by Juniper Bell
Here, she wore a short skirt that the breeze molded against her legs. On top, she wore a halter top that ended above her navel. Honestly, I saw very little difference between that and a bikini top. Her body was taut and tan, with hints of sunburn on her shoulders. I missed her long hair, but I loved the shorter style that framed her face and made her beauty stand out even more. Her eye makeup looked a lot more complicated—Annabelle would have been envious.
But the biggest change was that she looked so much freer. She looked as if she was actually having fun.
Even though she'd changed her appearance so much, I'd recognized her right away. Every hair on my body stood on end when I spotted her profile behind that funky juice bar. Blond or brunette, it didn't matter. I'd know her anywhere. It was the way she held her head, the proud slope of her neck, the slight slump of her shoulders.
"Why Thailand?" I asked her.
"Why not?"
"Did you come directly here from Washington? Did you go somewhere else first?"
We skirted around a couple locked in a full, ass-grabbing embrace. Lauren waited until we were out of earshot to answer me. "Why does it matter?"
"Are you going to answer all my questions like that?"
"Listen, Rye." She turned to face me, putting a hand on my chest. "If you're here to interrogate me, don't bother. I don't want to talk about anything."
"Anything?"
"Anything," she said firmly. "Can't we just … pretend that this island is completely separate from the rest of the world? That nothing that happens out there matters in here? Can't we just make a little space here for us?"
I caught her around the waist. The pleasure of touching her again made me growl. "I like the sound of that word. Us."
The moonlight made shadows on her face. "I do too," she whispered. "But if we get dragged back into the past, there might not be an 'us.' There's too much back there, Rye."
I knew what she was talking about. Too many lies, too much deception, too many hidden agendas. Including the deal I'd made with Bliss. I had to deliver Bliss's information about her real mother. I'd given my word as a McAllister.
But I didn't have to do it yet.
"Deal," I murmured. "Whatever you want. You call the shots."
She melted against me and pressed a kiss into the skin just above my t-shirt. "Thank you, Rye. Thank you."
I cupped her head in my two hands and tilted her chin up. I wanted access to that luscious mouth. I swept my tongue across the seam of her lips. Sweet Jesus, her taste. Nectar of the gods. I heard a soft whimper float between us, then her lips were parting for me. Her tongue touched mine, a lush sensation, almost primitive. It was so basic—tongue meets tongue. Tongue likes tongue. Tongue follows tongue across several continents.
I chuckled as I skimmed my thumbs across her cheekbones.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"I wasn't sure I'd ever get to do this again. I'm just happy."
She tried to hide her secret smile in the palm of my hand. "I've dreamed about being with you again almost every night."
My chest expanded with emotion. "You have?" I asked hoarsely. As a yes, she nipped at the heel of my hand. "Then why did you ru— No. Never mind. I don't care what happened before we got here. We're here now, that's the only thing that matters."
The fronds of a tall palm caught the breeze with a sound like a dog's toenails clicking on a tile floor. The movement sent spiky shadows across Lauren's face. She flung her arms around me in a spontaneous way that I'd never seen from her before. "We can have so much, Rye! We can lie on the beach and swim in the ocean—it's so warm, you won't believe it. There's a little café back in the jungle where they sell the most amazing coffee. I've met people from all over the world here—Australia, Ireland Denmark, Israel."
I didn't want to meet other people. I only wanted her. But I smiled anyway. Her excitement was magical.
"And the food … everything is so spicy. Do you like green papaya? I know it sounds strange, but the place where I stay has the most delicious salad, and you can get an entire meal for about a dollar. I'm completely spoiled."
"Lauren?"
She stilled at the sound of her name. "What?"
"I've been traveling for about three days with no shower and very little sleep. I'm exhausted, grimy, and my stomach is growling. Even so, the only thing I care about is getting inside you. How far are we from your place?"
She stepped out of the circle of my arms and I immediately kicked myself for my foolishness. I'd had her right against my cock, and I let her go.
Circling her hand around my forearm, she tugged me back onto the path. "Be careful what you wish for, Rye." She winked at me over her shoulder. "Once we get there, I may not let you out."
"No problem," I managed. Vivid images flooded my brain. Lauren. Me. A tropical paradise. What could go wrong? Nothing, I vowed. I wouldn't let anything go wrong, not this time. No suspicion. No paranoia. No revenge. Just complete and total truthfulness.
Except … I couldn't tell her everything. Not yet. The message from Bliss, the information about her mother—that would ruin everything.
Her bungalow sat on a path that meandered from Haad Wai Nam Beach into the dense jungle. The murmur of tree frogs pressed in on us. The moon was just rising, a flat, mottled bronze disc a bit short of perfectly circular.
"Have you ever followed that path?" I asked Lauren as we paused to take in the magical scene.
"Yes, but it doesn't go very far. It hooks up with the main trail that takes you back to Haad Rin, which is where the longboats launch from. I hear it's about a four-hour hike and the trail isn't maintained. You're on your own if you try to tackle it."
I didn't like the sound of that. "So someone could walk through the jungle to get here? No boat required?"
"Well, yes, but no one does it. The boat ride is much simpler and safer. Why would you hack your way through vines and fight off mosquitoes when you can spend the equivalent of three dollars for a spot on a boat?"
I could think of one very good reason. If you didn't want anyone to know you were coming.
I shook off that ominous thought as I followed her to her bungalow. It was essentially a concrete cube with an open-air front porch. A hammock hung between two rafters. A paperback was splayed on the railing—a mystery novel with a New England scene on the cover. Next to it lay a flashlight.
I could imagine that it would be very dark here if the moon weren't nearly full.
She unlocked the door and pushed it open. I followed her inside, breathing the fragrance of her hair. I'd missed the scent of her on a visceral level.
The interior of the bungalow was very simple. It had one piece of furniture. A bed. That was it. Mosquito netting surrounded the bed, which was covered with a simple blue sheet. The casement of the window was the only place to set things. I saw a few candles, another pile of books, and a pair of sunglasses. Clothes spilled out of a suitcase shoved against one wall.
An opening at the far end of the room led to a bathroom. Concrete floor, a showerhead in the corner, a toilet and a small sink. I'd seen enough of Thailand to know that the toilet was pretty luxurious.
"How much do you pay for this place?"
"Five dollars a night, which includes a meal at the restaurant." She bent over to light one of the candles. It cast a soft glow around the simple room and filled it with the scent of lemongrass.
I whistled. "Well, it's not fancy, but it has everything I need." To emphasize my point, I advanced toward her, letting her see every bit of the craving I'd been keeping leashed all this time. Her eyes got wide. I caught the tremble of the pulse along her throat. Her nipples peaked under her little halter top. I wanted those gorgeous mounds of flesh in my mouth.
I put my hands on her shoulders and turned her so her back was to me. I untied her halter top. I pulled the two pieces of material off her breasts and filled my hands with the warm flesh I'd exposed. I cupped them, reveling in the tender silkiness of their under-curves. Sh
e leaned back against my chest, arching into my hands. I realized that this was the very pose that had been broadcast around the world.
"No mirror this time," I murmured, flicking my thumbs against the underside of her nipples.
"No camera."
"I'm so, so sorry about that, Lauren." I pinched her nipples between thumb and index finger and lightly squeezed in the way I knew made her crazy.
"It wasn't your fault." Her sentence ended in a ragged whimper as I ran my thumbnails across those hard tips. "You didn't put that camera there."
"I put you there. And I took off your clothes."
"I took off my clothes. I had a choice, remember? Answer a question or take off a piece of clothing."
I hardened at the memory. She felt it, and wriggled her ass closer against my cock. "Not much of a choice."
"Why are we talking about this? Nothing about the past, remember?" She whirled away from me, covering her breasts with her hands.
"I'll stop," I said hoarsely. "Just don't cover yourself up. You're so beautiful, Lauren. Show me your tits. Please."
I felt like a teenager begging his girlfriend to flash him. Yes, I was reduced to begging. And I didn't even care.
She kept her hands right where they were, flat against her breasts. But she spread her fingers apart so the deep rose-red of her nipples showed through.
"Are you taunting me?"
Her curving smile suggested all kinds of naughty intentions. "You said it was my turn. You said you'd do anything I want. Right?"
"Yup. Anything you want."
"I want your shirt off."
I ripped off my t-shirt. Her gaze dropped to my chest and her tongue appeared between her lips. I knew where this would go, and how fast and how hard, if I let it. But I wanted to establish something first. "Remember our first deal, when you came to my hotel in DC and said you'd do anything I wanted…as long as it was in private?"
"Yes." She swallowed, her throat muscles flexing. I wanted to slide my tongue along that graceful neck of hers.
"I have my own version. I'll do anything you want, private or public, like I said. But I want to get to know you. Your experiences. Your heart. Your mind. How can I do that if we never talk about the past?"
Her hands moved slightly against her breasts. I bet her nipples were crying out for a little attention. I knew my cock was.
Her big hazel-green eyes were fixed on me. "But I don't want to talk about the past."
"Harmless things. That's all."
"Define harmless," she said in a shaking voice.
"Nothing about my father. Nothing about Bliss. Nothing you don't want to share."
She hesitated, nibbling on her lower lip. I backed her up against the wall, caging her between my arms. She dropped her hands from her breasts and arched her back so her nipples brushed the hair on my chest. Desire flooded her face in waves of pink.
"A few harmless questions, and you can have anything you want," I murmured. "If you want it rough, you get it rough. Soft and gentle, I can do that too. If you want me to lick you up against this wall until you come in my mouth, you got it."
Her eyes closed briefly. I hoped all those hot images were flooding her over-analytical brain. "I suppose a few harmless questions would be fine," she finally whispered.
It was ridiculous, but even the prospect of learning simple things about Lauren—where she was born, what subjects she liked in high school, had she ever been a cheerleader—made me want to do a victory dance. That's how far gone I was.
"But I have the right to refuse to answer," she added.
"Of course. But you also have the right to come as often and as hard as you like. Deal?"
"Deal," she breathed. "Let's start right now. I want you to take off all your clothes. Pants, underwear, everything. I want to see you."
4
Rye
A bolt of hot excitement tightened my gut. The game was on. I pushed my pants down my thighs, letting her see the thick bulge expanding my briefs. "Sure, love, as soon as you tell me one harmless thing."
"Like what?"
"Your middle name."
She smiled. "I think I'm going to like this deal. My middle name is Marie. Now off with the clothes."
I kicked my pants off, then gripped my cock through my underwear, just to tease her. "All of them? Are you sure you're ready for this thing?"
"I think so. Let me see." With a mischievous wink, she lifted her skirt and touched herself under her panties. When she withdrew her finger, it was coated in her intimate juices. My mouth watered. "Looks like we're good to go. Now why are you still wearing clothes? Do you want me to cancel the deal already?"
I shook my head, amazed at how quickly she'd gotten into the spirit of this. Maybe she hadn't had much opportunity to call the shots in her life. I got rid of my briefs and stood naked in that little concrete box of a room.
"Lace your hands behind your head," she said softly. "I want to look at you. I've fantasized about you just about every night, but some details are kind of fuzzy. Oh, and here's some motivation for you."
She shimmied out of her skirt. Underneath, she wore the sexiest little boy shorts I'd ever seen. They were made out of a thin material that molded intimately close to every dip and crest of her body. With her long lines and full breasts, not to mention her tanned skin and taut stomach, she slayed me. I wanted to eat her up on the spot.
Instead, I did as she said. Blood surged into my dick. There was something extremely hot about letting Lauren dictate to me like this. I stood there, buck naked, hands behind my neck, while she walked in a circle around me. As she walked, she touched, starting with the muscle above my hip bone, tracing down into the hair above my cock, brushing against the base of my shaft, then over to the other side.
Behind me, she landed a slap on my ass. "Just because I know how good that feels," she murmured in my ear.
It didn't feel like much to me, but I filed away that little tidbit of info. Likes to be spanked. Ten-four.
When she came back around, she took hold of the heavy pole jutting from between my legs.
"God, it's even bigger than I remembered," she murmured.
My cock pulsed in her soft hand. "Keep touching it and see what happens."
"Oh? Will it get even bigger?" She teased the tip with her finger, then lightly moved her hand along the length of my shaft. The pleasure gathered in my spine and I felt my balls tighten.
"Smaller. I'm going to come all over this concrete floor at this rate."
She licked her lips, the tip of her little pink tongue riveting to watch. All I could think was how good it would feel if she licked me like that. "We don't want to make a mess, now, do we? Don't come until I'm ready."
"Sure," I managed. My hands were gripped together so tightly my biceps were spasming. She was driving me out of my mind.
And then it got worse. She began touching herself, smoothing her hands down her curves, moving her body with sexy, provocative twists and undulations. Turning so her back was to me, she folded forward until her hands touched the floor and spread her legs wider. Those little shorts rode up until the soft shadow of her sex was exposed.
So close … so tauntingly, teasingly close. I sniffed hungrily at the air like some kind of werewolf scenting the tang of aroused woman. My six months of fantasies were right here in front of me. And yet I couldn't touch. Couldn't lick. Couldn't satisfy my pulsating cock.
I stood stone-still. If I moved an inch, I'd be on her like a rabid animal. Only my eyes moved as I tracked her every torturous motion. But I couldn't control the rise and fall of my chest as the pressure built inside me. And I could do nothing about the way my cock responded. Blood pumped into it. It had a life of its own, jerking and twitching as the two of us watched her erotic dance.
So close … but so far. Was that how things would always be between me and Lauren? I'd had her in my bed—screaming out her orgasm, at my mercy, begging me for more—but part of her had always been out of my reach.
&nb
sp; If I wanted that distance to disappear, I needed to respect this moment. I needed to honor her freedom to writhe and taunt and display her sexuality in whatever way she wanted.
Even if it fucking killed me.
She rotated her ass, mere inches away from the deep-purple head of my shaft. I could plant my hands on her hips, rip down her shorts and take that ass. I could bury my suffering cock deep in her hole—any hole. I'd rut in there like a beast. Let the orgasm rip through my suffering body and damn the consequences.
But I didn't move a single muscle. I clamped down on my body. Inside my head, the nastiest pornos in the world played. On repeat. But my body stayed right where it was. Behind the boundary Lauren had set up.
Still bent at the waist, she tucked her thumbs into her boy shorts and inched them down her swaying ass. I stared, transfixed, at the smooth crack she revealed, the tight pink hole, the deep furrow of shadows and promise. She was dripping wet, I saw. Liquid glistened between the dark rose lips. I wanted to lick that juice off her flesh, follow the droplets down to the tender skin of her inner thigh.
"Let me lick you," I said hoarsely.
Her thighs quivered. "Or maybe I should lick you."
You didn't hear that, cock. Keep it together.
Straightening, she stepped out of her shorts. Damn, now she was completely naked and I was going to lose my shit. My entire body was shaking with the effort of holding back.
"Come here," she whispered. She took my hand and tugged me to the edge of the bed. She pushed aside the mosquito net and climbed onto the bed. Candlelight bathed her skin in a mellow glow, and every curve of her body called to me. When my knees hit the side of the bed, she stopped me and ran a soft hand down to my cock. I tensed, fighting back the hot need.
"You want me," she whispered, her lips barely brushing the tip with feathery softness.
