CHAPTER TWELVE
Sarah
“For what?”
“To go on a trip?”
“A trip?” I ask, confused.
“Umm. Somewhere warm, I think.”
“Sure?” I ask with a question in my voice.
“Now promise you won’t be afraid. This is totally safe.”
“Okay.”
“And remember, you are sworn to secrecy.”
“Okay,” I say again.
He continues to hold one of my hands, but drops the other and points in front of us to the center of the stone floor. A humming noise fills my ears. It sounds like insects, sort of. But significantly louder, like there are thousands of insects buzzing in my ears.
“What on earth is that?” I ask warily.
“Nanomachines,” he says, his eyes glittering mischievously, as if he’s enjoying my bewilderment immensely.
Right before my eyes something shimmers and forms in front of us. In seconds it begins to take on the shape of an aircraft. It literally looks as if something is being created from nothing. An ivory colored pod-like aircraft solidifies in front of us. It’s about the same size as a helicopter, or maybe a bit smaller. I don’t see any doors or windows.
“How did you do that?” I ask in absolute shock.
“It’s called advanced rapid fabrication technology.”
“Uh huh,” I say dumbly.
I usually don’t understand anything sciency, and this is totally beyond my realm of comprehension. He pulls gently on my arm, and leads me up to the aircraft. An opening forms before us, and steps pop up out of nowhere. I’m freaking out, yet excited as I follow Vorek up the stairs into the craft. Once we’re inside, I see why there are no windows. The ivory material is transparent, and I can see outside to the hedge walls enclosing the area. I look around the inside, and see no gauges, steering wheel, or electronics of any kind. How does it work?
“Have a seat,” Vorek says, once again with the mischievous gleam in his eyes.
I don’t see any seats, just two planks that are floating in the air.
“Ah, floating stadium seating. Nice,” I say as I bravely sit on one, but keep a tight grip on his hand. The flat bench instantly transforms into a comfortable seat, which totally conforms to my body. Of course he knew that. I lean back and try to relax as the pod silently lifts into the air. The death grip I have on Vorek’s hand is the only indication that I’m not cool as a cucumber about his alien gadgets.
I look down past my feet and see the roof and castle turrets below us are rapidly fading from view. Then we are above the cloud line. Watching the puffy mists swirl about under us is making me dizzy, so I close my eyes and lean back. In a few short minutes I detect a change in direction, and I open my eyes again to see that we are descending through the cloud layer.
The landscape has totally changed. Brilliant blue ocean surrounds us, and our aircraft sinks softly toward a pristine white sandy beach. This time the landing pad is hidden by a thick stand of palm trees. This so isn’t winter.
“Ready?” Vorek asks as he takes my hand and leads me down the steps. The change in temperature assaults us as we step outside.
“We have on way too many clothes for this climate,” Vorek says as strips off all of his clothes except his sexy silk boxers.
“What on earth are you doing?” I ask, afraid he’s lost his mind. “Someone will see you!”
“Sarah, there’s no one to see us here. It’s my own private island.”
I laugh, then decide . . . when in Rome . . . or on a private island. I take off everything but my cute lacy grey underwear and bra. I’m instantly cooler. We exit the landing area and walk on a bamboo path through a dense formation of palm trees, carrying our clothes and shoes. When we step out onto the beach, the warm sand feels heavenly between my toes. The view is out of this world as the blue waves crash onto the white sand.
“This day just gets better and better,” I tell him. He throws back his head and laughs.
I don’t see it until we’re almost on top of it, but there is a cozy beach house right in front of us. It’s almost camouflaged, it blends in so harmoniously with its surroundings. I’m not sure what material the house is made of, but it’s a perfect match for the off-white color of the sandy beach.
There is so much glass, that I see right through it to the ocean and beach on the other side. I don’t see any doors, but as we walk up to it, an opening forms in the glass and we walk through. Once inside I turn around and regardless of the direction I turn I’m met with spectacular views. One side highlights the ocean itself, while another is of the tropical plants and trees that form a thicket at the center of the island. The other two sides are just beach as far as the eye can see. It’s almost as if the dwelling isn’t even there. When I point out my observations to Vorek, he glows.
“You are so observant, Sarah. That’s exactly what I had in mind when I designed the house. I wanted it to be a natural extension of the surroundings. The white stucco material used to build the house is made from the sand of the beach, even the glass is made from this sand. Of course there are automatic bamboo shades for all of the windows for when we want more privacy.
“But how does all of this glass survive if a hurricane comes through here?”
“Steel plates descend, covering the glass from the outside.”
“But what if you’re not here to take care of that before the hurricane hits?”
“It’s a smart house, Sarah. Artificial intelligence takes care of everything from cooking meals, to locking this place up tight at the first hint of bad weather.”
He gives me a tour of the place, and I love how excited he is about sharing it with me.
“It couldn’t be more different than the castle,” I comment.
“I guess I’m eclectic when it comes to architecture.”
“It’s just as beautiful in its own way,” I murmur.
“I couldn’t agree more.”
I decide to snoop a little and open a door in the master bedroom to see what’s inside. There’s a closet full of clothes, but the selections are vastly different from the formal suits he normally wears. Instead the items are casual from shorts and sandals to lightly colored shirts. These may be his bumming it wardrobe, but everything is still expensive looking.
“Can I borrow a shirt?” I ask as I slip one on over my shoulders. The breeze coming in from the window is a little bit cool to be wearing just underwear.
“You must come here frequently.”
“Yes, I come often on the weekends. I can’t stand Illinois winters.”
“Who can? Why are you there in the first place? You could obviously afford to live anywhere you want!”
“Let’s talk about that later. I think I’ll change too.” He slips on shorts and a tank top, then grabs a pair of sunglasses and slips them in his pocket. All it takes is the brief glimpse of his naked torso to start making me think about touching him.
“I hesitate to show you this because you look adorable in my shirt, but I have a surprise,” he says as he sticks his fingers in an indentation in the wall, which is actually a sliding door. As he pushes it aside I see that it’s an extension of the closet, and it’s full of clothes. Beautiful bright summer clothes. There are shorts, tops, long flowy pastel dresses, straw hats, sunglasses, and cute strappy sandals. Some woman left her clothes here, and Vorek is offering them to me to wear. I see red.
I slam the sliding door and run outside. I stop at the deck and stare out over the ocean. What an idiot I’ve been. I actually thought he cared for me, that I was special. Now I see this is just something he likes to do: pursue a stupid naive college girl. Sweep her off to his island getaway beach house fully stocked with clothes that the last girl left. And most of them are probably just too grateful to complain. I feel physically ill.
And to think I was actually starting to fall for him. Starting, ha! Who do I think I’m fooling? I was falling head over heels until I saw another woman’s clothes in that closet. My breath catches in my throat and I hold my hand to my mouth to hold back the sobs in that threaten to escape.
His hands snake around my waist as he comes up behind me. He leans in and kisses my cheek. But I want nothing to do with his lying lips.
“Sarah, what’s wrong?”
“I want to go home now,” I bite out furiously, pushing his hands away I step off the deck onto the beach.
“What?” he asks as he follows me onto the sand, and turns me around.
He’d have to be blind not to see the wet streak of tears pooling from my eyes.
“Talk to me. What’s this about?”
“The clothes,” I spit out.
“You don’t like them?” he asks confused.
“You offer me some other woman’s clothes and expect me to be happy?”
He starts laughing, and I’m considering punching him in his smug face when he speaks again. “They’re your clothes, Sarah. I purchased them for you, and brought them down here so everything would be ready when we came.”
“When,” I ask, not believing him. “When could you possibly have done that?”
“I had plenty of time while you were busy ignoring me all week.”
“Oh,” I say sheepishly, my anger instantly evaporating.
“Now, please come look at your new clothes and choose something to wear. Unless you just want to stick with what you have on. I’m fine with whatever you want,” he says sincerely.
“Well now I just feel stupid,” I say, kicking at the sand with my bare toes.
“You are not even remotely stupid,” he says loudly, and I graciously let him lead me back to the bedroom.
“I have a full day planned.”
“Doing what?”
“Eating, swimming, exploring the island, building a sand castle, maybe a little snorkeling or taking the yacht out. And sex of course. Lots and lots of sex.”
I laugh as I step into his arms, and he holds me tight. And just like that everything is right in my world again. I can’t believe how wonderful he’s been to me. If Vorek’s actions are any indication of his race, I can’t understand why people hate the K’s so much. He’s giving me an incredible gift in bringing me here.
I’m not just talking about the lovely wardrobe. It’s about the way he treats me, like I’m the most important person in his life. Like he loves me, even if he’s never said the words his actions speak volumes.
I’ve never been on a vacation and I’m determined to enjoy myself. I’m far from my troubles here. No one would ever think to search for me here in this remote place. Vorek seems almost too perfect, and I feel doubts start to creep back inside my head. Is all of this too good to be true? I think I’m falling in love with him but perhaps I should stop myself.
Watching my mother over the years has taught me some important life lessons. Thanks to her I know that the good men never stick around for long. It’s the losers who stay with you, the ones you’d be better off without. So what? I know that love isn’t a safe bet. But does that mean I can’t enjoy myself for a change?
I had missed out on far too much to let my fear ruin this time with Vorek. I determined to relish every second of it, stockpiling the memories for when the inevitable happened and he walked out of my life. I knew it was only a matter of time before he did so, because he was definitely one of the good ones.