I'Ve Got You (13 page)

Kabe swung around. ‘Always … come here.' He held his arm out and Belle moved straight in. ‘I have to inform Marine Rescue that we've located
The Pocket
and have her in tow.'

‘I'll see what Pop has packed for us,' she said, heading for the galley below deck.

Ten minutes later, Belle came through the hatch, with coffee and a couple of large protein bars. She joined Kabe who was still in conversation with Marine Rescue.

‘Good to hear,' a voice crackled. ‘Belle's sister flew in from LA.'

Kabe turned to look at Belle. ‘Yep, she heard.'

‘Anything else?' the man asked.

‘Give a heads-up to Luna Bay Hardware, the supermarket, Donna's Deli, The Bakery; anything Lexie wants, they're to put it on my tab—no argument.'

‘Sure, Kabe, it's done. Watch the rip as you come around the heads, it'll be difficult towing a sloop.'

‘Yep, thanks for the reminder.' Kabe signed off.

Awestruck, Belle stared at him.

‘What … what've I done?' he asked, looking confused.

‘What you just did for Lexie …' Belle blinked up at him, ‘that was sweet of you.'

He gave her a
what-the?
look back. ‘Your sister just flew in from the US, now she doesn't have to worry about exchanging dollars in a small seaside town.'

‘It doesn't matter what you think,
I
thought it was very thoughtful,' she said, handing him his coffee and bar.

‘Hmm … coffee,' he mumbled, rubbing his six-pack.

‘Shut up, Kabe,' she told him on a grin.

Belle shook her head, took a bite of her biscuit, munched and swallowed. Food in her stomach helped ease a weird apprehensive feeling she had. ‘Where does the name Ondine come from?'
Shit—was it an old girlfriend?
Or current one, because what did she know, really? Not that it mattered. Of course it didn't matter because, ultimately, she screwed with his gut, made his chest hurt and made him lose his mind. Her pulse went up a notch just thinking about it.

After a quick scan of the sky, sails and sea, Kabe said, ‘It's Latin, and means “little wave”.' He gave her a knowing look and slowly the corners of his mouth teased her with a grin. ‘No, it's not an old girlfriend.'

‘I never … well maybe a little,' Belle confessed, not embarrassed in the slightest that she was so easily caught out.

Elated, Belle said, ‘That's a perfect name for her.' Relaxing, she peered out to sea, and settled in to enjoy sailing on
The Ondine
.

In the distance, she caught a glimpse of Butterfly Island and suddenly realised something other than his excuses kept her grandfather away from the social interaction he enjoyed. The island was his; no one could take it away from him to develop it, which he desperately didn't want to happen. So what was it? Belle sighed and sat on the stern, legs dangling over the end. Arms on the safety rail, chin resting on her arms, she gazed at the glistening water churning past. Tt had a hypnotic effect, which made it impossible to think clearly.

Kabe hunkered down behind her and wrapped his big, strong arms around her chest, his head resting on her shoulder, when he whispered, ‘Belle, we're nearly home.'

Home?
Kabe saying
we're home
sent a rush through her coupled with a feeling that she belonged, and God it felt so good coming from Kabe. She gathered her wits and muttered, ‘Already!' She brought her legs around to face the cockpit. ‘Ow!' So preoccupied with her thoughts, she hadn't noticed her legs and bottom were numb.

Kabe caught her under the arms and hauled her up, then massaged her bum cheeks and thighs. ‘How's that?'

‘Excellent, thank you,' she said, grinning up at him. His hand resting on her hip pulled her in closer and she snuggled into his side.

Sometime later, Kabe tacked to round an outcropping on the coast then sailed into a beautiful private bay. An enterprising person had built a massive, and what looked to be private, jetty, part of it shaded in an arched canopy with the ‘White Sails' logo printed on the sides.

Belle had seen photos of Kabe's business, but surely this wasn't it. Perhaps he was renting part of it. The place was stunning and beautifully laid out, ready to cater to the most demanding of wealthy tourists.

‘Are we docking here?' Belle leant back against his arm to see his face.

‘Yes, of course.' He dipped his chin and gave her a look back that said,
what did you think?

‘So, obviously you're allowed … you have permission to dock here?'

‘I would hope so since this belongs to Dan, Mum and me.'

‘Crikey!' Belle shaded her eyes and tried to take it all in. ‘Would you mind if I took photos?'

‘Course not; take as many as you want, wherever you want. I might put them on our website.'

Moored along the jetty was a small speedboat, a larger, very powerful looking macho launch, and an enormous catamaran with another interesting name,
Geminis
.

Kabe swiftly furled the sails, something Belle would never tire of watching. He started the engine and manoeuvred alongside the jetty, securing both his yacht and her father's sloop. He leapt onto the jetty and held his hands out ready to catch Belle. She landed with a thump against his chest. Of course he took the opportunity to have a feel, which she adored, and a kiss, which she adored even more. Pretty soon she lost the power of her limbs. He held her up and chuckled with satisfaction.

‘Just you wait,' she told him. ‘I'll get my own back.'

‘I can't wait,' Kabe laughed, and led her to a set of steps cut into a rock face rising up, with pink flowering succulents on either side covering the short distance to a front garden. Belle could just see the roof of a large building rising above the greenery.

They took the steps up a short rise, past lush gardens of low shrubs and climbers and came out to a wide expanse of lawn. Beyond the garden stood a magnificent house, built in three separate wings, all with walls of glass facing the ocean. It sat nestled into the hillside, facing south-east, offering awe-inspiring views of the Whitsunday Islands. The position sheltered them from potential cyclones heading down from the north-east.

‘Wow!' Belle shaded her eyes from the sun. ‘It's very impressive.'

An arc of afternoon sunshine sparkled across the Coral Sea. A cool breeze, with a hint of sweet frangipani perfume, ruffled her hair and caressed her skin.

‘Your house is paradise; you never mentioned any of this. I pictured you and Dan living in cruddy rooms while your tourists were pampered.'

‘Yeah, that was us a couple of years ago. Then we put our heads, and money, together and came up with this pavilion-style living, like they do in Bali … not so cruddy. The tourist reception area is on the other side of a security gate. There's also a separate pathway for tourists to get to the jetty, so they never intrude in our personal space.'

‘House, pavilion?' Belle asked.

‘It's a three-way partnership. Mum, Dan and I live here. It gives us the luxury and peace we need after days of ferrying tourists around the islands. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy what we do, most times tourists are great. But we're always on full alert, watching them, watching the weather, the currents, the stingers, asking them for their own safety, “Please don't do that.” Here, we don't have to account for anyone except ourselves.'

‘I see. It's not all fun on the high seas.'

‘Hell no.' Kabe slid an arm around her waist. ‘Come on I'll show you around.'

They continued along a terracotta-tiled path that meandered through lush tropical gardens of palms, ferns and colourful hibiscus of every description. The garden's designer had made sure nothing he planted would obscure the panoramic views. A flash of sparkling blue caught Belle's attention; she turned to see a lap pool that stretched along the patio. A Balinese pagoda, draped with netting, sat nestled under palms at the far end. Deep within its cool shadows stood a large daybed, scattered with colourful cushions.

‘It's beautiful,' Belle whispered. ‘What a perfect place to lie back and … and read a book, or …' To hell with a book. If she dared, it would be the perfect place on a balmy night to make love with Kabe.

‘
Hmm
.' Kabe came up behind her, nuzzled her ear and murmured, ‘Not a bad idea.'

Goose bumps ran down her neck. She reached back over her shoulder and cupped his cheek. ‘You're wicked; and it's not happening, there's Dan, and above all your
mum!
'

Kabe paused and focused his gaze on her, which made her feel uneasy. She started to fidget with the hem of her shorts, which brought a smile to his face.

‘There are ways around that,' he said, giving her the hottest Babe-I'm-all-yours smile.

‘
Ri-i-ight
,' Belle said on a breath.

Kabe's private domain came closer with every step. The path opened to reveal more ferns and colourful hibiscus surrounding a large expanse of manicured lawn. A patio ran along the front of the complex. Shaded pergolas, trailing with crimson and white bougainvillea, separated the three private sections. The architect had designed their home in a blend of styles, Asian with an Australian bent. Floor-to-ceiling glass folding doors opened living areas to the outside. The decor inside the cool house was mostly Indonesian, which included rattan settees and vibrant colourful cushions clustered around a chunky timber coffee table.

‘It's beautiful.' Belle slowly turned full circle. ‘You've created a special place for yourselves. I feel like I've been transported to Bali.'

‘Dan and I wanted tasteful, but masculine, and this is what we ended up with. I like it. We're comfortable.'

‘Talking about comfort, I'd better ring Lexie, and see if I can stay with her at the motel by the river. I hear it's still nothing flash, but that's okay, it's only to sleep,' she said.

Kabe stopped and turned Belle to face him. ‘Listen,' he whispered, touching his forehead to hers, ‘now that I've had a taste of you, I don't want you anywhere else but in my bed, holding you close, feeling your skin, knowing you're safe … being inside you, feeling you …' Voice deep, he added, ‘Watching you come.' His intense look and tone to his words hit her right in the chest, then like an electric spark fired all her sensitive parts … one in particular.

Oh my God!
‘Wow … you really know how to rock my world,' she whispered, and had to swallow a couple of times before she could go on. ‘And as long as I'm not in your way, you can talk to me like that … later. But—but first, Lexie's in town, and …'

‘Belle …' he started, hands on either side of her neck. ‘You never were and never will be in my way.' The corners of his mouth tweaked up, as he went on, ‘On the contrary, you've taught me a lot.'

‘Oh?' Belle was a little surprised. ‘Like what?'

Kabe paused, his gentle eyes drifting over her face. ‘You're a master at multi-tasking, you snorkel, dig out a yacht and feed fish all at the same time. You know how to appreciate a wild orchid, how to relax by a campfire … how to take things in your stride … how to survive.' He smoothed her furrowed brow with his thumb. ‘What's that for?' he asked.

‘I promised Lexie the next time we were together, we'd talk.'

‘Ah,' he nodded. ‘That doesn't include sleeping with her, does it?'

‘No, but it could get late. We haven't talked in depth for a while. I think we'll need a bottle of wine, or two. She'd be pissed off with me if I didn't give her my time.'

His hands slid around her neck, he dipped his head and locked eyes with hers, then continued, ‘Take all the time you need with Lexie, but when you're done, sleep with me … yeah?'

She pulled a face, saying, ‘I can't share a bedroom and your bed right near your mum's and Dan's bedrooms.'

Kabe chuckled. ‘Chill,' he said, and stroked her arms. ‘There's a central kitchen where our cook gets meals ready. We meet in the common living and dining room. It's the perfect place to relax and discuss our current business, otherwise we hardly see each other. We each have a two-bedroom unit, all separate and private.' Arms around her, he waited.

The ring of stilettos and a familiar voice singing out ‘Belle!' echoed around the courtyard, then Lexie ran out of the shadows.

‘Lexie!' Arms open wide, Belle headed for her sister. This emotional rollercoaster was taking its toll and Belle couldn't stop her mouth from trembling, she blinked back her tears and gulped back a sob. Hugging and being hugged by Lexie felt bloody fantastic. ‘It's so good to see you.'

‘My plan was to surprise you with a visit next month and then we both go and see Pop. God, Sis, you were off on your own, and shit happened so I changed my flights.' Then Lexie gave her the whole story of meeting Kabe's friend, Dan Peterson, at the Luna Bay boat harbour. How Dan thought he had met the girl of his dreams and how Lexie had rolled her eyes at him. ‘Apparently, Dan talked to Marilyn who suggested I use her guestroom. Don't ask me when all this happened, because I have no idea, but I'm thinking it also has something to do with you, Kabe.' Lexie wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a huge smooch on the cheek. ‘I haven't had to pay for anything in town, don't worry, I haven't bought a truckload and I kept a list. Okay, now if you could just let Belle go for a little while,' she said, head inclined, ‘We're overdue for a
long
chat.'

‘Sure, but don't you want something to eat first?'

‘Yes please,' Belle said. ‘All I've had is a couple of health bars.'

* * *

‘I couldn't eat another bite. The mango sorbet was the perfect end.' Belle sipped the last of her wine.

Lexie blew out an audible sigh. ‘Phew! I need to walk this off. Coming, Belle?'