Page 19 of Into the Blue
Mish’s expression turns sullen. “She shouldn’t be surfing our waves! She’s not from here.”
“You don’t own the fucking ocean, Mish,” I snap. “Andwe’ve talked about this. There are enough waves for everyone. Dropping in on another surfer is a dick move.”
“Are you calling me a dick?”
I raise one eyebrow, holding her gaze.
“Fuck this.” She picks up the battered surfboard and turns towards the door. “Figured you’d back some tourist over a local, too. We all know where your interests lie.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Mum told me. About the council stuff. About what’s going on. You shouldn’t even be involved!”
“I want what’s best for the island,” I say, my jaw tight.
“Tell it to someone who cares,” she snorts, pushing the door open.
“Tell your friend that board is a piece of shit,” I snarl, letting my anger unfurl, just for a moment. “Just like your attitude.”
The door slams shut, the jangling bell discordant as my feelings. I push down the surge of rage at Mish, aware that it comes from somewhere else, somewhere deeper. Yeah, she’s a pain in the ass, but she’s just a kid. I’ll find her later, and tell her to drop the board back in to be fixed up.
And I’ll have a word with Indah, too. Sharing council business with Mish is one thing, but saying I have no right to be involved in a decision that will change things for everyone is another. I’ve more than shown my loyalty to this place. And no one is going to throw it back in my face.
ChapterThirteen
Axel
What the hell was I thinking, inviting Jade on a tour of the island? It’s not like I don’t have enough going on.
As I change my shirt for the third time this morning, I shake my head at Nimue, curled in the centre of her bed. “It’s all right for you. You can just lie in sunbeams and chase butterflies or whatever.”
I blow out a sigh as I look in the mirror. This will have to do. I don’t know why I feel so nervous. Jade is a guest, after all, and not the first one I’ve taken for a tour of the area. She’s the first one I had a poster of in my shop, though.
I’m not going to think about work today, or the sour taste the interaction with Mish left in my mouth. She could have seriously injured Jade; it’s bad enough that she can’t surf for the next week. I already called Indah and had a go at her, not just about keeping Mish contained, but also about sharing council business with her. Yes, Mish is a local, but she’s not on the council. And I don’t need her two cents about whether or not she thinks I care about this place. It should be obvious that I do.
I tell myself that my concern is purely for how Mish’s actions could have affected Jade on a professional level, as well as my guest’s safety in general. But I’m already sweating through this shirt. Fuck. I think of how she looked, moonlight silvering her hair, the jade of her eyes dark as she gazed at me. How she felt in my arms. I would have kept holding on to her, if she’d let me. And that way lies danger.
I closed my heart off a while ago. The same time I closed up my business, removing myself from the world, from everything with the power to break me. Apart from the ocean. It sings in my blood, calls to me. Even though I don’t enter her anymore, she is still there, still waiting. Going out with Jade feels, somehow, as though I’m diving back into those waves.
Screw it. This shirt will do.
I head over to Jade’s cabin just on 10 am. She’s sitting on the front step, legs bent, her elbows resting on her knees as she gazes out to sea. When her gaze lands on me it’s distant, as though part of her is still out in the waves.
“Morning. How’s the leg?” I keep things light, push down the surge of emotion at the sight of her. Ignore the gathering storm.
She blinks. “Uh, okay. Still stings a bit, but I slept okay. Been sleeping really well, actually.” Her lips curve.
“Good. You ready to go?”
She stands. Her low-slung cargo pants reveal a tanned flat belly, a tattoo curling along one side of her hip. I wrench my mind away from where that tattoo might go, how low it extends. Her cropped T-shirt clings to the curves of her breasts– it’s slightly transparent, a triangle bikini top visible underneath. Her long blonde hair is in a single braid, pulled back from her gorgeous face.
Why am I doing this again? My dick twitches, seeming to need an answer. I tell it to fuck off and leave me alone.
Jade picks up a small backpack and slings it on, sticking her chest out in the process, which I do my best not to notice.
“I figured we’d be going by scooter,” she says.
“We are. Doctor said to take it easy with the walking, remember?”
