She stopped at a tree whose bark was covered with a profusion of rare orchids so dark that they appeared black instead of an inky purple. These orchids were only one of Raul Cordero-Vega’s many prized hybrids. Raul, a highly educated botanist, had said on occasion that he missed teaching and lecturing. However, he preferred to work for the government, wherein he was responsible for protecting Costa Rica’s natural environment for the generations to come after him.
In a corner of the greenhouse was a plot with Luz Maria’s herbs. None of them were labeled like her father’s, so Serena had no idea what the plants were nor their purposes.
Luz Maria had promised that when she had children she would teach her what commonly grown plants she could use to cure or heal boils, fevers, to counteract the discomfort associated with headaches, menstrual and teething pain, and insect bites, and to slow down the poisonous effects from venomous reptiles or spiders.
Walking the perimeter of the greenhouse, Serena decided it was time for Luz Maria to fulfill her promise now. She had planned to spend three months in Costa Rica, while waiting for an assurance that her brother could be released on bail. She would use the time to her advantage.
She left the greenhouse and spent the remainder of siesta in the aviary. Most of the exotic birds were housed in enormous cages, some from floor-to-ceiling, but others were left to fly about with reckless freedom. A brightly colored pygmy parrot lighted on her bare shoulder and pecked at the tiny, gold-hoop earring dangling from her left lobe.
Shooing him away, she watched the antics of the other birds, who had realized a stranger had invaded their habitat. Most fluttered wildly, calling out to one another. The flash of bright color was blinding, ranging from brilliant yellow and vermillion red to seductively deep blues, purple, and black.
La Montaña, the greenhouse, and the connecting aviary represented Raul’s material wealth and pride. His wife and his children were his priceless treasures, second only to his love of his country.
David lay across the bed, staring up at the ceiling. A tiny, dark-skinned woman had brought him his lunch on a tray and he had sent her away, along with the food. His seething anger overrode his need to eat.
He had made a fool of himself, and Serena humiliated him. She had offered him her body and he hadn’t accepted what she was so willing to give him. And he wanted her more than he had wanted any woman up to that moment.
It was said that when women became sexual aggressors men usually could not perform because of the reversal of roles; he had become an example when her brazen exhibition stunned and frightened him. He’d found himself inept.
Impotent! How could he be at thirty-six? Sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he reached for the cane. Making his way slowly across the bedroom, he opened the French doors and limped out to the veranda. The tropical heat was brutal, sucking the breath from his lungs and making breathing a labored exercise. Squinting against the rays of the brilliant sun, he stared out at the stretch of ocean in the distance. His gaze swung around to the tops of the dense trees shading the cool, dark undergrowth of the jungle. Despite the heat he shivered slightly when he thought of what prowled along the jungle floor. Closing his eyes, he imagined the teeming life inhabiting the rain forest. The cries of the birds, the growls of the jaguars, and the screeches of the monkeys became music, notes strung together to form an exotic rhythmic composition.
For the first time in nine years he heard music in his head. Notes, harmonies, and melodies he wanted to capture before they floated into nothingness. A smile filtered across his face as he opened his eyes. He needed paper. He wanted to write down the hauntingly beautiful sounds reverberating in his mind.
Turning, he limped from the veranda, closed the French doors to keep out the heat, then walked out of his bedroom to Serena’s. Her door was slightly ajar, and he heard a man’s voice. Listening intently, he realized she had the radio on. He knocked on the door and waited. He knocked again, then pushed it open.
His earlier anxiety quickly vanished. He knew he was not impotent when his body reacted quickly to the sight of Serena coming out of the adjoining bath wearing only a pair of tiny, white-lace, bikini panties.
Serena saw him at the same time he stepped into her bedroom. Startled, she stood still, hands frozen at her sides. Her eyes widened as she watched David staring at her half-naked body. His chest rose and fell heavily in unison with her own trembling breasts.
Somewhere, somehow, she found her voice. “Get out.”
Instead of leaving, he turned his back, shutting out the vision of her flawless body. He could still see her perfectly formed, full breasts resting high above her narrow rib cage. The legs he had only glimpsed before were exhibited with slim thighs flowing into strong calves and slender ankles.
“I knocked but didn’t get an answer, so I walked in,” he said, apologizing.
Serena stared at his broad back as she inched over to a chair and picked up a sleeveless smock dress. He had elected to wear one of the T-shirts she had bought for him.
“What do you want?” she asked, slipping her arms through the sleeves.
“I need paper. Preferably unlined.”
“What for?”
“I want to write down some music.”
After buttoning the many buttons lining the front of the dress, she walked over to David and stood in front of him. She wanted to scream at him for making her aware of how much she needed him, and for being so damned attractive.
“Before I give you the paper I think we should talk.”
Sighing heavily, he nodded. “You’re right.”
Her gaze moved from his face down to his right hand, which held the cane in a punishing grip. It was apparent that he had shifted most of his weight from his injured foot.
Taking his left hand she led him slowly over to an alcove in the room, where she had set up a sitting area. “Come and sit down.”
David eased himself down to a cushioned bamboo rocker, permitting the cane to slide to the sisal area rug covering the terra-cotta floor. The furnishings in the alcove were delightfully attractive. The orange, black, and yellow print on the cushions and matching tablecloth on a small round table and the carved ebony masks and pieces of sculpture on a bamboo bookcase mirrored the blending of African and Caribbean cultures of Puerto Limón.
Serena claimed a chair facing David. She studied his dark eyes watching her every move as she smoothed out the flowing fabric of her dress. Glancing away, she stared out through the French doors.
“I’d like to apologize for my wanton behavior earlier this afternoon,” she began. Her gaze swung back to his. “But I won’t retract what I said about letting you know what I like or dislike.”
David lowered his head, successfully concealing an emerging smile. The forefinger of his left hand traced the rapidly healing scar over his left cheek. “Did you enjoy kissing me as much as I enjoyed kissing you?” His head came up and she was rewarded with the full force of his dimpled smile.
Her lips twitched as she tried holding back her own smile. “You don’t quit, do you, David Cole? Are you ever humble?”
Pursing his mouth as if in deep thought, he shook his head. “Nope.”
This response made her laugh, and to her surprise so did David. When she recovered she realized it was the first time she had laughed in weeks.
Pressing his head against the back of the chair, David flashed a sexy, lopsided grin. His bruised eye and scarred cheek made him appear less pretty. The scar marred his face just enough to give him a rugged look.
“How does it look?”
“What?” she questioned, not knowing what he was referring to.
“The scar?”
“I find it kind of sexy.”
He arched a sweeping eyebrow. “Sexy? I don’t think so.”
“All you need is an earring in your ear and you can masquerade as a pirate for Halloween.”
He leaned forward. “Give me one of your earrings, and we’ll see.”
“So is my left ear.”
She stared, wordless. She had shaved and bathed him, and not once had she noticed that his ear was pierced. She removed the earring from her right ear and walked over to where he sat. Leaning over, she inserted the small hoop in his ear.
David closed his eyes, savoring her scent and the warmth of her body. “How does it look?” he queried when she stepped back to survey his ear.
Her smile gave him his answer. “Very sexy.”
He returned her smile. “Thank you.”
Serena took her seat, shaking her head. “Earrings and tattoos. Have they become the latest accoutrements for an international businessman?”
“You forget that I was a musician first, businessman second.”
“Which do you like better?”
“Music, of course. However, it seems as if I have a natural bent for business, while I have to work my butt off to get my music just right.”
Crossing her sandaled feet at the ankles, Serena realized she wanted to know more about the man who disturbed her in every way. “Why did you leave the band?”
“My older brother Martin resigned as CEO of ColeDiz to go into politics, and I was next in line so I took over the reins.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Nine years.”
“Then you were very young.”
“Twenty-seven. I was responsible for enterprises in at least a half dozen countries. We own vacation properties in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and Aruba, and coffee, sugar, and banana plantations in Belize, Mexico, and Costa Rica. I intend to divest ColeDiz of its only remaining Costa Rican venture.”
“What do you plan to do with it?”
“I’ll use the proceeds to set up another banana plantation in Belize.”
She stared, unblinking, at this disclosure. If he was going to meet with her father, then the sale was not to be a private one. “You intend to sell it to the government?”
He glanced at her from under lowered eyebrows as his expression changed. His mien grew cold, hard, making him look as if he’d been carved out of dark marble, while his blatant masculine beauty faded behind a mask of angry loathing.
A consortium of businessmen had been willing to make an offer for the property until Raul Cordero-Vega intervened. What Vega wanted was for ColeDiz to sell the plantation to the government for half the consortium’s agreed upon price. He then planned to sell the plantation to the consortium, yielding a one hundred percent profit for his government’s coffers.
“That all depends on your father.”
“Why my father?”
“I can’t discuss that with you.” David did not want to draw Serena into the undeclared war he’d been waging with her stepfather ever since he’d taken over as CEO of ColeDiz International Ltd.
Serena’s expression also changed. For the first time she saw David Cole for what he was—a businessman; one who shifted millions, perhaps billions, of dollars from a country or an account as easily as one moved a piece on a chessboard.
She nodded slowly. “I’ll respect your decision.” Rising to her feet, she said, “I’m going to the kitchen. Would you like me to bring you something?”
“Yes, please. Something to drink.”
“Don’t run away,” she teased, hoping to alleviate the tension that had sprung up between them with the mention of Raul Cordero-Vega’s name.
“I wouldn’t even if I could.”
The instant the statement was out of his mouth David knew that his feelings for Serena were deepening, intensifying. The taste of her honeyed mouth and viewing her naked body were imprinted on his brain for a lifetime. He stared at her staring back at him, and in a breath of a second both knew what the other was thinking and what the other wanted. She had accused him of being arrogant, and he had no intention of changing her assessment of him.
“You have to know that I want you, Serena,” he said quietly in Spanish. “And it’s not for a quick lay,” he continued in English. “And don’t think I want you out of gratitude for saving my life.”
Serena was certain he could hear her heart pounding in her chest as it resounded loudly in her own ears. All she knew about David Cole was that he was wealthy and he had been a musician. And all she could see was that he was gorgeous and arrogantly charming. What she did not want to acknowledge was that he was the most sensual man she had ever encountered. His delicate dark looks, pierced ear, and tattooed, muscled body stimulated her imagination so much that she was certain that sharing a bed with him was certain to become a unique experience.
“I sleep with you, and what am I left with? Memories of a few days or nights of spilled passions, while you go back to Florida and take up where you left off with your wife or your girlfriend. Thanks, but no thanks.”
He smiled, shaking his head. “I have no wife or girlfriend.”
“Yeah, right. And I’m a prime candidate for a hair transplant.”
David’s gaze went to the profusion of hair secured at the top of her head. He managed a tight smile. “I may be many things, but a liar is not one of them.”
Serena wanted to accept his offer. She wanted to lock her door, then lead David to her bed. She wanted to undress him and undress herself, baring all of her body for his approval. Never had she wanted to lie with a man and offer up all that made her a woman. She wanted and needed to be reminded why she was born female. And if only the situation were different she would willingly do it and not have any regrets.
She did not want them to be in Costa Rica, and she did not want the anguish of her brother’s imprisonment casting a pall over the happiness she was certain she would find in David’s embrace.
Managing a wry smile, she said quietly, “Perhaps in another time and another place I’d lay with you, but not now.”
“You have to know that your stepfather and I don’t get along, but that’s because we’re much too much alike. And like Raul Cordero-Vega, I am also a patient man. I’ll wait for you.”
“You may have to wait a long time,” she whispered.
“I really don’t give a damn how long it’ll take, Miss Morris.” He shrugged a broad shoulder. “I have nothing but time.”
Turning on her heel, she stalked out of the room, cursing under her breath. I don’t want him. I don’t need him, she told herself over and over. If she said it enough, she was certain to believe it.
She made it to the kitchen in record time. Luz Maria was nowhere to be seen. Walking over to the refrigerator, she yanked open the massive door. She took out a gallon container filled with fruit juice and placed it on the table. Her sandaled feet slapped angrily on the brick floor as she made her way over to the cabinet housing the glassware.
“He makes you very angry, no?”
Serena swung around at the sound of Luz Maria’s voice. “What are you doing, spying on me?” she questioned in rapid Spanish.
Luz Maria folded her arms under her breasts and wagged her head. “There’s never a need for me to spy on you, Chica. When are you going to believe what I tell you? You and the young man are destined to be together.”
“I don’t love him, Doña Maria. I don’t even like him,” she protested.
“Not yet,” she predicted. “He’s nothing like the other one.”
Serena knew who she was referring to. Luz Maria never referred to Xavier by name, saying that he was not worthy of his name coming from her mouth.
Sighing audibly, she let her shoulders slump. “There are very few like Xavier. But why David Cole?” she asked, identifying him to Luz Maria for the first time. “He’s—he’s so sure of himself. I don’t like arrogant men,” she continued, trying to rationalize why she should keep David at a distance.
“He’s sure of himself because he knows and sees what he wants. He wants you, Chica, and he’s going to have you. Do not fight what is planned by a power greater than we are.”
Throwing up both hands, Serena wondered why she was l
istening to superstition. Why? a silent voice answered. Because you know she’s right. She told you about Xavier, but you refused to listen. Luz Maria had predicted her failed marriage, saying that she’d had a vision that the altar where she was to stand exchanging vows with Xavier was shrouded in darkness.
She’d married Xavier believing they would remain together forever. But it ended in days, and she ceased being Mrs. Xavier Osbourne eight months after she promised to love him until death parted them, with the annulment, and became Serena Morris again.
She retrieved the glasses and filled them with the juice, feeling Luz Maria watching her. “I don’t fight it, then what? I live happily ever after?”
The older woman nodded slowly. “He’ll make you happier than you can imagine. He will offer you a life filled with things most women only dream about. He will give you your heart’s desire.”
“Because he comes from a wealthy family?”
“It’s not only money, Chica. He will give you children, many beautiful children. He will cherish you the way most people worship precious jewels.”
Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Serena breathed heavily through her parted lips. “I can’t, Doña Maria.”
“Why not?”
“Not while Gabriel is—”
“Forget about your brother,” Luz Maria said harshly, forcing Serena to open her eyes and glare at her. “Have you listened to anything I’ve been saying? Your brother is safe!” The two women stared at each other for a long, suffering moment. “He is safe,” she continued, this time her voice soft and comforting. “He will be happy, Chica. It is time for you to seek your own happiness.”
She did not know why, but she believed Luz Maria. She had quickly analyzed every word and believed. But she had to convince herself that she wanted David enough to share her future with him.
Placing the two glasses on a tray, she smiled at Luz Maria and walked out of the kitchen. She intended to try to see David in a whole new light. She would open her heart and mind to the man who had just promised to wait for her.
Chapter 15
Heaven Sent Page 12
