
      Paradise v2.0


      Author: aria


      Rated: R


      Rating : 


      Chapter 3
      Serena stared miserably across the table. She was in love with the man 
      sitting there. With his girlfriend. His supermodel girlfriend.
      Serena slumped against her seat. Immediately she started mentally counting 
      through her shortcomings most of which were physical and only compared to 
      Mina.
      She had been told that she was lovely. That her hair was beautiful and 
      that she had wonderful skin and, of course, a great personality. But what 
      chance did that have against a woman who was perfect for a living? Serena 
      sighed, she didnt.
      She set her wineglass down and pushed her plate aside. Her appetite had 
      suddenly evaporated.
      "Whats the matter?" Malachite looked at her worriedly. "Motion sickness?" 
      he took her hand.
      Serena eased it out of his grip and stood up waveringly "It might be. I 
      think I need to take a little walk."
      "Ill go with you." He started to get up.
      Serena shook her head. "Its ok. Ill be fine."
      "I insist." He took her hand and led the way around to the side of the 
      boat.
      He led her to the railing and stood back while she leaned up against it.
      Serena took a deep balancing breath and looked out at the horizon and 
      watch the way that the ocean undulated into the setting sun like a giant 
      ribbon in the wind. The fresh air seemed to do her some good, as did the 
      sights before her.
      She pondered her predicament for a moment. What on earth was she going to 
      do? Serena smiled wickedly. She could try and break Darien and Mina up.
      She shook her head. How could she even think of doing something so 
      horrible? They looked pretty happy together and if she did manage to break 
      them up, the guilt would be unbearable.
      Her mind went on, whirring with the possibilities. In the end she settled 
      on the fact that she had to be content with being his friend. And if 
      things progressed from that then they did. If they didnt then they 
didnt.
      She sighed and breathed a little easier. Yup, that was her plan.
      Malachite came beside her then, his hand on the railing next to hers. 
      "Feeling better?" her flawless face wasnt as pinched as it was, so he 
      assumed that she was over whatever was making her ill.
      "Yes. Im feeling a little better." She kept her eyes on the sea. Serena 
      didnt want to risk looking at Malachite in case he could see what was 
      really going on with her.
      "I was thinking that if you wanted..." he stopped and cleared his throat. 
      "If you want, my room is always open to you." He continued without waiting 
      for her to reply. "The other rooms are a little cramped so if you get too 
      confinedwell you know."
      Serena was almost amused at how flustered he was acting. She had never 
      seen him like this. Only now, she didnt find him half as charming as she 
      use to. "Thanks for the offer, Malachite. But I think Raye and I will do 
      fine. We dont need much space. After all we lived together at 
university."
      He nodded. "Yes, I remember the stories." Malachite smiled at her, a sad 
      little smile. "The offer still stands." He paused for a moment, as if he 
      was going to say something else, then walked away.
      Serena stayed there for while longer watching the sun retreat beneath the 
      horizon. When the sky was a deep purple and the air was growing chilly, 
      Serena decided to head back and see what the rest were up to.
      She found Raye hanging over the railing laughing hysterically while Darien 
      and Mina stood behind laughing along with her.
      "What on earth are you doing?" Serena grabbed at her friends flailing 
      legs and dragged her back into the boat.
      They landed on the deck with a plunk.
      Raye was gasping and smiling when she looked up at Serena. "Darien told me 
      that it was fun to hang over the railing and I had to try it out."
      They helped each other up and Serena stared at her friend. "Youre telling 
      me, serious, super sensible, Raye Hanson was hanging off of the railing 
      because it sounded like fun?" Serena couldnt believe it.
      She nodded happily. "Yup! You have to try it!" she tried to shove Serena 
      in the direction of the rail.
      Shaking her head and digging her heels, Serena refused, " I think Ill try 
      it later." She looked at the churning water and thought it was better that 
      she didnt try at all.
      "What about Darien and Mina? Why dont they give it a go?"
      Darien laughed. "I already did. Where do you think she go that technique 
      from?"
      Serena turned to Mina and saw that she paled slightly and shook her head. 
      "No I dont think so." She sat down on the bench and smiled weakly.
      Serena smiled back at her before turning to Darien and Raye. "So what have 
      I missed?"
      "Nothing much." He sauntered over and put his arm casually over her 
      shoulder. "We ate dinner. Sat and talked and now were hanging over the 
      railing." He had a big grin on his face. "And where have you and Malachite 
      been?"
      "I was on the other side. I have no idea where Malachite went."
      Raye arched her brow at her.
      "Really. I dont know what youre talking about." She looked around like 
      she was going to see him. "Hes probably at the helm or something."
      "Probably. Ill go and check." Darien walked off. He leaned over and 
      pecked Mina on the cheek before disappearing around the corner.
      The three women stood silently for a moment just letting the night breeze 
      sweep over them.
      Serena sat down beside Mina, who was looking a little green. "Are you ok?"
      She swallowed audibly, "I will be in a bit." The boat lurched and she 
      grabbed that railing behind her. "Excuse me..." she slapped her hands over 
      her mouth and ran to the nearest bathroom.
      "Oh dear. It looks like shes sea sick."
      Raye nodded in agreement. "Wed better go see if shes ok."
      They found her leaning over the toilet gasping for air.
      Serena helped her up while Raye scrambled for a glass of water.
      "Are you feeling better now?"
      She gratefully took the glass from Raye and took a sip. "Im feeling a bit 
      better. Thank you."
      Serena smiled at the other blonde. "You should probably take something for 
      the motion sickness. Youll be pretty miserable otherwise." She pointed in 
      the direction of the bathroom. "Im sure Malachite has something onboard."
      Shaking her head, she took another delicate sip. "I wish I could. But its 
      not motion sickness." She smiled sheepishly.
      Serena and Raye exchanged a look as they grasped what was going on.
      "Youre pregnant." Suddenly, Serena was the one who felt sick.
      Mina dabbed at her lips with a towel. "Im not positive yet. But Ive been 
      like this for a week now and thats the only plausible explanation."
      Serena leaned weakly against the doorframe but tried to make it look 
      blas. "Have you told Darien yet?" she had to forcibly stop her voice from 
      cracking.
      She looked surprised for an instant, and then shook her head. "No I 
      havent. I want to be sure before I tell him anything. You probably know 
      that hes dying for a family. Id hate to disappoint him."
      Reeling, Serena made herself smile. "Well, thatll be a great surprise for 
      him then." She forced a yawn. "I think Ill head to bed." She patted Mina 
      on the shoulder. "I hope you feel better."
      She stumbled out of the bathroom and across the tiny hall to her and 
      Rayes cabin. Serena pushed the door closed and took a deep breath. That 
      bit of news certainly changed things.
      She definitely couldnt go after him now. Not when Mina was expecting his 
      child.
      Serena got changed and got into bed. Closing her eyes she forced the image 
      of Darien from her mind.
      She woke up sometime during the night and stared at the ceiling. Knowing 
      that sleep would be impossible she sat up and tried to think of something 
      else to do.
      Carefully she crept out of bed and tiptoed the few steps across the room. 
      A quick look over her shoulder told her that Raye was still asleep.
      Serena needed to talk to someone.
      Outside of the room, she jogged down the short hall and knocked on the 
      door.
      "What do you want?" the muffled reply came.
      "Its me, I need to talk." Serena ran her hands over her bare arms.
      The door swept open immediately.
      Malachite was bare-chested and was rubbing tiredly at his eyes. "Serena? 
      Is everything ok? Are you alright?"
      Serena nodded. "Yeah I just needed to talk to someone. I hope you dont 
      mind."
      "Of course not. Come on in." He pulled her in and shut the door. "Whats 
      the matter?"
      Serena shuffled in. she looked at the rumpled bed and her barely dressed 
      ex-fianc and realized that it wasnt such a great idea to go running to 
      Malachite. Obviously she couldnt tell him what was really on her mind, so 
      she made something up off the top of her head. But she drew a blank. "II 
      dont know really. I just couldnt sleep."
      He nodded. "It takes some getting used to." He waved at a chair while he 
      poured himself a drink. "Sit down. Do you want a drink? It might help you 
      sleep."
      She sat down and shook her head. "No thanks." She curled her legs up under 
      her. Leaning back she noticed that they were bobbing on the waves but 
      didnt seem to be moving anywhere. "Are we anchored?"
      Malachite laughed. "Yes, I thought it would be a good idea since Id be 
      asleep." He took a big gulp of the golden liquid then poured himself 
      another. "Were stopped near an island that I thought wed explore 
      tomorrow."
      Serena blushed, barely hearing what he said. Why did he always have to 
      make jokes at her expense? She got up and put up her hands in apology. 
      "Im sorry I woke you up, Malachite. I think Ill go back and try to get 
      some sleep."
      He noticed her uneasiness and put what he thought was a comforting hand on 
      her shoulder. "Please stay."
      His hand moved in a caress over her bare skin.
      Serena cringed. As close as they had been, Serena and Malachite had never 
      gone past kisses in their relationship. "Malachite. Please." She pushed 
      his hand off. "You know that were not together anymore. I dont want you 
      touching me like that, ok?"
      Malachite took a step closer. "I think you do want me to touch you like 
      that. Why else would you come here in the middle of the night?" He took 
      another step forward. "This is why were so good together. Theres always 
      this tension between us."
      Panicking, Serena shoved at his shoulders. The tension had nothing to do 
      with attraction. She realized that days ago. "Malachite, I just wanted to 
      talk."
      He pulled her close. "We are talking."
      Revulsion rose in her throat as she tried to get away. She had been such 
      an idiot to walk straight into the lions den.
      She backed up as far as she could go but when she hit the closet she had 
      to stop.
      Malachite kept advancing until he was close enough for her to smell the 
      alcohol on his breath. The drink she just saw him drink was definitely not 
      the first one hed had that night. His hands went to her clothes, harshly 
      trying to tear at her t-shirt and shorts. And when Malachite tried to kiss 
      her, she slapped him across the face, raking her nails across his cheek. 
      "I said no!" She grabbed the brandy on the table and threw it at him as 
      she ran from him.
      Malachite blocked the glass, sending it to its glittering death on the 
      floor. He swore under his breath and clumsily grabbed at her.
      His drunken movement caught her off guard and sent her falling onto her 
      hands and knees on the broken glass.
      Numb from fear, she got up without hesitation and ran from the room, 
      leaving Malachite trapped behind all the razor sharp shards.
      Tears streaking her face, Serena kept her sobs to a minimum as she ran 
      through the bowels of the boat onto the deck.
      Outside, she gasped for air. Serenas eyes were blurry and she had a hard 
      time seeing where she was going. Swiping at her eyes with the back of her 
      hands, she headed toward the side of the boat where she spent most of the 
      evening.
      She ran to the railing and used it to stop. Everything that she had gone 
      through, breaking up with Malachite, realizing what a mistake she had made 
      getting involved with him and the whole situation with Darien, all came up 
      to the surface. All her emotions came crashing over her now and she 
      couldnt stop the sobs. Overwhelmed, Serena used the barrier as a crutch. 
      The dry, heaving breaths made her throat raw so she had to fight for a 
      breath.
      "Serena?" the soft voice drifted to her ears. "Are you ok?"
      Shivering from reaction, she looked up to see Darien standing not too far 
      from her, still dressed as he was earlier that evening. "DDarien?" Hating 
      how her voice shook, she turned away and stared out at the sea again.
      "Are you ok?" The repeated question was nearer to her now and an arm went 
      around her comfortingly.
      She nodding knowing it was a complete lie. "Im fine."
      "I dont think so." He turned her in his arms and gently held her against 
      him.
      He was so warm and soothing that she turned her face into him, nuzzling 
      his chest. Her mind was telling her that it was wrong, that he was already 
      with someone else; but her body wouldnt respond. It reacted like it was 
      coming home; fitting into his angular planes like she was made for him.
      Serena stood like that for an eternity, just letting his warmth seep into 
      her. A noise of protest escaped from her throat when he pulled away.
      "What happened, Serena?" The darkness of his eyes as they searched hers 
      told her that he wasnt looking for another lie.
      But she didnt want to lie to him. She didnt need to. Serena felt a surge 
      of energy course through her enabling her to fight the need to curl up 
      into a ball and cry. "I couldnt sleep. I think I might have gotten a few 
      hours, but I guess Im not used to the movement." She took a breath. "Well 
      its a little more complicated than that but it still ends with me not 
      being able to sleep."
      He smiled and led her to a bench. "Ok so you couldnt sleep. Weve 
      determined that much."
      Serena smiled a little at his joke. "I needed someone to talk to. So I 
      went across the hall to talk to Malachite."
      An ugly grimace marred Dariens normally handsome features. "Why him? As I 
      remember it he hasnt been all that great to you."
      "I needed to get something straightened out between us."
      Dariens dark brows rose. "Us? You mean you two were a couple?"
      Serena realized what she just revealed and slapped a hand over her mouth. 
      "Dammit!" she started pacing and everything else came out in a rush. "We 
      were engaged. I know it was stupid, well I know that now. But I really did 
      think that he was a nice person. I thought I was in love with him."
      He looked at her sceptically. "And the millions that he stands to inherit 
      makes never no mind to you."
      "That is none of your business!" she grew rigid and glared at him. "Damn 
      you Darien." How could he always see straight through her?
      He ignored her comment. "So what else happened to you? Just the rocking of 
      the boat wouldnt send you into the arms of your ex-fianc."
      "I found out something about someoneand about myself. Andand..." she 
      looked up at him and realized that he had moved closer. So close that she 
      could see every single long eyelash and feel his warm breath on her cheek.
      "Ive been doing some thinking myself," he murmured. Darien leaned closer 
      and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. "Ive been doing a lot of 
      thinking."
      He fingered a length of hair and trailed his finger down her cheek and 
      over the smooth skin of her neck. As if he couldnt help himself he 
      touched his lips to hers. Light delicate butterfly kisses, like he was 
      kissing a dream.
      Serena lifted her face to him, needing more of his touch.
      Darien obliged. Anchoring his hands in her hair, he pulled her to him and 
      kissed the breath out of her.
      She closed her eyes. Serena pressed herself up against him and she kissed 
      him back. Her entire body felt as if it had been engulfed by flames.
      It felt so right, but she knew it was very wrong.
      She clung to him for a moment more before she dredged up every ounce of 
      energy she had to push herself away.
      "No we cant." Darien kept kissing her and she wanted to keep kissing him 
      but she knew that they couldnt. "Darien, please. Stop."
      As much as it hurt her, she shoved him away. "Darien. Dont." she put her 
      hand up when he would have taken her in his arms again. "We cant. You 
      have Mina." She whispered it again as if to convince herself.
      Darien shook his head. "You dont understand."
      She shook her head, "No, you dont." she took a step away so that he 
      couldnt touch her with those wonderful hands of his. "Mina needs you."
      "So do you." He advanced while she retreated again.
      "She needs you more." Serena debated with herself whether or not to tell 
      him and decided she had to. "She needs you because shes going to have 
      your baby."
      Darien stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"
      "Shes pregnant. Or so she thinks." She felt the need to cry again but 
      forced it aside. "She was sick this evening and she confessed that she had 
      been feeling like that for about a week. And, well, theres no other 
      explanation."
      He opened his mouth to say something but they both turned toward the 
      whooshing noise they heard.
      Just in time to see the boom swing over.
      They didnt even have time to scream let alone move. The force was hard 
      enough to knock them both into the water.