Anything But Vanilla

by Ellis, Madelynne

  While that fact seemed to perk Zach up a little – the corners of his mouth even briefly turned upwards into a smile – it also reminded Kara that she was going to have to work at this if she didn’t want to get left out of the fun. Maybe she wasn’t feeling jealous in the way Zach was, but she certainly did feel prickly at the notion of them enjoying too much time together without her. ‘Yes, but you’re going to invite me over for dinner tonight, aren’t you?’ She smiled sweetly up at Ric, who remained unmoved.

  ‘I am?’

  ‘We are,’ Zach interjected. He stopped rubbing his arms and curled them instead around Kara and Ric’s waists. ‘We’re going to have dinner together. It’ll be great. A first for all of us. I’ll cook. You two just have to show up in some decent togs.’

  ‘Right,’ Ric drawled dubiously, but he didn’t veto the plan. ‘I’d better dig you out some more clothes then.’

  That at least put a smile on Zach’s face. ‘No need,’ he breezed.

  ‘What about now?’ Kara asked. The tide was beginning to roll up the beach again, a fact that was adding to her unease. She caught herself twitching each time the waves washed a little closer to where they stood. ‘Are you planning on opening up?’

  Given the grey weather and lack of tourists there seemed little point in opening the Bunker’s doors. Zach hunched his shoulders up around his ears. ‘I dunno, hardly anyone comes in at the best of times.’

  ‘That’s because it’s full of crap,’ Ric remarked, typically blunt.

  Kara contemplated slapping him, except he had a point. Buckets and spades were all very well, but the other assorted seaside tat wasn’t very appealing, especially given the Bunker’s poor lighting. ‘Have you ever thought about converting it for use as a café?’ She turned Zach so that he was facing the front of the Bunker. It was by no means a visually stunning building. It’d been constructed for practicality, not aesthetics, but it did fit the landscape, and it was an interesting site. Inside, it had a wonderful cave-like quality, and there was something she found very appealing about the way the red-brick vaulting meshed with the natural rock. ‘You could go for a proper continental feel, have lots of outside seating during the day.’ The place definitely looked better without the ice-cream van parked outside. ‘And offer intimate candlelit dinners inside during the evenings. I bet people would come for the novelty value and the location, especially if you hired a decent chef, maybe someone who knows the local delicacies or could make you a signature dish.’

  ‘I can cook,’ he grumbled.

  ‘Since when?’ asked Ric, sounding surprised.

  ‘Since for ever. Which you’d know, if you weren’t only interested in me for one thing. Wait and see. I’ll prove it tonight.’

  Wow, if Zach could cook, then the café idea definitely had currency, although Zach seemed less sure. He scratched at his sea-dampened hair. ‘I supposed it might breathe some life into the place, and the insurance on the van might cover the set-up costs if I don’t opt to replace it. A few extra visitors wouldn’t hurt either. Course, it might be a bit seasonal.’

  ‘It’s still a fab idea,’ Kara reassured him. ‘Isn’t it, Ric? People love unusual venues.’

  Ric crushed his coffee cup in his hand and then flicked it into the nearby bin. ‘I suppose,’ he grunted.

  The muscles in Zach’s arm tensed beneath Kara’s fingers. When Ric turned away and began to walk towards the cliff path, he brushed Kara off and trailed after him. ‘Wait up. You know I’d be happier if you were on board the idea. It’s your island. I know you like things quiet. I can just as easily keep things the way they are.’

  Ric stopped abruptly to face him. ‘I don’t actually. I’ve never liked it quiet. I never deliberately set out to live like a hermit. As long as people don’t pry into my personal life, I don’t mind them being here.’

  ‘Really?’ Zach forehead rumpled into a confused frown. ‘Then why aren’t you leasing out all those empty properties you have and making some money on them, instead of having them stand empty?’

  Exasperated, Ric tore a hand through his flaxen hair. ‘Because I’m a photographer, not a flipping holiday rep. I don’t want to be hassled with it. I don’t do admin. It’s a total soul suck.’

  ‘But …’ Zach remained incredulous. Kara too couldn’t quite grasp what she was hearing. Why would anyone sit on a gold-mine like that? Well, if they didn’t need the money. She guessed Ric was even better off than she’d thought.

  ‘That’s mental,’ Zach continued.

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Kara piped up.

  The two men turned to face her. ‘You’ll do what?’ Ric asked.

  ‘I’ll organise your holiday lets. I’ve worked for a letting agency before. It won’t be that much work once they’re listed on the major websites. How many properties are there?’ She was expecting him to say two or three.

  ‘About six,’ Zach replied. ‘He has six empty cottages, and another handful of buildings that could be let if they had some work done to them first.’

  ‘What? Seriously, you’re sitting on that many?’ Kara stared at Ric. He hadn’t been joking about owning the whole island. Her brain started churning figures, likely income from a holiday home in this part of the country. He wouldn’t need to take photos and more importantly, if he’d let her manage them, she’d have a job and a reason to stay on Liddell Island once her baby brother returned from New Zealand. ‘Why are you holding on to them if you’re not doing anything with them?’

  Ric mooched about, kicking at the gravel. Obviously being put on the spot over money made him uncomfortable. ‘I wasn’t doing nothing with them. I was selling the leaseholds. That’s how your brother got Beachcomber’s. But I had to reconsider after I had some interest from certain undesirable elements.’

  She knew without questioning him that he meant Robin. Still, that was no reason to leave them empty. Families would love to come here for a holiday. There were unspoiled beaches and rock pools, the mainland attractions were only a few minutes away and, if Zach opened his café, maybe even thought about an alcohol licence, then it would be pretty much what anyone wanted. ‘Let me help.’

  Ric shrugged. ‘Whatever. Have a look at them, if you like. See if you think they’re up to scratch.’ He started back up the cliff path again. Kara watched him go for a couple of seconds before turning to Zach. ‘Did he say what I think he said?’ Had he just given her a job? ‘Shouldn’t we talk salaries and stuff?’ she called after Ric. He just raised his hand in a wave.

  ‘Is he serious? Will he actually pay me?’ She danced around Zach, clinging to his hands, so that he was forced to turn with her.

  ‘Probably some sort of commission,’ Zach reassured her. He grinned at her exuberance. ‘Anyone would think it was your birthday, not that you’d just been given a glorified cleaning job.’

  ‘Yes, but it’s a job. I didn’t have one, in case you hadn’t noticed.’ She’d no longer have to live on her brother’s kindness, and she could phone her family and tell them truthfully that she could look after herself. ‘Where are these houses? Are the keys up at the fort?’

  ‘Tomorrow,’ Zach insisted. His mouth stretched wide into a yawn. ‘I’ve done enough tramping about for one day.’ He put his arm around her shoulder and guided her back towards the Bunker. ‘You can start tomorrow. Most of them are up towards the eastern tip where the old lighthouse used to be.’

  ‘I haven’t been there.’

  ‘No, I’m not surprised. Access is a bit of an issue. That’ll have to be addressed, but, as I said, tomorrow. We’ll persuade Ric to join us, and make sure he knows you’re serious. Right now, though, come and toss some ideas with me for the Bunker, since you suggested converting this cave into a café.’

  ‘Toss is an unfortunate turn-on phrase,’ she joked, launching herself at him, so that he was forced to catch her. Kara wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Zach held on to her tight. ‘Yeah, well, maybe I’ll let you do that to me too.’

  ‘You
know I’ll do it good.’

  ‘Mm-hm. That’s why I love you so much.’

  Kara stilled a moment. Had he realised what he’d said? Had he even meant anything by it? She shook her head. Nah, it was just a figure of speech, though her insides fluttered at the notion of him one day saying it and meaning it. She’d come to Liddell Island to escape, not seeking commitment or anything else. What she’d found, she suddenly realised she really wanted to keep. She squeezed him tight with her thighs, and clasped her hands round Zach’s neck, then pulled him close until their noses brushed.

  ‘What?’ he asked.

  Kara kissed him hard.

  He was smiling even more bemusedly when she pulled back for breath. Kara kissed him again, this time teasing the seam of his lips with her tongue. She knew he still had reservations about how their triumvirate would work, but Kara was determined to ensure it did. No matter what, she was going to get Ric to open up about his past and confess how he felt about Zach. If one day both men managed to feel a little more than lust for her too, then that would be great. She’d look forward to it, knowing they’d already found a special place in her heart. It wasn’t love yet, but little shoots were growing.

  ‘I’ll come into the Bunker, Zach,’ Kara said, ‘but to discuss us, not business. We can’t let Ric take charge tonight, no matter how much we both enjoy it. We have to stand up to him, put him in a submissive position for a change.’

  Zach’s brows shot towards his floppy hairline. ‘What are you suggesting?’

  ‘Oh, you know.’ She wriggled suggestively. ‘That we reprise this morning’s wake-up call only with him in the middle. I saw what that did to you, remember. I reckon it won’t be any different for Ric. Once he’s felt that, he’s not going to want to set us loose.’

  ‘I suppose.’ Zach pressed a kiss to her smirk. ‘You’d best play boss, though. I’m hopeless at it.’

  That was true. Zach seemed to enjoy things best when he was being told what to do, rather than when he was in command of what was happening. That might have to change a little for tonight, at least to the extent that he’d have to work with her.

  ‘Have you ever done him like that?’ she asked, realising it might prove to be a major hurdle if he hadn’t.

  Zach squirmed against her. The skin across his cheeks turned pink. ‘Um, not often.’

  ‘But you have done it?’

  ‘Yeah.’ His husky affirmative sent a wash of arousal zipping through her womb. At the same time, she felt his shaft awakening. Kara snuggled closer still, rubbing herself against his thickening erection. Zach’s breath tickled as he moulded his lips to hers. The tip of his tongue flicked briefly into her mouth. It tantalised her with the promise of more, drawing panty-dampening heat to her sex.

  ‘Now come inside.’ He produced the shop key and fitted it to the lock. Kara’s back rested against the stout door.

  ‘Come where?’ she asked mimicking his flirtatious tone. ‘I’m not sure I ought to go anywhere with you. I suspect you’ve dirty things in mind.’

  ‘Filthy,’ he assured her. ‘I think we need to rehearse some of the physical techniques we’ll be using later.’ His loins continued to nudge against her pussy, making her wet. Wet, eager and as impatient to feel his cock as Zach apparently was to sample her cunt.

  She leaned close to his ear. ‘You mean you want to put your long, hard dick in me?’

  ‘Precisely.’

  ‘While we hash out our plan to do dirty, naughty and x-rated things with your male lover?’

  He pecked her cheek and then her eyelashes.

  ‘You sure know how to persuade a girl.’ Despite her precarious balance and the fact that they were still outside the Bunker, Kara reached for Zach’s fly. He wanted to be inside her and she wanted that too. But first she craved the feel of his cock in her hand. Its steel and suppleness sliding against her curled palm until he was so rigid he wept real tears. This was how things had begun between them – desperate, immediate and risky – maybe it was how they should endeavour to make it stay. It worked for her and Ric, why not for her and Zach too?

  Zach’s trouser button popped and the metal teeth of his zip slid apart, giving her access to where the head of his cock already peeped above the line of his underwear.

  ‘Christ!’ Zach squealed at the contact. He slowly ground his hips, so his cock rubbed back and forth in her palm. He’d just snuck a hand beneath her skirt to reciprocate the pleasure when the growl of a car engine drifted across the bay. A line of cars were slowly trundling across the causeway before the tide cut the island off again. Zach made an immediate grab for the key and wiggled it in the lock, a feat made difficult by the fact that Kara had no intention of letting go. Stuff the tourists. They’d have to avert their gazes a moment. She wondered, if she slipped him inside her, would he still be able to walk them far enough to get inside the shop and out of sight?

  ‘Stoopid lock,’ he moaned.

  The first car, a silver BMW, pulled on to the cobblestone car park and drove straight towards them. Zach continued his fight with the key, while Kara cautiously watched the car’s approach over his shoulder. By the time the vehicle stopped before them, her enrapture had died. Instead, her fingers had curled into clawed fists.

  ‘Someone you know?’ Zach asked when she struggled from his arms. Her clothing fell back into place.

  This couldn’t be. No way, not here and now, when everything had taken such a turn for the better. Her past life had no place on Liddell Island. This was her sanctuary.

  ‘Kara?’

  She leapt forward away from Zach’s touch, and brought her fist down hard on the bonnet of the now parked BMW. ‘No fucking way,’ she growled. First the van, then Robin, and now this – they said trouble came in threes.

  The driver’s side window rolled down and Gavin stuck his head out. He was exactly as she remembered him, designer sunglasses and studiously coiffed hair. ‘Kara,’ he said politely. ‘We need to talk, honey.’

  Just the sound of his voice made her want to curl up and cry. Gavin emerged from the vehicle with his arms spread, not in a pleading fashion that might at least have placated her, but in a way that said, ‘Come here, I’ll give you a big hug and all will be right.’

  How many times had she fallen for that trick? What he really meant was ‘We’ll have this out later.’ He wouldn’t raise his voice or harm her in a physical way, he’d just see that he knew exactly what she was doing and when. He’d make sure she was wearing his approved choice of clothing and seeing his approved selection of friends.

  ‘Fuck off!’ she spat. How dare he come here and do this to her? She’d freed herself of him, and it had cost her. Now she’d moved on. She had Zach, she had Ric and, as of ten minutes ago, she had a job that wasn’t just house-sitting for her jet-setting baby brother. She didn’t need rescuing and she absolutely didn’t need Gavin Covey in her life any more. How had he managed to find her for that matter? She thought she could trust Christopher not to blab.

  ‘Why are you even here? Did you miss the fact that we’re over? What’s the matter – did the novelty of Gemma’s comfort wear off?’

  ‘Babe,’ he drawled. Hell, even his voice annoyed her. It was whiny and high-pitched for a man, a tone that lent itself to delivering wheedling endearments. ‘There was never anything between Gemma and I, you know that. She’s been worried sick about you, Kara. Look, I get it. I know the wedding plans were stressing you out, but that’s not a reason to call it off. We can postpone. Let’s talk, like adults.’ He said the latter as though he was talking to someone with severe brain damage and not capable of communicating on an adult level. ‘Darling, we just had a minor falling out. Things don’t need to end between us.’

  Except they already had, and she knew without thinking about it that dumping Gavin had been the wisest choice she’d ever made. Stuff what her family thought, or whatever Gavin thought. She wasn’t interested in being anybody’s pet. Here on Liddell Island she didn’t have to pretend. She’d been h
erself in the way that back home she’d only been when she was drunk. She’d done all the things she’d wanted to do without worrying about what anyone thought, or whether it would hurt Gavin’s career. She’d had sex out of doors, for a camera, been spanked and had a ménage à trois. Why would she ever consider giving that up for a boring life in suburbia as part of his mind-control experiment?

  ‘It’s already over. I moved on. You ought to do the same.’ She turned her back on him, wearied by his very presence. ‘Go home, Gavin. Find someone else.’ Not that she wished him upon anyone.

  ‘Not without you. You know I love you.’

  She knew he was a manipulative jerk, and that he didn’t sound remotely sincere. Zach’s profession of love two minutes earlier had sounded more convincing, and she knew he hadn’t meant it in that way. ‘Go home, Gavin. I’ve found someone else.’

  Really she ought to have kept that part to herself. Gavin always had to be number one. Sure enough, spurred by the thought that he’d been usurped, he strode forwards and caught hold of her arm. He looked at her, eyes cold behind the bronze of his glasses. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Whatever you think you’ve found, it’s just rebound stuff. It’s not real, like what we have. It won’t last.’

  She shook her arm, determined to throw him off.

  ‘For God’s sake, Kara, you ran away, just like you always do when you can’t deal with stuff. Are you really so selfish and stupid that you’re going to throw your whole life away because of the stress caused by a few floral bouquets?’

  The wedding fixtures had never been the issue. The problem had been that she’d known she was marrying the wrong man. She’d known it the moment he grinned when she lost her job.

  Zach came bounding over the rough-hewn wall that separated the edge of the car park proper from the space outside the bunker. ‘Hey, mate. I think you need to leave the lady alone. And she’s not stupid.’

  Gavin sneered at Zach’s shapeless pullover, which was a joke in itself considering he had on a pimpy grey suit, and Zach normally dressed beautifully. Only last night’s events had caused his current dishabille. ‘Yeah, and who are you?’