Undertow (20 page)

He stared up at the clouds.

So her husband hadn·t hurt her physical y. Zane was damned relieved. But verbal and emotional abuse were just as bad, if not worse. Harder to recover from, Zane suspected. He stacked his hands under his head because Teal had commandeered the lounger·s pil ow for the engine room. He wasn·t quite sure what to do about his tangled feeli ngs for her. He wasn·t used to putting much thought into any of his relationships.

Other than with his siblings, pretty much al of his relationships were carefree and uncomplicated. He cared about his friends and showed it. He didn·t associate with people he didn·t like, rare as those were, because life was just too damned short.

But Teal³Teal required
thought
.

Thinking needed « thought. Zane grinned up at the scudding clouds. On the plus side, she was a captive audience. On the negative side, she clearly didn·t see him in a positive light.

His reputation as a womanizer was only twenty-five percent « Okay³
thirty-five
percent true.

At twenty, he·d thought his nickname as Casanova of the Caribbean was a rite of passage. It had belonged to his father before Zane was ever born. People had tried to stick it on Logan in his late teens first. Which was pretty damned am using.

Mr. Fuck
you,
not Mr. Fuck
me
. Then they·d tried anointing Nick with the title. Mr.

Cold Shoulder, not Mr. Hot to Trot. Final y, Zane had been the last heir to ascend ³hel , maybe it was
descend
³to his father·s throne. It was a pretty good fit, if he did say so himself.

Even though the king was stil firmly seated at the time, his father had thought Zane fol owing in his footsteps was most excel ent.

Over the years, somewhere in the back of Zane·s mind was the niggling thought that his
mother
would have been pretty fucking disappointed in him. Much as he·d adored his father, Zane was the first to acknowledge the man had put Casanova himself to shame. Zane was attributed with a hel of a lot more conquests than had actual y taken place. The numbers were grossly overestimated. But once that bal had started rol ing, it was hard to stop it. And if he were being truly honest, he·d kicked the thing downhil a time or two just to see if the rumors would rol faster.

So here he was. Interested in a woman who could mean something. Who was practical y part of the family already as far as his brothers were concerned. And his reputation was screwing him before he even made the first move. Ruined by his,
and
his father·s, own reputation. Wel , fuck.

Across the water, the lights on the
Sea Witch
winked off, so that the sleek little boat hid in plain sight in the dark.
Had
the redhead upped her game of cat and mouse? If so, she·d changed her MO from incredibly annoying to dangerous. She usual y sailed a lone. Zane hadn·t seen anyone else on her boat as long as she·d been hovering out there. Could she have carried Teal·s heavy box, as wel as a six-foot-long chunk of conglomerate conjoined silver bars, onto her boat by herself?

Maybe she·d hired partners? Could be any one of the dozens of people hanging around.

Shit.

He scanned the dark water. A couple of fancy yachts stil hung around, but Zane was done with people tonight. A dozen partiers were stil on board the
Decrepit,
happy to entertain themselves while their host went off to enjoy a rare moment of solitude.

Okay, screw it, cal it what it was.

Zane admitted he was fucking brooding. He probed his first brood like a sore tooth, and discovered a twinge of jealousy and a stab of annoyance hiding there.

He·d never been jealous of anyone³ever. Yeah, he joked with his brothers and they bet on anything and everything. But he·d never been jealous of their success, or they of his.

But Teal³

Jealousy.
Well, hell
. He was proud of his path through his newfound emotional, mental masturbation. Holy shit! He felt quite « evolved. He let the mel ow music and muted party noises lul him as he stared at the clouds. Too bad he didn·t feel lul ed, or mel ow.
Enough of
this shit.
Time to talk to the maddening woman.

* * *

´Maggie?µ Teal·s voice was muffled.

Ńo, it·s me. Are you decent?µ He opened the door and walked in. Í hope no ³µ

She wasn·t naked, but the sight of her was enough to make his breath snag.

´Get out!µ She reached for her khakis, slapping the bunched up fabric to her chest.

Í knocked.µ God, he could hardly breathe. She·d put her hair up in a messy, sexy as hel female tumble that bared the sweet vulnerable curve of nape. And she must have borrowed that dress from Maggie.

A
red
dress. A
strapless
red dress. Which meant she wore no bra, just precarious elastic holding the scrap of material over the soft globes of her breasts.

The whole thing could be whipped down in less time than it took to blink. The thought sent a jolt of heat straight to his groin.

´God, do you always just walk into people·s rooms when they·re getting dressed?

Typical«µ

Śorry.µ His voice was hoarse. He caught a glimpse of her lovely back in the mirror behind her, her pert derrière looking round and luscious under the thin fabric.

He managed to get his breathing under control with difficulty. Ćoming back to the party?µ

She made a rude noise. Ás if. Thanks for stopping by. See you in the morning.µ

´Were you going somewhere?µ
Meeting someone?
´Why are you al dressed up?µ

´This isn·t dressed up. It·s a simple sundress. And it·s none of your business what I do alone in my cabin. I·m dressed up for myself. Is it a crime to want to feel like a girl once in a while?

God, it·s like you·ve never seen a woman in a dress before.µ

He searched his brain for something funny to say, but for once in his life, Zane·s mind went blank and his quick wit deserted him.

He reached for her hand, and removed the bunched up fabric she·d slapped over her chest.

He tossed her pants onto the bunk behind he r, then held her arm away from her body.

´You·re beautiful.µ

Her eyes narrowed, and she tilted her chin. Ńo, I·m not.µ

He reeled her in until they were inches apart. Í·m a connoisseur, trust me.µ

His voice was husky. ´You·re absolutely gorgeous.µ He wanted to touch her skin.

He wanted to ease down the top of her dress and fil his hands with the tantalizing weight of her breasts. He wanted to feast his eyes and mouth on her, and then he wanted to fil her liquid heat until he couldn·t think.

´The dress«µ

´Pretty, yeah. But it·s not what you·re wearing, trust me, Wil iams. You·d be just as beautiful out of it.µ More so, he thought when her eyes narrowed even further.

´Why are you here, Zane?µ

Ah, Jesus. The mil ion-dol ar question. He knew the answer to that one. He wanted her flat on her back. Her bel y, or knees³hel , any way he could get her. He touched two fingers to her flushed cheek, searched her big brown eyes for consent. She was hard to read, his prickly sea urchin. ´The party·s almost over,µ he told her easily when he encountered no encouragement. Ćome for a walk on the deck with me?µ

She looked unsure. Which beat a ´fuck off.µ

Á walk?µ

´Dare you,µ he taunted softly.

Ńo kissing.µ

Ńot unless you ask for it.µ

Í won·t.µ

Yeah. She would. But he could wait.

Éxcel ent, see?µ Zane pointed out as they emerged on the empty deck a few minutes later.

Éveryone·s gone home.µ

The
Decrepit
looked better in the dark. The partial moonlight filtering now through the clouds fil ed in the rusty gaps and assorted scars, scabs, and wounds of time. In the dark, she was quite pretty. The tiny white lights swayed in a gentle breeze, reflecting in the choppy water.

Zane wanted to put his arm around Teal·s bare shoulders, but he kept his hands i n his pockets. He·d gotten her to come, but there was a risk of spooking her by pushing too far.

´How did your mother feel about you coming to see Sam every summer when you were a kid?µ He didn·t much care about her mother one way or the other, but he was starting to care about Teal. Everything and everyone who·d made her who she was today interested him.

Śhe³µ Teal shot him a quick glance. Śhe met Sam in a bar³picked him up, I suspect.

Whatever. It was a one-night stand. He split. She³for reasons I never could figure out³had me. When I was six, she apparently read about your father and Sam in the paper.µ

´Dad had discovered the
Santa Teresa
. It was big news because of the value and amount of gold coins salvaged. That was the first time you came out to Cutter Cay.µ Zane smiled. She·d been a nervous little kid. Shy. Quiet. Í went with them to pick you up in Tortola. If I remember right, you were terrified and puked a lot.µ And he·d been pretty annoyed that some strange girl had shown up to steal some of his limelight from his father.

Óh, yeah. Major motion sickness.µ She smiled without looking at him. Which gave him a chance to look at her. Her skin had picked up a light tan, but was stil very fair. And smooth.

And very touchable. He refrained. Priding himself on his self -control.

´You were what?µ she asked. ´Twelve? You barely noticed me, and Sam «

Poor man. He had no idea
what
to do with a little
girl
. He hadn·t known about me, of course.

I came as quite a shock. My mother « Wel , let·s put it this way, she used me as a bargaining chip for child support.µ

Zane wished he could wipe the bad shit away with a sweep of his hand.

´What she never understood was, Sam·s a decent man. As soon as he knew of my existence, he would·ve paid her. To give him his due, he always tried to connect, b ut, face it, I wasn·t an easy child. But I³God, I
lived
for those two weeks every summer.µ

´How so? It was brave of you to leave everything familiar to go someplace you·d never been.µ

´For two glorious weeks I could be a kid. And no matter how undemonstrative Sam was, I was never afraid of him.µ

Ah shit.
´You were afraid of your mother?µ

She gave him a wry look. Śhe was an addict. Coke. Meth.µ Teal swept her bangs back from her forehead. Śhe was « erratic. Angry and emotional y unavailable. Not to mention, I was always worried about money. Rent. Food.µ She shrugged. Śtuff like that. I didn·t have to worry about any of that when I was with Sam. The food was simple, but al I could eat.µ

´Which probably wasn·t much.µ He remembered her as being al arms and legs and hair.

Śam·s a fixture on Cutter Cay,µ Zane said easily, his heart swel ing with empathy. Her childhood had
everything
to do with who she was today. He could only imagine the inner strength she had to have to cope with being the adult in that s ituation when she·d been no more than a shy, frightened child herself. Í was shocked when he told us he had cancer.µ

´Yeah. So was I.µ Teal chewed her nail. Í had to practical y beg him to tel me anything more than the diagnosis. And even then he downpl ayed how dire things real y were. Logan fil ed me in.µ A slight breeze fluttered her hair around her face, and she paused to rub her bare arms. Śam·s always been so proud of the work he did for your father. I think the death took the oomph out of him. He doesn·t even sound like the same guy he was a couple of years ago.

´They were best friends.µ

Í know. I wish³µ

´What?µ

´That he and I were « closer.µ She smiled slightly and pushed her hair out of her eyes. ´But he taught me life lessons through engine repair.µ Her voice lowered and she mimicked her father. Ćlean each piece until it shines. Dirty engine·s a sign of a black heart.µ She shook her head. Íf I·d checked Dennis·s BMW engine, I could·ve saved myself some trouble.µ

Zane smiled. ´Dad and Sam built practical y everything on the island from the ground up.

Dad discovered the virgin wreck
Conde de Santa Clara
the year before he bought the island.µ

He shrugged. ´Money to burn after that. A private island was just the thin g. A wife was next. He met my mother in Miami, married her, and brought her to Cutter Cay after he·d built a house. Smal then. But that grew with the family.µ

Śam told me about your mom. He said she was the kindest, sweetest woman he knew. I think he was a little bit in love with her.µ

´Yeah, she was amazing. Everyone loved her. She died when I was a kid. Car accident.

Drunk driver.µ Years later, when he·d found out
why
she·d left the island with himself and his brothers, he·d never understood how she·d lasted so long with his father. His father had actual y bragged about how many women he·d had during his marriage. He·d never been faithful. It was one thing womanizing when a guy was single «

Teal blew her bangs back to see him better. Í·m sorry.µ

´Me too. She·d taken us to her mother in Portland. Dad came to get us. The fights were horrendous. Dad already had the three of us back on Cutter Cay while she went through legal channels. Money would·ve won, but she was kil ed before the divorce was final.µ Za ne rubbed a hand across his jaw. This conversation wasn·t exactly going to breed seduction.

He reminded himself of the old adage, ´Be careful what you wish for.µ He·d
wanted
to know more. But he was the one spil ing his guts. ´Your dad was his mechanic, c hief cook, and bottle washer. They were together longer than most marriages³almost forty years before my father·s heart attack.µ

He glanced at her profile in the moonlight. Zane didn·t give a damn what they were doing.

As long as he was close to her and she wasn·t snapping at him, he was making progress.

Í know you and your dad were close. You were with him when it happened, right?µ

It stil felt like yesterday. A big, invisible hand grabbed him by the throat, squeezing hard.