LOGAN (BAD BOY BIKER ROMANCE) (22 page)

When he didn't respond the man started to look a little worried, his expression one of slight alarm. It made him look endearing.

"The password. Wasn't that the password phrase we agreed on?" he asked.

"Password phrase?" Owen babbled.

"Yeah, so you know it is really me?"

Owen suddenly felt like he was just smacked by Naomi clear across from New York. "Right! Shoot! Sorry, I completely forgot!" And he had. How were you to know if this man really was the reclusive billionaire unless some sort of word or phrase were used. Naomi had agreed to it before, but Owen had forgotten in the moment.

And looking at this Man-God up close, who could blame him.

"Permission to come aboard?" he asked. There was the tiniest hesitation, as if maybe he shouldn't board with this potentially crazy Realtor person present.

"Yes," Owen said. "Please. Permission granted."

Cole stepped over the edge and onto the deck. Owen tried not to ogle the muscular thighs that peaked out from under his shorts, and failed.

Once aboard, he offered his hand to Owen. "Hi, Cole Grant," he said, making things more or less official.

Owen shook his hand. "Owen Underwood. Nice to finally meet you." At least he hoped that were the words spilling out of his mouth. He was still a little taken aback at how damn fine Cole Grant looked.

And while shaking his hand Owen found he could only hold one thought in his head at that very moment: Thank God his name isn't Jason!

Chapter 3

Cole

Well, this trip is certainly off to a good start, Cole thought to himself while shaking Owen's hand.

He found Owen stunningly attractive. Lean, but muscular, just the way he liked it. And he had a bright, beautiful smile.

But perhaps a little twitchy, Cole thought. Maybe it was just nerves. He was use to that. People usually got nervous or twitchy around him once they realize who he was. And how much he was worth.

He hoped Owen was more nerves than twitchiness.

But, boy, was he a looker.

Once Cole realized he was still shaking Owen's hand, he withdrew his, almost regretfully. He looked around.

"So, this is our ride?" he asked.

It appeared Owen took a moment to compose himself before answering. "Yup, reserved it yesterday after we got the call from your assistant. It was the best they had on such short notice." He looked apologetic.

Cole smiled at him, wanting to ease his mind. "No worries. Just as long as it doesn't sink it will do just fine."

They laughed together. Owen's laugh came easy and was pleasant on the ears.

"Would you like a drink, or snack? I was going to untie us so we could be off."

Cole held up his hands. "Actually, I can help with that. Allow me to handle the ropes."

And to Owen's surprised expression, Cole hoped off the boat and back onto the dock. As he walked over to the first rope holding the boat to the dock, he glanced back at Owen. He was still standing in the same spot, looking more than a little amazed.

Yes, he thought, billionaires can untie ropes.

Owen seemed to snap out of his trance, smiled and quickly climbed up to the open bridge.

Cole watched his butt as he did this with interest.

I wonder what his tanlines are like, he thought.

As he uncoiled the thick rope from its mooring, he was hit with a sudden flash of Roger, his ex-boyfriend. He liked boats, too. So much so that he practically demanded Cole buy one for him. Like a smitten fool, Cole did, even though he didn't like it. Not only was it expensive, it hadn't been something he intended for him.

Roger was always demanding things. It hadn't started out that way. They had met at a friend's party, and Roger practically zeroed in on him from the moment he arrived. Like a heat seeking missile. Or a money seeking missile, as it turned out to be.

Once the mooring was untied Cole threw it into the back of the boat, then moved up to undo the front one. As he passed the bridge he glanced up at Owen.

All Cole could see was his upper profile, and it did wonders for his mood. Owen sort of reminded him of Roger. In a way.

Owen noticed him looking and smiled. "Got that, okay?" he called out to him.

"Oh," he said, bringing his thoughts back to the task at hand. "Yeah, I got it." He undid the mooring, coiled it quickly and tossed it onto the boat.

Stop thinking about the one gold digger that got to you, he thought. There are more important things for your brain to be focused on right now. Like buying an island.

Once he was sure everything was fine, he came back to the middle of the boat and stepped over. Just then Owen fired up the engines and the huge twin motors roared to life.

Cole quickly scampered up the step ladder to the bridge. Owen had all the electronics turned on, and was concentrating on pulling the boat away from the pier. Other docked ships crowded around them, but Owen seemed skilled enough to handle the situation.

Standing this close to him, Cole noticed how short he was compared to him. He was tall enough already. He found himself smiling. Short was good. Real good.

He found himself dawning his sunglasses, so Owen couldn't see where he was looking. He turned back, nonchalantly, and watched the dock, and all its ships, pull away from them.

If Roger was here, he would want him to buy all the ships in the bay. Or maybe the whole island nation. He frowned.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Owen asked. He was casting glances in Cole's direction, but keeping his main attention on where he was going. Like a good captain should.

Cole gave him a big smile, his eyes taking Owen in completely from the safety of his sunglasses. He really was a sight to behold. "Yes," he said finally. "It is very beautiful." He found he was not talking about the island.

As if he didn't notice the intensity of his gaze Owen asked, "So, how long have you been looking?"

"Looking?" Was he that obvious? Staring at him?

"For an island? There aren't that many left to be had. I figured you must have been looking for a while."

"Oh," he said, turning so he was angled to see where they were headed. Vast blue ocean stretched out before them. He pondered his response. "Well, to be honest, I've been doing this for quite a long time."

"Looking for an island?"

"Buying them."

This took Owen aback, and his eyebrows shot up from behind his sunglasses. He laughed. "Really? This isn't your first?"

"I have nine, currently."

"Nine islands! My God. That's more than some countries could say."

Cole found he was looking for an edge to Owen's voice, something that indicated there was more to his comment than just genuine surprise. But he could find any.

Stop being such a suspicious jerk, he thought. Ever since he broke up with Roger he realized that the presence of other men, no, other people, made him slightly paranoid. He was starting to assume that because Roger wanted everything from him, then everyone wanted everything from him, too.

Owen seemed to sense he was lost in thought. "Sorry, I didn't mean to blurt that out loud." He must of confused Cole's silence with annoyance.

Cole hurried to ease his mind. "Not at all!" he said, with a laugh he hoped sounded as genuine as it was. "I find it kind of surprising, too, myself. It's not a common hobby." He grinned.

Owen laughed at this, and Cole was relieved to see he hadn't made him uncomfortable. Making him uncomfortable was the furthest thing Cole wanted to make him feel.

"No, I don't think it is. My sister, Naomi, collects little crystal pigs. And those can get expensive. I can't quite get my mind around collecting anything that people and buildings could stand on."

Still smiling, Cole shrugged. "I love nature. I love the ocean. And more importantly, I love being away from cities. Islands seemed like the perfect idea."

"Resorts?" Owen asked.

"Pardon?" The motors were very loud, so they had to practically shout at each other.

"Are you going to build resorts on them? Like Vadisha has?"

"No, not at all. Each island I purchase gets assessed for its natural properties. Its flora and fauna. Then I have my lawyers work on getting them earmarked as nature preserves."

This seemed to take Owen by surprise. Thankfully, his shocked expression quickly morphed into one of joy, complete with that incredible smile. "Really? That's amazing! So all your islands are nature preserves?"

"Nearly all of them. Some still need to go through the legal hoops. The idea is that as long as they are privately owned, then they will no longer be at risk for development. I want them  left alone more or less."

Owen was nodding in agreement, his smile growing wider. "Well, count me surprised. I thought because of the resort here, that you were interested in bringing it back up to snuff."

"Well, I might, but not for tourists, or any kind of profit making ventures. I was thinking the resort here could be converted into maybe a lab of some sort. For studying the island plant life and animals. Also, maybe the jumping off point for an oceanographic society." Saying the words out loud made him feel a tad sheepish. He was still with Roger when he started this silly idea, and had purchased his first two islands. When Roger realized his intent, he was almost furious with him.

Think of the money you could be making! He had practically screamed. Rich tourists love islands. And they are willing to pay big bucks to go sit on them. And you want to just... what? Do nothing with them?

Cole had stood resolute. It was something he felt passionately about, regardless of what Roger said. But Roger would have none of it.

If your going to waste them then at least let me have them, Roger had said. I could be turning a profit on each one within a year. Easy!

Cole had been aghast, and a little saddened at his attitude. Now Roger was demanding islands from him?

Cole had had enough and they broke up almost on the spot.

"A swanky lab for scientists and oceanographers?" Owen said, bringing him back from his dark thoughts. "I like that idea. I really, really like that idea!" He was grinning from ear to ear, and looking directly at Cole, as if seeing him for the very first time.

Cole found he wanted to be in his gaze for a long time.

Suddenly, Owen pointed. "Hey, there it is. Vadisha Island!"

He turned to look. The profile of an island took up most of the horizon. From here, he could make out the lush jungle that seemed to encompass it entirely. One end, the south portion, had a higher elevation of hills than the north. A nearly unbroken line of white beach met the lapping blue waves of the ocean.

It was stunning.

"The resort is on the north side, in a bay. It will take us about twenty minutes to get there," Owen said.

"Take you time," he said. He was enjoying the view. He snuck a sideways glance in Owen's direction. And not just of the island.

If Owen noticed his attention he didn't say anything. Instead, he pointed past them on the horizon, further out to sea.

"That looks to be the only other ship in the entire area. If you were looking for a place of isolation, this place certainly fits the bill."

Cole squinted at the distant ship, then cast his gaze all around them. Sure enough, there were no other boats at all.

Perfect.

Again, he found himself looking more at Owen than the island jewel.

Who was this guy? What was his story? Cole found himself really wanting answers to those questions. More than anything at that moment.

Whoa, easy buddy, he thought. A rebound situation would not be good right now. Not what you need. Just focus on the work at hand. Its the best thing for you.

But glancing at Owen, he didn't think that thought process would hold for very long.

As they steered around the the island, toward the bay, Owen took time to point out some features, and talk about the island's history. Cole took all this in, but only politely. He just liked hearing him talk. Watch his expressions, and the way he moved.

Soon, they entered the north bay. At its deepest point was a line of buildings, mostly resort rooms made to look like oversized huts. And above them, spread almost majestically was the main resort building. The Sunshine Resort.

Owen deftly manoeuvred them up to the only dock, which was covered in debris.

"I got this," Cole said, and scrambled down to the deck and grabbed the ships front rope. Once they were close enough, he hoped easily across to the dock, and he tied it to the moor. He then did the same to the rear one, as Owen cut the engine.