by Imani King
“What?” I ask.
Aidan has moved a few paces off from us, Kian is holding my hands, and I notice now that Eva is avoiding looking in Aidan’s direction. I frown. It’s been a long time since I saw Eva emotional over a guy. This is really unusual for her. Aidan cuts a glance in her direction, and from the way his eyes are burning, I’d say the feelings are mutual.
“Nothing, I mean, I’m not sure about this,” she shrugs.
“Just for the afternoon,” Kian says. “My brother and I will be gentlemen, I swear it to you.”
Eva is torn, and I can see it. I hate putting her on the spot like this, but damn I want to go with him. I want to see where this might go, what it might be and this is a perfect opportunity.
“Fine,” she sighs.
“Great,” Kian says. “Meet us in the lobby? About one?”
“Sounds great,” I say.
“All right, see you then,” he says then jogs over to his brother.
Kian slaps him on the back then the two of them jog off down the beach. Watching him leave, a low pulsing need continues in my core, and I remember how amazing he felt between my legs.
“Great,” Eva says. “Guess we’re doing this.” I watch Eva, and when I see how she looks back at Aidan, I know she secretly wants this too. She just won’t admit it.
“Yeah, we are,” I say, only half-listening, most of my thoughts lost in memory.
“We should go clean up.”
I follow her, still looking over my shoulder until I can’t see Kian any longer. I’m doing the right thing, I think. I hope. What do I know of things like this? I hope it’s right. If not, well I guess I’ll lose then. Can a broken heart be more broken?
CHAPTER SIX
The water is crystal clear, all around us. I’ve been teasing Abby about her hesitation, about her reserve. I’ve been doing it because I can’t help it. Because I like it. Dammit all to hell.
“Okay,” Abby says. “I admit I can be a bit… serious.”
“Serious?” her friend Eva laughs. “That’s the understatement of the year my dear.”
Her cheeks flush red and not just from the bright sun. Aidan and I laugh with Eva then Abby joins in.
“I am too serious aren’t I?” She giggles, and it’s the sound of it is sweet and refreshing, just like the sun and water on this gorgeous spring day.
“Yes, most of the time,” Eva observes.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I like that about you. It makes you different.”
“Different than the thousand who came before you,” Aidan pipes in.
I feel myself flush, and my jaw clenches tight. “That’s ridiculous,” I reply to my brother.
“You’re right. It’s not quite there yet, is it?” Aidan teases. “What, you’re ten, fifteen short?”
My hand balls into a fist as the tension kills the mood. She touches my balled hand and as soon as she does it relaxes. I turn towards her and meet her smile. I can’t hold back my own.
“You’ve been with that many girls?” Eva asks.
“No,” I say, not taking my eyes off of her.
“It’s close,” Aidan says, smirking.
“Dammit, Aidan. I don’t think this is an appropriate line of conversation.” If he weren’t my brother and I didn’t know him, I’d be slugging him in the face right now. But I can tell he’s hurting, that something in him is jealous of me flirting openly with Abby. He keeps looking at Eva, and I can tell there’s something deeply conflicted going on in his soul.
“You just don’t like it when I mess with you.” Aidan attempts a good natured smile. I don’t blame Eva for looking at him like she was going to slap him last night, but he’s loyal. And he occasionally makes an effort not to be a grumpy, brooding asshole.
“It’s fine,” Abby says. “What has come before doesn’t matter as much as what you do right now.”
Staring into her eyes, I wonder if she means that or if she’s just offering me a way out. She touches my cheek and my heart races as my skin burns. I don’t want her to think less of me. I’ve never met a girl like her. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to impress anyone in my life more than I do her.
“Sure, sure,” Aidan says.
He and Eva aren’t particularly getting along today, but they’re doing a good job of hiding it. And I can see tension brewing between them, just beneath the surface. Like they either want to start a fistfight or jump overboard and head for the next romantic, deserted island. That’s why he’s giving me a hard time. Douche. He knows this is important to me, and he wishes he could be the same way with Eva. His sniping is not helping at all—me or him. He should know it.
“So, literary history huh?” I ask Abby. “Is that like English? Literature and history all wrapped into one?”
“Yes. But not just English. European literature. And the professors I’m working with are letting me explore South American and Southeast Asian literature in my thesis.” She blushes a little. “But that’s all kind of boring—”
I ignore her. “What do you want to do with that when you graduate?”
“I want to teach,” she says without hesitating. “And write. I’m planning on writing some literary history books. I have two planned out.”
“Huh, very interesting.”
“Sure,” she says. “I bet you find it incredibly exciting.”
“Actually, I think it’s really cool. I haven’t spent time with anyone who has such clear goals.”
The chef comes on deck and announces dinner then the waiter brings it up and sets it out for us. As we take seats on the sun deck, I can see that Abby and Eva are impressed. I would lay odds they have no idea who Aidan and I are really. They’re both American for one, so small European country’s royalty doesn’t compete with the latest episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. They must know we’re rich, though; not just everyone has yachts with personal chefs.
“So what do you do?” Abby asks me and Aidan snorts. “Do you go to school?”
“Not so much,” I say. “Just wasn’t my style. I might go back someday. I have a degree in business—I just didn’t figure out what to do with it.” And I’m independently wealthy. And I’m a prince. That conversation could easily be saved for another day.
“Oh,” she says. “Then what?”
“I’m a student of humanity,” I say.
“Bullshit,” Aidan coughs into his napkin and Eva laughs then looks embarrassed to have agreed with him even that much.
“What? I like people.”
“What my brother is trying to say is that he’s a bum, he travels from place to place observing and wasting our parents’ money,” Aidan clarifies.
“Okay, that’s true,” I admit, and Abby laughs.
It’s beautiful, musical, perfect. An expansive feeling fills my chest, and I swear I could walk on water if only to listen to her laugh for a little longer. Her smile is stunning, bright, lighting up the yacht more than the sun. Goddamn it, what is happening to me? How has she gotten under my skin like this? She doesn’t even seem to be trying, she just looks past all my shields and facades and touches me deep inside. I’ve never felt anything like this before.
“Sounds like fun,” she says.
“It is,” I say. “But after a while it gets—”
“Lonely?” she cuts in.
My heart stops. Our eyes meet. I can’t breathe in. Everything is still. There’s only the two of us. Her fingers rest on my hand as our souls pour out to each other. I see her, and I know she sees me. All my flaws, all my inconsistencies, everything, is laid bare before her.
“I can count the number of times he’s gone to bed alone on one hand,” Aidan says, breaking the moment.
Damn him. I have the sudden urge to throw him overboard. He and Eva laugh, I laugh trying to shake off the moment and pretend nothing is wrong but everything is. I want to be alone with her. Aidan and Eva both are distractions. Gazing out at the water I see we’re not far from the shore and that there’s a beautiful reef below us.
“You
snorkel?” I ask Abby.
“I have before, but I’m not very good,” she says.
“Great, I can help you.”
“I don’t want to go in the water; we just ate,” Aidan says.
“Okay,” I smile.
Perfect, I didn’t want him with me. Now if Eva will just agree to stay behind as well.
“Yeah, me either,” Eva says.
I can’t suppress a smile. This is going just the way I had hoped.
“So, you in?” I ask Abby.
“Sure,” she says.
“Great!”
Taking her hand, I lead her below decks where the gear is stored. Once we’re outfitted we strip down to our swimwear then I lead us to the back of the yacht. A small door in at the rear opens out onto a platform. The boat is rocking with the gentle waves so that water comes up over it in soft splashes. We slip on our flippers, put our masks and snorkels in place, then sit on the edge and slide off into the water.
It’s beautiful under the water. Colorful fish swim below us darting in and out of the reef. We swim side by side, and I point out different things to view as we go. A small shark, about a foot long, swims towards a school of yellow-orange fish. It darts through them with a sudden burst of speed the thick school parts around its passage then closes behind it. It must have gotten its meal for it swims on ignoring them.
The sun breaks through the surface of the ocean, creating sparkles and light under the water. It’s pretty, and I enjoy it but not nearly as much as I enjoy watching Abby. She moves with an easy grace. She may not be experienced at snorkeling, but she’s a natural. We make our way towards the shore until I lead us into the shallows and we can stand up.
“This is amazing!” she exclaims as she rises from the water.
“I thought you’d like it,” I say taking her hand.
We’re in a small cove with a mostly secluded beach that’s too tiny for the tourists to take any interest in. Trees hide it away from any prying eyes. Looking over my shoulder the yacht is probably just over a hundred yards out. I can see Aidan and Eva still sitting on the sun deck, but they don’t seem to be paying any attention to us.
“What are we doing here?” she asks while following along as I lead us towards the trees.
“Finding a few moments alone,” I say.
“Alone?”
“Sure.”
“Got big ideas do we?”
“Big? Well—” I grin as we pass into the tree line blocking us from the boat's line of sight.
I turn into her pressing her against the tree. Leaning in, I steal a kiss. I hate to admit it’s a tentative kiss. I’m not sure she wants this which in itself is a new thing for me. As I pull back she leans into me, her lips following mine until she’s the one kissing me.
Her kiss is electric. Pleasure pulses through my body from the contact of her lips on mine. Leaning into her, I press her harder against the tree as my cock stiffens to a steel rod. I want her so fucking bad. I need to penetrate her, but I’m going to take this slow. She’s unique; I’m not going to bang her like any other girl and move on. Even if this is just a short time, it’s going to be special, like her.
My hips grind into her, impulsive, my need pushing itself forward. My hard cock smashed between us feels good. She moans into our kiss, and it takes all my control not to explode. She pulls back breaking the kiss, and I’m left panting, needing more.
I want her to stay with me. I don’t want this to be for one night; I want to feel this way always. Staring into her warm eyes, her arms around my neck, I want to tell her who I am. Bring her into my world and show her everything I am. Give her all I have to offer. I can’t. It can’t happen no matter how much I want to. I don’t even know what I’m thinking. I can’t open myself to her that way. Or can I?
“Why don’t you come spend a week with me at my villa,” I say before I can think it through.
Aidan is going to kill me, but I don’t care. If he doesn’t like it, he can go home without me.
“You have a villa?” She sounds surprised.
I try to play it down, “Doesn’t everyone?”
She bites her lower lip, her brow furrows, and her eyes crinkle. I don’t want her thinking so much, so I lean down and lick her lips. She opens them in surprise, and my tongue meets hers. This isn’t the time for thinking it’s time for action. Thrusting my hips into her I drive my steel rod up between her legs so that I’m pressing against her mound. The thin cloth of my trunks and her bikini bottom barely keeping us apart.
“Uhhh,” she groans, closing her eyes.
“I want you,” I whisper in her ear.
“I don’t know,” she exhales.
“Why not?”
“What will we do?” she asks, punctuating each word with a kiss.
“Hike, boat, ski, throw a big party,” I say, continuing to kiss her.
She moans as I grind into her. “Is that all?”
“This,” I say. “Every night, every morning, every day.”
“Hmmm.”
“Say yes,” I order, hoping she’ll comply.
“Yes,” she says, thrusting her hips against me.
I’ve never asked a girl to stay past the morning after, and now I’m inviting her to spend a week with me. She’s under my skin, making me crazy, but damn it I can’t say I don’t like it. I feel complete being with her. I like her. I like having her around, and I like listening to her, which is a first. Right or wrong, I’ve made my choice. I want her, at least for now.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Am I being dumb?” I ask Eva, folding my pants and putting them in the bag.
“Of course you are,” she says, helpful as ever.
I throw down the blouse I’m folding. “Then why did you let me do this?”
“Uhm, let you?” she asks, looking up from her own packing. “I wasn’t even there. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“Well, I suppose he could be a monster and want to lock us in his dungeon or something equally horrible.”
“Wow, you went there,” Eva says, shaking her head.
“What? You asked what was the worst. That’d be bad right?”
“Uh, yeah, but wow. The right answer, if you’re wondering, was we could not have fun. That’s it. It could just be boring and suck in general. That’s the worst that can happen.”
“Oh,” I shrug. “Too much real crime television.”
“I’d say so!” she laughs. “What are you worried about?”
That stops me. I sit down on the bed and stare into space as I think about it. “I don’t know who he is, I guess.”
“Okay, what do you need to know?”
“I don’t know—a last name maybe? I mean he apparently has a lot of money, a yacht, the penthouse at the hotel, and now an entire villa. He’s rich, great. But who is he?”
“Does it matter?” She looks down and away. I want to press her for any information she has, but something tells me not to. “Living in the moment right? We’re on vacation and enjoying ourselves, that’s it.”
“Yeah? What about you and Aidan?”
“Ugh,” she says. She shrugs and gives me a cryptic look. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Well you’re going to see a lot of him if we go through with this is that okay?”
“Sure, I mean, he’s fun and all, but he’s got issues.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
“We’ve hooked up a few times, but it’s clear he was super conflicted about it. I figure, what the hell, we’ll hook up for a week and I’ll go home no worse for the wear, right?” She gives me a bright smile and keeps flitting around, getting ready for our adventure.
I laugh at her easy going attitude. I can’t see things in that light. I’m not a prude or anything or well maybe I am. I'd only been with Roger before this. Casual hookups are so far out my realm of experience or understanding that I don’t know what to make of them. Eva has always been much more relaxed about sex than I have.<
br />
“Sure,” I agree.
What do I do about Kian? I like him, but there’s so much I don’t know. How does he come by so much money? They mentioned their parents were rich what do they do? How did they get their money?
“Hey,” Eva says, cutting into my introspection. She holds up a pile of clothes that she is putting into her suitcase. “We’re going right?”
“Sure,” I agree standing up. “I’m just thinking.”
“You, my dear, think entirely too much. If I paused to think about Aidan… well, I’d be coming up with some very interesting conclusions. I’d rather not think at all. And you should do the same.”
“You’re probably right,” I agree.
We pack our clothes then take the elevator downstairs. As soon as we walk out of the elevator, a chauffeur is waiting for us. He takes our luggage and leads us to a limousine. As we climb in, I expect Kian and Aidan to be there, but it’s empty. The chauffeur is holding the door for Eva, so I lean out.
“Aren’t Kian and Aidan coming?” I ask.
“No ma’am. They went ahead to the villa to make sure it’s ready,” he says.
“Oh,” I say, unable to hide the disappointment in my voice. “How long does it take to get there?”
“About twenty minutes.” He smiles then shuts the door.
“Hey, there’s a wet bar,” Eva says, pouring a drink for herself. “Want something?”
“Sure,” I say. “Whatever you’re having is fine.”
She pours me a drink as well and hands it to me. I sip it, letting the whiskey burn the butterflies into submission. It almost works. They calm down at least, which is better than before. We each have one more while watching the town slide by outside the tinted windows. We’re heading south, driving along the ocean route. The road is tight and winding and a few times my stomach lurches when I can look down what looks like hundreds of yards straight to rocks and crashing ocean.
The driver is true to his word. About twenty minutes into the ride the car slows, and I see we’re passing through some enormous houses. We pull around a multi-level white construct. He comes to a stop, and we wait for a few minutes for what I don’t know then the car is rolling forward again. It comes to a stop, and I hear his car door open then he’s opening ours.
