Graduation and Gifts (Untouchable Book 8)

by Heather Long

  A snort escaped me before I could stop it, and I clapped a hand over my mouth. There was a beat, then laughter erupted all around us and Jake grinned down at me. As much as Jake and I liked to push it when we were out in “public” spaces, I had great faith that no one could see me, so I rolled over and he trailed his gaze down at me as the bikini top fell away.

  “Fuck me,” Archie swore. “Let me deal with the captain.” The scrape of his deck chair warned me of his exit.

  “You’re playing with fire, Angel,” Ian warned.

  I grinned and then stretched my arms above me. The combined heated stares kept any chill from even reaching my skin. “So,” I asked. “Who’s going to put sunscreen on my front?”

  What fun was there in playing with fire if you didn’t get burned?

  Despite my best efforts at teasing, the rest of my morning sunbathing on the deck went uninterrupted. None of the crew came anywhere near us, and Archie confirmed I wasn’t visible from the upper deck before Jake could complain. A part of me wanted to doze, but I enjoyed listening to them talk to too much.

  The captain warned us about an hour out from the island, and I sat up and let Jake tie the bikini back into place before lunch arrived. Lunch was mostly cold meats, breads, and fruit. It all came with cool water and even colder wine. I had one small glass of the wine, but I didn’t want it to go to my head.

  I wasn’t hot at all, but I was warm. The sun off the water and the island coming into view as we sliced from deeper water into those more crystal clear had me moving with the guys to watch as the island grew bigger and bigger.

  Tucked between Jake and Archie against the rail, I braced against them, not that I had to worry. They each kept a hand on me as the yacht slowed to give us our best look yet. Not only was the beach almost pearlescent and the trees and foliage green and lush, the house sat up on a little hill away from the water, but it was…almost majestic.

  Excitement thrummed through me. The yacht couldn’t go all the way in, so we transferred onto a smaller craft. Apparently, there was a dock on the far side that we could also use if the water was too rough, but as the agitation generated by the engines calmed, the water smoothed like glass. Well, at least until we were getting in the oversized rubber boat.

  I would look up the terms later. Our luggage would come over after us. Apparently, that had been part of Archie’s coordination with the captain earlier. Archie and Ian were already in the boat when I made my step over. I wasn’t too worried about falling in, but they were all making sure I didn’t even take a misstep.

  Settled between Ian and Archie for this leg, I let out a laugh as the outboard motor fired up and we raced across the water toward the shore. I gripped the guys and the side of the boat as we skimmed. Thank fuck I wasn’t the only one whooping.

  The two crew members helping laughed at us. I wanted to jump off like they did as we rode right up the surf to the sandy beach. But Ian’s hand clamped down on my thigh when I went to move, and I made a face at him. As soon as the crew dragged us up on the sand, I was up and we were all out.

  What a beautiful freaking place.

  It was a slice of paradise. Ian lifted my hand for a kiss before he handed it to Coop. I swore they were trying to keep me out of the way, but Ian joined Archie and Jake as they waited for the second skiff—that was the word—bringing our luggage.

  “Grunt work or exploring?” Coop asked, and I twisted to look at him. He let out a laugh and then called out, “We’re heading up to the house.”

  “It’ll be open,” Archie said, and I blew him a kiss. I could almost see his wink behind the sunglasses.

  “I totally have to jump Archie, later,” I told Coop as we hit the steps winding up the near tropical path to the house. “I mean, seriously jump him.”

  “I’m down,” Coop told me with a grin. “You mind if I make popcorn before I watch?”

  I paused a couple of steps above him and then gripped his face. His mouth opened to my kiss easily, and he banded his arms around my middle. Lifting me off my feet, he hugged me tight. I could drown in this kiss. It had begun as me wanting to share his joy and turned into him flooding me with it.

  “I love you,” I whispered when I lifted my head. “And I love that you love when I love them.”

  “You have no idea,” he whispered. “Watching you as you come, knowing you’d do the same for me and have, while they make you fall apart, and I can just savor every little gasp, flush, and sweet scream? It’s the fucking best, Frankie. I just have to ask…did you talk to Arch and Bubba?”

  “No,” I confessed. “They’re letting you watch all on their own. You and Jake—I think you’re helping them do it. And I think the fact they are both trusting me more helps.”

  His eyes narrowed. “They trusted you before. What the—”

  BFF Coop who teased and played with me so easily would always be my favorite, but possessive and protective Coop opened up other sides of his personality that I adored. The ferociousness in his eyes heated me from the inside out.

  “Not what I meant,” I assured him and brushed my fingers over his lips. “I think we’re all trusting each other more. Everything changed at Christmas. It changed again on my birthday…”

  His smile turned sinful. “True.”

  “And we’re all discovering new boundaries. So don’t think I’m worried, I’m not.” Funnily enough, that was so damn true. I was so fucking excited about where we were going and what we were doing. The journey—we were journey and destination. Anticipation quivered through me. “Now, we were going to explore?”

  Coop still held me up, and I stroked his cheek. Over his shoulder, the beautiful blue ocean filled my view. The guys were below, offloading the luggage, and the yacht was in the distance. But it was so quiet and yet alive with the calls of birds, the rustle of leaves, and the soft hush of Coop’s breathing.

  Another kiss, then he set me down. As I turned, he landed a slap on my ass, and I startled before he gripped and rubbed the spot he’d slapped. The rush of dampness to my thighs should’ve been embarrassing, but fuck that.

  “So is it just with Bubba?”

  “No,” I admitted. Though to be honest, I would always kneel for Ian. My Ian owned a part of me that he’d helped me find, and we were discovering more about her every day.

  “Good to know,” he said, his playful grin making me laugh. I let him get ahead of me and then retaliated, landing a slap against his ass that made my palm burn. He shot me a look as I massaged the spot. “Testing a theory?”

  “Depends—would you let me?”

  Boldness flickered through me, and Coop considered me for a moment as I gripped his ass. With two light fingers, he tilted my chin up as he stepped back down to join me. This time, there was no distance between us, his breath feathered my lips as he spoke.

  “Frankie, we can explore anything you want. You want me on my knees, I’m already there.”

  Fuck.

  Me.

  This time, I nipped his lower lip when we kissed, then dragged my teeth over it before laving it with my tongue. At the rate we were going, we weren’t going to make it to the house.

  Hand in hand, we turned abruptly then raced toward the house. As promised, it was unlocked. There were huge doors and windows on either side of the living room. We pulled them open as we laughed, letting the breeze in. It fluttered the sheer curtains, then Coop and I dashed up the stairs. The first door he pushed open revealed this huge, bright room with a massive bed in the center and netting around it.

  One tug, and my bikini top hit the floor, then I stepped out of my shoes as Coop reached around me to pull my shorts down, and he swept the bottoms with them. His shirt floated down out of the corner of my eye, and then he pushed me up against the window that let us look down at the ocean and his cock slammed home into me and we both let out a shout.

  The fullness was too much and not enough. Hands on my hips, he moved me as I fought to just hold on. Everything was so sensitive, and I swore I cou
ld feel every ridge on his cock as he drilled into me.

  “Look at them,” Coop urged, and I flattened my hands against the cool glass as his every thrust rubbed my nipples against it. The competing sensations threatened to overwhelm me. Below, Archie had the crewmen facing him as he spoke. All the luggage was on the beach, but Jake and Ian were staring up at us, and I grinned slowly.

  They could see me, and I opened my mouth to let the cries out. Coop’s hands were so tight and sweet as he pulled me back onto him, and I swore every push forward took me off my feet.

  “Come for me,” Coop ordered. “Play with your clit and make sure Jake can see you dip your hand.”

  I had no idea how to make—Fuck it. I licked two fingers, and I swore Jake’s whole body jerked, then I slid it down my front. A brief glance at Ian showed him marching toward the house, bags in hand. Though I couldn’t quite make out his face, I would bet money Archie’s hot gaze was on me, not the men he talked to and kept from looking at me.

  Riveted to the spot, Jake stared up at us as my fingers skated over my clit, and I swore I detonated from those stares alone, even as Coop swore. He dragged me back from the window, one hand covering my breast and the other urging me forward until I was half bent.

  His shouts as he came had me trembling and clamping down on him. I would never not love the warmth of how they jetted into me. I didn’t think I could even explain how much I treasured that moment. It was like a part of them became a part of me, and if I tried to put it into words, I would sound ridiculous.

  We kind of collapsed together onto the floor. He pulsed inside of me, or maybe that was my imagination, but he wrapped around me and the shorts he hadn’t even fully removed rubbed against my legs.

  Cradling me to him, Coop nuzzled a kiss to the side of my head. The sound of the door swinging open behind us had me glancing over to find Ian carrying some of the bags in. He gave me a slow smile.

  “Having fun?”

  I nodded, then licked my lips.

  “You want to have more?”

  Oh, yes please. I clenched around Coop, and he groaned. With care, he eased out of me, and then I was kneeling there on the thatched rug and staring up at Ian. His grin grew even more sinful as he carefully removed his sunglasses.

  “Your turn to help offload,” Ian told him, and I swore I could come from the way Ian reached for his belt.

  Coop gave me another kiss. “Enjoy yourself,” he murmured. “Take notes, and maybe I’ll let you do the same to me.”

  Fuck.

  I almost melted right there, but Ian shut the door behind Coop as he walked toward me. “You know what I packed, Angel?”

  I raised my brows.

  He had the belt looped into cuffs, and I offered up my hands.

  “Behind your back.” I obeyed, and he slid the cool leather over them. Sweat cooled on my skin as he opened the window and let the breeze in. A sharp slap hit my ass, and I jolted. I hadn’t even heard Ian move back to join me. “Do you know what else I packed, Angel?”

  Oh. Right. Question. I licked my lips. “No, sir,” I whispered. “But I hope it’s for us.”

  He fisted my hair and tugged it back, so I could look up at him. His pleased smile relaxed every muscle in my body. “Good girl, sweet girl. You want to find out?”

  Please.

  And I didn’t even have to say it aloud.

  “First, you have to earn it,” he whispered, and I shuddered again as he dropped his shorts to reveal the thick length of his cock jutting toward me. “Will you work hard for me, Angel? I want to share the surprise with you.”

  Mouth open, I sat up a little higher on my knees and spread them. With my hands behind my back, I had to trust Ian to do everything, and it wasn’t a question. His smile was so happy, I sighed as his cock slid across my tongue.

  We’d just gotten here, but I’d already discovered paradise.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Days Like These

  Jake

  Frankie strolled down to where Bubba sat on a chair near the water’s edge. Archie hadn’t been kidding about keeping her naked, and at the same time, it took my breath away to realize she was walking down there topless, hair up, the sun gleaming on her golden skin, and the bikini bottoms hugging her ass, the bright yellow visible through white almost sheer sarong she’d wrapped around her hips.

  When he’d teased her that she didn’t need the bottoms, she’d pointed at the sand and then said, “Abrasive as fuck. You want to keep eating me out and playing? We’re not getting sand in the playground.”

  Sounded good to me.

  Looked even better.

  “You still can’t get used to her just walking around outside naked, can you?” Coop stood next to me, munching on an apple, and I laughed.

  “That obvious?”

  “You’re not growling. But you are glaring. Course, I don’t mind. The more you do it, the more she baits you with it. It’s all win-win for me.”

  I punched him in the arm lightly, but I was grinning. Bubba glanced up when she got there, and instead of just sitting next to him, she went down on her knees, and I swore my whole cock just went from spent to hard as a rock in a second. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen her do it. For the last two blissful days, if she arrived somewhere he was already settled, she knelt before she did anything else.

  Bubba ran his fingers over her cheek, then held out a hand to her. She took it and let him pull her up, and then she sat down in the chair next to him, legs stretched out and they were like two lounging gods soaking up the sun.

  “Down boy,” Coop teased. “We’ve got to finish prepping for dinner, or Archie will try to cook again.”

  I snorted. One of the best parts of this place besides the gorgeous views, perfect weather, and a naked Frankie was the absolute lack of other people, including a staff. The house had been stocked, there were instructions, a generator, and a caretaker who would be staying on the other side of the island and would only come over if we called him via radio.

  If we’d wanted to fall off the edge of the world, we couldn’t have chosen a better spot. The only drawback was we had to do all of the cooking. Which was also fine, at least until Archie decided he could do shish kabobs the day before when Coop and I had Frankie pinned between us.

  Neither of us wanted to be interrupted by smoke like that again. “Where is he anyway?”

  “On the phone with his dad again,” Coop said, and I scowled. The satellite phone and the radio were our only contact points. The cells didn’t work for shit out here, and I was fine with that. “Come on.”

  At his urging, I followed him toward the kitchen. “He’s not yelling.” That was something. The first full day we’d been here, he’d been shouting down the phone line before the phone itself crashed into a wall. You couldn’t have told it from his mood after, but Frankie had. She’d dragged him out to the water to teach her to body surf. There was a better side of the island for actual surfing, but that was for tomorrow.

  “Nope, so maybe it’s going better. I want to stick my nose into it, but he hasn’t asked for help. So…” Coop spread his hands, and I got the feeling really well. There was only so much butting in we could do.

  Well, butting in they could do.

  I’d been there in New York when he went to see his mother and then the follow up with his father. I’d been there for the court case and seen them both through that situation before and after. Archie was intent and he was angry, but he wasn’t obsessed.

  “We wait,” I said. “Whatever this is, when he’s ready, he’ll tell us.”

  “Or he’ll just handle it,” Coop pointed out as he headed to the fridge, and I pulled down the list we’d been left for ready-to-heat meals versus the food we could cook ourselves.

  “Possibly, but we have to trust him to know his own limits, Coop. What the hell is a charcuterie board, and why are we making it?” Who made this list? We might as well just do cold cuts and sandwiches.

  Laughing, Coop glanced up from t
he fridge. “It’s a cheese and meat board, snacks and stuff.”

  Right.

  “How about we just stick with the basics? There’s steak, right?”

  Charcuterie. Who came up with this crap?

  “Yep. And potatoes. Steak is defrosted right?” At my nod, he grinned. “Cool, we can fire up the grill on the deck and put the potatoes in so they can slow cook, then hit the water with Bubba and Frankie.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. Except… I sent him down without me before diverting to the second floor, where Archie had shut himself behind a door with coffee to talk to his father.

  One knock, and I pushed the door open. Archie stood in front of the open doors, swim trunks on and the phone to his ear. Like us, he had a view of the beach, and he stared down at Frankie.

  Man, we were all kind of creepers. Good thing we had the right to look. I just raised my eyebrows at him, and Archie made a face.

  “Edward, I’m putting you on hold a minute.” He lowered the phone. “Everything good?”

  “That was my question for you.”

  His solemn expression split into a grin, and he said, “Yeah, I’m just fucking with Edward over some stocks he wanted to rearrange. He’s trying to suck up to Grandpa, but he won’t commit to dumping Maddy. Actually, he hasn’t actually said shit about her in days and that’s weird.”

  “Weird weird or bad weird?”

  Anything to do with the dumpster fire of her mother was suspect.

  “Weird weird, hopefully not bad weird. I’ll give him credit, he’s using the business as an obvious ploy to just talk to me, but I’m making him work for it.” Amusement curved his lips. “You and Coop done making sure I don’t burn the house down?”

  I rolled my eyes. “We’re hitting the water, you coming down?”

  His grin widened, and he lifted the phone. “Edward, I’m on vacation. We’ll talk later. When you’re ready to answer those questions, let me know.” He didn’t wait for any follow-up, just clicked it off and tossed it on the bed. “Thanks for trying to rescue me.”