Leaving Him: A New Adult International Romance Serial (Angelique's Greek Book 4) (2 page)

Angelique went forward to open the gate.

“Nuh uh uh,” her mother said, then pointed to a gap between two palm trees, a little way to their left. “We’re in the adjoining lot.”

“I’ve never even been this way before,” said Angelique.

“Well,” said her mother, smiling broadly and giving her a squeeze. “Welcome home, sweetie.”

They took the path between the trees, and Angelique kept looking into Theo’s face to gauge his reaction. She
so
wanted him to like it; she adored it more than anything. Now that Mermaid Hole was her home, she adored it even more, and she had never even thought that possible. Though she had been so frustrated back in Hawaii when things had been going wrong, she was now so glad that things had gone so pear-shaped. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been there, safe with her family, in the lush, vivid beauty of all that she loved.

And then it got even better.

Soon the hibiscus bushes gave way and the view at the end of the path was clear. Angelique clasped her hands to her chest. It was the perfect house, in the perfect location. She felt like she would never be able to catch her breath.

The house was wooden, made of greenheart, she was sure, with a veranda that wrapped all around the outside. The color scheme was a pale yellow, contrasting with a soft creamy blue that reminded her of the sky on a breezy day. The house was nestled among flower bushes, with bright yellow allamandas below the veranda, and spiked, crimson heliconias at either side. An orange bird of paradise caught her eye on the right, and potted white orchids stood on the thick veranda rail.

But the best part of all was that her father and her two others sisters Josette and Cherie, were on the balcony, drinking switcha lemonade. They were all playing dominos, too, but Angelique knew her sisters were only doing so to humor their father.

“Hey guys!” she called out, running up the path.

She stopped halfway and turned back to Theo. She couldn’t keep a huge grin off her face and he grinned right back. Right then she felt like it was the best omen she’d ever known, like the start of great things for her.

*****

Chapter 2

Angelique was in heaven all day, and when the night began to fall around them and the grasshoppers and cicadas started up their nightly chorus, she sank back into the swingchair on the veranda and let out a deep sigh of satisfaction. Theo ran his finger up and down her forearm, very gently. His pale fingers a sharp contrast to her dark skin. The rest of her family was inside, but she kept glancing up through the windows to check none of her sisters were peeping.
 

“Now this is the life,” she said. “This is the life.”

Theo swung next to her. “I can’t argue with that.”

Angelique suddenly remembered something she’d totally forgotten and sat upright in the chair. “Hey, let’s go to the sulfur springs tomorrow.”

“The what?”

“The sulfur springs,” she said. “The sulfur water from the volcano is really warm and relaxing. You can even bathe in the sulfur mud if you want, then wash it off in the water. It’ll be like washing away everything that happened in Hawaii.” She laced her fingers in with his. “I want to start over.” She looked into his hazel eyes, the way his sugar brown hair wisped over his forehead, and felt a movement in her heart. Was he really the one? It sure felt like it, but fear still pulsed in her, too. What if he wasn’t? What if she was moving too fast, only on the road to getting her heart broken?

“Now come along,” Anna said, coming outside. “The mosquitoes will be eating Mr. Theo all up for dinner if we don’t get him inside soon. Let me show you to your room, young man.”

She disappeared inside and Angelique took one last look over the beautiful night. She did not want the sun to disappear behind the horizon, for then it would be the end of the best day of her life. Who knew what tomorrow would bring?

The next morning, Angelique smiled as soon as she woke up. Looking up at the beautifully white exposed rafters in her new bedroom, she thanked God for the joy that had overtaken her life. Ever since she’d taken the chance of going to Dubai with Carla and Atreus, big things seemed to be happening for her. As soon as she thought of that, she remembered that she had to ring Carla and Atreus to tell them where she was. As far as they knew, both Theo and Angelique were still in Hawaii, searching for a hotel site.
 

She threw on a loose floral dress and stepped onto the mezzanine, which looked over the large open plan room that served as kitchen and living room and dining room. It looked like everyone was already up but her, Theo sitting at the breakfast bar with Claudine and Mother while Josette, Cherie and their father worked in the kitchen. None of them had noticed her and she paused to look down at them. Theo was dipping into his cereal bowl and laughing by turns, and he looked so much part of the family that she felt her heart leap into her mouth. In one way she was glad, of course, but that creeping fear still lingered around her, taunting her with ideas of what could go dreadfully wrong.

Still, Angelique always tried to be a positive person. She pulled her braids back into a bun and padded down the stairs with a smile.
 

“Good morning,” she said, trying to think positively.

The whole family and Theo came back with a happy greeting.

“What’s for breakfast?” she asked, leaning against the bar.
 

Theo reached over, placed his hand on her arm and kissed her on the cheek. She was so glad he didn’t kiss her on the lips. Her family was not that into public displays of affection and she felt she might have just melted into a puddle of embarrassment had he done that.

“Papaya smoothie,” Josette said, standing by the blender.

Cherie took a frying pan from the stove. “Or choc chip pancakes.”

“And Daddy’s at it again,” Anna said, nodding at their father.

Her father put on airs like he was the head chef in a fancy restaurant, sticking his chin up in the air and speaking in an affected upper-class accent. “Today we have stewed conch fish, with a generous side helping of grits, and, of course, Johnny cakes, courtesy of my assistant chef Cherie Felix.”

Cherie took a solemn curtsey, then burst out into laughter.

“I’m going to get so fat,” said Angelique. “Because I want it all. The smoothie, the pancakes and everything else you said. And double helpings.” She slid onto the breakfast stool beside Theo. “By the way, we have to ring Carla and Atreus and let them know how things worked out.”

“How
did
things work out?” her father asked.
 

Angelique screwed up her face. Her father was always so hot on jobs and education she wondered what he was going to say. “Not all that well, Daddy. I’m back because I decided I didn’t want to start a hotel after all.”
 

“Okay,” he said evenly. “So what are you going to do next?”

Angelique sighed. “I don’t know. I think I’ll go to one of the hotels and see if anyone’s looking for a masseuse.”

Anna reached out for her hand and squeezed it. “I know you’ll find something. You can look in the other islands if you must, but I want you to get something here. Stay close to us.”

Angelique smiled, hoping with all her might that it would be possible. “Now that we’re here at Mermaid Hole, I don’t want to leave.”

After a call to Carla and Atreus, Angelique and Theo set off, their swimsuits and towels packed in bags, on the trail to the sulfur springs. Angelique couldn’t be more relieved, since Carla and Atreus had been so kind, telling her not to worry at all, and that they wanted her to take as much time as she needed to decide what to do. They’d even told her she could stay on at half pay until she made up her mind, but she’d instantly turned their offer down. She liked to make her own money and have her own independence. Her father had always told her not to lend to anyone, not to borrow from anyone or to ever take any money if it made you feel obligated toward them. That was why the whole idea of Theo paying her expenses made her cringe. She was starting to regret she’d ever accepted his offer.

She tried to put the money out of her mind as they went through the gate to Mermaid Hole and arrived on the other side in the thick of the botanical gardens. Mr. and Mrs. Sands, the aging owners, and their team had done such a great job. They’d made the paths deliberately narrow, so the flowers and leaves bent over and obstructed the way, sending their fragrances into the air. Though it was all carefully orchestrated and planted, the closeness of it all gave Angelique the feeling of walking through the jungle.

“Angelique, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Theo said from behind her.

She turned around and smiled. “It’s great, huh?”

“Definitely,” he said. “I’m sure I could get my book written so quickly in a place like this. It’s like inspiration is popping out from everywhere.”

“I know, right?” She’d sat in the gardens so many times writing poetry. She’d never written poetry anywhere else, actually, but there it seemed like the very trees and flowers and leaves themselves carried messages of calm and peace and serenity, so commanding they demanded to be written down. It was a place of great healing for her.

They sank into a deep, comfortable silence, as they listened to the birds chirping around them and the breeze whispered through the tree tops. When they came to a clearing, Angelique pointed to an open pool nestled a little way up in the hillside.
 

“We just go up a few steps and then we can bathe there. That’s the warm water, the one that’s good for healing, though it does smell a little. Kind of like eggs going bad, but in a good way, if that makes sense.” She laughed. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, let’s go,” he said, heading for the steps.

Soon they were up on the side of the hill. The view from there was spectacular, looking down on the trees full of fruit and flowers, and the winding river that ran through it all.
 

She reached for Theo’s hand and he took her quickly into him strong arms. He gazed into her dark eyes for a couple of moments, with an intensity that made her feel she was on fire, then plunged his tongue between her plump lips and began to kiss her. Forcefully at first, but then softening into gentle, tingling movements that made her feel like stripping down right there and then.
 

He moved onto her neck, nuzzling his soft, pale lips into her chocolate skin before gently biting and sending shivers right down her spine.

“Oh, Theo,” she moaned. He used both hands to grab her by her firm buttocks and lifted her. She felt his cock growing as he rubbed roughly against her. She moaned again imagining her naked skin pressed firmly against his milky chest.
 

He knew exactly how to excite her, but there was no way they could do what she wanted them to do right there. If Mr. and Mrs. Sands or one of the workers happened to see them, she would embarrass her whole family.
 

She pushed him away gently and he put her down. Though there was nothing more she wanted to do than to open her thick, dark thighs and feel him slip inside her, she knew she couldn’t—not now.

As she teasingly lifted her dress over her head to reveal her swimsuit, she tried to change the subject. “So you’re going to do lots of writing here then, I guess.”

“Yes,” he said looking her curvy body up and down, smiling in that lopsided way that made her heart beat faster. “Though it’s very hard to concentrate on anything when you’re standing in front of me like that. You know I love the taste of your brown skin. It melts in my mouth.”

She was finding it hard to concentrate, too, without her mind wandering to his milky white hands caressing her erect nipples. She remembered the way he had made her feel the last time they were together.
 

She was having a tough time resisting him but she knew she couldn’t give in to temptation, regardless of how much as she wanted to.
 

As she felt her bikini bottoms growing wet, she slipped into the pool and splashed him. “You need a cold shower, mister!”

“I need you,” he said, though he was more joking than intense. He took off his top, showing his strong chest.
 

“Theo, we need to cool off. I would love to feel you inside me right now, but what about Mr. and Mrs. Sands? If they saw us, I would be devastated.”

“I just can’t get enough of you, Angelique. Especially when you stand in front of me with your sexy bikini on,” he said with a smirk.

“All in good time, my boy, all in good time.” She smirked back.
 

“In all seriousness, though, Angelique, I really would love if you wouldn’t get a job.”

“Why?”

“I want to spend more time with you. I feel like our time alone is so limited already. I need time to get to know you.”

She leaned back and felt the warm water encircle her body, but it did not feel as relaxing as usual. She didn’t like where the conversation was going. “You can get to know me here, when I come back from work.”

“No,” he said, so forcefully that she looked up at him, feeling offended. As much as she didn’t want to work right then, because she could really use some down time to figure out what she wanted out of life, she always had her father’s advice in the back of her mind. It was good, solid, sound advice from a good, solid, sound man.