by Tara Rose
He stared at her with such a neutral expression that she wondered if he’d heard her. Her heart pounded in her ears while she waited, and she swore that Garrett had slowed his speed. Maybe he was waiting, as well?
“A chance to do what?” Javier’s question was so soft she barely heard it.
“I don’t know, exactly. To talk again, for one thing. To see where this evening leads us. To be friends again, at the very least.”
“You’re okay with talking about what happened in high school in front of Garrett?”
“Of course.”
“All right then.” He leaned forward, moving so close to her that if there had been more light inside the car she’d have been able to count his eyelashes. His very long eyelashes. “You hurt me, Renata. A lot. I told you I was in love with you, and I meant it. It wasn’t just something a horny sixteen-year-old boy said to try and get into your pants. And then you dumped my sorry ass for the quarterback.”
“Hey…that’s totally not fair.” Garrett’s voice was angry, and Renata didn’t blame him, but she spoke before he could again because she had to get this out or she never would.
“I’m sorry, Javier. I don’t know what else to say. But just for the record, my decision to go out with Garrett had nothing to do with him playing football.”
“Oh, right. Like a girl who looks like you do would prefer a cello player.”
“A girl who looks like me? What the hell does that mean? And for your information, I thought it was sexy as hell that you played a musical instrument. I still do.”
Clearly, he hadn’t expected that answer from her. He looked a bit confused for a second, and then his expression finally softened. “Okay. So why did you break up with me?”
“I don’t know. I was a kid. I’m sorry. I can’t offer you anything better than that. I had my head up my ass on the best of days. But I’m not that person anymore. I’ve missed you. Both of you. I’ve missed my home, and I’ve missed this island. That’s why I’m back here, using my very expensive degree to design better bondage cuffs.”
He narrowed his eyes. “So, your decision to take the job in R&D had nothing to do with Garrett running the department?”
“Javier, for God’s sake…”
She cut Garrett off again. “No, it didn’t. It’s what I’m trained to do. My doctorate is in biomechanical engineering. I wrote my dissertation on the fetish industry. Did you know that? They almost didn’t let me finish it, but I fought them, and I won. It’s as valid as the safety concerns for any other kind of equipment, after all.”
“I didn’t know that. About your dissertation, I mean.” The admiration in his voice was evident.
“I worked for a medical equipment house after I earned my PhD, and I hated it. I didn’t want to design wheelchairs, splints, or more user-friendly IV pumps. I wanted to come home and work for Phoebe’s Playthings. I’m a lot like both of you and your relatives in that respect. This is where I want to be. The job I wanted was open, it was perfect for me, and it wouldn’t have mattered who ran the department. I still would have gone for it.”
“Satisfied now?” asked Garrett as he pulled into a parking space on the street where Asa lived.
“Yeah. I guess so. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted under one condition,” she said. “That you accept mine as well, and that we bury the hatchet and start over.” She stuck out her hand. “Oh, and that you tell me what you meant by a girl who looks like me.”
Garrett chuckled and opened his car door. “I’m going to wait outside while he explains that one.”
She watched Garrett leave the car, wondering why he’d done so, and then instead of shaking her hand, Javier placed a finger on her face and gently turned it toward him again. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked into those eyes. His features, too, had angled a bit since his teen days, and just like Garrett, it made him even more gorgeous. She brushed the hair off his forehead now, and his gaze softened.
“You always did that.”
“I know. I remember.”
“What I meant was that you were out of my league. Too damn pretty. You still are.”
“Javier, I’m not out of anyone’s league. And I happen to think you’re drop-dead gorgeous, so if looks determine who is or isn’t out of anyone’s league, I’m the one who is on dangerous ground here.”
“It’s not dangerous ground.” His gaze slipped down to her sweater and back up again, and Renata had to bite back a moan at the dark lust in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to devour her in one bite, and she shivered. “Unless you consider my overwhelming urge to kiss you dangerous.”
“Not even close.” Just surprising. “So, all these weeks you haven’t given me more than a passing nod…you weren’t upset with me?”
“I was. But I’m not any longer. And I do accept your apology. Thank you.”
“Thank you for clearing the air between us.”
Javier stared at her for several seconds, and Renata finally understood what people meant when they said that time stood still. Nothing moved. Not even the air. He cupped her face and kissed her. She couldn’t move any closer to him because of the seats on either side of her, but she could move her tongue inside his mouth. And he could move his inside of hers.
She moaned softly as he did so. Shivers raced up and down her spine, and her pussy contracted in tiny spasms. Her clit actually throbbed. He’d been a good kisser in high school, but now he was phenomenal. When he released it, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go inside Asa’s house. Having sex right here in Garrett’s car seemed like a lot more fun than listening to a voodoo priestess.
He smiled slightly, and then he caressed her hair. “We’d better get out there.”
“Yeah. I guess so.” Whatever.
He broke eye contact first, and then when the blast of cool evening air hit her as he opened the door, she finally found two brain cells that synapsed and climbed out of the car. Garrett was on the front porch, talking to Brett and Mark. Javier joined them, while Renata and Nita moved slightly off to the side to talk.
“I heard you were back,” said Nita. “This is so exciting. Thank you for coming.”
Nita had been a few grades ahead of her, but Renata didn’t remember her looking like this in school. She’d been a painfully shy, quiet girl who was always reading, and usually alone. The woman standing on Asa’s front porch looked vibrant and alive. When Mark and Brett came over to say hello to Renata and welcome her back to the island, they each placed an arm around Nita’s shoulders. She beamed up at them, clearly in love.
If this was what being with two Doms did for a woman, Renata was ready to sign on for the ride.
“Ready to go inside?” asked Garrett.
“I sure am.” She wanted to observe the rest of the triads and see if the lust and adoration came off all of them in waves. This was shaping up to be a more fascinating evening than she’d anticipated.
Chapter Four
Javier could still taste Renata’s kiss as he walked into the foyer of Asa’s ridiculously pretentious home. Unlike most of the houses built by their grandfathers in which almost every Durante and Raleigh now lived, the only resemblance to the others this one sported were the terra-cotta roof tiles and the stucco exterior. This one was a full-blown Victorian Italianate replica, complete with the wrought-iron turret on the roof, which now had lightning rods attached to the four corners after the home had caught fire during a thunderstorm five decades ago.
Asa’s mother, Marion Raleigh, had seen pictures of that style of Victorian home in a book when she was young and had insisted Emilio build her a house just like one, rather than the same kinds of homes every other Durante and Raleigh were building for their wives. It had been at Emilio’s insistence the home had an exterior and roofing tiles that would stand up to the weather on the island. If rumors were true, Marion had even fought him on that, until the first tropical storm hit after it was built.
Inside, many of the antiques that Emilio had acquired
from that same historical period were still there. Each of Asa’s three ex-wives had added a few updated touches to the home, and consequently the decorating was a bit out of place in some rooms. It was the largest home on the island, and Javier wondered how Asa could stand to be alone in it. Then again, he was never actually alone. He had a large household staff—much larger than anyone else did.
Renata gawked at everything inside, from the marble floor to the intricate scrollwork on the wood trim two stories above. “Who cleans that?” she asked, pointing toward a fresco on the ceiling.
Garrett shook his head. “No clue, but I’m glad it’s not me.”
Javier studied the erotic scene on the ceiling. It depicted a man fucking a woman from behind, her ass high in the air, while his hand was raised over her in a way that suggested he was about to spank her. “Why?” asked Javier. “Does it look dirty?”
She stared at him for a second, and he thought the joke was lost on her, but then her sweet laughter filled the space around him. “Maybe a bit dusty. But from what you’ve told me about Asa, I’m surprised to see this in his home.”
“Emilio built the house, not Asa, and likely it would cost him more money than he wants to spend to have it removed.”
“I’m sure he ignores it by now,” said Garrett.
“Is he really that much of a prude?” she asked.
Garrett shrugged. “No one knows for certain. He’s not an easy person to get close to.”
Javier placed his hand lightly on Renata’s elbow as they walked through the foyer. When she didn’t flinch or give him a look that said “back off,” he kept it there. The warmth of her skin sent electric jolts straight to his dick, which was now hard to the point of pain. He was glad it was so crowded in here. He could hide his erection better.
They stopped to talk to many employees at Phoebe’s Playthings, making sure to introduce them to Renata if they didn’t know her, but most of them did, or at least they remembered her. As he watched the easy way she spoke to everyone, Javier was transported back in time to when he’d watch her in the halls between classes. She was like a brightly colored bird that attracted other creatures to her merely because she was so vibrant. He doubted she even realized it. There was nothing arrogant or assuming about her aura. This was simply who she was. It wasn’t fake or forced.
He’d found it interesting that she’d told him she had her head up her ass back then, because that hadn’t been his impression of her at all. She was intelligent, and she’d certainly proven that by earning a doctorate in engineering. Not too many people on this island could claim that. And yet, she seemed completely unaffected by it.
She was still the bright, bubbly person he remembered, but that’s what worried him. Was she also still just as fickle, or had she been that way because she knew she’d be leaving the island to attend college? Would she let him and Garrett hang around for a while, and then cast them aside if someone more interesting came along?
Her apology had been sincere enough, and he didn’t doubt she’d meant it. What he wondered about was whether she’d come here tonight because she wanted to get to know them again, or merely because she was curious about the curse. She wasn’t the only person here not descended from a Durante or a Raleigh. But Javier was not about to get his heart broken again, curse or no curse.
He’d gone through subs like water since becoming involved in the BDSM lifestyle because he compared every woman, in the lifestyle or not, to Renata. And they’d all fallen short. He’d been smitten since before he hit puberty, and apparently time had not dimmed those feelings one bit.
They finally made it to the end of the foyer where Asa had food and drinks set up. He was hosting the meeting in the media room, which took up the entire back portion of the first floor of the house and sloped down to the next level, like a movie theater. Javier had once been told it could easily hold two hundred people, and as they stepped inside, he believed it.
Renata whistled. “Jesus. He has his own theater.”
“Where would you like to sit?” asked Garrett.
“I don’t care. But I hope Petra has a microphone or a really loud voice.”
Garrett laughed, and Javier glanced toward the stage where a woman who looked like Nita stood in a group with Nita, Phyllis, Asa, and Garrett’s brother, Graham. He scanned the front row and spotted Nando and Leta.
“How about down there?” He pointed toward the pair. “You remember Leta, right?”
“Sure I do,” said Renata. She started down the aisle toward them, and Garrett and Javier followed.
“Not very sub-like, is she?” whispered Garrett.
He grinned. “Is there a specific way they’re all supposed to act?”
“Good point. So, are you two okay now?”
“Yeah. We are.” Javier wanted to hold the fact that he’d kissed her in his heart for a while yet. If this turned into something where he and Garrett were both involved, he’d tell him. But for now, that was his secret to take out and examine whenever he wanted to.
“That was too easy.” Garrett sounded suspicious.
“No, actually it wasn’t. But I’m glad we finally talked.”
They took the seats directly behind Nando and Leta, who both turned around to talk to them. Leta and Renata were eight years apart in age, but they knew each other because they’d grown up on the same street. So while they caught up on neighbors and friends, Javier talked to Nando, who was his first cousin.
“Is Graham going to speak?”
“No. He’s up there to make sure Petra knows what she’s doing when she shows images from Shona’s diary. Leta and I thought he’d lose his mind while the diary was in California.”
“I still can’t believe he let it leave the island.”
Nando laughed. “Did you hear how it was done? How Jan got it?”
Javier shook his head.
“Ivy flew it to New Orleans, met Jan in the terminal, and then Jan hopped right back on a plane and flew it to California. Apparently she hates to fly in small planes, and the closest she could get to here on a large jet was New Orleans. Then Jan flew back to New Orleans when she was done with the diary, and Ivy took a plane over to pick it up. They talked about mailing it, but Graham said no way.”
“They flew one of the planes from Cove Cargo to the mainland just to pick up a book?”
Nando leaned closer. “Asa paid for them to make the extra flights.”
Javier glanced toward the stage, where Asa was deep in conversation with Phyllis. “No shit?”
“No shit,” said Nando.
“Maybe’s he more interested in this than we all thought?”
* * * *
Renata settled back against the comfy seat as the group on the stage took their places. Graham joined Leta and Nando, then turned around to quickly say hello to her, Javier, and Garrett. Nita and Phyllis took seats on the stage behind Petra, who was busy clicking away on a laptop. Asa carried a microphone on a stand across the stage and placed it in the center.
“Is there anything he doesn’t own?” asked Renata. “Who has an actual microphone like they use in concerts in their home?”
“Musicians,” said Javier, winking at her.
“Asa is a musician?”
He smiled and shook his head. “No. He’s just rich. But I have three of those at home now.”
She raised her brows but didn’t say anything else as Asa stepped up to the mic. “Thanks for coming tonight. I won’t reiterate the details of how this came about because I know most of you have heard them by now.” He pointed toward Petra. “This is Phyllis’s grandniece, Petra Trudeaux. She moved here recently from St. Croix, and like Phyllis, she’s a voodoo priestess.”
He pointed toward Nita. “Most of you also know her cousin, Nita. Nita and Phyllis have been instrumental in bringing together all the clues about our curse, and in helping us differentiate between the demons and loa involved in it.”
Asa scanned the crowd for a second then pointed toward someone sitti
ng to the right of them. “Stand up, Alaina. This lady made it all happen for us by sending the clues and Shona’s diary to a professor of ancient languages and cultures at Pepperdine University. Thank you.”
Renata craned her neck to get a better look at Alaina while applause filled the theater. Alaina waved, took her seat again, and then Asa eyed the crowd once more.
“There she is. Ivy, stand up.” Renata turned around to see Ivy stand and smile. “And this lady is the one who flew a plane to and from New Orleans twice, at my request, so the diary could leave the island, and then safely return. Thank you.”
More applause filled the room, and then Asa continued. “Now I’ll turn this over to Petra, who has some things to show us and a plan to outline for us.” The crowd applauded once more, while Asa moved the microphone stand to the side, and then Petra adjusted her head piece.
Javier leaned close to Renata, and she inhaled his scent, letting the memory of that stolen kiss fill her senses once more. She could still taste it and hoped it would be repeated later. “And see that headset she’s wearing? It’s just like the ones the pop stars wear on stage to make you think they’re singing live while they dance around.”
She returned the grin then glanced at the screen behind Petra as a piece of parchment appeared. “Hi, everyone. Thanks again to Asa for letting me speak with you all tonight. I’m Petra Trudeaux. I live with my great-aunt Phyllis now, and I’m going to help her run the shop. I look forward to meeting each of you in the future.”
She pointed toward the screen. “Behind me is a piece of parchment that Taj Durante found in Mendo Durante’s possessions after Mendo’s death. It’s always been assumed that this was written in the 1950s or ’60s, based on the syntax of the sentences in English. Jan Beale, the professor who translated the clues for all of you, feels this is correct. But what we didn’t know before Jan broke the code of the languages in this document and in the other clues, is that the person who wrote this document named herself in it.”
