Oceans of Fire by Christine Feehan Read Free Book Online Page A

“No, Libby. You’re too weak.” She gasped the words, fighting for energy just to speak.
    “Just rest, Libby,” Carol admonished. “You can’t heal another person after what you’ve been through. Drink your tea.”
    She made it an order. “All of you.” She looked at Aleksandr. “I’m gone a few years, and they all grow up and forget everything we taught them. It’s a good thing I’ve come home.”
    Libby reached for Abbey’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
    Abbey shook her head. Libby was the healing force of the Drake sisters. Through her, unbelievable results could be achieved, but she paid for it dearly, often taking on the pain and illness of the injured or sick person she was aiding. “We’re fine. We’re all fine,” she assured her sister.
    Aleksandr pressed the cup of tea into Abigail’s other hand and helped her bring it to her mouth. She didn’t fight him, but watched instead as Jonas returned from the captain’s walk carrying her sister Hannah.
    Hannah stared at Aleksandr with curious eyes. “Who?” she mouthed.
    “None of your concern,” Jonas snapped. “Did you pay the slightest bit of attention to how close you were to the edge when you were casting? You nearly fell over the railing, Hannah. Another inch and we might have lost you.”
    “There, there, dear.” Carol patted Jonas as if he were a boy. “There’s no way of knowing when the weakness is going to hit. Hannah commands the winds. She has to reach out to the sea. Don’t give her a lecture when she can’t even defend herself.”
    “That’s the best time,” Jonas muttered. “In fact now would be a good time to give them all a lecture on safety. Do you realize Abbey was diving in the sea alone?”
    “Go get Sarah and Kate and Joley, Jonas,” Carol said. “We’ll make certain Abbey never does such a foolish thing again.” She gave him a little push toward the stairs.
    Aleksandr wanted to laugh at the sheriff’s expression. Aunt Carol had reduced Jonas’s dangerous image to that of a “bad boy” with a few well-chosen words and her tone. The Drake women were truly perilous to the opposite sex, but then he had firsthand knowledge of that. His hand slid over Abbey’s until he could intertwine his fingers with hers.
    She looked at him. Tears swam in her eyes and his heart jerked hard in his chest. He’d never been able to stand her tears. That day, the day neither of them would ever forget, he hadn’t gone to her because her tears would have changed the course of his life and he hadn’t been able to afford what would have resulted. He leaned over her, blocking her from the sight of the others. “Don’t cry, lyubof maya . You are my heart, my world.” He murmured the words in his own language because it was the only way he could tell her. He’d never stopped loving her. He had nothing without her. He’d learned that in the emptiness of his violent world. In the endless travels and the bleak hotel rooms. There was no home without her, not even his beloved Russia.
    Abigail shook her head. “Go away, Sasha, don’t come back here again.”
    He brought her hand to his mouth, his lips sliding over her knuckles, his tongue tasting her. Salt and sea. That was Abigail. “I go only because there is no talking to you when you are like this. And you’ve had a bad fright, but I will return, and we will sort this out.”
    Aleksandr pushed himself up as Jonas returned carrying another Drake sister. “I will go, but you know where I’m staying. Please do me the courtesy of informing me of any information you might procure.”
    “Oh, don’t worry, Volstov. I’ll be seeing you the minute I leave here,” Jonas assured him. “You want me to call for a ride?”
    Aleksandr shook his head and deliberately looked at Abbey. “I’m staying close by so I can keep an eye on things.” He had done what he could to stake his claim, but he knew Abbey well enough to know she was going to be upset that she was so