Sabin, A Seven Novel (30 page)

I want to drink her in, soak up every infinitesimal amount of her. It’s Serena that I want to be a part of, and I want her to be a part of me. And as this awareness barrels into me, I confine her in my embrace and breathe, because that’s all I’m capable of at this moment. She has stolen everything from me, all coherent thoughts, and all capable movement. The only things I can do are hold her and inhale her scent.

“Sabin?”

“Yes?”

“I’ve never had feelings like these before.” Her confession warms my heart, yet frightens me even more.

Her face nuzzles my neck so I back away slightly because I want to see her, look at her. One of her legs drapes over my hip, and my hand slides up and down the length of it. Then I cup her cheek and tilt her head so we face each other. Her green gaze pins me.

“I haven’t either.”

“Not even when you were married?”

“Not even close.” A slow, tentative smile begins, and then spreads across her face. It’s like the sun just burst through the darkness on a cold wintry day, bringing warmth and happiness with it. She literally glows and it lights up the entire room.

And suddenly I want to run like my ass is on fire.

So we’re lying here and everything’s great, when Sabin gets up, pulls on his pants, and tells me never to wear anything like that in public again. Then he stomps out of the room and slams the door. What did I say?

I’m tired. Tired of all this craziness. I want to go home. This place is too insane for me to keep up with. I pull the covers over me and fall asleep.

Sleep is a great place—until the unpleasantness of wakefulness barges its way in.

“Wake up, Serena. You need to get up. Dinner’s in thirty minutes.” Sabin stands over me and shakes me.

“What? What time is it?”

“That’s not relevant. You’ve slept the day away. Get a shower and get dressed.”

Gawd, he’s so fucking bossy.

“I know I’m bossy. It’s time you get used to it.”

“Stay out of my head, asshole.” I climb out of bed and head for the shower. While bathing, I think about my time here and most of it has been convalescing from one mishap or another. The transcending, those damn poisonous hedges, and that fucking ex-wife of his. What next? Poisoned food? A poisoned dart? A pit viper or a scorpion in my bed? And then there are my fucked up feelings for
him
. Jeez.

The bathroom door flings open as I step out of the shower and he hands me one of those drying cloths. “I’ve set your clothes out. Hurry.”

“I am. What’s put you in such a sour mood?” It certainly can’t be the sex.

His brow shoots up and he smirks. “I have a lot on my mind.”

“Uh, yeah, same here.”

“Turn around.” He stands there with one of those magic combs, ready to detangle my hair. He really does have a thing for my hair. His hands feel so good, too. When he’s done, he leans down and inhales. I don’t speak a word. Then he says, “All done.”

I dress and he guides me to the dining room, which is massive, where all the men are seated. They greet me and we start dinner.

Verus makes an announcement. “We will be leaving soon for Earth, Serena. We head back and will be staying on an island in the Caribbean.”

“Wh-what?” I’m flabbergasted. “Why?”

“Many reasons. But we chose that place for several.” Sabin is the one who speaks.

“And?”

Onyx eyes drill into mine, but I get no answer. Nice. We’re back to taciturn Sabin. With all the men present, I don’t want to be a bitch, but I sure feel like it. There’s no suppressing the scowl that forms on my face.

“Eat,” he commands.

He’s also back to treating me like a child. I look at him for a moment. Why does he have to be so damn sexy? He wears his hot, brooding look. He hasn’t shaved in a couple of days, so his scruff is thick and his hair is super messy. I turn my attention to my food and I can feel his gaze sear my cheek. The plate before me does look delicious and my stomach growls from the aromas rising from it. All the men look at me eagerly, so I pick up my fork, and take a bite. They dig in right after I do. I didn’t realize they were waiting on me. Whatever I’m chowing down is so tasty it melts in my mouth. I find myself making all sorts of noises as I eat.

“I take it you’re enjoying your meal,” Sabin remarks. His sarcasm isn’t lost on me.

Choosing to ignore it, I say, “It’s excellent. Please convey my compliments to your chef.”

Edge comments, “Have you not met Kernell yet?”

“Kernell?”

“The chef,” he replies.

“No, I haven’t. But he’s amazing.”

Edge nods with enthusiasm. Edge likes to eat. He’s relayed this to me on several occasions. “Kernell is the best. We’ve tried to get the food processor to recreate his concoctions, but no luck. You can’t remake these masterpieces.”

“I agree. This is the best food I’ve ever eaten.”

Precisely at that moment, a short man in a chef’s uniform enters the room and in a squeaky voice says, “I’m glad you approve, miss. If there’s anything you would like, please let me know.” His gray hair springs out in coiled sprigs beneath his chef’s hat and he’s sort of a funny looking character.

“You are Kernell?” I ask.

“I am, miss.”

“Well, you are the best. I am humbled to be a guest at your table.”

He looks stricken. I notice all the men’s mouths hang open. What the hell have I said now? I glance at Sabin and his eyes blink once, twice, and he clears his throat.

“What she means, Kernell is that she is honored to be eating such magnificent food.”

“Yes! That is exactly what I mean.” I smile.

Kernel’s face brightens and he beams. “Why, thank you, miss. I am here at your service.” He bows and exits the room.

“Um, did I say something wrong?”

“You inferred this was Kernell’s home, thereby insulting me and him.”

Now it’s my turn to wear the O on my face. “I did no such thing. Where I’m from, when you eat at a fabulous restaurant, that’s how you compliment a top-notch chef. My compliment was misconstrued. Thanks for clearing it up and making me appear less than my usual idiotic self.” I rub my forehead to ease the approaching headache.

He dips his head in acknowledgement. No smile at my little joke. Nothing. What the heck crawled up his butt? Okay, so I’ve been the consummate idiot since I’ve arrived here, but how can I not be?

Edge breaks the ice. “Serena, are you happy to be returning to Earth?”

Am I? I thought I would be, but I’m not really sure. I decide to be honest.

“The truth is, I don’t quite know. Since I’m not familiar with where we’re going, I can’t say. I would love to go back to Durham, (
hint hint
) and continue to work on my degree. If I could do that, then yes, I would be thrilled.”

Edge’s excited expression collapses. Why does that make me feel like the Grinch that stole Christmas? Being mean spirited is not part of my repertoire, so I immediately soften the blow. “But yes, Edge, returning to Earth does give me the warm fuzzies.”

A slow smile spreads across Edge’s face, but Sabin scowls. I can’t seem to win with him, so I’m giving up.

For all of Edge’s fierceness, he reminds me of a little boy sometimes. “These warm fuzzies, I take it they are not bothersome, but are good.”

A laugh bubbles out of my mouth. “Oh, they’re very good. Like hot cocoa.”

His brow furrows, but he doesn’t lose his grin. Dinner passes, with mainly Edge conversing with me. Sabin continues to pout and glower at me, and the others sit back and observe. Finally, Verus asks, “Serena, what is it you enjoy doing in your pastime?”

“SCUBA diving. I thought you knew.”

“Yes, but is there anything else? Are there activities you enjoyed with friends?”

What’s he getting at? He’s never taken much interest in me before. Sabin’s gaze burns into me, but I refuse to give into it.

“Not really. We would mostly shop and hang out. But a lot of my friends were divers too, and most of them were associates or colleagues of mine.” I look at my napkin sitting on my lap before I continue. “I, um, didn’t really have any friends until I went to college. I guess that’s why they all center around what I do.” I glance from Verus to Sabin, and find his expression has softened toward me. His mercurial mood throws me. “Yeah, it’s a kind of a not so great story, Verus.”

An awkward silence fills the room. It’s one of those moments where you’re the center of attention and all you want to do is slide under the table. I quickly divert the topic by saying, “I do like a little Krav Maga for self defense and exercise, but that’s about it.”

“Krav Maga?” Verus asks.

“It’s a form of self defense but it’s a great work out.”

Verus stares at me and asks, “You can fight?”

“Yeah. Well, not against you hulks. But I can handle myself against humans. You people are way too big and strong.” I add, thinking about that flame haired bitch and how she knocked me through the air like I was nothing more than a feather.

Verus’ mouth curves up. “Yes, I suppose we’re a bit more than you’re used to.”

Looking at Sabin, I glare. “Yes, you are.”

His forehead creases and I refuse to break the eye contact first. When he does, I notice how his thick lashes press into the tops of his cheeks and how they, in turn, slope into carved perfection. As I study him, he licks his full lips and his hooded eyes lift to catch me staring. A brow quirks as if to ask whether or not I enjoy what I see. As if there was ever a question of that. The real question is—how can someone be so damn sexy and alluring yet such an asshole? Sabin is all of that and more. He is damn near perfect, and as I think those things, I know he hears my thoughts but I don’t give a damn. The problem is, looks aren’t everything. With those looks comes all of his assery and that is a huge problem for me. My emotions are tangled up in this man who is so mysterious and changes moods like the weather in the south during the summer.

When dinner ends, I head back to Sabin’s quarters and read for a while before falling asleep. He is nowhere to be seen and I don’t hear him come in that night. The next morning, he is gone when I awaken. For the next two days, I spend my time by the lake, taking long walks and sitting out on the dock. Edge visits me every so often and on one of his visits, I work up the courage to ask about Sabin.

“Why is he doing this?”

Edge chuckles. “Sabin is Sabin.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“It’s true. But he cares for you, Serena.”

“You’ve said that before, too.”

“Yes, I have. He’s unused to having a woman to worry about. I don’t believe he quite knows how to handle you.”

This makes me laugh, but not with mirth. “Then he’d better get used to it because he’s the one who claimed me.”

“Serena, go easy on him. He’s not an easy man to deal with in the first place.”

“You’re telling me. He acts like an ass and then expects me to be the one to do all the sucking up. Hell to the fucking no on that. I’m all about compromise, but he doesn’t get the meaning of it. And talk about a freaky thermometer. Good god, the man is off the charts with the fluctuating mercury.”

“Okay, slow it down. Sabin is preoccupied right now. And do you want to know what he is preoccupied with?”

“No. I don’t care.”

Edge’s eyes darken and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him become angry with me. “Too bad. I’m telling you anyway. He is preoccupied with your safety. That’s why we’re leaving here. That’s why we’re going back to Earth, to a special island in the Caribbean, where you, as he put it, can be with your underwater friends. He’s doing it all for you. Take a step back and understand this, Serena.”

Oh god. We’re going to this place so I can dive? “He’s doing this for my safety, but also so I can dive?”

“Yes, Serena, much to some of the men’s dismay. They don’t quite agree with his logic. But he is adamant about seeing you safe
and
happy. Now you must try to understand him and not judge him so harshly.”

“But why didn’t he tell me?”

“If you haven’t figured this out by now, Sabin is proud. He’ll never tell you these things.”