normal moments I had for a long, long time.
I’m told that I look like my mother. Tall,
thin, dirty blond hair, blue eyes. Nice boobs, long tanned legs. I know I’m
pretty in a head-turning way, but I don’t let it get into my brain and make me
all arrogant and egotistical. I’ve seen more than my share of beautiful people
who were very ugly once you got to know them. What a turn-off.
I love the tank tops with the built- in
bras. I had drawers full of them. The climate of Tiago is hot and
tropical. We didn’t wear much, even when it was winter elsewhere. Cutoff jean
shorts rounded out the uniform—the shorter the better.
So...on this day, I was wearing a black
racer-back tank top with built-in shelf bra and a very short pair of cutoffs.
I was barefoot.
And Calvin, the son-of-a-bitch, had his
feet up on my dad’s desk.
He’d also poured me a tall glass of iced
tea, complete with a sprig of spearmint. That should’ve been Clue Number Two
that I was fucked.
~***~
“You turn 21 years old in four days,
Gianna. You know what that means,” Calvin said to me. His elbows rested on
the arms of the office chair, fingertips pressed together in front of him. He
kept tapping his index fingers together, a nervous tick that speaks volumes to
me now.
I should’ve known that the look in his
eyes, his overall demeanor, was predatory. I should’ve known that after
becoming accustomed to life here on the island, he wasn’t going to give it up
to his 21-year-old, snotty, uncooperative niece without a fight.
I didn’t know any of those things. I went
like a lamb to slaughter.
He was also drinking from a tall glass
of iced tea, complete with mint sprig. Same as mine. It was a hot day, and
after walking to the house, I drained about a third of it in a couple of gulps.
I had no reason to be suspicious.
Now I know the unholy light that shone
from his eyes as he watched me drink meant that he knew he had me. Like a cat
that smacks a mouse into the corner. And it still pisses me off to no end that
he did it with a glass of iced tea.
“Yes, I do, Calvin. And I want you to be
off this island the same day,” I snapped. There was no point in pretending. I
wanted him gone.
We glared at each other for what felt
like hours. After three years of walking on egg shells, never knowing when this
fat bastard was going to take a swing at me, I was not going to be the first
one to look away.
“And I will be off of this island
just as soon as I can be. But first, there is some paperwork for you to sign.
I’ve had the lawyers draw these up. No need to wade through all the legalese.
They sever my guardianship and transfer legal ownership of Tiago to you.”
Holy shit, where’s the pen! I’ll sign
anything that gets this idiot out of my hair!
I stood by the desk, and signed and
dated seven or eight sheets of paper. I didn’t even look at what I was
signing. I was giving my life away and didn’t even know it.
I sat down in one of the black leather
chairs in front of the desk. I’d survived this idiot, and I was going to gloat about
it.
I just about jumped out of my skin when
the door slammed behind me. I half turned to look but, by that time, a man I
didn’t recognize was already sitting in the chair beside me.
Well, he didn’t sit, exactly—he slithered in and draped himself over the chair . He studied me
with hard, black eyes. I shivered, though it was hotter than hell that day.
He was handsome in a demented sort of
way. A three-day stubble shadowed his face, and he had a long, white scar down
his right cheek. He had on clothing that I can only describe as pirate-like. That
should have been Clue Number Three.
“I’d like you to meet Dolph Theobald, a
friend of mine,” Calvin said, leaning forward on the desk.
Dolph Theobold. I snickered and drank
more of my iced tea. A porn-star name if I ever heard one. If he was a friend
of Calvin’s, he would be no friend of
I’m told that I look like my mother. Tall,
thin, dirty blond hair, blue eyes. Nice boobs, long tanned legs. I know I’m
pretty in a head-turning way, but I don’t let it get into my brain and make me
all arrogant and egotistical. I’ve seen more than my share of beautiful people
who were very ugly once you got to know them. What a turn-off.
I love the tank tops with the built- in
bras. I had drawers full of them. The climate of Tiago is hot and
tropical. We didn’t wear much, even when it was winter elsewhere. Cutoff jean
shorts rounded out the uniform—the shorter the better.
So...on this day, I was wearing a black
racer-back tank top with built-in shelf bra and a very short pair of cutoffs.
I was barefoot.
And Calvin, the son-of-a-bitch, had his
feet up on my dad’s desk.
He’d also poured me a tall glass of iced
tea, complete with a sprig of spearmint. That should’ve been Clue Number Two
that I was fucked.
~***~
“You turn 21 years old in four days,
Gianna. You know what that means,” Calvin said to me. His elbows rested on
the arms of the office chair, fingertips pressed together in front of him. He
kept tapping his index fingers together, a nervous tick that speaks volumes to
me now.
I should’ve known that the look in his
eyes, his overall demeanor, was predatory. I should’ve known that after
becoming accustomed to life here on the island, he wasn’t going to give it up
to his 21-year-old, snotty, uncooperative niece without a fight.
I didn’t know any of those things. I went
like a lamb to slaughter.
He was also drinking from a tall glass
of iced tea, complete with mint sprig. Same as mine. It was a hot day, and
after walking to the house, I drained about a third of it in a couple of gulps.
I had no reason to be suspicious.
Now I know the unholy light that shone
from his eyes as he watched me drink meant that he knew he had me. Like a cat
that smacks a mouse into the corner. And it still pisses me off to no end that
he did it with a glass of iced tea.
“Yes, I do, Calvin. And I want you to be
off this island the same day,” I snapped. There was no point in pretending. I
wanted him gone.
We glared at each other for what felt
like hours. After three years of walking on egg shells, never knowing when this
fat bastard was going to take a swing at me, I was not going to be the first
one to look away.
“And I will be off of this island
just as soon as I can be. But first, there is some paperwork for you to sign.
I’ve had the lawyers draw these up. No need to wade through all the legalese.
They sever my guardianship and transfer legal ownership of Tiago to you.”
Holy shit, where’s the pen! I’ll sign
anything that gets this idiot out of my hair!
I stood by the desk, and signed and
dated seven or eight sheets of paper. I didn’t even look at what I was
signing. I was giving my life away and didn’t even know it.
I sat down in one of the black leather
chairs in front of the desk. I’d survived this idiot, and I was going to gloat about
it.
I just about jumped out of my skin when
the door slammed behind me. I half turned to look but, by that time, a man I
didn’t recognize was already sitting in the chair beside me.
Well, he didn’t sit, exactly—he slithered in and draped himself over the chair . He studied me
with hard, black eyes. I shivered, though it was hotter than hell that day.
He was handsome in a demented sort of
way. A three-day stubble shadowed his face, and he had a long, white scar down
his right cheek. He had on clothing that I can only describe as pirate-like. That
should have been Clue Number Three.
“I’d like you to meet Dolph Theobald, a
friend of mine,” Calvin said, leaning forward on the desk.
Dolph Theobold. I snickered and drank
more of my iced tea. A porn-star name if I ever heard one. If he was a friend
of Calvin’s, he would be no friend of
Similar Books
