by Nic Saint
He’d been playing with his dog for a moment, and she’d taken the opportunity to study him more closely. He had the bearing of an athlete, but not one who idly spends his time in the surf. More one who’s been trained to use his body as a lethal weapon. His powerful arms, his bulging chest and his strong hands all told her here stood a man not to be trifled with, and the slow methodical way he handled himself revealed studied economy of movement and comportment.
She couldn’t help but feel an interest in the man. She wondered who he was and what he was doing here.
The moment Sophie’s little tête-à-tête with the man’s friend was at an end, he’d glanced up at her and given her a slow smile before turning away and walking out of her life again.
Somehow, she had the feeling she’d be seeing more of this man. She didn’t know where or when, but a yearning had been stirred in her bosom that wouldn’t be quenched before she learned all there was to know about him.
Chapter 6
“Who was that girl?”
Ram had taken his friend to the rental—a rare muscle car he’d picked up from a dealership in the heart of town—and they were now heading back to his cabin.
Burke didn’t seem surprised by the question.
“Sophie Racklin,” he said slowly, drawing out every syllable and rolling it around his tongue. “A most delectable creature, huh?”
“She wasn’t bad-looking,” Ram agreed. “Albeit a bit on the plump side for my taste.”
“Ah, but those are the best, my friend. And my taste exactly.” He pressed thumb and index finger together and made a show of smacking his lips against them. “A peach of a girl. And a pussy ripe for the plucking, or my name isn’t Jake Burke.”
Ram grimaced. He hadn’t brought his friend all the way out to India to savor the local tourists. Far more important things were at stake and he said as much.
“Don’t worry, Bradley. I’ve got my eye on the ball and I won’t drop it if that’s what you’re worried about. Besides, it’s not as if the two are mutually incompatible.” He grimaced widely. “Business and pleasure, buddy. Business. And pleasure.”
“Just as long as you know which comes first,” Raminar grunted.
His friend’s radiance wasn’t diminished by this reprimand, for he now directed that toothpaste smile at him. “Besides, I saw you checking out the local fauna and flora yourself.” He threw his head in his neck and guffawed. “Never thought I’d see the day Raminar Bradley stoops so low as to ogle a girl at the airport.”
“I wasn’t ‘ogling’ her. I was merely making sure she was all right. She almost made a bad fall back there.”
“Oh, right. That’s why you were practically undressing her with your eyes, huh?”
“I was doing no such thing.”
Burke’s expressive face displayed his incredulity. “You’re telling me you don’t feel attracted to this girl?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, the direction the conversation was taking distressing him in no small measure.
“Then I’m telling you you’re a liar, buddy. And a very bad one at that. You totally dig that chick. I can tell.”
“Oh, you can, can you?” Ram asked wryly. “Look, why don’t we change the subject? I’m not interested in your love life and you’re not interested in mine, so let’s just do what we came here for and not get sidetracked.”
Burke held up his hands in a gesture of defense. “Excuse me for breathing, Bradley. Just making conversation, bro. No reason to get all nasty on me all of a sudden.”
Ram sighed. He really didn’t want to go there with Burke, whom he considered a good and loyal friend, unlike some others he’d known.
“Look, I’m sorry, all right? If you want to discuss girls, it’s fine by me.”
“Nope,” said Burke, staring at the passing landscape. “The subject is closed as far as I’m concerned.”
“Don’t be like this, Burke. You know you’re the only friend I’ve got.”
“I know that and you should probably think twice before pissing me off.”
Raminar glanced over at his friend. Then he noticed the hint of a smile on the other man’s face and he heaved an inaudible sigh of relief. “I liked… her hair,” he finally confessed.
“Come again?”
“The way…” He waved his hand helplessly about, trying to express a thought he’d never be able to put into words. “The way it was all wavy and tousled up and seemed to frame her face just so.”
“Just so, huh?”
“Yeah. And then there were those eyes.”
“Oh, the eyes.”
“They were…” He frowned, thinking of just the right word to describe the sheer beauty of the girl’s eyes. “Green,” he finally managed quite lamely.
“Green. Red hair and green eyes.”
“Yes. Uh-huh. And her figure.”
“Oh, there’s more?”
“When I caught her, she was so light on her feet, as if… as if…”
He was surprised by the sound of a gas pipe bursting next to him, and when he looked over, saw that Burke was huffing with mirth. He clapped a hand on his shoulder that almost had him eating his steering wheel.
“Damn, man! That’s the lamest thing I’ve ever heard!” He mimicked Ram by pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes. “She has red hair and green eyes and her body is very light. Uh-huh.”
“I’m happy I’m a source of entertainment for you, buddy,” growled Ram.
“You know what you should do? You should tell her everything you just told me. Miss? I like your eyes. They’re so nice and green. And your hair, too. I’m sure she’ll be all over you.”
“That’s the difference between you and me. I don’t want her to be all over me.”
Burke nodded his head emphatically. “Oh, you do, Bradley. You so want this girl. I can tell.”
Raminar looked pained. “Let’s just… not go there, all right?”
“Why you always have to go and spoil the fun is beyond me,” Burke grumbled.
“Someone has to keep his eye on the ball,” countered Ram. He had a lot riding on this project, and he was damned if a mere slip of a girl was going to get in the way of that.
“Yeah, yeah. I hear you.” Burke sighed deeply. “Pity. I would have tapped that ass.”
“I know, but now’s not the time for tapping asses. Now’s the time for getting even.”
Burke considered this. “I guess I could always tap that ass later.”
“Much later,” corrected Ram.
“Just drive, man. I think you just managed to spoil my mood for the rest of the day.”
“It’s important that—”
“Just… shut the hell up, will you? Each time you open your mouth I get a little bit more upset with you. And you don’t want me upset, do you?”
“No, I don’t,” agreed Ram.
“So shut it.”
“I will.”
As Burke fell into a moody silence, he thought back to the girl at the airport. His friend was right. He did like her. For reasons he didn’t even begin to understand, he liked her a whole lot, even. Like a song you can’t get out of your head, she occupied his thoughts like nothing else did.
Just by being there and giving him that tiny smile and acknowledgment of his presence, she’d wormed her way into his mind and now refused to leave.
He decided not to fight it. If she wanted to nestle in his thoughts, so be it. It was a better way to pass the time than stare at Burke’s ugly map, that was for sure.
She’d looked so sweet and innocent, and when Burke and her friend had started their bout of dirty talking, she’d looked positively shocked at the thought anyone could jump into the sack as easily as her friend and Burke seemed to want to.
It told him a lot about her. Unlike her friend, she had an innocence and a naiveté he’d seldom seen but which appealed to him. For lack of a better word, and Burke would never let him live it down i
f he told him, she was nice. She was a nice girl, and nice girls weren’t what he was used to.
Perhaps that’s why she’d made such an impression on him.
She’d fade away, he knew. By tomorrow morning, he’d have forgotten all about her, and that was the way it should be with these innocent little infatuations.
A smile nestled about his lips. At least, for now, he could enjoy the sensation. The butterflies in his stomach and the innocent joy of feeling his heart linger in the wake of another heart, for however brief a time.
Chapter 7
“I don’t know what it is about this place, but it definitely gives me the creeps.”
Erin frowned. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Come over here for just a second. Don’t tell me this place doesn’t freak you out.”
Erin, who’d been shoving her suitcase under the bed and discovering to her dismay it didn’t fit, rose and walked over to her friend’s room. They’d opted for connecting rooms, figuring they could throw a party at night, or have a girl’s night with drinks from the mini-bar and some cheesy Bollywood movie on TV.
Sophie stood gazing out the window at something on the ground floor. They were ten stories up, and down below hotel guests were prancing about the pool, jumping from the diving board and generally splashing about and having a ball.
“What?” she said, not detecting anything even remotely revolting.
“There!” intoned Sophie, pointing a finger resolutely across the courtyard to the opposing section of the hotel.
Erin followed her outstretched finger and now saw what she meant. On the tenth floor opposite from them, two young men with binoculars stood checking them out and waving excitedly in their direction.
Rather than wave back, Sophie flipped them the finger. “How dare they!”
“They’re just trying to be friendly,” suggested Erin.
“Friendly? They’re a bunch of peeping Toms! How are we ever going to feel safe here knowing there’s a bunch of guys checking out our every move? I was just about to change into my bikini when a flash of light made me look up and there they were.”
“Yeah, better change in the bathroom would be my suggestion.”
She walked back to her room, intent on giving the trunk another shove. She had this thing about suitcases when on holiday. They had to be where she didn’t see them, or else they kept reminding her of home.
Only when nothing told her she was on vacation and not a permanent resident at the hotel, could she really let her hair down and have fun.
She grinned at she thought of Sophie’s perverts. It was just like her friend to discover peeping Toms lurking all over the place. First that guy in the airport who practically jumped her, and now this? Sophie was simply a walking and talking guy magnet. She? Not so much. And neither did she want to be. She’d promised Sophie not to give the soulmate thing another thought and just enjoy their time here, and that’s exactly what she intended to do.
She stepped into the tiny bathroom and checked her look in the mirror. She looked pale, she thought. Probably from the flight. She hadn’t slept well, the noise and the uncomfortable position preventing her from finding sleep. That and Sophie’s snoring, which had amused her at first, but then had added to her discomfort.
She had dark rings under her eyes, which troubled her a little. Five years of college had drained her. Too much work and too little sleep. She looked thin, too. She lifted her dress to check her lithe frame. Flat belly… She raised her shirt even more, until her pink bra came into view. Small breasts, the bane of her existence. Compared to Sophie’s D cup, she almost looked like a boy. When still in her teens, her mother had assured her her boobs would grow, but they never had. They’d been stuck at the same size since she was sixteen.
She shook her head. How she would ever find a guy looking like this? Even Bart had confessed he’d have preferred her boobs to at least fill his hands. But then Bart had been a grade-A asshole.
She dropped her dress, and decided not to devote another thought to Bart or guys in general. At least she was healthy, she thought lamely. It was a phrase her grandmother often used. Whatever else irked the old lady, as long as she had her health, all was fine. Perhaps she was right.
She grinned at herself, displaying an even row of pearly whites. She was healthy, though bone-tired.
“Checking out that gorgeous bod, huh?” Sophie’s voice came from behind her. “Can’t blame you. You’re smoking hot, babe.”
“Not really,” murmured Erin. “But at least I’ve got my health.”
This elicited an amused chuckle from her friend. The joke was an old one, but they never grew tired of repeating it.
She checked Sophie’s attire, and did a double take. Soph had opted for a bikini top that did little to conceal her God-given assets, which were ample and now practically spilling out of the cups.
“Um. Don’t you think you should tone it down a little?” she suggested.
Sophie planted her hands on her wide hips. “Tone it down? We’re here to flaunt it, honey, not to hide it, remember?”
She shook her massive boobs to emphasize this statement. “If you’ve got it, you better show it.”
Erin chuckled. “Did you give those guys a good show?”
“Hell, no! I changed in your room. Those idiots will have to wait a long time before they catch me nekkid. In fact, if I see them ogling me again, I’m filing a complaint with management. I didn’t come here to be the sex object of a couple of meatheads. Only real men get to check out the goods.” She checked out her friend. “You ready to go down to the pool? You don’t look ready.”
“Be just a minute. Just have to fetch my bathing suit and I’ll be ready.”
“Bathing suit? You don’t plan on wearing a bathing suit, do you? This is the twenty-first century, baby. Besides, with your figure, you better show off your assets, not hide them.”
Erin, who had no intention of showing off anything, picked out the bathing suit she’d bought especially for this trip. A nice metallic green, it accentuated her eyes. Or so the saleslady had her believe.
Five minutes later, both friends were making their way down in the elevator, excited to start their vacation.
Two weeks of sun, surf and sand, that was all they needed to forget all about dreary old Belgium and its inhospitable climate.
Chapter 8
“I don’t think there’s a spot that’s not taken,” grumbled Sophie.
They’d gone round the pool three times now, and hadn’t found a single lounge chair available.
“You know what? Why don’t we come back later,” suggested Erin. “I don’t really feel like staying out here too long anyway.” The prospect of spending the whole day stretched out by the pool had suddenly lost a lot of its appeal now that they were subjected to dozens of eyes checking them out.
She’d always been the shy kid when going on school swimming lessons, not feeling comfortable in her bathing suit, and she had the distinct impression there were definitely more men than women present, the men seemingly drawn to them like moths to a flame. She didn’t have any illusions about who it was they were actually interested in. Sophie with her rhythmically bouncing boobs was a walking sex goddess. But still, even the peripheral attention they were granting her had her yearn for the peace and quiet of her hotel room all of a sudden.
She’d totally forgotten what it was like to walk around practically naked in front of a group of strange men.
“No way. I’m finding us pool chairs if it’s the last thing I do. Look, honey,” she pointed out reasonably, “we paid for this hotel, so we better get the service we deserve.”
Swallowing away a growing lump in her throat, and trying to avoid her tendency to slump her shoulders and hide her boobs, she braved the leering masses, and followed Sophie for yet another round of chair-hunting.
And it was as they were concluding their fourth run around the pool, that she became aware of a familiar face amongst the throng. Squinting against t
he sunlight, she nudged Sophie. “Isn’t that…”
But Sophie was too busy searching a place to lay their weary heads to pay attention.
The man—she didn’t know his name—hadn’t seen her yet. This time he hadn’t brought his dog along—hotel policy probably forbade animals on the premises—but apart from that he looked exactly the same as before. She thought he was even wearing the same shirt-and-pants combo from that morning. He must have come straight here, she thought. Probably he was staying at the hotel, same way as they were.
He hadn’t noticed her, she thought. At least, he appeared to be engrossed in a novel he was scanning, though how he could see anything with those sunglasses he was wearing, she didn’t know.
The sight of him sent a strange tingle through her body. Though they’d only met once, the sight of a familiar face did much to dispel the nervousness and timidity she was feeling.
She decided to stroll over there and engage him in conversation. Ever since she’d bumped into him, she’d been wondering who he was, and what he was doing here in Goa.
He didn’t look like a tourist, and yet here he was, behaving like one.
Leaving Sophie to complete her mission of finding them a place to spend the day, she ambled over to the man. Only when she was standing next to him, did she discover he wasn’t reading a novel, but a copy of The Life and Times of Alexander the Great instead.
“History buff, huh?”
The man looked up. If he was surprised to see her, he didn’t show it. Flipping down his sunglasses to afford him a better view, he eyed her intently for a moment, then gave her a lazy grin. “Not really. Just something to while away the time.”