Sea Storm: Children of the Waves (12 page)

All bronzed and gorgeous like the son of
the sea god he proclaimed to be. Ezekiel made no sense in her world. So, why
bother to try?

Chapter
Twelve

Zek grinned at the expression on both
Cori’s and Des’s faces when they saw the helicopter. A different one than the
one Des and Aaron arrived on. He’d gotten this beauty at his brother’s
suggestion. Boys did love their toys. The latest of its kind, crafted for
personal use with room for six people. He used it whenever his staff wanted to
go over to the mainland; it could fit an entire family. Also, because he
anticipated to one day have a family of his own, he’d bought it. He settled in
next to Des in the seat and smiled at her.

The trip to the main Cayman didn’t take
very long. Once they landed, an SUV waited at the heliport for them. Since
there were so many of them, he thought this would be more comfortable. But
before he got in the car, he took Cyrus aside and asked him to contact the PI
he’d hired and let her know to cease her investigation. He didn’t need to
search any more…he’d found his bride. Also, he didn’t want any alarm bells
going off hurting Des or her family. He’d send the PI her fee to cover her time
so far. Even though Des returned to him on her own. Still, why tempt fate and
he could use the PI again if needed.

They all had brunch together, afterward
Aaron and Cyrus left to go their own way, they’d meet up with the couples
later.

Zek and his brother took their brides on
a tour around the island, eventually making their way to one of the trendy
stores. They stopped in front of a three-story concert building.

He’d called ahead and the manager waited
at the door for them. Zek introduced him to everyone. He knew the man, because
his daughter had her wedding on one of their smaller cruise lines. It carried
about a hundred and fifty people.

His son-in-law also handled some of Zek’s
financial accounts and he’d been invited to the wedding. So, he called Tomas
who had no problem doing him a favor and agreed to have someone available to
help them on such short notice. It’s not every day a bride needed a gown ready
within twenty-four hours, but if anyone could pull it off, it would be Tomas
and his staff. Tomas greeted them at the door with one of his fashion
coordinators.

After introductions were made, the women
went off with Yvonne, the coordinator, in one direction and he and Xav went off
with Tomas in another.

“Thanks for setting this up for me,
Tomas.”

“Not a problem. Shaha’s wedding was
absolutely perfect and I knew you did everything to help make it that way. I
can do no less for your future sister-in-law.”

“Where are we going anyway?” Xav asked.

“I thought you gentlemen might like to
stay in a private waiting lounge. When the women are ready if they want to
model anything for you, they’ll find you there. You’ll be the only clients in
the room.”

“Sweet,” Zek said grinning.

Tomas pushed open a set of smoked-glass
double doors and they entered what could only be deemed a gentlemen’s lounge.
There were two oversized dark leather wing-backed chairs against one wall. A
table sat between them with a bottle of red wine and a large bottle of
sparkling water. Ice and a couple of wine glasses as well as drinking glasses
near them. On the coffee table in front of the chairs were various magazines
from sports to finance, and
Playboy
.
In the center of the table rested a platter of an assortment of cheeses,
crackers and fruits. On the wall, a fifty-two inch television turned to CNN.

“Wow,” Xav exclaimed.

“Nice.”

“Gentlemen, if there’s anything else I
can do for you, just pick up the phone in the corner.” Tomas pointed to a red
phone on a small stand beside the television. “Press 101, it’s a direct line to
me. Now, please, have a seat and enjoy.” He shook their hands then left.

Zek turned to look at his brother, a grin
on his face. They raised hands and slapped high fives. After taking a seat, Zek
picked up the remote and channel surfed until he found a soccer match.

Xav put some ice in a glass and filled it
with water. He took a sip and turned to look at his brother. “So Des, huh?”

Zek kept grinning. His face might as well
be stuck in that position ever since he set eyes on her again. Only just
yesterday, she’d returned to him, though time meant nothing to the Children.
“Yes, Des.”

“I’m happy for you, bro.”

“I’m happy for you, too.”

Xav raised his glass. “Cheers to us man.”
Then, he took a sip.

“Since we’re here, do you need to look
for a suit?” Zek asked.

“Nah. I’ve got quite a few of them back
at the house I’ve never worn, that should be fine. You?”

“I just got a delivery of some custom
suits. In fact, two of them are yours. One’s a light gray that would work.
They’re in your closet.”

Xav grinned. “Sounds good. I’ll take a
look when we get back.”

Zek always shared his home on land with
Xav and then Cyrus. Both men had a closet full of clothes there. Even Aaron
kept a few things in the room set aside for his use whenever he stopped by.

“I think Aaron knows who his mate is,”
Xav revealed.

“No shit. Then, why hasn’t he claimed
her?”

“Not sure. I asked him outright once and
he changed the subject, so don’t know what’s up with him.”

“Any clue who she is?” Zek asked.

Xav shook his head. “Not a one.”

Zek shrugged. “Well, if only Cyrus could
find his mate.”

Xav frowned. “He’s aging. Perhaps he
already has?”

“I thought so too, but he said he never
stopped aging.”

“Still doesn’t mean anything, you know
that. He’s one of Poseidon’s, there’s no doubting he’s of our line and a
brother. The parameters apply to him, too. He had to have already met her, his
bride.”

“I wonder who she is.”

“Don’t know. I didn’t know who Cori was
until I saw her one night on the boat. And if it hadn’t been for the dolphins
making all that damn noise and telling me to look under my nose, I might never
have found her even then.”

Zek grinned. “Yeah, you would have.”

When Xav stopped smiling, Zek suspected
where his thoughts had gone, and his next words confirmed it.

“I’m going to have to do something about
that witch,” Xav stated with finality.

“Yeah bro, no question. She’s gone too
far if she’s pulling demons from Hades’ depths. How’s she even controlling
them?”

“The white witch has always posed a
threat to Poseidon and all his sons. But this is something else. She can’t
control those things. At least not for long. And if she’s opened a breach to
this world and those creatures get loose, there’d be no stopping them, or
anything else from coming through.”

“What?”

“Yeah.”

Zek curled his fingers around the
glassware. “Can you put a stop to it?”

“I will need her sister’s help to find
the breach and then yes, I should be able to seal it. With any luck, seal her
on the other side, too. How two sisters could be such polar opposites is beyond
me.”

Zek frowned. “I think they provide
balance, light and dark.”

“Perhaps. I promised Cori at least a week
here in the little cottage off the main house, so she could spend some time
with her friend before we return home, but I’m going to have to hold off.”

“I don’t sense the dolphins being
agitated. Have they sighted any more of those things?” Zek asked.

“So far no, but you and I both know it’s
only a matter of time before more are called forth. I was barely able to hold
off the four attacking us today. I only managed to dispatch one before you got
there. Thank you for your help. Could you imagine an army of those things, the
havoc they could cause?”

Zek shivered. “I’m trying not to think
about it.”

“Well, there’s nothing to be done
tonight. I already told Cori we’d have to make this trip short, but it’s going
to be shorter than I’d planned. We can spend only a couple of days. After that
attack, she’ll understand. I’ve already sent a dolphin to take word to the sea
witch to begin the search for the portal. It might take her a couple of days to
locate it.”

“Ah-hum.” The sound of a female voice had
them turning their heads toward it. They saw the fashion coordinator standing in
the entryway to the changing rooms. “Gentlemen, are you ready?”

“As we’ll ever be,” Zek quipped.

The woman moved aside and Cori stepped
out first in a peach-colored pants ensemble. It perfectly showcased her
slightly darker complexion. It looked great on her and judging from Xav’s sharp
intake of breath he approved.

“You’re beautiful, my heart. Is that what
you’re getting married in? I thought you wanted a wedding dress,” his brother
said.

Cori laughed. “No silly. I’m not getting
married in a pants suit. And yes, it will be a wedding dress. Otherwise, my mom
would kill me; she might still because the wedding is so rushed. I’ve already
found the dress, but you can’t see it until I meet you in front of the preacher
tomorrow.”

“Oh.” He grinned like the bastard who got
lucky.

Zek understood the sentiment entirely.

Once Cori left, Des stepped into the
room. The long, slinky, dark green dress she wore drifted to her ankles and
hugged each and every luscious curve.

Zek almost rose from his seat to go to
her and pull her into his arms before he dragged the dress off.
She looked hot
.

“You like?” she asked as she turned
around for them to see the back.

“Damn, girl!” All the blood shot straight
to his dick.

The front of the dress had a halter cut
top and tied around her neck. The opening in the back went all the way down to
the very curve of her ass.

Xav laughed as he watched his reaction.
“Ah, Des, I think if you really like that dress you might want to go take it
off and put it in the yes side of dresses you’re going to get this evening,” he
supplied.

Des turned around and stared at Zek, but
his power of speech had temporarily deserted him for the night. He could only
shake his head and pant like her lap dog. Her lips curled up around the edges
and she ran back into the changing area.

The modeling went on for about an hour,
oh sweet, sweet torture. He wanted to buy her everything she tried on. When the
coordinator brought out matching lingerie, his dick went rock hard thinking
about Des wearing them. In fact, he did buy it all and the underwear, one to
match each outfit she tried on.

“Cori’s going to need a wardrobe. She’s
going to need more clothes to keep here.” Xav said grinning and did the same
thing, too.

By the time the women returned to the
waiting room and joined them, both he and his brother had already forked over
their black AmX.

“That was fun,” Cori said going over to
Xav. She wrapped her arm around his waist.

Zek’s heart swelled when Des did the same
thing to him. He kissed the top of her head.

“I got you a few things, babe,” Xav
confessed.

“The pants suit?” Cori beamed.

“Yeah.”

“Great! I can wear it tonight.”

“Which outfit did you like best, Zek?
What should I wear tonight?” Des asked.

He didn’t hesitate. “I liked the little
black number.” The third or fourth dress she’d tried on. When she came out in
it, it took everything he had to keep his butt planted in the chair. Sexy as
hell in anything she wore or didn’t—and all his.

Des smiled. “That’s my favorite too, but
these sandals I’m wearing won’t be right for it.”

Zek looked at the light pink straps that
crossed over her dainty foot and shrugged. “So, we’ll pick up a matching pair.”

“Ah, did you check out those price tags?
I can either get that dress or I can get the shoes…not both.”

He smiled. “Babe, I already got the dress
for you and if you want to get shoes, we’ll get those, too.”

She frowned. “I don’t want you buying the
dress for me. I can afford to buy myself a nice dress or a great pair of shoes,
every now and then. And besides, I’m buying the long green one. I’m wearing it
for the wedding tomorrow. It’s on sale.”

He squeezed her to him. “I know you can
afford to buy your own things, but please let me. I want to. I have so much and
no one to spend my money on. Let me spend it on you.”

A frown remained on her face. “You can
try giving some of it to charities. There are a lot of them that need help.”

“Hey, I do that too.” He didn’t want her
thinking he didn’t give a damn. “I have a foundation set up for
under-privileged kids in the U.S. who have an interest in marine sciences to
attend summer camps on a special sail boat for the summer. Further, my company
provides scholarship money for them to attend university. Oceanus Enterprises
is involved in several charitable foundations around the globe. Right here on
the Caymans, we support free clinics for those who don’t have access to proper
medical care. So, no worries. I’m not just hoarding my wealth.” He didn’t mean
to go off on her, but it bothered him how she might think him shallow. He took
his responsibilities about everything seriously. He might not have been born a
landwalker but he’d made the land his home and worked to make it better.