by Jayne Rylon
Sabine smiled a bit, imaging the enterprising kid he’d been once. No wonder he’d grown into such an impressive man. She respected self-made people. Those who forged their own paths.
“Anyway, Heinrich saw me hustling for customers in the town square one day. So he hired me, but not to guide him. He took me to a restaurant, ordered heaps of food for us to share, then asked me to tell him about things I’d seen. He had books with tons of pictures and had me point out different species I recognized. He wondered what spots I’d seen them at, how often, and during what parts of the year. At first, I thought he was a sucker for paying me just to talk. I was prepared to fight if he was trying to trick me into lowering my defenses so he could take advantage of me like some guys did.”
Sabine subconsciously tightened her grip on his hand and he squeezed in return.
“Instead, he taught me things to make me better, safer, at what I was doing. He helped me identify new fish I’d seen on my dives and learn more about them. Figure out which were good to eat and the best ways to catch them. I never stumped him. Not once. He knew about every living creature. That goes for people, too. He understood lots about them.” Miguel made it easy to imagine him as a lost boy when he stared into the distance. “He encouraged me to educate myself even if it wasn’t formally in some fancy college. Told me about SCUBA and set me on the path to becoming a divemaster. If it wasn’t for him, who knows where I’d be today?”
“You may have gotten there on your own,” she offered.
“Doubt it. I wish I’d taken time to track him down and thank him properly. Hell, I didn’t even get to say goodbye. The day his research vessel departed, I got held up by a tree that had fallen across the road into town. It took me and my four guests hours to hack it apart with a rusty machete so their van could make it through. Then it was nighttime and the return trip took hours longer than it would have with daylight. By the time I got back…he was gone. At least I’d given him my present, a very small token of my appreciation, the night before.”
“Hang on, you’re that Miguel?”
“He remembered me?”
“Of course. He often wondered what became of you.” She thought of the stories Heinrich had told her about Miguel’s mischievous antics, and decided not to mention his legendary ability to charm lady tourists even as a kid. There was one thing she figured she should divulge, however. Heinrich would have wanted her to pass this along. “You made him a necklace. Of sea glass and acai seeds tinted with vegetable dyes.”
Miguel’s gaze whipped to hers. “Yeah.”
“He never took it off.” Sabine’s eyes welled for the thousandth time in the past few days. “I think he assumed something terrible had happened to you. Feared the worst. He was going to ask you to go with him, you know? To Germany. But he never got the chance. The next year, when they returned, you were gone.”
She often thought that was why Heinrich had invited her to join his program after only knowing her a few weeks. If it hadn’t been for Miguel’s influence on him, who knew where she would be today either?
It was funny sometimes, the way the universe worked.
“Well, shit.” Miguel looked away then, swallowing hard. “Yeah. After he left, I did, too. I’d saved enough that I was able to start taking classes and got certified. Then I moved around constantly, going where there was work and something new to discover. I didn’t have a lot, certainly not internet or a computer or anything like that until recently. I wish I could have kept in touch.”
Reluctantly Sabine shook free of his hold. She reached across him to grab her backpack. If she took longer than absolutely necessary while leaning over so she could soak in his strength and catalog the hard planes of his taut chest and abdomen in the process, who could blame her?
It didn’t take much searching to find what she was looking for. She knew exactly where she’d put it, wrapped in a scarf for safekeeping.
Once she had it, she took the hand he’d recently offered her and unfurled his loose fist. Then she placed the necklace in his palm, marveling at how dainty it looked there. “Marta, Heinrich’s wife, told me to take this for good luck. You should have it back.”
He stared at it for a few moments, as if trying to decipher the meaning of it all. Then he shook his head, disheveling his thick, inky hair. “She’s right. It sounds like you could use it. Besides, this will look prettier on you than me.”
Miguel took the ends of the deceptively sturdy strands and wound them around her neck, slipping the shell on one side through the hoop of fibers on the other. His knuckles brushed along her collarbones as he admired his handiwork, which now decorated her skin.
She shivered.
“What I could really use is your help.” She laid her hands on his forearms then, curling her fingers around them as far as she could reach, unwilling to let go now that she’d found an ally. If he’d impressed Heinrich at twelve, she had no doubt he would be a major asset to her research and collection efforts.
He rested his forehead on hers and whispered, “You’ve got it. We’ll make this right. For Heinrich.”
The tiny flash of the vulnerable child he’d been only endeared him to her more. Heinrich had liked to take in strays. Like her. Like him. Except he’d slipped through the cracks.
This time would be different, she promised herself. She murmured, “Thank you.”
Sabine didn’t question her instincts. She leaned forward and sealed their promise with a kiss.
Four
Miguel couldn’t say women surprised him often. However, Sabine had already managed it more than once in the ten minutes he’d known her. Ferociously determined, yet sweet underneath, she appealed to him even more than the thought of diving in Palau, his favorite SCUBA destination.
So he dove into her instead, deepening the kiss she’d given him to seal their deal in the most delicious of ways. He’d barely had time to register the cinnamon flavor of the gum she’d obviously been chewing recently along with the expert press of her lush lips on his before the flicker of her tongue against his mouth urged him to shed his veneer of civility.
Unleashing his animal instincts, which seemed to be her thing if her encouraging moan was any indication, he slid his hand to the nape of her neck and wrapped his fingers around her. Miguel pinned her in place for better access as he accepted the invitation issued by her parted lips and plundered her mouth. He should stop before he scared her off.
He couldn’t.
Miguel leaned in closer, pressing her against the seat. Her short, blunt nails dug into his forearms, begging for more, promising she could handle the full force of his desire.
“What’s the hold up? Need help with her luggage?” Archer asked as he boarded the bus, which must have stopped some time ago, though Miguel and Sabine had been totally oblivious to their arrival. Waverly followed a step behind.
Sabine jerked away, attempting to disguise the true cause of their delay. Fuck that. She was his for the duration of her stay and it would be best if everyone knew it up front.
Sabine included.
After just a taste, he craved more. And he would have it. Have her.
Miguel stole one final sample of her spiciness before slowly backing off. He allowed a slow grin to spread across his face as he observed her dilated pupils and the color he’d tongue-fucked back into her cheeks. At least he’d been able to do that for her. She’d looked ready to drop when he spotted her in the terminal.
Instead of coddling her as he’d intended, he’d pushed her. Or had he accepted her challenge? Either way, once the thrill of their meeting wore off, she was going to crash. Hard.
Shit. They needed to get going.
“Seriously, dude?” Archer gave them a resounding slow clap for their sexy performance. “That might be a record, even for you.”
Miguel shot his friend the finger, mostly because he didn’t want Sabine to think their kiss had been anything like his previous seductions. It had been a hell of a long time. Okay, more like never sin
ce he’d found this kind of immediate connection with someone. Sexual attraction, sure, but also something…deeper. Rather than fuck it up before it got going, he’d like to see where it took them.
Hopefully their journey together began with his bed and ended up in the ship’s clubroom.
Saving the day, Waverly greeted their resident scientist as if it was no big deal that she’d been sucking face with him a few moments earlier. “Welcome to paradise. The weather here is steamy, and the men are even hotter.”
Sabine laughed and rose, finger-combing her hair as she made her way to the couple to introduce herself.
Thank. You. He owed Waverly big time.
From behind Sabine’s back, he blew Waverly a kiss. She winked in return as Archer shook Sabine’s hand and reassured her they’d support her mission in any way possible. Waverly didn’t stop there. She went in for a full-on hug, offering her condolences. Now there was a sight Miguel could appreciate.
Two gorgeous women, one tall, sophisticated, and dark-haired, the other more of a free-loving earthy type with wavy natural golden hair, dove-gray eyes, and rocking curves. The necklace he’d made close to twenty years ago, tied in a place of honor around her delicate throat, made it seem like her coming here, now, might be some kind of sign or the answer to prayer he didn’t realize he’d uttered.
If he believed in shit like that.
He snagged Sabine’s backpack and suitcase, impressed that she could travel so light. Anxious to have her settled in, he wandered closer to the doorway. They took the hint, exiting the bus.
“Thanks,” he said to the driver before passing over an insane tip. In addition to living on the Divemaster without any room or board expenses, Miguel, Tosin, and Archer each collected incredible salaries from the Divemaster Project for entertaining their guests and keeping them safe on their complimentary retreats.
Though they’d argued with Banks that getting paid any more than minimum wage to work a dream job was unnecessary, the guy had refused to give them a pay cut. Of course, Miguel could legally sell his third of the Divemaster at any time and become instantly rich as fuck. Why would he, though, when he had far more than he’d ever wanted already?
Less than a year ago, his entire life had become a dream come true.
Now all he needed was someone besides his best friends to share it with. Watching Archer with Waverly had shown him what it could be like to have a companion, a lover, an intimate and lasting relationship. He hated to admit he’d been jealous of one of his partners. Yet he had been.
It might not become a forever thing, but if she was down with it, he planned to dip his toe in the relationship pool for himself with Sabine while she was around. Why not try something different?
The bus driver tipped his hat and grinned. “Have fun. Don’t bother behaving yourself.”
“I never do, man.” Miguel slapped the guy on the shoulder before disembarking.
By the time he’d crossed to the chopper—a serious upgrade from the one they’d had originally—everyone else had climbed inside. So he handed up the suitcase to Archer then joined Sabine in the back bench seat. U-shaped, the buttery leather couch could hold four adults easily. Waverly and Archer had captain-style chairs up front.
Though they’d never used it before, Miguel eyed the smoked glass partition that could be raised between the pilots and the passengers. Possibilities for another day.
He took the spot nearest the windows on the left side of the cabin and rested one arm along the back of the seat. Of course that meant he draped it over Sabine’s shoulders, too. At odds with the confidence and competence she exuded even at what had to be a low point in her life, her petite frame fit perfectly in the crook of his elbow. He tucked her against his side so that she could see better out his window. If that meant they snuggled while she did, he’d take one for the team.
Together they admired the scenery as Waverly launched them into the air. They rose above the east coast of Maui. From their bird’s eye view, the Hana Highway snaked between waves and cliffs. Occasionally they caught sight of a sandy beach in a range of colors—white, red, and black—nestled into hidden coves before veering off to the west in a drastic arc that tugged at Miguel’s guts and made him want to whoop simultaneously.
He held Sabine to him, bracing her against the G-forces. Without so much as blinking, she kept her stare glued to the landscape below. He couldn’t blame her.
The island fascinated him with its epic variety of ecosystems. Lush on this side, practically a desert by the time you got to Ka’annapali in the northwest, although it would only take an hour to drive that far. In between, mighty Haleakala rose over ten-thousand feet above sea level, stretching into the clouds.
“Do you think we can see the astrophysical complex from here?” Sabine asked, referring to the mass of ground-based telescopes on the peak of the volcano. Figured she’d geek out about that instead of most every other woman on the planet, who’d be satisfied with pretty colors in the sky during the legendary sunrises or sunsets seen from the peak.
“Nah, we’re not high enough, sorry,” Waverly called from the front.
“Ah, that’s okay.” Sabine shrugged and went back to peering around below them.
Would she be bored with Miguel? Though he knew a shit ton about diving and the underwater world, he’d never been accused of being a genius. He’d have to distract her with some of his other skills to make up for his lack of formal education.
With a wolfish grin on his face, he followed the direction of her gaze.
The emerald jungle of the Iao Valley lined the edge of his sight as they swung around the south side of the volcano’s crater. If Sabine hadn’t just traversed half the globe after losing someone so important to her, Miguel would have put in a request for Waverly to buzz some of the gorgeous waterfalls at its heart.
Below them, ash fields and scorched earth could have convinced him he’d stepped into Mordor. It was beautiful in its own way. Unusual, desolate, and stark. Beside him, Sabine nestled closer for a better view. He smiled and kissed her forehead before returning his attention to the awe-inspiring landscape.
Zipping over Wailea and its mansions, owned by some of the most famous people in the world, they soon approached the ocean on the southwest side of the island. Gorgeous water, in a million hues of blue and green, welcomed them home. No matter where she was anchored, the Divemaster would always be that for him. It was a monumental change from their previous nomadic lifestyle. It allowed them some permanence without tying them down.
It didn’t take long to spot it.
“Wow. Is that your ship, Archer?” Sabine gasped. “It’s beautiful. And huge. Absolutely nothing like the research vessels I’ve worked on before.”
“No. It’s the ship I own part of, along with Miguel and Tosin,” he corrected. “She’s where we live and work. Our sanctuary. You’re welcome to call it the same for as long as you’d like.”
Sabine yanked her stare from the megayacht for a moment to peer up at Miguel with questions in her gaze. They could discuss those later.
He shrugged then gestured with his chin at the ship, which grew larger in their view as they approached. She was a beautiful bitch, that was for certain. Gleaming in the sunlight, her triple teak decks, complete with a pool, called out to him, encouraging him to be lazy. Meanwhile, inside, luxuries abounded, from the wide-open lounges to the state of the art kitchen, and living quarters that would rival any of the estates they’d flown over moments ago.
From here you couldn’t even see his absolute favorite part.
The dive center and platforms.
It was everything he could ever have dreamed of, if he’d been wildly outrageous with his fantasies. Truly, the Divemaster was so much more than he could have imagined. He didn’t believe at first that real people—hell, that he—could really live like that.
Sometimes he still felt kind of guilty about it.
The charity work they were doing with the Divemaster Project and the
even more unimaginable scope of the Banks Foundation as a whole helped to ease his conscience. What they used was only a drop in the bucket of billions Archer could have hoarded for himself, yet had chosen to share with his friends and the rest of the less fortunate people in the world.
Sabine’s research was only one example of the good they were doing. So Miguel figured it was okay to enjoy a “little” something for themselves while they were at it.
He’d never claimed to be a saint.
Quite the opposite, actually.
Waverly lowered them toward the helipad as gracefully as a butterfly settling onto a delicate blossom. He had no idea how she managed to hit a moving target and make it seem so easy.
As they disembarked, Captain Alex was waiting to greet them. “It’s a pleasure to have you onboard, Dr. Reynolds.”
“Thank you. Though I do wish it was under different circumstances, I’m so grateful for your help. All of you.” She sighed, wavering slightly as the gentle motion of the Divemaster rocked her. As Miguel had predicted, she was fading. Fast.
“Where’s Banks?” Archer wondered.
It wasn’t like him not to welcome guests personally, especially one as important as Sabine.
“He’s overseeing the retrofit of the space where Dr. Reynolds’s laboratory will go. There have been deliveries and installers messing up my decks the whole damn day.” Captain Alex liked things tidy on his ship.
Sabine winced. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault,” Miguel reassured her before glaring at Captain Alex.
The man only smiled smugly before staring pointedly at the possessive hand Miguel had laid on Sabine’s waist. Had the captain been fucking with Miguel?
