Red Hot Lovers: 18 Contemporary Romance Books of Love, Passion, and Sexy Heroes by Your Favorite Top-Selling Authors

by Milly Taiden

  “He’s making you sad,” Markus said. “You need a break.”

  She’d never told them, but they could read her as well as Kai could. Maybe she was an open book, only thinking she’d been hiding all along while everyone knew.

  “You’re a sunshine girl,” Kirsten said. “Let’s go get some sunshine.”

  My sunshine boy. Kai had been like that once, hadn’t he?

  “We’ll do something together, what do you say?” Kirsten pulled her to her feet. “Forget about this for a while. Let’s go for a walk. Markus found a lovely place on the map not far from here. We have fruit and water and we can have our breakfast in the hills.”

  “It’s stormy.”

  “No, it’s just windy. We won’t let you float away.”

  She let them haul her along, barely seeing where she was going. She didn’t realize when they left the hotel or when they took a trail down a ravine. Didn’t hear Kirsten’s quotes from Shakespeare and Markus’s replies.

  She was failing. Again. Not able to pull Kai back from the edge of the cliff. Not able to stop him from sinking.

  Her friends set up their blanket under a tree, securing it with rocks, spreading small dishes. Markus set to peeling and cutting oranges and apples. The wind was falling. The birds sang. The cicadas were trying out their mating call.

  “Eat,” Kirsten said, pushing a dish toward her.

  She tried. Her throat had closed up and she couldn’t push anything down. “When did Myra Crow die?” And with her, Kai’s father and friends?

  “Sweetie...” Kirsten didn’t look pleased with this conversation.

  “Six years ago,” Markus said.

  Kai was twenty. He’d been fourteen. He’d gone back to the States, to... whom? An uncle? An aunt? Had finished school, gone to college, was expelled and returned here. Had to be in the past year. Why? What had prompted him to come back? Had something else happened?

  “Stop thinking about it,” Markus said. “He’ll be fine. People often move on after horrible experiences.”

  But Kai hadn’t. Or if he’d tried, something had pushed him back down. She had to find out what it was.

  “Oh no, you’re not going anywhere,” Kirsten said, grabbing her arm. How had she known she was going to leave? “Stay, Liv. Give yourself a break. You’re getting obsessive.”

  “That’s how I am,” she whispered.

  “Lie down, look at the sky.” Kirsten did just that, lying on the blanket and blinking at the sky.

  Olivia sighed and lay back. Clouds sailed overhead, shifting into strange shapes, scowling faces and fishtails. She was exhausted. She felt as if she’d battled a giant and had barely survived.

  Which was ridiculous, she thought, her eyes closing. She seemed to just drift through life, unable to affect its course and outcomes.

  She had to do something...

  ***

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  To do a great right, do a little wrong.

  Shakespeare

  Go on, yell and wail; silence is to no avail.

  Myra Crow

  “Liv. Wake up.”

  She blinked, the brightness of the sky hurting her eyes. She threw an arm over them, still caught in snatches of dreams — blue water, sparkling fish swimming around her, mermaids and mermen tumbling in circles. And Kai. He’d been there, floating motionless in the blue, a hand stretched out to her.

  She hadn’t taken it. She’d frozen, undecided, her hands held over her heart as if to protect it, leaving him to drift away.

  And now she lay on a blanket in a white ravine, Kirsten’s face leaning over her, covering the sky.

  “What?” Liv’s tongue felt a size too big for her mouth.

  “You fell asleep.” Kirsten smirked and wagged her brows. “I must inform you I took photos I can use for blackmail if I ever need anything from you.”

  “Oh jeez. Was I drooling?” Olivia sat up, rubbing her face. She felt as if a ton of rocks had fallen on her. “I feel like crap.”

  “Here.” Kirsten passed her a bottle of water. “It will help.”

  Olivia nodded and took a long draught. “Did I sleep long?”

  “It’s midday.”

  Shit. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  “You looked like you needed it.” Kirsten shrugged. “The day is still young.”

  Olivia glanced around. “Where’s Markus?”

  “He’s exploring the ravine.”

  “I need to go back.”

  “Why? We could walk a bit farther, see the villages. There’s a medieval chapel up the hill and we could—”

  “I want to see Kai.”

  Kirsten sighed. “Maybe Markus was right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Maybe you should stay away from each other. Just hear me out,” she said when Olivia started to get up. “Love is not hopeless. I said that. But whatever it is you’re feeling right now may be no more than a sense of obligation.”

  “Obligation?” Olivia huffed. Whatever.

  “To save him, Liv. I know how you think. You want everyone around you to be happy. You want to help. But the world isn’t always happy and you can’t always help. Some things people need to figure out on their own. Don’t let them drag you down with their failure to survive.”

  What the hell? Olivia felt light-headed. “You talked to my mother,” she said, her voice small. “Didn’t you?” No way could Kirsten guess that much.

  “I did,” Kirsten admitted. “She called one day, in Germany, when you were out, and we had a long talk. She was worried about you.”

  Dammit. “That’s not what I’m doing with Kai. I just like him. I want to spend time with him.”

  “He makes you happy and sad, I know. You told me. But now he’d mostly making you sad, and we’re leaving soon.”

  “He’s not making me sad.” She thought of how content she felt with him, like she was herself and not what others expected her to be. He accepted her sadness, and tried to make her smile. He didn’t tell her it was wrong to feel the way she did, only that he didn’t think what happened had been her fault. He made her feel good. “I’m making myself sad on his behalf.”

  Kirsten shook her head. “How is that different?”

  “It’s different.” It was hard to explain. “He makes me happy. What makes me sad is the thought of leaving him.” Alone. On the precipice.

  “What has started with him makes you sad,” Kirsten said. “This sadness is what I don’t want for you. You were happier when we came here.” She threw her hands in the air. “You’re falling in love with him, and I was wrong. There seems to be no hope. Better pull back before you hurt yourself more, Liv.”

  What hurt was those words coming from Kirsten’s mouth, and the mere idea of implementing them.

  Olivia bit her lip. She’d been afraid of confronting Kai that morning, and she still was, but after last night, she had to talk to him. Couldn’t leave without saying at least goodbye.

  Goodbye. The word was like a knife stabbing into her chest.

  She stood and swayed, the world graying.

  Kirsten was instantly by her side. “You haven’t eaten a thing. Sit down and have some fruit. I’ll get Markus, then we can head back.”

  Olivia nodded, not sure fruit would help. Her world was tilting on its axis. Maybe she was the one falling off the edge — and who could catch her?

  *

  Markus and Kirsten left her at the hotel and went back into the hills to continue their hike. She appreciated their concern — she’d be worried in their place, too, she guessed — but until she talked with Kai she wasn’t in the mood for anything else.

  Although now, walking down the path toward the beach bar, she felt the fear return. Talk to him — about what? Confront him about his past? Wait until he told her about it? Thank him for last night? Say goodbye?

  She didn’t want to say goodbye. Hated the thought of the days stretching before her without his soft voice, his faint smile, his beautiful face.
/>
  Crap.

  Hi Kai, I’m sorry everyone you loved died in the accident. By the way, you know I’m leaving, too. Good luck with your life — or with ending it, since this is what you seem to want.

  She winced.

  Yeah, don’t let me hold you back. I’m only passing through, strolling through life, after all.

  Oh god.

  Her steps faltered as she entered the shade of the cafe. When her eyes adjusted, she looked for Kai.

  But he didn’t seem to be there. A young woman was serving the tables and when she turned around, Olivia recognized his cousin, Rita.

  “Hey,” Rita said and ambled toward her, showing tanned legs below her short skirt. “What can I get you?”

  “Where’s Kai?” A bad feeling was building in the pit of Olivia’s stomach. The sea had been choppy and he’d been swimming. “Is he okay?”

  Rita shrugged. “He seemed okay, although he did ask me to cover for him, which isn’t normal. Why, did something happen?” Her shrewd gaze nailed Olivia to the floor.

  “No, nothing happened. I just...” She looked helplessly around, somehow hoping Kai would appear out of thin air. “Didn’t he say where he was going to be?”

  Rita pulled a stool from the bar and sat. “No, he didn’t. He looked stressed. So do you. If I find out you hurt my little cousin...”

  Olivia squirmed under Rita’s intense stare. Was she hurting Kai?

  Shit. She suddenly felt sick. He’d taken her to his hut, where he said he never brought anyone. They’d slept together. He’d promised to tell her all about himself.

  And she hadn’t showed up all morning.

  “Look,” Olivia said, “I wanted to talk to him. I fell asleep and am late. That’s all.”

  “But now you know, don’t you? About his parents. About the accident. Panos said you do.”

  Olivia nodded, her mouth not cooperating.

  “Bloody hell,” Rita breathed. “Kai told you. He’s never talked to anyone about it. We tried to get him to talk, but he always ran. I’m impressed.”

  “You don’t understand.” Olivia took a deep breath, determined to explain. “He didn’t tell me about the accident, but he was going to—”

  “Believe him when he says he doesn’t remember what happened,” Rita said. “Only bits and pieces. His uncle in America talked to specialists there. He was found unconscious on the beach, long after everyone had stopped looking. Nobody knows how he made it there. The currents are so strong. The bodies of the others were never found.”

  Olivia covered her mouth. Her eyes burned again, and she didn’t want to break down in front of this woman. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “Of course rumors started circulating. They said the sea people saved him. Because he’s one of them. And everyone hated him for it.”

  “So you don’t believe it.”

  “I don’t know what to believe. People have always pointed a finger at our family. Our line is very old, a royal lineage of this place. Legend has it we married mermaids and that our blood runs blue. But,” she shook her head, “it looks red to me. The accident was all it took for the superstition to flare. Kai took the brunt of it.”

  “People are idiots,” Olivia whispered.

  Rita laughed. “Can’t say I don’t agree.” She sobered. “Now you see why we’re so protective. He’s been through a lot. Between this and living with his uncle...”

  Olivia stepped back, her only thought to get away from Kai’s cousin. She didn’t want them to tell her about Kai’s past. She wanted him to tell her. It felt like betraying him somehow. What was wrong with these people? First they wouldn’t speak a word about the accident and now they couldn’t keep their mouths shut?

  Yeah, and you made him into a project, didn’t you? As if he was a thing, not a person who might get hurt by all your prying.

  “I need to talk to him,” Olivia said again, lost and worried. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

  Rita chewed on her lower lip. “Panos says you care for Kai. Panos is a good judge of character even if he’s a hopeless case of a man.” She tilted her head to the side. “He said you made Kai laugh.”

  Not sure where this was heading, Olivia waited, shifting from foot to foot. “You know where Kai is, right? He’s at the sea, isn’t he?”

  Rita smiled. “Like always when he’s stressed. I saw him going up toward his hut earlier.”

  Olivia nodded. “Thanks.” She wasn’t sure what for. After all, Rita had just told her again that she thought Olivia would hurt Kai. But she’d pointed her in Kai’s direction as if hoping she’d find him.

  Maybe she didn’t think Olivia was so bad for Kai after all.

  *

  Kai’s hut was empty. Not surprising. Olivia took in the sparse furniture, the fluttering nets at the windows, and went back out. She descended to the small beach below, scanning the troubled water of the bay.

  No sign of him.

  She walked on the rocks, careful not to fall or cut her feet again, wary of the sea, keeping as far from the water as possible. She sat and waited.

  And waited.

  The sun began to slide from the summit of the blinding sky on a curve toward the west. Her shoulders and head burned; her legs were turning red. She felt slightly dizzy and realized a heatstroke was a real possibility, so reluctantly she moved back to the beach and found a shaded spot under a gnarled tree growing from a crack in the cliff.

  Where was he? Maybe he’d gone to town, or some other place, while she was waiting there in vain.

  Finally, she gave in to discomfort and struggled up the winding path to his hut. Light-headed, white spots swimming in front of her eyes, she stumbled inside and fell on his bed. It smelled of him, salt and musk, and she closed her eyes. She should get up, go and search for him. Her mind kept replaying the image of him on the cliff, his short dark hair fluttering, his clothes whipping against his body. So close to the edge.

  Had to find him. Couldn’t sit and wait.

  Still, it took her some time to sit up and try to regain her feet. The sun had sapped what little energy she’d gained from her nap that morning.

  Get up, Liv.

  She was still gathering her courage to stand when the door swung open. Kai stood there, in his hand a speargun and in the other three fish hanging from a hook. He was dripping wet, his swim trunks clinging to his muscled legs. His hair fell in his eyes and he tipped his head up, trying to see.

  He froze. “Liv?” he whispered.

  The speargun fell from his hand, clattering to the floor. With a wince, he bent to pick it up and shambled inside.

  God, he was okay. Weak with relief, she stared at him, drinking him in. His movements were tired. Had he been in the water since that morning? He set the fish on a metal platter and propped the speargun in a corner. He cast her a wary look under his lashes.

  “What are you doing here?” he finally said, his voice measured and cool. “I thought you went back to the hotel.”

  “I did. Then I was looking for you.” She got up, her head swimming, and stepped toward him. “I was worried. Your cousin said I might find you...” Blackness seeped into her vision and she made a grab for his blurry form.

  “Liv!” Kai reached out for her.

  Something stopped her fall into the senseless void and she clung to it as much as she could, her hands numb and cold. Then she was sitting on the bed, her head hanging between her knees, breathing fast.

  “You’re sunburned,” Kai whispered, sounding vaguely horrified, and she looked up to find him kneeling by her side. “Where were you?”

  “I waited for you. At the beach.”

  “I thought you were with your friends.”

  “I was. And then I fell asleep and then I couldn’t find you.” She shouldn’t still feel panicked. He was there, obviously fine. “I missed you.”

  His eyes lit up. He shook his head, a corner of his mouth lifting in a smile. “I assumed you didn’t want to see me, that maybe last night was a
mistake.”

  God, she didn’t know how to answer. Kirsten’s words echoed in her head. She stared into his eyes and couldn’t say goodbye. She didn’t want to stay away, even if her heart bled by the end. Carpe diem and all that. Live the moment. Right now she was happy to be able to look at him, smell him, hear him.

  “Have you had lunch?” he asked and her stomach growled at the thought of food.

  She shook her head, sheepish.

  “You almost had a heatstroke and had nothing to eat.” He frowned. “No wonder you came close to passing out.”

  “I wasn’t going to pass out,” she muttered. “I was only a little dizzy.” He arched a brow and her face heated. “Okay, maybe more than a little.”

  “Do you like fresh fish?”

  “Raw?” she asked, horrified.

  He laughed at her expression, a deep, vibrant sound. There. It seemed to come more easily to him now. Panos would be so proud of her.

  And she was absurdly proud of Kai.

  The sun had really hit her hard.

  “I’ll grill the fish,” he said, grinning. “And bake onions in the ashes.”

  “The gourmet hermit’s menu,” she said and won another laugh from him. “Next you’ll tell me you have wine and dessert hidden somewhere.” She straightened and made a show of checking out the place.

  “I might.” He winked and got up, not seeing her dumbfounded expression. “I did promise you a dinner at my hut, didn’t I? I’ll get the fire going and prepare the fish.”

  “What can I do?”

  “Here.” He handed her a bottle of water. “Drink and rest. I may need your help later on.” His eyes were warm, and blue swirled in them like the first time she’d seen him.

  “Help with what?” She dutifully took a swig from the bottle.

  He looked at the open door, his mouth tightening. “Talking.”

  *

  Kai had built a fire in a circle of rocks and placed a metal grid over the burning cinders. The three fish, cleaned and rubbed with dried herbs, were laid on it and the smell was mouthwatering. The onions Kai had buried in the ashes.