Illusion

by J. S. Cooper

  “You sound so driven. It seems so boring.”

  “It’s not always boring. Sometimes I buy some cool companies. Last year I bought a vineyard and a chocolate factory.”

  “I love wine and chocolates.”

  “I love the money both companies are now making me. I keep companies based on the value they add to my portfolio.”

  “That sounds like a lot of hard work.”

  “I like hard work. My mom taught me that the only thing that matters in life is hard work.”

  “What about love?”

  “Love is for fools.” His tone was derisive. “All love does is make people weak.”

  “So you don’t believe in true love?”

  “There is no true love. One person always loves the other one more. One person always gives up something. Human beings will do more for money than for love.”

  I thought about his words and felt sad. “My parents were really in love, but it was cut short.”

  “Death is a sad part of life.”

  “Yes, it is.” I sighed. “I still believe in love though.”

  “You’re the sort of girl who could make me believe in love as well,” he whispered into my ear. “But don’t start getting any ideas.”

  “Are you becoming a softy, Jakob?” I smiled at him, and my insides felt warm.

  “I don’t think anyone could ever accuse me of being soft.” His hand rubbed my back. “Not inside the office and definitely not in the bedroom.”

  “You’re a regular lothario, huh.”

  “I don’t sleep around, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “You don’t sleep around?”

  “I don’t do relationships, but I’m not a man whore. I’m not in and out of bedrooms. I don’t have a revolving door or a little black book.”

  “That’s hard to believe.”

  “Why?”

  “You seem like you’d have a lot of ladies,” I mumbled, feeling slightly taken aback by the intense expression he had on his face as he stared at me.

  “Why would you think that?”

  “You’re so handsome.” I shrugged. “And you’re rich.”

  “Those are the two least important qualities in a man.”

  “I never said they were important. They’re not what I look for in a man.”

  “Good.” He leaned down and kissed me. “I don’t look for those qualities in a man either,” he joked, his eyes glinting with amusement.

  “Are you mad that I didn’t tell you I knew Bridgette better than I let on earlier?”

  “No, I understand why you didn’t tell me.” I bit my lower lip and stared at him for a few seconds.

  “But . . . ?” His eyes narrowed as he surveyed my face.

  “You’re making it hard for me to trust you, Jakob. First, our accidental meeting at the coffee shop might not have been so accidental, then we both get kidnapped, then I find out you’re in the process of trying to buy Bradley Inc., then I find out that your ex-assistant is my ex-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend who hates me. And then to make it all worse, I find out that you actually kind of know David. To top it off, there’s another guy on the island with us that has just disappeared into thin air. And we’re getting more threatening notes.”

  “What do you mean, more?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Bianca?”

  “I got notes before I was kidnapped as well.”

  “What sort of notes?”

  “Threatening notes.”

  “Like death threats?”

  “Not exactly.” I shook my head. “And I guess, I shouldn’t say notes, it was one note.”

  “What did it say?”

  “Something about two people, one surviving and one being destroyed.”

  “I see.” I watched as his shoulders stiffened and his hands squared into fists.

  “It’s fine. It didn’t scare me.”

  “We need to get off of this island. I promise, I’ll help you find out whatever you need to know.”

  “What do you get though?”

  “I get the truth.”

  “I’m worried about Steve.” I looked at the dark green mysterious jungle behind us. “What if he’s lost?”

  “I doubt he’s lost.”

  “What do you think happened to Steve?” I whispered again, and touched the healing cut on his cheek.

  “I don’t know, but I promise I won’t let him harm you.”

  “He didn’t seem dangerous.” I shivered and moved forward to kiss his cheek.

  “Looks can be deceiving. We can’t be too careful.”

  “I know.” I yawned. “I just wish I . . .” I stopped talking as his hand reached out behind my head and pulled me toward him. His eyes sought mine and I stared at his lashes and eyebrows. They were perfectly groomed. His stubble had grown in even more, and he was close to having a beard. He looked even sexier with his rough look. All of a sudden I wasn’t so tired anymore. I reached up and brushed some sand off of his shoulders. His skin was hot beneath my fingertips, and I enjoyed the slight shock that vibrated through my body each time I touched him. I looked down at his chest and held my breath; his body showed off a perfect bronze tan, and I was envious of how smooth and silky his skin felt and looked.

  “Are you tired?” His fingers ran down my cheek and to my lips.

  “A little.” My tongue darted out and licked his finger as it trailed across my lower lip.

  “That’s good,” he said, and then leaned down toward me, gathering me in his arms as he lowered both of us to the ground. As soon as we hit the sand, his lips descended onto mine. His tongue entered my mouth smoothly, and my fingers ran through his hair eagerly. He groaned against my mouth, and I felt his fingers tracing down the side of my body as he lowered himself on top of me. He grabbed me and rolled me onto my side, and his hand pushed my leg up as he slid one of his legs between mine. I could feel his hardness pressed up against me, and I moaned.

  “You’re so sexy,” he muttered, and I felt his fingers undoing my bra. He slid the straps down my arms and then threw it onto the sand. He pulled away from me for a second to stare at my breasts, and his breathing became loud and raspy. His fingers reached for my breasts and touched them gingerly. I closed my eyes and rested my head back on the sand as he caressed my nipples.

  “Oh!” I cried out as he lowered his lips to my right breast and sucked. A feeling of desire ran through my stomach as he nibbled on one breast and squeezed the other one with his fingers. Then he kissed back up my chest and to my neck, before licking a trail up from my collarbone back to my lips.

  “I could taste you all night,” he groaned as he kissed me again. My hands ran to his back and then to his chest. My fingers ran down his abs and then along the side of his stomach, enjoying the hard yet silky feel of his skin. He pushed me onto my back, and his fingers slipped between my legs, rubbing me softly over my panties. My legs parted more at his touch, and I moaned as his fingers increased their pressure against me. His eyes stared into mine as he slipped his fingers into my panties, and his finger rubbed my clit. “You’re so wet.” He groaned against my lips and increased the pressure of his fingers. “I have to taste all of you.” He slipped his fingers out of my panties and kissed down my stomach and stopped right below my belly button. He glanced back up at me, and I nodded eagerly, not wanting to think too hard about what he was about to do. His mouth continued kissing, and he caught my panties between his teeth and tugged them down. I lifted my hips slightly so he could pull them off more easily, and I felt a whoosh of fresh air down below when he succeeded. He sat up slightly to pull my panties off my ankles, and then he leaned forward and spread my legs apart.

  “This is okay?” He looked down at me with a questioning look, and I nodded up at him. Within seconds his face was buried between my legs, and his tongue was lapping up my juices eagerly. I groaned and closed my eyes as I reached down and grabbed the top of his head.

  “Oh, Jakob,” I cried out as his tongue entered me and his
lips sucked down on me. I gripped the top of his hair and bucked my hips under him. I felt so wet and his tongue felt so good inside me. He moved his tongue in and out furiously, and I could feel the climax building up inside me. “I’m going to come!” I cried out, and spread my legs even wider. That seemed to turn him on even more, and his hands grabbed my hips and pulled me even closer to his face. He withdrew his tongue from inside of me and flicked my clit back and forth with his tongue before entering me again. I screamed as I came, my body shaking and trembling as the climax took over.

  He backed away from me and grinned, and I watched as he yanked his briefs down. His cock stood at attention, and I gazed at his magnificent hardness. He lay back down next to me and kissed my cheek as his fingers once again played with my nipples.

  “I knew you’d taste like heaven,” he whispered in my ear before kissing me again.

  “You have a way with your tongue,” I whispered against his lips, and moaned as I felt his fingers between my legs again. “Oooh.” I spread my legs as his fingers rubbed my clit.

  “You’re already wet again,” he groaned as he continued playing with me. He repositioned his body, and I felt his cock between my legs. He kissed me again hard, and my body exploded in pleasure as I felt his tongue in my mouth, at the same time he started pinching my nipples. His fingers then left my nipples and moved down toward his cock. He grabbed it and placed it at my entrance and rubbed the tip of his cock against me gently. I squirmed beneath him and he groaned. “I want to fuck you so badly,” he whispered in my ear, and I felt the tip of him enter me slowly. I froze, and my eyes popped open in fear. As badly as I wanted him, this didn’t feel right. My body wanted him, but my brain still wasn’t sure if I trusted him. There had been too many revelations that had come out recently. I didn’t want to sleep with him and regret it. I was a romantic at heart, and while I wanted to feel him inside me, I wasn’t sure that now was the right time. He looked at me for a second and then withdrew his cock from me and groaned.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, and leaned over and ran my fingers down his chest.

  “Don’t be sorry,” he groaned, and closed his eyes. “Good things come to those who wait.”

  “Thank you.” I reached up to kiss him, and he pulled me into his arms.

  “No, thank you.” He kissed the top of my forehead, and I snuggled into his chest and closed my eyes. The fact that I hadn’t had to ask him to stop made me feel more comfortable with him. The fact that he’d known from a look on my face that I wasn’t ready spoke words to me. He was in tune with my feelings, and he respected me enough to not try to talk me into it. I lay in his arms knowing that I wasn’t a complete and utter fool. Jakob was a good guy. I knew it in my soul. Though, that didn’t stop me from thinking about Steve. Why hadn’t Jakob seemed more worried about his disappearance? And what role did both of them play in our being here? I felt my calmness seeping out as I lay there listening to Jakob snoring. I was no closer to finding out what had happened to my mother. In fact, I was even farther away than I had been when I’d first found my father’s letter.

  eight

  “Wakey, wakey, sleepy Bianca.” Jakob’s warm voice whispered in my ear, and I stretched out and smiled. “I have breakfast for you.” His voice spoke again; this time I felt the tip of his tongue tickling my inner ear.

  “Morning.” I opened my eyes slowly and saw Jakob’s face a mere inch from mine. “Oh.” I blinked rapidly as my eyes focused in on his lips.

  “Good sleep?”

  “Yes.” I nodded and smiled.

  “Hungry?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Limited vocabulary?” He grinned, and I sat up and rolled my eyes.

  “I’m not even going to respond.” I stretched my arms and reached for my bra.

  “You don’t have to put that on. I bet that won’t be feeling too comfortable right now.” Jakob’s face reminded me of a lascivious wolf, and I ignored him.

  “Thanks for your concern.” I laughed as I slipped on my bra. “You got up and brought breakfast to me?” I stared at the fruits lying on the large green palm leaf. “That was really thoughtful of you.”

  “You looked so peaceful lying there. I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.”

  “Who knew you had a heart?”

  “Don’t get used to it.” He sat down next to me. “After last night I wanted to make sure you got a good rest.”

  “I almost forgot we weren’t here by choice.” I gave him a small smile. “And how much I hate the wilderness.”

  “It’s not so bad when we have nights like last night.” He handed me a peeled banana. “Try this; it’s firm and sweet.”

  “Thank you.” I took it from his hands and nibbled on it. “It’s delicious.” I gobbled up the rest of the banana greedily and then licked my lips. “Best breakfast I’ve had in a long while.”

  “Do you enjoy breakfast, then?” He sat back and watched me as I reached for another banana. I felt slightly self-conscious that he was just sitting there watching me eat, but I soon got over it.

  “I don’t normally eat breakfast,” I mumbled between bites. “I’m the sort of person who waits until lunchtime and then gobbles up everything in sight.”

  “That’s not healthy.” He frowned.

  “It’s just how I grew up.” I shrugged. “My dad was the same way. He kept really odd working hours, and I guess it caught on with me.”

  “So what was your dad like?” he asked casually, grabbing a banana.

  “He was really wonderful. He was devoted to me. Though, he was very forgetful when he was working on a new invention. I can’t tell you how many times I waited at school after the last bell because he was late to pick me up.”

  “Why didn’t he just hire a nanny?”

  “He didn’t have money for a nanny.” I stared down the beach. “He never made much money from his inventions.”

  “I thought he created the self-painter.”

  “He did.” I gave him a wry smile. “That’s part of the reason why I’m trying to get access to Bradley Inc.”

  “I see. That makes sense. What’s the other part of the reason?”

  “I think that David’s father had my mother killed.”

  “What?”

  “My father didn’t believe my mother died in an accident.” I decided to tell him almost everything. I figured I couldn’t be mad at him for holding back, when I was holding back as well. “When he died he left me the letter I told you about, but he also left me some business papers. Papers that would lead someone to believe that the timing of my mother’s accident was too coincidental to have been an accident.”

  “So that’s the real reason why you’re trying to gain access to the files?”

  “Yes.” I nodded. “I just want to go through all the files from that time period. I want to go through the financials. I want to know if the corporation would have been okay if my father had left. I want to know when and why it changed from Bradley, London, and Maxwell to Bradley Inc.”

  “I didn’t know.” He pursed his lips and looked toward the ocean. “I wish I’d known.”

  “It’s okay.” I shrugged. “I didn’t tell you.”

  “This has nothing to do with the money for you, does it?” He cursed under his tongue. “I’m sorry for my earlier comments.”

  “Don’t worry about it. But no, I’m not investigating so I can get a whole bunch of money.”

  “I’m going to help you, Bianca.” He threw the banana peel on the ground. “It’s a shame that your father wasn’t compensated properly by the company.”

  “Yeah, it really was.” My mind flashed back to the all the different patents I’d found in my father’s box, and I looked back at Jakob. “It’s surprising as well, because he was really quite brilliant. I’m not sure why he just walked away without demanding his cut. I mean, I know he loved my mother, and he was devastated by her death, but I never thought he’d just walk away from something like that. I guess he just did
n’t care about money.”

  “Isn’t that always the way? The brilliant ones never seem to make much money. Such is the life of a genius.” He shrugged. “Even though many of them seem to be chasing the money, karma always catches up with them.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I can’t say I know any geniuses that are chasing money,” I said with a sigh. “Do you?”

  “I know men who think they are geniuses.” He scratched his right eyebrow. “I know men that will do anything for money. I know men who figure out on their deathbed that their love of money got them nowhere.”

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “No one in particular.” He shook his head.

  “What’s your father like?” I changed the subject, hoping I could find out more about this man I was starting to fall for. At first, it had been all about the physical attraction, but now, as each day passed, I realized that I liked who he was as a person. He was genuinely caring, and I believed he had my best interests at heart. It was just so hard, because he was so reserved and closed off. I still didn’t really know anything truly personal about Jakob. He was still essentially a stranger. A stranger I wanted to get to know better.

  “He’s dead.” His voice was curt.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be; I didn’t know him very well, and we weren’t close.”

  “Did you never meet him, then?”

  “No, I knew him all my life.” He gave me a twisted smile and lay back on the sand. “I’ve been thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “Everything.” He looked up at me, but he didn’t smile. “I wonder what’s going on in the real world.”

  “We are in the real world.” I laughed. “Unless you think we’re in some sort of twilight zone or time warp or something.”

  “I don’t.” He groaned and rested his face on his hand. “So who in the real world is worried about you right now?”

  “Rosie must be freaking out.” I lay down next to him. “I bet she’s gone to the news media and everything. What about you?”

  “I can’t say that anyone will be worried about me.” He shrugged and moved a few strands of hair from my eyes.