Feel The Fire (Unforgettable Series)

by Adrianne Byrd

  Maybe she could.

  The moment the possibility crossed her mind, her shoulders deflated when the promise she made her father floated back to haunt her.

  “Cheer up, Alice. Things can’t be all that bad.”

  Alyssa’s head jerked up to see Quentin leaning against the oak door leading to the service quarters. Her heart flipped-flopped in her chest and when he flashed his dimpled cheeks, she nearly swooned on the spot. “What are you doing here?”

  Q shrugged. “Well, if you don’t want me here, I’m sure I can find a group of females who’d actually enjoy my company.” He pushed away from the door and started to head back toward the wedding party. “I just thought you wanted to hear the rest of Jonas and Toni’s story. Silly me.”

  “Wait.” She raced over to him and grabbed him by the wrist. “I do.”

  When he turned to face her, she was suddenly stunned by her own behavior and released his hand while embarrassment scorched her entire body.

  “Ah. So you are interested?”

  She was much more interested in spending time with him.

  He laughed. “What is it about women that make them love sappy love stories?”

  Women? Did he consider her a woman now?

  Alyssa straightened and even tried to thrust up her flat chest. Her effort wrangled another laugh from him. “Calm down.” He tugged her fat pigtail. “Don’t try to grow up so fast, sport. You have plenty of time to torture the opposite sex, Alice.”

  She smiled, enjoying their developing friendship. “It’s Alyssa,” she said meekly.

  “What?”

  “My name.” She shrugged. “It’s Alyssa—not Alice.”

  “Alyssa,” he repeated; his eyes sparkled like diamonds. “I like it.”

  Another flash of his dimples and her knees nearly folded.

  “Now about this story.” He leaned back against the door. “I can’t tell you all of it, but if you tell me where you left off, I can tell you what I do know...”

  Chapter 23

  “Where are we?” Toni asked, peeking out of the window while trying to make herself presentable. The only problem was she couldn’t make anything out other than a small runway surrounded by lush green trees.

  “I told you,” Jonas said, looking shamelessly delicious in his button-less dress shirt and rumpled pants. “It’s a surprise.”

  She hesitated, not out of mistrust, but because of overwhelming incredulity. It wasn’t like handsome men whisked her away like this on a daily basis.

  “C’mon,” he added with a wink, and extended his arm. “You can trust me.”

  Smiling, she linked her arm through his and followed. The moment the cabin’s door open, a brilliant sun perched high above scattered cottony clouds nearly blinded Toni and she impulsively clutched Jonas’s arm.

  When her eyes adjusted beneath the shield of her free hand, she made a quick panoramic scan. Still she could see nothing but a landscape of lush green trees and a beautiful cerulean sky.

  But there was something else.

  The air was different.

  Just as her feet stepped off the last metal stair, a gust of wind whipped out of nowhere and caused her tussled mess of hair to start flapping around her face. It also caused her entire body to pimple against the cold.

  “Are we by the ocean?”

  Jonas just flashed her with his adorable dimples and turned his attention to two approaching Jeeps.

  The moment the vehicles stopped, two ebony-rich colored men bounded out of one and race to the side of the plane.

  “That’s not necessary,” Jonas called to the men. “We didn’t bring any luggage.” He then turned toward an older gentleman with twinkling black eyes.

  “It’s been a long time, Mr. Hinton,” the man said in a thick Caribbean accent. “Everything has been prepared as you’ve ordered. If there is no luggage I can take you to your chartered boat.”

  Toni blinked in further astonishment. “There’s a boat ride, too?”

  Another flash of dimples and Jonas approached the Jeep and opened the back door for her. “After you, my love.”

  Toni’s stomach clenched at the casual endearment, but she painted on a smile and climbed up into the vehicle. Jonas jogged to the other side and climbed inside. A few seconds later, they were off.

  More wind streamed through Toni’s hair and ruffled her clothing as if it was trying to take them off, but none of that mattered. At this moment in time, she was happy—positively giddy with excitement.

  Where were they going?

  What had Jonas planned?

  Why had he called her “my love”?

  She cast a look in his direction, momentarily surprised to find him staring. “What?” she shouted above the gusty wind.

  Jonas continued on with his secretive smile and shook his head. “Nothing,” he shouted back.

  “Liar!”

  That wrestled a laugh from him.

  “C’mon. Give,” she pressed.

  Finally he shrugged and leaned closer. “You just look so beautiful when you’re happy.”

  Touched, she smiled. “Well what can I say? You definitely know how to sweep a girl off her feet.”

  His arm glided around her waist in silent possession and to his surprise, she tensed. He frowned, but then she relaxed again.

  Minutes later, Jonas and Toni arrived at the Sapphire Marina and were escorted to a stunning wind racer yacht. Toni didn’t think it was possible but more butterflies filled her stomach while Jonas greeted the boat’s captain. After boarding and harnessing their life vest, they were off once again; this time, sailing through the tranquil blue sea.

  Jonas had taken her to paradise.

  But the best was yet to come.

  “You have your own private island?” she asked incredibly as they approach a magnificent green vista.

  “Actually, it belongs to my father,” he responded with another squeeze to her waist. “He made most of his money in real estate.”

  “Pretty damn good real estate.” She sighed.

  “We think so.” Jonas followed her gaze to his favorite hideaway.

  They docked and then took another Jeep ride on the private island. Jonas finally escorted Toni into the verdant hillside Chateau Maria.

  Toni tried to absorb the warmth of the carved teak-and-mahogany wood. Everywhere she looked there was polished granite, coral and marble tile. Whoever decorated the place obviously had an artistic eye for rich regal décor—a nice contrast against the secluded tropical forest outside.

  Jonas gave her the grand tour through the winding terrace, railed woodened decks and even stone paths.

  “This isn’t a house. This is like a compound,” she said after reaching the third floor of the grand chateau.

  “Does that mean you like it?”

  “What’s not to like? This is paradise.”

  “I think so. Now that you’re here.”

  Toni playfully narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to get all mushy on me?”

  He couldn’t resist leaning in and delivering a quick peck to her upturned nose. “I might be.” Another kiss. “Why don’t you indulge me for the weekend?”

  As her habit, a lone eyebrow crept to the center of her forehead. “I just might do that.”

  In the master bedroom, Toni’s eyes instantly went to the carved mahogany king-sized bed and her imagination took flight.

  “All in due time, my love,” Jonas promised. “All in due time.” He headed over to the closet and pulled it opened. “All of these should fit you.” He turned and faced her. “A size eight, right?”

  Toni joined him at the closet and quickly sorted through the stunning selection of island clothing—the majority of them being scanty two-piece swimsuits.

  “Since you have the body, you may as well show it off,” he whispered.

  “And pray tell what will you be wearing?”

  “Well,” he said, pulling her into his arms, “as little as possible.”

  The first thi
ng Toni wanted to try out was the polished marble shower room. She quickly found out that such an endeavor was like showering beneath a waterfall and after a few adjustments she was quite content to spend the entire weekend in the shower.

  That was, of course, until an impatient Jonas joined her and showed her other things that could be enjoyed in a spacious shower room.

  Many other things.

  Once they were dry and quite satisfied, Jonas further surprised Toni by proving to be quite apt in the kitchen.

  “You cook, too?” Toni asked, stealing a morsel from one of the serving bowls and then moaning in sheer pleasure when it melted against her taste buds. “Strike that. You’re a chef.”

  Jonas chuckled and plopped another piece of his perfected Sea Bass into her mouth. “I had a great teacher. My parents’ personal chef, Alfred, a lion of a man and absolute genius in the kitchen, I learned a great deal from him.”

  “No doubt you shamelessly parade your cooking skills before all the women you’ve dated.”

  “Not all. Just one other.”

  Stunned, Toni blinked and then studied his face to see if he was pulling her leg. When she saw that he was serious, she decided to chance another question. “And how many women have you brought to this paradise island?”

  Jonas met her gaze unblinkingly. “You’re the first.”

  The impulse to call him a liar stayed on her tongue when she realized he was telling the truth.

  “What? No snappy comeback?”

  She shook her head, but continued to study him. “Why me?”

  “I’ll let you in on another little secret.”

  He smiled and pulled off another piece of fish and lifted it to her lips. “I like you.”

  Toni liked Jonas as well-however, the electricity crackling between them hinted at something stronger.

  And that scared the hell out of her.

  However, Jonas gave her little time to reflect over her feelings. He was too busy making her laugh over his childhood stories and antics with his brothers. Jonas, the oldest, enjoyed his preteen years by being the head ring leader. He and his younger brothers had always had a thing for the Godfather movies and Jonas cast himself in the lead role.

  He’d dole out childish orders like putting firecrackers in potpourri dishes, dying their mother’s beloved toy doggies blue and even stuffing bananas in their father’s car tailpipe à la Beverly Hills Cop.

  Sterling may have been the middle child, but he was always the most serious of the three and he would always try to talk his brother out issuing such dangerous orders that would guarantee spankings or thirty-day restrictions inside their rooms. In the end, he would carry out Jonas’s orders and they would eventually get those spankings and restrictions.

  Quentin was apparently born the clown and was the dominant skirt chaser. The brothers cast Q in the part of Fredo-since he was usually the leak or snitch in the group. This also meant he was beaten up by his brothers often. Then there was the prank that landed them the mother of all punishments.

  “You staged a kidnapping?” Toni asked with incredulous laughter.

  “We were mobsters.” Jonas said, leaning over and refilling her wine glass. “Mobsters kidnapped people.”

  Tossing her head back against an easy chair, she laughed toward the night’s twinkling stars. They had moved their private party down to the island’s white-sanded beach. The sounds of the soft waves crashing against the shore, a crackling bonfire before them and the heady taste of Pinot Gris had her feeling more than mellow.

  “Who did you kidnap?”

  “Quentin.”

  “What? How did you kidnap a member of your own family?”

  “Fredo needed to be taught a lesson. Of course we didn’t really count on my parents freaking and calling the FBI.”

  “See? I was always afraid that if I had kids they would be just as bad as you and your brothers.”

  An image of Toni with a pregnant belly flashed inside Jonas’s head and caused his lips to curl into an instant smile. “Well, we turned out all right. We avoided a federal charge-since the agents cracked the case within two minutes of being on it.”

  Toni laughed and sipped her drink.

  Jonas watched her-studied her while basking in the gentle sea breeze. “What about you?”

  She stopped laughing but a smile lingered on her lips. “What about me?”

  “C’mon. You can’t tell me you were a perfect model princess who never got into trouble?”

  Her smile slowly vanished. “No I’m not going to tell you that.”

  His gaze dropped when he realized that he’d crashed into the same brick wall. Her past was clearly off-limits. After a long quiet moment, Jonas shifted his eyes back to their crackling fire.

  “I don’t have any brothers and sisters,” she admitted softly. “And I certainly wasn’t anyone’s princess.”

  Jonas turned and gave her his full attention.

  “I didn’t pull pranks or...do a lot of childhood things.”

  He waited, sensing that she wanted to say more, but she never did. Unwilling to let the mood sour, Jonas bounded out of his chair, the firelight highlighting his well-muscled and toned body.

  “How about a swim?” he asked.

  Toni took her time appreciating his godlike form in swim trunks. “What makes you so sure I know how to swim?”

  Stunned, he blinked and then laughed. “You’re joking.”

  “Let me guess,” she said playfully. “You grew up with a huge pool in your backyard.”

  Jonas walked over to her chair and offered his hand. “Come on. I’ll teach you.”

  “ Teach me? I’m forty-”

  “Doesn’t matter. I can teach you anything.”

  She hesitated, but a determined Jonas simply leaned down and scooped her into his arms. “What are you doing?” she squealed as he headed toward the water.

  He laughed. “What do you think?”

  “No. No. Put me down.” She kicked her legs and tried to squirm her way out of his arms, but he wasn’t having any of that.

  Lucky for her, it was a full moon and it reflected off the clear water like a large mirror.

  “Jonas, please. Please. Things live in this water.”

  “That’s part of the beauty of it.”

  Before she could utter another protest, Jonas gently dipped her into the cold sea. Squealing, her arms tightened around his neck. “Don’t let me go!”

  “Don’t worry,” he said, his warm breath drifting across the shell of her ear. “I have you.”

  To her surprise, she relaxed, trusting him not to drown her and...something else. She glanced up into his eyes completely taken by surprised by the soft tenderness glowing in them.

  Something was happening between them. She could feel it in the marrow of her bones and in the fierce pounding in her heart.

  True to his word, Jonas taught her how to remain afloat in the water—his hands casually gliding over her body, causing a different army of goose bumps to pimple her flesh.

  “There you go. You’re getting the hang of it,” he encouraged, smiling.

  Whether it was the truth or not she didn’t know or care. Suddenly her body was infused with a new energy and it scared and excited her.

  Jonas leaned back in the water and pulled her body so she floated on top of him. All the while, his gaze entrapped hers, pulling her toward something that she didn’t know whether she was ready for or if she could handle it.

  When she was finally able to pull her gaze from his, it was only for it to travel down to his lips. Next, she didn’t know whether she kissed him or he kissed her; but she melted against him all the same and moaned so deep that it reverberated in her bones.

  She had no recollection on how they made it from the sea back to shore; but she was keenly aware that she wasn’t having sex with Jonas.

  She was making love to him.

  Chapter 24

  “You’re alive!” Brooklyn declared when Toni opened her door. “Yeah,
she’s here,” she then said into the blue tooth latched on her ear. “Let me call you back.” Without waiting for an answer, Brooklyn disconnected the call. “Where have you been? You had me worried.”

  Toni frowned and closed the door behind her friend. She had just returned home from her weekend excursion less than an hour ago and frankly she was still floating on cloud nine. “What are you doing here?”

  Brooklyn turned on her heel and stabbed her with an incredulous look. “Isaiah and I came to visit his mother. I told you that two weeks ago on the phone, remember? You said we should get together and go shopping.”

  Slapping a hand across her forehead, Toni realized she’d forgotten. “I’m so sorry, Brooklyn.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Tell me where you were...and why you’re glowing.”

  Toni shrugged and pretended not to know what her friend was talking about. “I just went out of town for the weekend.” She headed toward the kitchen.

  “With?”

  Toni removed a bottle of wine from the cabinet and then proceeded to find two glasses.