Running from Satisfaction: Welcome to Libertine Island [Satisfaction, Texas 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Diane Leyne

  “Yes, we did. You would have done the same thing. Now stop dodging the question. You know something, Dace.”

  “Nothing concrete. She has a friend working there as a chef. He called her a while back wondering if she could come and fill in for him for a couple of weeks while he took his wife on a babymoon. When you said St. Maarten, well, Libertine is just off the coast about twenty minutes by boat, or so the website claims.”

  “Babymoon?”

  “It’s like a honeymoon, but it comes before the birth of a baby.”

  “Why did she tell you and not us? We’re her boyfriends and Doms.”

  “Yeah, maybe when you are here. But you’re never here, are you?”

  “Our jobs take us away for long periods of time. Candy understands that. And we always come to see her as often as we can.”

  “Seriously, how dense are you? Do you really think that’s enough? I don’t know what Micah and I would have done if Nicola hadn’t offered to quit SSP. We’d never have asked, but we were so fucking relieved when she did.”

  “Are you saying that Candy wants us to quit?”

  “Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.”

  “But Dace, we’re planning to. In fact, we just did our last assignment. That’s why we’ve been away so much lately. Tidying things up so we could leave.”

  “Did you tell her that?”

  “No.”

  “You are an idiot. You both are. You have to say the words. Did you two boneheads even tell her that you loved her?”

  “We were planning on it. Hey, how do you know we didn’t?”

  “Because she’s cried on my woman’s shoulder more than once. She loves you two idiots although I don’t know why, and it was killing her every time you left. Maybe coming late this time was the last straw?”

  “Shit. I get it. But why would she leave without talking to us?”

  “Maybe she tried but you two didn’t give her the chance?”

  “What do you know about it? She’s everything to us, Dace. It’s just that our jobs, you know how it is. So did Candy.”

  “Yes, and now she’s gone, isn’t she?” Tait hated Dace’s tone, but he was right. “She walked away without a second glance.”

  Tait couldn’t listen any longer. “Fine, Dace. We fucked up. Big time. She’s got to be pretty mad at us to walk out without a word. We’ll have to grovel. Eat humble pie. Whatever it takes. Now focus. Dace, you were saying that the resort is near St. Maarten.”

  “Yeah, you have to fly into there and then go to the island by boat. But guys, it’s pretty damned private. Top-level security. It’s a BDSM resort and they don’t allow just anyone to come onto the island and walk around gawking. You can’t just head to St. Maarten and hire a boat. They’d run you off or maybe lock you in their dungeon.”

  “So we make a reservation. I don’t care how expensive or exclusive it is. They’ll take our money.”

  “Doesn’t work that way, Tait. They do background checks on everyone who wants to visit. Don’t say anything, but Micah and I want to take Nicola there for her birthday. Even with Micah’s friendship with Mac Whelan, Nicola and I have to get our own checks done before they can finalize our reservations.”

  “Mac Whelan? He owns the place?” Aaron interrupted. “Sean O’Malley is his right-hand man. I met him at a security seminar a few years ago. He’s head of security for Whelan Corp. and Club Libertine in Seattle. Hell, I should have made the connection with Libertine Island. The way you describe their security, I’ll be Sean set it up. And knowing Sean, you are right. No easy way onto the island. But he’s a friend of mine. Let me give him a call. He’ll confirm if that’s where she’s headed and he’ll let us on the island, too. Dace, we’ll let you know what we find out.”

  He disconnected the call and picked up the phone while Tait continued driving toward El Paso. For the first time, Tait felt some sense of hope. He tried to listen into the call but Aaron spoke softly and quickly, damn him. When he hung up, he refused to talk and stared at his phone until it rang. He answered and listened, nodding several times before he hung up.

  Aaron looked over at him with a grin.

  “I talked to a buddy who works for the company who owns Libertine Island. I’ve been able to confirm that Candy is headed to St. Maarten and from there to Libertine Island to fill in for their chef who is, indeed, going on a babymoon.”

  “So Dace was right. Can we head her off and meet her in St. Maarten?”

  “We probably could, but she’s promised to take over the kitchens while the resident chef is away, again as Dace surmised, on his babymoon. Sean said that if we do anything that causes the chef to cancel his trip, he’ll personally throw us in the island dungeon for a month of bread, water, and floggings.”

  “Okay. So what is the plan? Can he get us in as guests?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Not exactly? What does that mean?”

  “Let me put things in context. Turns out she’s going to miss her connection this afternoon. Damn, Sean’s connected. And then when she arrives in St. Maarten on Monday, they are going to come up with an excuse to delay her another day. In the meantime, he’s already arranged for the company jet to head on down to take Carter and his family to Paris for their babymoon. It’ll detour to El Paso and pick us up first thing Monday. That will give us a twenty-four-hour head start on Libertine Island to get settled and finalize our plan to win her back.”

  “I’m still waiting to find out what not exactly means. If we aren’t going in as guests and not going as day visitors, then what is our cover?”

  “I hope SSP will be okay if we moonlight. Sean says if we want to come to Libertine Island and win back Candy, we have to work for the privilege. He’s given us two choices. I’ll even let you pick. Do you want work as a pool boy or gardener?”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “She’ll be working while she’s there, so it’s not a big deal if we work, too. We could turn Sean down try to intercept her on St. Maarten, but if we try, they’ll meet her at the airport and whisk her to the island and we’ll have to wait out the full two weeks while she’s living on an island filled with Doms. Even more than usual, I mean. Apparently, it’s unattached Doms and Subs month. A resort full of single Doms looking for a sub to play with, and our beautiful Candy, who we never got around to collaring.”

  “Fine, Aaron, you’ve convinced me. But those are some choices. Can’t we do security or dungeon monitoring or something?”

  “Sean said take it or leave it. He’s all for helping the course of true love run smoothly, but only if it doesn’t disrupt his resort. He’ll even lend us the corporate jet to make sure we arrive early enough to get some training done before Candy arrives.”

  “I guess I’ll work at the pool and enjoy the view while you mow the lawn or tend the daisies or whatever.”

  “And what do we do when she gets there?”

  “Whatever it takes, even if it means going back to square one.”

  Chapter Four

  Two days later

  The boat seemed to fly over the water. Candy had enjoyed the day layover in St. Maarten. In fact, she had needed it. Sunday had been extremely stressful. She’d been delayed changing planes and had missed her flight to St. Maarten. It didn’t matter though, as the regular boat to the island only went on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays, so she’d spent Monday lying on the beach and soaking up the sunshine.

  Great Bay was beautiful and so was the hotel. The Sonesta Great Bay was right on the water and her room overlooked the bay. She could see the cruise ship docked on the other side of the horseshoe shaped bay and the town of Philipsburg halfway between. She thought of walking into town, but decided to spend the day being lazy and lying on one of the loungers with a good book and a bottle of water, getting up only to swim in the warm bay or head up to the hotel to eat.

  One more day before she could officially contact anyone. Rodgers had told her three days and she had one more day left. It did
n’t mean that she hadn’t made a stop on the way to El Paso to pick up an untraceable phone which she used to call her brother. He’d called her back and let her know that everyone was all right and Rodgers was in custody, but agreed that it was possible he had partners, so she wasn’t taking any chances.

  She looked over at JJ, who was at the helm. He was tall, dark, and handsome with a body to die for. She was also sure he was a Dom. He was also married to a submissive he loved dearly and the father of a six-month-old son, JR, who he carried in a sling that was slung across his chest.

  “JR loves the motion of the boat. I think he takes after his father,” he’d stated proudly as they cast off.

  The trip to the island was all too brief. She noticed that the boat seemed to be loaded with supplies, fresh produce, fish, et cetera. JJ noticed her gaze.

  “We pick up supplies three times a week. We can get most anything you need. If we can’t get it on the Dutch side of the island, we can probably find it on the French side.”

  “Dutch? French?”

  “Yup. St. Maarten is small, but it is split into Dutch and French sides. There’s no formal border crossing or anything. They do use different currencies, though. It’s US dollars on this side and Euros on the other.”

  “I had no idea. Carter asked me to help him out. We’ve known each other for years. And he sent me a link to the Libertine Island website and I was hooked. I admit I didn’t do any homework about this part of the world. Are you a local or a transplant?”

  “Both. I grew up in the States, but spent my summers here growing up. Since I’ve retired from the corporate world, I live here full time.”

  “Retired? You’re what, twenty-five?”

  “Oh, a few years older than that. But yes, I retired. Sold my company and moved down here where life goes at a pace where you can actually enjoy yourself. And now with this little guy and another on the way…I look after the boats on the island and ferry the guests around, but I’m hoping that they someone soon to take over for me. My wife is a doctor who runs a clinic in St. Maarten and I’d like to be a full-time house husband by the time number two arrives.”

  “A doctor? Wow. Is she a transplant, too, or from St. Maarten?”

  “She is from the US, but we met down here. I had a hell of a time collaring and marrying her. She was convinced that because she’s a couple of years older than me that I was going to get bored and want to head back to the rat race or maybe look for someone younger. But I was persistent and wore her down. I made sure that she got so used to me being around that she wouldn’t be able to imagine life without me.”

  He grinned happily and Candy felt like a knife twisted in her gut. She had two men that she loved and who claimed to love her, but they barely saw each other. They preferred their job to her, or so it sometimes seemed.

  “Your wife is a lucky woman.”

  “Hell no. I’m a lucky man. I’ve got a woman who is beautiful and intelligent and, for some reason, loves me as much as I love her. And I got this little man and another on the way. Life is better than I ever imagined it could be.”

  “Your wife doesn’t want to retire, too?”

  “Charlotte?” He laughed. “No, she loves what she does. She’s set up a children’s clinic in St. Maarten and she treats them and their families for free. Before she came to the island, she was with Doctors Without Borders. Helping is what she does. She could no more retire than I could return to the corporate world. That’s why I’ll stay home with the kids and she’ll go to work and heal people. We’re very lucky that we are in a financial position to do so.

  “We should be at the island in about ten minutes. That’s it, up there ahead on the right.”

  After that, they rode in silence. She moved up to the front of the boat, sitting on the bench on the right side, watching as the boat ate up the distance. She could see that the island wasn’t large, but it wasn’t as small as she’d assumed either. JJ explained that parts of it held private villas belonging to the partners who owned the island. The resort itself was built around a bay. There were private cabins on either side and at the center of the bay was a beach and behind it, a large pool area. Behind that were the main resort buildings, including the reception area, restaurants, and the large dungeon with a number of private, themed playrooms.

  She could see a low rise building behind the pool area. JJ explained that this was the main building which housed receptions, the restaurants, offices, and of course the dungeon. He explained that there were other residential buildings, including one where the unattached staff members lived. Mostly, though, guests lived in small cabins scattered around the properly, most of which had views of the water.

  The boat was met by a young blond man who introduced himself as Leo. He looked like a Greek god. Hell, he could have posed for the famous Michelangelo statue of David. He was all lean muscle and adorable golden curls. He was wearing a pair of loose shorts and some sandals. The shorts were the same color pattern as the ones JJ was wearing and she realized it must be a uniform of sorts. And Leo filled his out very well, very well indeed.

  He saw her staring and winked. She colored. He had to be at least twenty-one to work on the island, she presumed, but he looked no more than eighteen or nineteen. She shouldn’t be staring. She felt herself blushing.

  “No harm in looking, darling. In fact, if you are submissive, I’d love to introduce you to the island dungeon. Lots of fun things to do there. Oh, and I’m definitely legal. And I love older women, especially when I make them beg.” He laughed and she realized he was teasing her. He grabbed her bag. “I’ll drop this off at the front desk for you, and I’ll see you later. I generally help out in the kitchen during dinner. You’ll get to order me around when we are there, but only when we are there.” Then he winked and strode off, whistling a tune she didn’t recognize.

  She turned to JJ.

  “Yes, he’s twenty-one, which makes him legal, and a Switch, so maybe he’ll let you beat his ass, if you are so inclined. Feel free to play with Leo or even a guest who catches your fancy, if you aren’t working. The facilities are all open to staff when they aren’t on duty.”

  They walked down the pier in Leo’s wake. She followed along with JJ past the swimming pool. She could see the naked bodies glistening in the water. They appeared to be playing volleyball, and seemed to be having such fun. She noticed that there were several lifeguards observing the action, dressed in the most outrageous swimsuits she’d ever seen. The females wore bikinis with cut-out tops, showing off their nipples and most of their breasts. The males wore thongs with what looked to be a hole in the crotch that meant their cocks and balls were hanging out.

  JJ grinned. “They have to wear a uniform so that everyone knows they are staff. We thought of making them wear vests, but the female staff demanded these ones, arguing equal exposure. And the guests seem to like them.”

  “I’m sure they do. Do they, er, ever get hit on by the guests?”

  “See the arm bands? Some have them on their right arm and some on the left.”

  “Yup.”

  “If the guards are interested in playing with the guests, they wear them on the left. If they aren’t interested, they wear them on the right.”

  “And the guests respect this?”

  “They do if they want to stay on the island.”

  Suddenly, there was a commotion.

  “Hey, band on the right, band on the right!” She looked up and saw the back of a lifeguard and a female on her knees, her hand reaching for his cock as he backed away. “Keep your hands to yourself or, or—”

  “Or what? You’ll punish me?” Her voice was low and flirty. “Oh, please, Sir. I’ve been bad. Please punish me!”

  JJ sighed. “This week is a bit of an experiment. Usually we require people to come as a couple or triad or square or whatever. This is the first time we’ll allowed single Doms and subs to visit. And the lifeguard is new and seems to be easily spooked. Clearly there are some kinks to the plan be work
ed out, no pun intended. I’ll just be a second. Or can you make your way to reception yourself and I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

  “Go, JJ. I’ll be fine. See you in the lobby.” She started to walk away when she heard the man’s voice again, relief in his voice this time as he realized that he was going to be rescued. She paused. The voice, now that it was no longer elevated with panic, sounded familiar. She had to be imaging things though. She couldn’t imagine Tait working as a lifeguard with his junk hanging out, not even if he was working undercover. No way would he do that. He didn’t even like getting naked in a public dungeon during a scene.

  But that voice. She paused and turned back. She could see a bit of his profile now. He even looked a bit like Tait. He turned slightly and she could see most of his face now.

  Fuck! It was Tait. What was he doing here? And where was Aaron? You never saw one without the other being around somewhere. She watched for a moment as Tait gestured broadly, clearly trying to make some point. She turned quickly so he wouldn’t see her and hurried up to the main building.

  Walking in the door, she saw Leo waiting and beside him was three more blond men and a dark haired woman.

  “Carter!” She rushed over to Carter, who swept her into a big bear hug. “Oh my god. It’s so good to see you. It’s been too long!”

  “Same here, Candy. And you know my brothers, Chris and Dalton. And this is the love of our lives, Maggie.”

  * * * *

  Tait wanted to scream with frustration. As if this stupid swimsuit wasn’t bad enough, the unattached subs kept hitting on him. Weren’t they screened? They all needed a good beating and a reminder of their place. Subs didn’t approach Doms. They waited to be chosen. And now this blonde had gone too far.

  “JJ, please. You have to do something. These subs are out of control, and this one here, kneeling and pretending to be so obedient, she tried to grab my cock.”

  “You, sub. Look up at me. What’s your name?”