“And you…” I squeezed the bottle and it crinkled. “…waited?”
“There was nothing else to do.” He shrugged. “We were feeling each other out. He wasn’t bothering me. Not at first. The scent of blood had him in hunting mode. Then you made a splash when you dropped down. You went right through the water that had more of the blood from the tuna. Chum. That’s what he wanted.”
“He thought I was a fish?”
“Either that or a mermaid.”
“Was he coming after me?”
“I didn’t wait to find out.” He gave me a sideways glance. “He was close, though.”
How closewas too much information. My head felt woozy again.
Brando leaned against the railing, his hands resting over it, a faraway look in his eyes. “Tell me what possessed you to jump in the water, Scarlett.” He knew how much I feared water I couldn’t see through. Even clear water was still iffy. I didn’t mind pools, but I knew my place, and that was firmly on land, even ones made of sand.
“I—” I couldn’t discuss it with him, not now. I gave him part of the truth instead. “I missed you.”
“You could’ve called for me to come aboard.”
I shrugged, turning my attention to the bottle. Suddenly the wrapper intrigued me—some parts were starting to peel.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, taking my hand. “Come. It’s time to go ashore.”
“Amen,” I said under my breath, but he heard me. I could tell he didn’t want to, but he grinned despite himself.
The inside of Passion Bure was as charming as it was on the outside. Built to reflect its surroundings, it was all wooden touches that had been exquisitely carved to resemble trees in all their varying forms. The bed was a four-poster romantic dream, mosquito nets fanning out like gossamer wings. There was even a perch set in the floor, and I hoped come morning, we would have a winged visitor of some sort.
Wall to wall glass gave clear views of the sea, and the color of our world seemed to depend on the color of the sky. No central air conditioner, but who needed it? There was something primal about being without, though all of the other amenities were high quality.
Nothing but a gauze sarong was needed.
Brando chatted quietly with one of the staffers while I went to the glass, gazing up, waiting for the stars to come out. Only snippets of the conversation made it beyond my ear. There was some sort of device to call the staff, if needed. Our food would be delivered, if we wanted. We had free rein of the island, even a boat to take us to different locations, Sapphire Lagoon and Lover Falls being two of the most popular. Other than that, we were on our own, and, “clothing is optional, if you and your wife desire it.”
My husband, naked on the beach?I set my hand against the glass to steady myself.
Captain O’Malley had reserved the entire island for us only. Fiji had just come outside of monsoon season, and he had closed the island during that time. We were reopening it for him.
With the staff gone, Brando’s mood shifted, and tension thickened the air around us, making it hard to breathe. “Tell me,” he said bluntly, not bothering to smooth into the conversation.
“Tell you what?” I removed my hand from the expansive glass, turning around to face him.
He was so still and so quiet that I could’ve sworn I heard the cadence of the pulsations of his heart. “The reason you jumped in the water. There’s only one reason you would.”
“Which is?”
“Desperation.”
That makes the two of us, I wanted to say, but didn’t. “Why didn’t you tell me, Brando?” I said softly. I longed to go to him, to take him in my arms and keep him there forever, to take his pain and make it disappear. But he had buried it so far below the surface that I couldn’t reach it. He would have to share it with me himself or there was no touching it.
“Why?” he repeated in an almost incredulous tone. “Why do you think, Scarlett?”
I went to take a step toward him, but he took a step back. “I’m your wife,” I said low-voiced. “I deserve to know.”
“That I failed?”
“You—” I had to keep the emotion threatening to spill over through tears at bay. I had to dig in or he’d retreat even further, putting up a stronger barrier between us. Pity and sadness struck bone deep, but hell if I’d let him see it. Not now. “You failed at nothing!”
“Is that what you think? Did Captain tell you that I couldn’t bring her back?”
