Emerald [Pyrate's Treasure 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Cooper McKenzie Page A

island?”
    Emerald squeaked in surprise. Looking up from her computer, she stared at her cousin Silver. It took a moment to make sense of his words, but when she did, she frowned at his odd choice of conversation openers.
    “Who says I want to meet my mate? Maybe I just want to spend my days working here, baking cookies for the guests, and writing my stories. Why would I need a mate to do that?”
    Though she wanted to find her mate as her sister had just weeks earlier, she realized that unless he came to the island, she would never meet him. She had not left the island since the day after graduating from high school. The day after two classmates she had thought were friends had almost raped her.
    They had been drunk on illegally obtained rum and decided they both wanted to have sex with her in celebration. It had taken everything in her to keep from shifting and exposing the Pyrate family secret. She had gotten away from them, but instead of going back to the house where they stayed while in high school, she went to the dock and hid on the ferry. She had never told anyone about that night. The next day when she returned to Pyrate Island, she vowed to remain on the island where she was safe and could avoid humans as much as possible.
    She returned to the present when Silver stepped into her closet-sized office in the visitor’s center. He nudged the door closed then rested one hip on the corner of her desk. Then he watched her closely as she turned back to her computer and tried to focus on her work as the resort’s reservation clerk.
    “You are so full of shit,” he said after nearly a minute of increasingly tense silence. “Every shape-shifter dreams of the day they meet and claim their mate. If you keep hiding from life, from the world, you may never meet him.”
    Emerald stopped typing, but did not look away from the computer screen. “And if I don’t meet him, then I won’t get hurt or die,” she whispered so softly she hoped he did not hear her.
    But, of course, he did. “What the hell does that mean?”
    “Never mind.”
    “No, but we’ll talk about it later. Oh, by the way, I have a guest coming on the Sunday ferry who will be staying at the house.”
    Emerald swiveled in her chair to stare at her cousin. “A guest? Staying at the house? Who is it?”
    “A businessman from New York City. Grandfather agreed he could stay at the house since the cottages are full up. He’ll be using Goldie’s room since she’s moved in with Caleb.”
    Since she and Goldie shared a bathroom, a shiver of unease flashed through her. Would she be able to share her private space with a stranger?
    “I guess that means I’ll have to clean the bathroom before he gets here, huh?”
    “Yeah, that might be a good idea. Just don’t forget to hide the sex toys you’ve got stored under the sink.” Silver stood and opened her office door. His laughter faded away as he walked out and pulled the door shut.
    Emerald’s eyes went wide. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment as she swiveled in her chair and stared at the closed door. “How the hell does he know about those?”
     
    * * * *
     
    “Sir? You need to wake up. We’ve arrived.”
    Nick started awake. Opening his eyes, he looked around, momentarily disoriented. He was sitting on a bench in the corner of a room though he could not remember where the room was.
    “Sir? Are you all right?” the old man standing front of him asked. Nick looked at the man and spotted the name Tesla embroidered on his shirt.
    Nick arched his back to stretch then stood. The old man stepped back, giving him room. “I’m fine, thanks. Didn’t realize how tired I was,” he said. Lifting his arms over his head, he stretched fully then turned his upper body left and right, wincing as several vertebrae loudly popped and adjusted themselves. “Where are we?”
    “Pyrate Island, sir.”
    As soon as the man announced the destination, Nick’s memory kicked in. Pyrate Island, North Carolina.