by Emily Duvall
He didn’t want a battle. “Please.”
She shrugged. Suspicion crossed her dark eyes and lovely frown. Her hands settled on the concrete and she lifted herself out of the water and snatched the towel out of his hand. She dried her hair, her face, rumpled her hair, and stood crossly in front him. “Don’t tell me you rushed all the way back from Oahu to keep tabs on employees taking advantage of all that your property has to offer.”
Luke laughed. “You’re not the one taking advantage.”
She frowned. “Oh.”
The sight of her wet, shapely curves packed into a revealing swimsuit was what he took liberal advantage of at the moment. “Swimming’s fine.”
She folded the towel protectively around her chest and asked, rather accusatory, “Why are you back early then?”
“I think you know why.”
“I don’t.”
Luke grasped the top of her towel and yanked her body to his. No hesitation. No second thoughts. Luke’s lips crushed down on hers, stormy and demanding, slanting over hers and forced her lips to part under the blunt movement of his own. His tongue intruded her mouth, seeking and probing until she gave up hers and gave into his kiss. He reached around her neck and slipped his hands underneath her hair. Long, wet strands dripped water down his fingers like satin. Heat rolled off his muscles and into his quick fingers. The distance between them was too great. One tug and she collided into his body. Luke worked out the knot on her top until the towel plunged to the ground and landed on his feet. She grabbed his face and moved her slick tongue around his. The effect of her tongue on his and her wet body sticking to his clothes undid him and ripped a trail through the pit of his stomach and blazed through his loins until his manhood throbbed against her and the kiss no longer became enough. The softness of her cheek glided over his collarbone and her moist mouth trailed kisses at his neck. He needed more of her. All over him.
The strings of her bikini top loosed and detangled under his quick fingers. The fabric flopped down over her beautiful, round shoulders and exposed her breasts. Dark areolas crowned her white breasts and her perfect, stiff nipples tempted his mouth. Luke’s hands skimmed over her face and reveled in touching her supple skin, smooth as hot liquid. He couldn’t get enough of her. He didn’t want to stop. His hands rushed down her neck, over her collarbone, and paused briefly over her heart and felt the shudder. Both hands plunged down her chest and he groaned at the bareness of her skin. He handled her there and teased her nipples until the dense flesh filled up his hands. Luke groaned at the pressure in his groin and he pushed down the rest of her bikini top so his lips could taste her. He kissed the spot just below her breasts and worked his way up.
Melanie moved her hands around and undid the clasp on her top, which unhindered them both from the last of the bathing suit, positioned near her belly button. She moved his hands down to her hips, arched her back, and gave Luke access to her. He accepted the silent solicitation and raised his lips to her nipple where he closed around her large areola and flickered over her peak with his tongue. She smelled like chlorine and tasted salty. He moved fast, working his mouth around each nipple, retracting his mouth and applying pressure according to the small cries escaping her mouth. His hands claimed her waist and he drew back, admiring the sensual glow on her face. His hands drifted down the indents of her sides and he thumbed over the hitch of her hips.
Melanie’s hand found his erection and she put her hand over his shaft and began to rub up and down. Luke’s lips parted in a gasp. He buried his head between her breasts. He couldn’t keep up with his breath with her touching him like this. God, she made him hard. The muscles around his shaft intensified and shot off electric currents, shooting stabs of pleasure all to the tip of his arousal. Dizzy with distraction, he shook his head and cursed her name. He kissed a trail from one of her breasts to the next and this time, cupped it in his hand like a shiny, prized apple. He stroked his tongue over the taut tip of her nipple and slid his hand under her rear. The shock of cool skin hit his warm hand.
Luke dropped to his knees with his gaze on her pelvis. His hands moved around her backside to her thighs and his lips traced kisses around her triangular border, buffered only by the swimsuit bottom, the last piece of clothing physically in his way. And he would have his way. She ran her fingers through his hair and shockwaves rippled down his neck and back. With his eyes open, Luke pushed down her swimsuit bottom and ran his hand over the spine of hair between her legs. The moment he felt her modesty intrude he quipped, “I want to see you.”
“What if somebody sees us?” she said, running her hands over his shoulders and keeping him close.
“They won’t.” Luke began to touch her private area with bold intimacy. She was already wet and ready for more than his finger, but he didn’t want to rush her pleasure. He pulled her down on the lounge chair so her body covered his and her hair swept over his jaw. He reached down and began stroking her, pursuing the slippery nub between the bends in her skin and once there, circled and pushed his finger rapidly over her until her hands clenched his shoulders and he could feel her holding her breath. The muscles in his arms and legs tensed. Melanie unzipped his pants and pushed them down. Their heavy-lidded eyes met and this time—he pushed back her hips and prepared to enter her. A noise from the house caused him to look up at the same moment Stevie said, “I didn’t see you!”
“Christ,” he muttered. Luke sat upright. Melanie flattened against him with arms chained around his with a painful grip. He put his hand on the top of her head.
“I didn’t realize you were back.” Stevie’s gaze landed on Melanie’s back. She re-flung the towel draped over her shoulder and turned around. “Clearly, I’m interrupting.”
Luke waited until Stevie left his line of vision before he breathed. “She’s gone.”
Melanie’s warm breath released against his chest. “I’m mortified.”
“I’m not.”
“Of course you’re not.”
“This is my house. I can do what I want.”
“I’m a guest and this,” she said, pausing and moving her finger between them, “can’t happen again.”
“Because you loathe me?”
“Because there’s nothing between us.”
The corner of his lip turned up. “Kiss me again. Prove me wrong.”
“I’m tired of proving myself to you.”
The cocky grin disappeared. His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Melanie separated her chest from his and folded her hands over her breasts. “Nothing. Never mind. You crossed the line.”
“You crossed it with me. If you want me to stop, I will. Tell me now and I won’t ever touch you again.” Luke’s hands fell down her back and hung together loosely. “You do know how much I want to see you again—naked or clothed, although, I do like you like this.”
“It’s getting late. I should go back to my room.” Melanie’s hand dipped to the concrete and she picked up the towel. “I’ve got work in the morning. I began this new job and I don’t want to jeopardize my position.”
Luke helped wrap the towel around her. “Your position’s secure.” He ran his finger down her arm and sensed her pulling away. The movement in her jaw caught his attention. “I want you to be comfortable with this. With me.”
A nervous laughed escaped her mouth. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. A few days ago, when I walked into your office, I wanted to slap you across the face.”
“You should have.” Luke’s thumb ran over the edge of the towel. “Enemies can still be lovers. We were, once before.”
“Most of our relationship we spent apart from one another and when we were together, you and my brother were obsessed with the next big hunt. Most women would find the boyfriend/gem hunter an ideal combination, and at first, I knew what I had in you. When other women hit on you in front of me, I didn’t get jealous. I took you home and made love to you. Then the trips for the gems became more frequent, the distances became longer, without
much contact in between. You became secretive and private. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right between you and Mark. I respected your trying to build a business from scratch. I knew the time commitment and personal sacrifice. The hunts were exciting to hear about in the beginning and then, I just didn’t want to hear about them anymore. I wanted you to take me to dinner, or to a movie. I longed for ordinary. I wanted to go bowling.”
“Bowling?” He lifted a quizzical brow.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. I want normalcy in a relationship. I got tired of making excuses for you as to where you were: Brazil, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, those places I kept hearing about stopped being glamorous. They were special to you, not me. Those faraway lands, all those brilliant gems, they became my competition, not other women. I wasn’t insecure. I was jealous. I tuned you out because I felt left out.” She lifted her arm to the house. “This ridiculous house; the champagne worth more than my wardrobe are all reminders of how different we really are. There’s no way we could have worked out. There’s no way we would ever want the same kind of life.”
“You were jealous of my job?”
“Luke,” she said, exasperated. “That’s what you heard? You’re missing the point and I know you’re not daft. I wanted a piece of your adventure. I wanted to understand what you were doing out there. I was a warm body in a bed to you. We didn’t talk about your family. We didn’t look at old photos of you as a child. I didn’t meet your brothers or your mother. I thought you might be ashamed of them or embarrassed, but then I realized you just didn’t want to let me into your life.” She let out a distressed breath. “We both ended up exactly where we’re supposed to be. Not with each other.”
“Melanie,” he said her name like the whisper on the summer evening. “We’re together now.”
Melanie shifted her body off Luke’s and she moved to the end of the chair. “There’s a difference in hoarding your memories and letting someone in a little bit. You wouldn’t give me an inch. How could I have gone through my whole life with you and not know one single thing about your family other than you have two brothers and parents unworthy of you discussing? I know you had a rough childhood and I know you don’t want to talk about them.”
“I don’t like discussing my family or my childhood. You know this about me,” he reminded her firmly. “Yet, you continue to push the subject. Why?”
“Because I love you.” Melanie’s hands jumped to her mouth. “I meant because I did love you, when we were together.” She held up her finger. “I don’t love you now. Anyway, I wanted to know all of you and you wouldn’t let me inside. I couldn’t be with someone without a past.”
Something in her soft gaze betrayed her adamant voice. He let her slip-up slide, for the moment, and wondered whether or not she did, in fact, love him.
“Your family issues aside, I waited for you to invite me on one of your hunts. Mark said there wasn’t any reason I couldn’t come along and so I waited.” Melanie brushed a chill off her leg. “I wanted to experience the thrill of the chase with you and understand what stole you away from me for days, weeks, sometimes months at a time.”
Stunned, Luke pulled the towel gently to him. “I had no idea. You never once asked to come along.”
“I shouldn’t have had to ask. The end of our relationship is one of the best things to happen to me. I got my life back. I started my own adventures.”
Chapter 11
The phone call interrupted Luke’s sleep. Calls from Brent always disrupted some event in Luke’s life. Luke put the phone to his ear and said with his eyes closed, “I’m going to hang up on you unless there’s a solid lead.”
“I have two beautiful words for you: blue garnet,” Brent yelled with enthusiasm over a loud engine roaring in the background.
Luke ran his hand over his face. “Not interested.”
“Did I tell you this baby is rumored to be eleven carats?”
“Holy shit.” Luke threw off the covers and turned on the light. “You have my attention.”
“I knew I would. My contact’s solid. I’ve used him before.”
The tips they worked on came from nothing more than a watered-down rumors stretching halfway around the world and essentially, made gamblers of them all. Luke ran a hand over his face. “Tell me where you’re headed and more about this source.”
“Madagascar.” Another loud boom filled the phone. “My source is a friend of a friend, a guy I’ve worked with before, named Andry. I want you to go with me on this one. I need backup and my usual team isn’t able to get here in time. What do you say?”
There had to be someone else. They operated on a team basis only. Nobody went in the field alone. A loner could wind up beaten, robbed, or dead. The very nature of gem hunting took on a life of its own, in an unsettling environment without rules. It tended to bring out the worst and most desperate of people. They always hired from a pool of shady individuals, of men with nothing to lose. They enjoyed any reason to keep a gun at their side or a knife in their pocket. Someone helped Brent with the money; another member of the team would handle logistics of keeping everyone together and safe. They hired translators when needed or influencers, usually someone local to give Brent and his men information that would help secure a deal with a mine owner, trader, or seller. Safety in numbers is the rule they went by out there. “There’s nobody else?”
“We ran into a situation in Thailand. Pete came down with some nasty disease. He’s in a hospital in Bangkok. The doctors think he’s got malaria. The others: Skinny and Kevin are dealing with their own personal problems at home. Rudy’s wife is in labor and I don’t like traveling with our second string without one of the regulars.”
It wasn’t wise to think about going to a remote place without back-up, without a team. They had gone rogue before, in the early days, before they could pay for someone to carry a gun and shoot at the slightest bit of trouble. “Tell me more about the mine. Is this one controlled? Will the trip be worth our time?”
“The mine owner works independently. The operation is small, outside the town of Bekily in the southern, central region. The word is he’s found a vein of blue garnets. We both know these precious beauties go for thousands of dollars on the market.”
“Where are you? You sound like you’re in the middle of an engine exploding.”
Brent laughed. “I’m at the Maui airport.”
The last three months Brent had been out on his own, finding gemstones, heating them, and getting them to Luke. Their operation ran flawless as their precious gemstones. They kept quiet about their business and when opportunities like this came up, Luke knew better than to pass the chance.
“I don’t want to be here. I want to get those garnets. If you want this blue bitch you’re going to have to come get her yourself. I took an early flight for Damon’s wedding and I got a call with a hot tip during my layover. There’s no way I’m going to let this chance slide. I made some calls, got on my connecting flight, and reached out to someone who knows a source. Kendra’s working on getting our flights. We can leave tonight. We’ll take the jet to Honolulu; from Honolulu we’ll go to New York; New York to Paris and Paris to Bekily.”
Even if it came to choosing, Luke and Brent would both pick the blue garnets over their own brother’s big day. Still, he said anyway, knowing his brother wouldn’t change his mind, “Damon’s wedding.”
“We’ll be back in a week. Plenty of time to show up at the altar and stand by our brother.”
A quiet knock at his door got Luke out of bed. He held the phone with one hand and opened the door with the other. The thought of another hunt, his first one in almost a year, got him moving swiftly. Kendra stood on the other side and looked nowhere near ready for sleep. Luke snatched the piece of paper in her hand and said to her, “Dare I ask?”
“A copy of your travel itinerary, assuming you are talking to Brent and he’s got you convinced you need this gemstone,” she responded, stepping into his be
droom. “You did tell me to turn down your brother if he called me with any leads. Then he told me about the blue garnets and I know you’ve been waiting for this for years.”
“You understand me all too well.” Luke shifted the phone against his ear. Certain gemstones drove a hunter out of their bed in the middle of the night and for Luke, this one was one of the elusive conquests he’d dropped everything for once and had failed.
“I don’t know much about these stones, so I did a little reading online. They’re very scarce and have unordinary properties. They are a mystery even to gemstone followers. The stone changes color in the light. A purplish blue color will turn to a stunning purplish pink under the right light. They are borderline urban legend. We haven’t dealt with buying or selling one before and we might not get a chance for months or years. I got flustered simply reading about this stone. I don’t think you can say no to this. I’m sorry, Mr. Harrison, your vacation will have to wait.”
Adrenaline coursed through his blood. He hadn’t been this excited about such risk in a long time. Kendra’s impromptu, self-education on the blue garnet only heightened his anxiousness to find one. A stone impressive. A stone capable of changing colors.
“What do you say?” she said.
He nodded curtly. “I’ll be at the airport within the hour,” Luke answered both his brother and Kendra. He tossed his phone on the bed and began to walk to the closet. Halfway there an idea occurred to him and he knew he wouldn’t be able to leave such a random, jagged thought alone. It consumed him the second the idea entered his mind. He knew what he wanted to do. Right away. “Kendra, hold up. Come here.”
She reappeared in the doorway. Tiredness fell over her face. “Yes?”
“I have a favor to ask you. There’s something I want you to do for me…”
Kendra left his office after they discussed the logistics of his request and she understood her job. Quickly, he dressed in rugged clothes and packed his bag. The few items he packed fit in his backpack. He wouldn’t need much and he’d survived out there with much less than a spare change of clothes. A smaller bag of cash he would wear around his neck. All he needed to do was get his travel gear. Brent would already have arranged all the tools they needed like canteens, food, tents, and knives to keep on their bodies for protection. Their local contact and guide, Andry, would provide them their resources and shelter and in return, he’d get paid half up front and half the money after the hunt. A bodyguard typically accompanied them, but occasionally, they went out on their own and risked their lives without the help of someone paid to carry a gun and sniff out trouble. They traveled fast and light. Luke brushed his teeth, shut the bedroom door, and went to his office.