They’re awake and they’re aware I’ve been missing.
“I can’t,” Zeke hisses back. “She’s my little sister.”
I hear Millie mutter something else, but I don’t catch what it was.
“Eden, where the hell have you been?” he calls out.
“Stayed with River,” I say, and I hope like hell it’s the right answer.
Not because he’s in charge of me and what I do, but because I don’t want him to know what happened last night with the guys… or with Jake. Definitely not what happened with Jake.
He’d kill the lot of them.
I can remember what happened around the bonfire now. Bits and pieces came flooding back to me on my short walk home.
I was being a smart ass. We all were. We’d had a few drinks and were running our mouths.
If the guys had have picked up any of the other girls, it would have been nothing more than a funny joke.
But instead, they chose me.
They didn’t know about me and my fear of the water, but I still can’t stop myself from hating them a little bit for it.
I could have drowned.
If it weren’t for Jake, I might have.
I feel a pang of guilt for the way I ran out on him just now. I’m not even sure if I said thank you to him for saving me.
I run my hands over my face.
“Any more questions?” I yell out down the hall to where I can hear Zeke and Millie arguing in whispers again.
“Not for now,” he eventually answers.
“Maybe if you hadn’t got yourself written off, you’d know the answers already,” I push my luck by saying.
He’s a hypocrite really. He can’t judge me when he’s out there drinking himself stupid and doing god knows what else.
I rush down the hall and into my room before he decides he does, in fact, want to ask me anything more. No sense in tempting fate.
The minute I’m in the safety of my room, I pull my phone out of my bag and hit dial on River’s name.
I can see I’ve got a bunch of texts from her and a few from Jay and Sierra too, but I’ll read them after.
“Eden?” she answers on only the third ring.
“Hey.”
“Oh, thank god, I’ve been so worried about you.”
“I’m okay. I just got back to my room.”
“You stayed with Jake?”
I breathe a sigh of relief, at least one of us seems to know what happened last night, even if she does sound surprised I spent the whole night.
“I woke up in his room.”
“He saved you, Eden. We were trying to find you, but you didn’t come up. It was dark and the waves kept coming in…”
Her voice is trembling, and I feel terrible for having scared her like this.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“It’s not your fault.” She sobs.
“I’m fine, seriously. I’m okay.”
“I was so scared. We all were.”
“Thanks for having my back,” I say through the lump in my throat. River is the best friend I’ve ever had, and I hate that I’ve put her though this.
She gains composure of herself again.
“I’ll always have your back, but it’s not me you should be thanking, it’s Jake.”
“I know.”
“It was so strange. He comes across as so cocky, but you should have seen him. He came out of nowhere – he must have heard you screaming, and he demanded they put you down.”
I don’t remember anything much from the exact moment in time she’s referring to. My brain has a solid habit of blocking out distressing experiences.
“So they did. That’s when we panicked, we couldn’t find you in the water and he was so calm. He just dived under and pulled you out. He was so gentle with you; he carried you in his arms and sat you in his lap.”
I feel my cheeks blushing. I’m humiliated.
“He was really sweet, Eden. Maybe he’s not as bad as you think he is.”
I don’t even know what to think anymore.
He’s still the asshole that taunts my brother and winds me up to no end, but River’s right, much like the roaring ocean, there’s more under the surface when it comes to Jake Carson.
“I’ll be sure to thank him today.”
“I think I’ll do the same,” she replies.
“I told Zeke I stayed with you, okay, so go along with it if he mentions anything?”
“There might be one problem with that.”
I groan. Of course there is. “What?”
“Alexi.” I can almost hear her grimacing. “He walked me and the girls back. If Zeke talks to him, he’s going to know you lied.”
I rake my hand over my face.
“I guess I’ll just hope he doesn’t.”
It frustrates me to no end that I can’t just be honest with my brother about things like this, but the reality is, I can’t.
Even though I understand his reasons for being protective, it’s way past time for him to understand that I’m all grown up now. I’m not ten years old anymore, and I don’t need him to keep me protected every five seconds – no matter how much last night might suggest otherwise.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she reassures me.
I doubt that’s true, but it is what it is.
I’ll deal with the fall out if and when it happens.
“Can you meet me down the beach in an hour?” I ask her.
“I’ll be there.”
I finish up talking to River and then strip off yesterday’s clothes.
I’ve got a photo shoot this afternoon, but this morning is all mine.
We’ll be heading out on the road again tomorrow – moving to a new location for the next stop on the tour before a two-week break.
I throw on a new bikini and a light blue dress that I got given last week.
That’s the biggest perk to being a model – the free shit.
The down side is that the surf brand I model for specialises in swim wear… and I clearly don’t swim, but at least I look good standing on the beach.
I toss my phone on the bed and head out the door.
I wait until I get to the front door before I yell out to Zeke. “Heading down the beach, I’ll be back later.”
I don’t wait for a reply before closing it behind me.
***
I stand at the water’s edge, just my feet being lapped at by the warm ocean water.
This is furthest I’m willing to go.
I watch him ride the wave as though the board is an extension of him. He’s so in tune with the waves, the sets, the movement of the ocean in general… I hate to admit it, but he really is the best. I doubt there’s a better surfer in the world than him right now.
He’s a freak.
He’ll be the world champion this year. I can just feel it.
He drops super deep into the pipe, disappearing from my sight for a few beats before coming out clean, he winds up again from the bottom, hacking at the face of the wave, before shaking out his hair and grinning.
He hasn’t even seen me, and there’s no one else in the water yet, so I know his smile is genuinely because he loves what he does. It’s not for the crowd, the cameras or his opponent. It’s just for him.
He lives for the waves.
He looks like he chuckles to himself before he turns his head, his gaze finally landing on me.
I’m certain he was about to turn and paddle back out, to catch another ride, but instead he lies down on his board and lets the wave take him back in to shore.
To me.
His eyes stay on me the entire time, never leaving my face until he’s right in front of me, getting to his feet and tucking his board under his arm.
“Nice ride,” I say before he can speak.
He smirks. “Thanks.”
He undoes his leg rope and throws the cord over his board.
I’ve always admired that board. It looks just like one my mum had when I was
younger.
When I don’t say anything else, he walks past me, heading up the beach.
“Jake, wait,” I call as I jog to catch up with him.
He looks back at me over his shoulder, his brow cocked in question.
“I couldn’t remember if I thanked you… for last night,” I say, my cheeks heating. “I’m sorry you had to see all of that… get involved, you know…” I ramble, flustered.
“Don’t sweat it, precious. It was no big deal.”
I reach for his arm and tug on it, willing him to stop walking away. “Well, it was a big deal for me.”
He looks at me hard, and just when I think he might be about to say something genuine, his face transforms into an arrogant smirk. “You’re not the first woman to say that after spending the night in my bed.”
I narrow my eyes at him in disgust, but in a way, I’m glad he’s not treating me any differently than normal.
“You’re revolting,” I say, barely concealing my grin.
I drop my hand from his arm and settle for walking alongside him up the sand.
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” he quips, that sexy smirk I wish I could hate the way I pretend to, plastered across his face.
“Eden!” I hear a voice bellow, and my stomach drops.
I snap my eyes up at the beach and see Zeke storming towards us, Alexi on his heels and River doing her best to chase them both down.
“Oh shit,” I mutter.
Zeke’s attention turns from me to Jake and his fists clench tightly at his sides.
“You’re dead, Carson,” I hear him growl.
“Zeke!” I yell as I scramble forward.
I grab at Jake’s arm and try unsuccessfully to drag him behind me.
I hear him chuckle darkly as he takes a step in the direction of my brother.
“Zeke, no!” I scream again as I rush forward, physically throwing myself in the space between the two men.
They’re both taller than me, even at five foot ten, they tower over me.
Zeke comes to a screaming stop when he sees me in front of Jake.
He drags his murderous expression from him and lands it on me instead.
“You’re trying to protect him?” he asks, his voice a mixture of disgust and hurt.
“He’s done nothing wrong.” I don’t know why, but my voice sounds like I’m begging.
Maybe I am begging. Begging him to stop. Neither of them need to get in a fight at this point in their careers. Certainly not over me.
Their sponsors will lose the plot if this goes down, because it won’t just be a one-punch battle that they can turn a blind eye to – it’ll be an all-out brawl.
“Did you or did you not, spend the night in his room, Eden?”
I straighten my spine and look him right in the eye. I’ve done nothing wrong here. I don’t need to apologise for a thing.
“I did. But it’s not what you think.”
Zeke’s expression turns into a sneer. “With that bastard, I’m sure it’s exactly what I think.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about and quite frankly, you’re making a fool out of yourself,” I say calmly – much calmer than I feel.
“He wants to hit me, precious… let him,” Jake taunts him from behind me.
They’re both pressing closer together now, and I feel like I’m about to be sandwiched between them.
Alexi tugs on Zeke’s shoulder, pulling him back, “Just leave it, man, it’s not worth it.”
“So, you wouldn’t care if it was River he tapped and gapped?”
Alexi makes a growling noise that makes me think he would care. Very much so.
“For fuck’s sake, Zeke, I didn’t sleep with him.”
His gaze flickers down to me and he sees the truth in my eyes.
“You lied about where you spent the night.”
“I was embarrassed.”
I feel Jake step back away from me and I exhale in relief.
“Jake saved her,” River pipes up, and I curse her internally.
I shoot her a ‘what the fuck’ look, and she shrugs in apology.
“I’m done with this shit,” Jake announces, stepping around me and brushing past my brother, whose anger seems to have evaporated somewhat, and morphed into confusion. “You still want a fight in an hour, you know where to find me, but trust me, bro, if you’re looking for someone to hit, I’d start with the guys that actually did wrong by your sister last night,” he calls back over his shoulder.
He walks up the beach, not once looking back at us.
I both love and hate that he’s cocky enough not to check if anyone follows.
“You’re such an asshole sometimes,” I hiss at Zeke as I storm off down the beach, in the opposite direction to Jake.
“Eden!” he calls after me, but he wisely doesn’t follow.
“Eden, wait up,” I hear River’s voice.
“What the hell was that?” I demand as she catches up with me.
“I’m so sorry. We were at breakfast and Zeke thanked Alexi for looking out for you… it just escalated from there. I didn’t mean to spill about him saving you… it just slipped out.”
I shake my head and sigh in defeat. “Don’t apologise. It’s not your fault,” I tell her as we walk, hopefully far enough away that I won’t have to deal with any more drama today.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jake
Fuck.
I don’t know why she has to look so good.
I guess it’s a given with her choice of occupation, but shit, she’s sinfully sexy.
She’s always been gorgeous, but when she first came on tour with Zeke, she was just a baby. Those two years that she disappeared for changed her.
She went from being his kid sister to a sexy-as-fuck woman, and I’ve been drooling over her from a distance ever since. Fuck, I think half the guys on the pro circuit have been.
It doesn’t help that she’s paid to pose in skimpy little bikinis and dresses in front of us twenty-four-seven, either.
She’s still a precious little princess though, that much hasn’t changed.
There’s also the fact that she hates me, but that only makes me want her more.
There’s a loud thump on my door and I already know who it’ll be.
The bastard has his nose all bent out of shape and he won’t let this go until he gets to the bottom of it. He’s a good big brother, I’ll give him that, but the dude needs to cool his jets. Eden isn’t a child anymore.
I stroll, taking my time to answer the door, nothing but a towel wrapped around my waist.
If he decides he wants to hit me now, he’s probably going to get a show.
“What do you want, Brady?” I ask him lazily as I pull the door open.
“I want to know why my sister spent the night in your fucking bed,” he demands, his eyes darting to my unmade bed before finding their way back to my face.
I could fuck with him right now I realise suddenly. I could make him lose his cool like never before, but I truly just can’t be fucked.
I just want to get on the road and onto the next leg of the tour. We’re headed for my home town, and I’m homesick as hell.
“She got into some trouble down the beach and you weren’t there. She spent the night in my bed, and I slept on the couch. End of.”
I go to shut the door in his face, but he shoots his hand out, stopping it from closing.
“What kind of trouble?” he demands, his voice like ice.
“Maybe if you weren’t drinking yourself into a coma you would have seen for yourself.” I can’t help but accuse him.
His expression flashes with disappointment – in himself I’d imagine – before being replaced with frustration.
“I fucked up. Now tell me whose ass I need to kick.”
I contemplate my options for a moment, before deciding that I’m happy to throw the guys responsible under the bus. I’ll be that guy.
Hell, I wouldn’t mind roughing the
m up myself after what they did to Eden, but I have no right. Zeke, however, does.
“I came in from a surf and I saw a few of the guys, they had Eden lifted up in the air, then they tossed her in the sea.”
All the colour drains from his face, which I find interesting given that he knows she’s okay. He’s seen her this morning with his own two eyes, yet he’s still reacting like this is life threatening.
“Shit,” he whispers. “What happened after that?”
“I pulled her out. She’d been drinking a bit and she was soaked. She fainted. I carried her back here so I could keep an eye on her. That’s all that went on, so relax.”
He looks at me like he’s confused; frankly I’m confused too. I don’t know why I brought her here instead of sending her with River and Alexi, but it was the decision that made the most sense to me at the time, and I’ve always been an ‘in the moment’ type of guy.
In fact, it was never really a decision for me; it was just what was happening.
There was no logic to it, having her close defied any.
“Thank you,” he grinds out, and I can tell those words taste like acid coming up.
I nod at him. “No sweat.” But I’ve got a feeling he’s not done yet.
“I need names.”
I smirk at him. “What are you going to give me in return?”
“Don’t be a prick, Carson, you know why I need to know.”
I nod in appreciation, I do know. But that doesn’t change the fact that I want something from him in return.
“Tell me why she’s afraid of the sea, and I’ll tell you who threw her in.”
His colour pales again, and I realise I’m scratching the surface of something big here, and for the life of me, I don’t know why, but I’m desperate to know what it is.
“She can’t swim,” he says, but I’m not convinced in the slightest.
“Bullshit.”
“Leave it, Jake.”
“Alright then.” I shrug and go to close the door.
“Wait,” he says, his arm hitting the door again with a thud. “It’s not my place to say, man, and honestly, it’s none of your business.”
“It was my business last night when I pulled her from the sea floor.”
Zeke flinches, and I almost feel bad for being so blunt.
Mr. May: A Forbidden Love Romance (Calendar Boys Book 5) Page 3