Cocktails on the Beach

by Helen Hardt

  I let go of her breasts for a second—she whimpers—and remove my shirt. My dick is aching inside my board shorts, but I don’t want to scare her off. I’ll leave it encased for now.

  But her dress. The top of it is bunched around her slender waist, while the bottom of it is still covering the gems between her legs.

  I ease it over her hips.

  And suck in a breath of air.

  She’s not wearing panties.

  Nothing. Not even a tiny lace thong. Her pussy is shaved clean, and her clit is glistening.

  Oh. My. God.

  I quickly ease the dress off her legs until it’s sitting next to us in a puddle of white.

  “Commando,” I say huskily.

  “I’d already showered. Thought I was going to bed, but then something called to me.”

  “What?”

  “The ocean, I think. Or maybe…”

  “Maybe what?”

  “I think maybe it was you, Scotty.”

  I smile, glide my finger across her lower lip. “You think?”

  “I suppose it sounds silly.”

  “Not silly to me. I think I made it pretty clear I wanted to spend more time with you.”

  “You did. But…I have no right to drag you into something I can’t finish.”

  “Baby,” I say, “all we need to think about finishing is tonight.” I kiss her again. Hard.

  She wraps her arms around me, and I roll on top of her, bracing myself so I don’t crush her. She’s naked beneath me, the sand cushioning us. My dick prods through my board shorts. Her pussy—only the thin fabric of my shorts separates my dick from her honey.

  “Em…”

  “Hmmm…”

  “Tell me to stop now. Please. If you can’t go through with this, you have to tell me now.”

  “Don’t stop,” she says on a breath. “Please don’t stop. Take me, Scotty. Take me away from the cruel world.”

  “I’m not an escape, Em. But I can take you away for this moment.” I move off of her quickly, remove my shorts, grab a condom out of my pocket, and sheath myself.

  Then I move on top of her once more. “You sure?” I ask.

  “Yes, Scotty. Please.”

  I thrust into her heat.

  A groan begins deep in my soul and flows outward as I cushion myself within Emily’s tight pussy.

  My God.

  It’s like she was made for me.

  Every other woman I’ve ever had suddenly disappears from my mind.

  There’s only Em. My wonderful pretty girl. Em. Emily.

  Emily Moreno.

  And I vow, as soon as I plunge into her, that I’ll keep her safe.

  Safe from whatever she’s running from.

  Safe from whatever she’s hiding.

  Safe.

  Safe and comforted in my arms.

  I pull out, thrust back in. Pull out, thrust back in.

  “Scotty,” she gasps. “Please. Scotty, please.”

  I thrust again and again, kneeing into the sand. “Em. God, you feel good.”

  “So long,” she breathes. “It’s been so long since I’ve felt so… Felt so… Ah!” She clamps around my dick.

  God, a woman’s climax never felt so good.

  “That’s it, baby. Come. Come for me.”

  She shrieks, but it doesn’t matter. No one can hear us all the way out here.

  “That’s it,” I say. “Keep coming. Keep coming.”

  Thrust.

  Thrust.

  Thrust.

  And—

  “Fuck!” I clench my teeth as I release inside her warmth.

  Each pulse sends a quiver through my heart, through my soul.

  And I wonder…

  I wonder…if I’ll ever feel this whole again.

  15

  Emily

  I’m lost.

  So lost in a sea of pleasure and happiness.

  In the air, the breeze blows around us, and the sea roars in the distance, until—

  “Oh!” The ocean rolls toward us, envelops us in the warm Pacific saltwater.

  “Wow,” Scotty says. “I couldn’t have planned that any better.”

  I laugh, though I’m still quivering from the best orgasm I’ve ever experienced.

  Is it the tropical island? Is it the man above me? Is it the fact that we just acted out a scene in From Here to Eternity with perfection?

  Is it the fact that I’m running?

  Probably a little of each.

  Mostly it’s Scotty.

  Scotty, who gave me comfort. Who let me decide.

  Who let me escape, if only for a few timeless moments, into his world of joy and lovemaking and tropical breezes.

  “I don’t want to move from this place,” I say. “Not ever.”

  “No need to be in any hurry,” he says.

  “You have to work in the morning.”

  “That’s still a few hours from now.”

  “What about sleep?”

  “Sleep? Who needs it? I’ll forgo sleep for the rest of your stay if it means I get to spend every minute with you.”

  Nice line.

  I don’t say it.

  Because it’s not a line. Scotty is sincere. I don’t know how I know, but I do.

  This man won’t harm me.

  Sure, it’s an island fling.

  It’s not forever.

  But it’s now.

  And now is all that matters.

  We watch the sun rise together. If only I had my palette and a canvas. The blues and oranges and yellows and purples spiral together in a kaleidoscope of color as the sun eases over the horizon, hazing through a few scattered clouds that look like white cotton candy.

  “I hate to be a party pooper,” Scotty says, “but we’re going to need some hydration.

  He’s not wrong. Even in this tropical humidity, I’m feeling dry. The last thing I drank was the beer several hours ago, and that was hardly thirst quenching.

  I sigh. “I don’t want to leave.”

  “We can come back tonight.”

  “Can we?”

  “Of course! You think I’m letting you go after that? Tell me it was as mind-numbing for you as it was for me.”

  “More,” I say.

  He chuckles and cups my cheek. “We’ll call it a tie, then.”

  “A tie.” I close my eyes and breath in the fresh morning air. “I’m not sure I can move.”

  “Then I’ll carry you. But I won’t let you die of dehydration. Or starvation.” He makes it to his feet and holds out his hand.

  “Scotty?”

  “Yeah?”

  “If you didn’t have to work today, would you stay here with me forever?”

  He chuckles again. “Baby, I’d stay here as long as you want. But eventually we’d both need water.”

  I grab his hand and he pulls me into a stand and then into his bare chest. Scotty’s shirt and shorts are a couple yards away, but…

  “Scotty? Where’s my dress?”

  He glances around. “Should be right here somewhere. Oh, crap.”

  “What?”

  “It may have gotten washed out to sea when the tide came in and covered us.”

  My jaw drops. “How am I going to get back?’

  He hastily pulls his shorts over his amazing ass and hands his shirt to me. “This should cover everything that needs covering.”

  I laugh.

  I can’t help it. I give a fucking loud laugh.

  And I wish this moment could last forever.

  I drape Scotty’s shirt over my naked body and button it up. Sure enough, it covers my ass…but just barely. Still, it’s good enough to get back to the colony and to my hut. And the best part? It smells just like Scotty—an intoxicating combination of the bonfire, the beach, and his spicy, masculine scent.

  We walk, hand in hand, a little more quickly than I’d prefer because Scotty has to get to his morning shift at the bar. We arrive just in time for him to begin his shift.

&nbs
p; “Don’t you need your shirt?” I ask.

  “Won’t be the first time I’ve tended bar topless.” He winks at me. “I’ll be late, though.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to walk you to your hut.”

  “You don’t need to.”

  “I know I don’t need to, Em. I want to.”

  “I know you do.” I press my lips to his stubbled cheek. “But I don’t want you to be late. People are going to want their Scotty specials.”

  “I do make a mean pineapple and passion fruit smoothie,” he says. “You should come by for one later.”

  “I will,” I promise. “And I’ll bring your shirt back.”

  “Keep it.” He touches my cheek, making sparks shoot through me. “I kind of like the thought of you having it.” He brushes his lips over mine and then hops over the bar. A second later, he tosses me a bottle of water. “Drink it all. Then have another when you get back to your hut, okay?”

  I nod and smile, pulling the cap off the water and taking a long, soothing drink.

  I walk back to my hut on a cloud.

  I slide my keycard through the door, and—

  I gasp.

  Lucifer Raven.

  Sitting on my bed, staring at one of the canvases I’ve been working on.

  He doesn’t look up.

  He doesn’t need to.

  “Not your best work, Emily.”

  I don’t reply.

  “Then again, I was always your muse.”

  Still, I say nothing.

  “You didn’t truly think you could escape from me, did you?”

  He rises, then, and turns toward me, his blue eyes on fire.

  “Pack your things. We’re going home. Now.”

  “No,” I say.

  He shakes his head. “Whose shirt is that?”

  “No one’s.”

  “You’re not that good a liar, Emily.”

  “How did you get in here?”

  He scoffs. “Really? You think I’m a vampire or something? That I need an invitation? We both knew I’d find you.”

  “But security—”

  “I know my way around the best security in the world. How do you think I’ve remained in business so long? Now pack up.”

  “No.” This time I plant my hands on my hips, determined. I just spent the most exciting night of my life, and I’m not ready for my time here to end.

  I summon every ounce of strength I possess, every ounce of courage, every ounce of sheer guts.

  Lucifer’s power over me ends today.

  “This isn’t up for negotiation, Emily.”

  “I’m not going.”

  His fist comes toward me in slow motion. Nothing I haven’t seen before, but this time—this time—I’m ready.

  I know this man’s moves. He doesn’t strike me often, only when he feels I’ve disobeyed him.

  Fleeing from him is the ultimate disobedience in Lucifer’s eyes.

  The best block?

  The best block is to not be there. Another lesson from Buck.

  I duck, and then I run out the door.

  16

  Scotty

  “Scotty!” Nemo sidles up to the bar. “Someone didn’t make it home last night.”

  “Someone thinks that’s none of your business.”

  “Someone also forgot to put on a shirt this morning.”

  I don’t respond. Normally I’d laugh off his comment, but I don’t. I’m not irked. Not in the slightest. I just feel…

  I should have walked Em back to her hut. To hell with my shift. She’s more important.

  “Last anyone saw, you grabbed two beers and disappeared.”

  “Still not your business.”

  “Well, if you’re not interested in telling me about your evening, I’ll tell you about mine.”

  “Lauren?” I ask.

  “You betcha. And get this—she hates monogamy!”

  “I know. She says anthropology doesn’t support it.”

  “Yeah, whatever. I dig her outlook, man.”

  I laugh. Nemo always becomes a seventies reject after he gets laid. Never fails. “Glad you had fun.”

  “The whole thing became kind of an orgy after you left,” Nemo says. “It rocked.”

  I nod. “Glad you had fun.”

  “You a broken record or something?”

  “Huh?”

  “You said that twice. ‘Glad you had fun.’”

  “Did I?”

  “I figured once I said the word orgy your interest would be piqued.”

  Funny. Normally it would be. But not today. All I can think about is watching Emily walk away from me with only my island print shirt covering her. I can’t wait to peel it off her later.

  Damn.

  I should have walked her back.

  “What can I get you this morning, Nemo?”

  “Still no comment on the orgy?”

  “Not today. You want a smoothie? Juice? Water? Coconut water?”

  “Give me a strawberry banana smoothie with a shot of wheatgrass.”

  I stare toward the path that leads to the colonists’ huts. Something feels off to me. I can’t put it into words, but the back of my neck feels like shards of ice are prickling it.

  “Dude,” Nemo says. “My smoothie.”

  I hop over the counter. “Do me a favor. Cover for me.”

  “I’m no bartender.”

  “Fake it.”

  “Scotty, what the fuck?”

  “Sorry. There’s something I need to do. Now.”

  “But—”

  “For God’s sake, Nemo, you know how to work a blender. All the recipes are under the counter. I’ll be right back.”

  I’m still barefoot, wishing I had my Air Jordans, but I run. I don’t know why, but I know I need to run.

  I need to run fast.

  I race through the common area and toward the colonists’ huts—toward Emily’s hut.

  That’s when I see her.

  Still wearing my island print shirt.

  My heart nearly jumps out of my chest as I swallow a gulp of air.

  A blond man is holding her, a knife to her neck.

  Security guards and island police officers have guns trained on him.

  God, please don’t shoot. Please don’t shoot. If they shoot him, they might get her.

  I can’t bear the thought.

  “Emily!” I shout.

  She meets my gaze, pure fear in her brown eyes. She shakes her head slightly at me.

  “Put the knife down,” one of the officers says. “Put it down and we’ll talk. You don’t come out of this alive if you don’t.”

  “Fuck off!” the blond man says.

  My gut is twisting into knots. Acid claws up my throat.

  “Emily!” I yell again, my voice hoarse.

  The man whispers something to her. She shakes her head vehemently.

  “Let her go!” I yell. “Take me instead!”

  A security guard grabs me. “You’ve got to get out of here, Scotty. This isn’t a game.”

  “Do I look like I think it’s a game?” I wrench myself free from the guard, who I recognize as Jimmy Cox. We play poker sometimes.

  “This guy’s off his rocker,” Jimmy says. “Get out of here before you get yourself in trouble.”

  “I don’t care,” I say. “I can’t let him hurt her.”

  “We won’t let him hurt her,” Jimmy says. “You’ve got to trust us. He’s way outnumbered.”

  “I’m not worried about his life. Kill the SOB for all I care. I’m worried about hers.”

  “Scotty, for God’s sake, let us do our job. If I’m here worrying about you, I’m not focused on her.”

  That’s all I need to hear.

  I step back, my heart in my throat being eaten alive by the bile that’s coating it.

  God, Em.

  I knew she was hiding something. I just had no idea it was a psycho boyfriend.

  He looks vaguely familiar to me. He�
��s tall, muscular, with light blond hair. Where have I seen him before?

  My mind blanks.

  Only Em. Her safety. That silver blade is right against the creaminess of her neck. The neck I spent last night kissing…

  My God…

  I can’t lose her.

  I can’t lose Emily.

  I rake my fingers through my hair, pace around behind the action. I could run forward, demand to help.

  But Jimmy’s right. I’m just another target the guards have to worry about.

  I pace and pace and pace, until finally I turn back toward Emily and get as close as I can.

  She meets my gaze.

  And she mouths three words.

  I love you.

  God. I love you.

  “I love you too,” I mouth back.

  I don’t even have to think twice. The words tumble out on their own, as if they’ve always been inside me and always will be.

  Is it forever love?

  Does it even matter?

  It’s love, and if, God forbid, Em doesn’t get out of this alive, I want her to know I love her.

  In fact, I want to shout from the rooftops, but I don’t want to startle the psycho.

  My stomach churns. I haven’t eaten anything. Just drank a quart of water when I got to the bar to begin my shift.

  And now…

  Now my stomach threatens to turn inside out on itself.

  But Emily needs me.

  She needs me to be strong for her.

  Fuck! I feel so useless! So ridiculous standing here in nothing but board shorts, not allowed to cross the arbitrary line the guards have set up.

  “Let her go,” an officer with a bullhorn shouts. “You hurt her, you go down.”

  “If I die, we both die!” Psycho shouts back.

  I curl my hands into fists. Not on my watch. I can’t just stand here and do nothing.

  I run.

  I run full force through the makeshift boundary.

  I run toward the woman I love.

  I’m almost there when—

  A shot. A fucking bullet.

  17

  Emily

  Lucifer drops the knife and falls to the ground. In a flash I’m running.

  Running toward Scotty. “Scotty!”