by Kat Mizera
Geez, I was a mess when it came to men. I’d never realized how much until just now. Especially this one, with his piercing eyes and that smokin’ hot body and—oh, what the hell was wrong with me? One minute I was on the verge of clawing his eyes out and now I was thinking about getting him naked. Samaria was right about me needing to get laid because this was ridiculous.
When I got back to our chairs, Xander was talking to one of the resort employees and apparently renting a surfboard. He put it under his arm and made his way into the water. I watched in fascination because even with shorts and a swim shirt on, he had a fantastic body. He wasn’t huge like Sandor or Axel, or wiry and fast like Jonas. Instead, he was about six feet tall with slim hips, broader shoulders and really nice biceps. His ass looked like a nice ripe peach I’d gladly take a bite out of and then—
I stopped abruptly. I was doing it again. Fuck. This was bad. I needed to stay as far away from Xander as possible because he made me stupid. Besides, I had bigger problems than a smokin’ hot bodyguard who looked like a movie star.
I’d just started to get comfortable when I glanced up and saw him riding a wave in. The surf was pretty calm today, so it wasn’t a big one, but he was a little spellbinding. Legs bent, body crouched into position on the board, he rode like a pro and then jumped off his board. He came walking out of the surf like freakin’ Aquaman, shaking the water from his eyes and hair, muscles moving as he walked.
Jesus.
I swallowed and quickly put on my sunglasses. I absolutely had to stop thinking about him. It might even be time to pick another fight.
We didn’t get back to Samaria and Fetu’s house until late. We were both sunburned and hungry, but we quickly separated to shower and get ready. Samaria had planned a nice dinner to welcome Xander to the island, no matter how much I’d begged her not to, so now it was going to be a long, tedious evening trying to convince her there was nothing between us. She was determined to jump on the first opportunity she had to play matchmaker, and even though I’d told her princesses didn’t marry bodyguards, she’d been quick to point out that my brother, who was a prince, was marrying a bodyguard. I really needed to remember not to tell her everything in our letters.
I pulled on a pink, off-the-shoulder summer dress that fell in asymmetrical waves around my knees. I had white sandals and a white headband to push my hair back out of my eyes. I’d been growing out my bangs for months and even though they were getting there, they weren’t where I wanted them yet and were constantly in my eyes. Makeup wasn’t on my radar, not here in Tahiti, but I put some gloss on my lips before heading out. I stopped at Xander’s little bungalow and knocked.
“Hi.” He opened the door with a grin. He wore low-rise khaki shorts…and nothing else. His bare torso gleamed with a few drops of water and his hair was still wet. “I just need a second to grab sandals and a shirt.”
“Okay.” I turned my back, unwilling to continue to stare at the happy trail of hair leading down to his…shorts. My brain was already going to a dark, sexy place that followed that trail, ending somewhere I hadn’t touched in a long time. I didn’t know much about him, but I had a feeling there was something magnificent beneath those shorts.
Dammit.
“I’m starving,” he said as he did whatever he was doing.
“Me too,” I called over my shoulder, refusing to turn around.
“I’m ready.” He came out and stood beside me, a smile on his face.
“Great.” I started to walk, not looking at him. He was so damn good-looking, I didn’t understand why I’d never noticed before. Well, I’d noticed, but I’d been in such an anger-fueled snit all the time, I hadn’t let it affect me. Now that I was in my happy place, relaxing near the beach, I noticed. A lot.
“Hello!” Samaria waved to us.
“Auntie Elen!” Samaria’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Lulu, ran over to hug me. “Is this your boyfriend?” Her eyes danced with mischief and I knew without a doubt Samaria had coached her.
“Not at all,” I said, laughing with her. “He’s my bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard!” Twelve-year-old Lagi’s eyes widened as he stared at Xander in fascination. “You do karate?”
Xander smiled. “And jiujitsu, tai chi, and a few other martial arts you’ve probably never heard of.”
“You beat up Auntie’s boyfriends?”
Xander gave a little shrug. “When they misbehave.”
“Come, meet the family.” Samaria introduced him to nine-year-old Iosefa, seven-year-old Sefina, five-year-old Maru, and of course, Elena.
Xander immediately got into a card game with the older three kids and I followed Samaria into the kitchen.
“Yum, it smells so good in here.”
“You have kitchen in your palace?”
“Of course. I just don’t spend any time in it.”
“That sad.”
“Sometimes.” I looked around. “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing. We eat outside.”
“Okay.” I went back into the main room and paused for a moment, somewhat startled to see Elena on Xander’s lap, helping him decide which cards to play, and Maru standing behind him watching intently. The kids tended to avoid strangers but they took to Xander immediately. It simultaneously fascinated and annoyed me. These were my friends, the only type of family I’d had during my long years in exile, and now I was going to have to share them.
It was an odd sensation to be irrationally jealous, but I was, and I quickly turned and went back into the kitchen, sitting on a chair and staring out the window. Samaria sat in the chair next to mine and shook her head. “You not like old Elen. You a imposter?”
I smiled, shaking my head slightly. “Maybe?”
“You gonna be okay? Fetu come home any minute and we eat.”
“Yes, I’m okay.” That probably wasn’t true, but this wasn’t the time to discuss it.
Dinner was a loud and boisterous affair. We sat out back at three picnic tables that were pushed together, with the kids running in and out of the house and Samaria watching them all with a critical eye. Xander seemed perfectly at home, praising Samaria for the meal, joking with the kids and carefully avoiding me. He wasn’t at all like a bodyguard right now, even though I knew he’d carefully inspected every inch of the grounds and probably already knew half a dozen ways to get me out of here in an emergency.
“Xander, you have girlfriend?” Samaria asked him.
“No time for that,” he responded, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “We’re all working seven days a week right now.”
“Bodyguarding is serious business,” Fetu said.
“We’re short-staffed,” Xander explained. “The children of the royal family are spread out all over the world, and there aren’t enough Royal Protectors to handle everyone in different locations.”
“Royal Protectors?” Iosefa asked. “Is that what you call the bodyguards to the king?”
“To the royal family, yes.”
“And you’re one of them? Cool!”
I didn’t pay much attention to the conversation about Xander’s job, picking at my food and watching the sunset. It was nice out, probably seventy degrees with low humidity, and I had a sudden longing to go out dancing, do something fun. Not by myself, of course, and certainly not tonight, but it felt like ages since I’d done anything like that. I’d left Tahiti three years ago because I’d gotten restless after four years of bartending. A year hiking, biking and backpacking through Europe had bored me too, and then Erik had come back from the dead and my life had been turned inside out for the second time.
“You want ice cream?” Samaria was asking me.
I shook my head. “No, thanks. I’m going to bed. All that sunshine and fresh ocean air seems to have made me tired.”
Xander immediately got up. “And I spent the last two days traveling. I’m ready for a good night’s sleep. Thank you, Samaria and Fetu, for your hospitality and a wonderful meal. I’ll see you all tomorrow.�
�
“You want cream in your coffee?” Samaria asked him.
“Excuse me?”
“In the morning. You want cream with coffee?”
“Oh. No. Thank you. I take it black.”
Samaria gave him a broad grin. “I like you.”
11
Xander
I slept for twelve hours that night, something I hadn’t done in a long time. When I rolled over at seven thirty the next morning, I was wide awake and ready to take on the day. And Elen. She’d been weird at dinner last night but I’d been too tired to think about it much. We’d agreed we’d text the other when we got up in the morning, so neither of us would have to be woken, and there were no messages on my phone. Samaria had said to come to the house for breakfast, so I got dressed and headed in that direction.
I opened the back door and stepped inside. “Good morning?” I walked into the kitchen and Elen looked up in annoyance.
“You were supposed to text me,” she said.
“You were supposed to text me,” I responded, holding up my phone. “And by the way, check your messages.” I’d texted her as I’d walked up to the house, but she obviously hadn’t noticed.
“God, can’t I even have breakfast in peace?” she snapped, her eyes flashing. “Do you have to follow me everywhere?”
“That is literally the definition of a bodyguard,” I told her. “So yes, I do.”
Jesus, this was getting old.
“Coffee. Black.” Samaria stuffed a mug in my hand. “You like eggs?”
“Yes, thank you.” I gave her a smile before turning back to Elen. “What are your plans today?”
“The beach,” she said. “All day. And then dinner here at the house. And then bed. And that will be my schedule every day, until further notice.”
“Works for me.”
“You guys boring,” Samaria said, shaking her head. “Before babies, I was out at the clubs, shaking my booty.”
I stifled a laugh and even Elen’s lips turned up a fraction of an inch.
“Well, I’m here to rest and get better,” Elen said after a moment. “Clubbing isn’t part of the equation. Besides, I’m too old for that.”
Samaria rolled her eyes. “You too full of shit for that too.”
“I’m going back to my room to change.” Elen put her dish and cup in the sink. “I’ll be ready to leave in ten minutes.”
“I’ll still be eating,” I said quietly. “So it’ll be twenty minutes before I’m ready to go, and no, you can’t go without me.”
“And if I do?” She looked up at me with a challenge in her eyes.
“Then we’re right back to where we started.” Our eyes locked and I refused to back down. I couldn’t.
She looked ready to fight me and then she sighed. “Fine. Twenty minutes.” She turned on her heel and slammed the back door behind her as she left.
“She cranky.” Samaria started frying eggs. “You break her heart or something?”
“Break her heart?” I sank into the nearest chair. “She wouldn’t let me get close enough for anything like that. She doesn’t like me.”
“She like you too much,” Samaria responded. “She just confused.”
“I don’t think confused is the word I’d use.”
“She hurts,” Samaria said, sticking something in the oven as she talked. “Don’t know why. She still confused, but something hurt her soul and she need somebody to help heal.”
“That won’t be me,” I said softly. “She’s a smart, beautiful, independent woman, but she hates me, and to be honest, she wears me out. I’ve tried everything to make peace between us, but every time I turn around, she’s saying something nasty or trying to dodge me. I’m positive she’s going to leave for the beach before I’m done eating.”
Samaria called to Elena. “Go bug your Auntie Elen—Mama needs to have grown-up talk.”
“Okay, Mama.” Elena tore out of the house so fast I almost felt the breeze as she sped past.
“That was sly.”
“I been around the block a few times.” Samaria put a plate of eggs with some kind of meat and fresh bread in front of me. “You eat. I make sure she doesn’t leave.”
“Thank you.” I liked this warm, friendly family, and wondered how long I’d be here to enjoy them.
I ate quickly, left my dish in the sink, and headed out to my bungalow. Elen was just coming out of the guest house, beach bag in her hand.
“I have a towel and sunscreen for you,” she said. “Are you ready?”
“Let’s go.” I padded along behind her, content to look at her extremely shapely little ass, since I had nothing else to do.
“Are you staring at my ass?” she asked as we walked.
“Nope.” It wasn’t exactly a lie since I was looking at her long legs too. “You’ve got great muscle tone in your calves.”
She glanced back at me, narrowing her eyes. “Are you flirting with me?”
“God forbid.” I raised my hands in mock surrender. “I don’t have a death wish.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Guilty.” I decided not to argue.
“Do women usually fall at your feet with that attitude?” she asked, whirling around.
“Only on the third full moon each year. The rest of the time, they ignore me.”
“Why are you such a jerk?”
“I’m really not,” I said slowly, frowning at her. “I’m actually a pretty nice guy. I’m also not the one of us being a jerk.”
She glared at me and then turned and took the steps down to the beach without saying a word. I’d undoubtedly pissed her off, but that was too bad.
I picked up my pace to catch up to her but stayed a few paces behind. As much as I loved it here, I was uneasy. I didn’t necessarily expect trouble, but I wasn’t armed, wasn’t sure what the protocol was should there be trouble, and this tension between us could get one of us killed. I just couldn’t seem to get through to her and neither had Erik or Sandor.
Fetu had chairs lined up for us and I took the towel from Elen without a word. She put sunscreen on and then handed the bottle to me. I did the same and we sat there in silence for the next two hours. She read a magazine for a while, then got up and went for a swim. Samaria’s comments about how Elen needed a friend didn’t sit well with me. Not because I didn’t believe it, but because I did. She was the loneliest, angriest little rich girl I’d ever known and it was sad. I wanted to reach out somehow, but she didn’t make it easy.
An idea came to me and I glanced over at her. “Wanna surf?”
“What?” She peered at me over the top of her sunglasses.
“Did I stutter? I asked if you wanted to go surfing. I’ve been dying to but I can’t leave you alone for too long and you said you enjoy it.”
“Um, okay.” She looked confused but willing.
We quickly touched up our sunscreen and headed down to the water. The teenage boy who rented the boards was quick to find two for us and within minutes we were paddling out.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked as we sat there waiting for a wave.
“Because you seem stressed and letting out some of that nervous energy is the best way to tamp it down. Not to mention it’s fun. And, I get to say I’ve been surfing in Tahiti.”
She actually smiled as we got up on our boards and caught the first decent wave that came our way. We rode in gradually, almost in slow motion since the surf was so quiet, and exchanged grins as we got to shore.
“Go once more or are you done?” I asked.
“I’d love to go again,” she said, chewing her lower lip. “I love how I feel on a board…like I’m free.”
“Let’s do it.”
We went a dozen more times, until we were both breathing hard and laughing, and I saw a side of her I hadn’t seen before. It was delightful and I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last. The way she looked in the water, her smile and laughter, almost made her a different woman. I’d never seen so
meone transform so much just from something as simple as surfing. The beach in general seemed to be a happy place for her and it was kind of fun hanging out with her here.
“You love the water,” I said as we packed up and walked back toward our guest houses.
“I do.”
“Not much in the way of that in Limaj.”
“There is, in the southernmost part of the country, but it’s not warm enough to swim, except in July and August, and honestly, it’s not my favorite beach. I much prefer Greece if I’m going to swim, or Hawaii. But here, this is my favorite place for everything.”
“You can come back, can’t you?”
“It’s far and somewhat isolated,” she admitted. “I loved living here, but once I left, it wasn’t easy to come back. It’s not like a normal holiday, where you leave Sunday afternoon, arrive Monday and can leave the following Sunday to be back at your job on Monday. It’s nearly two days to get here and two days to get back, depending on the stops and where you’re starting from. It’s just inconvenient, I guess.”
“It’s definitely far, but you have to make time for the things that are important to you.”
“Do you?” Her eyes met mine, and for a moment we stopped walking.
“Up until I joined Erik’s security team full-time, I did. Not so much now, but you know that, and you know why.”
“How long…” She cleared her throat. “How long do you think a person can go putting everyone else’s needs first?”
12
Elen
He frowned slightly at my question and I momentarily regretted asking. I rarely showed vulnerability to anyone outside my family, but being here in Tahiti had my guard down a little.
“It’s not about that,” he said quietly. “It’s about duty, the job. When I was in the military, I didn’t have that option. My country, my duty, came first. But after six years of that, it was time to put myself first. So I did. Then this job came along and it was special, so my needs are on hold, but not entirely. What I do, the job itself, is part of what I need. I’m not the type of man who’d be happy sitting behind a desk. This job gives me purpose and makes me a buttload of money. More money than I’d make doing almost anything back in the U.S.”
