by Sable Hunter
“Sounds great.” Lily was excited. “Is there a downside?”
“It’s haunted,” the boy said flatly, looking off into the distance.
“Oh, really?” She wanted to ask more questions, but the dock loomed ahead and her eyes widened at the natural beauty. “Oh, wow,” was her awed exclamation as they tied off and began unloading her things from the boat to the bed of the four-wheeler. “This place looks amazing.”
“If you go swimming, stay on the beach side, there’s alligators in the marsh to the north.”
“Thanks for the information and the help.” Lily tipped Seba and he continued on his way. She hadn’t driven a four-wheeler before, but she figured it couldn’t be much different than a golf cart.
The trail from the dock to the house was bordered by mammoth oaks with branches that spread wide, some hanging low enough to the ground to sit on. Spanish moss hung liberally from the trees, giving the whole place an eerie, Southern Gothic feel. As she topped the slight incline, Lily could see a beautiful two-story house nestled among a grove of large magnolias. A wide verandah wrapped around the house, deep enough to provide cool shade in the summer heat. A portion of the porch was screened and Lily hoped a bed awaited her there. Painted white with blue shutters, the house looked like a jewel, nestled on a bed of velvet jade. While the back faced the narrow bay and marshes, the front boasted a fabulous view of the Atlantic Ocean. Once she parked, Lily couldn’t resist running the last few feet of the way, more than excited to see what else the magnificent home had to offer.
The staircase leading up to the porch was wide and she was surprised to find the door and ceiling painted a light, smoky blue with large mirrors flanking either side of the entrance. There was even a bottle tree in the front yard, each limb decorated with a cobalt blue or sea green glass bottle. Remembering what Seba had told her, she shivered at what she’d discovered. “Oh, someone is superstitious as heck around here.”
Taking the key from her pocket, she let herself in and set out to explore the interior of the beautiful home before unloading her supplies. The layout and décor were straight out of Costal Living and the kitchen was a cook’s dream, with white cabinets, hardwood floors, and stainless-steel appliances. There were three bedrooms and three baths, one of the bedrooms was an impressive master with an en suite bath boasting a huge marble shower and all the amenities one would expect in a luxurious spa. As she continued to explore, Lily located the bedroom she wanted to use. At first, she thought it was just a sunroom, but after she entered, she saw it opened to the screened porch she’d seen from outside, featuring a breathtaking view and a magical canopy bed wrapped in filmy swaths of sheer material. The closest bath was a couple doors away, but Lily didn’t mind, a few extra steps wouldn’t matter to her.
Making herself at home, she unpacked her clothing, then adjourned to the kitchen. As soon as the groceries were put away, Lily prepared a quick salad for supper, choosing to eat on the verandah. Through the trees, she could see the waves pounding the white sand. Unable to resist, she placed her empty plate on a small wrought iron table and went for a stroll on the beach. The sun was just beginning to sink into the ocean, painting the sky with a blaze of red and orange.
With a contented sigh, she held her hands above her head, relishing the feel of the wind in her hair. She felt if she could capture the breeze in the fingertips, claim glimpses of the faraway places the zephyr had traveled, places she’d never see.
Wanting the full experience, Lily removed her shoes and waded in the surf. Yet try as she might, she found it difficult to rid her mind of problems. She didn’t have to wonder where the future would take her, she knew. The doctor had been straightforward, telling Lily how it would end for her. The deterioration, the loss of faculties, and finally a coma. This revelation was nothing new, she’d lived with the knowledge of the unwelcome invader in her body for most of her life.
Oh, she’d long since gone through the seven stages of grief. Lily had lived far longer than most with a glioblastoma, she’d even gone through remission a couple of times. There would be no third time, however. No charm. Her Wish Book would never come true. She was nearing the end of a hard-fought battle.
What really angered Lily was that she didn’t look sick, she didn’t feel sick. To look at her, one wouldn’t think she had so little time left on this earth. Yet, she had a ticking time bomb in her head.
But she wasn’t planning to go peacefully into that good night. No, she wanted to fight this whole ugly thing tooth and nail.
She just didn’t know how…
What she needed was a distraction, a sexy distraction.
Her mind went to the handsome hunk she’d seen at the gas station. He’d said he was someone famous and Lily couldn’t argue, she didn’t keep up with such things. Yet even if he weren’t, she understood that women like her didn’t attract men who looked like him. Oh, she wasn’t ugly, she just wasn’t anything special.
No, she took that back.
She was special in her own way and if things were different, she’s have plenty to offer the right guy. Their encounter wasn’t a total loss, she could use her memory of him the next time she played with her toys.
After she’d strolled on the beach for a half hour, Lily turned around and began to make her way back to the house. The rhythm of the waves and the beauty of her surroundings went a long way to giving her a sense of peace. Hopefully, she’d be able to sleep.
As Lily prepared for bed, she wondered what the next day held in store. Before lying down, she cracked a window open. Sure enough, she could hear the ocean. With a contented sigh, she crawled beneath the covers and pulled them up under her chin.
Sleep wasn’t long in coming.
Bang! Crash!
Lily sprung straight up in the bed. She froze, scared to breathe. Was someone in the house with her? Did she have an intruder? After hearing more muffled noises, she grabbed her phone, only to find there was no cell service. Dammit! She hadn’t noticed where the landlines were. Rising, she glanced around. What she needed was a weapon. By the light of the moon, she could see the two-foot statue of the sandpiper sitting on the bedside table. Very carefully, Lily picked up the piece, weighing it her hands. Yes, she could wield it like a baseball bat, if the need arose.
Moving slowly, she tiptoed from the sunroom. Noises were still emanating from deeper in the house. After turning a corner, Lily could see that there was a light on in the master suite. There was an intruder in the house! She assumed there was plenty in the home to steal, everything from artwork to electronics. Dang it, she just hated a thief.
Rounding a corner, Lily almost dropped her make shift club. Her eyes bugged wide and her jaw dropped. Standing in front of the open French doors was a naked man. His back was to her, but she could see wide-wide shoulders, a wedge-shaped torso, and wait…she recognized that curly hair. “You?” she growled her under her breath. Taking the few last steps, Lily used the bill of the bird to poke in his ribs, doing her best to ignore his delectable ass. “Put your hands up. You’re trespassing, cowboy.”
The man did as she asked, but in the next second, he stepped smoothly back, took the weapon from her with one hand and scooped her up with the other, tossing Lily gently to the mattress. After taking a good look at the pretty brunette sprawled on his bed, he grinned. “Well, if it isn’t Miss Pink Panties. This is my lucky day!”
Fighting to catch her breath, she huffed, “When did you see my panties?”
“When you kicked the football to that kid. For my benefit, right?” Blade tried to keep his focus, tried to ignore the way she chewed on her lower lip as she processed the most recent development, tried to ignore the two mounds of sweet tits quivering beneath the thinnest of sleep shirts, and two sweet thighs open just enough…but it was impossible. A fog of arousal enveloped his brain.
It had been way too long since he’d gotten laid.
Lily rolled off the bed on the far side. “No! There’s that monstrous size ego again! For your i
nformation, I would never do such a thing for your benefit! What are you doing in my house? And why are you grinning at me?” She pulled on the hem of her too short sleep shirt. Noticing the phone on the bedside table, she made a grab for it. “You need to leave! I’m calling 9-1-1!” As she pressed the numbers, she glanced at him, it was hard not to notice that his front was even nicer than his back. Washboard abs, full pecs, and…God, the man was hung!
“Good, tell them I have a sexy stalker.” Blade was enjoying their banter. Usually by this time, most women would be plastered all over him, not standing up to him like a spitting kitten.
“I’m not a stalker, I was here first!” she yelled, unable to ignore that he’d called her sexy.
“I figured you for an overzealous fan when you ran up to me in the parking lot.”
Lily tossed a pillow at him. “I was returning your phone, you big…dickhead. Hold that pillow over yourself.”
Cowboy snorted, catching the pillow, and holding it waist high. He was still trying to ignore her jiggling breasts. “Nice of you to notice. Why are you frowning?”
“There’s no dang dial tone,” she muttered, throwing down the cordless phone. “Don’t come any closer!” Lily held up her hand when she noticed the big man moving nearer.
“Settle down, kitten, I’m reaching for my jeans.”
He turned his back on Lily to slip on his pants and she hid her eyes, peeking through her fingers. “Look, whoever you are, if you’ll leave quietly. I won’t press charges for breaking and entering.”
“I didn’t have to break in.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a fob to dangle in front of her, wincing as his cock chafed inside the denim of his jeans. He should’ve brought underwear. “I have a key.”
“Well, so do I!” She pointed toward the sunroom. “In my purse, in my room. I am a guest! Bliss Renaud is my friend. She invited me to stay here.”
“So, you’re not the caretaker? I was about to ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement.” He paused to think. “Perhaps I should get you to sign one anyway, I don’t want anyone to know I’m here.”
“So, don’t be here! Leave! Who invited you anyway?” Lily was trying not to notice his abs…or the happy trail of fur leading from his abdomen all the way to what she’d had her eyes glued on earlier. The man was a sheer wonderland of tactile, erotic delights.
“My agent arranged this whole thing. The owner used to be my stunt double, I’m not going anywhere,” Cowboy said slowly, as if speaking to someone with a learning disability. “Look, if I give you an autographed picture, would you settle down?”
Lily stomped from his room, taking her crane with her. “For the last time! I don’t know who you are! Why would I want an autographed picture?”
Cowboy followed her. “Don’t give me that, everybody knows who I am. Women throw themselves at me all the time.”
“Yea, I’m sure the bodies just pile up around you.” Lily stopped and faced him with one hand on her hip, looking him up and down. “You could be a vacuum cleaner salesman for all I know.”
“Are you serious?” he said, staring at her as if she’d grown two heads. “Where do you live, under a rock?”
“Are you a singer? A football player? A serial killer?” she said, then backtracked. “Oh, don’t be a serial killer, forget I said that.”
God, she was cute. “I’m an actor. I played Jake Dominic in the Draco series.”
“Sorry, I don’t own a television.”
When he saw the blank expression on her face, he began to believe she didn’t know who he was…or she deserved an Oscar for her performance. “Who doesn’t own a television?” He stalked through the house, flipping on lights. “I came here for some privacy and a long overdue rest. I don’t intend to share my space with a desperate fan.”
Lily was fast losing her patience. “For the last time, I’m not a fan! I don’t know you and I don’t want to know you. And for your information, I’m not desperate!” She followed him through the house, ending up in the kitchen. “If I were desperate, you’d be the last man on earth I’d want, you’re too full of yourself!”
He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottled water. “There’s plenty of resorts up and down the Carolina coast, you can find somewhere else to stay.”
“Why don’t you? If you’re a famous actor like you say you are, you’ll be welcome anywhere.” She leaned on the counter, hiding most of her body from his eyes, suddenly conscious of her state of undress.
Cowboy chugged the water, walked to the bar, and took a satchel from a chair. Slamming it on top of the counter, he took something out and pitched it on the granite surface in front of her.
Lily didn’t have to look too closely. His handsome face covered the front of the magazine. “Blade Jensen, Sexiest Man Alive,” she mumbled. “Seems like I might’ve heard that name before.” Lily exhaled a long breath, tired of their argument. “Fine.” She threw up her hands. “You’re famous. I’ll go pack and you can take me back to the island. I’ll find someplace else to stay. My life’s too short to spend time arguing with you and I’ll sign whatever document you want me to, although I certainly won’t be doing any bragging about our time together.” With that dry observation, she gathered up the sand piper and headed back to her bedroom.
Blade watched her go, entranced as much by the length of her long, shapely legs as he was by the fact that she didn’t know who he was – and didn’t seem to care. Her long dark hair hung down to a delectable ass and if she swayed a certain way, he could see a little sliver of black satin peeping out from beneath the T-shirt she wore. “Hey, what’s your name, kitten?”
Lily stopped, but she didn’t turn around. She was tired and frustrated. Finding a place to stay at this time of night was going to be a pain. Maybe she’d just sleep in her rental car. “Lily Bastien from New Orleans.”
“All right, Lily Bastien from New Orleans, why don’t we just make the best of a bad situation…for now?” He took a few steps toward her.
Slowly turning to face him, she hated that he made her heart skip a beat. She wasn’t afraid of him, not really. Where Blade Jensen was concerned, she was more afraid of herself. “What do you mean?”
The big man shrugged and his muscles rippled. “Stay the night, leaving at this hour could be dangerous.”
Lily felt her nipples bead, she couldn’t remember ever reacting this way to a man before. His fame was not a factor, she was just drawn to him. “I don’t know, staying might be even more dangerous.”
“A little danger makes everything more exciting.” Giving her a wicked grin, Blade saluted her with the bottle. “Besides, I don’t have a boat. Looks like we’re marooned. Together.”
“Great.” With a huff, Lily started for her room. “You just make sure you stay on your side of the house.”
Blade chuckled. “In case you get any ideas, kitten, my bedroom door will be locked.”
She never looked back, the only reaction his announcement got from her was a hand in the air with a raised middle finger.
Blade’s chuckle rose into a full laugh. The first good one he’d had in years. This woman wasn’t impressed with his fame. She had no idea how attractive that made her to him. Couple her spunky attitude with her drop-dead gorgeous body and his heart was stuttering in his chest.
Well, he guessed he wasn’t dead inside after all.
2
An early riser, Lily was up and out of doors before the break of day. She took a large fluffy towel down to the beach to sit and watch the sunrise over the water. As she waited patiently, the sky transitioned from dark to light. When the rays started breaking through the clouds, Lily held her breath while a spectacular array of color exploded on the horizon. Blood red to bright orange, pink to purple, then a vibrant blue as the sun rose and the day began.
How many more sunrises did she have?
Closing her eyes, she listened to the call of the water birds and the crash of the waves on the shore. Bending her legs, Lily clasped her
arms around them and lowered her head to rest on her knees. Coming here probably wasn’t such a good idea. Why had she ever thought a change in scenery would make her feel differently?
She was still afraid.
A diversion had seemed a good idea at the time, something to take her mind off the inevitable. At first, she thought a guy would do it, give her something to think about other than how much time she had left.
Now, she wasn’t so sure.
Lily dreaded facing Blade Jensen, that was for sure. She hoped they could get ahold of Seba quickly. Getting off the island was the best alternative for her. The idea of coexisting in the same space with the handsome hunk for almost a week was beyond her comprehension. They rubbed each other the wrong way. He didn’t know it, but Lily was allergic to notoriety.
When her need for caffeine forced her back to the house, she was surprised to smell bacon frying as soon as she mounted the steps. As she entered the kitchen, it was to find Mr. Sexiest Man Alive flipping pancakes on the griddle.
“Hungry?”
His question surprised Lily. “I’d appreciate some coffee, I get headaches.”
“How about a pancake to go with the coffee?”
“Just coffee, thanks.” She made for the Keurig and placed a mug under the spout, selecting a Starbucks dark roast K-cup.
“Oh, come on. Don’t make me eat alone.”
Lily sipped the warm brew and tried not to notice how damn good he looked in his baby blue muscle shirt and, what looked to be, the same blue jeans as yesterday. “Why are you being nice to me now?”
“Hand me a plate, will you? Who said I wasn’t nice all the time?”
Lily found a plate in the cabinet and brought it to him. “Fame and cordiality rarely come in the same package.”
“Oh, you’ve had a lot of experience with famous people?”
Lily took a sip of coffee. “You could say that.”
“Well, why don’t we call a truce. At least until after breakfast. Sit down, I made up more batter than I can eat.”
Lily didn’t argue, she decided to take him up on his offer. “All right, it’s not every day a famous actor cooks breakfast for me.” Not since the last time her parents did it, if she could remember that far back.