by Taryn Belle
Fuck. It was only day two of his trip, and the whole thing was already off the rails. He’d managed to get John Brissoli’s cell phone number last night from a contact of his brother’s, who’d made Alex swear on his life he wouldn’t reveal his source. The contact said he’d heard Brissoli was staying at the Palms Inn, the island’s one hotel, and Dev said he’d never even heard of him. The guy was like some mafia hitman instead of a dude who’d started a website. In any case, Alex’s voice mail and text messages to him had both so far gone unacknowledged.
Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Alex strode from the scuba shack toward the tiny gravel lot where several golf carts were parked. He didn’t want to wait for her by the shack because this was a conversation that needed to happen in private, but there was nowhere else to wait without looking like a goddamn loitering creep. He was silently weighing his options when he saw her coming toward him.
She was in a golf cart this time, her hair blowing in the wind as she navigated the bumpy road. Beneath her gray tank top her breasts bounced gently. Seeing her like this, still unaware of his presence, relaxed and completely unconcerned about her looks, Alex thought she was more beautiful than ever. She looked strong and capable, and yet there was something about her that made him want to protect her from harm. Which was of course completely ridiculous, given that she’d had to rescue his ass yesterday.
The moment was too good to last. The second she laid eyes on him, her expression turned to one of flat indifference. She parked the cart, grabbed her satchel off the seat and strode toward the beach to avoid him.
“I acted like an asshole. You have every right to hate me.”
She stopped in her tracks, then turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Why would I hate you? I don’t even know you. I’m sure that underneath it all, you’re no worse than any other hotshot with a bruised ego.” She resumed walking, so Alex had no choice but to hurry after her. He got in front of her but she wouldn’t stop, so he started walking backward. He still had the lingering sense that she was familiar, but that wasn’t possible. Though she was as beautiful as any actress, she was quite obviously a scuba instructor and not a celebrity.
“I’m sorry. It was unforgivable of me to not at least thank you. You got a really bad cross section of the worst part of my personality. Under other circumstances, you might even like me. My name is Alex, by the way. Like I said in my note, I was hoping I could take you for a drink. Unless you’re, uh...otherwise attached.” He tried a smile, but she wasn’t biting.
“You’re about to hit a tree,” she said, brushing past him.
He turned and came face-to-face with the bark of a palm tree. They were almost at the shack now, and he sighed as he watched her disappear into it.
Okay—she gave him no choice.
Alex walked over to the pile of gear he’d assembled earlier and stepped into his wet suit, leaving the top hanging down around his waist. Then he picked up his gear and started carrying it over to her boat.
* * *
He was on her boat. She saw him when she started walking toward it with a tank in each hand. To her annoyance, she felt a happy little lift in her chest. She squashed it down and scowled at him.
“I think you’re on the wrong boat,” she said, swinging the tanks onboard.
“I’m afraid I requested you. You’re the best instructor here, and if there’s anyone who needs help, it’s pretty obvious it’s me. I promise you can let me drown this time if I misbehave.”
She couldn’t help the tiny grin that came to her lips. He was self-deprecating and funny; she had to give him that. And courageous for going back in the water after an experience that would scare many off diving for life. Not to mention that the way his wet suit clung to his impressive build—and the bulge between his legs—wasn’t lost on her.
So was that all it took for her? A few cute throwaway lines and all was forgiven?
“Fine. But stay above fifty feet to keep from narcing again. And you’re with Zach.” She nodded toward her colleague, who was busy casting dark looks at Alex from the stern of the boat.
“You’re the boss.”
On the ride out to their destination of Camel Rock, Nicola occupied herself with checking the oxygen levels on the dive tanks and checking their O-rings, a job that she knew would have already been done by whoever filled them this morning. It wasn’t just that it was awkward having him on the boat—being around him made her feel like a nervous teenager. She couldn’t stop the flutter in her belly and the heat she felt in her cheeks when she caught him watching her from his seat on the bench. Those eyes—he was looking at her like she was a freaking ice-cream cone, and the truth was she’d like nothing more than for him to put his tongue in all her sweetest places. It was a weird reaction to have to someone who’d made her life hell twenty-four hours ago.
But then again, nothing had really felt normal since he’d shown up.
* * *
“Have a drink with me tonight,” Alex said to Nicola as they got off the boat. This was his last try. If she refused him now, he’d have to accept defeat gracefully if he didn’t want to risk coming across as a groveling stalker.
She looked at him dubiously, but she didn’t shut him down—at least not immediately. She knelt down and started disconnecting her first stage from her tank.
Having just completed his first successful open-water dive, Alex realized that he owed this woman for more than just saving his life the day before. After what happened, he was quite certain he never would have gotten in the water again if he hadn’t been driven to go after her—and he’d done it. He’d fought against his fear and won. The reef they’d explored today was possibly even more beautiful than the one he’d seen yesterday, but Alex had been more intrigued by his view of her than of the fish. He couldn’t help it—the way that dive suit stretched over her figure made her look like the hottest Bond girl ever. Alex didn’t get it. He’d always kept a cool head around women, but somehow one whose name he didn’t even know had gotten under his skin.
“Listen. I don’t even know your name, and that’s going to make for a very bad story when I tell it back home. I’m Alex. Did I mention that already?”
“I believe you did. Nicola,” she said, swinging two more tanks onto the dock.
Alex was impressed—the things weighed a ton, and even though she was slender and feminine she lifted them with ease. He reached out for one of them, his fingers brushing against hers. “Can I give you a hand with those?”
“I’m good.” She paused, finally turning to face him. Her eyes pierced through him, sending a charge through his body. “It’s okay. You’re forgiven, all right? I get that you were under a lot of stress. But I really don’t—”
“I almost drowned when I was five,” Alex blurted out. Her eyes widened, and he shook his head. He’d never told this story to anyone, and here he was about to lay it on a practical stranger. “In the ocean. My mother told my brother to watch me, but he got distracted.”
“That sounds awful,” she said carefully. “How old was your brother?”
“Ten. And already a rock star—in his own mind, anyway.”
Her brow furrowed and then cleared. “Rock star.” She grinned. “Dev Stone is your brother.”
He shrugged. “I guess someone had to get stuck with the job.”
She nodded slowly. “I’m tutoring tonight. Eight o’clock at Pablo’s.”
“Great! I’ll see you...”
But she was already walking away, her long, tanned legs making him ache with every move.
CHAPTER FIVE
“AND IF YOU take the seven away, you get nine. See that?” Nicola flicked her hair behind her ear as she scribbled on her notepad.
Raia smiled slowly in the way she always did when she was starting to comprehend something big, and Nicola grinned with her. Then she stole a glance at her watch. She loved tutoring her
students more than anything, but tonight she felt jittery. It was just a drink, she kept reminding herself—not even a date. For all she knew, he could be leaving the island tomorrow. She didn’t have to tell him a single thing about herself—least of all the thing that had brought her to Moretta. They’d have their drink, maybe share a few laughs, and then go their separate ways feeling better about what had gone down yesterday.
Except she knew that she was lying to herself. She wanted him, and she could tell he wanted her. Just standing close to him on the dock this morning had made her insides turn to gelatin. When his fingers had brushed against hers, she’d felt a jolt that fired directly to the spot she desired him most.
Nicola closed her workbook and gathered up her pencils. “You did great tonight, Raia. Keep working on your subtraction, and next week we’ll do some reading.” As she stood and reached for her handbag, she noticed Raia staring at her.
“Are you getting married?”
Nicola couldn’t help it—her eyes widened. “Am I what?”
The girl shrugged. “Getting married. In Winx, the girls always look fancy when they’re getting married. And you look so pretty.”
Nicola placed her hand on the girl’s head. “Thank you, Raia. That’s very kind of you.”
Pretty.
Nicola was about as into false modesty as she was into inflated celebrity egos; she knew she had the ability to turn some heads. But as she walked toward her golf cart, she realized how little she’d actually thought about her looks since arriving on Moretta. In LA she’d had a closetful of cute clothes that she wore to work, and had fun experimenting with different hair and makeup styles. But here it was a bikini every day, her hair seemed almost constantly wet and she’d had to actually search for her makeup bag this evening. Out of the four stylish dresses she’d brought to Moretta, she’d chosen a soft gray bamboo one that clung to her figure without being too obvious, paired with strappy silver sandals.
As she fired up her cart and started driving toward Pablo’s, she wasn’t sure if she was afraid she’d dressed too sexy or not sexy enough.
* * *
Alex drummed his fingers against the table and checked his watch. 8:06. He’d give it another four minutes before he started worrying she was going to be a no-show.
He glanced around the restaurant, taking in the open-air bar—free of the strawberry blonde bartender tonight, he was relieved to see—the casual island decor and the perfectly clear water surrounding the pier his table sat upon. Behind him the indigo sky was streaked with shades of orange and pink. Everything about the atmosphere screamed, relax, you’re in paradise! But Alex felt anything but relaxed.
He turned back to his table to check his phone, and his breath stopped.
She was standing right in front of him, waiting for him to acknowledge her. He was quite certain he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Her dress, though anything but showy, revealed the perfection of her curves. Her blond hair lay in soft waves against her shoulders, and the small amount of makeup she wore intensified the color of her eyes. Her heart-shaped lips, free of lipstick, shone with a slick of gloss that made him want to bite and kiss them for hours.
“You look incredible,” he finally breathed, getting to his feet. He had meant to pull her chair out, but she beat him to it and sat herself down.
“Thanks,” she said with what seemed to be a touch of self-consciousness. She gave him a small smile that made the blood rush straight to his groin, and then she lowered her eyes again.
“Thank you for coming,” he started, feeling suddenly tongue-tied. When it came to women, they came to him. He wasn’t used to pursuing them, and even though he’d had a couple of longer relationships, they’d always been underlain by a feeling of temporariness. A mere distraction from a career that took nearly all of his time and energy to maintain. The woman sitting across from him was giving him the closest thing to a case of full-blown nerves that he’d ever experienced. “Like I said today, I never meant—”
“Forget it. Seriously. The lengths you’ve gone to to apologize have shown me you’re sincere. I’m ready to move on.” Nicola met his eyes again briefly, then she plucked the cocktail menu from between the salt and pepper shakers and started studying it. She replaced it and used her hands to sweep her hair off her neck and to one side. As he watched her, he imagined kissing the skin at her throat, trailing his mouth downward—“What is it?”
“Hmm? Oh, just...”
Fuck. He needed to pull himself together.
Thankfully, their waiter appeared just then, so they placed their order. After he left Nicola sat back in her seat, making no move to converse. Alex cleared his throat. “Can I ask you a rather obvious question?”
“Sure.”
“Why Moretta?”
Her expression changed immediately into one of...what? Retreat? “What do you mean?”
“I just mean that you’re obviously not from here. So what made you choose this island in particular?”
“A few reasons,” she replied, ripping the edge of her cocktail napkin into vertical, evenly spaced lines. “I moved here from LA, but I’m from Hawaii. I guess it reminded me of home.”
“Hawaii. What was it like growing up there?”
She seemed pleased by his question. “Do you know you might be the first person ever who didn’t react to that with, ‘Hawaii? Wow, nice!’”
“I try to stay unpredictable.” He raised an eyebrow. “But since you brought it up...was it?”
She laughed. “Yes and no. Mostly no.”
He waited. There was a story there, and if there was anything she wanted to share, then he very much wanted to hear it. But she smoothly changed the focus to him. “How about you?”
He shrugged. “LA born and raised. Westwood. I’ve tried to fight my way out a few times, but it seems to have its claws in me pretty deep. My brother escaped to London a decade ago, and he takes a lot of joy in reporting how much better it is.”
“A rock-star brother. What’s that like?”
Alex shrugged. “Weird. Normal. Mostly all I’ve ever known—I was fifteen when he first hit it big.”
“I can’t imagine what it must be like to go through life in someone’s shadow like that.”
Alex looked at her in surprise. Nicola had just voiced what everyone else seemed afraid to, as if his ego couldn’t take such a frank observation. And it was true, of course—he had grown up in Dev’s shadow, and however successful he may have become in his own right, it could never compare to the brightness of his brother’s rare and phenomenal star. His parents had never tried to pretend otherwise. “Rarely fun,” Alex admitted. “I guess the only blessing is that I didn’t try to follow in his footsteps. I mean, have you ever heard of the younger brother of a rock star hitting it big?”
Nicola grinned. “Can’t say as I have. So what career path did you take instead?”
“I headed an import business until four years ago, when I took over the family company. It wasn’t really on my radar, but...my mother died unexpectedly and my father needed help.” Of course, this was only the abbreviated version of his father’s path to ruthless ambition. Alex’s parents started Echelon Media thirty-five years ago, and with a few failed businesses already under their belt, they worked their asses off to make it successful. Eventually, they expanded and gained momentum, even adding print media to their holdings. Then, right after his mother died, the company almost fell victim to a hostile takeover. Losing his wife and then nearly his company had lit a fire in Devin Sr. to buy up everything they could to ensure Echelon’s legacy...regardless of the constant strain on Alex to keep up. “My father wasn’t dealing well with his grief, so he basically put me at the helm and watched to see if I’d sink or swim.”
“Kind of the way you learned to swim?” Nicola’s voice was gentle.
“Yeah. Kind of like that.”
&
nbsp; The waiter arrived with their drinks, so they both stopped talking. Nicola picked up her margarita and took a sip, then she laid her hand down on the table inches from Alex’s. He stared at it. Her nails were unpolished, but still long enough to taper to five perfect points. He watched as she bit her lower lip and released it again. Beneath her dress, he could see her nipples straining against the fabric. Had they been that hard before? No—he definitely would have noticed. He felt the blood in his extremities rushing toward the center of his body, creating an unmistakable heat there that only one thing could possibly quell.
Her.
God, he wanted her, and he wanted her right fucking now.
Nicola’s eyes met his and didn’t waver.
An electric jolt shot through Alex’s body. Then she lifted her fingers and lightly trailed them along the top of his hand. He shivered.
“I was just wondering,” she said, lowering her voice as she leaned in toward him. “If you felt like getting out of here.”
He was on his feet and signaling the waiter for the bill before the last word was out of her mouth.
CHAPTER SIX
OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT there were a few people lingering at the entrance as they chatted or smoked a cigarette. Nicola still couldn’t believe she’d been as forward as she had been two minutes ago, but any possible regrets she might have paled in comparison to the urgency she felt to be alone with this man. To put her mouth on that spot right under his jaw she’d been watching all night, to take those fingers she’d finally gotten the nerve to touch and put them on the part of her that was already aching for him.
And he hadn’t even touched her yet.
“Over here,” Nicola said, taking Alex’s hand and pulling him around the side of the building toward the beach. He happily obeyed, falling in step beside her as they hurried along the wooden walkway until their feet hit sand. Once on the beach she tugged him up the shore a ways until they were concealed from view of the restaurant by a stand of palm trees. By that time they were both breathing hard, and it was only partly because of their brisk walk.
