Gage, Ronna - Paradise Mine (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Ronna Gage

  “Yes, I will make it long enough to cover the area, and then we can set the wall on top of it.”

  “Or you can just leave the wall down between us.”

  Rae Anne’s mouth slid open. “Did I hear you right?”

  Gina and Kip didn’t move. The camp stood silent. Even the crickets and other creatures of the island didn’t make a sound in anticipation of a confirmation.

  Landy folded his arms over his chest. “Yes, you heard me right.”

  Rae Anne smiled. “If that is what you want, I—or we—don’t have to build a wall to separate us.”

  He kicked his foot at something unseen on the ground. “That’s what I want.”

  * * * *

  With the morning meal prepared, Landy and Kip left out to hunt. Rae Anne thought about the things she and Gina had to do. It made no sense for her to gather fruits since Gina knew what she could cook. In addition, Gina even said numerous times that she didn’t know which vines to use for the mats. She looked over her shoulder at Gina, who tossed the damp rag onto the table.

  “Gina, let’s kill two birds with one stone.”

  “Okay, what did you have in mind?”

  “I will look for the vines to make our mats while you gather fruits and berries. I know what would make a good mat, and you know what fruits to pluck and when.”

  “That’s a deal.”

  “We’ll meet up here in an hour, lay out the vines to dry, and wash the fruit.”

  “See you soon.” She and Gina headed in the direction of the jungle.

  “Well, maybe splitting up wasn’t the primary factor in your plan.” Gina giggled.

  “Nope, but if we need to, we can separate later.”

  Two hours later, the vines were lying out to dry, the fruit was washed and stored in the cool of the fridge, and water had been added to the drinking station, and they sat in the shade to rest. Rae Anne spotted Landy and Kip coming into camp. The sight of his sweaty body stimulated her glands. Her mouth watered, her cheeks flushed, and her heartbeat raced.

  “How was your morning?” she asked when he stopped by her chair.

  “Good. We caught a few fish.” He held up the catch, four large fish.

  “We’ll have a regular fish fry with that catch,” Gina said and took them from his hands. “Kip, will you help me clean these?”

  “Sure, I’m coming.” He grabbed two knives and followed her down by the compost pit they built soon after they settled.

  “How was your morning?” Landy asked when he sat in the lounge chair Gina vacated.

  “Productive. We found vines to make our mats, fruits to go along with the fish, and some to snack on.”

  “I thought of going down by the lagoon and doing the laundry.”

  Landy stood up. “I’ll come with you. I could use a bath.”

  Rae Anne smiled and shook her head.

  “What are you laughing at?”

  “We’ll never get the laundry done.”

  “We’ll just have to take a bath and do laundry together.”

  “Let me get the stuff we’ll need.” Rae Anne entered the tent, changed and came back out dressed in her black tankini. Her hair lay bound at her nape with a knot. Setting her sunglasses over her eyes, she picked up the basket of clothes and rested it on her hip. “All set.” She looked around the camp and only found Gina. “Where did Landy go?”

  “He told me to tell you he and Kip had to start building the frame for the common room for the hut.”

  “Common room! The one we discussed this morning?”

  “Yes.” Gina’s eyes filled with excitement. “I told him and Kip of our idea, and they agreed. He said they would get the poles to make the frame now.”

  Although she was disappointed by the change of plans, the idea of having a common room to sit and relax in took top priority. The elements of nature almost forced the necessity. “Well, great! I’m going to do some laundry.”

  “All right. What do you want me to tell Landy when he comes to camp?” Gina continued the task of prepping the fish for their fish fry.

  “Tell him… tell him I’m in paradise.”

  “We’ll do.” Gina didn’t comment on the message, but judging by the smile on her face, it did pique her interest.

  Rae Anne followed the well-worn path to the lagoon. The humidity already reached the point that would stop Landy and Kip from setting the pieces together for the frame of the common room. If she knew Landy at all, he’d be down here soon enough. He knows I’m here waiting for our bath. A cool wind blew across the trail. “Ah, the waterfall is close. If we could find a way to use that energy to light our hut and give electricity, I’d be ecstatic.”

  She set to work on the laundry and finished the load in record time. She laid them out to dry on the two bushes closest to the lagoon’s small drop-off. Behind two bath sheets, she stripped out of her swimsuit and set it in the bucket of sudsy water. She washed the two pieces, and set them on the bushes with the other items to dry. Tilting the bucket, she caught herself. “Landy will need the water to wash his clothes.” She set it off to the side.

  Standing on the sunning rock, she looked out at the water and cleared her head and body of all tensions from her shoulders to her feet. Her aching neck cramped. Slowly, she rolled her head one way, and then the other to work out the kinks. In a shift of gravity on the earth, her body left the security of the solid rock. She screamed. The next thing she knew she broke the surface of the water coughing and spitting up the unwelcome swallow of pond water.

  “Did I scare you?”

  Landy asks the silliest question. “No, not at all. I like to scream out in surprise, thinking my body levitates sporadically on its own.” Rae Anne splashed him with a small wave of water and retreated to the bank.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” He grabbed her by the arm and turned her toward him. “I’ve wanted you all day. The sight of you standing by the water naked made my dick so hard that I could feel it pulling me. Like a damned divining rod was stuck to my ass.”

  Landy took her lips in a hard kiss. The kiss lasted an eternity. Silent and dizzy from its effects, Rae Anne felt the blood rush to her head and echo like the waterfalls in the distance. She leaned against Landy’s strong body. He teased hers with kisses. His hands roamed over her until his fingers found the slit of her pussy. He opened her with a finger and then dipped his finger into her. The cold water seeping into her with his finger cooled the hot need of her core but didn’t douse the fire within her. Wanting to feel his hard cock as close to her as possible, she wrapped her legs around his waist. Landy continued to pump inside her and she neared her orgasm. Her gaze locked with his. “Give me release,” she whispered.

  Landy pulled his finger out and replaced it with his cock. The adjustment strained her cunt. A quick stab of pain forced her to bite her bottom lip to hold back a moan. The large head opened her wider.

  “Breathe, honey!” Landy stepped, further engaging her, filling her to the hilt, and settling his cock inside her canal. Rae Anne’s eyes grew wider. “I like fucking in the water.”

  “Watch your language.” In a second, she rocked in time with him. She offered him a taste of her breast. The mild sucking mixed with their rhythmic fucking, and she grew dizzy, euphoric, and ready to come. Her loud cry of release matched that of Landy’s deep moan.

  “I could live like this forever,” he said at last.

  “Yes, except for the heat.”

  He gave her a sidelong gaze. “Depends on which you are referring to.”

  Rae Anne giggled. The lightness of their bonding reinforced their passion. Neither could let go of the other, not even to swim to the shore to lie in the sun to dry.

  Chapter Forty

  “Something isn’t right.” Roger knew it in his gut. Landy would have called if there were a change in destination or he’d changed his mind. No one had heard from them since the day before the Mexican stop. Roger paced the small office, backtracking in his mind what could’ve possibly went wr
ong. His imagination ran wild with visions of pirates, large sea monsters, and God knew what else. He shook the thoughts from his head. “I have been around Landy way too long.”

  “Mr. Bassham,” a woman called out.

  Roger looked up into the most beautiful brownish-hazel eyes he had ever seen. The average-size woman on the other side of the Barcelona Port Authority counter greeted him with a smile. Long, raven hair shone like a silk background. Huge expressive eyes regarded him professionally and with genuine concern. His gaze slipped down to her chest. The woman is built better than a short stack at the local pancake house.

  “Yes.” Roger stepped up to the counter trying to clear the images from his head. “I’m Roger Bassham.”

  “Senor. Bassham, my name is Lydia Navarro.” She extended her hand to him. “I have been assigned to your inquiry.”

  Roger took her hand and the softness surprised him. He couldn’t recall a time when a woman’s hand felt so wonderful. “Call me Roger.”

  “What can I do for you…Roger?”

  Her gentle smile stirred feelings in his heart and manifested with a stirring in his pants. If this weren’t such a dire situation, I’d take advantage.

  “I would like to find out if a yacht, The Pouty Princess, docked in your harbor in the last week.”

  Lydia looked through the computer log for the yachts that entered in the last month. “I’m sorry. I don’t show any such yacht on record.”

  Lydia’s English was almost perfect except for a slight Spanish accent, which turned Roger on more than it deterred him from a possible pursuit. “Where did you learn English?”

  Lydia gave him a strange look. “I think we just got off track, Señor Bassham.”

  “Oh. Yes. The yacht’s owner is Mrs. Marcus Carmichael. Her captain is a Mr. Landy Laurent.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “You know Señor Laurent?”

  Lydia seemed intrigued by his association with Landy. Well, whatever works, right? “He’s my partner. Have you seen him lately?”

  “No, I haven’t seen him in three years.”

  Lydia’s eyes held a hint of an old painful memory. Roger didn’t want to pry, but the trail of brokenhearted lovers left in Landy’s wake didn’t faze him too much. He’d grown used to it.

  “If Landy is the captain, he would check in with us at the harbormaster’s office,” Lydia said. “When was the last time you had contact with him?”

  “I guess about three months ago. He was supposed to dock in Mexico if he decided not to go through with the job.”

  “Why wouldn’t he go through with the job?”

  “He’s escorting an old flame.”

  “Who”—the perfect shape of her lips formed the perfect kissable lips, and her eyes registered surprise—“Rae Anne?”

  Roger was the next to be surprised. “How do you know about Rae Anne?”

  “Landy told me all about her.” Lydia took down a binder three inches thick and thumbed through the pages.

  “That’s obvious.” Lydia knows about Landy and Rae Anne? The idea made Roger uncomfortable. “How do you know Landy?”

  “He and my brother, Julian, worked together until three years ago.” Lydia scanned the index of the book. “Julian is a former Navy SEAL. Just like Landy.”

  “No, Landy was a Marine.”

  “Yes, for the first four years of his military career. Then he signed on with the Navy SEALS.”

  “How can Julian join the US Navy when he’s a Spaniard?"

  “We aren’t native to Spain. We were born in California. Our father was in the Air Force.” Lydia took out a page and made a copy. “We have lived in Spain for as long as I can remember, but I am an American.” She inserted the page back into the book.

  “Look.” she angled the copied information toward Roger. “There was a storm that night you talked to Landy last. Between here and Mexico is a vast amount of islands.” Lydia circled the area with a red pen. “If he got into trouble, he and the crew are probably on one of the islands. I suggest you begin your search there.” She pointed to the area closest to her, just off the Hawaiian Islands.

  Roger took the page of the map and stuffed it in the file he had with him. He looked back at Lydia. “Do you love him?”

  Lydia took a stunned step back. “Love him? Oh, Landy?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s like a second brother to me. Even if I were in love with him, he loves someone else.”

  “Well, that answers my second question.”

  “What was the first?” Lydia leaned against the desk behind her.

  “Where you learned English.”

  Lydia smiled softly and gave Roger a once-over. “I learned from the Air Base where I went to school and later in Cal Tech.”

  Roger smiled as he kept his gaze on her.

  “Satisfied?”

  A wolfish grin settled on his lips. He opened the door. “Not quite, but maybe later.”

  Lydia laughed aloud in spite of her hard-assed exterior.

  * * * *

  Roger strolled down the pier leading to slip four. The harbormaster at the rental company gave him the keys two hours ago with a promise he’d clean and stock it. Taking advantage of the extra time, Roger had a light dinner and picked up a few supplies the floating hotel wouldn’t have. He looked up to find Lydia Navarro on deck.

  “Hello!” she said and waved.

  Roger climbed the small steps to gain entry to the boat. “Hello, yourself. What are you doing here?” He set the small bag of items on the table beside him.

  Lydia smiled. “I thought I would accompany you in your search.”

  Curious to know her reasoning he mentally listed some questions to help trip her up. “Why?”

  “You could use my help out there. I am a Spanish-speaking native and know how to bypass the pirates.”

  “That makes sense.” He didn’t think too much about the dangers at sea and being alone. His focus was on Landy and the party with him. She smiled up at him. A potential fantasy of a love affair on the open seas rolled and formed in his mind. Seeing her naked body covered with oil…focus! What of Landy? “Two people can’t fight off a band of pirates.”

  Lydia chuckled. “I know that. So, I asked Julian to come along.”

  She looked over Roger’s shoulder. He followed her gaze and came face-to-face with a monstrous man who almost made him jump out of his skin in fear. Julian stepped out of the shadows and walked to him. Roger had no doubt the man, built to wrestler’s proportions, could snap him in two if he so desired.

  “Ju—” His voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Julian, thank you for coming along.” Roger extended his hand.

  Julian looked from him to his younger sister, who was his exact opposite, and then back to him. He took Roger’s hand and squeezed. “I do this for Landy.” The low timbre of his voice could have been called stereotypical of his massive size.

  “He is our main objective.”

  Julian smirked, released Roger’s hand, and walked away.

  Roger watched him retreat. Shaking his hand to restart the circulation, Roger looked at Lydia. “Is he always this friendly?”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Shh!” She pulled him farther away from her brother. “Be careful of what you say and do around Julian. He has a short temper, and he can be dangerous if it is riled.

  “Thanks for the tip!” he said.

  Julian looked back at them, not a sight of a smile. Roger swallowed hard. Thanks a fucking lot!

  Chapter Forty-One

  “This is useless.”

  Roger had spent the week on a rented yacht, sailing the Pacific Ocean, going from island to island, hoping to see Landy, Rae Anne, the crew, or even the damn The Pouty Princess. The time out consumed him to the point of exhaustion. Not only emotionally worn, he was horny as hell.

  Looking over his shoulder, he caught another glimpse of Lydia. Since she had decided to sail along with her brother, Julian, he had no nights of peaceful sleep
. No, his nights were spent dreaming of Lydia. She spent her time planning ways for them to steal a minute here or there away from her brother’s prying eyes. And the fellow had eyes as sharp as an eagle. Although, Landy’s safe return was Julian’s top priority, his younger sister’s whereabouts continued to be foremost in his awareness. Finding the mere ten minutes alone with her for a cup of coffee was a luxury in itself, but to find the time to feed his craving cock was inconceivable.

  Lydia’s beautiful body, barely contained in the skimpy string bikini swimsuit she paraded around the yacht in, tormented him daily. Her long hair pulled back from her face lent her an air of bohemian lifestyle. Roger excused himself from her company several times before she, or Julian, caught him with a swollen pecker.

  “Roger, would you please rub sunblock onto my back?” Lydia extended the bottle and turned her back to him.

  Her soft plea squeezed his nuts. He looked heavenward. You have got to be kidding? Roger felt that throbbing in his sac. What can I do? The woman asked for my help, right? “Sure.”

  With shaking hands, he squeezed a liberal amount of the creamy lotion onto his palms and then applied it to her back. The contact of his hands with her warm skin sent a shiver of thrills down his spine to his throbbing cock.

  “Where is your brother?” he whispered in her ear. Goose bumps became visible almost immediately on her skin. She’s turned on too.

  Lydia faced him, her eyes filled with a longing that he easily identified. “I told him to give us some time alone.” Her hands slowly inched their way to his neck. “I have wanted to do this all week.” She closed her lips on his.

  Roger’s head almost blew off his shoulders in delight. He couldn’t decide which head was in the worse need of release. He deepened the kiss, held her close, and let the feel of her soft body in his arms linger with unsaid invitation. He smoothed his right hand over the fabric of her string thong. The bared ass cheek commanded his full attention, and that of his cock’s.

  “Roger, I want you.” She trailed kisses along his bared chest.