Secret Paradise (Kimani Romance) by Dara Girard Page B

Callia said in a singsongy voice, then walked away.
    Nikki sat back on the couch and sank into deep thought. Here was a strange young girl caught between girlhood and womanhood, living with two very different brothers. It was an odd household. One brother was handsome and refined, while the other one was rugged and rough. Nikki looked down at her bare hand with a stab of guilt, but knowing it was the right choice. She wasn’t ready to settle down yet and her life in New York was beginning to feel far away in more ways than one.
    Once he left the room, Basilio let his smile drop. Two weeks wasn’t enough time. He’d have to do more to convince his brother to let Nikki stay. She was the key.
    “You shouldn’t frown like that,” the maid, Iona, said, meeting him in the hall. “It makes you look fierce like your brother.”
    “I don’t care.”
    She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the conservatory.
    “What are you doing?” he asked as Iona slid her arm around his neck.
    She brushed her lips against his. “You have ignored me all day.”
    He anxiously looked around. “I have to be careful.”
    “How long will she stay?”
    “Only a couple weeks, but I’ll work on it. She’s good for him.”
    “Yes,” Iona said, kissing him again. “Your brother needs something to keep him occupied so he’ll leave you alone.”
    “He already does.”
    “Not often enough. He babies you and tells you what to do.”
    “Big brothers are like that sometimes,” Basilio said, feeling the need to defend Lucian. He had been there after the death of their mother and had paid for his schooling. At first he’d meant only to visit Lucian on the island to relax and figure out his life. Then he decided to stay and help manage the rental of several villas Lucian had constructed throughout the island and the exclusive guests allowed to visit or rent them. He wasn’t ambitious. He liked the easy life. Iona had been a surprise. He’d never met a woman like her before.
    Like any man, he’d noticed her immediately, but never thought to pursue anything. It was the tragedy of the fire that had brought them close. She’d bolstered him up when he feared his brother wouldn’t make it through all his surgeries. But most of all she’d assuaged his guilt about losing track of Callia. He’d been careless, and though his brother didn’t blame him, he could feel his brother’s disappointment. But Iona didn’t judge him. She understood that he’d just made a mistake that night. He’d gone drinking and thought Callia was safe.
    Iona had helped him to get over that awful night. There were so many things he didn’t remember that she helped him to accept or that she convinced him to forget. She was an older woman who made him feel like a man. He knew his relationship with her was risky, but he couldn’t help himself. She was his salvation. Plus, he liked how she pressed her full body against him.
    She nibbled his earlobe. “I want you to follow my orders.”
    “Don’t I most times?” he responded, his breathing becoming more rapid with her body pressed close to his.
    Iona suddenly drew away, leaving him aching for more. She did that to him a lot. “Shh, I hear footsteps.” She fixed her hair and he adjusted his shirt.
    Lucian entered moments later and found Basilio standing near the window, while Iona pretended to polish a vase. “Iona, you’re wanted in the kitchen,” he said.
    She nodded, then left.
    “I’d better get going, too,” Basilio said.
    Lucian blocked his path. “Stay away from that trouble.”
    “What?”
    “You heard me clearly.”
    Basilio folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “She’s not a thing. She’s a woman.”
    “And you’re a man and she’s using that fact to her advantage. She’s no good for you. As I said, she’s trouble.”
    “Because she’s part of your house staff?”
    “That’s only one reason. She’s here because she’s a good long-term worker and isn’t superstitious about