by Eboni Snoe
Cay nodded slowly.
“Not wanting to know the truth, and allowing fear to keep us from finding out. Fear is our greatest enemy, Cay, because once you become its prisoner, it’s hard to break free. Fear could keep you from discovering that life is more beautiful and fulfilling than you could have ever imagined. From discovering that love and goodness do triumph over evil. Wouldn’t that make it worth reaching for?”
“You sound like Precious.” Cay inhaled deeply. “She believed that goodness could prevail over evil. But look at where she is now. I don’t want to lose you before I’ve ever had you, Sasha.” He wrapped her in his arms.
Sasha could feel Cay’s fear as he laid his face against her hair. “Oh, Cay,” she replied, hugging him back. “You are such a strange man.” She could feel the rapid beat of his heart. “You know, at this moment, we are the ones who are wading in dangerous territory. You and I, standing here in the moonlight, holding one another like this. The way I see it, this is the greatest danger.”
“You don’t know how true that is,” Cay said softly. “In each other’s arms we should be safe.” He looked down into her face. “There should be refuge here.”
Sasha felt as if she would drown in the liquid softness of Cay’s eyes. She lifted her face and placed a soft kiss on his lips. That precious moment turned into an eternity as Cay drew her closer, kissing her forehead and then her cheek.
“Sasha.” He planted small kisses on her face and neck until he reached the hollow at the base of her throat. “How I’ve wanted to do this. You are so beautiful to me, so desirable. There has never been a woman who could hold a candle to you.”
Sasha held her breath. “Never?” She waited for the answer.
“Never,” Cay replied solemnly.
Their mouths met again, celebrating the barrier they had broken. It was a deep, drunken kiss full of understanding and surrender.
“I’ve never met a man who made me feel the way you do,” Sasha confessed. “It frightens me. I’m afraid if I give myself to you, I will want to give so much there will be nothing left.”
“Don’t worry.” Cay sank down onto the grass, pulling Sasha toward him. “I will replenish you.”
Sasha hesitated, but in the end she tumbled, gently, on top of him. “And how will you do that?” she asked breathlessly.
“Like this, my Sasha. Like this.”
Cay enfolded her in his arms, but this time when he kissed her she could feel the urgency of his desire. She shivered inside and rode the wave of electricity that bolted through them. Cay’s hands roamed over her back, and their bodies sought intimacy through their clothing. Sasha could feel Cay’s ropelike muscles underneath the material he wore and the hardness that formed between his legs. The feeling of his body coupled with Sasha’s imagination made her moan.
“How long I have waited to hear such sounds,” he whispered in her ear. “Your sounds, Sasha. But I’m not going to spoil this by being too eager. I want to remember everything tonight. Every single thing.”
Sasha had no idea what Cay would do next. She seemed to float on a cloud of anticipation and desire. Through the pleasurable fog she watched Cay stand up, his body forming a shadow against the monolith. Cay’s eyes never left hers as he began to undress.
“I cannot wait to have you, but I force myself to wait,” he mouthed, his eyes becoming cloudy.
Sasha thought her heart would explode as she watched him become nude in the moonlight. He was a mass of muscles and tendons, a gorgeous specimen of masculinity, and every aspect of him was exaggerated by his shadow. “And now it is your turn.”
Slowly, Sasha reached to unzip her dress.
“No,” Cay said, “the pleasure must be mine.”
He helped her to her feet, and with a grace akin to reverence Cay undressed her, then formed a pallet from their clothes. When Sasha finally stood completely nude, she did not know what was brighter, the celestial light or the passion in Cay’s eyes.
“I don’t know how I ever let my fear keep me away from you.” His gaze drank of her body. “If I die tomorrow it will not matter, for in taking you I will have taken a ride to heaven.”
“Oh, my God. What are you doing to me?” Sasha trembled. “I feel as if everything in me could just explode from your words alone.” Her eyes were clenched tightly. “This is my fear. I am afraid of totally losing myself to you,” she confessed softly.
He kissed her trembling lips. “Remember your own words, Sasha.” His desire for her had made him bold. “Fear is our enemy, and out of love I dare it to touch us now.”
The word love rang in Sasha’s mind. Did Cay realize what he’d said? Or were his words the reflection of an opportune moment? Sasha did not know, and it was only for a second that she cared as their embraces turned from tentative to a fiery passion, building up to the actual moment when they would be one.
“There can be only one first time,” Sasha whispered in his ear. “I want you to remember this moment, Cay, and I want to treasure it for the rest of my life.”
Cay tightened his arms around her. “I will remember it, Sasha. There is no doubt in my mind that it will be branded on my spirit.”
His entry was smooth and yet earthy, and their bodies moved like the rhythmic beating of a heart. It did not take long for Cay’s and Sasha’s pleasure to become unbearable, and they both yearned for, but tried to hold off, the ultimate release.
“This is heaven, Sasha,” Cay breathed into Sasha’s ears. “You are my heaven.” He moaned as he reached his peak.
“And you are my…undoing,” Sasha cried as she went over the edge.
Chapter 19
Sasha opened her eyes and felt the tickle of grass against her skin. She laughed softly. “I’ll probably be calling you later on, asking you to scratch the mosquito bites I undoubtedly possess by now.”
“I’ll scratch your itch any time you want,” Cay said huskily, sitting up.
“You’ll probably be too busy scratching your own.”
“Never.” He planted a smack on her lips. “Never too busy.”
They studied each other’s faces.
“What if someone walks up and finds us lying out here in the open like this?” Sasha asked.
“You didn’t seem concerned about that a few minutes ago.” A devilish smile touched Cay’s lips.
“No, I was too busy then,” Sasha said impishly.
“If they come right now” —playfully, he pulled Sasha on top of him— “they’ll get a good look at you.”
“Now, see here. Already you’re using this situation to your advantage.” She squirmed, giggling. “It isn’t fair,” she said, looking up at the monolith, only inches away. Sasha stopped moving when an image began to emerge on the gray surface. She wondered if her eyes were deceiving her or if it was the slant of the moonlight that had caused the colors to appear. But she continued to watch as they evolved from faded shades into the intense hues of a perfect rainbow.
“What is it?” Cay asked, aware of a change in her body language.
“There’s a rainbow on the stone.”
“A rainbow?” Cay turned over to see for himself as Sasha watched the colors fade.
“I don’t see anything.”
Sasha couldn’t speak, she was so stunned by the incident.
Cay looked up at the moon. “Perhaps it was an illusion created by the moonlight.”
Sasha continued to stare at the monolith. Those were not shades of gray, she thought. There had been a rainbow, arch and all, on the stone. It had been as clear as day. Was this the reason Precious and Hazel had summoned her to the Circle of Stones?
“Sasha, are you okay?” Concern etched Cay’s features.
“Yes.” She looked at him. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“Are you certain?”
“Absolutely.” She gave a slight smile, then looked away. “I guess we should get dressed before every mosquito out here discovers us.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me.” Cay reached for
his pants, but he continued to watch Sasha.
“Do you want to come to the Be— …my house?” Sasha offered, feeling uncomfortable using the term “the Bethel House” with Cay. “I could fix us something to drink. I have some wine and some coffee.”
“I haven’t been inside the Bethel House for a long time,” Cay replied with his shirt in his hand. “I don’t know….”
“It’s okay.” Sasha looked down, feeling a tinge of hurt. “If you’re not ready to come into the house because of Precious, you’re not ready.”
“Just give me a little more time, Sasha.” He lifted her chin to make her look at him. “I’m sure I’ll be able to work through this.”
Sasha nodded, but regret for what she had done emerged.
“We could go to Guana Manor,” he suggested.
Sasha shook her head. “I don’t think so. We were just battling it out at dinner, remember? I think it would look rather strange if you brought me home so soon. Everybody would probably figure I was trying to win you over using the oldest way known to man.”
“If it’s true, I must say I like this methodology,” he teased.
They walked toward the woods.
“What about breakfast tomorrow?” Cay offered.
“Where?”
“On Big Pine Key.”
“I don’t know.” Sasha looked torn. “I can just see me having breakfast with you and my attorney walks in. That’s after he’s already warned me against fraternizing with the enemy, let alone making love to him.”
Cay pulled Sasha to him. “I like that term, ‘making love.’ “
“You know, I kind of like it, too.” Sasha felt uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny.
“I tell you what. Let’s have breakfast in the Bahamas.”
“What?” A large smile spread over Sasha’s face.
“You heard me. I’ve got a seaplane, even though I’ve been too busy to fly it lately. It’ll give me an excuse to do something I love to do.”
“You know how to fly a plane?”
“I sure do.” He beamed. “So I’ll be by to get you early in the morning. Say…seven?”
“All right.” Sasha looked at Cay with admiration. “Well, aren’t you all that and a bag of chips.”
“I didn’t realize that Cay had left the house,” Sherry said, looking out the window.
“Yep. He left about an hour ago,” Baltron replied from the stairs.
“Did he say where he was going?”
“No.” Baltron shook his head.
“I don’t understand it. I told him I wanted to talk to him after dinner.” She paced across the foyer.
“Mr. Cay’s a grown man, Ms. Sherry. I don’t keep up with his comings and goings.” Baltron continued on his way.
“I know that,” Sherry snapped. “I don’t—” She stopped when Cay opened the front door.
“Oh, there you are.” Sherry smiled sweetly. “I was wondering where you were.”
“I went out.” Cay started for the stairs.
“You must have forgotten.” Sherry fell in behind him. “I told you I wanted to talk to you after dinner about buying Sasha out of the Bethel property.”
“I’m sorry. I did forget.” Cay turned to face her. “But let’s not do it tonight. Let’s save it for later.”
“Later.” Sherry looked crestfallen. “I thought this was something we could wrap up very quickly. It’s not like you’ve never considered the idea before. It’s just a matter of your giving me the go-ahead. I’ll dig up the figures we discussed a while back and forward them to Jason Williams.”
“Like I said, I’m not ready to do that at this time, Sherry.”
Sherry was irritated, but she tried not to show it. She wanted to resolve the Bethel House issue, and buying out Sasha Townsend was the perfect thing to do. Sasha would be off of Magic Island and out of their lives.
Sherry watched Cay climb the stairs. She looked at the back of his head in frustration. “Wait a minute, Cay. There’s something in your hair.” She hurried behind him, grateful for the opportunity to touch him.
Cay moved away.
“They’re pine needles,” she announced, surprised. “And you smell like grass.” She looked up into Cay’s blank face. “Don’t tell me you’ve been rolling around on the ground with that woman.”
“It’s none of your business, Sherry.”
Sherry wanted to tell him that it was her business, that he was her business because he was the future of Guana Manor, but she restrained herself, recalling their earlier conversation. “She’s not worthy of you, Cay,” Sherry said haughtily.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He turned his back and walked up the stairs.
Chapter 20
“Oh, no-o. I don’t think I like landing on water.” Sasha could see the silver promotional magnet through her half-shut eyes as the seaplane made its descent.
“There’s nothing to it, Sasha,” Cay assured her. “Just relax. I’ve got it under control.”
“Did you tell the water that?” She clenched her eyes. “Planes weren’t meant to land on water. They were meant to land on concrete.” Her voice went up.
Cay chuckled, and Sasha felt a slight thud. She opened her eyes as water sprayed against the windows. The seaplane glided a short distance on the Northwest Providence Channel, then onto the sandy beach.
“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Cay turned bright eyes in her direction.
“Ask me after I get my heart out of my throat,” Sasha retorted.
“It’s got to come out or you won’t be able to eat breakfast.” Cay took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the plane. He came around to the other side, opened the door, and helped Sasha down.
“Out of all the Bahama Islands, why do you think we came to Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island?” he asked.
Sasha looked around. The landscape looked familiar. It reminded her of the Keys. “Because it was the closest?”
“No. Bimini was closer,” he replied. “I chose Freeport because of the Ruby Swiss Restaurant. The last time I was here they had a gourmet breakfast that was wonderful.”
“How long ago was that?” Sasha noticed a customs and immigration sign.
“A long time.”
“What? Six months? A year?” Sasha pressed.
“Try two to three years.” Cay nodded to a customs officer.
“Ca-ay. By now they may be closed.”
“What can I say? We’ll just have to take that chance.”
They stood behind the yellow line. Sasha watched Cay go through customs. Once he was done she presented her papers and crossed to the other side. “That was easy,” she remarked as she joined him.
“You’ve never been to the islands before?”
“Nope. This is my first time out of the States,” Sasha confessed.
“Stick with me.” Cay bent over and whispered in her ear. “We’ll have one big adventure after another.”
One of Sasha’s eyebrows went up. “The jury is still out on whether those adventures will be good or bad. I’ll save the verdict for later.” She smiled. “So, how much time do you have, Mr. Cay?”
“How much do I need?”
“It’s according to what you plan to accomplish,” Sasha replied, giving him the eye.
“Oh, I see.” Cay’s lips turned a sexy smile. “In that case, I’ve got all the time in the world.”
“You’re going to need it. That quick tumble in the grass was just an appetizer. You have no idea what the full-course meal is like,” she continued to tease.
Cay laughed long and hard as they walked over to the curb and hailed a taxi.
Breakfast was more than Sasha had expected, and as they emerged from the upscale restaurant it was hard for her to believe that she was actually in the Bahamas with Cay. Sitting across from him at the breakfast table had brought the entire morning into perspective, and Sasha was on a roller coaster of emotions. The flirtatious woman she had been no more than an hour before had become
reticent. Eruptions of feelings surfaced intermittently. Every time Sasha looked at Cay, she was forced to face the fact that she was falling in love with him.
“You sure have gotten quiet,” he remarked.
“Have I?” Sasha didn’t want to focus on herself, so she zoomed in on a large straw market across the street. “Hey, look at that. Let’s check out the purses and hats,” she exclaimed. “I’ve got to have a closer look. Come on.”
Sasha dashed across the street in the middle of flowing traffic. She made it to the other side with ease and dug into her purse for her sunglasses. Quickly, she placed them over her eyes. They would serve as a barrier. She did not want Cay to know the depth of her feelings. She was having a difficult time dealing with them.
“My goodness.” Cay caught up to her. “You took off across that street like the Road Runner.”
“Did I?” She threw a smile in his direction, then continued to look at a table piled high with hats.
“Didn’t your mother teach you to look both ways before crossing the street?”
“Yes, and that’s why I’m standing here safe and sound,” Sasha tossed back. “How do you like this one?” She pulled a wide-brim hat with a colorful band down on her head.
“Looks great,” Cay replied, a little confused by Sasha’s actions.
“This bag should go with it.” She pulled the straw straps up on her shoulder. “This will be perfect. So if I buy lots of touristy stuff I’ll have someplace to put it.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Cay replied.
“I’ll take them,” Sasha told the woman sitting under the blue-and-white umbrella. She took out her wallet.
“I’ve got it,” Cay remarked.
“No,” Sasha said emphatically, then softened her tone. “There’s no need. I’ve got it.”
Cay’s eyes narrowed before he replied, “If you insist.”
Sasha could feel him watching her as she took her change from the vendor. “So, what do we do now?” Sasha asked in her most matter-of-fact voice.