30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Trick
The beach isn’t exactly my natural habitat. The heat is stifling, and I can feel the sun baking my pale skin the second I step out from the shade of the trees. Having sand under my feet is weird, too.
I’m used to hiding out in the air-conditioned bar at the resort on vacation, with the occasional dip in the pool after the sun sets.
But this isn’t our regularly scheduled vacation.
This is something completely different and entirely unexpected.
I watch Kian and Sapphire soak up the sun at the water’s edge, and I can’t help but stare.
Sure, I’m probably gonna be redder than a cooked lobster by the end of the day, but I think I can handle that in our present company.
The sound of Sapphire’s laughter is enough to make me smile.
She wades out a little further, water rippling around her bronzed legs.
This is a woman who’s used to having her body worshipped by the sun.
I stop a few inches away from the water’s edge, holding the beach towel Riley stuffed in my bag before we left for the airport this morning.
Xane sighs behind me. “I’ll go grab Riley.”
I glance back to see him stalk off in that direction.
Riley’s far enough away that I can’t hear him cursing anymore.
He’s still kicking at the sand, though.
I feel a little guilty for not making him finish the whole bottle of laced water.
It might have prevented him from waking up, but it wouldn’t change our situation.
I turn back to the water, and Kian glances over, a hand up to block out the brightness of the sun.
“Are you coming in?” he asks.
He knows I won’t so it’s not a serious question.
“I don’t think so,” I answer. “But I brought you a towel.”
I lift my arm to show him Riley’s favorite beach accessory.
The resort has their own luxury towels, yet he insists on bringing this thing every year, as well as a duffle bag full of blue bath towels for his room.
Kian laughs. “Riley’s gonna kill you when he sees that. Come in. It’s … amazing.”
He gestures around us, making a point to include Sapphire’s presence in his motion. The way he looks at her … He’s just as captivated as I am.
I’m not sure how to feel about that.
She’s the only woman who’s ever affected me physically, and one of my closest friends is clearly also strongly attracted to her. It should probably make me jealous, or something.
Somehow, it doesn’t.
Huh. That’s kind of weird.
I don’t feel it, not one little bit.
If anything, I’m kind of relieved.
I think back to when the band started and I can remember exactly how it felt to envy them.
The guys enjoyed the sudden burst of female attention backstage, and all three of them hooked up with someone on the first night of our first tour.
They made it look so easy, while I awkwardly retreated from a groupie who seemed overly interested in talking about guitars while she stroked my arm and my leg, and … other places.
It was one of the worst nights of my life, which is overly dramatic to ever admit out loud.
But it was the night I knew I’d never completely fit in with anyone, anywhere.
These guys are my pack brothers. They’re the closest I’ll ever be to anyone.
And even that isn’t enough to help me overcome … whatever’s wrong with me.
And now here we are, trapped with this woman on this island, and all I can think about is how soft her lips look, and how much I want to feel her against me.
“It’s such a gorgeous day,” she murmurs, turning back to us, and stumbling slightly into Kian’s side. “Oops, sorry …”
The way she bites her lip when she looks at him makes my stomach all weird and fluttery.
Yeah, I’m not the slightest bit jealous.
I kinda want to see them together.
How fucking weird is that?
I’m still wondering as I watch Kian help her straighten up. He takes the chance to brush a wispy strand of her hair back and hold her gaze.
“It’s certainly the best day I’ve had in a long time,” he tells her.
The way she looks back at him, I’m sure he’s about to kiss her, and she’s about to let him.
So, of course, that’s when Riley kills the moment.
“Get the fuck out the water!”
Looking over my shoulder, I see he’s a few feet away now and getting closer, with Xane following him toward us. I blink slowly, not believing how quickly they got back over here.
He can’t have been as far away as it seemed a few minutes ago.
I turn back to catch Kian’s bemused glance.
“What’s his problem?” Kian asks, completely unruffled.
I shrug back, before my attention is pulled to Sapphire.
She’s turning around in the water, looking down.
With a tiny push, she takes a step away from him and lets out a soft gasp.
I follow her gaze to see a small shark close to her, fin showing above the water.
It’s nowhere near big enough to be anything other than a juvenile.
I doubt an adult shark could get that close to the shore.
Is this what Riley’s shouting about?
It barely seems worth mentioning.
“Oh my God, it’s so cute!”
Sapphire sounds mesmerized.
She moves a little closer, crouching to see it better.
The water’s clear enough that I can see it from where I’m standing.
“Cool!” Kian exclaims as he moves closer to get a better look.
The 1ft shark doesn’t look like it would do much damage if it did decide to attack, and it’s probably hunting for something much smaller to eat.
I seriously doubt either of them are in any danger.
Riley stops at my side, just shy of the water’s edge.
He inhales deeply and yells, “Get the fuck out of that water, right fucking now!”
Clearly, he means business.
I don’t get it, and they don’t either, but Kian offers Sapphire his hand anyway.
“Let’s leave baby shark alone to find his breakfast.”
She nods. “Uh, sure …”
She takes his hand and he leads her out of the water.
I pass Riley’s towel to her as she steps back onto the sand.
“Fucking idiots,” Riley curses, shaking his head beside me.
I frown at him. “What’s wrong, exactly?”
He sighs as he points back at the water.
I glance back, and I’m surprised to see a few small fins scattered around, coming closer.
“Oh, wow, there are more of them?” Kian asks at my other side.
“Of course there are,” Riley snaps. “This is a nursery. They come here to find food when they’re juveniles.”
“And you think they would have attacked us?” I ask.
“Don’t be stupid,” he mutters. “Nurse sharks don’t attack people.
Not on purpose, anyway. But since this is a nursery, that means there’s plenty of food for the sharks to hunt.
The water around here is full of stingrays, so there’s probably at least one of those nasty fuckers hiding in the shallows here.
We need to be careful since we’re stuck here with no access to medical help.
That means no getting stung by something that could cause a serious injury. ”
“Stingrays?” Sapphire asks. “Wow. I had no idea.”
“An ugly fish is more dangerous than a shark,” Kian adds. “That’s kind of crazy.”
“Rule number one for while we’re stuck here, no going in the water,” Xane states.
“And not because of baby nurse sharks, apparently.”
Sapphire smiles at me as she dries off her lower legs.
I smile back before pulling my gaze away to avoid staring like a pervert.
Riley sighs dramatically. “Can’t even go for a walk without these idiots wandering into shark infested waters for no good reason.”
“We didn’t …” Kian starts to protest.
Xane clears his throat, and cuts Kian off, “Okay, we’ve established our first rule. I’m gonna go work on the jet. Riley, you get to keep them out of trouble while I’m gone.”
Riley pulls a face. “If I’m on babysitting duty, I want a beer.”
“There’s plenty of beer in the cargo hold,” Kian says, taking the towel from Sapphire when she offers it.
Riley frowns. “Is that my towel?”
Kian shrugs. “Trick gave it to us.”
Riley takes it off him before he can use it. “Get your own. And get me a beer.”
He takes the towel and moves away from us, laying the towel down on the sand halfway in the shade of a tree. He looks up and shakes the base of the tree before he sits down.
Xane leaves us on the beach, heading back toward the jet.
Kian lets out a soft sigh. “I bet there’s not even one single stingray in that water.”
“It was kinda cool to see a baby shark up close,” Sapphire admits. “But I guess it’s probably safer to stay out of the water.”
“I’ll be back in a second with the beer, and some snacks for lunch,” Kian promises, giving Sapphire a wink before he follows Xane’s path back to the jet.
She turns back to me, and I can tell she’s smitten with Ki.
Her pretty eyes are sparkling.
They definitely had a moment in the sea.
I’m still not jealous, but I’m also still feeling things I’ve never felt before just looking at her.
She smiles brightly. “So, it seems like we’re gonna be stuck here for a while.”
“Seems like it,” I agree.
Riley groans loudly from his towel. “If you two are gonna fuck, take it further up the beach. I’m trying to nap over here.”
My skin burns from the inside and Sapphire laughs.
“So much for babysitting duty,” Sapphire murmurs.
“No going near the water!” Riley adds.
“Well,” Sapphire says. “Why don’t I grab my notepad, and we can get started on your interview? That way, when the jet’s back in working order and we get to the resort we won’t have to spend so much time together while you’re trying to enjoy your vacation.”
Shit. She’s already thinking about our time together being over.
I know this is a work assignment for her, but I didn’t think about it being something she might want to hurry to be done with.
It’s weird enough that I’m having feelings for her when we’re basically strangers.
Making a move feels impossible.
It’s way too soon.
But I might not have much time.
I nod, when I realize she’s waiting for a response. “Sure.”
“Great. Are you coming with me?”
She’s putting on her heels, about to go into the forest to go back to the jet.
The jet Xane is working on getting up and running.
God, I hope he doesn’t get it going too soon.
I could use a little more time.
Here’s hoping I get it.