A Thousand Kisses Deep (21 page)

She tried to move but he was still buried inside her hot and pulsing. She felt weak, her body replete, her senses scrambled.

His lips brushed hers, his hands in her hair gently stroking. Her legs were still wrapped around him and she relaxed her hips, let her legs fall away from him. The musky scent of sex mingling with the smell of the sea and bay rum.

Always the bay rum, she thought. She would never be free of it. Not ever. Not now.

So this was the magic women sacrificed everything for—the heaven and hell they chose over survival.

This was what it felt like to love a man.

Chapter 15

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T
he Chameleon boarded the
Ventura
the minute it had pulled alongside the
Pearl
.
He had spent hours on the move, sailing a diversionary course in case he was being followed. When he was sure it was safe, he had instructed his captain to double back and run down Simon's yacht.

Standing on the main deck, he ignored the screams. Simon had gone too far, and there was only one way to vent his anger. Someone had to be punished.

"Again!" he insisted. "I want to see blood this time."

The guard nodded, then let the whip fly. The loud crack it made when it bit into Nemo's flesh split his broad back open. Tied to a wooden pole, the guard's body jerked and he cried out in agony.

"Stop it!" Melita screamed.

"Take her away," the Chameleon insisted.

"You're killing him. Stop, please!"

"That's my intent, Melita. Do you and Simon think I am stupid? You let a guard put his hands on you." His eyes found Simon. "And you, how dare you defy me? How dare you think you can manipulate me. My children, my children … have I taught you nothing?"

"Father, please," Melita begged, tears streaming down her face. She still wore the gypsy costume, her hair wild around her. "I'll do anything you say. I promise. Just please don't kill him."

"You will do whatever I say regardless." He waved her off, nodded to the guard. "Take her below. Lock her in her room." He stared at his daughter in disgust. "As punishment you'll be sent to one of the monasteries. You will live within its walls until I've forgiven you. If that doesn't happen, you had better hope I can find a use for you, other than selling you to someone as a whore."

"Father, please. It's not Melita you're angry with," Simon interjected, "it's me."

The Chameleon turned his attention to his son. "You disappoint me, Simon. All that I have done for you, and this is how you repay me. You disrespect me. Humiliate me in front of a ballroom full of guests. This day you have treated me as an enemy. Betrayed your father."

"Not betrayed. I only—"

"Yes, betrayed. I have sheltered your worthless white ass since the day you were born. I have spent a fortune keeping you alive. And for what? To be disrespected in the end?"

Simon dropped to his knees. "I'm sorry, Father. Very sorry."

"Yes, you will be very sorry. You will remember this day always and be very sorry."

"I should have told you about Eva's activities sooner. Her trips to the psychiatrist over the year. Her phone call to Adolf Merrick. I intended to explain everything the day we met on the
Pearl
.
I truly did, Father. But then you announced that you were taking her away from me and… She was a present. You don't take back presents, Father."

"I can take back whatever I wish, Simon. Whatever I wish. You should have come to me months ago when Evka first began to stray. You were given specific rules to follow. Rules you deliberately disobeyed."

"And now I must pay. But not Melita, Father. Be angry with me, not my sister. Don't punish her and Nemo because I didn't play by the rules. Send Melita away if you must, but don't kill Nemo. He is a loyal friend, father. I beg you, spare my friend."

"The greatest lesson is often the most painful. The lesson here is that my rules are nonnegotiable. They have never been, and never will be. Selfish actions carry a high price. Betrayal is unforgivable, and today, Simon, the price for your betrayal will be Nemo's life."

"No!" Melita tried to twist free from the guard, but he lifted her into his arms and carried her toward the stairs that led below deck.

"Get on with it," the Chameleon told the guard. "Whip him to death and make sure my son watches him breathe his last breath. Then throw the body overboard." To Simon, he said, "I'll expect you at the compound in
Paros
in two days. Bring your sister with you. Someone will be there to escort her to her new home. Be prepared to share all the data you have ferreted on Onyxx, Adolf Merrick, Evka and this agent, Sly McEwen. You say he took Evka with him when he escaped Cupata?"

"Yes."

"Do you think he intends to draw me into a trap using her as bait?"

"It's possible, but…"

"But what?"

"But I don't think that's the only reason he took her. He's interested in her for another reason."

"Another reason?"

"Sly McEwen and Eva… When I captured him last night, it was because I followed her to his yacht."

"Are you saying they are lovers?"

"I don't know when it happened."

The Chameleon swore, his anger turning into rage. "You are a fool, Simon. A stupid fool!" He nodded to the guard. "Give my son the whip. It is time for him to start cleaning up his own messes. Go on, Simon, before the sun comes up and your delicate skin starts to fry."

The guard handed the whip to Simon.

"Take it," the Chameleon demanded.

Simon shook his head. "No, Father. Don't make me kill my friend. Don't make me, please."

"You killed him months ago, Simon, when you decided to take matters into your own hands. You know the rules."

Eva felt something brush the side of her face and she struggled to sit up. An arm draped over her chest made it impossible.

"It's just me."

Sly's voice was rusty and whisper close.

She shoved his arm aside and sat up. The sun was an orange ball on the horizon, and she realized then that she'd spent the entire night naked on the beach in Sly's arms.

"You hungry? I'm hungry," he said.

His words were close again. He'd sat up, too. She didn't turn around. Looking at him would bring everything back. She didn't want to remember. Wasn't able to forget.

Self-conscious of her nakedness in the morning light, she looked around for the black bikini. The top was within reach. The bottoms weren't.

She could feel his eyes on her, watching her every move. The problem was she wasn't moving.

His hand touched her back as he leaned forward and attempted to kiss her shoulder. She shrugged him off. Heard him swear.

"No remorse. No regrets. That's the way I live. You ought to try it, Evy."

When he got to his feet, she glanced up at him, angry that he had zeroed in so quickly on her thoughts once more. It was true, she was having regrets, but not for the reason he thought. Telling him how she felt, however, would serve no purpose. It would only make her look like an even bigger fool. Still she was angry, and didn't think she should have to take all the blame for what had happened.

He didn't seem to give a damn that he was naked, or aroused. She concentrated on slipping her top on and tacking her breasts into the cups. On her feet, she dusted the sand from her butt, retrieved the bottoms and quickly put them on.

Feeling marginally better, she tossed her hair away from her face and said, "You need to clean out your ears, McEwen."

"What?"

"See, you can't hear worth a damn."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I asked you to stop last night."

"Bullshit. You didn't want me to stop. You came. I felt it. Heard it."

Eva turned her face away. It was true she had climaxed, but before that, if he had been listening…

"You wanted me," he said quietly. Resolute.

Yes, she had wanted him up until the time she had realized why—that she had feelings for him. Real feelings. Then she had been too afraid to want him. Only she hadn't tried hard enough to get away or he would have let her go. He had already told her he wouldn't force her.

Did that mean the blame was squarely on her shoulders?

Eva went into survival mode. "You're right. I wanted you last night. I wanted to know what it would be like to do it with a man, not a greedy young boy."

She saw something flash in his eyes, but as quickly as it came, it was gone. He glanced around, gestured to the ruins behind them. "That's all that's here. You want to go exploring, be my guest. The closest island is
Paros
eight miles away. Unless you can swim that far you're here with me until I decide to leave. I worked up an appetite last night. Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes."

"Sly, come back here. Sly! See, your hearing sucks!" she shouted when he turned away and started back to the
Hector.

"Oh, I don't know. I didn't have any trouble hearing you moaning last night."

When the water reached his thighs, he dived into the sea. The last Eva saw, before he disappeared into the depths, was his beautiful naked backside in the morning sun.

"Eva. Are you up here? Evy!"

Sly climbed the last step and entered what once had been the monastery's tower. When he saw Eva standing near the window looking out over the sea, relief swept over him.

The day was clear, and the sun's rays outlined her body, giving her hair a golden glow. She wore the pink tank and a matching pink-and-green skirt that had come with the
Hector
at the time he'd bought the yacht. He had thought once about tossing the clothes out, good thing he hadn't gotten around to it.

The skirt, like the top, hugged her body. They weren't meant for a woman with curves, and he decided that when they reached
Paros
, for his sake as well as hers, he needed to buy her some clothes that fit. Something that didn't make him think of sex every time he looked at her.

He leaned against the wall, his torso bare, his jeans hugging his hips. "You've been gone a long time."

She turned and glared at him. "You said I could go exploring. Are we leaving?"

"No."

"Then go away."

"You need to eat something. You haven't had anything all day."

"I'm not hungry."

"It's midafternoon." Sly was determined to get to the bottom of what was bothering her. She hadn't come back to the
Hector
all morning, and then when she had, she'd taken the clothes and left without so much as a peep.

They needed to talk about her father. He was sure she had information he could use if only she'd share it. That wasn't going to happen, however, until he broke through the wall she had erected around herself since waking up on the beach in his arms.

She had given him the excuse that she'd asked him to stop last night, but that was crap.

"About last night. I—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I've given you all the time I'm going to, half the damn day to work through whatever it is that's bothering you. Since you look stuck, I've come to help."

She tossed her head, raised her chin. "I don't need your help, Sly. All I need is to get off this island and away from you."

"If I forced you last night, I—"

"You didn't force me. We agreed I wanted you, remember?"

"And what about now? Do you want me now?"

"What?"

"Answer the question. Do you want me now?"

"No."

Sly shoved away from the wall and started toward her. "You answered pretty quick, but your heart wasn't in it."

She backed away, shook her head. "What are you doing?"

"Playing a hunch."

"What does that mean?"

He kept coming and she kept moving. There was a partial wall that jutted three feet into the room. If she kept moving away from him, she would eventually run into it. He kept tracking her, and she kept moving.

She was going to trap herself if she wasn't careful. If she didn't want that to happen, she would be forced to stop moving, or make a countermove. The only way out of the tower was past him.