Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
Ethan: Tell me one more time you're in your right state of mind.
That was the fifth text Cameron had gotten along the same lines. Friends and acquaintances all asking in some varying degree what the hell he was thinking. Swiping away the text, Cameron shoved his phone into his pocket. Leaning back on his hands, he tilted his head up to the sun.
He was sitting on the second story of a mega yacht surrounded by beautiful teal waters somewhere in the Caribbean.
When Ebony invited him on the trip, she had said they would be on her family's boat.
He had been expecting something like the boat they had used in Stardust, not a yacht that rivaled a cruise ship.
With all its sleek features, from the fully manned crew of thirty people to the four decks, pool, spa, gym, dining rooms, countless private bedrooms, and even a helipad, his thoughts should have been consumed by the one-in-a-lifetime experience.
Yet here he was, letting texts and other people’s opinions interrupt his focus.
Hell, even his dad had pulled him aside with his own worries before Cameron left.
"You don’t think you're playing with fire here, son?
" Cameron's face must've shown his betrayal because his father held up a hand to stop him before he continued. "Don’t get me wrong. You’re my son," he grinned.
"I know what she sees in you and trust me I couldn't be prouder that you brought home a girl as sweet and not to mention as…
affluent as Ebony Rosebank but…" he let his words hang purposefully in the air.
"But what?" he asked, anger brimming at the edges of his words, knowing his father was looking at the bruises still marring his face.
His father sighed and leveled a look at him. "Are you sure this is a battle worth fighting? Worth losing a friend over? Would she put everything on the line for you?"
Dammit, his father just didn't understand.
Cameron's relationship with Ebony wasn't at that stage.
That was the whole fucking problem. Because every time he could make a step forward, her fucking brother would purposely drive them two steps backward.
Cameron closed his eyes at the invading memory.
It had been over a week since that night in his room.
Things had been perfect. She was right there in his bed; his hand just grazed the soft underside of her breast when pain exploded across his senses.
It felt like he had been hit with a cinderblock.
He had fought Gavin before. Trained with him for years.
But what happened that night was different.
That night it was like fighting a bear. An unbelievably fast and strong bear.
Gavin had been out for blood and it only proved that through all their matches and all their sparring at the training center, Gavin had been holding back.
If Cameron hadn't dodged when he had that night, he was sure Gavin would've broken a few of his ribs.
"Cameron, sweetheart, come get some sunscreen." Whitney's voice was like honey as it drifted over to him from the deep shade of the deck.
Obediently, he pushed himself up to stand and walked over to the seating area.
The couches where she was currently perched, dressed in navy blue bikini and a white coverup, were in a giant U-shape.
Above them the automatic roof was extended blocking the overpowering sun.
As soon as he walked under the shaded roof, Cameron could feel the cool blast of AC spilling out of the hidden vents.
"Ah, just in time," Whitney spoke as Ebony walked through the wide sliding glass doors that connected the inside lounge area to the shaded aft deck.
Her bare feet made no sound on the teak floor as she stepped into the soft morning light.
"Make sure to cover yourselves fully," Whitney instructed Ebony, pointing to the sunscreen sitting on the marble table in front of her.
Ebony took the bottle but shot Cameron a knowing look.
Cameron kept his features schooled, holding back a grin.
From the moment they had gotten on the boat, Ebony's mother had hounded her about limiting her sun exposure.
She wanted Ebony covered in enough sunscreen to make the staff scared she may just slip off the side of the boat.
"Sit here," Ebony motioned for the edge of the couch.
Cameron tensed. Instinctively, his gaze flicked to the lounge area where three men sat at a bar. They had been casually talking and eating breakfast until Ebony grabbed the sunscreen. Now all three pairs of eyes were trained on him as her hands began to glide over his back with the cream.
Cameron swallowed under Grant Rosebank's unreadable stare.
That was something he had expected when Ebony had invited him.
Two weeks of no Gavin, and her father's scrutiny.
Difficult, but doable. That was what he had thought at least. All of that confidence shattered when he met Ebony's twin Brazilian uncles, Elias and Leon Moscovis.
Two distinguished older men that were identical in every way except for the tilt of a smile on one and the edge of a glance on the other.
They both wore their dreadlocks, laced with more gray than black, pulled back into a neat thick braid.
Like Mr. Rosebank, the brothers moved with a confidence and effortless authority that instantly told Cameron these men were somebody important, if not dangerous, in their world.
Clearly, they were supposed to be Ebony’s uncles on Whitney's side of the family but Cameron wasn't sure he could reconcile that fact.
The men hardly spoke to their sister, in fact they seemingly only talked to Grant and of course, Ebony.
Cameron should've known, he thought with a sigh. Just like her father Ebony had fully captured her twin uncles’ hearts and attention.
They hung off her every word as she spoke with doting affection and watched her like a hawk when she stepped away, especially near him.
When Cameron had questioned her about them Ebony had beamed. "Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you. My uncles come on this trip every year. They're really the reason we come, to see them."
"Mmm," he hummed as Ebony finished up on his back.
There was something that tickled his brain every time he summoned the courage to look at the uncles. Something familiar. They looked nothing like their so-called sister but they did look everything like Ebony. In that aspect the family resemblance was unmistakable.
Standing up, Ebony wiped her slick hands on her thighs drawing his attention to the red two-piece sports swimsuit she was wearing. Cameron forced himself to look away. He could practically feel the silent dare in the air from the group of men at the bar.
Shifting until she was standing in front of her family's line of sight Ebony pointed to the stairs leading to the deck below. "Want to go to the beach club?"
Cameron didn't hesitate. "Yes," he said, standing up abruptly.
The beach club was exactly what it sounded like.
Being on the lowest deck, the beach club was a giant room that hosted a pool surrounded by lounge chairs.
The impressive room with its black and gold design reminded Cameron of the Rosebank house back in Stardust, had everything they could dream of—multiple mounted TVs, a few staff members standing by to refresh towels and take orders, a connected outdoor deck, a diving board off the side of the yacht, and even a slide.
"Thank you," Cameron breathed as soon as they were away.
Ebony nodded and plopped down onto a lounger. "Don't mention it. I get it. They are being a bit much right now."
"Your uncles seem…intense." He was mainly thinking of Elias. At least Leon smiled and joked a little unlike his living statue of a brother.
Ebony shook her head with a laugh. "That's just the way they look. They're actually very sweet."
Sure, to you, he thought. For some reason Cameron got the feeling they had men hung off balconies back in Brazil.
"I bet they like Gavin, don’t they?" This was the first time Gavin's name came up between them since boarding the yacht an the resulting expression on her face made him immediately regret bringing him up.A shadow descended over her features and she looked away.
Catching the eye of a nearby attendant, Ebony called her over and asked her something.
Her words were so soft they were lost to him in the sea breeze.
He watched and waited as the attendant came back holding a small box with a red cross on it.
Finally, Ebony looked back at him as she balanced the first aid box on her lap. "Yeah, my uncles love him."
He heard the unspoken “everyone does” hanging in the air and had to school his expression before the annoyance could slip through.
The cool touch of her fingers beckoned him to close his eyes. He could feel the slick ointment on her fingertip rubbing across the cut near his brow.
"Your bruises are fading," she murmured.
Cameron kept his eyes closed partly because of her cool featherlike touch and partly because of the surge of anger that rose up in his throat like bile.
The memory of that fight burned within him like a hot coal in his chest, smoldering, refusing to die.
It was only the arrival of Ebony on his doorstep the next morning offering him countless apologies and the invitation to spend winter break with her that mollified his anger.
Just her and her family and no Gavin. The pain of his wounds and humiliation faded instantly at that, replaced by sheer satisfaction.
Cameron opened his eyes and looked at the beauty in front of him. Too bad his excitement was one-sided.
Oh yes, she smiled and laughed as they let the days slip past them but he wasn't blind. Not to her. Not to the girl he’d spent years pining for. There was a bone deep sadness to her eyes. As if the deep mahogany color of them had been muted just a bit, and he knew the reason why.