Caribbean Casanova by Jenna Bayley-Burke

Author:Jenna Bayley-Burke
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Under the Caribbean Sun#2
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2013-03-26T10:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Holly peered up the darkened staircase and gripped the carved mahogany railing, trepidation rising with each step. Natural light flooded the seaward elevation of Harm’s house from the windowed façade, but the inland side was dark and shadowed, much like the man himself.

He’d never invited her upstairs, always meeting her in the open and airy great room. She’d thought to call out from below, but curiosity led her into Harm’s private lair. If he came downstairs, she’d never know what he kept hidden.

The landing launched a long hallway of closed black doors and gallery-framed black and white photographs leading to a soft pool of light shining from beyond the far corner. Family photographs, she guessed examining each one as she went by. Most were shots of three boys, and she could spot Harm in his big-brother stance, arms always around the younger two. The boys grew up as she passed, sometimes flanked by a man with Harm’s face and Joe’s blond hair and a beautiful raven-haired woman with dark smiling eyes.

A gorgeous, happy family that seemed to sadden as she went on. The parents disappeared from the pictures, Harm seemed to wither away as his brothers filled out. In a group shot of a dozen people she recognized a knobby-kneed Saskia and Dutch, both smiling and happy. Her blood chilled, barely recognizing a gaunt, sickly Harm.

He’d said he’d been in pain, in hospitals, and she could only imagine what horrors had caused his state. She moved forward, glad she knew he’d come out of that dark place strong enough to conquer any demon, medical or otherwise. Yet he didn’t seem to heal, not through graduation photos or an event that found all three Prinsen brothers in tuxedos.

Even the final picture, a more recent shot of him and his brother on Joe’s sailboat, didn’t show the Harm she knew. At least not the body. The domineering stare and powerful confidence shone through, and while his bare chest held definition, it wasn’t the brawn he now displayed. Even his hair seemed thinner.

Like putting together a puzzle without the picture on the box to go by, every time she thought she had him figured out, it ended up that she had it upside down. He’d been through something, triumphed over some physical adversity that had her admiring him all the more.

She’d stepped onto Anguilla thinking she knew all about Harmannus Prinsen thanks to his bullish playboy reputation. And he’d schooled her on just how wrong she’d been. She wanted to know him. Not just from morbid curiosity about what caused his sickly appearance and hospital stays, but how he’d overcome it. How he’d released the anchors that held him back and become such a powerful physical force.

A pool of honeyed light spilled around the far corner. She stepped into it and turned and her eyes widened and breath stilled in her chest. She tilted her head back to take in the glorious sight and her cheeks lifted in a smile.

Bookshelves towered to the two-story ceiling, the muted colors of thousands of book spines filling the space.

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