Navy SEAL’s Virgin Lover (12 page)

“He approached me by the pool. Said he had some good stash and if I wanted in I just had to give the word.” She tried to repeat the conversation word for word, frowning in concentration. “Then his bag caught fire, and that’s when I saw a light flash in Sophie’s room and we discovered that our rooms had been burgled, remember?” She glanced over at Ram, who stood staring down at the German with a stony face.

“I remember,” he said slowly.

Ram wondered about the odds of this piece of slime targeting Erin on the day they’d met. A piece of his past encountering his future. The only problem was, how to get rid of the guy now? Greediness had made the young druggie both reckless and clueless, and he was obviously of no further use to them. If he let Burke handle things, they might get into more trouble than the young thug was worth. On the other hand, if he didn’t let Burke handle him, he would run to his employers and warn them about his plans. In both cases they were sunk.

“We have to call the police,” interrupted Erin his train of thought. “They probably know him. Perhaps they’ve been chasing this guy for years and we finally caught him.”

Her face revealed an almost childlike innocence, and Ram felt pained at the thought of having to tell her the truth. Not now, he decided. Perhaps not ever.

“Better take him to the cops yourself,” he quickly suggested to Burke. “We don’t want the police crawling all over us, honey,” he explained to Erin. “You don’t know what they’re like. Corrupt as hell. They won’t leave us in peace until they’ve had their fill.”

“But… You’re rich, aren’t you, Ram? Perhaps you can give them some money and they’ll lock this man up for the rest of his life?”

Burke’s lips twitched but Ram wasn’t amused. If there was anything he didn’t need right now, it was the attention of the cops. The moment they discovered he had no visa, they’d make his life a living hell, money or no money.

“Trust me, honey. It’s better if we take the problem to the police instead of the other way around.”

She nodded, though not completely convinced.

Burke took a firm grip on the guy’s collar and raised his eyebrows questioningly. “So… to the cops?”

Ram considered for a moment. “Local cops, Burke, not the feds, all right?”

His friend grinned, easily catching his drift. The benefit of a long friendship. A single word sometimes sufficed.

“Consider it done,” grunted Burke, and unceremoniously lifted the burglar up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, then carted him out.

“See you in a bit,” he said before stepping outside with his charge.

“See you, Burke. Thank you for taking care of this.” The two men exchanged a meaningful glance, and then the big guy was gone.

Erin stood staring after the burly soldier with a puzzled expression. She wondered what the odds were that this German would first accost her at the hotel and now again here.

Suddenly she wheeled around to face Ram, that frown still firmly in place. “Did you know that guy, Ram?”

He continued innocent. “Who, the drug dealer? Nope. Never seen him before in my life.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. Was he speaking the truth? She didn’t know him well enough yet to tell, though she had the distinct impression he wasn’t.

For some reason, the idea that both Ram and Burke were well acquainted with the young man had taken root in her mind, and she found it hard to shake.

But why would they lie to her? And why would they be friendly with a drug dealer?

It was a mystery, and one she found quite baffling. Then she decided not to dwell on it for the moment. Her stomach told her she was starving. So she spirited a smile on her face and took Ram’s arm. “Let’s go out, honey. I can’t wait to see that restaurant you told me about.”

Relief was clear on his face, and she knew she was right about him lying to her. She’d find out soon enough, she thought, and as they stepped out into the night, she took a deep breath of fresh sea air, and wondered not for the first time what had happened to her friend Sophie.

A sudden bark had Erin look up. A big old dog came trotting up from the direction of the beach and went straight for her.

She’d heard stories of strays in India. Mangy, starving creatures that didn’t hurt a soul, so she wasn’t scared even if this one was easily twice as big as some of the others she’d seen.

As the dog pushed its snout in her crotch, she giggled but didn’t budge.

“Sam!” cried Ram in dismay.

“You know him?”

“Her. She’s a stray that showed up here a couple of days ago. Been a regular visitor since.”

She crouched down and frisked Sam’s neck. “She’s lovely.” As she looked in the dog’s melancholy eyes, she thought she detected a hint of curiosity. As if the dog was assessing her, figuring out who she was. “You’re a sweet old dog, aren’t you?” she cooed, sliding her hand along her flank. Patches of fur had been ripped out, probably in a fight, and she thought she’d never seen a sadder looking specimen. Her heart bled at the thought of this poor creature out there on her own, fighting for her life and survival.

She looked up at Ram. “We need to adopt her, Ram. Otherwise who knows what’ll happen to her out there.”

He laughed, and she started indignantly.

“What? I adopted her and then she ran off again.”

“She must have misunderstood,” she murmured as she dug her fingers behind Sam’s ears. The dog plunked down on her haunches and closed her eyes, clearly enjoying the treatment. She gave a soft bark of appreciation.

“Misunderstood? What’s there to misunderstand? I gave her food and left my door open so she could come in.”

“You didn’t talk to her, Ram. You should have asked her.”

“Asked her what?”

“Her name,” she explained simply.

“I did name her. Her name is Sam.”

Erin cocked her head, studying the dog. “I don’t think so. She doesn’t look like a Sam to me. I bet you didn’t ask properly.”

“Well, you ask her, then. Perhaps she’ll tell you.” He’d crouched down beside her to pet the creature.

She closed her eyes, thinking hard. “Mh… What about… Sylviana?”

The dog’s eyes flashed open and she gave a short bark.

“See?” she said triumphantly. “She agrees.”

Ram still looked dubious. “Which means?”

“Which means she’s ours now. She’s our dog.” She threw her arms around the newly christened Sylviana’s neck. “Oh, isn’t it wonderful, Ram? We have our own dog now, to protect and serve.”

“You make him sound like a cop. She’s just an old mutt, honey. All she wants is food and shelter.”

“Then that’s what we’ll give her. And in return she’ll shower us with love and undying devotion.”

Ram laughed at so much girlish enthusiasm, but he still petted the creature on the noggin. He’d heard of dog lovers, but hadn’t known it extended to this. Sure, he loved dogs as much as the next guy, but Erin being Erin, she had to take it to the next level. Watching her cuddle the mangy mutt, he felt a warmth spread through his being, thawing his lonely heart. It wasn’t just the dog who would love her with a devotion bordering on passion, he thought. He would too.

The dog didn’t leave their side for the rest of the evening, and he decided it would be best if they stayed off the big thoroughfare with all the restaurants and clubs and confine themselves to a more quiet place. He didn’t want to cause any trouble by bringing this big brute of a dog inside. Even if she was the sweetest thing in the world, she still looked quite scary.

He finally settled for a nice little seafood restaurant standing back a ways from the road. He’d been there before, and the food was always delicious. Fairly unknown to tourists, it was frequented mostly by locals.

Drawing out a chair, he admired Erin’s lithe frame in the simple floral dress she’d chosen for their first real date. She looked youthful and fresh-faced, and once again he extended a quiet thanks to whoever was up there who had crossed his path with hers.

Erin looked around the place. It was simple and far from elegant. Just a bare room with a half dozen rickety tables with faded plastic covers and a mishmash of chairs, not a single matching pair amongst them. Mosquito repellent candles had been placed on the tables, as had hand-written menu cards that had been thumbed by many patrons and were smudged with food and drink.

Nevertheless, she loved it, for Ram was here, and this was their first real date.

“How’s the food here?” She was starving.

He grinned. “You’re in for a treat. This place is one of the best-kept secrets. Known mostly to locals, tourists only stumble upon it by accident, just like I did the first time I came here. It may not look like much, but they’ve got a great chef.

A thought occurred to her. “Did your parents ever come here?”

“I wouldn’t know. Probably not. These places come and go and this one probably didn’t even exist back in the day when they used to come out here.”

“Perhaps they did,” she said with shining eyes. “Perhaps they sat across from each other like we are now and whispered words of love across this flame.”

Ram smiled, and placed his hand on hers. “Perhaps they did.”

“And perhaps after such a night like this one, they returned to their cabin and made love, just like we will when we return.”

He gazed into her eyes for the longest moment, then, and thought he’d never seen a more beautiful sight, the light of the candle sparking dots of liquid gold. “Perhaps they did,” he whispered, their fingers lacing together on the tabletop.

“And that’s when you were conceived, Ram. And that’s when our child will be conceived. Tonight, when we make love, we’ll start our future together, just like your parents did one night many moons ago.”

He found himself nodding, as he drowned in her eyes, and agreeing with every word she’d just spoken. Yes, he wanted to father a child with her. Yes, he wanted for them to be together, not just this night but every night from now on until the end of their lives.

He knew then that he’d already decided. Perhaps she had for him, but he wholeheartedly agreed. His old life was officially over, his hopes and dreams a thing of the past. He’d tell Burke his help was no longer required, his plans irrevocably changed.

“Tonight,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss on her fingers. “Tonight our future begins.”

By the time the evening drew to a close, she was straining at the leash to return to ‘their’ cabin and turn the night into a festival of love, celebrating the start of her new life—
their
new life. Together.

She’d quietly hoped he’d propose to her over dinner, but that had been too much to expect from a first date. She had to remind herself that all this was still new to him, and though she knew—simply knew—that they were meant to be together, he needed more time to adjust and she graciously accepted that and decided to grant him all the time he needed.

She’d purposely held off pondering the practical consequences of their unexpected union, not wanting to let her mind get lost in minutiae and allow doubts to creep in, but she couldn’t help wonder where they’d live once her holiday was over, or what she’d do there. She instinctively felt Ram had some unfinished business here in India, but once that was taken care of, he’d probably want to take her back home with him, and that was fine with her.

She simply couldn’t imagine Ram settling down in dreary old Belgium, and the adventure of joining him in the States frankly exhilarated her. She’d always dreamed of one day living in that vast country across the ocean, and perhaps now that opportunity had finally opened up to her.

To be fair, it didn’t really matter where they’d live once they were married, as long as they would be together. Married… The first time she’d allowed her mind to dwell on that possible scenario for her future, she’d shivered with exhilaration mixed with a wave of nervous anxiety.

Did he even want to get married? Did he even love her to that extent? And what if he wasn’t the marrying kind? What if he’d been married before and the experience had put him off the sacred bond forever?

She knew she was just being silly, wallowing in her innocent dreams, like Sophie always said, but she so wanted to have the dream—to have it all. The man, the wedding, the family…

She just hoped he wanted all that as well, and not merely as a way to placate her until such time as he decided to come clean and tell her marriage simply wasn’t in the cards and nor was a family.

Her heart was thumping in her chest as they returned to the cabin, holding hands and enjoying the lingering heat of the night. Lights flickered alongside the road, and when finally they reached the road leading to the cabins, she was suddenly so nervous she could hardly utter a word.

Ram hadn’t spoken for the last five minutes, and she wondered now what he’d been thinking about. Was he having second thoughts about this? Did he regret having made his promise to link his lot with hers after this night? She didn’t dare voice the question, lest the answer would crush all her girlish hopes and dreams in one fell swoop.

Just… have a little faith, she told herself. Everything will come out all right in the end…

As Ram caught sight of the familiar fork in the road and they took a right to the beach, he thought back of all the decisions that had led him to this place.

After Mom and Dad had died, his life had never been the same. He’d been in Iraq when it happened, and had only been informed several days after the fact.

He’d been discharged and taken the first plane back, but there was little comfort to be found once returned to the bosom of the family.

No one blamed him, and nor should they. It was his father’s wish to retire in the place he and Mom had met, and when things had turned ugly, the blame had shifted to bad men doing bad things to good people, as was usually the case.

He was a soldier, and this was one truth he knew. The other truth, the one that had kept him alive throughout the ordeal, was one with which most people weren’t as well acquainted. The one of revenge. And not only was he seeped in its truth, he also possessed the means to administer it. The means, the motive and the burning desire to carry it through to the very end.