[Invitation to Eden 04.0] Hydrotherapy (4 page)

The guilty look Rex flashed him spoke volumes.

Caine dropped his hand. “I should have known.”

“It’s only a joint or two.” Rex followed Caine to the bar along the far wall and watched him pour a drink. “It’s only to take the edge off.”

“The edge?”

Rex nodded toward his injured leg. “It helps to keep the muscles limber. There are only two times I’m not in pain, cuz’. When I smoke a joint, and when I’m in the water. That’s all I want from life. That’s all I need.” When Caine flashed him a skeptical look, he grinned. “Well, a nice piece of ass from time to time never hurts, either. Did you know that woman Simone is a total freak-show in bed?”

Caine took a long sip of his bourbon and tried to think.
God, what a fucking mess.
“You better not be after Simone’s money.”

“What? No, of course not. Just a tickle with a pickle, my friend. I swear.” When Caine flashed him a skeptical look, Rex eased back and waved his hand up and down in front of his torso. “Come on, look at me. Who’s going to fuck a gimpy man if I don’t pay them? A woman like Simone isn’t cheap.”

Caine scrunched his nose in distaste. “God Rex, you’re disgusting.”

“No,
she’s
disgusting, but in a good way. Fuck dude, you should see how she can put her leg up behind her head and—”

“Jesus, Rex.” Caine turned away from his cousin, desperate to put the stomach-churning image of Simone and Rex from his head. “You really fucked things up.”

“No, I didn’t. After we sell this shit, there’ll be plenty of money. We can pay your girlfriend back and still have lots left over to live the good life.”

The good life.
Caine wasn’t sure what that meant. No life was good if he couldn’t spend it with Jenna. There was something about her that was so different and alluring. It was more than the instant physical attraction they had felt in St. Lucia. They connected on a deeper level. It was as if they were both born of the water and preferred it to land and people. They shared the same passion, and spoke the same language. He couldn’t give her up—not for anyone.

“Look,” Rex said. “I’m not one to complain, or tell you what to do.”

Caine snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“I’m not. Anyway, I need you, Caine. You know that. If it wasn’t for the accident, I wouldn’t need pot, women and water so much.” He averted his gaze and poked at something on the ground with his cane. “And I need you to help me with the treasure huntin’. I can’t do any of this without you. Besides, you owe me.”

“Yes, I do owe you,” Caine conceded. Since he was the cause of Rex’s injured leg, Caine felt obligated to help Rex with all of his crazy ideas. “And we will leave the island together.”

Rex grinned and slapped Caine on the arm. “I knew you’d see things my way.”

Caine smiled and shook his head. “But Jenna is coming with us.” He put up his hand, stopping his cousin’s protest. “If she goes, I go. We’re a package deal.”

“Fine.” Rex frowned and hobbled back toward the door. “Have it your way.” He opened the door and glanced back over his shoulder at his cousin. “This is the deal of a century, Caine. You know that. Just make sure that your straight-laced girlfriend doesn’t screw everything up.”

Chapter Three

Caine always came to this place when he wanted to think. Normally he found comfort either fishing or diving from his boat out on the water, but lately Rex had been nagging him to finish their job so that they could high-tail it out of there. As a result, Caine no longer found solace on the ocean, but here, amongst the artifacts they had collected over the past several months.

The room was set up like a museum. The lighting was dim, and the walls were painted in a swirl of blue and green to look like the ocean. Like the main foyer, sconces lined the walls at regular intervals, casting both light and shadow on various parts of the room.

The artifacts had been cleaned, appraised and stored under glass cases throughout the enormous space, each one set on crushed velvet with a spotlight and a small card, indicating the name of the item, the date and the year acquired. Caine guessed that if they had given the owner of the island the ink pot they had found, it would be sitting under glass here as well.

And having that piece sit here, instead of making both him and Rex money, would’ve been the greatest tragedy of all.

Like Jenna, Vardalos didn’t know what it was like to be hungry. He sat up in his stone tower and pulled people around like puppets. He hoarded weathered antiques like a little girl collected dolls. Caine could still remember Vardalos’ words as he showed Rex and Caine part of his collection that first day.
Just because it’s falling apart on the surface, doesn’t mean that there isn’t something special underneath.

Bah. Vardalos didn’t know what he was talking about. People didn’t have the patience to see what was underneath. He should know. Money and power were the true aphrodisiacs. If Caine didn’t give Jenna the life she was used to in St. Lucia, then he wasn’t worthy of her.

Caine paused as he heard some footsteps echo from the other end of the room. He ducked into the shadows just as Jenna walked into view. She stopped in front of a case with an old copper cup, giving Caine a perfect view of her profile. Time had done nothing to mar her beauty. The fine lines around her eyes and worry around her lips only added to her allure.

He regretted that the excavation had taken longer than he planned. He just wished that he could make her see why it was so important for their future. People said that they didn’t care about money, but after a day or two of living off the streets, even the most romantic changed their minds. Money made the world go ‘round. If you didn’t have any, well, then you were better off dead.

Caine wanted to tell her how Rex had betrayed them both by destroying the note and taking her family’s savings. He wanted to tell her that everything would be all right. He’d get her money back and neither one of them would ever have to worry about finances again.

He wanted to tell her so many things, but was afraid of her reaction. She was right when she had said that people changed. She might look the same, but Caine knew her heart had hardened toward him. Unfortunately, he only had one week to soften it.

Before he realized what he was doing, he was stepping out from the shadows. “You were supposed to stay in your room.”

She looked up from the glass. “You never said that.”

“I told you not to go out by yourself.”

“You told me not to go to my room by myself. You never said what I could or couldn’t do once I got there.”

Caine steeled his jaw and tried to push aside his anger. Bickering would get him nowhere. He wanted to bridge the gap between them, not make it wider.

“Besides,” she said, returning her gaze to the glass. “Simone had told me about these artifacts. I wanted to see them for myself.”

He hesitated a moment before responding. “We found that a few weeks ago.”

Jenna glanced up from the copper cup and stared at him with skeptical eyes. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” As he stepped closer to the case, her fresh scent surrounded him, causing memories to surface of those lazy days they had spent in St. Lucia.

“Yes,” he said, forcing his gaze away from her to look at the cup. “In fact, Rex and I have collected most of the artifacts in this room.”

“How?”

He glanced at her curious expression. “How do you think?”

She turned away from the case and crossed her arms. “You’re a Human Resource Manager.”

“Ah, that. Yes.” He felt heat rise to his cheeks and cleared his throat. “That’s not my real job.”

“No kidding.” He jutted her hip out to the side, causing fresh need to surge through Caine’s body.

Caine made a show of glancing around the room. “The person who owns all of this hired both me and Rex to excavate a wreck not far from the island.”

“Mr. Vardalos.”

Caine nodded.

“But you aren’t excavators.”

“You’d be surprised. There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Jenna.”

“I guess.” She turned back to the case, her jaw set. “I mean, I thought I knew you, but I guess two people can’t really know each other after only a couple of months, can they?”

Caine took in a deep breath to steady his nerves. “Rex and I are professional treasure hunters.”

She jerked her head up to meet his gaze. “Treasure hunters? Like Indiana Jones?”

Caine smirked. “Something like that.” He didn’t elaborate. She didn’t need to know that this was the first time their findings had been catalogued and set behind glass. Before this, he and Rex would just hock the artifacts to the highest bidder. “Sometimes the waters aren’t kind, or the local government gets in the way. It’s during that time that we look for odd jobs to pay the bills.”

“That’s why you worked for two months at Scuba Adventures,” she said, turning back to the glass.

“We were between jobs at the time and needed the cash.”

She ran her finger over the glass, drawing something only she could see. “That explains a lot, then.”

“How so?”

She shrugged and dropped her hand. “I never took you for someone with a desk job. It makes sense that the Human Resource position is only a front.”

“People change,” he said, fighting the urge to impress her. “You said so yourself.”

“Sometimes.” She glanced up at him. “Sometimes they don’t.”

Before he could respond, Jenna straightened and crossed her arms. “What am I really doing here, Caine?”

He plastered an innocent look on his face. “To work at the spa. What else?”

She shook her head in disbelief. “Stop lying to me.”

“I’m not lying.”

She let out a long breath. “I was hired by the Master of this Island, but when I got here, he was mysteriously absent and now you are supposed to show me around. I try to leave and explore the island by myself and you tell me that it’s too dangerous.”

Damn, he was caught. “Okay fine, I’ll tell you.” He fisted and unfisted his hands as he searched for the right words. He decided bluntness was best. “Mr. Vardalos didn’t bring you here. I did.”

She stepped back and lowered her arms. “
You?
Why? So you could gloat over stealing my money and bankrupting my family?”

“No.” He inched closer took her hands in his. “To make it up to you.”

“Make it up to me.” She looked skeptical but didn’t pull her hands away. Caine took it as a good sign and pressed forward.

“Yes. To give you back your money back and set things right.”

“How are you going to set things right? You not only hurt me, but my mother.”

“Let me try, Jenna.” He brought her hands to his face and kissed her fingers. “Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought of you.” He lowered their arms and watched her lips soften and part in invitation. Need roared through his veins and made it difficult to think.

“You could have mailed me back my money,” she said. “Or do a wire transfer. There was no need to do this.”

“It’s more than the money.” Caine noted her voice sounded a little breathless.
Good.
It was one of his greatest fears that she had moved on with her life and had forgotten about him. It was good to know that the connection still wasn’t lost. If he played his cards right, there still might be a chance for them. He could have both her
and
the money.

Caine moved in closer, until only a thin sliver of air separated their lips.

“I don’t need your pity.” When she spoke, he could feel the puff of warm air over his skin.

Caine shifted his gaze back up to meet hers. “I’m not offering pity.”

“Oh?”

He shook his head.

“I don’t get it.”

“I brought you here because I missed you, Jenna. I missed us.” He inched closer.

Her breath hitched as she dropped her gaze to his lips. “You really hurt me, Caine.”

“I know.”

“How do you plan to set things right?”

“For starters, I’ll try this.” Caine eased forward and caught her gasp, claiming her lips for his own.

It had been so long since she had been kissed. Really kissed, not the sloppy fumbling she had experienced at the Ecstasy Spa. Caine tasted just as good as she remembered. There were so many nights she had dreamed of this moment. She thought that Caine had walked out of her life forever, but now he was here, with her, and his lips felt amazing pressed up against hers.

Jenna knew she should push him away—the bastard stole her money, for crying out loud—but as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sweet, masculine taste of the man before her, she realized she had felt so damn lonely without him. She missed the sound of his voice and the feel of his body next to hers. Ever since St. Lucia she had been doing everything on her own. Once, just once, she wanted to feel connected to someone, if only for a little while.

Caine slipped his arms around her waist and tugged her against his long, hard body. Jenna gently bit his lower lip as she slid her fingers up the hard planes of his chest and threaded them through his hair. He made a low, throaty sound and bit her back, only harder. She shivered as the pain rushed through her body, fueling her need.

Yes.
She loved the biting, the pain. Back in Chicago, her job had forced her to hold back her more basic instincts. She existed for the pleasure of others, but never had any pleasure of her own unless it was by her own hand. The men she was with at the Ecstasy Spa had been submissive in every sense of the word. Their gentle, hesitant lovemaking made her want to scream. Here, with Caine, she knew things could be different. Wonderfully, beautifully different.

The world around them faded away as he slid his hands down her sides and around to her backside. With a swift, hard tug, he pulled her against his erection, letting her know that the kiss was affecting him as much as it was affecting her.

“More,” she whispered against his lips. Jenna loved it when he got forceful. It drove her wild. She caressed his tongue, falling deeper under his spell. When she had seen him in a suit, she wondered if his outward changes had transformed the man inside—the one she fell in love with in St. Lucia. It was good to see that at least some things didn’t change with time.