Renee Field

Rapture | Excerpt

“Keep her,” said the dripping wet hulk of a man who was pulling himself over the side of the yacht. His tanned, muscled leg graced the edge of the yacht’s railing, and his arm muscles bulged as he put more weight on his hands. The rippling effect of large muscles gleaming in the sun did nothing to convince Jamie he wasn’t a God come to life. Only when the other leg swung over the railing did she know why he was forced to put all his weight on his arms. He was gloriously naked, and she couldn’t help herself from looking.

Realizing she probably hadn’t blinked as he put both feet firmly down on the deck, caused her to blush and once again take hold of the paper bag for gulps of air. Every inch of his skin was bronzed to a polished sheen of copper. His hair was long and she knew once it dried it would reveal a deep shade of black. She watched as he shook his head side to side much like a dog would or in this case one heck of a large wolf. Then he grabbed the ends of his hair, squeezing the excess water out, letting it drape over his muscular back. It was like looking at a picture of the Greek God, Apollo, come to life and she couldn’t take her eyes off him, not that he seemed to mind.

Over his right breast was a large tattoo which looked like some type of fork. The tattoo, with deep green and blue ink was captivating, as was the man himself, thought Jamie, willing herself to look away. When he turned his piercing emerald green eyes her way, and gamely winked at her, she gulped. Heat slammed into her body. She felt for a moment she was having one of those déjà vu experiences.

“Skinny dipping your forte?” she replied, sarcastically, proud of herself for saying it without sounding breathless. There was no way she was going to let one Seth Cutter get to her.

Full sensual lips framed an angular face and the only flaw her eyes could detect was a jagged scar running down one side of his face from his forehead to his right cheek – funny thing was she didn’t remember that from earlier. Instead of making him look ugly it only added to his intrigue, giving him a very naughty-boy look, which he most certainly did not need. But, there was nothing boyish about the man towering in front of her.

“You know we’re twins,” said Darius wickedly.

She felt her skin heat up and knew her cheeks had blossomed to bright pink. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Seth quickly grabbed his clothes, actually faded blue jeans to be more precise, and struggled to put them on. Then it dawned on her what he had said as he climbed on board the boat. There was no way she was going to let that sexist remark go. And, there was no way they were ‘keeping her,’ she thought to herself.

Realizing no one was paying any attention to her, she willed herself to stand, still clutching the paper bag, just in case. She hoped he was clothed by now. She knew she was lying to herself. She had really enjoyed what she had seen. He could model for one of those girly magazines, realizing what she had timidly peeked at in the stores was a lot better looking in the flesh.

“You can’t just keep her. It’s not like in the old days. Men don’t do that sort of thing today,” whispered Darius, as his brother tied his long black hair back with a piece of leather.

“We’re not men. And what do you propose we do with her? We can’t just let her go. She saw us take the dolphin and she’ll report us to the police. I told you we’ve got bigger things to worry about,” said Seth. “Besides, I was told to keep her close, by you know who,” he said, gritting his teeth.

“No, well something’s up. She actually told you to keep the woman? That’s got to be a first,” said Darius, almost laughing but not quite as he took in his brother’s agitated state.

“I won’t tell anyone,” blurted Jamie, grabbing the railing with both hands. Her legs felt like rubber, and her belly took a lurch as the boat crested another wave.

“You two been introduced?” asked Seth, moving closer to Jamie.

All she could manage was a nod. Finally finding her voice she let him have it. “Look, Seth. I know all about you and your kind. You’re one of those bleeding hearts that believes you’ve worked long enough in the field to know what’s right and wrong.” Yeah, she’d met other macho male scientists like him who’d made it plain as day that marine biology wasn’t a place for women. Well, like before, she thought they could all go to Hell and she’d prove them wrong. She forced herself to stand almost eye-level with him. Looking up at a man was such a novel concept that her heart lurched.

“Bleeding heart. That’s got a nice ring to it. So you’re a scientist. You believe you can justify all the things you do in the pursuit of what – facts and figures? Give me a break. You don’t know one thing about me, about marine life or the sea. And, just so we’re clear on everything...you’re staying with me for a couple of days. The last thing I need right now is for you to go and report this incident to the police. Am I clear?” Seth sauntered forward, bracing his arms on either side of her. Almost but not quite touching.

She gulped as her eyes burned holes of fire into him. She was furious. She hated being treated like a kid, which she most definitely was not.

“No you are not. I will not stay with you for a few days. I have work to do, something you probably are unfamiliar with – obligations. Let me off this boat now.” What she really wanted to do was slug him or push him away but she could do neither.

When he did back up, giving her breathing space, she exhaled. Close proximity to a God come to life left her breathless. She dampened that desire down and put a halt on those raging hormones of hers that were trying once again to ignite by remembering his sexist comment, even while she noted the differences in the two brothers.

Where Darius wore his hair neat and cut short, Seth’s hair hung all the way down his back. Usually the grunge look didn’t do it for her, but somehow this guy pulled it off with a natural ease, making her yearn to reach out and touch his wet hair. And while Darius liked expensive brand name clothes, she could see Seth was the type of guy who probably slept in what he wore. The thought made her shiver as she took in the tight blue jeans hugging his thighs, and his shirtless well muscled upper torso. The guy had a torso like an Olympic swimmer, all lean and muscular in just the right places and she hated him for that.

Giving a slight nod of his head, and backing away from her even more, Seth didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to hear him speak, body language said it all. Arms folded across his sleek looking chest, he lazily leaned into the railing while his muscles rippled in the sunlight.

“We’re keeping you,” he grunted, staring straight into her eyes. Not once breaking eye contact.

“Oh no you’re not. I demand you turn this thing around right now and take me back. I’ve got work to do and anyway, my... my...my boss will...ah...miss me,” she said, attempting to sound like she meant business. Moving further away from the railing, she held his stare, placing both hands on her hips to make her point.

As the yacht lurched again, her legs buckled and she cursed herself for letting go of the railing.

“Here, I’ve got you,” he said, reaching out to grab her arm to steady her.

Jamie knew she was in trouble the minute she saw his hand reach out. Her eyes widened, but there was nothing she could do. Trying to steady her legs, she had no chance to prepare herself and it wasn’t like she could scream, “don’t touch me.”

The electric shock of his touch knocked her unconscious just as it knocked Seth back against the railing. Her last coherent thought as she buckled to the deck was that he had really large hands with long graceful fingers. Then the black abyss of unconsciousness took hold of her and she knew she was lost.