South Seas Seduction

by Anita Kidesu

  Jack stood and brushed sand from his pants, glaring at Toby and then down at the rip in his pants. “You know, if we’re stuck on this island for any length of time, clothes could be a premium.” He looked at the three of them. “Hope you packed a good supply.”

  Emma stared at Jack. “What’s that supposed to mean?” When he didn’t answer but started up the stairs, she grabbed his arm. “Tell me, Mr. Delaney.”

  “Will you please call me Jack? I’m not so old that you have to call me Mr. anything.”

  “I didn’t call you Mr. Anything. I called you Mr. Delaney,” Emma quipped back.

  Jack glanced sideways at Emma then at Toby and Steve. “Did Miss Prissy tell a joke?”

  “Don’t call me Miss Prissy, and I won’t call you Mr. Delaney, Mr. Anything.”

  Toby snickered. Steve snorted. They were laughing at what she said—something that had never happened to her before. When Jack’s laugh alternated between slapping his hands on his knees in mirth and grabbing his ribs in pain, Emma couldn’t hold back. She joined them on the stairs, and they laughed until they had to hold their sides and couldn’t catch their breaths.

  When they finally wound down, Steve stood. “Well, they say laughter is the best medicine. Evidently it wasn’t meant for a group of bruised, aching people standing among dead bodies. I feel like shit. Good shit, but shit nonetheless.”

  Steve’s cussing started Toby and Jack in again.

  Emma finally slapped Jack on the arm. He stood and winked at Emma. Her heart skipped a beat.

  “Well, this isn’t getting rid of those hijackers.” He glanced at the sky. “There are only a few more hours of daylight and a lot to do. We don’t want to give the wild animals a reason to come for a feast.”

  The three men went up the stairs and into the plane. Emma followed and took a deep breath before entering the dim interior.

  “What are you doing in here?” Toby asked.

  “I can help.”

  “We need to dispose of the bodies before they start smelling up the joint.” Jack grunted, pulling the pants off one of the hijackers and dropped them to the floor. “We can go through the clothes later and see if anything can be of use.”

  Toby grabbed the legs of another man. “This won’t be pleasant, Emma. Maybe you should go outside.”

  Emma glanced at the bodies, then at the men and put her hands on her hips. She shuddered. Toby was right. Even though she didn’t want to touch those creeps, she wanted to help. “At least I can take off the woman’s clothing.” She stepped over to the dead woman, knelt and unbuttoned her blouse. No one spoke. “Come on. Let’s get to work before it gets dark.”

  ****

  Hours later, Emma flopped onto her back on to the soft sand and wiped stinging perspiration from her eyes. Besides surviving a plane crash, she could add a few more items to her list of things people would never believe. Helping drag four naked dead people to the edge of the ocean, wading up to her waist, and holding them with Steve while Jack and Toby used long branches to push them farther into the water was just one.

  Jack took the life raft from the plane and inflated it. They lugged the bodies into the raft. Jack and Toby rowed out to deeper water and pushed them overboard. After sharks snatched the first body, they realized they were lucky not to have been attacked themselves. At one point Emma counted nine shark fins swarming around, waiting for a free meal.

  “You did great, kid,” Jack said, dropping down next to her.

  “What’s for supper? Shark meat?” Toby joked, joining them.

  Steve sat down and groaned. “I’m too damn tired to eat.”

  Emma opened her eyes. A few hours ago, the sight of the men’s naked chests upset her, but now it seemed natural. Now their wet pants, clinging to their muscular thighs and crotches, made her system jumpy.

  She sucked in a breath and once again averted her eyes. A married woman should not be interested in another man’s male parts.

  Her skirt was torn nearly to her waist, but at least her blouse remained tied. Too tired to care that the wet fabric stuck to her breasts like cling wrap, she pulled a strand of damp hair from her mouth. “No one is ever going to believe this.”

  “What? Just because we’re covered in blood, coated with salt, and our shoes and clothes are torn from the rocks?” Jack joked.

  Everyone chuckled.

  “Seriously,” Toby said. “What are we going to eat? I don’t see any food magically appearing.”

  Jack rolled over onto his stomach, resting his head on his forearms. “Give me a few minutes, and we’ll go back to the plane. Luckily there are a lot of supplies I was to deliver to some missionaries. We should have plenty,” he mumbled before starting to snore.

  Emma closed her eyes and listened as Toby and Steve talked, their low, rumbling voices taking away her fear of what could be rustling around in the trees and underbrush. The last thing Emma thought before drifting off was what her parents would think of her now.

  Chapter Four

  A child screamed, its voice reverberating against the insides of Jack’s scull. He covered his ears and slowly rolled over, spitting out sand stuck to his lips. A gull, the source of the noise, continued squawking as it swooped back and forth over them. He grabbed a stone and lobbed it at the gull, wincing at the pain in his shoulders and arms. The bird flew off and joined the other birds awake far too early for Jack’s comfort.

  He rose up on his elbows, surveying the surroundings. A rosy hue in the lower sky melded into the depths of the ocean. Water, barely visible in the murky dawn light, lapped lazily against the shoreline. More gulls cried out their morning songs as they swooped back and forth over the water looking for breakfast.

  This had to be a dream. No way was he on vacation. He had deliveries to make. Too many people depended on him for food and supplies.

  A memory hit him. Three dark shapes, two longer than the other, lay nearby. Behind them was the hulk of what had been his sole source of income. He flopped back on the sand. Shit. They were stranded. Hopefully not on an island, maybe a cove on a mainland. A rescue plane would soon be flying over or a boat cresting the horizon.

  The smaller shape moved. Emma, if his rattled brain remembered correctly. Rather pretty, but a bit too stuffy for his tastes. He liked women who knew what they wanted and let a man know they wanted it. In his experience, women like Emma did their duty, rolled over, and went to sleep—probably in their own bed.

  His stomach growled. He wondered what brought on the all those thoughts of sex when his empty insides were tickling his backbone and their lives were possibly in danger.

  Emma rolled over and opened her eyes. In the brightening light, he noticed they were a light blue, complimenting her reddish hair. Though a little too slim and tall, he’d have to be dead to ignore her long, shapely legs and small waist. Though not overly large, her creamy breasts were big enough to allow a man to get a hand around each one, with room left over for his mouth.

  Obviously she didn’t realize her blouse had slipped down and the majority of her right breast was exposed. He was certain of it when she gave him a shy smile that sent shivers down his spine and messages to his dick. His sex circuits must have been scrambled in the crash because not only was she not his type, he figured hell would freeze over before she’d get it on with a stranger and certainly not with two other men around. And, if memory served him right, she was married. He sincerely hoped they found a village or town today.

  “Morning,” she mumbled, her voice husky from sleep.

  “Morning, Emma,” he whispered back, standing when the moment became too intimate.

  “Where are you going?” Emma asked, rising to stand beside him and gaze out over the ocean.

  Without answering, he turned and went behind a tree to relieve himself.

  “Oh,” he heard her mutter.

  He chuckled. When he finished and returned, she had disappeared. Toby and Steve were beginning to rouse.

  “Shit, man,” Toby groaned. �
�Did we sleep all night?” He stretched and flinched. “Damn, I’m sore.”

  “I’m hungry,” Steve added, getting to his feet.

  Toby twisted back and forth at his waist. “Where’s Emma?”

  Jack dug his toes in the sand. He hadn’t been this long without shoes since he was a kid. “I think she went to take a leak.”

  “Good idea,” Toby said, heading to a grove of trees.

  “The first thing we need to do,” Jack said when everyone had completed their business, “is get something to eat. Emma, come with me to check supplies. My nerve endings are dying for coffee, and there’s some on the plane. I always carry camping gear and have pots for cooking. Toby and Steve, you dig a pit and collect wood for a fire.” He looked around at his passengers. “All right with everyone?”

  “Uh, where should we make the fire?” Steve asked.

  “Far enough away from the plane so we don’t blow the damn thing up.” Jack said, following Emma to the plane.

  Being the gentleman his mother raised him to be, he let her go up the steps first. Watching her shapely legs, he realized being a gentleman had its benefits when the wind blew her skirt up, giving him a better view of the back of her thighs.

  “Can you move that suitcase?” Jack asked Emma, pointing to a large black bag. “My gear was put in first, so should be in the rear. We need to get this other stuff out of the way.”

  “Where are the supplies?” Emma moved and read the tag on the bag she held it in her hand. “This is quite heavy.” She set the bag down. “Wonder what is in it.”

  “Later, Emma. We have to find some food first, eat, and decide where we go from here. If we keep moving these bags, the supplies should be next, then my stuff.” Jack hefted a larger bag and grunted against the tug in his ribs. “You’re right, these are damn heavy. Maybe they’ll tell us why we were hijacked.” He set the bag down and started to open it up.

  “Hungry. Breakfast. Food. Remember, Jack? Like you said, we can check them out after we eat.” Emma glanced around. “As soon as we’re done, I need to find the woman’s suitcases for some clothes. Mine are torn and dirty, and my suitcases went with my parents.”

  Jack slid his eyes over Emma’s body. The tie on her dirty, already frayed blouse had loosened in her struggles with the cargo, leaving more of her breasts in plain view. Heat from the plane and her exertions caused perspiration to run between them and drip into her blouse.

  As she moved, one pink nipple peeked from the top. Jack bit down on his lip. One side of her skirt was torn to mid-thigh, revealing shapely legs. She picked up a box against her thighs and turned toward him. The box caught on her skirt, twisting it to the other side. The quick lift and drop of the skirt revealed she hadn’t put her underwear back on yesterday. Only his hunger and pain kept him from getting a raging hard-on.

  “Nothing wrong with what you’re wearing.” To his relief, she set the box back down, but in the process showed him her backside. The skirt, now clinging to her damp skin, was thin enough to reveal the crack of her ass. He groaned.

  “Not bad, is she?” Toby said behind him.

  Jack grinned over his shoulder at Toby then stared at Emma. “Yeah, but let’s remember she’s married.”

  Toby shrugged and turned away. “You come across any matches?”

  Jack handed him a lighter. “Matches are somewhere, but we can use this in the meantime. Why don’t you take the clothes we took off them and go through the pockets?”

  “Hey, Jack,” Emma called. “I think I found the food.” She pulled her mass of thick hair from the back of her neck with both hands and fanned it up and down thrusting her chest out, her nipples clearly defined against the blouse. “Man, I’m hot.”

  Jack heard Toby swallowing behind him. “Great boobs, too,” he muttered.

  A frown crossed Emma’s forehead while the men silently stared at her. “Are you two all right?” She dropped her hair. “Come on. Get over here and help me.”

  Toby muttered something about starting the fire, swept up the pile of clothing, and bolted out the door.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Emma asked.

  Jack moved toward her and picked up the heavy box. “Uh, he’s too hot.”

  He stared at Emma to see if she believed his lie. After a moment he realized she didn’t understand how her movements and sheer clothing were turning them on. He hoped like hell they found a village or town somewhere soon.

  “Here, Jack,” Emma said, taking him out of his thoughts. “These boxes seem to be lighter.” She started handing him boxes and he set them down nearer the door. “Oh man, this one is too heavy,” she grunted, trying to move a rather large crate. “Who got this thing on the plane, anyway?”

  Jack leaned over to help her as she bent over to push the container across the floor. Her blouse gaped and her breasts were an inch from his face. He licked his lips and visualized running his tongue over them. Would they taste sweet or salty? “Emma, you need to get out of the way.”

  “I can help,” she said, putting more effort into her movements. Her chest came closer.

  Jack ran his tongue over his lips. “Emma, please move before I do something you’ll regret.”

  “What?” She followed the direction of his eyes. Heat rose up her chest and into her face. “Oh, my God,” she whispered, grabbing the sides of her blouse before turning around and retying the bottom edges together.

  Jack hid a grin.

  “You didn’t have to stare, you creep!”

  “Well, when a woman’s breast is stuck in front of a man’s face, what exactly is he supposed to do?”

  “Any gentleman would close his eyes or turn around and tell the woman to cover up.”

  Jack stood and raked his fingers through his hair. “Then I guess I’m not much of a gentleman. I told you to move, didn’t I?”

  She worried her bottom lip. “Oh, my God,” she whispered, placing a hand over her mouth. “Before, when you and Toby were looking at me…you…you and he…”

  “Yeah, Emma-girl. We were looking at you. At your breasts, your legs, and your sweet little ass. We’re red-blooded men. When a woman with a body like yours stands before us, we stare, ogle, gawk. We can’t help ourselves.”

  Emma groaned. “Well, stop,” she ordered, burying her face in her hands. “Oh, God. You guys must have been looking at my body all day yesterday. What about Steve?”

  “What about him?”

  “Has he been watching me, too?”

  Jack pulled Emma’s hands from her face. “Hey, don’t be embarrassed. Think of it as a compliment.”

  “How do you figure that?” Emma asked, anger lacing her voice.

  “Well, if you were fat and ugly, we wouldn’t be giving you a second glance.”

  “Oh, lucky me.”

  “Yesterday we were all shocked from the crash and too tired to pay any attention to each other.” He picked up the heavy container and carried it around the seats and set it on the floor. He pulled the box open and took out a can. “Mmm. Canned beef.” He looked up at Emma. “Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen. Despite what you believe, we’re gentlemen and wouldn’t do anything to a woman she didn’t want done.”

  He tore open another box and made a face. “Oh, shit, powdered eggs. Besides, it never hurt anyone to look. So stop worrying. I’ll get this stuff outside while you dig out the camping gear. Hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to find some spices to kill the taste of these disgusting powdered eggs.”

  He muttered “Yuck” as he left the plane.

  ****

  “What’s she doing?” Steve asked, nodding his head toward the plane, adding more wood to the fire.

  The three men squatted around the fire. A salvaged piece of wing, now a stovetop, lay across a stack of rocks placed on either side of the fire. Jack stirred beef heating in a frying pan, watching Steve alternately mix eggs and boiled bottled water, trying to come up with a consistency not resembling clay. From experience he knew how awful the concoction woul
d taste. He suppressed a shudder.

  “Damned if I know,” Toby said, slipping his hands into the pocket of one of the pants. He pulled out a handful of coins, a jackknife, a condom, and a folded piece of paper. “At least she brought out the cooking gear before disappearing again.”

  Jack flipped over the meat, picked up a slice, and dropped it in his mouth. “Probably embarrassed.”

  “Why should she be embarrassed?” Steve asked.

  “She realized we’d been staring at her, and wasn’t very happy. Told me no gentleman would gawk at a woman like that.”

  Steve shook his head. “Hell, most of my female students would love to have men looking at them like that. And I bet my bottom dollar she’s about their age.” He poured more water into the yellow powder and mixed with a stick. “None of my students talk like her, either, and they’re English majors.”

  “What happened then?” Toby asked, unfolding the paper and looking it over. “Holy shit. You guys have to see this.”

  Toby handed the letter to Steve. After a moment, Steve whistled then handed it to Jack.

  Jack shook his head and raked his fingers through his hair. “Well, this puts a whole new light on things. But it doesn’t change what I said to her. I told her we were all red-blooded men and like to look at attractive women, but as gentlemen, we would never do anything to a woman she didn’t want.”

  Steve added more water to his concoction. “Great. Why’d you have to put us in the category of gentlemen?”

  While an officer in the Marines, Jack had developed a sixth sense about people. In the short time since meeting the two men, he thought Toby and Steve trustworthy. Too bad those instincts hadn’t worked with the hijackers.

  To be sure Toby and Steve were the type of men he felt them to be, he pointed a finger at them. “Because we are. Right?” After a few moments, he got an answer.

  “Right.”

  Steve sighed. “Yeah, right.”

  “Anyway, if we’re alone on this island for any length of time, we have to figure out how to survive until we can be rescued. That should keep us busy and our minds off Emma.”