A Player for A Princess: Dirty Players Duet #2

by Tia Louise

  “It is pretty bleak,” he says in that clipped accent I love. “He catches the biggest fish of his life only to watch as the sharks eat it all the way back to shore.”

  We enter the open-air establishment where patrons sit around the bar in various states of relaxation. Some are dressed in bikinis, while some wear shorts and tees. It feels like south Florida to me. Easy life at the beach. This is home.

  “I know it’s supposed to be a metaphor, but it’s hard to appreciate when it feels so close to reality,” I say.

  “Not like movies should be?”

  “Right.” I take a seat on the high wooden stool, and he cages me in his arms.

  “I can protect you from the sharks.”

  For a moment only our mutual attraction is between us. His eyes level on mine, and my chest tightens.

  “What if you were the biggest fish I ever dreamed of catching?” My voice is low. “I’m not sure I could watch you slowly taken from me, piece by piece.”

  “Not happening.” He breaks the moment, pushing away and taking the stool beside me. “How can you lose a dream you never had?”

  I’m still recovering from our plunge into intimacy, and I don’t have a comeback. He’s using my words against me. Instead, I look across the bar at the chalkboard listing the day’s menu. “I guess we’re having cheeseburgers and fries,” I say. “And quarter beer.”

  Our lunch arrives relatively quickly. I think it’s delicious, but Cal complains the beer is basically colored water. I only roll my eyes.

  It’s an honor bar, which means we pay what we think our meal is worth. Naturally, I leave way more than I would probably pay at a regular burger joint. After a big score, I’m always too generous. Or guilty. I suppose it’s why I never seem to get ahead, but I can’t help it. It’s what Ava says makes me “small time.”

  A glass case of cigars is near the entrance. Cal studies it as I walk slowly down to the water. The path is worn and the beige sand is packed hard from almost a century of wear. I pass under ancient palm trees with thick trunks like elephant legs. When the foliage opens, I stand for a moment watching the waves breaking softly until Cal joins me, looking out at them. If things were different, I could imagine living here. Starting over and building a new life.

  “So you never want to go back?” His voice is quiet. “What about Ava?”

  “She’s always in my thoughts,” I confess, looking over at him. The wind moves his golden-brown hair, and I long to thread my fingers in it. Instead, I think about my little sister. “She’s better with Rowan. He loves her. He’s the Prince Charming she always dreamed would rescue her.”

  My phone chooses that particular moment to vibrate and ring. It’s the call I’ve been dreading all day, and I do a little wave before leaving Cal at the shoreline and walking back toward the bar.

  “Where are you?” I hate Seth’s temper. He’s been showing it more and more lately, which makes me suspicious.

  “I’m sorry.” I can’t keep the sarcasm out of my tone. “Were you concerned something might have happened to me after you abandoned me in the street to figure it out?”

  Guess what? I get mad, too.

  “Maybe,” he says, easing off the gas.

  “More like you were worried about your money.”

  “So where the fuck are you?”

  “I’m with Cal at Smuggler’s Cove.” That shuts his big mouth. “I guess you thought he wouldn’t find me. Well, think again.”

  “You told him exactly where we were headed in Miami.” He does a little exhale into the speaker. “I don’t care about this bullshit. You need to come in and meet me at Blix’s.”

  “Why? What does he have to do with it?” I don’t like mixing with Seth’s old South Beach crew. I heard rumors they were mostly drug dealers and uniquely cruel. Maybe that’s Seth’s problem—he’s using again.

  “He’s got ways to move money around undetected. When can you meet me?”

  “Not today. I’m with Cal.”

  “Fuck your prince.”

  “Fuck you.” I’m about to hang up when he stops me.

  “What about tomorrow?”

  Looking over my shoulder, I see Cal has run out of patience and is headed my way. “Tomorrow’s pretty open. I’ll text you.”

  “I’ll send you the address.”

  It’s the last words I hear before I end the call. I shove the phone in my pocket, looking up at the sexy man walking to me, wanting to take me out of this life I’ve built.

  “Had enough of paradise?” I tease.

  Suspicion is in his eyes. It’s in his lowered brow and the way his mouth is a straight line. “No, I was just thinking I’m more a fan of Blue Lagoon than The Old Man and the Sea.”

  Shaking my head, I tease, hoping to move us away from my phone call. “Always with the breasts. I’m not as pretty as Brook Shields.”

  He catches me by the belt loops, jerking my pelvis against his. “I’m tired of arguing. Let’s get naked.”

  6

  Suspicions

  Cal

  I sit on the sand watching Zelda pace as she talks on her phone. She’s doing it again. I can’t protect her when she hides from me, and I’m losing patience with the secretive phone calls and partial information.

  She’s talking to Seth. He’s pulling her into another web, and from where I’m sitting it can only lead to danger.

  Logan has been keeping tabs on Wade and Reggie since they disappeared from Monagasco. They popped up again in Turkey only to be lost in the sea of Syrian refugees headed north. Last week one of our agents spotted my uncle in Morocco. It’s the last stop before crossing the Atlantic, and he’s had plenty of time to make it here.

  Tortola is beautiful, and Zelda is equally gorgeous prancing around in skimpy cutoffs with her long, sexy legs on full display. I want to see her in a bikini on the beach, and I want to take that bikini off her and fuck her in the ocean. Still, every moment we stay, my tension grows. We can come back and enjoy the island when I’m satisfied we’ve dealt with the current threat.

  I walk slowly toward where she’s pacing, arguing with that bastard. Her long blonde hair swishes around her shoulders, and she’s so beautiful. I wonder what it will take for her to let this shit go.

  She sees me getting closer, and her demeanor changes. She ends the call and shoves her phone in her pocket, fueling the irritation rising in my chest.

  “We should head back to the villa,” she says, only a hint of nervousness in her voice. “I’d love to take a swim, and then we can change and head to Bomba’s Shack for dinner? They have a full moon party.”

  Stopping in front of her, I place a hand on her waist and pull her to me. Her eyes are heavy with guilt, and I reach up to trace my thumb along the side of her jaw. “Is tonight the full moon?”

  Her throat moves as she swallows. She does a little nod, and I know my impatience is clear in my expression. I want her to go to Monagasco with me willingly, but I’m one secret away from taking her home by force.

  “You have the keys,” I say, releasing her.

  * * *

  We’re alone at the villa. I’m standing on the balcony in my swim trunks and an unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt while I wait for Zelda to change. Taking out my phone, I shoot Logan a quick text.

  Any news?

  It doesn’t take long for him to respond. Nothing, but we’re watching everything. If either of them arrives on the island, we’ll know about it.

  The noise of a splash draws my attention from my phone and I look across the yard to see Zelda already in the large, L-shaped pool below. I watch her swim a moment until I realize… she’s not wearing a swimsuit.

  I place my phone on the desk just inside the master bedroom before heading down the wide stairs to the first level. I’m crossing the lawn in record time, following the winding stone walkway through palm trees and past metal statues of herons and other fauna to the blue tile-lined swimming pool.

  “You didn’t wait for me,” I say, watc
hing her a moment. The water is clear, and even though she’s submerged to the neck, I can see everything below. “Did you forget to pick up a swimsuit?”

  “No…” her voice is high, thoughtful. “I just realized we have this enormous place all to ourselves. Who needs swimsuits?”

  “It’s a valid point.” Sliding the shirt off my shoulders, I push my swim trunks down and off before stepping out of them and into the warm water.

  She watches me, and I take my time walking out to her, enjoying the way her eyes change as the water line rises to my knees then over my thighs. I’m tempted to pause a moment, but I’m only torturing myself. With a slight push, I glide to where she’s waiting and wrap my arms around her body.

  As soon as we meet, she exhales a little sigh. My lips are immediately on her neck, just behind her ear. “Were you waiting for this?” I whisper, and a shiver moves across her shoulders.

  “Yes.” She pulls up and kisses me, pulling my lips between hers and lightly touching our tongues. She tastes like cool water and mint. “Please?”

  We’re at the side, and I reach out to hold the tiled edge. Her legs are around my waist, and she breathes a moan in my ear. I’m rock-hard and ready. My tip is just at her entrance when she pulls the side of my ear between her teeth.

  Turning my face I capture her mouth, kissing her until her head is in my hands as I plunge deep into her core. It’s hotter compared to the pool water, and she moans into my mouth. I’m rocking, working out the frustration I felt earlier, surrendering to the love I’m growing weary of holding back. I can only stay angry with her so long.

  She’s already told me she loves me. I’m addicted to her like I’ve never been to any woman. She brings out this possessive, protective side of me I never believed possible. I won’t let her stubbornness threaten her life.

  I feel her hand go between us, moving fast as she massages her clit. Her moans become more frantic, and she whimpers and gasps in my ear. “Faster… oh, Cal! Deeper.”

  My mouth travels behind ear. “That’s right, beautiful. You love my cock.”

  “Oh, god!” Her body trembles.

  “You love to feel me taking you, making you mine.”

  “Yes,” she gasps.

  I grip her soft ass and move my mouth into her hair to the place I know gives her pleasure. We spent so much time in Monagasco exploring each other’s bodies. As new lovers, we learned every erogenous zone.

  Now I bite her, pulling the soft skin at the back of her neck lightly between my teeth. With a jerk, her body erupts into orgasm. Her legs tremble and her insides spasm, sending waves of pleasure snaking up my thighs. She’s holding me as I thrust deeper, chasing my own release. It doesn’t take long.

  The noise of splashing water recedes as the rising tide of orgasm grows tighter and tighter… then breaks. My body is rigid, and I’m holding her flush against me as I pulse, balls deep in her gorgeous body.

  Her mouth finds mine, and her kisses are lush and soft, fresh and delicious like water in the desert, bringing me back to Earth. For a moment we only hold each other, her legs around my waist, my arms around her torso. I’m still inside her, and we kiss slowly, languidly, making out in the afterglow of our reunion. After a moment, she leans back, sliding her fingers along my scruffy jawline.

  “Are you still angry with me?” Her voice is soft, her eyes so deep.

  “Are you still keeping secrets from me?”

  Her eyes drop, and I have to hold back a growl. She lowers her legs and swims to the other side of the narrow pool, leaving me cold in the water without her.

  “What if I say yes?” Her back is to me as she holds the opposite side of the narrow pool.

  I cross it in three strokes. Pulling up beside her, I slide her pale blonde hair away from her shoulder. “I’d want to know why.”

  She lifts her chin to look at me. “Because it doesn’t concern you?” It’s a question, not a challenge.

  “Does it concern you?”

  She turns her gaze back to the blue-tiled wall and nods. I reach out to run the back of my finger down her flushed cheek. “Then it concerns me.”

  For the space of several breaths, she doesn’t answer. Then she swims to the steps leading out of the pool. I watch as she slowly walks up them, water tracing down her creamy skin in rivulets. I’m transfixed as she takes a fluffy white robe off one of the lounge chairs and wraps it around her body.

  “We should shower and dress,” she says quietly. “I read dinner at Bomba’s is buffet style, and if we’re late, nothing will be left.”

  I make my way to where she’s standing. Her eyes are on my chest, and all the things I want to say feel redundant to me. I won’t repeat myself. Instead, I lean down and kiss her once more, gentle but possessive, communicating in a way words can’t capture.

  A little noise escapes with her sigh, and her slim fingers lightly touch my stomach. When I pull back, her cheeks are flushed, and I nod. We’re on the same page.

  “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

  7

  Making Up

  Zelda

  Twinkle lights are draped over the trees and around the plywood structure of the roof, which is also littered with lacy bras and panties. The walls of the shack are made of driftwood, broken surfboards, scrap tin, and more plywood with names and phrases written all over them.

  It’s a total beach hangout, and Cal and I both have huge glasses of the “secret family recipe” punch in front of us, which tastes like oranges and bananas and pineapples, and I can tell is strong as shit. I’m already tipsy.

  Cal is casual in long shorts and Patch’s penis tee. It stretches nicely across his broad shoulders, and I watch every delicious ripple of muscle as he moves. I’m dressed in a pale blue sundress with spaghetti straps. It hangs loose on my body, and I’m not wearing a bra.

  Standing beside our chairs, I sway to the lilting reggae music played by a live band. Cal watches me, and his sexy smile is finally back. I wonder how much the punch has to do with it.

  “You should toss your panties on the roof,” he says, leaning into my ear.

  Wrinkling my nose up at him, I laugh. “You want me naked under my dress!” It’s possible my voice is a little loud.

  “Always,” he says, wrapping a strong arm around my waist and pulling me hard against his chest for a kiss.

  “I was misinformed,” I shout when he lets me up for air. “They don’t have food here.”

  “I’m way ahead of you,” he says, still smiling. “Logan’s getting food.”

  It makes me so happy to see him smile. He’s done nothing but frown at me since we reunited. Even when we were making love, I could feel the tension in his body, but not tonight. Tonight he watches me with those burning eyes and that slight grin. It makes me want to do naughty things… like toss my panties on the roof.

  A motley blend of patrons is on the floor moving in time with the music, and I watch them from where I stand beside the bar. I take another long sip of punch. It’s sweet and now has only a little burn in the aftertaste. Cal’s eyes rake over me, dark and electric. My skin is humming.

  “I love you,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. That gets me a special appearance by that dimple at the corner of his mouth. I touch it lightly. “That too.”

  He slides a lock of hair away from my face with his finger. My eyes close, and I lean into his hand.

  “Is this a concession?” His voice is low, near my face. “Is it possible life with a playboy prince might not be so bad after all?”

  I’m against his chest. Strong arms surround me, and I melt into him. Leaning down, he steals my breath along with a kiss. Our lips part, and he gives my tongue a teasing touch.

  “Mm,” I sigh, resting my cheek against him.

  I listen to his heartbeat mingling with the soft shush of the breakers crashing so close. When he speaks it vibrates my cheek.

  “What changed?”

  I lean back and look up at him, confused. “What do you mean?�
�� If anyone changed, it’s him.

  “In Monagasco, you said you didn’t think of me as a prince. What changed?”

  “Oh.” His question catches me off-guard. Stepping away, I turn to face the bar. I pick up a small umbrella and twirl it back and forth in my fingers. “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.” Lowering it, I blink up at him. “I told you. It’s all the things around you.”

  “Rowan?” He watches me, studying my nonverbal cues.

  “No.”

  “I know it’s not the ocean. Or the racing. And you love Occitan—it’s just like here.”

  “Your mother?”

  He exhales a laugh. “That’s pretty clichéd, Zee.”

  I shrug and hold my hands out, swaying to the music again. It’s a Bob Marley tune I love. “So sue me.”

  “I can handle my mother,” he grins, watching me. “If that’s all that’s worrying you, don’t.”

  My eyes narrow. “Isn’t that what men always say about their mothers?”

  “How would you know?”

  The bartender refills my glass, and I lift out a maraschino cherry by the long, curling stem. “I wouldn’t,” I say before sliding it into my mouth.

  He’s quiet again, and I’m still dancing. “I don’t want to wait in vain for your love,” I sing softly.

  Cal is back on his stool, and he pulls me between his legs. “We’ve got to get past this.”

  Closing my eyes, I listen to the music. “Why?”

  “Because I told Ava I wouldn’t come back without you.”

  Those words squeeze my chest. I open my eyes and meet his. “How is she? I’ve been too afraid to call her. I don’t know if they’re monitoring her phone or—”

  “She’s much better. She’s out of the hospital, and Rowan moved her to the palace. Their engagement is official, and the citizens love her.”

  “Of course they do. She’s the perfect princess.” A sad little smile crosses my face. I don’t know why I feel like crying. “She must be in heaven.”