by L. A. Fiore
He grinned. “More fun to show you. Are you hungry?”
I was, activity always made me hungry. “Starving.”
“Then let’s get these tanks off.”
We swam to the ladder before he effortlessly pulled himself up. The sight of that big, muscled body with the water just sheeting off him was sexy as hell. He removed his tank then reached his hand down to me. He lifted me with ease.
“Turn around.” His voice was gruff. His fingers on my shoulders sent a shock wave of heat right down my arms. Gently, he removed my tank before resting it against the side of the boat.
“We’ll wash them down when we dock.” He took my hand and led me to the galley kitchen. I was expecting cold cuts or peanut butter and jelly. I wasn’t expecting lobster salad.
“Do you like lobster salad?” he asked as he removed a dish from the refrigerator.
“I do. You’re spoiling me. Is this your boat?”
“A rental.” He glanced over, his lips curving up so slightly on the one side. “There’s a bottle of Château d’Yquem in the wine refrigerator and the glasses are in that cabinet over the sink.”
“Château d’Yquem?” I knew a little about wine, it was my favorite beverage, so I knew that bottle was upwards of two hundred dollars retail. The man had money, but I had a feeling he had way more of it than I realized.
“Do you not like white Bordeaux? Would you rather something else?”
“I’ve never had it, but I’m sure I’ll love it.”
He grinned. “Then get the glasses.”
We sat on the deck for lunch. With the excitement of the dive, the warmth of the sun, the slight rocking of the boat and the delicious wine and food I was getting sleepy. I wanted to curl up into him, wanted to feel his body against mine as I slept. It was a crazy thought because my body was on fire being near him. I wanted so badly for him to move on top of me, take my mouth with his and put me out of my misery. But right now, I wanted to sleep with him, just sleep. Maybe I was getting heat stroke.
He was lying on his side, up on one elbow. The stem of his glass held in those long fingers. It was like he had read my mind and put his glass down. He moved like a wild cat, slow and deliberate, until his body covered mine. I sighed out loud because I wanted this. His mouth lowered, my own opened in anticipation, but instead of touching my lips he pressed a kiss to my throat. His tongue ran a trail down my neck to my shoulder. His hand moved over my bare stomach to my breast, where he ran just one finger under my bathing suit top, teasing me with his touch. He kissed down my belly, taking a moment to show my belly button attention, before he moved lower. His fingers curled around my suit bottoms as he pulled the fabric down my legs. My heart was pounding and not just from lust. His hands moved up my legs, to my thighs, where he spread me wide. He looked up at me as he touched me with his tongue. I sucked in a breath but I couldn’t take my eyes off him because we had been here before. As he had before, his skillful tongue brought me to orgasm, the most intense and mind-numbing orgasm, one like that night from so long ago.
“You’re Kace,” I whispered.
A darkness entered his expression. “I’m not.” He retrieved my suit bottoms and gently pulled them back up my legs. His fingers lingering on my hips as his gaze moved to my face. “We should probably get back.”
With a grace that was beautiful to watch, he got to his feet and reached for my hand. He put distance between us and collected our dishes then disappeared inside. I didn’t move. I just stood there battling a mélange of emotions. As impossible as it sounded, I knew without a doubt that Kace had returned.
WILLOW
I’m telling you. Noah is Kace.”
“Are you sure it isn’t that you want it to be Kace?”
“No. There are too many similarities between them.”
“Okay, start from the beginning. Leave nothing out.”
Zoe and I were at my house catching up on our television shows. Something we did weekly, but tonight neither of us was interested in fiction because real life was infinitely more interesting.
“The first time I saw him at my hideaway I felt a punch of attraction, something I’ve only ever felt with Kace. And I’ve seen hot men since, dated a few, but none of them made me feel that instant attraction.”
“Okay, that’s something. Go on.”
“At dinner he asked me why I agreed to join him when I knew so little about him. I told him he reminded me of Kace.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did. And later, we went for a walk on the beach—”
“Wait, is that code for sex? I don’t understand sex on the beach; all that sand gets in places it has no business being. Not that I wouldn’t risk discomfort to fuck that man on the beach, but I’d rather do so in a bed or the pool or right in the middle of the grand ballroom.”
“First, thanks for the visual of you and Noah in the ballroom. I don’t want that image in my head.” She looked contrite. “And no it’s not code for sex. It was a walk on the beach, but I asked him straight out if we had met before.”
“And?”
“He said no, but instead of him taking a huge step back, which most men would when being compared to someone else, he accepted the challenge.”
“To improve on his younger self.”
“That’s my thought.”
“Or he’s really competitive.”
“I don’t think so. Zoe, he’s here. Am I wrong to think he is here for me?”
“No, but how did he find you?”
“I don’t know. The same way he knew where to find me at Granddad’s museum.”
“Why now?” Zoe asked.
“I don’t know that either.” I felt my body grow warm because Kace was back. Kace had come for me. “I never thought I’d see him again. One day, eight years ago, and I still remember it so vividly. If I knew how to track him down I would have.”
She reached for my hand and squeezed it. “What happened after your walk on the beach?”
“We danced.”
“Under the stars?” she asked with a look.
“Yes.”
“With him?”
“Yes.”
“Ah shit, the Willow trifecta. Maybe he is your boy.”
“It was perfect.”
“Perfect would have been you on your back with your legs on his shoulders while he plowed into you making you see stars…if you know what I mean.”
I couldn’t help the chuckle because I liked that visual.
“You weren’t thinking he was Kace after your dinner and dance so what happened that has convinced you beyond a doubt that he is Kace?”
“You can change your body, your eye color, how you talk and walk but what you can’t change is how you love...when you are caught up in the moment you aren’t deliberate. It’s primal, elemental.”
“Now this is getting good. What happened?” She leaned so far over she almost fell off the sofa.
“He went down on me.”
Her eyes went wide. “He ate you for dessert.”
“Yes, and he has before.”
“Holy shit. Okay, so if he’s your boy why is he denying it?”
“I don’t know, but it is not a coincidence that he’s here now.”
“He’s staying at the resort. You should leave him something at the front desk.”
“Like what?”
“Your panties.”
I had just taken a sip of wine so it was either spitting it out or having it go down the wrong pipe. I glared at Zoe after I coughed breath back into my lungs, but she didn’t notice because she was too busy laughing.
“You are so classy.”
“I know.” She flashed me a smile. “Seriously, just a friendly nudge. Men like that don’t grow on trees. Believe me, if they did I would own a fucking orchard. And if he is your pirate, you need to act on that.”
It was me who smiled. “I intend to. So what about you? How’s Captain Kirk and your nipple clamps?”
“Funny. It’s not
fair, you know. I’ve cornered the market on men under five foot five and you’ve got a tall, hot, sexy man vying for your attention.” Her expression changed slightly, grew serious.
“Zoe? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Zoe?”
“Wanting something you can’t have sucks.”
“What can’t you have?”
“A tall, hot, sexy man.”
“You can have that. You’re just having trouble finding it.”
There was a meaningful pause before she moved so quickly she almost spilled her wine. “I have an idea. Let’s go to the resort.”
I wondered what fueled her last comment but she had moved on so I did too. “At this hour?”
“What are you, an old lady? It’s only ten. We can sit at the outdoor bar. Maybe we’ll run into your pirate.” She nudged my shoulder with her own. “And maybe he’s hungry.”
“You are ridiculous.” And yet my entire body throbbed at the thought.
“Your granddad said to be daring, to live.”
“Stalking a man wasn’t what he had in mind.”
“Everyone is doing it.”
“Fine.” I said it begrudgingly, but I didn’t feel that way. I think I might have even beaten her to the door.
“Hey, ladies. What brings you two out tonight?” Emilio, the bartender asked.
Zoe bellied up to the bar. “Willow was feeling hungry.”
I elbowed her in the arm before I took my own seat. “It’s such a nice evening.”
“That it is. What can I get you?”
“Sangria for two,” Zoe replied then added, “And the menu.”
“You got it.” His eyes turned to me. “Millie has been bugging me to get you over for dinner.”
“Will your pineapple barbecue chicken be on the menu?” I was slightly addicted to the stuff.
“You know it.”
“Just tell me the date and time.”
He laughed. “Alright. I’ll be right back.”
Emilio and I had dated for a while both of us knowing we weren’t the love of each other’s lives. Emilio found his when Millie moved to the island last year. It was like fireworks when the two of them were together. Emilio and I were still friends, better friends than lovers. I was even a bridesmaid when they married earlier this year.
Zoe had turned her stool around to look out at the ocean. There were quite a few people taking late night swims.
“I still have trouble believing this is home and I’ve been here for almost ten years,” Zoe sighed out of the blue.
“I find I’m pinching myself often too.”
She spun the stool around and reached for the menu. “I need food. I’m going spicy.”
“I like spicy.”
“We have to walk home.” I was so full I wasn’t sure I had it in me to climb off the stool let alone walk home.
“We can call for an Uber.” Zoe suggested.
“Seems wrong, we’re so close.”
Her attention turned to something behind me and she perked up. “Sexy 354 sighting.”
Chills swept through me. “Seriously.”
“Yes.”
“Is he coming this way?”
“No. We should follow him.”
“What? No.”
“Aren’t you curious where he’s going.” She looked at her watch. “It’s almost midnight.”
Of course I was curious where he was going, but stalking was stalking. “I’m not stalking him.”
“Well, I am.”
“No. It’s late and we’ve been drinking.”
She didn’t answer, but jumped from her seat. I didn’t move at first, calling her bluff. But she wasn’t bluffing. I was out of breath by the time I caught up to her.
“This is stupid, particularly if he really is Kace. The man is, was, a criminal. We could be walking into real trouble.”
“We’ll stay a safe distance back.”
Even for as late as it was, Noah was dressed in what I had gotten used to seeing him in, trousers and a cotton shirt. There was an arrogance in his walk, like not only wasn’t he afraid of his surroundings, but that he owned them. It looked like we were heading to the wharf.
“Where do you think he’s going?” I whispered to Zoe as we kept to the shadows.
“I don’t know, but it’s like we’re on a stakeout. A walking stakeout. We should have coffee and donuts. I could eat a donut right now.”
“You just ate your body weight in firecracker shrimp and passion fruit mousse.”
“Stakeouts make me hungry.” She stopped and put her hand out to stop me, turning my attention back to Noah. His destination was a strip joint. But that particular strip joint wasn’t just a strip joint. It was an oasis for the criminally-minded of the island. Certainly not a place a tourist would frequent or even know about.
“That’s...I don’t even know.” Zoe’s expression I was sure matched my own. “Odd place for a tourist.” She tilted her head as her attention moved to me. “I think you might be right that Noah and Kace are one in the same.”
“Which begs the question, why is he denying it?”
“I don’t know, but silver lining…your belief that there is only one man out there for you hasn’t been debunked.”
My smile matched hers. “I know, but still.”
“I know that smile. What are you up to?”
“He’s pretending he is someone else, but I know it’s him. Noah being there...” I gestured to the club. “A hangout for criminals, which I know he is because he told me so, is also not a coincidence.”
And his friend with the snake tattoo, Noah could pass for a businessman, but not his friend. He looked exactly like what he was...a pirate. “I think it’s time to shake it up a bit.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know. It’ll come to me.”
“He doesn’t look like the type of man you fuck with?”
“And yet that’s all we have between us. I want to change that.”
“How?”
“It’s all been on his terms. I think it’s time to make him work for it.”
Her smile came in a flash. “First, be careful, and second, I can’t wait to see this. Let’s get home. All this detective work has made me very tired.”
“Or the gallon of sangria we drank.”
We started back the way we came when I noticed something in the alley. I thought at first it was a dog. There were plenty of stray dogs that walked around the island. I used to feed them, but some were feral and when my last attempt almost ended in me losing my hand, I stopped. As we moved closer, it was too big to be a dog.
“What is that?”
Zoe glanced over. “I don’t know. It’s not moving. Maybe it’s...I don’t know what that is.”
We were both a little too curious for our own good. We moved closer and I recognized the coat. I had been the one to buy it for him. What was he doing on this part of the island?
“Warren?”
“That’s Warren? Are you sure?”
“That’s his coat.”
I didn’t need to get right next to him because the smell hit me and I gagged.
Zoe whispered next to me. “Oh, shit. He’s dead.”
I didn’t comprehend that just yet.
“We have to call the cops.” She was already dialing 911 while I stood there mute, staring down at my friend. The smell was awful. He lived alone, had no one on the island and he had died alone. The least I could do was stay with him until the police came. I knelt down next to him, not wanting to see his face frozen in death, but he deserved to have someone identify him that knew him and liked him. My eyes moved to his face and I jumped back at the sight. I screamed then I almost hurled.
Zoe saw it too. She gasped. “Someone killed him.” Her eyes flew to me. “You don’t think this is related to Noah do you?”
Fair question since this was a first for our island and Noah was here, a self-proclaimed pirate. “No.” I answered on instinct bec
ause every part of me denied it.
“Are you sure?”
“I know there is a lot I don’t know about him, but I don’t believe he would do something like that to someone harmless like Warren.” What I didn’t say was I could see him doing something like that on someone not so harmless. I didn’t think Zoe needed to know that.
People rushed over, but I didn’t see anything but Warren. I stood immobile, his face burned on my brain. He had been completely disfigured. It looked like someone had used a knife on him.
A shadow moved in front of me, a thumb under my chin firmly but gently lifted my gaze. Noah’s expression was one of concern and yet there was something dark rolling off him too. “Did you know him?”
“Yes. It’s Warren.”
“How do you know him?”
“He was my friend.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“A few days ago. He wanted to talk, came into the bakery and asked Dwayne to let me know he was looking for me.”
“Dwayne?”
“The bakery owner.”
“What did Warren want?”
“I don’t know. I stopped by to see him, but he wasn’t there. Unusual for him.” It dawned then. “He was probably already...” I turned away from Noah, but I managed to battle back the need to hurl.
Another man, no two of them, twins, walked over to us.
“This is Tex and Tiggs. They are friends of mine. They’re going to see you home.”
“I have to talk to the cops.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
I was weary and my heart was sore over Warren, but I couldn’t let it go that he was pretending to be someone else. The cops arrived. I started over to them, but looked back when I said, “I’ve missed you, Kace.”
NOAH
The crew was getting restless. I shouldn’t have come here. I knew I was being a selfish bastard, but when you couldn’t shake the memory of a woman, you needed to put those ghosts to rest before you could move on. And that was why I had come. I had intended to use her body until the hunger for her was sated and then leave. Like I said, totally fucking selfish bastard. Now there was a dead body, someone she knew. My first thought was it was connected to me. I couldn’t leave until I was certain it had just been a random act of violence. The nature of my life was nothing was ever what it seemed and taking something at face value could get you killed. Zeke had gotten a look at the body before the cops covered it up. The cuts were deliberate, but rushed; not the work of someone who enjoyed cutting.