CHAPTER EIGHT
Tired as hell, I made my way down the palm-tree-lined path of the bungalow area, past the restaurant and spa, down to the dock. I couldn’t get my hands to stop shaking. This was exactly what I came for; time alone with Rook. However, being in the same room felt a little like sharing a shoebox with a cobra. Only this deadly snake was the one playing the flute and mesmerizing the human: me. It was a sensation I couldn’t reconcile—fear combined with fascination. What was it about him that made me feel afraid? What was it about him that made it impossible to look away?
As I approached the dock, I noticed an enormous black ship with a Jolly Roger on its black sail, pulling away.
“Good job, men! Now off to plunder!” yelled a huge muscled shirtless man on deck, with an eyepatch, black beard, and a gazillion tattoos on his arms and back. Five other men, who all looked like male strippers, wearing black pirate hats and torn shirts, cheered.
Um. Okay. I guess I could see how that might be a fun fantasy.
“Ms. Brenna,” said a deep voice, “good morning.”
It was a tall man with a killer tan and dark eyes, wearing a Rook’s island uniform. He was very handsome—male model material for sure—yet he still couldn’t hold a match to Rook’s sex-god-like looks.
“Hi. Good morning,” I said.
He dipped his head. “I was just helping our Captain Hook with a rudder issue. But we’re all set for your excursion.” He held out his hand. “I’m Tex, your captain for the morning.” He spoke with a bit of a twang. I guessed he was from Texas, thus the nickname.
I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, but, uh…what happened to Mr. Rook?”
“He is aboard, preparing the gear.”
“Gear for what?” I’d thought we’d be going on a cruise around the island or something like that. Then again, Rook had said he thought I needed something for my “active” mind. In other words, he probably thought I was cracking from stress.
“I will let Mr. Rook fill you in, Ms. Brenna.”
“Thanks. And call me Stephanie.”
“As you like, Stephanie. Last boat on the right.” Tex gestured for me to go on ahead and then followed.
It was truly a beautiful day—blue sky above and miles of calm turquoise ocean stretching out beyond the little bay.
I can see why some might call this paradise. Though, not I.
As we walked, I eyed the various boats tied to the dock. They all looked sleek and expensive, like something a hot billionaire might use to impress a woman.
“So what kinds of fantasies are all of these yachts used for?” I asked. There had to be at least ten.
Tex was about to speak when that deep, deep voice filled my ears. “Why should you be thinking about other fantasies?” Rook held out his hand, offering to help me board. “When I’ve got a busy day of activities planned especially for you.” The tone in Rook’s voice almost sounded like he planned to tie me to a rock and throw me overboard. It immediately put me on edge.
Maybe this isn’t a good idea. As beautiful as Rook was, I couldn’t kid myself. He was not harmless.
I looked at Tex, who smiled politely.
“Are you coming aboard?” Rook asked, his expression surly.
I knew I had to go with him. I had to use today to start getting answers.
I reached for the railing of the ship, bypassing Rook’s hand so he wouldn’t feel my clammy, nervous palm.
I scooted past him and his scowl, playing it cool. “Nice boat.” I peeked through the window, checking out the living room, bar, television, and small karaoke stage inside. “But that’s not my idea of fun.”
“Nor mine. This is the boat we use for our karaoke dinner cruise on Wednesdays. Today, it will simply transport us.” Rook turned away, heading toward the front of the vessel, and Tex went to work untying the lines. I followed Rook.
“So what exactly are we doing today?” I came up behind him as he opened a plastic crate.
“We’re going to swim with sharks.”
I blinked. “On second thought, I’ve always wanted to try karaoke.”
“No, Ms. Brenna. We have a deal. I give you what you need and you be a good little guest and follow along.”
That wasn’t exactly the deal I remembered. “I appreciate your warm and inviting offer, Mr. Rook,” I said sarcastically, “but I am a woman, not a sheep craving slaughter.”
He stopped fussing with some equipment, stood up straight, and snarled down at me. “Meaning?”
“Meaning I am not getting into a cage surrounded by a bunch of hungry, dangerous sharks.”
“We’re not using a cage.” He shoved whatever was in his hands into my chest. “Thus the reason you’ll be carrying this and you will be with me.”
I took the object—something inside a black holster with straps. “Wait. A knife? You’re giving me a knife?”
“A hunting knife. It’s in case an aggressive shark shows up, which they rarely do.” Rook began unbuttoning his shirt. Then the undershirt came off.
I stood there with my jaw slack while my eyes drank in the smooth olive skin of his chiseled chest. Then there were those perfectly ripped abs and the impressive set of third rails. That was what my girlfriends back in college—Gwen and Yvette—used to call those sexy muscles on the lower torso because they had the ability to immediately stop your heart like that electric third rail on a subway track.
I swallowed down my sense of indecency, but I couldn’t look away as he peeled off his pants and nearly took the dark gray shorts underneath with them, giving me a glimpse of the course black hair above his cock.
Dear God. The man was unfathomably sexy.
Rook reached right inside his waistband to fish out the strings and give them a quick knot. His shorts weren’t the least bit baggy, meaning I could see the outline of almost everything—tight hips, thick upper thighs, and a substantial bulge between his legs. Speaking of legs, I’d never seen perfect thighs on a man, but his were perfect. Lean, muscular, tan like the rest of him with a light dusting of black hair.
“How old are you?” I muttered, without realizing it. Because his face looked mid-thirties, but his body looked twenty-five.
Rook glanced up, taking note of my blatant ogling. “None of your business.” He reached into the plastic crate and offered me an orange life vest. “Put this on.”
His high-handedness was seriously grating on me. “I know you’re the boss and you own this island, but would it kill you to be polite?”
He frowned. “Put the life vest on, please,” he said like he meant fuck you.
“Your manners really leave a lot to be desired, especially given the price I’m paying.”
He stepped in close, pressing his nearly naked body against mine. “I’m not here to coddle you, Stephanie. I’m here to help you.”
Huh? “Help me with what?”
“It’s obvious that something is holding you back in life, and it’s my job to find out what it is.”
“Oh really?” I tilted my head to one side. “You think what I need, my biggest fantasy, is to receive therapy from an arrogant, wealthy, coldhearted prick.”
As the honest-to-God words left my mouth, I realized I’d stepped out of character. I couldn’t be insulting the guy when what I needed was to win him over and get information.
His serious expression froze.
Oh Christ, Steph. I opened my mouth to backpedal, but then he burst out laughing. A deep, soul-filled chuckle radiating from his stomach. He tilted his head toward the ceiling of the deck above us and let ’er rip.
“Uh. Okay. Mind sharing what’s so funny…” It occurred to me that he had his guard down for whatever reason, and it was an opportunity for me. “Milford. Or is it Leonard?”
His laughter slowed. “My name is James.”
He’d actually taken the bait? Wow. I didn’t want to tip my hand and show my surprise. That said, James actually fit him. A timeless name that could belong to a tyrant or an accountant.
Or a hit man.
“But everyone calls me Rook,” he added, still smiling.
“What, exactly, is so funny?” I placed my hands on my waist.
He blew out a breath, settled, and then looked at me. “It’s been a long time, Stephanie, since anyone has seen me for what I am.”
“You think that being called a prick is a good thing?”
“Not at all. However, it’s the truth. One you should never forget.” He shoved the neon orange vest at me. “Now get your damned gear on, because we’ve got a date.”
“I am not wearing the stupid vest,” I muttered to myself in the bathroom below deck where I’d gone to gather myself. “I can swim just fine.” And I hated that he’d treated me like a child. His attitude is something.
Yeah, so is that body.
I slid off my beach dress—a plain white, oversized tee—to reveal my white bikini. I had to remind myself that I had nothing to be ashamed of. Not so easy in the presence of a man who had been gifted with a perfect six-pack and everything else.
“Steph, you are a regular woman with a normal body,” I told myself, looking in the mirror over the sink inside the small wood-paneled room. I had been going to school, finishing my masters when Cici went missing. My part-time job, working at the chamber of commerce in New York City, didn’t pay much, but the hours were weekend intensive. I went to conventions and sat in booths, handing out brochures and signing up foreign investors who wanted to open businesses in our area. Between that boredom and school, my exercise consisted of doing laps around campus between classes. All in all, I guessed my body was a gift from my mother—medium busted, cellulite-free ass, wide hips.
I blew out a breath. “Don’t be ashamed. Act like you are hotter than hot.”
Wait. Why am I getting all worked up? I wasn’t on a real date. And I certainly didn’t care about impressing this man.
I threw my dress over my shoulder, opened the door, and marched out, crashing into a warm naked body, my face smashing against a chiseled pec.
“Oomph!” Rook grunted upon impact, quickly grabbing my shoulders to prevent me from falling back and landing on my ass.
“Oh. I’m so sorry. I was just going up,” I said, realizing our nearly naked bodies were pressed tightly together, skin on skin, my breasts pushed against his ribs, his bulge pressed right into my stomach.
He must’ve noticed too, but instead of releasing me, he simply stared down, his lips making a carnivorous twitch, like he intended to pounce and eat me whole.
“Eh-hem?” I said, eyeing his one hand pressed firmly into my shoulder. In the back of my mind, I expected pain to follow, but once again it didn’t. His touch felt warm and soothing. Of all the people in the world, my brain thinks he’s safe?
As for him, he didn’t seem to give a rat’s ass or feel shy about our overly intimate position because his hand stayed put.
“I was waiting for you,” he said, almost like he meant it in the romantic sense.
My body began heating up in places it had no business doing so, including my breasts and nipples, which tightened into little pebbles against him.
Oh, God. Through my thin suit, he had to feel them.
I stepped to the side and separated our bodies, but he stepped with me.
“Or you could stay down here if you like, Ms. Brenna.”
“Stephanie,” I corrected and jerked myself away. “And no thank you.” Of course, my body—completely against my wishes—screamed, Yes please! Nevertheless, I added, “I’m not interested in sleeping with you,” for good measure.
Rook dropped his hands and flashed a wicked little smile. “Not to worry. I do not get intimate with guests, Ms. Brenna. Not ever. No exceptions. I merely meant that you could stay here and hide if you are too afraid to try something new.”
Now he was playing games.
I crossed my arms over my chest to cover my perked-up nipples. “I’m not afraid,” I lied. “And if you don’t get intimate with guests, what was that just now?” I didn’t appreciate him making it seem like I was some horny woman who concocted stories in my head about men trying to hit on me.
He ran his thumb across my chin, directly below my lip as he stared at my mouth. “I said I didn’t sleep with guests, not that I didn’t want to.” He turned for the small wooden stairway. “See you up on deck.”
It took a few moments to gather myself after my little below-deck run-in with Rook. Honestly, he’d fucking turned me on. My body felt hot and achy, especially between my legs, which pissed the hell out of me.
What sort of horrible person am I? This man might be responsible for Cici’s disappearance or, at the very least, he knew about it and had been involved. So where the hell did I get off having these sexual feelings for him?
I shook my head and made my way up to the rear of the boat, where Tex and Rook spoke in low voices.
“I’m ready,” I said, startling them both.
Rook’s eyes swept over my nearly naked body in a not-too-subtle motion. “Nice of you to finally join us on your fantasy, Ms.—”
“Stephanie. It’s Stephanie. And I promise that swimming with hungry, man-eating fish is not on my bucket list.”
“I rarely misread people, Stephanie. And as I mentioned, these sharks are quite safe.”
“How do you know? Did you study sharks in college?”
“Men like myself do not go to college, Stephanie.”
What did that mean? “Then how did you become a shark expert?”
Tex chuckled.
“I did not say I was an expert,” Rook explained. “I merely stated that these sharks are safe, and I know this because I grew up on this island, swimming in these waters. The only thing that might hurt you is a bull shark, which looks like an overweight great white, and those are rare. The ones you’ll see today are tiger, nurse, or black tip reef sharks. You are not on their menu.”
More information. He had lived his entire life—or at least a good part of it—here on this island. “So did your parents buy the island?”
“The island has been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.”
Interesting. So whatever connections Rook had with the government likely went back a long, long way.
Rook gestured toward the water. “Now, if I’ve passed your test regarding my knowledge of the aquatic life, would you care to join me?”
I had to go along with this. Especially now that I was beginning to learn more about him.
I nodded. “Ready.”
“Where’s your life vest?”
“Are you wearing one?” I asked.
“No. I do not require one.”
“Then neither do I. Can we go now?” I said.
Rook’s light eyes flickered with annoyance. “Very well, but I recommend you don’t forget this.” He handed me the holstered hunting knife.
“Fair enough.” The thought of carrying a weapon in this creepy place actually made me feel better.
I snatched it from his hand and untangled the straps. Meanwhile, Tex finished putting a red snorkel onto the strap of a diving mask.
I strapped the holster around my thigh, feeling a little badass carrying such a huge knife while wearing a tiny bikini.
Tex handed me some flippers and helped me into them. Then I put on the mask.
“You’ll sit here on the edge of the boat,” Tex said, “and then you’ll fall back into the water. Got it?” He then showed me how to clear the water from the snorkel. I hadn’t used one since I was a kid on the rare occasion we’d go on vacation to North Carolina or Florida.
Rook geared up, placing his mask on his head. Damn him, he still looked sexy as hell even with a stupid scuba mask on his forehead.
He patted the spot next to him, urging me to sit on the rail. “Any day now, Stephanie.”
I snarled and flopped over to him. I looked ridiculous.
“Now, stay close to me, and don’t swim off. The currents are very strong here, which is why the sharks congregate in this particular spot. Tex will throw some fish into the water to bring them in while we stay over there.” He glanced toward the water to the side of us. “And whatever you do, make sure you always keep the boat in sight.”
“What do I do with this?” I pointed to the huge knife strapped to my thigh.
Rook placed his hand on my thigh and slid it between my legs, grazing my most intimate part. A hard erotic shiver spiked through my core.
“And that goes there.” He pushed down the upper strap of the holster so it rested lower on my thigh. “Wouldn’t want that delicate skin of yours to chafe.”
Once again, the side of his hand rubbed right over my bud, sending another tremor through my core.
I held back a gasp. For a man who claimed not to get intimate with guests, he was certainly touchy-feely.
Yeah, and you’re letting him. My body had been deprived for far too long, but that was no excuse.
“Next time, just tell me where it goes,” I protested, desperately wanting to hide that I’d enjoyed it.
“Now where would the fun be in that?” He pushed me back, and I fell into the water.
Asshole.
I had to admit, the warm tropical ocean wasn’t so bad. Neither was the shallow sandbar where Tex had anchored the yacht, giving us crystal clear water for swimming.
Kicking my fins, I followed Rook, trying not to notice his muscular legs as schools of colorful fish—reds, neon blues, and oranges—darted past us, zigzagging between beige coral and rock formations. Honestly, this wasn’t scary at all. I could stay here all day looking at the fish.
Rook stopped swimming, twisted his body, and pointed over my shoulder.
I turned, keeping my face under the waves. Fifty feet away, the water looked all cloudy. I assumed Tex had dumped chunks of fish meat there. I had expected to see gory pools of bloody chum, like in the movies, but thank God they hadn’t done that.
Within seconds, I saw my first shark. “Og, shi!” I screamed into my snorkel, the entire thing flooding. I popped my head from the water and gasped for air.
My heart pounded into my head, and I instinctually reached for my knife. The shark had to be over fifteen feet long.
Rook came up for air and popped off his mask and snorkel. “Are you all right?” he said in that overly pious tone.
“No! I am not all right. Did you see the size of that thing? I want to get back on the boat.”
He smiled. “Be my guest; however, you’ll have to swim past that very large, very hungry tiger shark.”
“You’re an asshole, you know that?” I started to wonder if this was what had happened to Cici. He offered to take her out and then he fed her to a shark.
He laughed, thoroughly amused. “Stephanie, do I appear to be suicidal?”
“No.”
“And am I not in the water with you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Then why would I place myself at risk, let alone a guest?”
Excellent question. “Accidents happen. Don’t they?”
“Not when I’m in charge,” he said with a bite.
Somehow, I believed him, which shocked the hell out of me. Still, this was not enjoyable. Not even a bit.
“I’m sorry to put a dent in your male ego, Rook, but this is in no way shape or form my fantasy.” I think I’m going to hurl. Oh God.
He gave me a disapproving look. “Then my sincerest apologies. I’ll have you back in the boat as soon as the twenty sharks are done with their breakfast.”
Huh? My head swiveled back toward the boat, where a flurry of fins darted from the water, creating a washing machine twisting action in the small waves.
“Oh, Lord. Kill me now,” I muttered. “Tell Tex to bring the boat over.”
“And risk killing the sharks with the blades of the motor? No. We wait. And in the meantime, since you’ve convinced yourself you’ll be dying in the next few minutes, why not put your mask back on and take a look.”
I snarled at the bastard.
“All right, then put it back on so you can see the murderous shark coming for you.” He glanced beneath us.
A dark gray shadow moved right below my feet. I screamed and swam straight to Rook, unable to help myself from climbing him.
He chuckled, trying to get free of my catlike claws. “It’s merely a nurse shark. They are bottom feeders who dine on crab, not women’s legs.”
“Ohmygod. Ohmygod. I don’t care if it’s a grass-eating turtle. Get me the fuck out of here!” I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, closing my eyes.
“Stephanie, you need to get off me,” he sputtered his words, trying to keep his head above water. “Calm yourself.”
I was sinking the man. And maybe I should. Maybe I should sit on his head and drown the SOB. But then where would I be? No answers. No closure on Cici.
I let him go.
“Good. Now try to breathe,” he instructed.
An eight-foot shark skirted right past us, and Rook literally reached out and touched the fucking thing like it was a pony at the petting zoo.
“Beautiful,” he said, placing his mask back on and disappearing beneath the waves.
My panic, still alive and kicking, took a momentary backseat to my curiosity. Rook wouldn’t be frolicking in the chum-filled water if he didn’t have a death wish. I popped on my mask and looked. Spotted sharks and fish of every color of the rainbow swirled around in a feeding frenzy—the smaller ones toward the bottom, picking up the little bits, the largest sharks on the top, taking the chunks of fish heads and whatnot.
I’d never seen anything like it.
The minutes ticked by, and I began feeling my fear dissipate. We seemed invisible to the aquatic giants with sharp teeth.
Guess you’re not so horrible after all, Rook, I thought.
After several minutes, the food disappeared and the sharks’ numbers dwindled, the ocean becoming quiet and calm around me.
Something bumped me in the back of the head, dislodging the snorkel from my mouth. Stars pricked my vision, and pain shot through my body.
I came up for air, feeling disoriented and dizzy. “What the hell was that?” I groaned.
My vision came into focus, the endless turquoise ocean all around me, the swell of the small waves, and the bright morning sun.
Wait. Where’s the fucking boat? I spun in place, doing a complete three-sixty. Oh fuck. “Rook? Rook!”
But there was no one. No boat, no Tex, no Rook.
Ohmygod. They left me here. In the middle of the fucking ocean filled with—
Bump! Something powerful slammed into my side. I screamed and then fumbled with my mask. Half filled with salt water, I caught a glimpse of what had rammed me.
No, no, no. It looked like Jaws, but fatter around the middle and had a weird little notch on the tip of the back fin.
Oh fuck, oh fuck… Was this some sick joke or an attempt to get rid of me?
The thing disappeared out of sight, and I went for my knife. I fumbled with the Velcro strap and slid it out. I spun in a circle, trying to keep an eye out in every direction. Where the hell had Rook gone?
To hell with Rook, where’s the island? The spot where Tex had dropped us had been only a quarter mile from shore at best, but now I saw nothing but ocean in every direction.
This can’t be happening. It can’t.
“Stephanie…” a soft voice whispered with the breeze.
My heart stopped. “Cici?” It sounded like her. That voice—so sweet and loving—I would know it anywhere.
“Stephanie,” the whisperer repeated.
I began to cry. “Cici. Oh God. Cici, where are you?” I missed her so much.
I twisted around again, but there was nobody. I had to be losing my mind. This island…this fucking island wanted to do me in.
Still holding the knife in my trembling hand, the waves slapped my face and picked up with the wind. I spotted the enormous shadow coming right for me like a damned torpedo.
I fumbled with my mask and pushed my face under the water to better gauge the depth of the shark. It headed right for my thigh, its mouth open, displaying a row of razor-sharp teeth.
Oh shit! I took the knife and held it out straight, hoping the monster would run into the blade before it got hold of any body parts. The shark jerked its head at the last moment, but the tip of the blade grazed it, causing me to lose my grip.
Fuck. Fuck. No! I lost my knife.
I looked down in the water, hoping to see it, but wherever I’d floated off to, there was no sandbar, no reef below me. Only deep dark ocean.
Oh God. Oh God. Please help me.
I popped my head from the water, praying that I’d injured the shark and it would decide to find something else to eat.
What will it matter? I had no island to swim to. And clearly I’d been left for dead.
“Stephanie…” the voice called again. Cici’s voice.
Ten feet in front of me, a fin popped from the waves. The shark was coming back for me. I screamed, kicking my legs in front of me, praying for a miracle.
The shark slammed into my ribs, knocking the wind out of me. I felt my body sinking.
Suddenly, something grabbed hold of my hair and pulled hard, yanking my face from the salty waves. “Stephanie!”
I opened my eyes. “Rook?”
He released my hair and put his arm around my neck. “Throw it here!” he yelled to Tex, who tossed a life preserver overboard.
“Sonofabitch,” Rook snarled. “I told you to stay near the fucking boat.”
I hacked and coughed. Was the guy actually scolding me? “Shark. There’s a shark,” I muttered.
“No. There’s no fucking shark.” Rook dragged me to the edge of the boat, where Tex grabbed my arms and pulled me up the small ladder. He laid me down on the deck, where I turned over and coughed out a lung.
It didn’t take long for Rook to be at my side, swearing every curse word in the dictionary and then some. “And of course, you didn’t need a life vest, did you!”
“Fuck you,” I panted with my eyes closed. “You fucking left me to die.”
“What in the name of God are you talking about, Ms. Brenna?”
I cracked open an eye. “You left me.”
“I did no such thing!” Rook seethed. “I turned around and you were gone. We’ve been looking for you for thirty minutes, and thank God Tex is such a skilled captain because he knew exactly which way the current had pulled you. Do you not have any common sense, woman? Even one smart bone in your fucking body? You nearly died! On my fucking watch!” Rook’s face brimmed with rage.
So I almost died because he lost me in the ocean, and he’s upset?
“Screw you, Rook. I had to fight off a shark and—” My eyes glanced down to my thigh, where my knife remained in its holster. The knife I’d dropped.
My heart jumped, stopped, and then dipped. “What’s happening to me?” I closed my eyes and began to sob. Me. Sobbing. Like a weak, pathetic little girl, which only made me lose it completely because nothing in this world was worse than losing your mind at a time like this, in front of a man like Rook.
I covered my eyes with the crook of my arm, trying to breathe, trying to stop crying, but I couldn’t. I had been scared out of my goddamned mind in that water. And then I heard Cici and… What’s happening to me?
Two strong arms scooped me up. “Oh hell,” Rook grumbled, holding me against his warm bare chest. “Let’s get you a blanket and some scotch.”
Like I weighed nothing, Rook carried me down the small stairway, below deck toward the back of the boat.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you, it’s just…” His voice trailed off. “You scared the hell out of me.” He brought me into a small bedroom and set me down on the edge of the bed, immediately going for a blanket and throwing it around my shoulders. “I turned around and you were gone.” He shook his head.
I was about to say the same, but that wasn’t quite right, was it? Because I’d just had a run-in with a shark and lost my knife at the bottom of the ocean. Only I didn’t.
I tore the Velcro straps from my thigh and tossed the thing to the floor. “I don’t know what happened,” I mumbled. “You were there one minute and then something hit my head. I thought it was a shark, but…” I gave the back of my sore head a rub. There was a small lump.
“Well, someone must’ve been looking out for you. You were floating facedown and still had your snorkel in place.” Rook went over to the corner of the small room and poured a glass of amber liquid from a bottle sitting atop a little dresser. He brought it over. “Here. This will steady your nerves.”
I reluctantly took the glass in my trembling hand. I felt so cold. So confused. “I just…don’t understand.”
Rook sat next to me and adjusted the blanket. “I think you have a death wish, Ms. Brenna. Unfortunately, that is not part of your vacation package, so I’m afraid I intend to disappoint you during your stay.”
I wanted to laugh. The irony of his words hit home. “I think you’re right. I do have a death wish.” I mean, look at what I’d done to get here. I took money from a mobster and then I’d planned to screw over Rook, possibly have him killed. At the very least, he’d lose his island because Warner Price was not the sort of man who took no for an answer.
Still, part of me couldn’t regret my choices because there had been no other options available to me. The authorities wouldn’t help. Rook’s island was inaccessible on your own because no one really knew where it was except for his own people. As for the money, Warner Price had been my only choice. Add it all up, plus the fact that I loved Cici so goddamned much and I wasn’t willing to sit on my hands, well, those paths had led me right here.
“Stephanie, I know this comment might feel intrusive and even a bit high-handed, but I am getting the impression that something traumatic has happened to you, something recent.”
I glanced over at him.
His steel-blue eyes flickered with curiosity. “I understand if you do not wish to share your personal life with a cold-hearted prick like me, but I assure you that I am not entirely incapable of helping you. It is what I do.”
“You hook women up with cowboys and pirates. Not sure that’s going to help.”
“Not everyone needs the same things, Stephanie. Some merely want a moment—or a week—away from their own lives. Then they return home with a new appreciation for what they have or for the possibilities to create something new.”
I gave him a look.
“All right. Some women simply want to get fucked by a handsome man, but who am I to judge? We do our best to give everyone an experience they’ll remember for a lifetime.” He grabbed my chin and turned my head, forcing me to look at him. “Stephanie, you do not have to tell me what’s happened to you, but I promise if you do, I will ensure the rest of your stay is dedicated to assisting you in overcoming it.”
Jesus. I actually believe him. In fact, every second I spent with the guy made it harder to hate him or think he’d want to harm one of his guests. Even the way he’d lost his cool right now when he thought I’d died on his “watch” seemed genuine. So had I imagined his ruthless vibe like I’d imagined the shark or the monk standing outside my window last night?
I didn’t know.
I ran my hand over my wet, salty hair. Part of me did need to unload this burden and the other part wanted to see how he would react if I told him who I really was. Would he act surprised? Or did he already know?
“Stephanie.” He continued holding my chin, our eyes locked.
I cleared my throat, deciding that going with a half-truth felt like the appropriate course of action. “I lost someone close to me a few months ago. I’m not over it, but I know I never will be.”
He let go of my chin and then bobbed his head. “I see.”
“You see what?”
He drew a breath. “Some swear that this island is more than a pile of rocks and dirt sticking from the ocean. They claim that they feel an energy that allows your thoughts and heart to become razor focused.”
That sounded corny. “What do you think?”
“I think that it’s a beautiful island and beauty calms the mind. When that occurs, it’s not unheard of for the things we’ve bottled up to seep out, looking for closure.”
“You sound like an episode of Kung Fu or a Deepak meditation CD.”
“I have no idea what those are; however, I will take your word.” He smiled, and I noticed little crinkle lines on the sides of his mouth and eyes.
He noticed me studying him, but true to form, he didn’t shy away. I guessed that shyness was not in his DNA.
I looked at that handsome face—those intense eyes, those sensual lips, the angle of his cheekbones and jawline. He was so beautiful, it was easy to let myself get lost in him.
“Have you always been this good-looking?” I blurted out unintentionally.
He shrugged and grinned wider, making my heart and stomach flutter in unison. “Maybe. Have you always been such a fucking mess?”
I smiled. “Maybe.” Then I shook my head. “No. No, I haven’t.”
Once again, he forced me to look at him. “Well, you’re still incredibly tempting either way.”
With our eyes locked, my heart slamming against my rib cage, he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
I froze, inhaling his scent—sweet, floral, all mixed with seawater.
Slowly his mouth moved over mine, his tongue tasting me, his silky lips sliding and kneading, as if he wanted to savor the moment.
I instantly wanted more, to feel him pressed against me, to feel those strong hands on my body. No man had ever kissed me like this or made me feel so desperate and hungry.
I leaned into him, losing myself in his lips and tongue and warmth.
He jerked back and stood. “Goddammit. My apologies. That was not—it was not—I cannot ever do that again.”
I blinked at him. “Uh, okay.”
“Do not misunderstand, Ms. Brenna—”
“Stephanie.”
“Stephanie. But the rules do not allow me to be intimate. As much as I might enjoy it with you.”
Wasn’t he the owner? “Whose rules?”
“You will have to accept my apologies, but I cannot discuss this any further.”
“What? Are you married? Engaged?”
“It is far more complicated than that.” He pointed to the little table. “There is more scotch if you need it. The shower and towels are behind that door. We’ll be back to the dock in fifteen minutes.”
I don’t believe it. Rook was flustered. And rattled and blushing and irritated, all rolled together. I’d somehow gotten under his skin.
So what could be more complicated than marriage when it came to relationships? His reluctance only made me want to dig harder. Only now, I was beginning to feel like I wanted answers for an entirely different reason. I hoped he had nothing to do with Cici’s disappearance, because for the first time in four months, I felt human again.
Yeah, and half crazy.
But wasn’t that what he’d said? Some people came here to find solitude and flush out the demons. Because mine were eating away at me. And so is my lust for Rook.