I stood, chuckling. “She means the Mardi Gras beads will be on the door handle,” I explained. “I’m homeless for an hour or two.”
He glanced at the doorway to the club, his brow creasing in concern. “Oh?”
“I’ll be fine,” I reassured him. “I’ll just hang out here, and –”
A rail-thin girl with heavy owl-eye makeup, looking barely legal to drink, staggered into me, splashing me with the martini she balanced precariously in one hand. She let out a shriek of laughter, then staggered back to her friends.
Evan brushed me down. “I have somewhere I go after gigs, to unwind. If you wanted to come along –”
“Sure,” I responded instantly, gathering up my purse.
He hesitated for a moment, his gaze shielding from me as if he’d slid on internal sunglasses. Then he nodded, took me gently by the arm, and led me out.
We crossed the length of the ship, down mostly deserted hallways. The occasional passenger we crossed seemed bleary-eyed and unable to hold a straight line. Then we reached the double doors to the Stardust Theater. He put his hand against it for a moment, as if contemplating something, then he drew it open, inviting me through.
The theater was vast, seeming even larger in the soft lighting. He led me up the side stairway to the balcony, drawing me along the row until we reached a nook in the front, tucked in the shadows. There was a curved, plush bench seat there, fronted by a small round table. He put his guitar to one side, then slid into the bench. His arm came up onto the back of the bench. I moved in after him, tucking myself in, and his arm came down along my shoulder as if it’d always belonged there.
I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder, and the world settled into place. After the cacophony of the evening, the silence seemed stunning.
I smiled. “This is nice.”
He nodded. “I found this spot pretty early on in my tour. If you think your rooms are tight, you should see the crew quarters sometime. We have the four of us stuffed into a space the size of a breadbox. You can’t inhale without three other people hearing it. It’s as if they can listen in on your very thoughts. And sometimes …” He closed his eyes. “Sometimes I just need to be alone.”
I nuzzled my head against his chest. “You’re not alone now.”
He gave a soft chuckle, and he pressed his lips against my forehead. “That’s quite all right,” he murmured.
I nestled closer into his nook. “Guess I’m lucky that Kayla put the beads out.”
A smile lit his voice. “You two must have been hell during high school,” he teased. “Thelma and Louise. The boys never stood a chance.”
I shook my head. “We were Charlie’s Angels,” I corrected. “There were three of us.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what happened to the third?”
Darkness descended on me, swirling me into its depths, and I let out a breath.
He drew me in, his lips pressing to my forehead again, holding there. “I’m so sorry.”
My voice was tight. “She … it was freshman year, and Tanya became obsessed with this senior. Eddie. Eddie seemed to have it all. Tall, dark, brooding, lots of cash. Drove a bright-red Ferrari. Tanya set out to catch him as if she were planning to climb Mount Everest. It was all she ever talked about.”
He nodded against me, letting me tell my tale at my own pace.
I eased against his sturdy chest, wrapping my arm around him. “He told her heroin would make their sex fantastic. Turn it into a mind-blowing trip like she’d never seen.” The ache delved into me. “And of course, she dove in. Anything for her Eddie.”
He twined a hand into my hair, comforting me.
Tears brimmed in my eyes. “I’m the one who found her. It was junior year, right before Christmas. We were supposed to go out shopping, and she never showed at my house. She wasn’t answering her phone, either. It was the middle of the afternoon, so I drove over there and let myself in. We were always visiting each other; were practically members of each other’s families. So we all had keys.”
Hot tears trickled down my cheeks. “And there she was, sprawled across her lavender bedspread. She still had some of her purple unicorns on one shelf. I remember it. She had on jeans, and a black lace bra, and her closet door was open as if she’d been deciding what to wear. But she was covered with vomit, and her eyes were wide, glassy, and not moving. And I just screamed … and screamed …”
He held me tight as the sobs shook me, as the horror of that afternoon dug into me, taking root, twisting me inside out.
At long last the pain eased a little, and I wiped my face off on his t-shirt.
His voice was rough. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. Sorry for you all.”
I slid my hand along his waist. “And you know the worst part? That bastard, Eddie, never even paid for it. He vanished. Turns out he’d been supplying heroin to half the school. A number of kids went into hard withdrawal when their supply dried up. But I suppose it was still better than what happened to Tanya.”
I pressed my lips together. “And most of the kids had been like Tanya. Hadn’t really been interested in starting. Did it because he lured them in. He convinced them that it was safe, that it was fun. Like riding a roller coaster, and you can just step off when the ride is done.”
His voice was a low growl. “It is not,” he countered. “It’s like a tapeworm. It digs into your system, and grows, and grows, and clawing it out can involve excruciating agony.”
He stilled, and his voice became tense. “Did you –”
“No,” I quickly reassured him. “Kayla and I stayed as far away from that junk as possible. We tried to get Tanya to quit, too, but she was just too hooked into Eddie. Hooked into her dream.”
He nodded, his body relaxing beneath me. “You can’t make that decision for someone else,” he murmured. “You can do your best to provide the path, but they’re the one who has to take that step. Or it will never stick.”
I blinked away the remaining tears, tilting my face to look up at him. “Thank you for listening.”
His breath caught, his pine-forest-green eyes glimmered in the shadows, and a deep groan shook through his body. “God, Amanda, you are so beautiful.”
I stretched up against him, brushing my lips against his, a butterfly’s flutter.
His groan grew deeper, and his hand slid along my waist.
I turned so I straddled his leg, half laying across him on the velvety bench, and I brought my mouth more firmly onto his. His lips parted in a strong inhale, and I slipped my tongue in, being driven on by a strong emotion I barely knew existed within me.
I wanted him. I wanted him with every ounce of my being.
His tongue slipped against mine, craving coursed through my sex, and I moaned in agony.
He shuddered, his hands flexed, and –
He blew out his breath, seated his hands on my hips, and lifted me up, putting me back on my side of the bench.
I blinked at him in shock, my breath coming in heaves, my nipples hard and pressing against my bra, burning in sheer agony. My entire body tingled, resonating with him.
Then shame flooded through me, rocking me to my very core.
He didn’t want me.
I turned to find my purse, tears welling in my eyes again, streaming down cheeks burning with embarrassment. I could barely get the words out.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what I –”
His fingers laid gently on my chin, turning my head so I looked to him.
His voice was rough with emotion. “God, Amanda, no. Don’t think that. You are amazing, and beautiful, and –” He cut himself off, running a thumb down my cheek, smearing away a tear. His breath was a whisper. “I could never hurt you.”
A glimmer of a thought came to me. “Is it … is it your work?”
His brow creased for a moment, then smoothed, and he nodded. “Yes. If you could … if we could just wait until we get back to Boston, we can start again. Fresh. It could … we could try.
” His hand cupped my face. “God, Amanda, I want to try.”
I blinked in confusion as the Thunder God came to mind. “But if Sven –”
His brow creased again before he took in a breath. He shook his head. “Sven has been on this run for years,” he explained. “I’m barely a week into my spot. I can’t afford to screw this up. Not now.”
I nodded, relief coming through me. “I understand. Really, I do. I had to work two jobs to keep myself going through school. You do what you have to do.”
He twined a hand through my hair. “Wait for me,” he whispered. “It’ll take time, before I’m done with this, but tell me you’ll wait for me.”
I nodded, and the look in his eyes was all I could have dreamed of.
Chapter 6
I adored Bermuda. I adored everything about it. The brilliant blue skies over my head, the drifting white clouds, the rippling waters which shimmered in the cove before me. I was at the Snorkel Park, a mere five minute walk from the ship. To the right stretched a grey cliff wall, and to the left a ring of stone created a shallow zone of safety which was perfect for snorkeling.
Best of all, amazingly, there was barely anybody here. Most of the passengers, undoubtedly, had taken tours to go off to ride jet-skis, play golf, or do some deep-sea fishing.
I smiled. Great news for me and my fish.
I finished tucking my sarong into its dry bag, then slipped that into the mesh bag attached to the belt at my waist. I wore my black swimsuit, matching black swim shoes, and I held my snorkel and mask in my hand. My body glistened with suntan oil.
I breathed in the crisp salt air in deep, heart-felt satisfaction.
I looked down at my mask and spoke to the world at large. “Now, time to find some fish.”
A warm voice sounded at my shoulder, rich with amusement. “Care for some help with that?”
I turned in surprise, and my breath left me.
He was a god. Surely he was some sort of tropical ocean god, descended to earth for a brief, shimmering moment, and when the waves receded he’d be gone again.
He was clad only in black swim trunks and black swim shoes. He had a waterproof watch on one wrist, and a dry bag at his side held his phone and ship pass. That was it. The rest of him was solid, naked, rippling muscle, gleaming in the sun, making my mouth go dry.
I could barely speak. “They let you get off the ship?”
He chuckled at that. “It’s not a prison barge, you know,” he teased. “They do give us some time off for good behavior.” He glanced back in the direction of the ship. “This is our down time – the ship is pretty empty right now. I’ll need to go back in the evening, though. They want those clubs filled at night, when they rake in their money from booze.”
He raised a hand in the air. It held a baggie full of little pieces of brown. “Care to find some fish?”
I creased my brow in confusion, but I nodded, stepping forward with him into the water. The ocean was cool but pleasant in the warm sun. Once I was in to my waist I lowered my mask into the water, then spit into it, swirling it around to distribute it. I shook it out, then tilted my head back to dip my head into the water up to the hairline. With it neatly smoothed on my head, I then put on the mask, settling the snorkel into place.
I turned to Evan in curiosity. I spoke through the plastic, careful to enunciate clearly. “You don’t have gear?”
He shook his head, his eyes twinkling. “I can hold my breath a long time.”
I looked over his physique and held in a moan. I bet he could do pretty much anything he set his mind to.
He pointed to the water. “Down you go. Keep your eyes toward the ocean.”
I nodded obediently, pushing off, floating face-down in the water. The sand was beautiful – clean, sparkling, with the occasional hole leading to a mysterious ocean-dwelling creature within.
His closed hand came into my view, the fingers clenched as if holding something. He paused … waited … and then opened his hand.
A cloud of small, brown items, almost like chocolate jimmies on ice cream but larger, floated from his fingers.
WHOOSH.
A swarm of large, silver fish, each about the size of an oval dinner plate, with black spots on their tails, appeared completely out of nowhere. They raced around me, eagerly snapping up the items in a wild frenzy.
I shrieked in delight and surprise and worry, flailing with my feet, leaping up out of the water. “Good God Almighty!”
Evan was laughing, his eyes bright, and I pulled the tube from my mouth. “What in God’s name was that?”
He held up the bag. “Fish food. It’s made for oriental water gardens, for feeding to koi and such. But the local fish here seem to adore it.”
I looked down at the flock of eager creatures which now swirled around our legs. “What are they?”
“Silver porgies,” he explained. “Perfectly harmless. Just look at those big eyes. How can you not love them?”
They did look awfully cute, like a family of aquatic playful puppies looking for some treats.
I put the snorkel back into my mouth and carefully lowered myself back into the water, not wanting to hit one by accident. I spoke into the tube. “Do it again!”
The hand came before my mask again, the fingers rippling, and then they were open. Again the fish came in, eager, alive with desire, and I laughed in delight as they darted here and there, grabbing at the food. I reached out my hand. The fish didn’t mind at all, just swirled around me.
Evan’s hand slid through the water, leaving a trail of food behind it, and the fish followed as if he were the Pied Piper of Bermuda playing a music only they could hear.
He made a spiral shape and they darted high and low, snatching the small items with careful precision.
I drew up to my feet again. “Can I try?”
He held the bag open to me, and I took a small handful. I tucked back into the water and cautiously opened my fingers.
The silver flashed, the big eyes gazed at me in appreciation, and tiny mouths carefully plucked the food from the water before me, only inches from my face.
I was in heaven.
“Get them to eat from your hand,” I called out through my tube.
I imagine it came out something like “Murfphl bwwem EAT flaghum turrrr HAN.”
His closed hand came down into the water again, and this time the fingers only opened slightly, making a cage out of his fingers. The fish clustered around him, poking their little mouths against him, and suddenly he flexed his fingers, pulling his hand sharply up.
I got to my feet, pulling my tube from my mouth. “Are you ok?”
He grinned, looking down at his finger. “Just a little nibble, like a parakeet’s bite. Didn’t even leave a mark. I imagine he was just trying to get in at the food.”
He held up the empty baggy. “We’re done for the day, though.”
My face fell, and he smiled. “I do have more back in my room. If you’re free tomorrow –”
I nodded my head eagerly. “Yes! Absolutely!”
He paused, looking at me, his eyes seeming to become lost in mine. Then he gave himself a shake and tucked the baggie in at his waist. He waved a hand over toward the rock wall. “Shall we?”
We dove into the water, swimming toward the reef, and a trail of hopeful porgies came along behind us, perhaps thinking that we were holding out on them. They stayed in among us, silvery guardian angels, as we descended into the tumbled rocks.
Evan pointed down and ahead, and I smiled. It was a gorgeous, turquoise-lavender parrot fish, the length of my forearm, placidly cracking away at a hunk of coral. I could hear the crick crick of his beak. We swam closer, and he didn’t mind a bit. We were in his world now, and he was content to let us watch.
A flurry of bright motion, and a tiny sergeant-major swam in front of my face-mask, as if it was a window and my eyes were a strange new sight. His body was perhaps the size of an Oreo cookie, but shimmery white, with golden yellow highlights
and dark black stripes.
Evan went up for a breath of air, and when he came back down again there were three more parrot fish joining the first, all serenely nibbling away at the coral.
We swam around for a full hour, exploring the nooks and crannies, always trailed by our silver porgie friends. At last I was starving and tired, and we made our way back up onto the beach.
I smiled at him. “That was fun,” I grinned. “I hope the weather is just as gorgeous tomorrow.”
“Looks like it should be,” he agreed, his eyes shining. “It’s the nice thing about the boat simply parking here for three days straight. You get to spend a lot of time doing the things you enjoy.”
Bermuda Nights - The Boxed Set Page 4
