Storm: Phantom Islanders Part I

by Ednah Walters

  “Don’t wait for me,” he said and disappeared again.

  I stared at the pork. I’m supposed to just tear into it with… what? My teeth like I’d seen his people do? I started with the bread but eyed the meat, my mouth watering. When he came back, he had two goblets and a pitcher.

  “Is that rum?” I asked.

  He chuckled. “No. Delia told me you spat it out, so no rum until you can appreciate it.”

  I wrinkled my nose.

  “So I get the good stuff while you get water.” Despite his words, he poured water for both of us and then pulled off a side of the pig and handed it to me. He grinned when I ripped into it. He kept giving me more meat and bread until I was full.

  “How often do you raid the kitchen?” I asked, sipping the water.

  “At least once a week. You should hear Gráinne the morning after.” He grinned, not in the least repentant while I worried. I was new and couldn’t afford to step on anyone’s foot. My feelings must have shown because he added, “Don’t worry. She’s all talk. Besides, she won’t know you were with me.” He reached out and wiped the corner of my mouth, his hand lingering. “You are breathtaking.”

  “And you are aggravating.”

  He grinned. From his smug expression, he didn’t mind.

  “What do the words around the skull tattoo say?”

  He glanced down at his chest. “The bond of six.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “My brothers and I share a special bond.” I had a feeling he didn’t want to talk about it when he stood and collected the tray of leftover meat. We’d gutted it. The breadbasket was empty. He left and returned with a leafy garnish, which he shared with me. It was minty and lemony.

  “Chew on it. It cleanses the mouth and teeth,” he explained. “But you can chew one of the fresh stems to create a toothbrush. Better than all modern toothbrushes and toothpastes out there.”

  No wonder his teeth were white and clean. We put the goblets in a large container of soapy water, washed our hands, and headed back upstairs. This time, I insisted on walking while Storm rested his hand on the small of my back in case I tripped. I could feel the heat from his hand through the layers of clothes.

  The second we entered the bedroom, something changed. I couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was the way he watched me as I removed the robe. I offered it to him, but he shook his head.

  “Get in bed. I’ll stay in the next room until you fall asleep.” He started for the door.

  “Storm?”

  He paused but did not turn around. “Hmm?”

  “Thanks for dinner.”

  He nodded and waited.

  “I really want my panties back. I know you guys do things differently here on the island, but where I come from, you don’t take girls’ panties without permission.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at me. “When they have your scent, I can. You’ll have them once I claim you. Until then, I’m keeping them.” He released a breath, heated eyes watching me intently. “Turn around and get in bed, lass. Now.”

  I’d never moved so fast. I threw the robe on a footrest and crawled under the blankets before he cleared the door. A chuckle escaped him. The candles flickered off the second the door closed.

  Sounds reached me from the other room. He was pacing. My mind kept replaying everything he’d told me. What if he was really my mate as he claimed? What then?

  I knew the moment he left the living room and moved toward the bedroom. I lay still, trying to keep my breathing even. I’d had years of practice whenever my stepmother was in a lecture mode late at night after the diner closed. I’d always fooled her.

  Storm settled on top of the covers. Still, my body became alive, my heart pounding like a hammer.

  “Can’t sleep either?” he asked.

  No, but I didn’t respond.

  “Me neither,” he said as though I’d spoken. “Do you want me to compel you?”

  I continued to ignore him.

  “Want to have sex?”

  “Hell no.”

  He laughed, but he stayed above the blanket, until I fell asleep. Hours later, I stirred and found myself draped over him—my cheek on his shoulder and my nose buried in his neck. Somehow I’d known he’d crawl in beside me. His arm was around my waist, and my leg was over his hips.

  I tried to remove my leg, but his arm tightened. I pinched his arm, but he was fast sleep. After a few attempts, I gave up and drifted off to sleep again.

  “You awake, lass?”

  I bolted upright as Delia marched in with a tray. Jeez, give a girl a warning before stomping into her room. Thankfully, I was alone in bed.

  I swung my legs to the side and stood while she threw back the curtains and let in sunlight. For a brief moment, my eyes protested against the harshness, and I squinted.

  “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? Fastest mourning period I’ve ever seen on the island, and I guess we have you to thank for that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She stared at me in confusion and then mumbled, “Because Storm is happy he found you. Come on. Time to eat.”

  Breakfast was the same nasty meat with leafy garnish and oatmeal. One of the girls came in to straighten the bed. Then Delia sent her to start on my bath.

  I didn’t know how to tell Delia I didn’t want to be waited on without hurting her feelings, so I said, “I can bathe later.”

  “Then you should not be cooped up indoors today, lass. I told Storm, but he insisted you have plenty to do up here.”

  “No, I don’t. All I do is read.”

  “So would you like to come with me during my rounds? I could show you a little bit of the island.”

  “Oh, I’d love that. Can we see the ships? Maybe meet the captains?” So I could decide which one to use to get the hell out of Dodge and away from one seductive pirate, who was slowly creeping under my skin. I still didn’t understand scents and mates, but he made everything seem right. I needed to get as far away from him as possible.

  “I don’t think we’ll go that far, lass. It’s a long walk, but you can meet the captains, which means you’ll wear my favorite dress.” She disappeared inside the dressing room and showed me a blue overskirt with a red one that went under it and a red bodice with front embroidery. The chemise had the same detailing along the sleeves as the front of the bodice. “Do you approve?”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Good. We’ll walk through the village and visit the grieving widows.”

  I frowned. No matter how much I hated being here, I couldn’t ignore the fact that their men died because of me. If the royal ships hadn’t come after me, they’d be alive.

  “How are they doing?” I asked.

  “Taking it hard, the poor lasses. Once our kind mates, it’s for life. So losing a mate is like losing a part of you. You walk around feeling incomplete.” Her eyes dimmed as though she was remembering a past pain. “It takes decades to move on, but even then the loss never fully goes away. I’ll get some fresh bread and water.”

  I ate while she was gone. The oatmeal was more tart than yesterday, but I still liked it. By the time she arrived with fresh-from-the-oven steaming bread, I was done.

  She looked at the meat and sighed. “You can’t live on oatmeal and bread alone.”

  Watch me. No, there was nothing to watch. I wasn’t going to stick around long enough for their weird food to matter.

  “Are there fruits native to the islands?”

  “Mangoes and papaya, but we planted other fruits when we first arrived here and we have several farmers with orchards. Most fruit is used to make various wines, just like the sugar cane is used to make rum. Ryun keeps some for the children, but like most farmers, he prefers to trade his harvest for other provisions. We can stop by his place when he’s not teaching.”

  The thought of fresh fruit improved my mood immensely. I’d even eat their spicy, overly salted meat if I could wash it down with a mango or papaya.

  Del
ia helped me with the dress. The seamstress had done a wonderful job of adjusting the skirts and the front lacings on the bodice, and shoulder ties made it easy to adjust the size. The skirts came to my ankles and the soft boots were perfect for them. I stared at my reflection. Borrowed or not, the outfit was beautiful and feminine. I ran a brush through my hair. Then we headed downstairs to the kitchen to get provisions for the grieving widows.

  “Gráinne is in one of her moods because the lads raided the pantry again last night and left a big mess. I told you that all the unmarried lads and lasses live here in the Great Hall, right?”

  I nodded.

  “We take care of their needs. Food. Laundry. But at times, they get hungry in the dead of the night, especially when in mourning, and they raid the kitchen. So if Gráinne seems snippy, just ignore her.”

  A mess? We didn’t make one. Maybe others came after us. Feeling a little guilty for not telling her Storm and I had raided the pantry, I followed her into the kitchen.

  The room looked different during the day. It was also L-shaped with several doors leading from it and larger than I’d thought. It had more tables, four cooking pits, and four baking stone ovens. About a dozen women were busy kneading fresh dough and placing them on trays to rise, baking, or stirring pots. Hot loaves cooled on racks by the windows, and the huge baskets I’d seen against the wall were for loaves. A skinless pig was on one of the tables and several feathered chickens were on another.

  “Who is this in my kitchen?” a tall, skinny woman with graying hair and pointed nose asked. She was the oldest islander I’d seen since I arrived, and somehow I knew she was the infamous Gráinne.

  “Gráinne, this is Alexandria, one of the new lasses,” Delia said. “Lexi, Elder Gráinne.”

  The woman studied me. “Don’t you mean Storm’s mate?”

  I opened my mouth to deny it, but Delia shook her head. “She is not Storm’s mate yet.”

  “Not from what I heard. One look at each other and they decided to forgo centuries of tradition and claimed each with the crew as their witnesses.”

  “I haven’t officially claimed him,” I said, not masking my annoyance.

  “Is that so?” Gráinne continued to study me. “Gráinne sees everything, lass. Gráinne even knows who sneaked into the kitchen at four in the morning because they were hungry.”

  Gráinne needed to stop talking about herself in third person.

  “They made enough noise to wake up the dead. So I’ll ask again, lass. Is Storm your mate?”

  “No,” I said without hesitation.

  “Then you should not be in the tower,” she said.

  “I agree with you.” Sleeping in the tower put me too much under his thumb. To escape, I needed to be free to come and go as I pleased.

  “Storm talked to us about this, Gráinne,” Delia said.

  Gráinne harrumphed. “He’s too stubborn and demanding. There are rules.”

  Delia pushed a wicker basket into my hand. “Get some bread from the baskets. About eight loaves.”

  “Eight?” Gráinne protested.

  “For the widows, Gráinne,” Delia reminded her. “Lexi is making rounds with me today.”

  Gráinne sighed. “The poor lasses. The island grieves with them.”

  The women in the kitchen echoed her words. While I went to get the loaves, Delia took the cook aside. I wasn’t sure what they were discussing, but the older woman kept glancing at me. I could tell she didn’t like me very much. How could she when she knew I’d thrown her meat away? Or maybe it was the pantry raid that had landed me on her hate list. I would have loved to have her as an ally. As an elder, she would have supported my wish to move out of the tower. They --disappeared inside a room. When they came out, Delia had a basket covered with a cloth.

  We left and headed for the front hall. Several men and women on ladders were beating dust from banners and tapestries while others scrubbed the floor, which was already gleaming.

  “Let’s make a quick stop in the council chamber before we leave.” Delia escorted me to a door at the farthest end of the hall and knocked. Voices came from inside. She pushed the door, and I followed her in, not sure what I’d find.

  Nine pair of eyes studied me from the round table dominating the room—six men and three women, including Nerissa. The men got to their feet. Levi was his usual broody self. Zale nodded and smiled. Pretty man. I still liked him the best, beard, man bun, and studs. The remaining three men and the two women were unfamiliar. One of the men had delicate bone structure, pale straight hair, and moss-green eyes. I expected to see pointed ears. The other was olive-complexioned with high cheekbones and braids in his hair. The last one had thick, pitch-black hair and bushy eyebrows. Finally, my eyes reached Storm and stayed. He smiled, and something shifted in my stomach.

  His eyes not leaving my face, he came around the table. The closer he got to where I stood, the more fidgety I got, my heart thumping hard.

  The heat from his body hit me first, the effect hard to describe. It was like being blasted by something you knew was bad for you, yet you still liked it anyway. He reached for my hand, turned, and introduced the others, but all I got was Kheelan, the name of the elf-looking one.

  “Continue without me,” Storm told the room and escorted me outside. “Why did you leave the tower?”

  “I’m bored up there with nothing to do,” I said, keeping my voice low. We were close to some of the people cleaning the hall, and they were already staring. “Delia offered to show me around.”

  “I was going to show you around. There’s this beautiful fresh water pond on the south side of the island that is perfect for a swim.” He leaned in to add, “You don’t even need a swim suit because no one goes there, except me.”

  Swim naked around him? He might go caveman on me. “You are a funny man.”

  “I’m happy I amuse you. Life here, you’ll find, is idyllic.”

  Hardly. I was a prisoner and so were the other women. “How is Skylar doing? Did you escort her to the Undine Court yet?”

  “No. You pleaded her case so passionately I couldn’t do it.”

  He’d actually listened to me? After I’d called him cold and unfeeling? “Can I see her?”

  “No.” He glanced over my shoulder and frowned. When I followed his gaze, I noticed he was looking at Delia and a redheaded man. “In the next couple of days, merchants will come to the tower to make sure you have everything you need. If you want to change anything in the bedroom or living room, let them know. The area around the tub could do with a nice rug, and we need another chair in the dressing room— maybe a new screen, too. The one in there is old. Make a list.”

  So he’d fed me last night. That didn’t mean everything was okay between us. “We’re not playing house, Storm.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because this”—I pointed at him then me—“is not natural. Mi casa es su casa is not working.”

  “Not when it’s true?”

  I studied him. “You speak Spanish?”

  “I speak many languages.”

  “So you know what CPR means, don’t you?”

  “Aye.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Unbelievable. About Skylar. I don’t understand why I can’t see her.”

  “Because she’s not ready. I’m keeping her in isolation until she promises to behave. And please, don’t plead her case again, Lexi. You are my mate, and I’ll seek your counsel about many things, but when it comes to the matters of the new lasses, the final decision rests with me.”

  He was doing it again. Saying things that made me want to forget he’d kidnapped me and was keeping me against my will. The thought that I might actually relax my guard and agree to stay with him was scary.

  “I should go.” I turned toward Delia, who was still talking to the redhead, and Storm’s hand closed around mine. The next second, he invaded my personal space as he threaded our fingers. He was so close I could see the silver rivets radiating through his eyes.<
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  “Don’t fight the inevitable, lass. You and I are meant to be together.” His eyes locked with mine, and everything else blurred. But when they dropped to my lips, I knew he was thinking about the kiss from yesterday morning. If he kissed me again…

  What will you do, Lexi? Kiss him back? You know you want to, the stupid voice in the back of my head mocked.

  Kick him in the nuts. Thoughts of kissing him disappeared, and I grinned.

  “Want to share what’s funny?” Storm asked.

  “I just had this image of you that’s kind of… cute.”

  “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

  I shook my head and fought a smile. “No.”

  “Yes, you are. Are you sure you’re ready to walk around the village without me? There’s still so much you don’t know about my people,” he said.

  “But what better way to learn than to meet them and talk to them. I’ll be fine with Delia.”

  His thumb stroked my wrist as his head lowered. He was going to kiss me.

  “We’ll be fine, lad,” Delia said. “You can give her a thorough tour when you return.”

  The look in Storm’s eyes said he didn’t appreciate her interruption. I silently thanked her and stepped away from him, but he didn’t let go of my hand.

  “Meet me in the tower for… lunch, Lexi,” he said.

  Oh no. His voice had gone all husky and sexy. It was a simple request, yet it sounded loaded. Maybe it was the look in his eyes that said this was more than a lunch request, or the slight hesitation before he’d said lunch, or the low caressing timbre of his voice that set off an alarm.

  “I can’t,” I said. “I just had a late breakfast.”

  “You’re running, lass,” he whispered.

  “And you’re being bossy.”

  “I want to share something important about my people. And I’d rather do it when it’s just the two of us. I will show you around later when I return.”

  I sighed and caved like a damn cheap suit. “Fine.”

  “Okay, that’s settled. I’ll bring her back by lunchtime.” Delia wedged her way between us. “The others are waiting for you to close the meeting, Son. Go.”