deep thought for two single men to contemplate before dinner with a beautiful woman?”
“Not really.” Tony leaned on the railing. “I find the older I get, the more deep thoughts I have. Sometimes, when I’m scrubbing up, I feel a sense of…” .
“Go on. It’s just us here, and God knows we’ve told each other practically everything.” Including the fact that they both had the same secret fantasy—to find that one special woman to be their wife, a wife they would share.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m entering church. That I’ve been chosen for something so special, to do what I do. I’ve held human hearts in my hands. That changes you. Do you feel the same way?”
Max nodded slowly. “When I go into the OR and know the person on my table has been given very little chance to survive, it’s like I’m a gladiator, preparing to face the biggest fucking lion on earth. And when I win, I feel as if it wasn’t me, or just me, really, but some awesome power working through me.”
“Exactly. Without sounding too hokey? I’ve kind of felt a sense of waiting—of destiny—for a long, long time. When we met?”
“Yeah. That was meant to be, wasn’t it? It felt as if…”
“As if we’d known each other in a previous life.”
Max had a flash, as if he’d stepped into some other…somewhere, and he was looking at himself and Tony. Only they didn’t look the same as they really did. At least they didn’t look like they did now. He caught a glimpse of Tony’s startled gaze looking across the mind space at him. Then it was gone, and they were only there on the deck of the Eugenia, having a conversation.
“Wow, all these years that we’ve been friends and I never knew that about you.” He met Tony’s gaze, determined to not think about what had just happened, focusing instead only on the verbal revelations.
“We never knew that about each other. Why now, Max? What do you think it means?”
Max knew Tony was looking for answers to more than just the obvious. “I don’t know. It’s something to think about, though, isn’t it?”
“There you are! You listen to me, you fat bitch! I don’t know who the hell you think you are or what you hope to gain. You looked fucking pathetic at lunch earlier, do you know that? Everyone could see those two hard bodies were just playing with you, making fun of you when you weren’t looking. That was a pity lunch, bitch, and everyone watching knew it. Everyone but you.”
The sharp voice came from around the corner, the speaker just out of sight at the bow end of the ship. Max felt his one eyebrow go up as he met Tony’s gaze. The sharpness of tone, the viciousness of the words, reminded him, very much, of Madelyn.
“I’m sorry. Do I know you? Have we met?”
Max stiffened then turned toward the voices. That had been Cheri’s voice answering that woman’s nasty comment!
“You do now. Those two hunks are mine. I saw them first, and I am going to have them—and I’ll have them any way they want me. So back the fuck off, fatty, or you’ll be sorry. Look at you, you’re so fat no man would ever consider fucking you unless it was to win a bet—or as some kind of disgusting frat initiation.”
“Trust me, I’m well aware of my size and how I look. I also know that, beneath the surface, I’m good person. Your threats are over the top, don’t you think? This isn’t a television soap opera.” Cheri sighed. “How can you claim those two good men belong to you? You don’t even know their names, do you?”
“I don’t want to know their names, you stupid bitch. I only want to know the size of their cocks and how they will feel in my cunt. So I’m warning you one last time. Stay away from them.”
Max didn’t look at Tony, but then, he didn’t have to. They moved as one, their quick steps taking them across the deck and around the corner.
If Max lived to be a hundred he’d never forget the look on Cheri’s face. Yes, her words had been brave in the face of such appalling bullying. But the expression she wore was one of total defeat. As if she believed the venom that horrible viper had spewed.
Trust me, I’m well aware of my size and how I look. In that instant, everything shifted for him. For them, because Tony had to feel the same way as he did.
“Darling, there you are.” Max spoke first. He gave a short dismissive look at the other woman. He recognized her immediately as their “stalker.” Her red dress couldn’t be any tighter on her emaciated body. Her nipples were nearly visible through the lightweight material, signaling a lack of underwear. Rather than having an arousing affect, the sight of her made him want to cringe. He dismissed her and reached for Cheri, drew her close, and lightly kissed her lips. Then he stepped back to allow Tony to do the same.
“Sorry we’re late, sweetheart. It won’t happen again.” H
e, too, placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Are you ready to go to dinner, then?” Max kept his attention of Cheri and his tone happy.
“You can’t be fucking serious! Really? The two of you? With her?”
Tony turned to the woman who’d accosted Cheri. “I beg your pardon? Do we know you?”
The woman proved herself not only nasty but also stupid when she stepped right into Tony’s face. “Not yet, lover, but we will. Just as soon as you ditch that fatty, we’re going to know each other real well, if you get my drift.”
“Huh. I didn’t know they allowed hookers on this cruise,” Tony said. “But honey? I wouldn’t fuck you with somebody else’s cock.”
When the blonde gasped, Max stepped closer to Cheri but met the other woman’s gaze. “If we see you anywhere near us again, we’ll report you to the management here as openly soliciting.”
“Fine. Go fuck your little charity case, there. You’re probably both a couple of pencil dicks anyway.”
She flounced off, leaving a wake of way too much perfume—but not before she sent a scathing look to Cheri.
We’ll have to make sure we keep our woman with us as much as possible. Who knows what that disgusting bimbo is capable of?
It didn’t even jar Max that he’d thought of Cheri as being theirs.
“I don’t have words.” Despite Cher’s bravado, he could feel the tremors wracking her. “Nothing like that has ever happened to me before. I could literally feel the anger and the hatred in that woman. It was…seething out of her.”
Max turned his attention to Cheri. She’d done a good job of covering up her earlier expression and the emotions that had to have prompted it, but he wasn’t going to assume she was all right.
He used one finger to tilt her face up so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. “You are not fat. You’re delightfully curvy and the most appealing, most delicious bundle of woman I’ve ever seen.”
Tony nodded. “Damn straight. And if we have our way, we’ll show you just how we feel about you after dinner.”
The Gifted 1: Passions Awakening (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5
