Brand snickered and pushed a hand through his dark hair. “You didn’t do a lick of work. You’d be puking over the rail before we even left the harbor.”
Ah, yes. Seasickness, the ultimate failure in a fishing family. “Thank goodness, I never wanted to be a fisherman.”
“Yeah, you would have been sunk for sure. You always got to go off and do your own thing, not having to worry about what anyone else thought.”
“I know what they think.” Except for Holly, everyone in his family believed he should be contributing to the family business in some way. But living on a rock and taking part in a fishing empire was never his calling. What did call to him like a siren was Janny. The girl was powerfully pretty, even when ignoring him and chatting at a table with the blonde bridesmaid. He crunched another ice cube, hoping they’d take the edge off the sexual frustration she’d left him with.
“It’s cool you found your own thing.”
He nodded, wondering how much Brand had had to drink. Introspection was not his strong suit. “When do we get to move on to the stag party? I need to make an appearance so I can get the hell out of here.”
“Word is he’s not even going to show up.”
“He who? Harm? It’s his fucking wedding.”
Brand shrugged. “Maybe he’s intimidated. He’s brawny, but there are eight of us. I know I’d planned on explaining how rare it is to find a body dumped in the Bering Sea, just in case he ever thought of hurting Holly.”
Nik clapped his brother on the back. Maybe it was a good thing no one had told Brand being a Neanderthal had gone out with VHS tapes. “There may be eight of us boys, but remember two of us still get a kiss goodnight from Mama. Besides, Harm is as big as a tree. I’m not saying we couldn’t take him and his brothers, just that it won’t make for decent wedding pictures tomorrow. And for that, Holly would kill us and Pops would dump our bodies without hesitation. That girl runs this show.”
“Apparently,” said Brand, “since she managed to get you to come home. It’s been years.”
He shrugged. “Y’all are welcome to come see me anytime.”
“In Podunk, Pennsylvania, or Backwoods, Oregon? Sounds tempting. Not. We’re thinking of taking a trip to Hawaii in the break before king crab season. You should come.”
“Let me guess, Geirr and Val are diving, Erik and Rainier are sport fishing, and you’ll spend the week looking at houses and boats and thinking you’re going to move to Hawaii only to get on the plane pissed off.” He may have been away from home for a while, but some things never changed.
“Listen, Old McDonald, they have your beloved cows on Hawaii. And horses and chickens. You’re buying a ranch anyway. Why not find one in paradise?”
“Because I’ll be fifty before I can afford Hawaii real estate, and you won’t actually stay there, Captain Brand.” He crunched a few more cubes of ice and glanced over at Janny. Sadness darkened her fine features and her delicate shoulders slumped in defeat.
“You’re probably right, little brother. But a man has to have a dream.”
“Indeed. And a way to make dreams reality.”
Nik set his empty glass on the bar top, knowing there were two ways this evening would end. Either he’d spend the night dreaming of Janny, or spend the night with her.
“I understand, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy being brushed off.” Janny kept her voice to a whisper.
Kristen sighed, pushing her long blonde hair over a tanned shoulder. “I know. It’s just a hard place to be in. I could spend the rest of the night in pajamas watching movies with you or with Antonnis. Whom I am not going to see for ten days while we’re in Greece.”
“You haven’t spent the night without him since he came to Anguilla for Joe and Saskia’s wedding last month. He should pace himself. At this rate, he’ll explode while you’re gone.”
Kristin wrinkled her nose as she grinned. “Your concern is touching. I think you’ve found a Prinsen you like, in spite of your reservations. So maybe—”
Janny held up her hand, her skin prickling with annoyance. “Not you too. Sebastian already cornered me, wanting to make some ridiculous toast about all his children being here. The man has had twenty-seven years to be my father, and all of the sudden now he’s paternal. I couldn’t care less, but I don’t think Harm’s wedding is the place to announce he had an affair and managed to hide his secret bastard daughter on a Caribbean island.”
“Sweetie, you have every right to be angry with Sebastian.” She pursed her lips, obviously having more to say.
“Go ahead, hit me with the but.”
She traced the rim of her wine glass twice before speaking. “You have to separate him from your brothers.”
“They are not my brothers. We share DNA.”
“They have as much to do with Sebastian’s decisions as you do. And keeping this secret from Antonnis weighs on me. It’s starting to feel dishonest.”
“Try living with the lie your whole life.” Janny scanned the table for a drink, wishing the bad boy would show up and offer her another sex on the beach. She rarely drank at home, even on days she wasn’t on call. She took the responsibility of being a doctor seriously, and on a small island, there was no way to know when your skills might be needed. But here, half a world away at a wedding where she’d never felt more out of place, she figured alcohol was a great way to self-treat the anxiety scratching at her nerves.
Taking Kristin’s wine glass, she sipped the rich red, distracting herself by trying to discern the flavors of currant and black pepper. She and Kristin had taken wine appreciation classes at a resort back home, and yet she couldn’t recall much beyond what she liked and what to avoid.
“Janny, I don’t want Antonnis to think I betrayed him by not telling.”
She finished the wine before replying. “The only one with betrayal on their conscience is the louse who took advantage of a young woman, cheated on his wife, and created an elaborate story to keep from getting divorced and losing half his fortune. It’s for him to tell, not you. Not even me.”
“But you won’t let him.” Kristin’s pleading brown gaze bore into her soul, so Janny closed her eyes.
Kristin had been her best friend since she’d moved to the Caribbean island of Anguilla. All long limbs and stringy blonde hair, Kristin’s awkwardness had fit like a jigsaw with red-headed, knobby-kneed Saskia, and Janny’s own insecurities about having blue eyes and skin too brown to be one of the white kids and too light to belong with the other Caribbean natives.
She’d do anything to keep either of her friend’s from being hurt. Now that Sass had married Johannes and Kristin had rekindled her relationship with Antonnis, they both had a stake in Sebastian Prinsen’s dirty little secret. They already felt like her sisters, the bond far deeper than that she’d ever share with the brothers who didn’t know about their father’s indiscretion. Their oldest brother, Harmannus, knew. He’d approached her not long after he’d moved to Anguilla to warn her about a family history of Celiac disease. The conversation hadn’t been pleasant since Harm obviously believed his father’s telling of the events of her conception.
Sebastian had told the Anguillan authorities that he was drugged, taken advantage of by an eighteen-year-old waitress and blindsided by her paternity claim a few months later. His only involvement in her life had come from the support checks he sent her mother. Yet with his wife dead and his advancing age, he now wanted some kind of relationship. Probably to assuage his own guilt.
“Janny, I don’t want this to be part of my wedding.” Kristin slipped her hand over Janny’s and squeezed. “Let the secret come out so we can all let it go.”
She just wanted this to go back under the rug Sebastian had swept her under twenty years ago. But he was stirring it all back up again. He couldn’t leave well enough alone. Today, he’d had insisted she sit with the family at the wedding, but when it had c
ome time for family wedding photos, she’d been excluded. Not that she wanted to be in the Prinsen family portrait. She just hated that they could get to her like this.
She opened her eyes and faked a smile. “I’ll think about it. But you have to promise me something.”
“I am afraid to ask.” Kristin smiled and Janny joined in.
“No Tonnis showing up in Greece. I’ve practically been living with him for the last month and I need a Prinsen-free zone.”
Kristin nodded. “I can do that. He’s going to be in Amsterdam anyway, helping Sebastian close out some deals. I’m going to meet him there after Greece and tilt at some windmills for a few weeks.”
Janny arched a brow. “Will you be home before I get back from the neonatology rotation in Boston?”
“I should be. I’ll be back the week before school starts back up to get my classroom ready. If Tonnis finishes up early, we’ll be back sooner. Speaking of—” Kristen tilted her head to the corner where he stood. “If I don’t join him, he’s going to tap the face of his watch off.”
“How can you tell?” From where she sat, Kristin could at best see him out of the corner of her eye.
“I know him.” Her grin spread across her face, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
Love looked a lot like happiness on her best friend’s face. Janny hadn’t known it could fill someone up that way. Kristin squeezed her hand once more, then got up to join Tonnis in a clutch worthy of a romance-novel cover.
“I wouldn’t get between that girl and the bouquet tomorrow.” Holly slipped into the seat beside her and twisted her long dark hair over one bare shoulder.
“I never get between Kristin and a plan.” She smiled over at the bride-to-be. “You sure you don’t want a girls’ night before you get stuck with Harm permanently?”
Holly nodded. “I’m actually exhausted, and he can tell. Even though we were just going to stay in and beautify, I’d rather sleep. You understand, though I’m not sure all my friends do.”
Yes, as her OB, Janny understood better than anyone. “Speaking of friends, I met Nik. He said he’s your best friend. I think he’s upset he didn’t get a bridesmaid invite.”
Holly laughed as she scanned the room. “Now I’m tempted to find him and offer to have Sass alter a dress. Though they are strapless and he doesn’t have the boobs to pull it off.”
Nope, his chest had been like steel beneath her hands. “He’ll have to deal with the disappointment.”
“He’ll manage.”
Harm appeared next to Holly like a shadow and lifted his chin in acknowledgement. “Jannis. Sebastian is looking for you.”
“Thanks for the warning.” She stood, anxiety fizzing like soda in her veins.
“He doesn’t give up,” Harm warned as she walked past.
That sealed it. She had to clear the clutter from her mind. She doubted more alcohol would do the trick. But she didn’t know if she dared try the one thing guaranteed to require all her attention.
As soon as Janny’s friend stood, Nik escaped to the coat-check area to grab his leather jacket. He needed a ride to clear his head, preferably with the lovely Janny, but if she wasn’t interested, he wasn’t hanging around.
He smelled the soft lavender of her perfume as he shrugged on his jacket, awareness and expectation tightening every muscle. A soothing heat filled him, but he didn’t turn around. He walked down the hallway, planning to let her get her own coat and wait for her at the elevators. Only the click of her high heels seemed to be right behind him.
He stopped short and smiled as she crashed into him. He turned, taking her arm to help her steady herself. She blushed and cast her gaze down and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Going somewhere, babe?” He took her elbow, led her to the elevators and stabbed the call button.
“I’m considering running away, but since we’re marooned on this island, I’m thinking it would be more work than a prison break.” She sidled closer to him, keeping her voice low, intimate.
“I’m willing to help you escape, on the condition you actually go to the wedding tomorrow. I fear the wrath of Holly.” The doors opened and he hoped he hid the wince when he counted the five people already inside. They faced the front and she reached down to hook her pinky with his. The pitch and roll of his stomach had to be the drop of the elevator.
The doors parted and, manners be damned, they were the first one’s off.
Chapter Two
“Wait,” Janny said as they walked out the front doors of the hotel, his motorcycle black and ominous on the cement walkway. A single spotlight shone down, making it seem like a game-show prize. He’d left it right there, as if he couldn’t be bothered with the parking lot.
Nik turned to face her but didn’t release his grip on her hand. “If we wait, we’ll miss the end of the sunset. The sun sets differently in Alaska.”
How many times had she heard men back home tell tourists the sun sets differently at the equator, and then lead them straight into temptation? She knew better. Yet the idea of spending the evening alone, trapped with the dilemma of how to deal with her father’s version of the truth was something even the smartest woman would try to run from.
“Janny,” he said as he stepped closer. “I want to take you for a ride.”
“I bet you do.” She smirked, loving the way the gold flecks in his eyes shone in the dimming light. If she hadn’t been raised watching her mother be drawn to every handsome stranger who sailed up, she might be able to let go. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“I’ve never taken a spill. Not once.” He released her hand and circled round the bike, unhooked two helmets from the back and handed her the smaller, a bright blue edged with a series of white symbols. He secured his helmet, shiny black with a flaming-yellow sun on the back and then reached for her. “This will be fun, Janny. I promise.”
“I don’t fare well with men’s promises.” The words escaped before she had a chance to think them through. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders. His warm, masculine scent wrapped around her like an embrace.
“Good thing there’s no room for baggage on a bike.” He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ears before taking the helmet and settling it on her head.
Her hair crinkled, the sounds of her curls deflating, and for a minute she cared. Then he snapped her chin strap and turned to mount the beast. The snug denim of his jeans hugged his body and her mouth watered with the desire to kiss him. To be the one he kissed. To be that girl in a moment that would be her secret forever.
Her stomach pitched as her last reservation surfaced. “What about the girl you came here with?” She tapped the helmet, recalling how she’d first seen him. She’d been waiting on Kristin in the lobby of the hotel, distracting herself with the quiet ambiance of the lodge décor when he’s thundered up to the door on his bike. He’d barely stopped when his long-legged passenger climbed off and tossed her helmet at him as she shook out a sheet of blonde hair. She’d stormed into the hotel, on a mission to ruin someone’s day. When Janny had looked back, Nik had disappeared, leaving the bike under the light.
“Delivering Britt was my job. After that, she’s everyone else’s problem. She didn’t take it as well as I did that she’s not a bridesmaid.” He shrugged. “It seems she thought this wedding was about her.”
God help her, she believed him. It was easier than the alternative. She slipped her arms into his jacket and frowned. “I’m not exactly dressed for taking a turn as a biker chick.”
“You’ll never touch the ground, so it won’t matter a bit. Climb on, Princess.”
She glanced down at the dress and heels and decided practicality played no part in fantasy. In for a penny. She stepped toward him and placed her hand on his shoulder. His lean thighs gripped the bike so it held steady as she climbed on. She gathered her skirt betwe
en them and inched forward until the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs pressed so close she felt the seam of his jeans. She leaned forward, her body very aware as she pressed herself against his back.
“That’s it. Now hold tight.” He took her hands and pulled her arms around his torso, hugging him closer than she would have dared on her own. His nipple peaked beneath her right palm, the ridges of his abs teasing the left.
Exhilaration shot through her, lifting her high above her usual caution. She lifted her feet off the ground and hooked her heels onto the pegs beneath her legs. He lifted the kickstand and turned back to her.
“Think of it like dancing to a song you’ve never heard, Princess. Lean in and let me lead. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”
And just like that, he touched the throttle and the bike roared to life and rolled forward. Gentle at first, until they’d made it off the pathway and onto the paved ground of the parking lot. In that minute, she found herself thinking she could do this, be the chick who ran off with the motorcycle rebel, the one who snagged the eye of the baddest boy in town.
Then the engine revved, vibrating up her body. Before she could breathe, the bike leapt forward, exploding every nerve. She held on to Nik for all she was worth, praying as they sped down a lonely street. Her heart beat as fast as the tires spun and then they were falling.
She clutched him and closed her eyes, feeling the ground get closer and closer. The scream escaped just as he righted them, heading up a hill. She opened her eyes to realize they’d turned. A turn, and she’d thought disaster loomed. Goodnight, she didn’t have the stomach for this bad-girl business.
Releasing her death grip would be best, but she didn’t dare. Who knew when the ground would surge up at them again? The warmth of his body beside hers, the steady vibration of the bike beneath her and the cool breeze against her skin eased her panic. The heightened awareness felt good, the air clearer with the scent of warm earth and the sea.
The grass grew taller as they climbed the hill. The paved road became one lane and then a dirt path as they ventured on. No trees blocked the landscape, just hill after hill carpeted in the thick, waving grass. In the waning light, the colors hushed, muting the green of the grass and gray of the Bering Sea below.
Caribbean Cowboy: Under the Caribbean Sun, Book 4 Page 2
