Cassandra Pierce - Diamonds in the Sand [The Aquans 2] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Special Edition)

by Pierce, Cassandra

  * * * *

  Afterward, the four of them paddled back to shore together and retrieved their clothes. Though Maura’s shirt was wet and sandy, she put it on anyway. The hot sun began to dry it out almost immediately.

  Oddly, she felt shy around them once they were all dressed and on land. Maybe it was because she began to think about Septimus again, and the task of deciphering the stack of research in the bungalow. Hopefully, his notes and journals would point her in some feasible direction as to his whereabouts. She planned to study them more once her head cleared. Right now, with the guys hanging around, she didn’t think anything would make much sense.

  “Why don’t you three go on with what you normally do during the day?” she suggested. “I’d like to spend some more time going through Septimus’s papers.”

  “We promised we’d help,” Janko said, disappointed.

  Maura took on the voice she used in her college classroom when her students weren’t buckling down to the task at hand. “I think it’s safe to assume that if we’re all in the bungalow, we’re not going to get much work done. It would be better if we split up.”

  Ivar reached out and smacked Janko in the shoulder. “Give the lady some down time. We’ll see her at lunch.” He raised hopeful eyes to her. “Won’t we?”

  “Depends on what kind of progress I make with the research. Let’s play it by ear.”

  They stood, and Maura started back toward the bungalow. Daq followed her for a short distance then stopped. She couldn’t resist looking back at him.

  “If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to come back to the house,” he said. “At least one of us will be there.”

  “I’ll do that.” She knew he wanted to say more, maybe to discuss what had happened between them all in the sea and where it left their relationship—if that was an accurate name for their frenzied encounter the night before. In any case, such a philosophical discussion would have to wait.

  Turning, she headed back to the jumble of scholarship they’d abandoned. This time, she took a more systematic approach, sorting the books and papers into neat little piles. She began to read through the material one stack at a time. More than once, she had to push thoughts of the guys out of her mind so she could concentrate.

  She felt a little guilty about invading Septimus’s privacy. Still, he could be in trouble—surely he would understand that they had to take every precaution.

  She paged through several journals, dating back a year or so. Unfortunately, some of Septimus’s notes didn’t make a lot of sense, thanks to his cryptic handwriting. What she could untangle suggested nothing of the great discovery he had hinted at with such excitement. Frustrated, she put the notebooks aside and mined the loose notes instead. These yielded more of the same.

  Time to attack the computer. It was an older model, probably one Septimus had used for many years. As soon as she turned it on, a password-protected screen came up. Cursing, she spent several minutes trying to override the security software. Apparently, she didn’t know her old mentor as well as she thought, since she was unable to guess the password. Eventually she gave up, turned the machine off, and leaned back in the chair with a sigh.

  Only from that angle did she spot the photograph tucked under the keyboard. Curious, she pulled it out and examined its faded surface.

  The black-and-white snapshot showed a woman seated on the beach, wet from swimming, her long, dark hair trailing loosely over her shoulders. She posed with both arms wrapped around her bent knees, dressed in a two-piece swimsuit that seemed a bit skimpy for the days of black-and-white photos. The background showed Septimus’s house, which hadn’t changed much. Maura turned the picture over but found no notation on the back.

  Maura doubted this was any sort of clue. For one thing, the picture looked at least fifty years old. Still, Septimus had kept it close at hand while he worked. She had nothing to lose by asking about it.

  She took one of the journals, tucked the photo inside to protect it, and started back toward the house. As she crossed the beach, she spotted Tagin and Ejan pulling up to shore in a blue-and-white bowrider, presumably the craft they’d had serviced in town. When they got close enough, Tagin jumped into the water and tethered the boat to a submerged mooring. Maura waited for them both to wade ashore. She wondered what they’d been up to all morning. Surely they had no idea how she and their friends had been entertaining themselves.

  She fought back a blush as Tagin approached her, grinning. Maybe he did have some inkling.

  Hastily she produced the photo. “I found this in Septimus’s office,” she said, holding it up for both of them to see. “Do you know who it is?”

  The two squinted and bent down for a closer look. Ejan shrugged, but Tagin peered at it for an extra moment before shaking his head. “Sorry, no. Maybe it’s someone from his family.”

  “I’d say it was taken right out here,” she said, gesturing toward the sand under their feet. “Look at the background.”

  “Not surprising,” Ejan said. “He grew up here.”

  “Coming in for lunch?” Tagin asked her.

  Maura tucked the photo into the journal. Though she wasn’t exactly in a hurry to return to the house, she had to ask Daq and the others about the picture. Besides, she realized, she was starting to get hungry. No surprise, considering how…active…she’d been that morning.

  “I guess so,” she said.

  Casually, Tagin reached for Ejan’s hand. The two of them walked alongside her as they headed up the beach.

  Chapter 4

  As soon as Maura and the two guys stepped back inside the house, she spotted Daq standing in front of the bamboo sofa, speaking to a seated woman. She knew at once who the visitor must be, even before Tagin and Ejan exchanged weary looks.

  When she heard them enter, the woman turned to stare at Maura. Maura noted her thick mane of sun-lightened red hair, startling green eyes, and perfect skin with a twinge of envy. She bore the same curious lines under her jaw that the guys did. Was it some sort of tribal tattoo everyone on the island shared?

  “Maura, this is my sister, Cyra,” Daq said. “Cyra, this is Maura Ryan. Septimus’s colleague, remember?”

  “Of course I do. You’ve been babbling about her imminent arrival all week. Do you think my memory is bad?”

  “I know you’ve had a lot on your mind,” Daq said. “I’m not always sure you hear everything I say to you, Cyra.”

  Cyra gave a haughty laugh. This was the woman with five lovers, Maura thought. When she’d first heard about the situation, it had seemed too bizarre to believe. Since then, she herself had experienced—and enjoyed very much—an encounter with three. Heck, she’d almost caught up.

  “So you’re Septimus’s fellow scientist,” Cyra was saying while Maura’s thoughts wandered elsewhere. “I must admit, I expected someone older, or at least grayer.”

  Maura touched her shoulder-length, dark hair self-consciously. “Well, I’m older than I was when I first arrived,” she joked. She started to add “and a lot more experienced,” but thought better of it and stopped herself.

  Cyra’s eyes rose to Tagin and Ejan, who still flanked her. They closed in almost protectively. “I take it you two haven’t corrupted her yet.”

  “Nah. Too busy corrupting each other.” Ejan laughed. “But give us time.”

  “We were just going to clean up a bit,” Tagin said, indicating his wet clothes. “We’ll be back soon.” He and Ejan made a hasty retreat upstairs.

  Daq watched their escape with a cynical expression. “I’m going to get lunch ready,” he said, starting toward the kitchen. “Do you want to help, Cyra?”

  Cyra settled herself more comfortably on the sofa, stretching her long, pale arms out on top of the cushions and leaning her head back. “No. I’d rather get acquainted with your new housemate. Why don’t you call us when it’s ready? Maura, sit.”

  Daq scowled. Clearly, he’d wanted to speak to her in private, but had committed himself to prepa
ring the meal. Turning on his sandaled heel, he grumbled and stalked off. Cyra gestured toward the chair opposite the sofa. Maura couldn’t help but notice that under the form-fitting yellow sundress she wore, her body looked lean, muscular, and exquisitely feminine all at once. She and Daq had received some fantastic genes.

  “He might as well make himself useful for something besides the obvious, don’t you think?” she asked Maura with a pointed look.

  “Er…what do you mean?”

  “Oh, please. I can tell you’ve had sex with my brother. And some of the others, too, to judge by your blush.”

  “I can’t imagine why you would say something like that,” Maura stammered. Cyra was right. Her cheeks were growing hot and no doubt crimson. She’d always been terrible at lying.

  “How about because it’s true?” Cyra’s cool, sea-colored eyes glinted with amusement.

  Maura had no idea how to respond, but she felt she should defend her honor somehow, even if there wasn’t all that much to defend. “Well…I understand you get a little wild yourself now and then.”

  “Oh, I’m not judging you. I think every woman should have a stable of men to indulge her. The trouble is that they’re so fickle. Like pets you have to entertain constantly. The moment they get bored, they run away. Trust me.”

  Thankfully, her remark suggested a new avenue for the conversation. Maura suspected Cyra would be all too interested in talking about herself for a while. “Daq mentioned you’d had some disappointing experiences in that area.”

  “You don’t have to speak in code. Yes, everything you’ve heard is true. My five lovers all left me at once. Still, I’ve decided to take it in stride. They’ll tire of their new playmate soon enough. Then they’ll want me back…but I’ll have moved on. That will be the best revenge. Don’t you agree?”

  “Seems like a healthy attitude,” Maura agreed. So all five of Cyra’s men had found another woman to replace her? Was that kind of arrangement more common than she’d suspected? “Daq will be glad to know you’ve moved on. He mentioned he was sort of worried about you.”

  “Did he?” Cyra rolled her eyes. “Typical older brother. Do you have one?”

  “Three, in fact. We’re not very close. I’d kind of like it if they took some interest in my well-being.”

  “You wouldn’t say that if you had one as bossy as Daq. He’d be happy for me to stay around here and live according to his advice, but the truth is, I’d rather see the world and make my own mistakes along the way. That’s what life is all about, don’t you think? He doesn’t understand.”

  “Have you traveled much?” Maura asked.

  “Yes. In the past year alone, I’ve visited Australia, the Caymans, even the Bermuda Triangle. Trust me, that place is nowhere near as exciting as it’s made out to be. Not a glimpse of an alien craft, a sea monster, or anything remotely exotic. I wasn’t sure whether I should be disappointed or relieved.”

  Briefly Maura’s mind flashed on the exciting new discovery Septimus had told her about. Was it something along the lines of what Cyra was suggesting? She decided to put some more effort into cracking that computer password.

  At the same time, she realized how little she knew about Daq, aside from the fact that his sister drifted outside the usual behavioral currents, to say the least. Having him out of the room gave her the perfect opportunity to find out more.

  “Do your parents live nearby?” she asked.

  “No. They were swept away in a tropical storm many years ago. No one knows what became of them.”

  Maura recoiled in horror. “I’m so sorry. I–I had no idea.”

  She was even more shocked when Cyra shrugged without a trace of emotion. “It’s a risk on any island. The tropics can be wonderful, but deadly storms are common. Daq and I were teenagers at the time. Ejan’s mother lives right up the coast, so she let us stay with her. Eventually I took off on my own and Daq started hanging around here. Your friend Septimus had to go back to the States now and then to teach his classes and whatnot, so he let my brother take care of the house for him. Ejan moved in, too. The other guys showed up later.”

  Maura nodded. She could understand Septimus stepping in as a father figure for Daq, and maybe the others as well. He’d sort of done the same for her, knowing she wasn’t close to her own family. He would have been eager to help Cyra and her brother after they had been orphaned in such a tragic way. How ironic it would be if Septimus had met the a similar fate. Was Daq simply in denial?

  “Speaking of Septimus,” she ventured, “do you know him well?”

  “I’ve met him, of course. Can’t say I ever spent a lot of time with him.”

  “You do know he’s missing? I don’t suppose you have any idea where he might be.”

  “Of course I don’t.” Cyra’s gaze drifted to the beach outside, and she began to fidget as though she were eager to get back to it. Maura opened the journal she’d brought inside and held out the photo.

  “Do you know this person?”

  “No,” Cyra said.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive. Look how old that is! I wasn’t even born yet.”

  “Well, I wasn’t, either. But Septimus had it on his desk. What if he reconnected with a friend somewhere and went to see her? What if she’s a relative who should be notified? Identifying her might help us locate him.”

  Cyra sniffed. “Maybe he doesn’t want to be found. Have you considered that?”

  “I guess anything’s possible,” Maura agreed. She put the photo back in the journal. Just then, Daq reappeared, wiping his hands with a small towel.

  “Lunch,” he announced.

  “I think I’ll skip it,” Cyra said, jumping to her feet. She was through the French doors and heading for the water before either of them could say anything. Maura wondered if Daq felt the same relief as she did.

  He said nothing as Maura followed him into the kitchen, where he’d laid out plates, flatware, and a quantity of fruit salad and fresh shrimp.

  “That looks wonderful,” Maura said, genuinely impressed.

  The smile returned to his lips. “So do you.”

  He slid one arm around her waist, hauled her to him, and kissed her hard. His other hand roved over her breasts, cupping and squeezing each in turn. She felt his erection rise, throbbing through the layers of their clothing, and suddenly wanted him to take her right there on the table or maybe the counter. Unfortunately, both surfaces were covered with lunch preparations, and she realized that the other guys were about to burst in on them. She heard Janko laughing with Ivar outside the door, while Tagin and Ejan came thudding down the stairs.

  Daq released her as Janko walked in. He slid his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. Ivar, right behind him, looked like he wanted to do the same, but refrained.

  “How did the research go?” Janko asked.

  “It didn’t. I couldn’t get into the computer and the journals made little sense.” She held up the one she was still clutching and took out the picture of the mysterious woman on the beach. “I did find this. Do you know who she is?”

  Janko shrugged and showed it to Ivar, who shook his head. Daq likewise gave no sign of recognition. When Tagin and Ejan walked in, she passed it to them and repeated her question.

  “No. Sorry,” the two said in unison.

  “But it is kind of faded,” Janko pointed out. “I mean, she could be someone who still lives around here. An old flame or something. She might look totally different now.”

  “Good point,” Janko said.

  The six of them sat down and enjoyed the meal together. Though no one spoke of Cyra, none of them seemed especially disappointed that she hadn’t stayed to eat with them. Instead, to judge by their serious expressions, Maura suspected they were thinking about Septimus or possibly the woman in the photo.

  “Why don’t we take you out in the boat this afternoon?” Tagin eventually suggested. “Since it’s in working order again, we can putt around to some of the guest
houses and ask if anyone’s seen him.”

  “You mean you haven’t done that already?” she asked, alarmed. “I thought you’d checked all the logical spots.”

  “Sure we did, but there’s a lot of turnover at those places,” Ejan said. “He might have shown up more recently, or maybe someone who knows something has just checked in.”

  “Good idea,” Daq said. “Take your time—hit all the ones on this side of the island.”

  “Is everyone coming?” she asked, looking around.

  Daq shook his head. “I’ll stay here in case Cyra comes back. Besides, the boat’s too small for more than three. Janko and Ivar can go out in the Jeep. There are a couple of hotels and watering holes up the road they can check out.”

  Maura nodded. The plan sounded solid. She wasn’t entirely comfortable taking off with just the two lovebirds, fearing she would be intruding. She knew a lot less about them than she did the other three, but that would change if they spent the rest of the day helping her search for Septimus.

  * * * *

  Cyra stomped down the wooden steps of Septimus’s house, shaking her head. What in all the seven seas was wrong with Daq? First Kral and his ridiculous excuse for a pod had given her the push for an insipid human with no concept of Aquan life, culture, and custom. They seemed happy and content with their silly mate Savannah, but Cyra knew that relationship was bound to end in disaster. Now her own brother was about to be hurt and humiliated in the very same way.

  Well, Daq would have no one to blame but himself if he refused to listen to her warnings. True, some humans were attractive enough, and Cyra had no shortage of men seeking her favors. Yet she had never been involved with a human and had no desire to go through the endless explanations, justifications, and accommodations such an alliance required. Eventually, she believed, she would find a pod more to her tastes than Kral’s had turned out to be.

  She longed to get back into the sea. Maybe it was time she ditched this whole ridiculous island anyway, but for now she’d settle for a quiet glide among the local coral gardens. When she reached a secluded spot away from Septimus’s house and the prying eyes of any nearby humans or boaters, Cyra grabbed the hem of her dress and began to peel it off.