Treasure Tides (The Coins) (15 page)

“Ommff,” she groaned deciding it was best to keep her eyes closed
for the moment.
Seriously, what had happened last night?
She remembered
dancing with Trevor and getting into a discussion about nights and days?
No, that didn’t seem right.
She wrinkled her brow as she struggled to recall
the details of the previous night.

It came to her in a flash…not
days
and nights.
Rather-- White
Knights and Dark Lords!
Dark Lords? Oh yes, Royce
.
“Jackass,” she mumbled pulling the covers firmly over her head.
Scenes from last night flashed through her mind.
She frowned as she
remembered Royce bodily ripping her away from Trevor just as Trevor
was going to kiss her.
“
Hypocritical
Jackass,” she amended.
Things became a little blurry after that although… she sort of
remembered seeing Landon. She would have to call him later and thank
him for bringing her home.
She needed coffee
. Black gold was the only
thing that would help this hang-over. She forced herself to throw back
the covers, but she hadn’t yet worked up the courage to open her eyes.
“What an idiot,” she groaned, attempting to force her body to
cooperate. There was a long list of things to be done today starting with
a huge pile of laundry. She really needed to get moving. Gritting her
teeth in determination, she opened her eyes and rolled her body hard to
the right. Becki’s momentum was interrupted as she collided with a wall
of solid muscle. Becki screamed as she sat up rapidly.
“Way to charm her, Royce,” said a sarcastic voice from the open
doorway.
Royce? Where was she?
Becki realized that she was not at home after all.
How long had Royce been lying next to her? Watching her?
Narrowing her eyes
to stare more intently at him, she saw humor simmering just below the
surface.
To hell with this!
If he thought he could kidnap her and then laugh at
her, he could think again.
Becki quickly rolled to her left.
Her eyes darted to the doorway
calculating
the
fastest
escape
route.
To
compound
an
already
uncomfortable situation, the bimbo Royce had been fawning over
yesterday was standing in the open doorway.
However, today she was
dressed in a short robe with a towel turbaned around her head.
Becki stopped mid-roll… her eyes wide-open now.
“You’d better start charming her, Royce. She looks ready to bolt,”
said the tramp in the towel, as she pushed off the doorway and strolled
gracefully away. She turned to smile and say, “I’ve got coffee made.”
Ok, maybe she wasn’t such a troll after all
.
However, the grinning male
lying beside her was even more of a jackass than she thought.
Becki
fought the nearly overwhelming urge to beat him soundly about the
head, neck, and shoulders. She pushed into a more comfortable sitting
position as she prepared to scramble off the bed and away from
Royce.
A warm hand rested on her thigh for a moment before dragging her
back down into the bed.
Before she could think to react, Royce was
looming over her trapping her body beneath his.
‘Like a rat caught in a trap,’ as her friend Jayne always said. Only in
this case, the rat
was
the trap!
Fury surrounded Becki.
She felt as
though she might actually drown in the emotions coursing through her
body.
She began to struggle for her freedom; she had to get away!
Becki wanted to go home and forget that she had ever known Royce
St. John.
While she was at it, she also wanted to forget the fact that
her heart felt like it was breaking.
She wanted to forget the fact that
she had just awakened in his bed, and that the first thing her eyes
focused on was his girlfriend.
Feeling somewhat fragile this morning, Becki struggled intently trying
to push Royce away from her. Tears hovered incredibly close to the
surface.
“
Get the hell off me
,” she forced through gritted teeth. She tried to
dislodge him using her entire body.
She arched into him several times
trying to gain a few inches of freedom.
“Becki,” Royce said, in a whisper. That whisper went straight to her
heart, cracking it open even further.
“Don’t talk to me! Don’t say my name, and don’t touch me
ever
again.
I thought we covered this last night,” she said hatefully. “What did you
do, Royce? Bring me back here for a threesome?”
Anger flooded Royce’s body as her words grew increasingly ugly.
As soon as she felt him tense, she should have known she had gone
too far. Of course, Becki never did know when to just keep her mouth
shut and had to push the envelope a little further. “Well I’ve got news
for you; I don’t play in that shit. Now get
off
me, you sick son-of-a-bi--”
There was very little time to give it much consideration as his lips
crushed hers mid-curse.
Damn him! Why did he have to be such a good kisser
?
As he kissed her
silent, Becki momentarily forgot that she was madder than hell.
Once
Royce lifted his lips from hers, it all came crashing back with a powerful
surge of emotion.
Becki closed her eyes and felt the fight leave her body.
Incredible
anger had been replaced with hollowness.
“You need to stop and listen, Darlin’, before you say something you’ll
surely regret,” Royce said softly.
“The only thing I regret right now,” Becki managed, “is that I ever
met you.”
“I want some answers, Becki,” Royce demanded. He was tired of
being punished for a crime he hadn’t committed.
“Maybe if you actually
asked
the questions, Royce, I could answer
them for you. And then, you can let me up, so I can go home and get on
with my life,” Becki said with resolve.
“Ok, why don’t we start at the beginning,” Royce suggested. “Why
did you ignore my texts and phone calls yesterday?”
Becki tightened her jaw and turned her face as far away from him as
she could.
“No response? Fine! Next question… why were you snuggled up
with Simmons on the dance floor when I walked in the Pub last night?”
he asked, clearly pissed off.
“You’re
jealous
? Oh, that’s rich coming from
you
, you big oaf,” Becki
scoffed and pushed on his chest again. She tried not to notice how the
springy curls, scattered across his chest, tickled her hands; practically
begging her to run her fingers through them. Right-- her fingers-- and
the fingers of every other female around apparently.
When pushing
didn’t work, she resorted to hitting him with her fists. The blows
bounced off his pecs like cotton balls.
Capturing her hands, he trapped them both in one of his and pinned
them above her head effectively halting the assault.
Unfortunately, or
fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, the move lined his body
up with hers from head to toe. He began thinking about how good she
felt under him, how he could get used to waking up with her every
morning, and how great it would be making up after their fights. That
was when he noticed she was crying.
Royce immediately released her arms and rolled off her body. “I’m
sorry,” he apologized. “Did I hurt you?”
His apparent concern promptly turned the quiet tears trickling down
her cheeks into full blown sobs. He heard the bedroom door quietly
close and decided that his baby sister had, indeed, grown up.
“Becki, honey, please stop crying. I’m trying to understand what is
going on here, and we’ll talk more about that in a minute. But first, I
need to know if I hurt you?” He fought an internal battle. He wanted to
wrap her in his arms, but judging from her recent reactions, he didn’t
know whether he should or not. “You’re killing me, sweetheart. I want
to hold you. Can I do that, please?” he waited stiffly for her reply.
Becki finally nodded her permission. His arms slid around her body,
cradling her to him. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Becki. I’m sorry.”
Becki took a hitching breath, and then blurted it out, “You didn’t
hurt me, not today.
But you hurt me so much yesterday.
I saw you
holding her hand and kissing her, laughing with her like you laughed
with me earlier that morning. I’m not good at relationships, Royce. I
don’t share well. I don’t trust easily either, but I had started to trust
you.”
Whatever reaction she had expected from him, it certainly wasn’t the
reaction she received. She felt his body begin to shake with…laughter?
He was laughing at her! She was cocooned in his arms, spilling her heart out to
him with his girlfriend in the next room, and he had the audacity to laugh at her?
It was too much-- it was just too much!
She tried to roll away from him, but
he tightened his arms like steel bands and bellowed, “Jo, get in here.”
Becki’s eyes grew wide and round as she wondered what kind of
kink he had in mind. She wasn’t into sharing, and she certainly wasn’t
into group sex.
She tensed as she heard the door open.
Suddenly the
“other woman” was staring down at Becki. She looked even more
gorgeous than she had yesterday.
She was wearing a bikini which
revealed not
one ounce
of flab
anywhere
on her body.
Becki hated her
even more, if that was possible.
“What do you want, Royce?”
she
snapped. “I’m trying to get ready to
leave. Remember, we have to be at the dock in an hour.”
“Becki,” Royce said warmly, “I want you to meet Joanna… my baby
sister.”
“Oh God, shoot me now,” she pleaded. Becki closed her eyes and
prayed for the world to end.
“It’s nice to meet you, Becki. I’m sorry about last night. How does
your head feel this morning?” Joanna asked with a friendly smile.
Royce had loosed his death grip which allowed Becki to turn and look
at Royce. “Can I get up now, please?” she asked sweetly, too sweetly.
“Do you promise not to hurt me?” he asked with a grin.
“No,” Becki answered as she pushed him out of the way and swung
her legs off the bed. Ignoring Royce completely, she asked Joanna, “Did
you say something about coffee?”
“Sure did. Follow me,” Joanna said, leading the way to salvation.
Royce watched them walk out of his room with a grin on his face. He
wasted little time in the shower. It wasn’t hard to imagine the kind of
stories Becki would drag out of a more-than-eager-to-embarrass-herbrother Joanna. He grabbed a cup from the cabinet and kissed the top
of Becki’s head as he passed by.
“Where’s Sean?” he asked Joanna.
“He is downstairs waiting for me. We’re going to drive separately, so
you can drop Becki at her house. I’ve already arranged to have her car
delivered by the time you get there. I need to go now.” She breezed out,
and then moved back into the room with surprising speed.
She handed
something to Royce with a whisper and disappeared again.
As he looked at the stone necklace in his hand, he heard Joanna’s
whisper echo in his ear, “Make sure she wears it…red jasper for
protection.”
“Thanks, Jo,” He said long after the front door slammed. She would
still hear him. He knew she might have grown up, but she was still his
bossy sister. She would wait around just long enough to make sure he
followed her instructions.
Becki stood at the window taking in the breathtaking view of the
gardens.
Royce slid his arms around her and pulled her to lean into his chest.
“You can trust me, Becki. I would never knowingly do anything to
hurt you.”
Turning in the circle of his arms to face him, she said, “I know that in
my heart, my head is just a little thicker. I’m sorry for acting like such a
bitch.”
He kissed her softly and pulled her in close for a hug. “Just so you
know, the next time I see you in another man’s arms, he is going to be
missing his front teeth and maybe a few other body parts before I am
done with him. And you,” he continued, “you won’t like your
punishment. Not one bit.”
“My punishment? Oh, Royce, don’t tease me so,” she said fluttering
her eyelashes.
He swiveled her around to face the window once again and placed
something around her neck. Looking down, she touched the fiery red
stone dangling from an intricately woven gold chain.
“It’s beautiful, but what is this all about?” Becki asked trying to turn
and face him.
He held her in place nibbling on her ear, which he knew drove her
crazy. “Promise me you will wear it every day and not take it off,” he
asked. “Feel free to wear something black and sexy with it tonight when
I pick you up for our date. Ok?” he whispered in her ear.
How could a girl say no to that? How could a girl speak period?
She nodded
her head.
“We need to go. I’m going to be late.”
“Lead the way,” Becki said tucking her hand in his.
The drive to her house was glorious; there was no other way to
describe it. His car was just as fast as she remembered. They rode with
the top down enjoying the warm breeze blowing through their hair.
Glancing over to smile at Becki every once in a while, Royce held her
hand all the way home.
This
day promised to be perfect!
Royce pulled up in front of her house. “Don’t touch the door
handle,” he warned before getting out of the car. “That’s the rule from
here on out.” He walked around the car, opened her door, and offered
his hand to help her out of the car.
She placed her hand in his as if she were a queen. “Thank you, Sir.
You shall receive a token of my favor. A kiss, I think.”
Royce jerked her to him and kissed her right there, dipping her
backward over his arm with flair. Becki came up laughing. “Ok, you are
not going to blame me for being late. Go play, I will see you tonight.”
Royce insisted on walking her to the door, and he made sure she
locked it behind her.
“I will look forward to seeing you in that sexy black dress,” he said
through the door. Then turning, he strutted toward his bad-ass car. He
felt like he was twenty years old again as he roared out of the drive way.
Royce loved this car; he loved the girl, too.