Ingrid, a young woman from Germany, paddled up to her. “Were you shot down by the big guy, too?”
“What?”
Ingrid gestured toward Jake studying his laptop screen. “Jake. He’s a tease. He’ll flirt with you, act like he’s up for a good time, and then he doesn’t deliver.”
Georgette hid her smile behind her hand. Oh, he delivers all right. She shrugged. “If he doesn’t, there are plenty of men here who do.”
Gunther and Nicole dragged lounge chairs up to the side of the pool and waved her over.
Georgette ducked under the water and swam to the edge, popping up in front of them. Gunther must’ve been mistaken that night when he’d thought he’d seen Jake in the pool with Jamie. This resort was a hotbed of gossip, and Gunther and Nicole seemed to be on the cutting edge. Georgette was counting on it.
She slicked her hair back from her face. “Hello.”
Nicole tipped her large sunglasses to the end of her nose. “Is that a new bikini, darling? It’s wicked.”
Gunther clicked his tongue. “Seems our girl next door from North Dakota is indulging in a taste of decadence.”
Georgette splashed water on her face to hide her blush. “Oh, I don’t know. Just thought I should enjoy myself while I wait for Jamie.”
Gunther shook open his newspaper. “And how long do you intend to wait for her?”
Georgette hooked her heels on the edge of the pool and floated on her back. “At least until the end of this month. If she’s not back by then,” she pushed off from the edge of the pool, “she probably won’t be returning at all.”
Nicole looked up from her magazine. “What do you mean by that?”
“My sister has a lot of money at her disposal. It means she’s probably off to some other playground. Maybe Europe. She mentioned the South of France.”
Nicole pouted. “She should have told me. I could have given her all the right introductions.”
Gunther grunted. “How many ex-husbands do you have scattered across the beaches there?”
But Nicole wasn’t listening. She shoved her sunglasses on top of her head and stared across the bar. “Maybe you’ll be leaving sooner than you expected, darling.”
Georgette followed her gaze to a compact, dark-haired man hovering at the edge of the patio. “Who’s that?”
Nicole tipped her glasses back down and returned to her magazine. “That’s Jean-Claude.”
Georgette righted herself in the water, clutching the edge of the pool. Jean-Claude hung back behind the thatched roof of the outdoor bar. He was wearing swim trunks, but didn’t make a move toward the pool. Was he waiting for Jamie?
Jean-Claude edged toward the bar and perched on a barstool. His dark glasses obscured his eyes, but his head swiveled from side to side as if he were looking for someone. Nigel handed him a drink in a shot glass, and Jean-Claude tossed it back.
Georgette glanced toward Jake, who was buried in work. He didn’t seem to have noticed Jean-Claude. Georgette hoisted herself out of the pool and grabbed her cover-up. Shoving her arms in the big sleeves, she made for Jean-Claude.
She wedged her elbows on the bar and called out, “Another island punch, Nigel.”
Nigel waved and continued mixing drinks, and Georgette turned to Jean-Claude. “My friends over there told me you’re Jean-Claude.”
The man nearly jumped off the stool. He grabbed his drink. “Oui. And who are you?”
Georgette planted her chin in her hand. “I’m Georgette Lawson...Jamie’s sister.”
The breath hissed through his teeth, and he threw back another shot of what she figured was whiskey. The knuckles of his hand gripping his glass turned white. “A pleasure to meet you, Georgette.”
“Is my sister with you?” Georgette unfolded to her full height and looked down on him.
He lifted a shoulder and took another swig of the amber liquid Nigel had put in front of him. “No.”
She rested her hand on the barstool. “Did the two of you part company on some other island?”
Jean-Claude opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. He glanced over his shoulder. “I left Jamie here on Palumba when I took off with my friend.”
Georgette’s fingers curled around the edge of the chair. She swallowed, her hand groping for her own glass. She knocked it over. The little umbrella floated upside down in the coral liquid pooling on the bar. “Sh-she’s not here. Everyone thinks she left with you.”
“Probably went off with someone else.” Jean-Claude’s hands trembled as he lit a cigarette.
“What do you know?” She grabbed his wrist.
“I know nothing.” His dark eyes darted around the patio. “If you know what’s good for you, stop asking questions.”
He jerked away from her and stalked toward the beach, puffing on his cigarette.
Georgette dropped to the stool, staring after him. Jamie hadn’t left with Jean-Claude. And he was nervous.
Jake sauntered up to the bar, his laptop tucked under his arm. “Nigel, I’m going to my poolside office.”
“Sure, boss.”
Georgette waited a few minutes and then followed Jake. He was leaning against the doorjamb of his office. When she drew close, he pulled her inside and shut the door. “What did Jean-Claude say?”
She shook her head. “He said Jamie didn’t leave with him. Jake, I’m scared. In the back of my mind, I always hoped that she went with him.”
He wrapped her in his arms, and her head dipped to his shoulder. She’d never had anyone to lean on before.
“Georgette, you need to go home. Stop your dangerous game and let the authorities handle this.”
She pulled away. He wanted her to leave? “You said it yourself. There’s no evidence of foul play. My mother already contacted the US Embassy. There’s nothing they can do.”
“There’s nothing you can do either.” He gripped her shoulders and gave her a shake. “Getting mixed up in Palarosa isn’t going to help Jamie.”
She spun around and paced a few steps, stopping at his desk. “But if they come after me the same way they went after her, we can find out what happened.”
“How is that going to help if you’re dead?”
“We’ll be ready for them. I’m not my sister, Jake.” And for the first time in a long time, she was glad.
“Thank God for that.” He strode toward her.
His lips took possession of hers, sending a ripple of excitement down her back. He pushed her against the desk, compelling her to sit on the edge. Then he parked himself between her thighs, pressing his chest against hers.
Liquid fire melted any core of resistance or propriety she had left. She didn’t know if the danger and anxiety associated with Jamie’s strange disappearance were ramping up her senses, or if it was Jake’s magic touch. She’d never felt such strong urges before, as if her sensuality had been lurking beneath the surface just waiting for this man’s kiss to unleash it.
Jake untied her bikini top and tossed it to the floor...along with the last of her inhibitions. She arched her back, craving his touch. His head dipped to her breasts, and he teased her nipples with his tongue.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, throwing her head back.
He trailed kisses along her throat as he cupped her breast and skimmed his callused thumb across her peaked nipple. Her breasts ached with a heavy desire that caused her to dig her fingernails into Jake’s backside, still covered with his board shorts, urging him closer in search of satisfaction.
He hissed in her ear, “Slow down, little filly. I’m taking my time.”
Georgette bit her bottom lip to stifle a cry of frustration. “I...if I don’t come now, I’ll never come.”
Jake pulled back, his hand still covering her breast. “What does that mean?”
“If I don’t come right away, like I did with you at the spa...” She dropped her lashes and concentrated on Jake’s bare toes. “Then I just kind of lose the urge, and I’ll never have an orgasm.”
&
nbsp; “Is this a scientific study you’ve done?” He cocked his head, and a lock of hair fell over his eye. “You have one buildup, and that’s the end of it?”
“I think so.” She tugged at the waistband of his shorts. “But I can come. I proved that, so if we just get that part over with first, I can concentrate on you.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “I’d prefer to concentrate on you first, if you don’t mind. It’s clear my know-it-all princess doesn’t know the first thing about pleasure.”
“I know a lot of...things.” She slid from his desk and pulled back her shoulders, straightening to her full height. She snapped her bikini top in the air. “Turn around. I’m going to blindfold you, a-and then I’ll tie your wrists behind your back.”
He met her stare with an unflinching gaze. “Take off your bikini bottoms. Now.”
“W-what?” Her invitation would’ve had Brice groveling at her feet.
She blinked, and a slow smile spread across Jake’s face, a dangerous light kindling in his blue eyes. That blink had shifted the power dynamic in the small room, and her knees wobbled.
“I said...” He inserted a finger under the top band of her bottoms. “Strip them off. Now. In front of me. While I watch you. I didn’t get such a good look at you in the spa. The light was low.”
Georgette’s cheeks heated and then flamed when she remembered that Linda had convinced her to get a Brazilian bikini wax. She’d forgotten about that in the massage room. Once Jake saw that, had he thought she’d expected to get lucky on Palumba?
He took another step back and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “I’m waiting.”
She swallowed and pinched the edges of her bikini bottoms and yanked them down. They dropped down the length of her legs and pooled at her ankles. She crossed her hands in front of her bare mound.
Jake clicked his tongue. “You’re gonna have to move your hands...Gigi.”
“I will when you’re naked, too.” She lifted her chin. “Why do you still have all your clothes on?”
“Haven’t you heard? I’m the boss.” One corner of his mouth lifted, and his eyes crinkled at the corners, but she didn’t have the impression he was joking.
“Open up.”
She unfolded her hands as if revealing a precious gem, dropping her head to make sure she’d really gone through with that full wax job. Yep, she’d gone through with it.
Jake whistled and cupped his hand between her legs, trailing the pad of his thumb across her smooth, bare skin. “Smooth as a...pearl from an oyster.”
“I-I...my friend...”
“Shh.” He put a finger to her trembling lips as he continued to stroke her down below.
The pulsing between her legs echoed in her ears, and although she tried to hold back, she undulated her hips forward, causing his fingers to delve deeper.
He pinched her swollen lips between his fingers, and she threw an arm around his neck so she wouldn’t fall at his feet and dissolve into a sweet puddle.
He pressed his lips against hers, and her mouth opened beneath his assault of kisses. His tongue toyed with hers while she rocked against him, willing his fingers to invade her and bring her pleasure. He might think this was taking it slowly, but all she needed was another tweak or two from his magical touch and she’d go over the edge like before.
Like a cold blast, he pulled away from their kisses and removed his hand from between her legs. “I have an idea.”
“So do I.” She grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand back toward her. “You can make me come right here and now.”
“That’s not it.” He tapped his forehead. “You’re such a strong woman, and you like doing everything for yourself, why don’t you make yourself come if you’re in such a big hurry?”
Her jaw dropped open. “What do you mean? Are we not having sex?”
The sight of the necklace had interrupted them before, and she didn’t think she could wait any longer to take him inside. Besides, she’d never had much luck with masturbation. How embarrassing would that be to have him watching her for two hours, only to see the flame die out?
He leveled a finger at the love seat against one wall of his office. “There. Do it there.”
She scowled at the love seat. “I don’t know.”
Reaching forward, he pinched one of her nipples. “Now.”
His command and the casual way he tweaked her nipple sent a river of fire coursing through her body.
She backed up until she felt the edge of the love seat behind her and plopped down. Under his gaze, she reached between her legs, her fingers fumbling.
Shaking his head, he leaned against the desk, facing her. “Spread your legs.”
She opened her thighs, cupping her mound with one hand and delving her fingers into her throbbing flesh.
“Wider.” He tilted his head to one side. “Use one hand and toy with your nipples with the other.”
She spread her legs even more, keeping her eyes locked with Jake’s. Her fingers inched up her belly, and she circled a taut nipple with her index finger. Her own touch sent a shiver of need down her thighs.
With her other fingers, she tapped her clit and traced along her moist, swollen flesh until the direct pressure became too much to bear. She slid the pads of her fingertips on either side of her clit and caressed in a rhythmic motion.
The pleasure that suffused her body had her lashes fluttering and her legs trembling. Then her eyes flew open as she felt Jake kneel between her legs.
“Good job.” He kissed the inside of her thigh. “Now let me finish.”
His tongue replaced her fingers. The hot, wet flicks and jabs of the tip sent her plummeting over the edge of passion. Her hips rose off the love seat as the second wave of her orgasm clawed through her body. Jake dug his fingers into her bottom and kept his mouth between her legs, suckling her, building the tension over and over as jolt after jolt claimed her—as he claimed her.
When she collapsed into a whimpering, boneless thing, he propped her legs on his shoulders, on either side of his head, and kissed her inner thigh. “That was a pleasure to watch.”
“When do I get to see you?” She reached greedy hands for the buttons of his white shirt.
He clambered to his knees, still between her thighs, and allowed her to yank the shirt from his muscled frame.
She slipped her legs from his shoulders, and her shaking fingers tugged at the button of his shorts.
He removed her hand and undid his shorts, yanking them down his powerful thighs. His cock broke free of the constraints of his shorts, and she smoothed one hand along the tight skin of his shaft.
His body twitched. “Now I’m going to take you in every way possible.”
She swallowed. “What does that mean?”
Craning his head over his shoulder, he said, “I think we’ll start with that desk.”
He rose to his feet, kicking his shorts away, and extended his hand to her.
She took it, grateful for the support, and he yanked her forward and bent her over the desk, grabbing a handful of her hair to position her across the blotter.
As her breasts squished against the black leather, she protested, “I’m too tall for this.”
“I’m taller.” He ran a hand down the beads of her spine and cupped her derriere with one large palm. “Spread your legs.”
The way he commanded her would’ve raised her hackles anywhere else, but here? In this room? The two of them naked? She opened her legs as wide as she could.
He fondled the folds of her lips, wet and soft from her endless orgasm, until she thrust her bottom toward him.
Leaning forward, he whispered, “The lady wants satisfaction.”
She could only sigh in response, but the sigh ended in a cry as Jake entered her, opening her, filling her up.
He braced one hand on the desk and cupped her breast with the other as he rocked against her, thrusting and retreating.
She reached between her legs to trace the edge where his flesh met
hers. Her knuckle brushed her swollen clit, and she couldn’t stop touching it.
She played with herself as he rode her, hard and fast. The sound of their skin slapping together heightened her desire, enclosing them in this cocoon of need.
When Jake pulled out of her completely, she screamed, desperate for his touch. Only when he released her completely did she hear the banging on the office door.
“Boss, come quick. A guest is floating in the pool, unconscious. It’s the Frenchman. It’s Jean-Claude.”
Chapter Nine
The door of the office burst open.
Georgette could hear Nigel stammering, but didn’t dare turn around as the moist air from the outside caressed her bare bottom.
“I-I’m sorry, boss. We already called emergency services.”
“I’ll be right there, Nigel.”
The door closed, and Georgette’s head popped up from the desk. “Jean-Claude? Jean-Claude is dead?”
“We don’t know that.” Jake grabbed a handful of tissues from the box that had fallen on the floor and dragged them over his glistening body. He pulled on his shorts over his erection, still in full force.
As Georgette scrambled for her bikini, Jake held up his hand. “You can stay here. There’s going to be enough gossip.”
“That’s what I’m looking for.” She stepped into her bikini bottoms, her skin still on fire, the flesh between her legs still pulsating with unspent need.
She eyed Jake’s cock, its outline visible through his shorts. If she had unspent needs, she couldn’t imagine Jake’s discomfort right now.
He threw open the door, and they both ran out to the pool, Georgette still adjusting the straps of her bikini.
Jean-Claude lay poolside, another man ineffectually pressing on his chest.
Jake crouched beside him. “Are you a doctor?”
The man stopped his compressions. “No, I’ve just had a little training.”
“Good job. Thank you. I’ll take over.” Jake took the man’s place and began alternating between chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth.
Jake worked on Jean-Claude for a few more minutes, and then the wail of a siren sliced through the hushed air. As the Palumba EMTs rushed onto the pool deck, Jake gave way to their expertise.
Last Ticket to Paradise Page 10
