
      Paradise v2.0


      Author: aria


      Rated: R


      Rating : 


      Chapter 4
      Serena hit the water with such an impact that the breath was knocked out 
      of her lungs. The shock of the ice-cold water immobilized her for a 
      moment, then self-preservation kicked in and she started to paddle 
      automatically. She bumped into a body as she struggled up to the surface 
      and realized it was Darien. She felt him grab her by the arm and help drag 
      her up to the much-needed air.
      Spluttering, she swiped the water from her eyes and looked at Darien. "Are 
      you ok? What the heck happened back there?" she croaked.
      He shook his head, spitting out some seawater. Darien looked around trying 
      to get his bearings and nodded when he found the boat. The sail was still 
      down but they could faintly hear the motor running. "I think youve got 
      your answer."
      Serena turned herself around and saw that the boat was moving away from 
      them. "Is it moving...Hey! " she started waving her arms and yelling at 
      the watercraft. "Hey! Come back! Man overboard!"
      They both started swimming for the boat. Darien joined in, yelling and 
      swimming until it was too far away for them to catch up to.
      "Now what were we going to do?" Serena felt like screaming in anger and 
      frustration but focussed on treading water, something she hated to do.
      "I dont know." Darien looked along the bobbing horizon trying to look for 
      someplace to go. "We cant float around all night."
      She nodded in agreement. She definitely couldnt do that. Then she 
      remembered, "Malachite mentioned that we were anchored near an island of 
      some sort."
      He still scanned that water, "Did he happen to say where or how far?"
      She shook her head and looked around. The sky was dark and the water 
      darker. With all the movement, it was really hard to determine anything.
      "I think I see something." She turned to see Darien study the waterline a 
      little longer before he nodded. "I think I see it."
      "Come on." He started into a powerful crawl.
      Serena followed, making sure she kept a close eye on him so she didnt 
      lose him in the darkness.
      She swam and swam but it didnt seem that they were making any progress at 
      all. Everywhere she looked all she could see was dark water and dark sky. 
      It all started to meld together after a while so that she could only tell 
      when she was above water by being able to breathe.
      Wave after wave bombarded them, getting worse the closer they got to 
      shore. Another wave hit them, the largest yet. Serena squeezed her eyes 
      shut and held her breath until the worst was over. But instead of being 
      flung into the water again, she hit a cushion of sand.
      Serena lay prone on the beach, letting the wave wash back over her on its 
      way back to the sea. She coughed up the stinging water and the sand out of 
      her lungs. Shakily she pushed herself up and swiped at her tangled hair 
      pushing it out of her face.
      She looked around the moonlit beach for Darien. But she couldnt see him 
      anywhere. Stumbling on wobbly legs she ran a short stretch looking for any 
      sign of him.
      "Darien!" she searched the shoreline but couldnt see him.
      "Darien!" Serena ran back in the direction she came from and looked again, 
      just in time to see him thrown out of a huge wave onto the sand. She 
      shouted his name again as she ran over.
      He was so still that she was afraid that he didnt make it. Serena 
      struggled to push his waterlogged body over, noticing for the first time a 
      sharp twinge in her shoulder whenever she moved it.
      Ignoring the searing pain, Serena struggled on managing to roll him to his 
      side.
      Darien groaned and pushed himself onto his back. He opened his eyes and 
      squinted at her, "Are you ok?"
      She helped him to his feet. "Yeah Im ok." He put and hand on her shoulder 
      to steady himself not knowing how much it hurt her. Wincing, she pushed 
      him off sending him stumbling to the side. "Im sorry!"
      He shook his head dismissing her apology. "Whats wrong?" he came to her 
      side again.
      Serena touched her shoulder gingerly and realized that the boom must have 
      hit her square on the shoulder.
      Darien tried to take a closer look but couldnt see anything in the 
      darkness. "I cant see a damn thing! It hit you in the shoulder didnt 
      it?" he touched it gently and she winced again. Darien swore into the 
      darkness and touched her cheek. "Come on weve got to get dry. Gather as 
      much dry kindling as you can find ok?"
      He immediately went to work while Serena looked around. She found a few 
      twigs here and there. She brought back as much as she could carry in one 
      arm. "Is this enough?"
      Darien dumped a huge armload into the sand. "It should do us for now."
      Serena watched in amazement as he proceeded to light a fire using two 
      rocks and moss. After a couple of false starts, he managed to grow a fire 
      out of smouldering vegetation.
      She knelt down beside him. "Im impressed. I dont suppose you learned 
      that in computer class did you?"
      He chuckled and shrugged. "I admit it. I was a boy scout." He arranged the 
      twigs around the little flame and nursed it into a larger fire before 
      adding the bigger logs to it.
      Serena plopped down next to him and let the warmth weep into her. "Thats 
      a good thing. If it were up to me wed probably be still floundering 
      somewhere in the water." Her words ground to a halt. Darien had been 
      slowly taking of his sodden clothing but it didnt get to her until he 
      pulled off his shirt and she caught a glimpse of his glistening skin 
      underneath. Mesmerized she watched his movements and the way that his 
      muscles moved in the dim light. Then she noticed that his lips were 
moving.
      "I said. Can I take a look at your shoulder now?"
      Serena hadnt even heard him speaking until he looked her straight in the 
      eyes from a few inches away.
      Startled, She jumped back. "Uh, yeah sure."
      Darien didnt seem to notice her discomfort. Or the shivers skittering 
      through her when he pushed the shirt aside so that he could take a better 
      look at her injured shoulder.
      He whistled through his teeth. The bruise looked quite nasty but it was 
      the extent of the damage. Nothing looked broken or dislocated. "You have a 
      nasty bruise but Im pretty sure youll live. Just rest it and itll be as 
      good as new in no time." Darien looked up and the smile evaporated off of 
      his face. Serena was so close to him and she was staring him straight in 
      the eyes. Eyes that were the same colour as his but couldnt be a more 
      different shade of blue. She looked at him with such trust and awe and 
      little something else, if he dared admit it to himself.
      He watched the firelight flicker over her features and noticed for the 
      first time how beautiful she really was. Without all the make up, without 
      her hair done up. Even with eyes a little puffy from the salt water, she 
      looked incredible.
      Dariens gaze glided down over her smooth skin and fine features to her 
      lush perfectly pouting lips and he remembered what it felt like to have 
      them touching his. The need to have them there again was so overwhelming 
      that he didnt even bother trying to stop his head from bending down to 
      capture them against his again.
      She saw him staring at her lips just as she was staring at his. It seemed 
      that his was just as affected by the kiss earlier as she was. And he was 
      about to do it again.
      Serena knew that it was wrong. He had a girlfriend. She was pregnant with 
      his baby. And...and...It was just so wrong. She took a look at his deep 
      eyes and the way his long lashes framed them then back to his soft, full, 
      beckoning lips. But dammit, she really needed him to kiss her right now.
      Serena closed her eyes. Just this one last time and you wont let him do 
      it again. Her conscience was telling her she was being nave but the rest 
      of her wouldnt listen.
      She could feel his breath warm her cheek before anything else. Then his 
      hands sliding down her back, pulling her close. Serena wanted nothing more 
      that to melt into his embrace. A hand came up and stroked her cold cheek.
      Serena opened her eyes then to look into his. She could see desire 
      reflected back at her there. Passion darkened them even more than usual. 
      And she found herself being drawn in.
      Darien touched his lips to hers tentatively at first, then more fiercely 
      as the sensations turned the heat in his gut into a raging inferno. God 
      she was addictive. He felt her hands go into his hair as she kissed him 
      with everything in her.
      He tried to pull her closer so he could deepen the kiss even more but she 
      shoved him away.
      "Whats wrong?" His breathing was laboured and he could barely get the 
      question out.
      Serena shook her head; she didnt trust herself to speak. She jumped away 
      from him like a spooked horse when he reached for her again.
      Darien couldnt understand. One second she was sensuous and the next she 
      was separating herself from him like he had some disease. "Talk to me."
      Serena hated herself for wanting him so much. But she looked him straight 
      in the eyes and lied. "Im not that attracted to you." Yeah right! If he 
      kissed her again she wouldnt be able to push away from him again.
      "Bull." Darien stared straight back her, daring her to lie to him again. 
      "You felt it too admit it."
      Her chin tipped up a little. "I felt nothing."
      "Youre a damn liar." He grabbed her to him and proceeded to kiss the 
      breath out of her.
      Serenas entire body liquefied as he continued the onslaught on her 
      senses. And when he finally pulled back from his sensual assault on her 
      she found herself lying on his lap.
      "Now tell me you didnt feel anything." he grinned down at her in triumph.
      Serena scrambled off of his lap and glared at him. "I cant believe you!"
      "What did I do that was so wrong?" he smiled smugly. "If your appearance 
      has anything to say, its that I did something very, very right." He moved 
      closer to prove his point again.
      Serena shuffled back ungracefully on her bottom through the sand. He 
      couldnt touch her again. "Youre a jerk. How could you do this to Mina?"
      His eyebrows rose. "So thats what this is all about." Darien pushed 
      closer while she slide back even more. "Are you telling me that you are so 
      principled that you wont kiss me even though you want me because I have a 
      girlfriend? One thats not anywhere near here." His voice was low and 
      gravely.
      Serena nodded. "You jerk! You have a girlfriend. You cant do this to 
      her." She hated the way her voice shook. She backed herself up against the 
      rough bark of a palm tree.
      Darien grinned at her. That devastating smile sent waves of anticipation 
      and longing crashing through her.
      He moved so that she could feel the warmth radiating from him. "What," he 
      fingered her hair. "If I said that your principles werent in any danger?"
      Serena forced herself to ignore the way that her body was rebelling 
      against her. "What are you talking about?"
      "Minas not my girlfriend."
      Her eyes flashed. "And Im supposed to believe that? Please."
      "Its true." He pulled out his waterlogged wallet from his pocket. His 
      long fingers fished around inside for a moment before pulling a limp photo 
      out.
      Serena recognized it as the picture he showed Malachite in his office. She 
      watched him unfold it. She had been to upset the other time to notice that 
      it was folded over. The arm around Minas shoulder didnt belong to 
      Darien. It belonged to a tall blonde man who was smiling tenderly at her.
      "Whos that?" she croaked.
      He saw the look of despair start to lift from her and his smile grew even 
      broader. "That is Minas fianc and my best friend Andrew. Theyve been 
      having a few problems, which is why she is staying with me at the moment. 
      But now that she s pregnant Im sure Drews going to be thrilled."
      He handed her the photo so she could read the back of it.
      Hey Dare, having a great time in St. Barts.
      Drew and Mina
      Her head was spinning. "So shes not your girlfriend?"
      He shook his head.
      "Shes not going to have your baby?"
      "Nope."
      The ton of guilt was suddenly airlifted off of her shoulders. This was 
      fabulous! But she was curious. "Why did you lie to me then?"
      His confident smile grew a little sheepish. "Would you believe I wanted to 
      make you jealous?"
      Serena almost started laughing. It certainly worked all right. "You did 
      that for me?"
      "What else could I do? You werent paying any attention to me. Of course I 
      guess I could blame Malachite for that."
      She saw a little sparkle in his eyes and knew that he had known about 
      them. "How long did you know?"
      "About what?" he asked innocently.
      "Me and Malachite."
      "Well you guys didnt exactly make it hard for me to figure out. Or anyone 
      else for that matter. But what I want to know is why him? Hes got to be 
      at least ten or fifteen years older than you. You two couldnt possibly 
      have anything in common." He studied her again. "Its the money isnt it?"
      Serena rolled her eyes. "Cant you believe for one second that I fell for 
      him because of him and not because of his money?" She waited for his 
      answer.
      "Nope. There is no way someone like you could be attracted to someone like 
      him." He stated it like it was plain fact.
      Serena sighed. He had her. "Im not proud of myself. But I had to."
      He was puzzled now. "Had to? Why?"
      She got up and started pacing. "My childhood wasnt exactly easy. We never 
      had the things that other families had. My parents had to scrimp and save 
      just to get the money to buy groceries." She shuddered thinking how much 
      her parents suffered just to make a good life for her. "I never asked for 
      anything. Not one thing. But every Christmas they managed to get me 
      something spectacular like a bike or a fancy doll." Serena smiled 
      wistfully thinking of how magical it was on that one day. How she could 
      pretend to be like everyone else.
      He leaned up against the tree; things were starting to become clear now.
      But Serena hadnt noticed him moving and continued talking. "I swore that 
      when I got out of school and had a career that I would never let something 
      like that happen to me ever again. Not to me and not to my parents."
      "So you were going to marry that man for your parents." Darien grabbed her 
      arm and stopped her from walking past him again. "You were willing to be 
      miserable for the rest of your life so you wouldnt be poor? Youre just 
      trading one evil for another."
      She snorted. "What else can I do? If you hadnt noticed I dont exactly 
      make a lot of money."
      "And money is supposed to make you happy? Look at Malachite and tell me 
      hes a happy man." He pulled her closer to him. "And look at you when 
      youre with him. You couldnt be yourself and you were the most wretched 
      woman Id ever seen."
      "Well Im not with him anymore am I?" she challenged him with her icy 
gaze.
      "So its on to the next rich guy?" he shook his dark head. "Youre never 
      going to find happiness at the bottom of a wallet."
      "Im not doing it for me."
      Darien shook her lightly. "Do you honestly think that your parents want 
      you to be miserable just so they can buy things? I seriously doubt they 
      sacrificed so that you could grow up to wind up exactly where they were." 
      He could see the tears forming in the corners of her beautiful crystalline 
      eyes. She was so good but so blind. "Have you ever asked your parents if 
      they were happy?"
      She almost came back with a retort but stopped. He was right, she never 
      asked. And now that she thought about it besides the poverty, she could 
      remember the laughter they shared as well. Serena shook her head. "No Ive 
      never asked."
      "I suggest that you do." He tenderly led her back toward the glowing fire. 
      "Come on. Weve got to get you dry."
      She sank back down into the sand and re-evaluated her life. Shed spent so 
      much time trying to gain financial status that she hadnt really thought 
      about anything else. Now what?
      Darien could see that her whole belief system was shaken and he pulled her 
      within the circle of his arms. He just needed to comfort her. He wanted to 
      tell her that everything was going to be all right, that things would work 
      themselves out, but it wouldnt be until she figured it out for herself.
      Serena leaned up against him and willed some of his strength to seep into 
      her. She only got even more exhausted from trying. Shifting a little, she 
      looked up at him and wondered how he could see everything so clearly. How 
      he was always so strong.
      The cool breeze blew over her and she looked up at the silvery sheen of 
      the moon, the swaying palm above them and then back at the man whose arms 
      she was in. It was almost romantic. If they hadnt been stranded on an 
      island.
      She sprung up like a daisy in the spring. "What are we going to do? Were 
      stranded here!"
      Darien nearly forgotten about that. He pulled her back down again. "Dont 
      worry. Someone on board is bound to notice that were missing. I mean that 
      boat was big but its not that big."
      That was true. She settled against his side again and winced when she put 
      just a little too much weight on her shoulder.
      Darien jumped. "Did I hurt you?" he shifted her so he could take another 
      long look. Touching with the tips of his fingers, he sorely wished that he 
      could heal with just a touch.
      His hand trailed over her silken skin, brushing off the tiny grains of 
      sand. Her skin, so cool at first, flared to life at his touch. She wasnt 
      the only one. He could feel his own temperature rising.
      Dariens other hand couldnt resist joining in on the adventure. It glided 
      up her other arm up to her chin and he tipped it so that she was looking 
      straight into his. "Can I kiss you now?"
      She wanted to smile, but her senses were in such a riot that she could 
      barely breathe and producing a facial expression was way beyond her at the 
      moment. All she could do was stare up at him in wonder as he lowered his 
      head to hers.
      The kiss was slow and tantalizing, with only the kind of finesse that 
      Darien possessed. Her heart thudded in her ears and her breathe came only 
      when she managed to think about breathing. She watched the intent 
      expression as he deepened the kiss before her eyes closed in ecstasy that 
      she could no longer deny. Shards of heat exploded and shimmered throughout 
      her body. Her head stopped throbbing and the bruises were forgotten. She 
      ran her hands against his smooth skin, sliding them over the hard angles 
      and plains.
      Finally able to let herself feel what she needed to feel, Serena gave 
      herself up to the kiss. She let the pleasure wash over her and she 
      revelled in it. His tongue touched, teased and retreated. Inflaming her 
      even more.
      Darien felt her pleasure and let it fuel his. It was as if a floodgate was 
      lifted in her, letting the cascade of emotions loose over them both. He 
      dragged her over him as he lay down on the sand, caressing her thighs. God 
      he wanted her, but not like this.
      He forced himself to pull away. "Serena we cant. Not here on a beach. You 
      need a bed, you need candles"
      She stopped him talking with a kiss. "I need you." And she pushed him back 
      down into the sand.