Storm: Phantom Islanders Part I

by Ednah Walters

  “No, ma’am,” I cut in. “I don’t need you to order anything for me. Charge these to our suite.” I waited while she added the items to our account, aware of Storm staring at me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. I tried to pretend he wasn’t there, but he inched closer, bringing the heat. This time, I noticed a distinct scent. Sea breeze mixed with earth on a hot summer afternoon after a sudden burst of rain.

  Then he did something strange. He reached out and stroked my arm as though checking the texture of my skin. I yanked my arm away and shot him a look that could have turned him to icicles.

  “What are you doing?”

  Instead of answering, he smiled. Not a smirk, but a teeth-flashing, gorgeous smile. The transformation had me catching my breath. He was like a completely different person when he smiled. Not that it made any difference. He was still a creep. I gathered my things and walked past him without slowing down.

  I was halfway across the foyer when I noticed his buddies watching me with frowns. Bet they didn’t like me talking down to their boy. Too bad. A woman also dressed in loose black pants and a tank top stood beside them. Her reaction was the opposite. She was grinning. I wondered if she was Nerissa from last night. She was shorter than the men with short-cropped red hair, but she looked like she could kick Storm’s ass and mock him while doing it. I’d cheer on the sideline. Last night he’d talked of taming me, and now he dared to insinuate he planned to claim me? In what universe?

  I made a beeline for the door leading to the patio while mentally berating that overgrown schoolyard bully. Of all the annoying, arrogant men to ever cross my path, he was the worst. And I’d met quite a few.

  Growing up on the west side of town often meant dealing with snooty, rich kids from the east at my school. And quite a number of Mr. Sinclair’s associates had kids my age. Preppies and debutants. I never let them get to me. I had a plan. A dream. And one day, I was going to make it come true.

  Still fuming, I found an empty poolside table and sat. My stomach growled. Despite being hungry, I didn’t feel like eating the yogurt. My appetite was going to suffer until I calmed down. I needed coffee. I was a grouch without a cup, a habit I’d acquired over the last year. Sighing, I removed the papers from the envelope and got busy reading.

  Mr. Sinclair hadn’t been kidding about the cost of rehabilitation for Tommy. The surgeons were top-notch, and their successes in innovative surgical procedures had earned them recognition among their peers. Tommy was going to get the attention of the best in the field.

  Smiling, I tried his number again. When he didn’t answer, I texted him, then put the papers back in the envelope and opened my laptop. It was time for my next video entry, and I had plenty to talk about from last night.

  Do Aliens Exist?

  Nice title. Sure to catch a few eyes and net more responses. It might also attract the crazies, but that was a price I was willing to pay to make it big.

  I got busy chronicling what I’d seen. After a while, I leaned back and listened to the recording and my stomach. The recording sucked, and I needed food. I closed the laptop, demolished the packet of nuts, and then started on the yogurt.

  A prickly feeling told me I was being watched. I glanced around as I dipped the plastic spoon into the fruity mixture. The few grown-ups on the pool deck were busy worshiping the sun while their children frolicked in the shallow end of the pool. Others walked past on their way to the beach. No one appeared to be paying me any attention.

  I finished the yogurt and licked the back of the spoon. The glass wall of the hotel was so clear I could see the front desk and guests checking in or out. I finally found the source of the prickly feeling. Storm’s two buddies and the girl had taken a table by the window and were watching me. Every time I looked up, their eyes were on me. It bugged me so much I switched seats and gave them my back.

  Damn aliens. Shouldn’t they be flying their ships somewhere or Harvesting? No, they Harvested at night. Did they transform into little green men with big heads and bulgy eyes? Bet they had legs like bugs. I grinned at my thoughts. And retractable wings. It might explain the serious air displacement when Storm had jumped from the balcony to the pool. It might even explain the crazy trajectory.

  Feeling better, I went back to recording about last night. I wished I had pictures to share with my fans. They loved pictures. There was something really off about Storm and his people. Levi had disappeared for under a minute and come back with my phone. That was twelve stories he’d scaled in less than sixty seconds. No wonder they’d made it upstairs before I did last night. They didn’t even hide the fact that they were different.

  I stopped recording and did a little research. There was nothing online about she’lahn and Tuh’ren. Or maybe my spellings were wrong. I tried different spelling variations and still came up empty.

  The feeling of being watched persisted, and like an itch I couldn’t scratch, it became unbearable. Just when I decided I couldn’t take it anymore, a shadow fell over me.

  I knew it was Storm before I looked up. That scent of his was very distinct, but that wasn’t it. He pulsed heat and something I couldn’t put my finger on, something that made my body react in ways it had never done before, and it bugged me.

  Our eyes met, and my stomach dipped. I couldn’t explain his effect on me. The guy was a total douche, and I should be repulsed by his mere presence. Instead, my heart leaped and my gaze clung to his, everything and everyone else disappearing. Those beautiful eyes didn’t appear to miss a damn thing. His expression said he knew I was flustered by his presence, so I cheated and looked at his hands.

  He carried two tall cups of frosted drinks from my favorite coffee shop and a brown paper bag with its logo. I smelled something freshly baked, and my stomach growled.

  “Lexi, my name is Storm Orath, and we need to talk,” he said.

  “No, we don’t.” I pretended to read something on my computer.

  “This is serious.” He closed my laptop and placed a drink on top.

  No, he didn’t just do that. No one ever did that to someone’s laptop, which only added to my belief that he came from a rock in the middle of nowhere where elders ran things and women were ordered around like minions, except Nerissa. She was probably an elder’s daughter.

  I plucked the drink, put it down, and pushed it as far away from me as possible. The gesture would have been more satisfying if there was a garbage can to dump it in.

  He slid into a chair without an invitation, his knee brushing mine under the table. I moved my leg out of the way. His knees followed. Yesterday, he had tried not to touch me while handing me my phone. Today, he acted like a cat needing to be stroked, brushing against me every chance he got. I angled my knees, hating that I was the one who had to move. He stretched his legs and even lifted one foot so his ankle brushed my leg again.

  I kicked him this time. “Stop touching me!”

  He grinned. “But you smell so good when I do.”

  What the hell was that supposed to mean? “Well, stop it. It’s creepy.”

  He sighed as though I was the most impossible woman on earth. “Okay. I need to ask you some questions.”

  “I plead the fifth.”

  His lips twitched. “I don’t know what that means, but I brought a peace offering.”

  “Not going to work on me, and you know what I mean by pleading the fifth.” The twitching lips gave him away. In fact, I had a crazy idea that he knew a lot of things, including what CPR meant, but was toying with me.

  “Caramel macchiato is your favorite, yes?” he asked.

  This time he placed the drink next to my laptop and caught my hand when I could have pushed it away. He brushed my skin with the pad of his thumb. His hands were rough like someone who did a lot of physical work. Even his knuckles had scars, yet his face was smooth and unmarked.

  I yanked my hand from underneath his, but I could still feel the pad of his thumb. It was as though he’d branded me with his touch. I rubbed it against my pa
nts, not caring what he thought of my reaction.

  “I also brought fluffy omelets made with real eggs and crisp bacon on croissants so flaky and buttery they melt in your mouth. All from the best breakfast joint in Cocoa Beach. Also your favorite bistro.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I can read minds.” He reached inside the bag, pulled out an egg and bacon sandwich, and bit into it.

  Read minds, my butt. He was a stalker. The last two days, Sienna and I had eaten breakfast at that bistro. Part of me wanted to stand up and leave, but I was busy salivating while watching him eat. He demolished the sandwich without sharing or offering part of it to me. He was an ass with a cruel streak a mile long. I wasn’t surprised. He reached inside the bag for another, winked, and nudged the paper bag toward me.

  “I brought enough for two.”

  Now he tells me. I wanted to pretend I wasn’t hungry, but he had me at flaky and buttery. I grabbed the paper bag and took one of the sandwiches. I attacked it and didn’t care that he chuckled. It tasted so good I hummed while eating it.

  “I’m happy you like my gifts,” he said.

  “Like you said, you’re the reason I missed breakfast.” I finished half of my sandwich before I slowed down. “Am I allowed to ask you questions, too? Like what floating rock did your people crawl out from under? How on earth did you jump from that window and into the water? Or is gravity not an issue? It might explain why Levi scaled the wall and got my phone so fast. And when you jumped, there was a gust of wind. Did you do that? How?” I leaned in and pinned him with narrowed eyes. “Why was your body temperature so high yet you weren’t breathing? How did you get upstairs so fast afterward, and why wasn’t your hair wet? Last, but not least, do you practice mind control? Because I know you hypnotized that girl on the balcony last night?”

  He studied me with an amused expression. “Done?”

  “No, just starting.”

  “What I am or can do is something you cannot handle right now, she’lahn.”

  “Really? You’re probably an alien from a planet where rudeness is the norm, and you have wings or some sort of levitation device that churns wind, and you move faster than humans, yet I’m having breakfast with you.”

  His jaw tightened, and I grinned with enough enthusiasm to rival a beauty contestant after a win. He really thought I’d play nice and give him information just because he asked?

  “How’s the nose? I know I broke it.” I studied it. “Do you self heal? And are you really an alien life form masquerading as a human?”

  He laughed. Not a chuckle or a snort, but a full kick-in-the-gut, ha-ha-you-are-so-witty-Lexi laugh. I wasn’t sure what brought it on, but his hotness just shot from here to infinity. I could even forgive a few of his peculiar habits if he kept laughing like that.

  “You want to tell me you broke his nose? I find that very hard to believe. Maybe it was all a dream? Or wishful thinking on your part?”

  “Why?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Why what?”

  “Why would any woman dream or wish you were in their room? Or haven’t you been listening to anything I said? I find you rude and condescending, and I don’t find your brand of machismo charming. And yes, I broke your nose.”

  He leaned toward me. “Are your eyes really violet, or are you wearing contacts?”

  “Like I said, rude and not very charming.”

  “They are exceptionally beautiful,” he whispered, his voice dropping an octave, the gorgeous accent flowing out like silk. He studied me with low eyelids and relaxed lips. “Very unusual for your kind.” He reached out and stroked my cheek. “Your skin is flawless and smooth like fresh pearls from the deepest, darkest bottom of the sea. I’ve been watching you the last two days, she’lahn, wondering how it felt, whether it is warm and soft as silk, or cool as the island breeze. It’s warmer than soft silk. Bet it tastes as good as your scent. Your scent is intoxicating.”

  He’s been watching me? Funny I hadn’t noticed him.

  “I’ve followed your scent the last month, from the Pacific coast to here. It was strong when I was at sea, but it kept disappearing whenever I landed. I still don’t understand why. And your voice has a soft timbre that’s both sweet and seductive. I could listen to you all day. Your hair is a rich shade of brown like the soil from my island, but at just the right angle, the strands catch light and glow like the rays of a setting sun. You, Alexandria Greendale, stand out among Tuh’rens.” His lips curved into a smug smile, and silver eyes gleamed with amusement. “Was that charming enough for you?”

  I blinked, the bubble popping. What the hell had just happened? His mojo had worked on me. Of course, none of the things he’d said was true. He’d wanted to prove a point, and he’d succeeded.

  Determined to show him I had the upper hand, I shot back, “What’s Tuh’rens?”

  “What was I wearing when I came to your room?”

  “I don’t know. A robe.” A memory flashed. “No, a dark coat. I woke up and you were in my face. So I punched you in the nose.”

  “Tell me word-for-word what, uh, I said,” he said.

  “You sniffed my hair and made a face, then said, ‘I don’t get it.’ I didn’t have time to wash off the chlorine after that dip in the pool, so I wasn’t amused. I told you to get lost. You called me prickly. I said you were a pervert, which is spot-on. You whined about your broken nose. Before you left, you said you’re looking forward to taming me, which you’ll never get a chance to do in a million years. And here we are, having breakfast instead of me calling the police because I don’t want anything to mess with today.” I took a deep breath and exhaled. “I have a cruise ship with my name on it, and I don’t intend to miss it.” He leaned forward, his intense gaze unnerving. I leaned back. “What?”

  “You sure I scented you?”

  “If that’s what you want to call the sniffing thing you keep doing, yes.”

  “Did I touch you before that?”

  “I don’t think so. What is this about? You sleepwalk and don’t remember what happened?”

  “Do not go anywhere while I get Levi and Zale,” he said and stood. “You cannot go on the cruise, Lexi. You’re not safe.” He hurried away without a backward glance.

  Not safe? I stared after him, too shocked to react. Don’t go anywhere… when I claim you… I’m going to enjoy taming you…

  Who did this man think he was? I finished the rest of the sandwiches, picked up my laptop and drink, and went back inside the hotel. Storm and his two buddies were gone.

  Good riddance.

  My cell phone went off as I crossed the lobby.

  “Do I know you?” I asked.

  “Sorry, Lexi,” my thirteen-year-old brother said, laughing. “The guys were here, and my battery died. I don’t know how you convinced Mr. Sinclair to help us, but you are the best sister ever.”

  “I know.”

  He laughed. “No, seriously. Thank you, Sis.”

  “In all honesty, I didn’t do anything. He surprised me with the offer.”

  “Yeah, right. I overheard Mom talking to him after we visited the doctor on Wednesday. She told him how we were going to use your scholarship money to help pay for everything.” He snorted. “I swear she says the craziest things. I explained to her that the money was sent directly to the school, but she wouldn’t listen. Then this. You should have seen her this morning. She was humming while cooking breakfast.”

  “She cooked? What?”

  “My favorite. Eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Not just for me, but for Glen and Caesar, too.”

  “That’s awesome.”

  Tommy sounded like his old self. In the last two years, he’d become a shadow of the brother I’d grown up with. The only times I’d caught glimpses of that guy was when he played basketball with his new buddies—wheelchair bound war veterans at the local VA center.

  “I know Mr. Sinclair said he’d pay for everything, but Mom wants to contribute, too. She’s decided to ask Mortime
r to put collection jars at the diner. She’s going to talk to a few other stores in town into do the same.”

  “That’s awesome.” I hoped the change lasted. Tommy could use a little TLC while I was gone. Dad had died when he was seven, so he didn’t have enough memories of life with him. I did. Dad had been the best. My stepmother hadn’t always been a sour puss, either. She’d loved Dad. She’d become bitter and angry after his death.

  “Mom got a call this morning. She said we’re going to the university next week for a consultation. They are flying us out.”

  “That’s awesome.”

  “Do you want me to tell her the truth about the night of my accident? If she knew it wasn’t your fault, she might be nicer to you.”

  “No. It doesn’t matter anymore. Focus on you and the surgery.” I reached the elevator and thumbed the “up” button. “Okay. Gotta go. I’ll try to call when I can.”

  “No, try to have fun on the cruise. And, Sis?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thanks for everything. I still know you did something to pull this off. I hope it’s not something that will make me want to punch Mr. Sinclair and defend your honor.”

  “Eew, you’re disgusting.”

  “You are my sister, and it’s my job to look out for you.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “I know you just rolled your eyes while I’m being dead serious. As soon as I’m out of this chair, I’m going to be the kind of brother you deserve.”

  “Thank goodness Dad sold his shotgun, or you’d shoot your toes.”

  “Shut up. Bye. Have fun.” Then he swore. “Mom? Knock first before barging into my room.”

  That was the old Tommy talking, and I loved it. It was obvious Mother hadn’t told him I was postponing college for a year to help the Sinclairs. He was smart enough to put two and two together and conclude I’d made a deal with Mr. Sinclair. He was also stubborn enough to refuse the operation on principle. Hopefully, by the time he found out, it would be too late.

  The elevator opened, and I stepped inside. It was closing when a hand slipped between the doors, and it sprung open again to reveal Storm, Levi, Nerissa, and Mr. Nice. Zale, Storm had called him. There was no way I was sharing an elevator with them.