by Abbie Adams
"Yes! Yes, Daddy! Yes, sir. I will." She knew she'd never again attempt to wear anything else. No matter if someone offered her a million dollars to ride nude, she'd simply shake her head and say, "Jeans and boots!"
He finally stopped punishing her poor bottom and pulled her into his arms to hug her instead. "You wanted riding lessons, Sunny, and your safety is the first priority. You must abide by the rules Jake and Jesse put in place to keep you safe." He brushed her hair aside and placed a kiss on her forehead.
A gentle breeze reminded her that her bottom was still bare, but she didn't care. Well, she should care that her shorts were wrapped around her ankles and her rear end was probably blazing as red as the barn at the riding stables. And handprints—there were probably swollen handprints, too. She imagined she could feel them even then.
"Let's hope that gets the message across," Jesse said pushing away from the railing, his twin following.
Trent looked from her to the two men. "Perhaps knowing that if she shows up again without dressing exactly as ordered, I have given you both permission to take a riding crop to her ass will help her remember the lesson."
Sunny's mouth opened and she gasped, "Daddy! You wouldn't!"
"Not only would I, little girl, I just did," her Daddy said.
"A crop hurts worse than a flip-flop, so I'd take your Daddy's words to heart," Jake said and then gave her a smile. "We love you, honey, and love teaching you to ride. But, I won't deny that I'd also love to see exactly how many stripes across your cute little butt you'd need before you take all of us seriously.
"Yes sirs, I'm really sorry," she said, not a trace of sass in her voice. She was so sorry to have been such a smart-aleck and even sorrier that she'd made light of these two wanting nothing more than to keep her safe. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks as both twins gave her a hug.
Once the twins had left, her Daddy removed her boots, shorts, and panties and lifted her onto his lap. He rocked her in the porch swing and brushed her hair aside. "It's okay, baby. You're going to do better the next time. Shh, it's okay, sweetie pie."
She was straddling one of his thighs, had a knee planted on the seat between his knees and the other knee outside of his. Her arms were around his neck, her head on his shoulder. And he rocked… and rocked… and rocked. Her bottom was bared to the breeze and he ran his finger up and down her spine until she fell asleep.
* * * * *
She woke up in her beach front suite all alone with the morning sunshine streaming in the windows. A day that began this way should've brought on positive feelings, anticipation, excitement, but she was not in a sunny disposition just then. Her fantasies were no longer enough it seemed. Granted, they were marvelous and enough to have her need to slip her hand between her thighs, but that was the point. It was her hand and not the hand she constantly dreamed about.
Sunny wished she were home and could just work or read and not focus on the point that she was twenty-four and still single. To make matters worse, she was twenty-four—on a dream-come-true vacation—and not only single, she had absolutely no man in her pathetic life.
Sunny poked around the room, showered, dressed and sat on the patio looking out at the water, until her boredom, or maybe it was her stomach begging to be fed, led her out. She could have ordered in, but she honestly couldn't chance the same person who'd taken her order last night taking another. They'd probably contact the person in charge of rates and insist that the all-inclusive price be immediately raised by at least fifty percent to cover the cost of food. She could have read one of the two books she'd brought along, but didn't want to do that because she didn't want to be turned on right now. She could've daydreamed about the cowboys and her dream Daddy—yet again—but all that would do was remind her that she was totally, no doubt about it, completely alone.
What was she supposed to do now? Well, aside from the current plan of moping around until it was time to go home. She needed to do something that would take her mind off her relationship status and unmet desires. That was exactly what she needed. Distraction, and hey, she was on vacation. She should be able to find something to keep her occupied.
Digging around in her tote bag, she pulled the brochures she'd stuffed into it the day before. Tossing a few aside, refusing to admit she'd done so for nothing more than the sickening smiling couples adorning their front, she took the time to read one that showed a pyramid in a clearing in the rainforest. Making sure she read the fine print, she exchanged her sandals for a pair of tennis shoes as was recommended—not required mind you—just a suggested choice of footwear to avoid slipping in case it showered while climbing around the stones.
Sunny climbed onto the bus with several other people. Forcing herself to remember that it wasn't anyone's fault but her own that she was alone, she nodded and smiled when hand-holding couples nodded and smiled at her. She looked out the window as the bus drove away from the resort towards Tulum, one of the historic Mayan temples that had stood for centuries. While it wasn't as popular as Chichen Itza, it was much closer meaning it wouldn't take all day and it was on the ocean.
Despite the emotional start to her day, she managed to enjoy the tour. Their guide was an enthusiastic young woman who made sure each of her guests had a fresh bottle of water before they headed off in different directions if they didn't want to stay with the official guide. Sunny appreciated the girl's knowledge and listened attentively, growing more fascinated with the culture of a civilization that had ruled this part of the world for two thousand years and then seemingly vanished into thin air. The pyramid on the brochure had appeared like those in Egypt and yet the real thing had her losing her breath. How in the world had human beings managed to find, cut, drag and then fit huge stones together to such an incredible height and with such precision without using a single modern machine?
She carefully climbed the steps and gave her first smile thinking that if Trent were here, her size would prove the more capable one as the width of the steep steps was far narrower than any she'd seen before. Standing at the top with a few others brave enough to climb the harrowing stairs, she turned in a slow circle. The view was stunning and she could see the ocean through the trees. A breeze provided relief from the heat of the ground below. She took a seat to rest and just soak in the history that she could almost see coming to life beneath her.
She remembered reading about a remarkable find in 1996. Though the discovery had been made in Palenque, several hours away, it had still stuck in her mind. Archeologists had found a sarcophagus hidden deep inside one of the temples. While that in itself wasn't all that newsworthy, when the tomb had been opened, the discovery was reported around the world. Inside was the skeleton of a woman. No one could explain the significance of finding a female given such a respectful burial. Not only was the skeleton that of a female, the bones were stained a deep red. Scientists dubbed her the Red Queen. Sunny wondered at her place in the society that had been so incredibly advanced.
Though she didn't usually admit it, she'd been one of those people who worried that perhaps people advanced enough to create an amazing calendar knew something modern people didn't. She had gone to bed on that night in December, 2012, and had closed her eyes praying that when she opened them the next day, the world would still exist as she knew it. It had been easy to laugh it off the next afternoon, but she had a few weeks of worry before learning that the calendar that supposedly marked the end of the world evidently was just meant to start again. And she'd learned that there was not one but three calendars used by these people. At least she hadn't quit her job, sold everything she owned, and bought her way into some below ground survivalist shelter. She was pretty sure she'd get awful tired of eating MREs pretty quick. Shrugging off the thought, she turned her attention back to surveying her surroundings.
Looking out over the trees, she could easily imagine them gone, the land used to cultivate crops instead. Men and women had toiled here, planting and farming in the rich soil. Fish had been caught in the oceans
, fruit gathered from the forest to scrape out an existence. The serenity of their day would be shattered when a conch shell horn was blown, calling them in from the fields.
From what she knew and what she'd just learned, only a few people had been allowed to climb to the top of these temples. The men who ruled were considered as gods and were truly worshipped. In a good year, she supposed these demi-gods were benevolent. However, when crops failed or illness swept through the city, the gods seemed to demand a sacrifice.
Looking down the steep steps, she shivered. It was really a long way to the bottom. Advancement hadn't meant they weren't also barbaric. Scenes from a movie ran through her mind and she could almost visualize a head rolling away from its body, bouncing on each step, rivers of blood flowing across the stones. Remembering yet another documentary, she knew that the nobler the sacrifice, the better it was supposed to be received. Her tummy clenched remembering the narrator stating that the taste of the heart removed from a young, noble virgin was decreed far better than that of a common laborer. God, she honestly could not imagine standing at the bottom of the steps, looking up to see a man standing, a huge headdress of feathers and stones on his head, his arms outspread as he thanked her for her willingness to give her life for the benefits of others.
"Screw that," Sunny muttered. "There is no way in hell any innocent young woman would say 'sure, I don't mind having my heart cut out or my head chopped off—not when it will assure you get enough food to eat or wine to drink'." A shriek had her gasping and twisting around as if expecting to see some obsidian knife being raised before being stabbed into her chest. Instead, she watched a colorful bird sweep by before heading into the trees. "Good grief, Sunny, get a grip," she admonished, standing up and swiping her hands across the back of her shorts to dust them off. Her descent was much slower than her ascent and once safely on the ground, she wandered among the different buildings. Carvings made by men who were long gone were still easily seen. Snakes, suns, stars, and faces graced the walls. There was much to see and she only pitied herself a few times. One of those times was when she'd seen a couple—obviously honeymooners—staring into each other's eyes, whispering something that Sunny was sure wasn't in relation to anything the guide had suggested they see. She watched as they stepped away from the others, looked around rather furtively before walking into the jungle. It took every lesson in proper etiquette she'd ever heard not to wish that they'd find themselves lying on a bed of poison ivy or better yet swallowed by a giant anaconda. "Wrong movie, missy," she chided herself. "Just because you can't find someone to sneak away with doesn't mean that lovely young couple deserves a horrible fate."
Once they disembarked the bus and after a light lunch, the morning's physical activity weighed heavily on her and sent her to find a chaise on the beach. A light nap, the peaceful breeze was what she needed.
Choosing a chaise on the opposite side of the one she'd occupied the day before, and far from the forest's edge, she shucked her shorts, t-shirt, socks, and shoes to reveal her white one-piece suit. Pulling her hair up off her neck, she had just laid her towel over the seat's cushion when a man wearing the familiar uniform of the resort approached her.
"Señorita, may I bring you something from the bar?"
Sunny was about to say she didn't take to drinking in the middle of the afternoon when she remembered she was on vacation. "That would be nice, thank you." When he continued to stand and smile, she realized he was waiting for her request. What did people drink on a beach in the Caribbean? She honestly had no idea. "Why don't you just surprise me?" she suggested. "Anything is fine as long as it's ice cold and comes with a cute umbrella."
"Certainly, I'll be right back." Thanking him again, she sat and then turned over onto her stomach. She'd just close her eyes while waiting for his return.
Her scream rent the air as a she felt the blade slip into her back. A second cry joined the first when a heavy form landed on her shoulders blades and then bounced to land on her butt before disappearing. "No!" she issued her third cry, arms flailing as she attempted to scramble away from the priest who was claiming her as a sacrifice.
"Whoa, take it easy," was overlaid with, "I'm so sorry," as she fully awakened.
"What the hell!" She turned over, her chest heaving, her hand reaching back to make sure her fingers didn't encounter the hilt of a knife buried in her spine.
"You're okay," a voice said. Tilting her head back, she squinted against the sun until the speaker squatted down beside her chair. "I sure didn't mean to frighten you."
"Frighten me? You scared the shit out of me!" she said, her hand returning to her lap. "What happened?"
"I'm afraid it's my fault." Turning her head, she recognized the waiter. He was holding a tray that had several cocktail glasses lying on their sides.
"Nope, I take the blame," the first man countered. "We were over there playing and the ball got away from us." She followed his pointing finger and spied the volleyball net a moment before she saw him pick up the ball. "It hit Marco here and the tray spilled. I guess that's what woke you up—all that ice and liquor had to be cold."
"Cold?" she said and then shook her head. "God, it felt like a knife had been stabbed into me. I suppose it was the ball that bounced off him and onto me and not someone's head."
"Head?"
"I visited Tulum this morning and…:
"Ah, and you were having a nightmare about Mayan sacrifices?"
She shrugged and then nodded. "Silly, but yes."
"Not silly, I've had a few of those myself."
Sunny thought he was awful nice not to treat her like some ditz. She was about to say something else when a tall, gorgeous red head ran up and grabbed his arm.
"David, come on. We need to finish the game!"
Sunny kept a smile plastered on her face as the man stood, giving the redhead a smile. "I'm coming, Chrissie." He resisted his girlfriend's pull long enough to speak again.
"Hey, if you want to join us, you can knock those nightmares out by slamming a few heads." He tossed the volleyball up in the air and gave her a grin. "Works every time."
"Oh, um, thanks, but I'm okay, now." Even if she had wanted to play, Chrissie didn't look as if she would welcome her to the team. David shrugged and allowed himself to be tugged back across the sand.
"I really do apologize, Miss." She'd totally forgotten the waiter.
"Don't worry about it, Marco. It was an accident."
"I'll bring you another drink and if the stains don't come out of your suit, the hotel will pay for its replacement." He turned to walk away while she sat in silence. Stains? What stains? Suddenly aware that she did feel a bit damp, she rolled onto her left hip and looked at her ass. Oh, good lord. The white suit she'd donned was no longer white. It was soaked with a mixture of blues, pinks, reds and what appeared to be green. Crap! First she'd ruined her yellow suit and now had ruined her backup. At this rate she'd have to sunbathe nude but, come to think of it, that might be safer for her clothing allowance; hell, it might even bring an unattached man to her side.
Sinking back onto her chair, she laid down again, pulled her sunglasses over her eyes and hoped that whatever drink she saw Marco returning with was at least a double. As she downed the ice-cold fruity drink, and nibbled on the slice of fresh pineapple, she felt the liquor coursing through her blood stream and if felt great. Setting the empty glass on the sand, she flipped onto her stomach again, not truly giving a damn who saw her rainbow splattered butt. Maybe the next time she woke after her siesta, she'd be ready to have another adult beverage. In fact, maybe by then she'd be brave enough to venture out of her room and join those enjoying the music she'd heard playing through her open window for the past two nights. Settling her cheek on her folded arms, she sighed as the sun's rays penetrated her skin, the breeze from the ocean making the heat feel delicious and welcome and not unbearable as she slipped into sleep.
Chapter Nine
"What are you doing here?" Sunny looked up at the ma
n stepping into the room with a furtive glance back as if to assure he hadn't been followed. "How did you find this room? It's a secret."
"I followed the guard," a low and husky voice said that was hard to identify at first.
"Marco? You shouldn't be here. The priest is coming to…" Her voice caught as tears filled her eyes. "You-you must go. They can't catch you here."
"I had to come, I had no choice…"
"You do have a choice! I'm the one with no choice! My name was the one called. I-I must di… Oh, I don't want to die but I won't have you caught and sacrificed as well. You must go!"
"Not before you've had the chance to know how much I love you," Marco said, moving towards her and pulling her into his arms. She resisted for only an instant before sagging against him. Why had she resisted his advances for over a year? It had only been the last month that she'd begun to explore what his touch could offer. She moaned as he lifted her chin with his fingers and claimed her mouth in a kiss that seared her lips. It awakened every sense in her body and she willingly opened her mouth to allow his tongue to tangle with hers. Instead of learning what it felt to be so loved, to have her body taken by a man, she'd saved herself for what? No man would ever take her virginity. The priest might as well rip the very heart from her body for it was already breaking. She gave all she had to him as they kissed again and again. It was only for the need of air that he finally released her.
"If you aren't a virgin, the sacrifice will not…"
"Marco! Our people must have food. The crops are failing and a sacrifice must be given to the Gods." Despite her absolute terror of what was to come, her deep love for her people filled her soul. "I love you with all my heart, but I can't disregard the…" She couldn't bring herself to say 'honor'. Faced with her impending death, she knew the words spoken by the priest had meant to appease her fear but it wasn't working. With a sigh of resignation, she laid her head against his bronzed chest.
