Des breathed a sigh of gratitude. Media attention on herself, well, wasn’t something she could allow. She glanced at Aaron, and assessed him. Not bulky like the bouncers she’d seen at some of the clubs she’d been to with Cori. He carried a leaner more tapered frame, like a swimmer. While he’d been a big help and she felt she could trust him, she still wondered about the entire set up. She wished Cori would arrive tonight, instead of the day after.
Chapter Four
The car pulled up beside a helicopter, Des assumed the one they’d be taking. She’d never been in one before and grinned as they boarded.
Aaron handed her a set of headphones. The machine rose into the air and headed toward the sun, still hovering well above the horizon.
She pulled out her shades and put them on, glancing back and forth through the windows.
Aaron sat next to her and touched her shoulder to point out something to her. She heard his voice through the headphones. “That’s where we’re going.”
The view from above stunned her. Not a cloud marred the color of the clear blue sky. She watched the horizon and it seemed the sea rose up to kiss the sky. Des’ gaze moved to the direction they headed, past the stretch of greenery as she strained to see the entire island. She could make out the colorful roofs of several buildings on the small stretch of land.
The largest building looked like a villa with a red-tiled roof. They flew over the dock area with two motorboats and a larger craft moored there. Then over the house, sitting on a slight incline, and the helicopter landed on a helipad in a circular driveway, located at the side of the house. The center of the landing pad appeared to be a motif of the sun and separated the house from the mountains behind it.
Des could see the ocean in front of her and also part of the mountain.
The engines came to a stop and Aaron took off his headphones.
She followed his action
He got out first and helped her.
A tall dark-skinned man came running toward them, dressed in shorts and a bright yellow t-shirt.
She blinked at the way the color competed with the brightness of the sun.
“Aaron, good to see ya.” The young man held out his hand.
Aaron shook it while with the other hand he patted him on the back. “Hey, Jerry, didn’t know you were here. How’s school?”
“Good. It’s spring break, so I thought I’d come out to the island for a day or so to soak up some sun before I have to go back.”
Aaron grinned and turned to her. “Des, this is Jerry. His parents, Marta and Henry, are the ones who really run this place. Jerry, Des.”
Jerry extended his hand toward her. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
“Let me get the bags and I’ll take them to your rooms. You have your usual, Aaron, and Ma’s put Des in the green room.”
Aaron turned with him, and they both grabbed the bags from the back of the helicopter. Neither of the men would let Des take anything, so she held onto her carryon already in her hand.
At first, Des watched the men, but motion in her left peripheral vision caught her attention. She swung toward it. About fifty yards from where they stood, the sea met the shore and something moved in the water—an arm. She squinted behind her sunglasses. The sun cut the horizon in half but suddenly, a form rose up from the waves and stood in silhouette against the sun.
A man?
He walked out of the ocean and Des stood riveted to the ground. She could not take her eyes off him. The receding water revealed more of his perfectly formed torso. As he got closer, she watched the liquid trail down his body, and followed its path over a wide chest as it slithered across well-defined abs, and disappeared at the waistband, riding low over lean hips. Oh, how she wanted to peel those trunks down to continue the journey with the water.
Slowly, she reversed the path her gaze followed, taking in skin, bronzed from his time in the sun. Something glittered around his neck, some sort of chain, but her gaze only skimmed it. Her eyes momentarily arrested by the beautiful colorful tattoos, taking up the left side of his well defined chest and shoulder, before continuing down his arm to his elbow.
She took a step forward, wanting to get a closer look at the patterns, but she stopped herself. Instead, allowing her gaze to travel to the wild dark hair. Wet from his swim, long enough to caress his collarbone and covering part of his perfect sculptured face.
Des kept staring until she gazed into those eyes. Even from this distance. She froze.
Cyrus had already gone ahead, but Zek hadn’t been quite ready to leave the peace of the ocean. The whirl of the helicopter blades told him he’d stayed a little too long and would greet his guest in his swimsuit. At least, he’d thought to put one on just in case. He almost always swam nude. Good thing, cause Cyrus hadn’t been wearing one. He wore a smile on his face, thinking of the shock Cori’s friend would’ve gotten to see a naked man, or two of them, walking out of the ocean.
He blinked and wiped the water out of his eyes before he focused on the figures, standing near the helicopter. His eyesight even on land was better than most. He easily made out Aaron. While the brown-skinned woman with him, immediately caught his attention. Average height, she’d only reach his shoulder, but her figure of long legs, a tiny waist and palm-sized breasts had the blood in his body flowing a little faster through his veins.
While the others were still moving, taking things out of the copter, she remained motionless staring at him. A shiver ran through his body. The closer he got, the stronger the sensation. Something about her…
“Hey, dude.”
He briefly turned his gaze away from the female and saw Aaron. On one hand, Zek registered the greeting and the fact Aaron moved in his direction to shake his hand. He automatically extended his to connect with Aaron’s, but his gaze returned to where the rest of his senses were all focused—on the woman before him. When Aaron released him, he turned to her. This had to be Des. Zek’s hand rose to the necklace around his neck, he noticed the woman’s gaze follow his movement.
“Des, this is Xavior’s brother, Ezekiel Oceanus. Zek this is Desiree Holden, otherwise, Des.”
“Welcome to my home,” he said.
The woman couldn’t seem to find her voice for a moment and he tried to rescue her. The minute he thought of rescuing her, his heart beat faster. Electricity pumped through his blood and lightning flashed above their heads. He knew her.
At the first crackle of lightning, Des glanced up at the clear blue sky.
He smiled. “I’m sorry to greet you in such a wet state. And please call me Zek.” He took the hand not holding the carryon bag in a tight grip and raised it. Lowering his head to her palm, but without taking his eyes off her, he pressed his lips against her soft flesh and felt her shiver. Her eyes opened wide. After he lowered her hand, he didn’t release it. “I told you we’d meet again.”
“You know each other?” Aaron asked.
“Huh?” she mumbled.
“I’m sorry, Aaron, but I’ve met Des before,” he stated.
“Sorry—I’m….” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.” But her gaze drifted to the necklace around his neck, and she couldn’t hide the slight tremble again in her hand.
He released her to raise the pendant on the necklace for her to see. “I think we have.”
She couldn’t hide the gasp or the expression of shock filling her soulful eyes.
Then, he saw something else there too—fear. He frowned.
Jerry already went into the house with the bags, and Aaron glanced back and forth between them perplexed.
“Come, it’s been a long trip and you must be exhausted.” Zek grasped her elbow. He couldn’t stop touching her, but neither did she try to move away from him. He led the way into the house and through the great room. “I’ll show you to your room.” She’d been placed in his wing of the house.
The main house consisted of only one level but with four connecting wings. The great room, office
and kitchen were at the center of the structure with the wings like half points of a star. But all the hallways connected, and each bedroom had some ocean view. The green room sat right next to his. “Aaron, I believe you’re in your usual. Let me take a shower and give you all a chance to rest a bit. Then, we can meet in the great room in an hour.”
Aaron nodded and went off down another hallway.
Zek turned and still holding onto her arm, led Des to her room. Stopping in front of her open door, he spied the suitcase at the foot of the bed Jerry must have placed there. He didn’t dare enter the bedroom. He might not leave it anytime soon. Reluctantly, he released her arm. “Here you are. I’ll see you in a bit and then we’ll talk.”
“Thank you.” She walked into the room and shut the door.
He thought she’d say more but she didn’t. Only then, did he release the breath he’d been holding. He found her! He also thought he understood why she might be afraid.
Chapter Five
Des shut the door on Zek and sank down on the bed. She couldn’t dwell on the beauty of her surroundings right then. Her thoughts flashed back to a time she’d tried hard to forget, but terror again gripped her mind. That man. Zek. It couldn’t be. It’s impossible. But what happened that day seemed impossible. When the boat exploded, they’d all been thrown overboard. Weird lightning shot out of the sky and struck at the sharks.
A young man and dolphins saved the lives of her and her family that day. Could the boy be this man? They had the same coloring, same look. She’d never forget those eyes. Xav’s eyes were similar in color but Zek’s held the same vibrancy as her teenage hero from long ago. Something else about the man seemed familiar. He drew her to him as the boy had drawn her. Enough for her to give him her favorite necklace.
The same one Zek wore around his neck. Could it be?
The boy she remembered had no markings on his body, not so for the man. She’d gotten a look at them and wanted nothing more than to trace his ink with her finger, followed by her tongue. Works of art adorned this man’s body in the form of colorful and intricate tattoos. The one over his left pec reminded her of Greek letters, but she had no idea what it meant. The beauty of the red and green design running across his chest of a rose wrapped in barbed wire stunned her. She wondered what it meant, but seeing the sketch of the red Impala with a black wave across the side, running down his arm made sense.
She smiled, but then shook her head. What was she doing, drooling over the man? A stranger. And yet…
Des had so many questions. But even if he had been her rescuer, could she tell him the truth? A dozen years had gone by but she couldn’t take the risk, not hers to take. Her father and her family were still under the witness protection program. She’d never put her family at risk. Des made up her mind. She couldn’t let Zek know the truth. Hali is dead. She died that day on the boat along with her family. The official reports made it so and saved her family all these years. She’d not do anything to put them in harm’s way. Not even her best friend, Cori, knew the truth about her life. While it hurt Des to lie to Cori, it hurt her even more knowing she’d have to continue her lie with Ezekiel.
After washing up and changing into another sundress and sandals, she opened the door to her room and retraced her steps. She turned right and followed the hallway but it branched off and she couldn’t remember which way to go. From what she’d seen of the place, the walls had very similar artwork of sunsets over water. The sounds of masculine laughter drew her to the right again to find the source. She walked through an open arch back into the room she’d been in earlier.
The house was very open, tall ceilings and lots of windows and light colors. The view in the kitchen area of a vista of the ocean beyond beckoned you outside. She found it hard to take her gaze away, but she marveled upon realizing the house appeared built beside a cliff. One side faced the beach and the water beyond, the other also faced the sea but a rockier expanse lay between the house and its access.
“There you are,” Aaron called to her.
She glanced over in the direction the greeting came from.
Aaron and Ezekiel sat around the center island of the kitchen. The great room flowed directly into the kitchen, the décor the only thing separating the areas. Seashells embedded in the cement walls made up one part of the room, creating a mural of a pod of dolphins. While the kitchen area had white ceramic tiles with pictures of shells and seaweed on a few of the tiles. But her gaze kept drifting back to the center island.
The room wasn’t small, yet the men there dominated the space making it shrink in size. She paused for a moment to admire them. Both tall, over six feet, but not overly built like wrestlers, they looked more like swimmers. Broad shouldered and trim waists. Both men wore khaki shorts, t-shirts hugging taunt physiques, and sported sculptured arms.
They rose when she entered, proving chivalry was not dead. Aaron got to her first and taking her hand, he guided her to the stool next to his. She happened to glance over at Ezekiel, and saw him frown as he stared at Aaron holding her hand. What was that about?
Aaron must have seen the look too because he grinned at his friend. “We were just discussing the upcoming nuptials,” he explained to her. At the same time, he reached for a bowl of mixed nuts sitting between the two males.
She gazed back and forth at the men. “Who’s getting married?”
“Oh, oh,” Ezekiel said.
“Ah, your friend Cori and Xavior,” Aaron explained sheepishly.
“What! Since when? Why didn’t Cori tell me?”
Both men shrugged. “Perhaps, she wanted to surprise you and tell you once she saw you tomorrow,” Ezekiel offered.
Des shook her head. “I find this all very difficult to believe. It’s way too fast, don’t you think?” She swung her gaze to look at one, then the other, expecting them to agree.
They both merely smiled at her. Like they knew something she didn’t.
“My brother has been looking for his bride—ah to fall in love for a very long time. So, to answer your question, no, not really. In my family, it tends to happen like that.”
She scoffed. “What? Love at first sight? That’s for books and movies.”
Ezekiel shrugged. “It was like that with my parents. They were married days after they met.”
“Mine, too,” Aaron offered.
She threw up her hands. “This is insane. What you’re talking about, if it exists in the first place is something very rare. Yet, you expect me to believe it happened to both of your parents?”
“Yep,” they answered in unison.
She tilted away from the counter, because she couldn’t help staring at them. Shocked. “What the hell! Are they still married?”
Aaron nodded. “They sure are.”
“We lost mine months apart from each other. But they’d been married for a very long time, and I’m sure they would still be married today had they lived.”
Well damn, now she felt bad. “I’m sorry.”
Before she could say more, Ezekiel spoke up. “Thank you.” He stood but only to go to the counter behind him and grab two containers. “Now, I’m hungry after my swim, how about you?”
“I know I am.”
She spun around at the sound of the new voice coming from over her shoulder. “Good God!” She couldn’t help herself. The man entering the room also added to the definition of beautiful. Long blond hair like Aaron, but so light it appeared almost silvery white. Yet, his features put him no older than mid-twenties, and for some reason, he reminded her of Ezekiel and his brother Xavior.
He walked over to her and took her hand. “Hello, I’m Cyrus, beautiful lady.” He raised her fingers to his lips, and placed a light kiss on her knuckles.
She grinned, a player. Figures. She took her hand back. “Hi, I’m Des.”
“Sit down,” Ezekiel barked, and placed the containers in his hands on the center island.
Cyrus grinned unrepentant and walked around the island to sit across from he
r.
She narrowed her eyes and stared at him then at Ezekiel. “Are you two related?”
Cyrus smiled, flashing a dimple on his left cheek. “Brothers. I’m the good looking one.”
“And also the lazy one,” Ezekiel growled.
“You wound me, Zek, man,” Cyrus said, holding his hand to his heart.
“Get your ass outta that chair and help set the plates. I sent Marta home early, so she can rest up and begin planning for when Xav gets here with Cori. She’s going to have Jerry take her to market early in the morning,” Ezekiel said.
Cyrus rolled his eyes and got up to help his brother by getting out cutlery and dishes for everyone.
Des couldn’t help but think all three brothers defined the word, ‘gorgeous’ and then some. She shifted to look at Aaron.
He fit right in. Surrounded by some serious feast for the eyes here, she had a hard time focusing on the conversation. What kind of place bred such beautiful men? Lord, she wondered what the women looked like, if the men looked like this. Best the women stayed wherever they were.
Yet, for all the heavy-duty testosterone in the room of gorgeous men, not once did she feel uncomfortable with them. They made her comfortable and asked her about how she and Cori came to be on the cruise.
“Cori called into one of those radio programs and was the tenth caller so her name went into a drawing and she won.”
“Very cool,” Cyrus laughed.
The comradery between the men had her smiling. Aaron grabbed a piece of shrimp from a container and Ezekiel smacked his hand. But in truth, only one of the men really held her attention. Only one caused her breath to hitch whenever she glanced at him, or caught him staring at her. Pretty much, every time she looked at him.
Ezekiel finally placed two more dishes on the table and put down serving spoons, then sat down. “Okay folks, help yourselves.”
“Oh, libation,” Aaron cheered. “Hang tight, I’ll get the drinks.”
Sea Storm: Children of the Waves Page 3
