She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties, pushed them down her thighs, and let them fall to the ground. Then she stepped out of them and stood naked and vulnerable in front of Luke. There was no turning back now. She was in the middle of nowhere with a man she barely knew, a mile from the house, and many more from the nearest neighbor. Fear was just edging the battle of emotions. But to her surprise, excitement was a close second.
He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. Then he grinned. “Lay down.”
With her heart pounding, she complied. He laid on top of her, opened his denim jeans, spread her legs apart and, with no foreplay or warning, forced himself inside her. It was nothing like the caring, passionate lovemaking she had with Mike. Luke was rough and forceful and seemed oblivious to her needs. The brutality of his actions surprised her. But what shocked her even more was the response from her own body. He was just using her for his own pleasure, but within minutes, she found herself in the midst of the most powerful orgasm she had ever had. And it didn’t end there. He continued to thrust into her with such force that she soon felt another building to a crescendo, and then another, and another, until finally, his body went rigid and he collapsed next to her, breathing hard. She lay there, taking deep breaths, and wondering what the hell had just happened.
She had died a little inside as they had walked to the lake, and again when he had ordered her to strip, and she had just hoped to get the whole experience over and done with. At twenty-six, she thought she knew herself pretty well. She had never fantasized about rough sex, or being dominated by a man, or being with one who cared only about his own satisfaction. So how could her body have responded like it did? Especially with a man she hardly knew. She had only gone through with it because she felt pressured and obliged. But maybe that was why her body had responded like it did. Maybe not being in control of the situation had allowed her to feel guilt free. Whatever the reason, it had been mind blowing in a way she thought only existed in steamy novels.
As her breathing and heart rate slowly returned to normal, she continued to lie naked on the blanket next to Luke as if chained to the ground. But the only thing holding her there was her own reluctance to move.
She was exhausted in a way she had never experienced before. She’d had no idea sex could be so intense and so life changing, because she suspected she could now be addicted to the kind of raw passion Luke had just introduced her to.
He stood up, smiled down at her, and held out his hand. “It’s late, we had better go back.”
When Lisa reached up, he pulled her to her feet. Then he scooped up her dress, handed it to her, and winked. He was back to his charming self again and acted as if they had just laid staring at the moon and nothing had happened.
When they entered the house, it was all quiet. Luke kissed her cheek and wished her goodnight. Then he climbed the ladder.
She laid down on the couch and pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. Then a blanket of guilt consumed her like never before. She had experienced the most powerful sexual feelings of her life, and they had not been with her husband.
Had she lost her mind? Was this some kind of alcohol induced dream? Would she wake to discover they had never even left home and the plane crash and everything after it had never happened?
She closed her eyes and gradually, a feeling of euphoria swept over her, and little tremors of pleasure continued to ripple throughout her body. She was unsure that, given the choice, she would want it to have all been a dream.
And that did make her feel guilty.
27
LISA
As soon as Lisa opened her eyes, the same thought flashed through her mind. Was it all a dream? But as she sat up and her surroundings came into focus, she had her answer. It was real. And that meant she’d had sex with Luke a few hours ago.
Before she could process her feelings, the family began emerging and congregating around the long wooden table. It was time to prepare breakfast.
As she broke the eggs and whisked them with a fork, Summer arrived at her side with a smug grin. Lisa gave her a quick sideways glance and wondered how much she knew. Had Luke kept his word, or had he bragged about what had happened?
“Did you enjoy your walk with Luke last night?” Summer asked.
Lisa answered like nothing had happened. “The lake was beautiful under the moonlight.”
“Romantic even?”
“Just beautiful.”
Summer spoke in a casual tone, but she was clearly probing. “Luke seems happy, and you are glowing this morning. If I didn’t know better, I’d say something happened last night.”
“Then I’m glad you know better.”
Summer picked up a plate of eggs on toast. “I’ll take this to Mike.”
Erica took the plate from her and handed it to Lisa. “I think you should take Mike his breakfast this morning.”
Lisa studied Erica while trying to work out her motives. Why would she insist on her seeing Mike now when she had discouraged it before and had then appointed Summer as his unofficial caregiver? But she nodded, took the plate and a hot cup of coffee, and set off for the cabin.
As she rounded the house, she was still trying to pin down Erica’s motives. No doubt Summer had told Erica that she’d been caught kissing Mike the day before. So maybe Erica was hoping she would take Mike to task over it and that things would turn ugly between them? Or did she know about last night and hoped that Mike might somehow discover the evidence on Lisa’s body?
Mike just watched as she rounded the bed and placed the plate down on his lap. Then he smiled at her. “Hi, Lisa, I was expecting Summer.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”
Mike began eating, but kept his gaze fixed on her. After a few mouthfuls he said, “It wasn’t what it looked like with Summer.”
“What was it then? Because it looked like a long, lingering kiss to me.”
“She’s infatuated with me. But I haven’t encouraged her.”
“How long have you known she has a crush on you?”
“Since day one, I suppose.”
“And you didn’t think to mention it to me?”
“After what I did back home, I knew I would have one hell of a job on my hands convincing you it was a mistake and that I’d never do anything like it again. So rightly or wrongly, I decided not to burden you with Summer’s interest in me.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Mike.”
“It’s the truth.”
“I suppose you didn’t want to burden me with the news that you are regaining some movement in your arms and legs, either?”
“I wanted to tell you two nights ago, but when you made your feelings clear, it lost some of its importance.”
“That’s funny, and I thought it was because you didn’t want me to know you were regaining feeling down there, so I wouldn’t suspect anything was going on between you and Summer.”
“Why on earth would you think that?”
Lisa just shrugged. She didn’t want to tell tales on Summer.
Mike sighed. “Can we take a breath? I don’t want to argue with you.”
“But you keep creating situations that make it impossible for us to get along.”
“I’m sorry. I brought you on this vacation to prove how much I love you.”
Lisa raised an eyebrow. “I dread to think what kind of vacation you’d take me on next time. A hike around the rim of an erupting volcano, maybe? Or skydiving into a pool of crocodiles? How about swimming with a great white?”
Mike laughed. “Look, when we get back to civilization, I won’t stand in your way if you want to leave me. But until then, can we please try to be civil with each other?”
Lisa took a long breath and accepted that it would be better all around if she could suppress her anger until they left this place. “I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises.�
�
“Why don’t you come and sit down next to me for a minute and I’ll show you my progress?”
Lisa’s heart jumped a beat, and the hairs on her arms prickled. She hadn’t yet had a chance to visit the bathroom and shower. Normally, it wouldn’t matter. But then, normally, she hadn’t had sex with another man a few hours before sitting next to her husband. Would he know? Would she smell different? As she sat down, the vision of Luke flashed across her mind, and for a moment, her body recreated the sensation of him thrusting inside her. To her surprise, she drew a quick breath at the tingle between her legs.
Mike reached out to her. “Are you okay?”
She took a deeper breath, pushed the picture of Luke from her mind, and regained her composure. “I’m fine.”
“For a minute there I thought you were having an…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, and Lisa was glad about that. Because if he was going to ask if she’d just had an orgasm, she would have had to lie. And he always knew when she lied. But not telling him something was not like lying. She didn’t give off the same tells.
Mike said, “Billy should be back soon and we can get out of here.”
Lisa didn’t answer because she couldn’t show the same enthusiasm as him, and she questioned whether she wanted to leave this place and face the tough decisions ahead of her. Her head was spinning with guilt and shame and excitement. But she had some serious thinking to do. As mind blowing as it had been with Luke, surely it was just because it was her first time with another man and therefore the emotions had taken her by surprise. Maybe it was the excitement of being with someone new that had caused such powerful feelings. Maybe it wouldn’t be like that if they were to repeat it. And maybe she would never experience such intense sensations again… with anyone.
The little Miss Sensible inside her was telling her she should just consign the experience to history and forget it. But a mischievous little voice way down in the back of her mind was nagging away and telling her she needed to find out.
A crunching sound of tires rolling on the dry earth in front of the house found its way around to the cabin.
Mike pushed himself up on the bed. “Is that a vehicle?”
Lisa jumped up. “I’ll go and see.”
28
LISA
Lisa reached the front of the house just as Billy jumped out of the passenger seat of a police Jeep. Then a large officer stepped out from the driver’s side, stretched, and made his way to the veranda where Erica and Ed were waiting.
As Lisa approached, the officer glanced to his right, spotted her, and froze with his mouth ajar. It was a reaction she had seen many times before. Over the years, she accepted she had the kind of looks that caused men to stare when they first met her. So she just smiled at him and introduced herself. ‘Hi, I’m Lisa.’
She focused on the badge pinned just above his left breast pocket. “Are you the sheriff?”
He blinked a couple of times and nodded. “Yes, and I’m pleased to meet you, Lisa.”
Erica clapped her hands together once. It seemed to be her customary way of attracting attention before taking charge of a situation. “Right then, let’s all go inside. You must be thirsty, Harvey.”
The sheriff nodded.
Erica looked at Lisa. “Well, don’t just stand there, girl, get him a drink of water.”
Lisa jumped. “Yes, Ma’am.” She hurried inside and filled a glass from the hand pump in the kitchen, then handed it to the Sheriff. “Have you found our pilot yet?”
He gulped down the water in one and handed the glass back to her. “Pilot?”
“Carlos. He wandered away from the crashed plane and I haven’t seen him since.”
The sheriff took a moment and raised his brow. “Oh, Carlos. No, we haven’t seen or heard from him, but these woods are vast. Easy to get lost. We’ve had backpackers wondering around for days out here. You were lucky to find these good people.”
At that moment, Luke entered and shook hands with the sheriff. Then they hugged like a father and son would hug when reunited after a long journey. Erica exchanged a glance with Ed before instructing Lisa to fetch the wine and some glasses.
Lisa complied, and Ed took charge of the pouring. When everyone had a glass in hand, including Summer and Billy, Erica raised her glass. “This is to Luke and his new girlfriend.” She nodded her head towards Lisa.
The sheriff glanced from Luke to Lisa. “Girlfriend? Billy told me your husband was in the cabin with a broken back.”
Lisa felt guilty for not correcting Erica. But remembering what Erica had told her about the sheriff being less likely to arrest her if he thought she was with Luke, she smiled and nodded at him. “My husband is in the cabin, but things have changed. We are not together now.”
The sheriff lowered his eyebrows as he studied her. “In that case, I wish I’d got here a few days earlier.” He glanced at Luke and winked. “You lucky son of a bitch.”
Luke grinned. “You’re too late, Harvey.”
Harvey turned back to Lisa. “Is it a done deal or could you be tempted by a real man of experience?”
She glanced down at his left ring finger and couldn’t conceal her amusement. He was married, overweight, and probably in his early fifties, all of which would have disqualified him had she been free and looking, but she wasn’t. She laughed. “Sorry, but as you said, you should have got here two days ago, then you never know what might have happened.”
The sheriff drew his pistol and pointed it at Luke. “Well, maybe I can blow his head off and put the clock back two days, eh?”
Lisa gasped. But Ed and Erica laughed out loud. So did Luke. A few seconds later, Harvey returned the pistol to its holster and erupted into a belly laugh.
Lisa sighed with relief. She had seen enough violent death to last her a lifetime, and found nothing funny in pointing a loaded gun at someone’s head and threatening to blow them away, even if everyone else clearly knew he was joking.
When the laughing subsided, Erica escorted the sheriff over to a couch and sat beside him. “Now, Harvey, I take it you are staying for a while?”
“Well, I was planning to. After Billy told me about the gorgeous girl you had staying here, I was kinda hoping things would be like they usually are.”
Erica put her hand on his shoulder. “Just because Lisa is spoken for doesn’t mean you won’t have fun. You know how we like to make sure you have a good time when you come out here.”
“Do you have another girl for me then?”
“Maybe.”
Harvey shuffled in his seat. “What does that mean? Do you or don’t you?”
Lisa listened with interest, and from what she was hearing, it was clear the sheriff expected more than just a drink and polite conversation when he came to visit. Maybe that’s why he brought the girls out here that the twins had mentioned. He wasn’t being community spirited. He expected something in return. So she had another reason to go along with Erica’s plan. Apart from keeping her and Mike out of jail, it would save her from having to fend off Harvey’s interest.
Her life was becoming stranger with each day that passed, but so far, she seemed to be taking it in her stride. It was like some weird movie, yet it was so real it should be scary. But weird seemed to be her new normal.
Summer shouted over from the table to Erica, who was still sitting with Harvey. “Can I take Mike a glass of wine?”
Lisa sighed to herself. She had forgotten to go and tell Mike about the sheriff’s arrival.
Erica stood up and beckoned Summer over. As her daughter made her way to the couch, Erica pointed to the empty seat next to the sheriff. “Sit here next to Harvey and give him some attention. Lisa can take the wine to Mike.”
Summer gasped and stared open-mouthed at her mother. “Me? You want me to give him attention? The girls who stay here usually give him attention.”
“But we don’t have any staying here right now, so I think you should help out.”
“W
hat about Lisa? Why can’t she do it?”
“Lisa is with Luke now, as you know.”
“And I’m with Mike.”
“I’m not saying you aren’t, but I need you to do this for me, Summer. You know Harvey likes some female company while he’s here.”
Harvey got to his feet. “Wait a minute, Erica. I’m sure Luke wouldn’t mind me sampling his new girl. It’s not like I haven’t done it before. I had the redhead, what’s her name? And the blonde girl with the long hair. They were both introduced to me as Luke’s girls.”
Erica nodded. “You are right, but Lisa is different. She is special and Luke doesn’t want to share her.”
Lisa tipped her head back and closed her eyes for a moment. For once felt like Erica was on her side.
But Summer wasn’t giving up. “She could dance for him.”
Lisa placed her hands on her hips. “What did you say, Summer?”
Summer ignored her and continued to address her mother. “Mike told me Lisa teaches dance classes at their gym. So she can dance for Harvey.”
Lisa watched for Erica’s reaction. It was not what she expected. Erica turned to Harvey. “Would you be happy if Lisa dances for you?”
Lisa couldn’t stay quiet while Erica negotiated a deal for her to perform for this man. “Erica, I’m with Luke now. I can’t dance for Harvey.”
Harvey ignored Lisa’s protest. “Okay, I’ll accept a dance. Better than nothing, I suppose.”
Erica walked over to Luke and lowered her voice to a whisper. “It’s a good compromise. He gets a dance from Lisa, but he doesn’t fuck her. Okay?”
Lisa watched Luke, expecting him to protest, but he turned and took her hand in his. “You need to do this, Lisa. Do it for me.”
Lisa’s mouth fell open. She stared at him for a long moment. “Why? What hold has this man got over you?”
Luke shook his head. “It’s for your own good. Just do it and he’ll leave you alone.”
THE CRUEL SEVEN Page 13