by Jay McLean
So, this wasn’t Drake’s yacht. My stomach sank when I spotted my wallet on the side table and a note folded on top. “Did you see a tall guy? Dark eyes? Around my age?”
“No,” he growled. “You damned college brats. That’s why I never walk to the beach this time of year.” His beady eyes squinted behind glasses as he raised a cell phone. “I’m calling the cops. They’ll sort this out.”
Time to go. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my wallet and the note, and pushed past his frail, outstretched arm.
“Come back here!” His shouts chased me off the boat.
I raced down the dock, the wood planks warming my bare feet. When I reached the street, I dodged a passing motorist, sprinted through a grove of cluttered orange trees, and squatted behind an old gas station.
I should’ve been focused on evading arrest, but my heart raced to read the note. Out of sight from the street, I unfolded the paper with clammy hands.
Addy,
Stealing is a rude thing to do.
I want to punish you again.
I’ll find you.
Drake
I knew the thieving bastard had my bag. Dammit, he stole a yacht. But like most rude things, it was forgivable. And for him, I’d forgive almost anything.
My lips twitched, and something warm and satisfying curled around my heart. He’d stolen more than a kiss from me, but what he gave in return was a spontaneous dance, a night of surrendered smiles, and a lingering thirst for more.
I’ll find you.
I looked forward to it.
PAM GODWIN
Check out other books by Pam Godwin:
DELIVER http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IOVUKNE
BENEATH THE BURN www.amzn.com/B00E9G5GZA
DEAD OF EVE www.amzn.com/B009V3V2X6
.
MISSY JOHNSON
Ricochet
“I’m not saying you have to sleep with every guy in the bar, Jen. Just pick one.”
Claire sounded frustrated. I sighed into the phone, wishing I hadn’t listened to her when she told me to come up here a few days earlier.
Spring vacation was supposed to be fun. I was supposed to be a enjoying few romantic days with Ethan before he took off for football training camp and I met up with Claire.
Instead? I was sitting alone in a beachfront bar in Barbados with a book. I couldn’t get anymore tragic than this.
“Fine, Claire. Just hurry the fuck up and get here,” I said, flicking my long dark hair over my shoulder. I felt like an idiot, all dressed up. Why the hell had I listened to her?
“I told you, Wednesday. Don’t forget—the reason this whole trip is free is because of my dad’s conference,” she shot back.
I bit my tongue. That was true. Anyone else would’ve been excited about spending a week completely paid for in Barbados. But me? Well, right now all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and cry.
“Fine. I have to go.” I hung up before she could reply.
I glanced around me. I was surrounded by couples. This had to be the worst idea I’d ever had. Why had I let her rope me into this? Claire was insistent that all I needed was a good rebound fuck, but it wasn’t that easy.
Ethan had been my life for the last six years. Only last week I’d been thinking he was about to propose, when in reality he was fucking the professor for which he was a TA for. What made it worse was he didn’t even try and fight for me. It was like he was glad he got caught, so he could go on his merry way with stupid political science slutface.
I picked up my drink and book and walked out of the bar, down toward the beach. Claire was right—I needed to move on; but the last thing I wanted was more rejection. What if I hit on the only guy in this damn resort that wasn’t up for a quick fuck?
I plopped myself down on the edge of the water, the soft waves lapping at my bare feet. Maybe I should have just stayed at home. A couple of weeks lying in bed feeling sorry for myself sounded fantastic right about now.
“Mind if I join you?”
I looked up and into the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen. Even in the near darkness I could make out his short blond hair and cute smile.
“Sure,” I smiled. He kicked off his flip-flops and sat down. “No, I’m good,” I grinned, holding up my bottle of water when he offered me some of his beer.
“Ah, a girl who doesn’t drink,” he grinned.
“No, just a girl who knows how unpredictable her behavior can be after three vodka, with orange juice.”
“Fair enough,” he nodded. “So, you’re in one of the world’s most luxurious places and you’re sitting here alone with a bottle of water and a book.” He picked up my romance novel and made a face. “And not a very good book at that,” he added.
“Hey,” I replied, smirking. “I’ll have you know this book was in the bestseller lists for more than a year.”
“All that tells me is that you’re not the only one with bad taste.”
“Or maybe it’s just you,” I shot back. He cocked his head, as if he were considering my statement.
“Maybe.” Suddenly, he stood up. I stared at his outstretched hand in shock. “Come on. I don’t have all night.” Placing my hand in his, I wondered what it was about this cocky blond-haired stud that made me trust him so easily.
I’m sure his last four victims felt the same way.
I shut out the negative voice in the back of my head and followed him down the beach.
“Uh, where are we going?” I asked nervously.
“Back to my room.”
I stopped abruptly, my eyes widening. Did I really look that easy? Well, that had been the idea of going out tonight, but that wasn’t the point. He laughed, shaking his head.
“No, not that. I just thought if you want to be boring, you can at least do that at my place—where I know you’re not going to end up murdered and buried in a shallow grave on the beach.”
“Oh? And why should I trust you?” I asked suspiciously.
“Because if I wanted to murder you, I would’ve taken you the other way, away from all the villas.” Made sense, I guess. “Secondly, would I really be so stupid to murder you in my villa? I mean come on, give me some credit.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. I guess he had a point. At least I hoped he did, because I wasn’t putting up much of a fight. “Are you at least going to introduce yourself?”
“I’m Ryan. You?”
“Jenna,” I answered shyly, pushing a stray strand of hair back behind my ear.
“There you go,” he grinned. “Not strangers anymore, are we?”
I guess we aren’t.
His villa was a beachfront one, across the other side of the beach from mine. Call me paranoid, but I took note of numbers and directions in case I needed them. I even considered dropping a trail for the sniffer dogs to find me—an earring here, a ring there—but before I could lay my plan into action, we reached his door.
“After you,” he smiled, sliding the glass door open. I walked in. Was it weird that the identical setting to my own villa relaxed me? I could almost imagine I was back there, curling up on the sofa with a hot chocolate.
“Can I get you something? A drink?” he asked. I held up my bottle of water. “Right,” he chuckled. “Well, make yourself at home.”
I walked over to the sofa and sat down, curling my feet up under me. Gosh, I felt nervous. I’d been with Ethan for so long I’d forgotten what it was like to flirt with another guy. Not that this was really flirting. This was way more awkward than that.
True to his word, my new friend didn’t lay a hand on me the whole evening. I sat at one end of the sofa with my book, and he sat next to me watching reruns of The A-Team. Every now and then I’d throw a look in his direction, and he’d smile at me and return to the TV.
I slammed my book shut.
“Okay, you’re freaking me out.”
He turned to me, surprised. “I am?”
“We’ve been here for over an hour and you haven’t tried anything on me.”
>
“Because you said you didn’t want me to,” he reminded me.
I rolled my eyes. “What kind of girl would I be if I openly admitted I was coming back to your place hoping you were going to make a move on me?” I threw up my hands in exasperation.
He shook his head and laughed. “This is definitely the strangest conversation I’ve had today,” he muttered under his breath. “Can I get you something to drink? Something strong, so that when you eventually pass out I can take advantage of you, and then leave you partially naked out there on the sand?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t be a smartass.”
He laughed. “Okay. How about you tell me what you want?” He moved down the sofa closer to me until our lips were almost touching. “Maybe something like this?” He leaned in, his fingers snaking around my neck as his soft lips pressed against mine.
Yes, this. Exactly fucking this.
I held my breath as he slowly lowered the straps of my dress off my shoulders, his eyes never leaving mine. I exhaled as he kissed my neck, the feel of his mouth against my neck incredible.
He stood up and took my hand. I followed, my dress falling down over my hips, leaving me wearing only my bikini. His eyes narrowed as he pulled me against him. We kissed as his fingers gently stroked the nape of my back.
Yes. This was what I needed.
He led me into the bedroom.
“Sit.”
I did, waiting nervously as he kneeled between my legs, his hands pushing my knees apart. He reached behind me and untied my bikini, his fingers finding their way under the flimsy fabric.
“This needs to go,” he murmured. I gasped as he tossed it aside, his mouth closing over my nipple. Sucking, flicking, biting. “Lay back.”
I shimmied my way up the bed and lay down flat on my back. He smirked and looped his fingers around my bottoms. I lifted my hips as he slid them down my legs before making his way up the bed to me.
“That’s better,” he said, straddling me. I moved my hands underneath his shirt, lifting it over his head. His ripped, muscular chest stared back at me. I squirmed. This guy was so freaking hot. “God, you’re sexy,” he muttered, burying his face in my breasts, smoothing them with kisses. I laughed, gasping as his erection brushed past my thigh.
I moved my hand down to his hardness, my eyes narrowing as I began to rub. Unzipping his shorts, I reached inside and gripped my fingers around his girth—hard and oh so big. I began riding my hand up and down his length as he kissed me.
“Do you have…” My voice trailed off as he produced a condom. Ripping open the package, he swiftly rolled it on. I laughed as he attempted to kick off his shorts, almost rolling off the bed in the process.
“Yeah, you laugh now,” he said playfully, finally free of his constraints. Nudging my legs apart further, he placed his tip at my entrance as he thrust inside of me. I curled my legs around his waist, clenching against him.
“Oh fuck that feels good,” I mumbled. He rode me hard as I leaned back and gripped the headboard , his mouth on mine as he kissed me roughly.
“Oh my, I’m gonna…ohhhh,” I panted. His thrusts deepened, almost feeling as though they were cutting right through me. “Yes! Fuck, oh yes,” I cried, the bars on the bed post nearly cutting off my circulation, I was holding on so tight. Ecstasy rushed through my body sending me into a feeling of pure bliss. That was…I couldn’t even put into words how fucking amazing that had been.
He rolled off me, as exhausted and satisfied as I felt. I grinned and reached for his hand.
“Wow. You do know how to please a woman.”
“Hey, that wasn’t all me,” he grinned. “But wow is pretty accurate,” he agreed. I turned onto my side and snuggled up against him. “I hope you don’t think I’m in the habit of picking up pretty young things and bringing them back to my bed.”
I giggled as he tickled my back.
“Come on, I bet you’re fighting the girls off,” I teased. He kissed the back of my ear, his fingers continuing to trace circles over my bare back. “Mmm, I could stay here all night,” I muttered.
“Then why don’t you?” he said, pulling me even closer to him.
True. Why didn’t I?
I rolled over, my arm flailing wildly in the direction of my phone. My fingers closed over it. I coughed, bringing the receiver up to my ear as I pressed answer.
“Hello?” I muttered.
“Han, I’ve been calling you for ages,” Claire whined.
“I know,” I growled. I’d spent the best part of the last hour trying to ignore it.
“We’re getting on the plane now, so we will see you in a few hours, ‘kay?”
“Okay.” I dropped the phone and rolled back over.
By now I was awake—too awake to go back to sleep. I reached across the sheets next to me. Shit. Ryan. I groaned and smothered my face with my pillow as I began to remember.
God, how embarrassing. No wonder he’d gone. He probably didn’t want the shame of facing me this morning.
Jumping out of the bed, I quickly got dressed and gathered my things together. I was just about to race out the door when I saw a note stuck to the kitchen counter. Sauntering over, I picked it up.
Just in case you think I deserted you, I didn’t. I got up early for a surf. Give me a call when your sorry ass wakes up ~Ryan.
I stood there grinning like an idiot. I couldn’t help it, I was swooning. This guy was everything I could have possibly wanted in a holiday romance.
I raced back to my own villa and jumped into the shower before selecting an electric blue string bikini and a white sundress that was ever so slightly see through. Perfect.
My sorry ass is up. Want to meet for a coffee?
I stalked the length of my villa, waiting for him to answer.
Sure. Down by the beach in ten?
I smiled.
See you then.
Standing by the edge of the water, I tried to look as though I was distracted by something as I saw him approach. I could feel my short white dress flowing in the wind against my legs. I’d paired the dress with my black sandals, leaving my long blonde hair blowing freely in the wind.
“You,” he said, kissing me, “looking fucking beautiful.” He pulled me against him and kissed me again, this time his lips working against mine slowly as if there was nowhere else they’d rather be.
“Hi,” I laughed, biting my lip. He looked sexy in his cutoffs and a collared shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes. He smiled and came in for another kiss, making me giggle. God, I sound like a sixteen-year-old.
We walked down to the canteen and brought coffees, then continued our walk along the shore. We talked about movies, books…anything that popped into the conversation. I couldn’t believe how freely everything flowed with this guy.
“I’m studying law, so getting away like this is pure heaven.” I smiled, waving my hand around at the near-white sand that seemed to go on for miles.
“You didn’t look that thrilled last night,” he observed.
True. Yesterday, all I’d wanted was to be back at home. Now, all I wanted was for this to go on forever.
“I guess I didn’t have anything to be thrilled about,” I said.
We had been talking for hours, when my phone buzzed. It was Claire, telling me they’d arrived.
“I have to go,” I said, apologetic. “Can I text you later?”
“I hope you do,” He murmured. He cupped my neck and leaned forward, his lips connecting with mine in a kiss that made me dizzy. Wow. This was turning into the best vacation ever.
I got back to my room and threw myself down on the bed, unable to erase the smile from my face. This trip was turning out to be freaking awesome. And in a few short hours I’d see Claire again. Suck it, Ethan. I hoped he was having fun stuck at university while professor slutwhore had to work.
Rummaging through my suitcase, I went through my options of what to wear. Most of what I’d packed was for lounging around the villa or on the b
each. Neither would be good enough for Claire—who freaked once when I wore a black strapless dress with black pumps. Apparently there is such a thing as too much black.
I decided on a blue sundress and my white sandals. Curling my hair, I left it down so it flowed nicely around my shoulders. After dabbing on a little makeup, I was ready.
Grabbing my purse, I hurried out the door, already running late for our eight o’clock reservation. I couldn’t even pronounce the name of the restaurant we were going to—all I knew was it had to be expensive, because that was Claire’s parents.
The restaurant was crowded when I arrived. I scanned the room for any sign of them and came up empty. I made my way over to the bar and ordered a drink while I waited.
“You couldn’t stay away from me, huh?”
I whirled around and became face to face with Ryan.
“Hi,” I said casually, trying to hide the excitement I felt at seeing him. “Meeting a friend for dinner, actually. What’s your excuse?”
“Family.” He made a face and helped himself to the seat next to me. “Are you going to sit?” he asked, gesturing in front on me.
I looked up and saw Claire and her parents walk in.
“Oops, I have to go,” I said, finishing the last of my drink. “Will I see you again soon?” I asked, shy all of a sudden.
“It’s a pretty small island,” he replied, his blue eyes twinkling. “You’re chances are pretty good.” He leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips, a kiss that left me feeling dizzy. Or maybe that was the vodka. Who knew?
“Claire!” I hissed. She turned around, her mouth spreading into a huge grin.
“Han,” she said, hugging me.” Gosh, it’s so good to see you.”
It was the few times we got together that I realized exactly how much I missed having my friend around. We’d been inseparable as kids, and given the chance now, I was sure things wouldn’t have changed much.
