Page 8 of Beneath the Surface

“Then I will give him until the wedding.”

“Oh, fuck a duck!” Brett yelled. “What part of ‘giving him time’ did you not understand?”

“Lower your voice,” Nisha snapped. “This is not up for debate. He has a few days, Brett. At the end of that time, Iwillclaim him. In the meantime I will try to get him accustomed to me.”

“Jesus, a few days.” Brett sighed. “I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I? Fine. Just remember I tried to warn you. And, and… he has no one now. His dad died not long ago.”

Nisha frowned. Brett was really pushing, which was a first. “I’m sorry to hear that. It appeared he and his father had a close relationship. Of course I’m just guessing. I had, um, other things on my mind that day.”

“I bet.” Brett laughed, then sobered. “Theywereclose, but they grew apart after that summer. They didn’t have anything in common. Kannon left for college, later he graduated… and they just never reconnected, I guess you could say.”

“Then that’s my fault. I am sorry for that. Since you seem to be worried, I will tell you this. If it wasn’t for his dad that day, I would have taken Kannon then. I knew he would return, and I’ve waited for him. He is mine to care for, and I will. I want him to be content. Now, this discussion is at an end. Stop worrying over my human, Brett.”

“Okay, okay! I just want him to be happy.”

“He will be.”

CHAPTER THREE

“NOTHING?”STUNNED,Kannonstaredat his lap.

He woke expecting to find a mess. Years had passed since he’d had a wet dream, but he remembered the unpleasantness of damp sheets. Instead there was nothing. Zip. Nada. He’d have bet money he came last night, but instead he was as dry as the desert.

“Seriously?”

The vividness of the dream left him shaken, but thrilled him too. He didn’t remember much about it except for a name—but it lurked at the foggy edges of his mind, refusing to come to him no matter how hard he tried to recall it.

Also the color blue figured prominently, but he was unsure why. The one thing he did clearly remember was the other man owned his body and made it sing in ways Kannon had never experienced. Pushing his thoughts aside, he hurriedly dressed.

He fixed a cup of coffee and walked outside. A warm breeze curled around him. He flopped down in a lounge chair and stared at the ocean while the sun climbed higher in the sky. The jungle around him was alive with the sounds of birds singing.

He sipped his morning coffee, enjoying the various sounds. When his stomach growled, he went inside. Putting his cup down on the counter, he looked around to see what there was for breakfast.

Not satisfied with anything he saw, he glanced back out the window, an evil thought crossing his mind.I bet Brett isn’t up yet. Maybe I should wander over there and see what he’s doing.He rinsed out his coffee cup and put it in the sink.

After a quick check by the pantry, he found the key to the golf cart then grabbed his wallet and slipped on his sandals. Moments later, he was heading down one of the flower-strewn sidewalks that led to the resort.

Once there, an employee flagged him down and gave him directions as to where to park the golf cart. He parked it, pocketed the key, and walked into the open lounge area of the resort. It was busy, so he went out to one of the pools instead, found a lounge chair, and sat.

It wasn’t like when they were in college and he could scare the crap out of Brett by banging on his door. But hey, a cell phone was the next best thing. He crossed his ankles, dialed up his best friend, and waited.

After about the fifth try an agitated voice answered the phone. “You better be dead, or dying, because if you’re not? I’m going to kill you.”

“Good morning to you too, sunshine.” Kannon snickered when he heard a groan come from the other end of the phone. “I take it you partied a little bit too hard last night?”

“Oh my God, I’m getting too old for this.”

“Funny, you used to say the same thing in college.”

“Did you call just to harass me?” Brett demanded.

“Yep.”

“What the hell was I thinking dragging your ass all the way here to my resort? I hate you.”

Kannon burst out laughing. “Hate you too, buddy.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. By the way, where are you?”

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