Her accusation hit him square in the gut of his male ego. He seriously thought about walking away, but that’s what she’d done. It was the coward’s way out of turmoil and tension. No, Vince Santiago never turned his back on a challenge, whether it was to see to survival needs, or to finally put a woman in her place, if need be.
“I was in the military, Jewel. Special Operations. I was made to learn things that’ve been ingrained in me permanently, whether I want to forget them or not. When suddenly thrown back into an environment that warranted survival, my skills kicked in again. Just like riding a bicycle. But I hardly saw a need to brag to you about something that I don’t view as a talent required to be put on a relationship résumé. Just as I didn’t inform you that I can not only ride that bicycle, but parachute, pilot a chopper, fire an M-16 with excellent marksmanship and kill the enemy in cold blood. Then I can turn right around and butcher innocent little game, and wolf it down with eager, hungry finesse.”
Her face turned a lovely shade of green. “That’s enough, Santiago.”
“What’s the matter?” He stepped close enough that he could almost hear her heart thud in her chest. “Scared? Perplexed? Feeling a bit betrayed?”
“No.”
“Bullshit.”
“Yes.”
“Well, then,” he ground out, his temper pricked, “now you know how I felt when you marched out of my life.”
She lifted her chin and spun, leaving behind a cloud that mingled with his own scent upon her skin. “I’m done with you, Vince. I’m going to go take a bath.”
“Yeah, done with me. That’s what you said four years ago. But, Jewel?” He snatched her elbow just before she sailed out of reach. She winced, looking up at him with a murderous sparkle in her eyes.
“What?”
“It’s all too obvious. I’m not done with you yet, and you’re not done with me.”
She jerked free of his hold and stomped away. He watched as she followed the path he’d cleared. Gradually, she disappeared around a bend.
But he was going after her.
He glanced up at the spotty patch of dark clouds moving in. Wind suddenly whipped up, making the flames beneath the roasting wild boar dance and sputter. Oh yes. Once he got everything gathered up and tucked safely into the tree house against the coming storm, he would go after her. He would find out once and for all what she’d done to herself, why her looks had changed so drastically, why he hadn’t been able to, at first, see who she was through the new mask.
And he would find out why she left him four years ago without an explanation, without a goddamn word since.
Vince doused the flames with sand, and smoke curled up to lick the meat. He lifted the fully cooked pig and set it upon several spread cocoyam leaves. Leaving it to cool, he took some of the water he’d sterilized from the plantain tree trunk and placed it inside their shelter for future use. While there, he restrung Jewel’s hammock and secured all the windows with their drop panels of bamboo-covered matting. Next, he made certain the fedegoso leaves he’d used to prepare the salve for her ankle, remained plentiful and at the ready.
A shiver of worry shot up his spine. Thank God he’d found that fedegoso tree. Just speculating what could have occurred if he hadn’t, churned his stomach and broke him out in a trembling sweat.
Shaking off the morbid thought, he went down and wrapped the pig in the cocoyam leaves. He hauled it up and placed it inside the shelter before returning to the site to collect as many coconuts as he could, including the few he’d let dry in the sun. Those, too, he’d include in their stock, for there was no way to tell how long they’d be holed up in the coming storm.
Living quarters now readied, he went down to gather up all the edible vegetation he’d collected. As he loaded his arms with oranges, he spotted the banana he’d fucked her with. Crossing to the palmetto bush where it had landed after he’d thrown it in a sexual frenzy, he plucked the fruit up, closed his eyes and ran it under his nose. Her juices were dried upon the smooth, slightly bruised yellow skin, but he could still detect her musky-sweet fragrance anywhere. He stuck out his tongue, ignoring the violent gusts of wind around him. And he just couldn’t resist. He licked her flavor from the surface.
“Ah, Jewel…I just want to eat you alive.” His voice carried on the wind. “I just can’t get enough of you.”
Taking the fruit between his lips, he sank it deep into his mouth, his tongue swirling around the candy-coated banana. Hunger and a wild, sudden need for her washed through him as her sweet spice burst on his taste buds.
He groaned around the bulk in his mouth. Heavy heat sank into his loins and he felt his dick begin to harden. Freeing his half-hard cock from the tattered garment, Vince clutched it in one hand, moving the banana in and out of his mouth with the other. He just couldn’t help himself. Need assailed him, undeniable. Like a wild wolf tracking his mate in heat, he devoured the remnants of her. And he suddenly knew there was no other way but to relieve himself during her absence. Her scent, her taste, her nearby presence, all drove him to have her again. But now that her anger had come back full force, he was most certain he’d have a fight on his hands if he went to seek her out for his release.
So he’d have her anyway…in his mind.
* * * * *
Jewel had gotten to the beach when she realized she’d forgotten to bring a piece of the scrap blanket to use as a towel. Leaving the toiletries behind, she’d trotted up the path, racing to beat the coming storm. Arriving back into the camp, she squinted, bringing Vince into focus where he stood under a palm tree, very close to the exact spot where he’d just ravished her. As she neared, she almost gasped aloud when she heard him speak of eating her alive. His words, said without the knowledge of her being there, stunned her to breathlessness. She inhaled, her head spinning into an erotic whirlwind. Her heart palpitated, her throat went dry and her pussy throbbed with a sudden vengeance. Winds gusted around them, and his hair fluttered, the musky scent of him mixed with her own aroma filled her lungs.
She watched his massive profile, standing just behind and to his right, positioned in order to see what he did in detail, but remain undetected at the same time. Spellbound, she stared in disbelief while he deep-throated the very banana he’d shoved up inside her. The long, fluid muscles in his back and side flexed and glistened in the waning light with each movement he made. She nearly whimpered aloud when his free hand released his cock, already half erect, apparently just from tasting her on the fruit. Something about it made her grind her teeth with beastly aggression. She struggled to calm her rapid breathing, to remain quiet, to not reveal herself, to not disturb him in this irresistible, unexpected show. Honey dribbled out between her legs. Unable to refrain, she reached down and slid her hand into the front of her skirt.
As Vince tasted her and jacked off, she found her moist bud and swirled her finger around it. Her eyes devoured him. She licked her lips, longing to taste him as he tasted her. The free hand that had been trembling at her side fluttered up her belly and cupped her breast, pinching the already taut nipple between her fingers. Fire jolted through her with each flicker of her finger on her clit, each tweak of her areola, each movement of his hand upon his thickening rod. She heard him groan, and his rhythm quickened, long, strokes of pure male practiced precision.
Jewel knew it would be a quick one for them both. But she also knew she must come first so that she could fade back into the forest without being noticed before he reached his own pinnacle. Frantic, she spread her legs in a stance and bore her gaze into him. His eyes were closed and he had his head thrown back while he rubbed himself, the banana still pumping in and out of his mouth. She released her nipple and shoved her hand down to join the other. With one finger taking her on a lusty ride across her clit, she sank another into her wet pussy. It was just what she needed. Her vision blurred with the oncoming orgasm. It shook her with a torrential force, spattering her at the very moment she heard him groan out her name. White fluid spurted fr
om the tip of his penis.
Fighting her own pleasure and her body’s natural responses, she stiffened when a cry escaped from deep within her throat. A second, unexpected orgasm gripped her so tight, she was unable to release herself. But even as the last ripples warmed her, humiliation froze in her soul. He whipped his head around spotting her standing there with both arms plunged into her skirt like a shameless slut.
Mortified, she let out a strangled cry and ripped her hands out of her garment. “Oh my God—no!” She twirled with a stumble and ran as fast as she could on the path toward the sea. Jewel raced to a cool bath to cleanse herself of this rabid, hot, relentless sex drive that had forced her to watch the man she loved give a banana a blowjob while he played with himself.
No, please no. He couldn’t know just how much it had turned her on. But he did know, Jewel. Greedy, unable to resist that second crest, she’d blown her cover, and now she would be forced to face him again after he’d seen her with her hands down her skirt. Watching him. Coming. Just like a jungle beast.
But she refused to think that she’d been doing the very same uncivilized things he’d been doing.
Lurching into the dense brush, she batted aside hanging moss and low-lying limbs. Her feet carried her speedily, regardless of the sharp shells that bit at her arches. The pound of the surf grew closer. Bursting onto the beach, she dove into the choppy waves, heedless of the distant rumble of thunder and streaks of lightning barreling in from the horizon.
* * * * *
Vince swore biting out words even a hardened pirate would balk at. It wasn’t the fact that she’d seen him that had him lashing out at himself. It was his lack of self-control. Sure, he’d obviously turned her on enough to make her engage in a bit of voyeurism while masturbating—and oh, how that sexy sight wouldn’t be soon forgotten. But the new turmoil and tension the whole event would undoubtedly cause between them were his own fault. If only he’d been able to resist his damn juvenile urges, he thought with disgust as he raced after her.
“Christ, you’re a brainless animal, Santiago,” he sneered out loud.
He emerged from the halophytes onto the beach just in time to see her rise from the sea to the shallow edge where her toiletries lay. Water sluiced down over her clothed body as she squirted shampoo onto her palm and hurriedly lathered her hair. By leaving on her clothes, she’d protected her flesh from his prying eyes—or so she thought. More so than if she’d been naked, he could make out every detail of her beneath the thin, soaked fabric. Just knowing she’d been carelessly naïve made him want to trudge in after her, snatch her up and carry her to bed.
Instead, he studied her ritual, inhaled the scent of soap when she plucked it up and sudsed it between her hands. She scrubbed her face, her arms and shoulders, and slid a hand into her top. Her lashes fluttered, her mouth rounded out with a sigh as she cleansed the sensitive peaks. Thunder cracked in the distance and her eyes flew open. Jewel re-lathered her hands and jerked up her skirt. Quickly, and with one too many gasps, she bathed her pussy, sliding her fingers between the lips, brushing over the clitoral area.
In total disbelief, Vince realized his cock grew hard once again. It had been years since he’d had so many orgasms, so many erections in such a short time. He marveled at it, and wondered if it had anything to do with Jennie or Luke’s hocus-pocus, and the fact he’d been stranded on their Carnal Island.
He studied her as those long legs became frothed in bubbles. She turned slightly away and bent to stroke her calves. Wind roared in and flapped her skirt over the small of her back. The waves—much more volatile now that the sun had been concealed behind a curtain of ominous clouds—crashed around her ankles and feet. The move presented him with a front-on view of her luscious ass and slit. His balls ached with renewed longing. What he wouldn’t do to sink himself between those ass cheeks.
“Get a grip, asshole,” he mumbled, watching as she tossed aside the bar of soap and dove into the arc of a wave. She reemerged five yards out and ducked her head several times to rinse her hair.
Slowly, she trudged against the turmoil of water and wind, materializing from the bath, bringing to mind that sultry sea nymph once again. He could see every curve and plane of her ripe, wet body. His hands flexed, yearning to cup those full breasts, to take that plump mouth with his.
With careful control, he stepped forward until he saw her eyes snap with awareness. She inhaled closing her lids briefly, as if to rein in her ire at his interruption—or was it to hide in shame? Movements jerky, she bent to pluck up the assortment of cleansing items.
“Go away, Vince.” Fat rain droplets began to spatter upon the choppy water’s surface. Lightning streaked overhead followed by an angry rumble of thunder. While the air cooled, it danced with electricity and energy, much as Jewel did. “Please, just go away.”
“There’s a storm coming.”
“Really?” The single word came out sharp and sarcastic. She sidestepped him and headed for the path.
“We need to get back to the shelter before—”
Jewel screeched, cutting off his words. He braced himself against the flash of lightning, flicked his gaze over when it struck a nearby palm. It sparked and smoked. The abrupt yet drawn-out sound of cracking wood followed. And the tree toppled in slow motion, blocking their path back to camp. A five-foot wave rolled in, crashed upon the packed sand. Another followed, bigger still. The scent of a cool, angry rain blew in, and with it, the curtain of raindrops moved closer. It swept them with livid speed, spikes of wetness spattering upon warm flesh.
“Before one of us gets hurt,” he continued.
She ducked her head, clutching the items to her chest. He caught the look of embarrassment, as if an image of what she’d just done while watching him, suddenly flitted through her mind. The rosy hue of her cheeks, combined with the humiliation in her eyes, somehow served to further inflame him, even with the threat of danger moving in around them.
“Please, please, just don’t look at me.” She choked it out and sprinted across the beach. Still holding the soaps, she sat on the fallen tree, swiveled her legs over to the other side and took off into the woods.
Ducking at the crack and rumble above him, he followed behind her. Within minutes, he entered the camp just in time to see her scurry up the ladder.
But now she was trapped in his lair. The time had finally come to interrogate his witness. And he wasn’t about to let her plead to the fifth.
* * * * *
“You do have another choice, Jensina,” Justina told her.
Fraught with worry over her failing mission, Jennie had dragged Luke into the Xanthian realm to consult with her sister, the queen. Their plan, while having its promising moments, seemed to veer off and crash into a wall at every turn. And mostly because of that stubborn woman, Jewel Dublin.
“Sister, I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you may have.” Jennie wrung her hands together. With her dark hair in a twist of silk at the crown of her head, the silver streaks she’d earned during her graduation process to Goddess now framed her delicate face. Luke ground his teeth, resentment filling his soul at the agony marring those lovely features.
“Between Jewel’s obstinacy,” she went on, her voice tight, “and Vince’s ability to suddenly scare her off like an ogre, I fear our mission will go awry. And I fear—”
“I’m telling you, Justina. You put her back in that damn bottle,” Luke couldn’t help interrupting with a growl, “you might as well put me in there with her, or else…” He paced back and forth across the veranda of the queen’s castle, unable to ignore the scents of hibiscus and roses as they wafted up from the garden. Beyond the patio, the maze of plant life spread far and wide, a glorious splash of color against the lavender and pale green streaks of the Xanthian sky. Rich with every species of trees, shrubs, flowers and plants that existed in the universe, along with some experimental cross-gene varieties, it was a true phenomenon.
“Luke!” Jennie scolded him through cl
enched teeth, her face now flushed with embarrassment.
“It is all right, Jensina.” The queen crossed the chamber with her usual regal air, to her throne set upon a wide marble stage. Luke knew it was the very spot where Queen Justina had performed his mortality-altering operation. He shivered at the thought of his bloody, near-dead heart being ripped from his very chest. But he’d received a new, transplanted, immortal one. A concept he still struggled to get used to.
Justina sat and fanned her shimmering blue gown out around her. Her hair had been twined up much like Jennie’s, but she wore a heavily jeweled headdress that left no doubt which one of the two identical twin sisters ruled the entire realm.
“Your Luke is very much the protective alpha. I understand this, and I rejoice in his love for you. However, he must realize,” she said with a withering stare that told him who possessed the true magical powers, “that he cannot threaten his queen.”
Luke swore silently, his blood pressure rising until his head pounded with fury. Struggling to give his new queen the respect she deserved, and to at the same time make himself very clear, he replied thickly, “And your rules for this love affair to commence in commitment is entirely too strict. We are now in the second day, moving into the third—hardly enough time to patch up these huge rifts that remain between Jewel and Vince. Jennie should not be made to pay in that damn bottle for eternity just for her first failed mission. It’s wrong—with all due respect, your highness.” He bowed, just to soften the rage that threatened to spill from his soul. “And she should be allowed some practice runs, if you ask me.”
Justina steepled her fingers, peering at him cryptically over their tips. She rested her delicate elbows on the gold-encrusted arms of her throne. “What I’ll ask you, and please, correct me if I’m wrong, is… Did you not choose the subjects yourself, Luke Slayton, my God of Carnality?”
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