by Nya Rayne
Blaine had realized weeks ago that his interest in her was genuine, but what was she supposed to do with that? Her luck was too wretched to be with him, to be with anyone for that matter. She stared at Hayze for a long moment as Nora’s voice filled her mind, “Child, luck is what you make it. If you want your luck to be bad, than it’s bad. If you want it to be good, than it’s good. Sometimes, you have to deal with a dash of disappointment and pain to get your blessing.” She looked away from him as she tried to think of one bad thing that had happened to her since meeting him. Nothing came to mind. But that also meant nothing. Sometimes, she’d go months without anything bad occurring only to have a place important to her burn to the ground or a group of friends get in an accident of some type. Still, Hayze could also be her lucky charm too, couldn’t he? But how would she know if she didn’t reach out to him? If she kept pushing him away?
“I’m sorry,” she whispered without looking at him.
“Don’t worry about it. The water won’t ruin the jacket.”
She gave her head a hard shake. “No, I’m sorry for what I said to you. You don’t make me want to vomit.” She met his stunned gaze. “It’s quite the opposite actually. I—I don’t hate you, Hayze. I—I don’t think I know how to hate you.”
The corner of his mouth quirked ever so slightly in a rueful smile. “That’s the first time you’ve said my name. I didn’t think you knew it.”
Blaine rolled her eyes and pushed a few dampened strands of hair from the side of her cheek. “I learned it the morning I checked out of the hospital.”
“Did you?”
“You paid all of my hospital bills. Why would you do that? You didn’t know me until…” She’d never talked about that night with anyone; it dug up too many bad memories. Even now with the person who had faced that night with her, she couldn’t revisit the murder of her only family and her attempted murder. “Why would you do such a thing for a stranger?”
Hayze lifted her off the rock and moved further onto the shore. “It doesn’t matter why. All that matters is that you needed help and I was there to give it.” Setting her down, he held onto her with one hand until she took her cane from him and found her balance.
“I don’t take handouts. If I can’t pay it back, I don’t borrow it.”
“That’s good to know, but I don’t remember lending it.”
“Somehow I’m going to pay you back every penny, and that includes this trip. I asked Sage and Myron how much the bill was, but neither of them will tell me.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She ignored him. “When I get back to the mainland, I should have an insurance check waiting. I’ll sign it over to you as a down payment. I’ll just need your information.” She was so busy talking that the feel of his thumb and forefinger on her chin startled the living shit out of her.
“Blaine, I said don’t worry about it. I have more money than Switzerland, and until you, I hadn’t a clue as to what to do with it. I was happy to finally spend some on a person who deserved it.”
Hayze’s voice rolled through her like a flame. His breath smelled of cinnamon and his lips looked so rose petal-soft she wanted to lean in that extra inch and kiss him, but she couldn’t. If she allowed herself to feel anything more for him, it would destroy her when he left her. And he would leave because he was too perfect, too rich, and she was too unlucky to have someone like him to call her own. And even more so, there was so much Blaine didn’t understand about what he was and this new paranormal world he’d introduced her too. He’d moved in ways and done things the night he’d saved her that no human could ever dream of doing. And that frightened the living shit out of her. Still, she couldn’t deny that while she pushed him away with her right hand, the left one kept reaching for him.
He smoothed the back of his hand down her cheek as he slowly licked his lips, his eyes begging her to stay a moment longer, to hold on to this stolen moment between them.
“I-I-have to pay you back somehow,” she whispered, not breaking the contact.
Hayze tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “I assure you it’s not necessary.” His eyes searched her face from brow to chin and cheek to cheek, in a whisper of promises and apologies she wasn’t quite ready to hear.
“I don’t like being indebted to anyone.” She swallowed. “If I am, I feel like I’m that person’s property.”
He traced her lower lip with the tip of his thumb as he leaned in closer. “Would it be that bad, Blaine, to belong to me?” A rueful smile crossed his face before he hid it.
“I—You don’t know me. I don’t know you.” Blaine closed her eyes and tried to ignore the way her heart reached for his and her soul reveled in his touch. Something soft brushed her lips, but she couldn’t say it was his lips because lips weren’t supposed to be that soft. She opened her eyes and watched in fascination as the tip of his tongue flitted over his lower lip. “I have to pay you back,” she blurted, jerking her head out of his hold.
“If you must, I’ll make a deal with you.”
“A deal?”
“Yes. Let’s call it a compromise.”
“Okay, a compromise,” she agreed.
“For the remainder of time we have here on this island, share your meals with me. Take walks with me in the afternoons. Share with me your dreams, your aspirations, and your fears.” He was leaning still closer now, nearly whispering in her ear. His breath misted over her earlobe, warming it. “I will not take your money, Blaine, but I will gladly take your time as payment.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?” Hayze shifted so that he was looking her directly in the eye. He still wasn’t touching her, but she could feel the tips of his fingers tracking slowly down the side of her cheek to her neck. It made no sense, but still she could feel him.
Her gaze moved down to the tattoo covering his neck and she would’ve sworn that it formed the shape of a large paw and reached out toward her. She blinked and the tattoo was back to normal. “Because the world doesn’t work that way.” Jesus, she wanted to kiss him, to melt into him and forget her life of pain.
“That’s the thing, Blaine, all you have to say is yes and it can work exactly that way for us.”
“I’m not that lucky, Hayze.”
“What does luck have to do with this? I’m here, you’re here, why can’t we just be here together?”
Was it really that simple? She stepped back, forcing more space between them. “You’re crazy.”
“I’ve been called worse.” Hayze grinned and stepped back as well, giving her the space she needed.
For another brief moment she swore the ink of his tattoo moved again, this time receding further down into the neckline of his shirt. Now she was certain she was losing her damn mind. Tattoos didn’t move! Right?
“Will you accept my compromise?”
Blaine turned her attention back to Hayze. “We’ll see, but if I agree, it can only be considered a down payment. I don’t really have a good history with windfall.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, his chin dropping a fraction of an inch, so that he was meeting her gaze as directly as he could, given his height. “If that’s what it takes to spend a little time with you, Blaine, then I’ll take it.”
The man definitely had a death wish to pursue her in such a fashion. And still, she couldn’t stop the blush that heated her cheeks.
Chapter Five
“NAMASTE,” DANA SAID in a soft, relaxed voice, ending the yoga class. “Go in peace to your next sessions.” She turned to Blaine. “Can I speak with you for a second?”
Blaine peered up at Dana from her mat and hated that she’d allowed Sage to coax her into coming to this class. Sage had promised her that anything involving the use of her injured ankle would not be allowed, but Dana was something of a dominatrix. She believed in working through one’s pain. This was only her second class with the woman, but Blaine had to admit that after their first class her ankle felt great. Wh
ichever move it had been, it made the immediate pain worthwhile, because afterward, she found she could get around without a cane much easier.
Blaine grabbed her cane and towel and pushed to her feet. “What’s up?” she said, striding toward Dana.
Dana wasn’t like the others; she was normal. Not a nut job like the brothers and sisters who ran the island, or standoffish like the gorgeous people. No, Dana was totally down to earth. She wasn’t overly beautiful, but she was pretty in her own way. Not to mention, the woman had some meat on her bones. If they had met under different circumstances, they would have been good friends.
“I wanted to talk to you, to see how things were going,” Dana told her.
“They’re good, I guess. I can’t say that I’m not glad this class is over, though.” Blaine pushed her hair up into a messy ponytail. “And my ankle feels great.”
“Good, I’m happy I could help, but…” Dana trailed off as she got to her feet, then made quick work of turning off the CD player. “I hope I’m not being too forward, but I’ve noticed that you and Hayze have been spending a lot more time together.”
Blood rushed to Blaine’s face. There really were no secrets on this damned island. “Ah, yeah, it’s sort of a compromise we made.”
“I see.” Dana glanced between the door and Blaine. “He…I mean, Hayze and my mate—I mean my husband—were really good friends at one time. Did he tell you?”
“Yeah, he speaks very highly of Rekkus. Did something happen?”
“No. Yes. Not really.” Her brow furrowed and she pushed angrily at her hair, shoving a few unruly strands behind her ear. “I think they had a falling out.”
There was definitely something Dana wasn’t telling her, but at the moment Blaine didn’t care to dig any deeper. Since agreeing to Hayze’s terms, she found herself looking forward to seeing him. They met every morning before breakfast at which time they would sit on the docks and talk or take a short walk to the cliffs overlooking the ocean. They’d then join Nora for breakfast, which Hayze never ate, and then Blaine would go off to whatever class the siblings had scheduled for her. At the end of said class, she would find him waiting with a special shake or smoothie Sage had prepared for her to drink.
The concoctions always varied and were supposed to make Blaine’s skin glow, her hair grow, or her focus stronger. She suspected that they were some kind of love potion because she swore every moment she spent with Hayze now, her feelings were steadily deepening. She also found, she was worrying less and less about luck and focusing more on living for every second she had with him.
“Truthfully, it’s none of my business, but if it would make you feel better?” Blaine offered. “I’ll ask him about it.”
“Would you? I just want to know if there’s anything I can do to help Rekkus get over whatever this is.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Dana stopped at the door and turned to face Blaine with a relieved smile on her face. “Did you know that everyone on this island is here for a reason?”
“That’s random, but yeah. I’m here because Hayze paid my way.” Blaine stepped back.
“No, that’s not what I mean.” Dana laughed. “You see, regardless of how much money a person has, the siblings don’t accept just anyone. They only accept those in dire need of healing. The beings, who, without Wiccan Haus, would perish literally and figuratively.”
Beings? Under normal circumstances the use of such a term would have jarred Blaine. However, after spending time with Hayze and listening to his stories of vampires, gargoyles, and werewolves, nothing really surprised her anymore. Initially, she wanted to deny his claim that such creatures existed but then Hayze was living proof that humans were not and had never really been at the top of the food chain, wasn’t he?
Blaine pushed her thoughts away. “Why are you telling me this?” She peered through the door into the hallway. For the first time in two days, Hayze wasn’t waiting for her. There was only the guy who’d kept her from nose diving into the ocean on arrival.
Dana smiled, her eyes alight with warmth. “I just thought you’d like to know.” She stepped into the hallway. “When I came here, I was fresh out of a broken engagement. I didn’t know where I belonged, my family had disowned me, I had no money, and no place to really call home. I had nothing.”
Blaine scanned the hallway, hoping that at any moment Hayze would come gliding through the double doors with one of those drinks for her. Instead, her eyes connected with Mr. Nameless once more. He looked away and she turned her attention back to Dana. “So you met your husband—mate—here, then?”
“Yeah. At first I was skeptical about everything, including the siblings, but then I realized that, from the moment I set foot on this island, there was never a chance in hell of my getting back on that ferry.”
“What are you guys some kind of cult?” Blaine laughed at her own crude joke, before turning serious. “I can’t stay here, Dana. I have a life to rebuild back home.”
“I know, and we’re not a cult. Please don’t ever think that. Everyone that works on this island is free to leave at any time,” she insisted. “I’m not saying that staying here is right for everyone, but maybe what you need to help rebuild your home is on this island. You only need to open your eyes.”
“Yeah if it comes in bundles of four leaf clovers and buckets of rabbit’s feet, I’ll take it.” Blaine laughed even as her heart sank. Hayze wasn’t coming. “So there are not only witches on this island, but matchmakers?” Hayze had told her that the siblings running Wiccan Haus did indeed have supernatural powers, which she honestly didn’t find too shocking given her own secret. The knowledge that there were more humans out there with supernatural gifts, in a way, set her mind at ease.
Dana moved to the heavy doors that separated them from the hallway leading to the lobby. “You have no idea, Blaine.” She held the door open and asked, “Are you coming?”
Blaine gave the hallway another once-over before joining Dana. Where is he? She knew Hayze well enough to know he wouldn’t so quickly renege on a deal that he’d proposed. So, then where was he? He couldn’t have forgotten that they were going to take the golf cart up to the northern most tip of the island for a picnic. After all, it was his idea. Or after regaling him with her tales of bad luck, had he decided it was best if he distanced himself from her? If that were the case, she couldn’t really blame him.
“Thanks in advance, Blaine. It was really great getting to know you. Perhaps Rekkus and I will see you two at the Eve’s Slumber tonight,” Dana said as they stepped into the lobby. “There will be live music and lots romance. It’s the perfect night for lovers.”
“Dana, Hayze and I aren’t a…” The words died on her lips as she spotted Hayze through the open door. He was standing stiffly between two huge, dark-haired men, dressed in jeans and black T-shirts with “Security” written across the back in red letters.
A warm tingle began in Blaine’s belly and spread throughout her body. She took a step toward Hayze, but stopped when she saw the security team practically drag him off into a side room. The second the door closed behind them, someone shut the blinds covering the large floor-to-ceiling windows that opened up into the lobby.
“What the hell is going on?”
“It’s probably nothing,” said Dana.
“Since when is being dragged off into a room nothing?” Blaine retorted without taking her eyes off the closed door labeled “Room One.”
Dana sighed, her hand running over her slightly distended belly a few times before she dropped it to her side. “Well…”
“Exactly.” Before Blaine could talk herself out of it, she was hobbling across the lobby and pushing into the room. She took two steps over the threshold and stopped in her tracks as a dark-haired woman, draped in black from head to toe, strutted toward Hayze. If Blaine wasn’t sure before, she was sure now that whatever this was, Hayze was by no means a willing participant. He jerked against the security team’s grip, but they held him
steadfast as the goth queen drew up so close to him, she could’ve kissed him. The woman pulled Hayze’s head down until he was practically bowing before her. The queen of darkness whipped out a bottle filled with some kind of oil and poured it on the crown of Hayze’s head. All the while, Hayze cursed and jerked, trying fruitlessly to gain his freedom from the apes holding him.
“Damn it, Sarka, get your dogs off me before I hurt one of them,” he cursed through a growl that had the hairs on the back of Blaine’s neck standing on end. Hayze gained his freedom momentarily only to have a third guy join the melee, securing him once more. “Sarka, you bitch. When I get my hands on you…”
The woman, Sarka, chanted words in a tongue Blaine didn’t understand and rubbed the goo into Hayze’s hair. She made sure it was pulled through from scalp to end, by dragging her fingers through his hair a few times.
“Get off him!” Blaine shouted, rounding the conference table. “What’s wrong with you people?” She crossed to them, and at the same time the men released Hayze and Sarka stepped back, glaring at her. “Are you all running a damn zoo? Since when is it okay to attack your guests?”
Sarka glared from her to Hayze with a snort. “Mind your business.”
Blaine growled low, her free hand fisting while the other tightened around her cane. If she had to, she’d use it as a bludgeoning stick. “I am minding my business. Now I would suggest—”
“That we all calm down,” a soft male voice said, stepping into the room. He let the door click close behind him before continuing. “We’re drawing an audience.” The man nodded toward the closed door. “I could hear you all half way down the damn hallway and to be quite honest, it’s unnecessary.”
Blaine remembered his flamboyant face and bright-colored clothing from the picture in the brochure. He was Cemil Rowan. Until now, she wasn’t even aware he was on the island.
