To Tame a Tycoon (11 page)

And then she saw it.  A rope hanging off the other end of the dock. 
Dear God, please let it be long enough
.  She dashed over and grabbed it then dragged it up, the entire length of it, and ran back to the other side.  To her relief it was just long enough to hand down to where Rico could reach it.

“Pull yourself up with this,” she shouted.  “Quick.”  She was watching the boat and it was bobbing dangerously close to Rico’s head.

He looked up, hair plastered down on his head and almost covering his eyes.  When he saw the lifeline he grabbed it and tugged, then in one swift move he let go of the boat mooring  and grabbed this new line with both hands.  He pulled up, his muscles straining as he fought the sucking water.  Then he was climbing up and out of the water until finally he collapsed onto the deck.

“Rico.”  Asia reached for him.  “Thank God.”

Now he was moving again, pushing himself up with his arms.  “Asia,” he said, still panting from his efforts, “we have to get off the dock.  Not safe.”

She nodded and bent down to help him to his feet then she threw his arm over her shoulder and supported him as they hurried back to the shore.

She looked around.  Where could they go?  There was nowhere to shelter, nowhere to hide.

“The lightning,” Rico said, his voice still breathless.  “Stay away from the tall trees.  Try to find…low bushes where we can shelter.”

She did as he said and led him to a copse of thick bushes that were not too close to the trees.  There they sheltered from the whipping wind and stinging rain, clinging to each other for what little warmth they could find.

Asia didn’t know how long the storm lasted.  It could have been one hour, it could have been four.  She’d lost all sense of time.  But when the winds finally died down and the rain ceased she was exhausted.

She looked down at Rico and his head was still resting on her chest, his eyes closed, his arms wrapped around her.  She frowned.  He couldn’t be asleep, could he?  In all this?

“Rico,” she whispered.  “It’s gone.”

“Hmm,” he groaned.

“The storm, it’s gone,” she said more firmly.  “We have to go check on the boat.”

“Oh,” he said, then stifled a yawn.

“Were you sleeping?”  she asked.  “You were, weren’t you?  Typical man.  Guys can sleep through anything.”

She pushed him off her chest, denying him any further use of her body as a headrest.

He put up his hands and rubbed his eyes, looking for all the world like a child waking from slumber.  Then as she stood he blinked up at her like an owl.

“Come on, Rico,” she said, annoyed at his slouchy behavior.   “We have to go check on the boat.  You’re acting all cozy and comfortable like you’re in your bedroom.  We’re on a deserted island, remember?”

Rico blinked again, then he squinted up at her.

That made her even angrier.  The man hadn’t moved an inch.  “You know what, I’ll go check on the boat myself.”  She turned and marched away.  She wasn’t going to wait on a man who didn’t seem to understand the seriousness of their situation.

“Asia?”

She heard Rico call her name but she kept on walking.  “Asia, please.  I need you.  I…can’t see.”

What the hell?  That stopped her in her tracks.  Had something happened to Rico in the water?  Had he suddenly gone blind?

She turned and ran back to where she’d left him by the bushes.  She dropped to her knees and stared into his face. “Rico?  Are you alright?”

He blinked then squinted, the effort making his brows furrow.  Then he smiled.  “I can see you now.  I’m okay.”

That floored her.  Didn’t he just say he couldn’t see?  “What kind of game are you playing?”  she demanded.  “First you can’t see then you can see.  Which is it?”

He raised his eyebrows and gave a boyish pout.  “Both, I’m afraid.  I’m severely myopic.  Can’t see a thing past my nose.”

“But you don’t even wear glasses.”

“Yes, I do.  But only at home.”  He shrugged.  “I wear contact lenses the rest of the time.”

Now Asia understood.  “You lost your contacts in the water.”

Rico nodded then he dropped his eyes and dug his fingers into the sand.  He crushed the sand in his hand and did not look up again.

Asia dropped to the ground and sat beside him.  Just before he dropped his eyes she’d seen a look flash across his face, a look that told her he felt helpless and he hated it.  He was probably so used to being in control he had no idea how to handle being dependent on someone else.

She stared out at the ocean, bluish gray but surprisingly calm, then she said, “Have you ever thought of laser correction?”

He shook his head.  “I don’t want anyone shooting lasers into my eyes.  What if they make me go blind?”

“Rico, I can’t believe you think that way.  This is the twenty-first century. Hundreds of people have that surgery done every day.”

“Surgery,” he repeated.  “Not on
my
eyes.  Never.”

She shook her head in exasperation.  “You are so old school.  Everybody is doing it.”

“Let them.  I won't.”  His tone was obstinate.

Asia sighed but she didn’t say another word on the subject.  She could tell that no amount of arguing would make him change his mind.  She wouldn’t even waste her time.

She got up and tried to brush the sand from her bottom.  Not an easy task when the sand was stuck to damp clothing. “Well, you stay here while I go check on the boat.”

“I’m coming with you,” he said, and pushed up from the ground to stand beside her.

“But you can’t see a thing,” she objected.

“And that’s why I’m not letting you leave me here.  Anywhere you go, I go.  And besides, I’ve got to stay close to you,” he said.  “Make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Look who’s talking,” she scoffed.  “The man who traveled miles out to sea with one pair of contact lenses and no spare.”

That shut him up fast.  Asia saw his lips tighten and the expression on his face told her he was pissed.  She didn’t care.  He was used to reprimanding his workers.  Let him get a taste of his own medicine for a change.

Before she could move Rico set off by himself, his head down, eyes squinting at the ground right in front of his toes.  He moved steadily but slowly, obviously unable to see much farther ahead.  She could guess what he was going through.  Everything ahead must be one blurry mass.  He probably couldn’t even see the boat in the distance.  But she’d wounded his pride and that pride would not make him stop and wait for her help.

Well, let him go.  If he wanted to march off blindly and fall into a hole then that was his problem.

The thought had hardly registered in her mind when she saw Rico stumble.  Her heart lurched but he righted himself and kept on going.

Enough was enough.  She ran to him and grabbed his arm.  He shook her off.

“Will you stop?”  She grabbed his arm again.  “You’re acting like a child.  Now hold my hand.”

It was a good thing Rico couldn’t see his own face.  His mouth was set in a mutinous pout that made her want to smile, but she kept her face serious.  Asia slipped her hand in his and began to walk beside him.  She guided him around a patch of sharp rocks and onto the smoother sections and so they walked until they were finally back at the dock.

“Is the boat alright?”  Rico asked as he stared ahead.

She was sure he could see the boat or at least the big white form of it but he probably couldn’t see any finer details.  She let go of his hand.  “I’ll go check.”

“Wait.  I don’t want you going in.  It might be dangerous.”  He squinted hard then shook his head in obvious frustration.  “Just stay on the dock and look.  You have to be careful.”

She walked to the end and peered at the boat as it now bobbed gently in the water that looked peaceful and innocent as if it hadn’t been battering that same boat against the planks just hours before.

“So far, so good,” she said.  “I haven’t seen any damage.”

He nodded, obviously pleased with the news. 

“I’m going on board, okay.  I want to see if the engine still works.”

He frowned at that.  “What did I tell you, Asia?’

“But Rico, how will we know that the boat is really alright?  We can’t just stand here all day watching it.”  She folded her arms across her chest.  “Let’s just be sensible about this.  I’m going on board.”

As she watched his face it went from adamant to frustrated to resigned.  “Alright,” he said grudgingly, “but be careful.”

She didn’t wait for him to change his mind.  Carefully holding on to the edge she climbed into the boat, her sandaled feet sloshing in the water that had gathered at the bottom.  She only hoped the boat hadn’t sprung a leak.  She checked around for damages or holes but could find none.  All that water in the boat had probably sloshed over the side in the storm.

Now to check the engine.  She looked up at Rico.  “Do you have the key?”

He dug into his pocket and stretched out his hand to her.

She inserted the key and when she turned the engine it kicked in immediately.  “Yes,” she cheered and grinned up at him.  “Problem solved.”

She could see the relief wash over his face.  But then his face clouded over and he shook his head.  “Not quite.  I can’t see, remember?”

“I can.  All you have to do is give me the instructions and I’ll get us home.”

He shook his head.  “I don’t think so.  It’s better if we stay put.  My people will know where I am.  They’ll come.”

Then a thought came to her.  “Hey, where’s your cell phone?”

He patted the pockets of his jeans.  “Gone.  Lost in the water.  It wouldn’t have worked from here, anyway. No cell towers.  Try the boat radio.”

She tried it, turning knobs, shouting into it, listening.  She shook her head.  “Nothing but static.”

“It must be the storm.  Come on out, then.  Let's just go back up the beach and wait.”

“Hey, don’t we even vote on it?  Why do you automatically assume we do things your way?”

“Because I’m the man and I’m responsible for your safety.”

“What?  That’s so chauvinistic.”

“That may be,” he said, “but we’re safer on land rather than floating around in the ocean with a navigator who can’t even read the instruments.”

Asia admitted defeat then.  She certainly did not want to be lost out in the middle of the big blue sea.  “Well, monsieur,” she said with a wry grin, “I guess you're stuck with my company for a few more hours.”  He was smiling at her so she guessed he didn’t mind.

She hopped out of the boat and back on to the deck then took Rico’s hand.  Together they walked back to shore where Rico plopped down on a sandy bank while Asia went off, but not too far away, to see if she could find where their blanket and picnic basket had gone.

Within a couple of hours of their setting up camp - lying on the damp blanket that Asia found and eating the rest of the food that, happily, had survived the storm - they heard the roar of a motorboat in the distance.  As Rico had predicted, his personal staff had arranged a search party as soon as the storm lifted.

As they boarded the rescue boat Asia looked back on the island, so peaceful and then so passionate, and in her heart was a twinge of sadness.  It was here that she’d found a new connection with Rico.