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Four
Malakai
“Hey,”the girl calls, waving at me, her face hidden by the shade of a wide-brimmed straw sunhat.
Halting my stride, my heart still thundering from the effort of swimming in the ocean, I look at her momentarily, struck by the length of her tanned, shapely legs and curvy figure. Much to my disgust, my body instantly reacts, my cock jerking in my swim shorts. It’s been a long while since I’ve laid eyes on a woman, let alone fucked one. A year alone at sea can make a man hunger for a woman’s touch until he’s turned mad with want.
But, I’m not here for that.
Women are trouble, and I know without even talking to her, that this woman is more trouble than most. Gritting my jaw, I scowl at the leggy siren. Then, like the arsehole I am, I stride across the beach ignoring her greeting completely. I’m not here to make new friends, only to visit a couple of old ones and to get my boat fixed.
Out of my peripheral vision, I can see the woman’s arm drop and her shoulders sag and whilst a small part of me feels guilty for being such a prick, the rest of me is relieved. I’m no Prince Charming and I’ve been alone for too long to be anything other than who I am.
A loner, a drifter, an arsehole to some, and a man who prefers the wide-open expanse of the ocean than human connection. I am who I am.
On the rare occasions that I do step foot on land for provisions and such, I keep to myself and never, ever, get involved with anyone. I may as well be a eunuch for all the use my cock gets. I can’t even remember the last time I slept with a woman. Two years? Maybe three.
Pushing thoughts of my non-existent sex life out of my head, I forge onwards over the sand and head towards the set of stone steps that I know are carved directly into the cliff face of this small, but beautiful cove. The last time I was here, it was twenty years ago, and I had been a sixteen-year-old kid in love with a girl who’d fallen for my best friend, Blake. Annabelle had been a force of nature. She was captivating, wild,free. She lived like she loved, with everything she had. There hasn’t been one single woman who’s held a candle to her. Even all these years later.
When I heard news of their deaths eight years ago, a part of me died too. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t seen her or Blake since we were kids, I mourned the loss of the girl I’d once loved and the man she chose to be her husband.
Annabelle Silva and Blake Beaumont were, and are, a match made in heaven.
As I make my way up the stone path, ignoring the bite of sharp stones against my bare feet, a long-forgotten memory hits me like a sucker punch to the stomach and I have to hold onto the weather worn railing to steady myself or risk toppling over the side…
“Kai,wait! Please just let me explain,” Annabelle calls after me as I rush across the sand. She’s yanking her cotton dress over her naked body and try as I might, I can’t help glancing over at her. She’s so fucking beautiful.
“You don’t need to explain a thing to me, Anna. I can see with my own eyes what’s been going on,” I retort, ignoring the bitter sting of tears that prick my eyes.
“Stop! Kai, please just stop,” she begs, reaching for me, her fingers grasping my arm. Despite everything I’ve just seen, despite my shattered heart, I do what she asks. I stop. I’ve never been able to say no to Anna, not to the girl I love.
“What do you want from me?” I round on her, my fists clenching as I look at Blake over her shoulder. He’s struggling to put his jeans back on and is stumbling around, hopping on one leg. It would be comical if it didn’t want to break his fucking neck.
“I want you to know that Blake and me, we never meant to hurt you. You’re our friend.”
I laugh bitterly, brushing at the wet tears on my cheeks. I don’t cry. Not me, not Malakai Azaiah Dunbar. I come from a long line of tough men and they never cry. Especially not over a woman.
“I love you. Doesn’t that mean anything?” I admit, feeling weak for showing how broken I am.
“We didn’t mean for you to find out like this,” she pleads, reaching for me, but I yank my arm free from her hold.
“When, exactly, were you two going to tell me that you were fucking, huh?”
“We’re not fucking…” She shakes her head, giving me a disappointed look.
“No? I’m pretty sure Blake was balls deep inside of you just now, Anna.”
“Enough!” she snaps, her pretty face screwing up in anger.
I must’ve really pissed her off because Anna rarely gets angry. Always so kind, so understanding, so warm. Except the girl I just saw wasn’t any of those things. She was sexy, passionate, intense, and she was supposed to be mine.
“You make it sound dirty, Kai, and what we were doing was far from that. We were making love. There’s a difference.”
If she’d taken out a knife and plunged it into my heart, it would have hurt less.
“You love him?” My voice quavers and I hate it. I hate that she fucked my best friend. I hate that she chose him. I hate that my heart is fucking breaking.
“Yes,” she replies gently, her own eyes brimming with tears. “I love him. I’m sorry I couldn’t love you that way, but I can’t help how I feel, Kai. You’re my friend…”
