by Renee Field
“Let’s get this show on the road,” said Darius, helping first to tie Seth’s feet and then his hands. Roping each stone around Seth’s legs, Darius helped his brother hop up onto the deck’s small ledge. With a nod, he jammed the blunt end of the knife into Seth’s mouth and pushed him overboard.
Jamie struggled to find her sea legs as she gingerly climbed the steps up to the deck of the boat only to witness her worst nightmare come to life. A man pushing another man into the water and both his feet and hands were tied. And weighted with stones. The scream tore itself raw and loud from her before she could stop to think.
The cold water that splashed directly into her face did it. It made her stop screaming and it made her mad.
“Stop that,” she said, wiping water off her face.
“That’s just what I want you to do,” said the man, who looked the spitting image of the marine specialist she had met earlier that day. The guy tossed a towel at her, which landed directly on her face, making her feel like a dimwit.
“Who the heck are you?” she asked, scrambling to wipe the water off her face. She watched as the man leaned over the boat’s railing like he was looking for something. There was an anxious look on his face that made her nervous.
“I’m Darius Fairbanks and you must be Jamie. Heard all about you from Seth,” he said, as he turned to look at her.
The resemblance of the two was uncanny. Then she remembered what had happened. “He just…he just… How can you…”
“He’s doing what he must, but it sure as hell is taking him a long time,” said Darius.
Once again he looked over the boat’s railing. As if he sensed her unease, she noticed the forced smile when he once again turned his attention to her.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. He always is. Nothing to worry about. We’ve been doing this since long before you were born,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders, as he turned his attention back to steering the boat.“
“But how…how do we…” Jamie tried again. “When does he… How can he…” It was no use. She could feel her heart accelerating and knew within seconds she’d be helpless and hyperventilating again.
“Calm down, will you? Like I said, he’ll be fine, or I’ll kill him myself,” muttered Darius, once again glancing to the sides of the boat. “Here, breathe into this. It will help.”
Great, another sad paper bag incident. She took his offering.
Breathing into the bag did help. Now if I can just finish a coherent sentence like any other intelligent being.
“Seth just couldn’t resist showing off. We let the dolphin go and he likes to take a swim with them. They make him feel at home,” said Darius, grinning.
“Oh that’s what you did with the dolphin.” Weird. This entire episode doesn’t make any sense. Swimming with a dolphin in the middle of the ocean, sure, why not. Why not? Because normal people don’t do things like that, okay?
“Yup. No sense letting your boss dissect a perfectly helpless, and do I need to mention harmless, sea creature. By the way, what are we going to do with you?”
“Keep her,” said the dripping wet hulk of a man who was pulling himself over the side of the yacht. His tanned, muscled leg graced the edge of the yacht’s railing, and his arm muscles bulged as he put more weight on his hands.
The rippling effect of large muscles gleaming in the sun did nothing to convince Jamie he wasn’t a god come to life. Only when the other leg swung over the railing did she know why he was forced to put all his weight on his arms. He was gloriously naked. She couldn’t help herself from looking.
Jamie realized she hadn’t blinked as he put both feet firmly down on the deck. Blushing she once again took hold of the paper bag for gulps of air. Every inch of his skin was bronzed to a polished sheen of copper.
His hair was long and she knew once it dried it would reveal a deep shade of black. She watched as he shook his head side to side much like a dog would or in this case one heck of a large wolf. Then he grabbed the ends of his hair, squeezing the excess water out, letting it drape over his muscular back. It was like looking at a picture of the Greek god, Apollo, come to life. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, not that he seemed to mind.
Over his right breast was a large tattoo which looked like some type of fork. The tattoo with deep green and blue ink was captivating, as was the man himself. She willed herself to look away. When he turned his piercing emerald green eyes her way, and gamely winked at her, she gulped. Heat slammed into her body. She felt for a moment she was having one of those déjà vu experiences.
“Skinny dipping your forte?” she replied sarcastically, wondering how he pulled off the Houdini act. There was no way she was going to let one Seth Cutter get to her.
Full sensual lips framed an angular face and the only flaw her eyes could detect was a jagged scar running down one side of his face from his forehead to his right cheek.
Funny thing is I don’t remember seeing that earlier.
Instead of making him look ugly it only added to his intrigue, giving him a very naughty-boy look, which he most certainly did not need. But there was nothing boyish about the man towering in front of her.
“You know we’re twins,” said Darius wickedly.
She felt her skin heat up and knew her cheeks had blossomed to bright pink. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Seth grabbed his clothes. He struggled to put on his faded blue jeans. Then it dawned on her what he had said as he climbed on board. There was no way she’d let that sexist remark go.
Realizing no one was paying any attention to her, she willed herself to stand, still clutching the paper bag, just in case. She hoped he was clothed now. Secretly, she knew that was a big fat lie. She had really enjoyed what she had seen. He could model for one of those girly magazines, thought Jamie, realizing what she had timidly peeked at in the stores was a lot better-looking in the flesh.
“You can’t just keep her. It’s not like in the old days. Men don’t do that sort of thing today,” whispered Darius, as his brother tied his long black hair back with a piece of leather.
“We’re not men. And what do you propose we do with her? We can’t just let her go. She saw us take the dolphin and she’ll report us to the police. I told you we’ve got bigger things to worry about,” said Seth. “Besides, I was told to keep her close, by you know who,” he said, gritting his teeth.
“No, well something’s up. She actually told you to keep the woman? That’s gotta be a first,” said Darius, almost laughing but not quite as he took in his brother’s agitated state.
“I won’t tell anyone,” blurted Jamie, grabbing the railing with both hands. Her legs felt like rubber, and her belly took a lurch as the boat crested another wave.
“You two been introduced?” asked Seth, moving closer to Jamie.
She nodded. Finally finding her voice, she let him have it. “Look, Seth. I know all about you and your kind. You’re one of those bleeding hearts that believes you’ve worked long enough in the field to know what’s right and wrong.”
Yeah, she’d met other macho male scientists like him who’d made it plain as day that marine biology wasn’t a place for women. Well, like before, she thought they could all go to hell. She’d prove them wrong. She forced herself to stand almost eye-level with him. Looking up at a man was such a novel concept that her heart lurched.
“Bleeding heart. That’s got a nice ring to it. So you’re a scientist. You believe you can justify all the things you do in the pursuit of what—facts and figures? Give me a break. You don’t know one thing about me, about marine life or the sea. And just so we’re clear on everything…you’re staying with me for a couple of days. The last thing I need right now is for you to go and report this incident to the police. Am I clear?” Seth sauntered forward, bracing his arms on either side of her. Almost but not quite touching.
She fumed. “No, you are not. I will not stay with you for a few days. I have work to do, something you probably are unfamiliar with—obliga
tions. Let me off this boat now.” What she really wanted to do was slug him or push him away, but she could do neither.
When he did back up, giving her breathing space, she exhaled. Close proximity to a god come to life left her breathless. She dampened that desire down and put a halt on those raging hormones of hers that were trying once again to ignite by remembering his sexist comment, even while her eyes savored his physique.
Usually the grunge look didn’t do it for her, but somehow this guy pulled it off with a natural ease, making her yearn to reach out and touch his wet hair. Seth was the type of guy who probably slept in what he wore. The thought made her shiver as she took in the tight blue jeans hugging his thighs, and his shirtless well-muscled upper torso. The guy had an Olympic swimmer’s body—all lean and muscular in just the right places. She hated him for that.
Giving a slight nod of his head, he backed away even more. Arms folded across his sleek-looking chest, he lazily leaned into the railing while his muscles rippled in the sunlight.
“We’re keeping you,” he grunted, staring straight into her eyes. Not once breaking eye contact.
Moving farther away from the railing, she held his stare, placing both hands on her hips to make her point. “Oh no, you’re not. I demand you turn this thing around right now and take me back. I’ve got work to do and anyway, my…my…my boss will…ah…miss me,” she said, attempting to sound like she meant business.
As the yacht lurched again, her legs buckled and she cursed herself for letting go of the railing.
“Here, I’ve got you,” he said, reaching out to grab her arm to steady her.
Jamie knew trouble the minute she saw his hand reach out. Her eyes widened, but there was nothing she could do. Trying to steady her legs, she had no chance to prepare herself and it wasn’t like she could scream, “don’t touch me”.
The electric shock of his touch knocked her unconscious just as it knocked Seth back against the railing. Her last coherent thought as she buckled to the deck was that he had really large hands with long graceful fingers. Then the black abyss of unconsciousness took hold of her and she was lost.
“Are you okay?” asked his brother, concern clearly evident in his eyes.
Seth took his outstretched hand. Grimacing, he stood. It was moments like this when it felt good to have a brother. “Yeah, I think. That was really weird. I think…I think…somehow she zapped me.”
“Come again?” asked Darius, moving to steer the yacht through the harbor.
“Look, I’m not sure. I tried to keep her from falling to the deck, touched her arm and then whammo.” He walked over to where Jamie was lying.
“She’s unconscious again and her nose is bleeding. Are we almost at the dock?” asked Seth, searching for something to wipe her nose with. “Do you have anything I can use to stop her nosebleed?”
As Darius rushed below deck, Seth studied the woman.
She was intoxicating. He wondered again why he had to keep her and what could be so special about her that Mercka, his youngest sibling, had hinted at.
Seth wished he had more time to catch up with his sister. She was breathtakingly beautiful in her true form. For one moment before she completed her rapture into a Siren he had thought he was looking at his mother, Queen Helem. For the first time he painfully acknowledged how much he missed his mother’s loving embrace and his entire mardom.
Being on dry land had been hard at first. He’d adjusted. But the loss of the private family connection that had been an integral part of his existence was something he missed daily.
Running his hands through his hair, he took the black cloth from Darius’ outstretched hand without a second glance. Once he realized what he was holding, anger welled up inside him.
“You handed me a pair of woman’s underwear.” He looked at Darius in disbelief.
“It’s all I have. They’re clean, so don’t worry…it’s a long story,” said Darius, shaking his head as he passed him to take the helm of the boat. “We’re almost at the dock. Seth…seriously, you can’t keep her. She’s probably got family looking for her, or something.”
Seth decided to let the subject drop. He knew Darius had changed the topic to distract him from asking the obvious. Just whose underwear was he using? Then Seth realized with Darius really being human, he could fully enjoy women. Part of him envied his brother being able to have sex with women. As a Titan no woman could survive his lust if he let his control slip. Mentally slapping himself, he forced himself to pay attention to the task at hand.
Holding the underwear over Jamie’s bleeding nose, he wondered if what Darius said was right. He knew it would be difficult keeping her against her will, but Mercka had made him promise to keep her until the full moon. Two days. That’s all I promised. And not a second more.
“It’s only for two days. Then I’ll drop her somewhere and erase her memory or something,” he said, gently wiping the blood from her nose. Seth held the black cloth under her nose to help stop the bleeding. He placed her head on his lap. It unnerved him seeing her bleed. He didn’t like that she was hurt and he especially didn’t like the feelings of protectiveness she stirred in him.
“You can do that?” asked Darius, shaking his head.
“Do what?”
“Erase her memory. Come on. When did you develop that?” asked his brother, turning his attention to the dozen or so sailboats tied up to buoys in the harbor.
“No, I can’t erase her memory. I’m assuming Mercka will do that. I’ve got to meet Mercka in two nights with her,” said Seth, picking up Jamie in his arms again.
“Oh, Mercka, yeah I knew she could do that, but…she said she’d help you?” asked Darius, furrowing his brow in disbelief. Just then the yacht bumped into the wharf.
Jumping to the dock, Seth calmly replied, “I didn’t leave her much choice. Either help, or I’ll tell that you got…”
“Captured,” finished Darius for his brother, cutting the boat’s engine. “Blackmail suits you, Seth.”
Seth didn’t miss the sarcasm.
With Jamie in his arms, he also realized he had to tell Darius the truth. He had called him to say goodbye. Goodbye for good. The thought almost brought him to his knees.
As if his brother sensed his turmoil he moved closer. “What is it?”
“Darius, I…” Seth gritted his teeth. “When I called you…well, it was really to see you one last time and to say goodbye…for good.”
He watched his brother cross his arms over his chest and take a deep breath.
“So Father has called you back into the fold. Guess your punishment is over. Lucky you.” Cold, green eyes appraised him with a look so feral it quelled Seth’s heart. Gone was his charismatic brother and he knew without a doubt Darius was holding himself in check as the anger mounted up deep inside him.
Seth watched as his twin jumped to the dock, to move away from him. Part of him yearned to run after him.
“It’s not like that…you knew it would be sometime, you knew the consequences that day when we agreed…”
“Shut up, Seth. You know as well as I do that you’ve always been the favorite son. What I did other Titans have done throughout the ages, so don’t give me a lecture, okay. I’ve done it to myself a thousand times a day. Don’t you think if I could ask the Fates I would? Don’t you think I wish it hadn’t happened. Tell me, though, is your conscience clear? If you had followed the rules, my life…”
“Would have ended and you know that. I tried to warn you. I tried to tell you that one day you’d get caught and Father wouldn’t interfere. The law of the sea is what he lives by and always will,” said Seth, still cradling Jamie in his arms.
“I did die that day and I never once asked for you to help,” snapped Darius, all but shoving him out of the way.
“Have it your way. Just help me get the woman in the Jeep and then I’ll be out of your life for good,” replied Seth, marching from the dock to the parking lot.
Seth was mad and he knew why.
Darius was right, he hadn’t asked for his help. Now he wondered if he had done the right thing. With only days left on land, he would once again return to the sea like a lost lover, while his twin played out the role of being human when his heart was pure Titan.
However he had more things to worry about. Parking his Jeep in the driveway, Seth thought, Two nights. That’s only forty-eight hours. How much trouble can a mere woman cause?
He wished he could have forced his brother to talk to him, but after his painful admission that their father, King Sadok, had called him back into the sea, Darius had done his duty and then left.
Seth knew without a doubt that while he’d been physically scarred by the events that had transpired a decade ago, Darius was suffering the worst sort of punishment. To be human was to be viewed as a pariah by many in his kingdom. It was a sentence worse than death.
The barking of the seals was relentless. Seth envied them their freedom. Promising to return shortly to his seal friends, he opened the door to his house and carried the still unconscious woman inside. She weighed about as much as a feather to him.
There was only one bedroom in the large house so he had no choice. She would have to stay in his bedroom and the downstairs study would have to do for him. He hated the intrusion she was already making in his life. Part of him seethed, knowing full well he had given into Mercka out of guilt.
Thinking back to his brief encounter with Jamie, he couldn’t help but admire her inner fire. At first he had thought she would be one of those shy, cowering flowers, but even after seeing “all of him”, she had steadied herself and made her demands known.
Gutsy, I like that. But there is no way I can let her go. The last thing I need is the police knocking on my door. Plus I promised Mercka I would keep her until the full moon.
Carrying her was becoming a habit, not that he minded it. He loved the way her long black hair fell to her waist. The sway of it felt like strands of silk against his hands. And Seth thought it was impish and innocent how her mouth puckered in sleep like she was dreaming about eating something delicious. And those lips were so luscious and full it took all of his self-control not to lean down and brush them with his own.
