boxer shorts and a button-up gray shirt just like the black one that she’d ripped off him the night before. Heat at the memory galvanized her into action as she quickly dressed. A piece of string from his small emergency kit worked to tie her hair back in a low pony tail.
Hiking bare-footed through the rough trees and shrubs didn’t seem like such a good idea a few minutes later as she experienced yet another gash on her shin. Drops of water, falling from the trees above her, only added to her misery. Mina thought about turning back when she topped the edge of the hill and looked out over the rest of the island. Wonder and surprise turned to ecstatic delight when her eyes landed on the prominent house before her.
It was at least three stories, white with red trim on all the windows and shutters. There was a greenish looking pool and gazebo that told her she was looking at the back of the house. A path of cement steps led right to the white vinyl fencing that seemed to surround the home. Steps skirted the grouping of dense trees she’d just left and wound down to a boat house. She narrowed her eyes, a feeling of disgust with Gabriel Landing making her fists clench at her sides. He’d made her stay in a dark cave when there was a perfectly good, comfortable, and obviously well-maintained house on the island.
“The bastard!” She set out at a fast pace, not giving a damn about the damage she was inflicting on the soles of her feet. The man was enjoying the lap of luxury all day while she was sitting on rocks, gazing out at the water like an idiot! No more. He was going to pay for what he’d done to her. Damn, was he laughing at her behind her back? The stupid little woman who obeyed his every command, even though he’d basically kept her little more than a prisoner in some disgusting cave! Why the hell did the man have a cave when he had such a lovely house he could stay in? Unless the cave was meant to keep her dependent on him. She wanted to scream her fury, she was so incensed.
Okay, so the cave was dry, cozy, and remarkably clean. It didn’t change the fact that the moron had kept this beautiful house a secret from her. When she got her hands on him... Her steps slowed as she neared the fence. The smell of the pretty flowers lining the path and the fence did nothing to disguise the horrible smell of rancid water. She placed a hand up to cover her nose as she pulled the latch on the gate. The gate swung open and the smell strengthened.
Mina lifted the collar of her shirt to cover her nose, trying to hold her breath as she entered the once-elegant pool area. Lounge chairs and glass tables lined one side of the pool. To one side was an elegant chimney for having a small fire. Her gaze landed on a ball floating along the surface of the water. Three weeks plus of hot temperatures and sporadic rain had turned the sparkling water a light shade of green. Sadness fell over her as she envisioned children laughing and playing in the crystal blue water as their parents lounged lazily beside them. It wasn’t fair.
This wasn’t the first time she’d thought it, either. Life hadn’t seemed fair before Z-Day. It wasn’t fair that Callie was the center of her father’s world, or that their mother expected her to look after her little sister because she was older by thirteen months. She’d been selfish and stupid, thinking the world was out to get her just because she wasn’t Daddy’s little girl.
It was time to grow up, she decided as she moved toward the sliding glass doors. Handprints and dust covered the glass. She placed a hand over one of the prints and wondered if it belonged to him. It was certainly big enough. He had big and surprisingly sensual hands that had done more than simply touched her. They’d played her body like a favorite instrument. She wouldn’t mind letting them touch her again, if her temper let him live that long.
This house was relatively new and hadn’t rung any bells for her. Ten years
Hiking bare-footed through the rough trees and shrubs didn’t seem like such a good idea a few minutes later as she experienced yet another gash on her shin. Drops of water, falling from the trees above her, only added to her misery. Mina thought about turning back when she topped the edge of the hill and looked out over the rest of the island. Wonder and surprise turned to ecstatic delight when her eyes landed on the prominent house before her.
It was at least three stories, white with red trim on all the windows and shutters. There was a greenish looking pool and gazebo that told her she was looking at the back of the house. A path of cement steps led right to the white vinyl fencing that seemed to surround the home. Steps skirted the grouping of dense trees she’d just left and wound down to a boat house. She narrowed her eyes, a feeling of disgust with Gabriel Landing making her fists clench at her sides. He’d made her stay in a dark cave when there was a perfectly good, comfortable, and obviously well-maintained house on the island.
“The bastard!” She set out at a fast pace, not giving a damn about the damage she was inflicting on the soles of her feet. The man was enjoying the lap of luxury all day while she was sitting on rocks, gazing out at the water like an idiot! No more. He was going to pay for what he’d done to her. Damn, was he laughing at her behind her back? The stupid little woman who obeyed his every command, even though he’d basically kept her little more than a prisoner in some disgusting cave! Why the hell did the man have a cave when he had such a lovely house he could stay in? Unless the cave was meant to keep her dependent on him. She wanted to scream her fury, she was so incensed.
Okay, so the cave was dry, cozy, and remarkably clean. It didn’t change the fact that the moron had kept this beautiful house a secret from her. When she got her hands on him... Her steps slowed as she neared the fence. The smell of the pretty flowers lining the path and the fence did nothing to disguise the horrible smell of rancid water. She placed a hand up to cover her nose as she pulled the latch on the gate. The gate swung open and the smell strengthened.
Mina lifted the collar of her shirt to cover her nose, trying to hold her breath as she entered the once-elegant pool area. Lounge chairs and glass tables lined one side of the pool. To one side was an elegant chimney for having a small fire. Her gaze landed on a ball floating along the surface of the water. Three weeks plus of hot temperatures and sporadic rain had turned the sparkling water a light shade of green. Sadness fell over her as she envisioned children laughing and playing in the crystal blue water as their parents lounged lazily beside them. It wasn’t fair.
This wasn’t the first time she’d thought it, either. Life hadn’t seemed fair before Z-Day. It wasn’t fair that Callie was the center of her father’s world, or that their mother expected her to look after her little sister because she was older by thirteen months. She’d been selfish and stupid, thinking the world was out to get her just because she wasn’t Daddy’s little girl.
It was time to grow up, she decided as she moved toward the sliding glass doors. Handprints and dust covered the glass. She placed a hand over one of the prints and wondered if it belonged to him. It was certainly big enough. He had big and surprisingly sensual hands that had done more than simply touched her. They’d played her body like a favorite instrument. She wouldn’t mind letting them touch her again, if her temper let him live that long.
This house was relatively new and hadn’t rung any bells for her. Ten years
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