Paradise Island: Complete Edition

by DD Cooper

  “I’m glad, too,” he said. “Anyway, I was thinking of calling a meeting with the mayor or something, slipping this into his drink, and voila, later that day, he’d drop dead. All our problems solved.”

  I couldn’t believe we were talking about killing another person so casually. I had to stop myself from thinking about eternal hellfire that Crow had preached at me for years, but then again, Crow was the biggest sinner of them all, so I highly doubted he knew what he was talking about.

  “I don’t know if I could go through with it. It just doesn’t feel right. Maybe you could talk to him and tell him something believable. I mean, if Lucy had gotten her way, she probably would have left town anyway, so no big mystery there. She always talked to anyone who’d listen how much she hated this place.” I could tell that Rory guy that she left for London, as for Mr. Bottoms, nobody was a huge fan of him anyway. I told as much to Jack. He nodded and put the poisonous bottle on the bedside table.

  “There’s been enough death for a lifetime here, hasn’t there? I’ll see what I can whip up and we could maybe do it tomorrow. This would just be the most efficient and sure way to do it. If the mayor had even small suspicions, what’s to stop him from digging up here just in case? And when Henry’s body is found. It would be kind of suspicious that a bunch of people went missing or dead at the same time.”

  “I know, I know,” I said. My head was starting to hurt from all the thinking. “Let’s think about this later,” I said as I huddled closer to him. I didn’t want to let go of him, and he didn’t seem to want to let go of me either, so we fell asleep in each other’s arms, the thoughts of death and threats as far as we could get them.

  It was night when I woke up in Jack’s arms. We had spent the day making love and sleeping, and now I found myself wide awake in the early evening. The wind outside howled. It seemed a storm was on the way.

  I got up and put my panties and shirt on. I walked barefoot to the living room and looked at the view outside, which was dark and foreboding. It felt a lot creepier now that I knew what was buried outside, not too far away. We needed to get away from this place as soon as possible, that was for sure. And we needed to make sure that the bodies buried here would never be found.

  I made myself a cup of tea and soon, a sleepy-eyed Jack in just his tight underwear, came in and joined me. I made him a coffee at his request.

  He kissed me deeply before taking it in his hands. “Thanks, baby.”

  It felt completely weird that we were officially together now. Sure, I didn’t have a ring on my finger or anything, but we were a couple, right? At least I thought so.

  I sat down on the couch and Jack soon joined me. Even though it was pretty warm at the moment, we still huddled together. I felt much safer, and much better with Jack by my side. I looked at the journals strewn all around the table in front of us. Jack was gently kissing my neck. It seemed that he was in the mood for something again, but I just had too much on my mind.

  “What are we going to do with these journals? Destroy them somehow?” I said as I took them all in. Josie’s last journal was still in my bedroom, though, though I doubted anyone was going to come for it.

  Jack rubbed his eyes, but he managed to look even cuter than before. “I don’t know,” he said. “That’s up to you.”

  “I think we should keep them. Or at least the last one, if hauling so many journals would be a bother. I have a feeling Josie wouldn’t like all those words to just disappear, like she did.”

  “You know we had to bury her again, otherwise there would be too many questions. It was either that or handing the bones to her killer.”

  “I know, I know,” I sighed. “Well, at least we know what happened to her, so that’s gotta count for something.”

  Jack kissed me gently on the cheek. “Of course it does.” And then he kissed me lightly on the lips. “Let’s go back to bed.”

  I ignored his horniness, although I wasn’t averse to the idea either. It’s not like we would be able to do anything tonight. We had to wait for tomorrow, for the sun to rise on the horizon and then hatch our plan, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t think about it now.

  I looked out into the darkness again and thought I saw a flash of lightning in the distance, though it could have been anything. The ferry, another boat or ship, or who knows what else.

  “A storm is coming,” I said, sounding rather more ominous than I intended.

  “Isn’t there always?” Jack said.

  I had to nod in agreement, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. “I’m worried about the bodies. What if there’s a huge flood that uncovers them?” It was a bit farfetched, but with my luck, I could see it happening.

  “What do you propose?” Jack said, clearly not in the mood for this conversation.

  “Maybe cover the front with cement. Create some sort of deck or something. Then they’d never wash up and never be found unless somebody decides to go through the cement. And since this is your property, that won’t be happening for a very long time.”

  “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?” He said, sounding a little surprised, and maybe a little proud at the same time.

  “I’ll never forget what happened earlier today. I wish I could, Jack, but I can still see Lucy falling back into that pit, after you shot her in the head.”

  Jack sighed in frustration. He got up and went to get something in the kitchen.

  “You don’t think that image’s burned in my mind as well? Well, it is, but I don’t think talking about it will help.”

  I turned around and observed as he took out a bottle of some kind of alcohol from the bottom cabinet. Scotch, whisky, I couldn’t tell you. He put a little ice in the glass and poured himself the caramel colored alcohol generously. He took a large sip and put the glass down. I didn’t say anything. What was there to say? Could I blame him for going for the bottle after everything that had happened?

  Instead I got up and joined him in the kitchen. I stood right in front of him, daring him to do it again. He reached for the glass, anger clear on his face. I reached out with my hand to stop him, but to my surprise I took the glass to my lips and took a sip.

  “Goddamn, that’s strong,” I said after coughing for a minute. Jack had to get me a water bottle out of the fridge, and I drank it thankfully.

  Jack smiled, and I knew I had reached him, so I put my arms around him.

  “I love you Jack,” I said. “Didn’t you say that was enough?”

  “I did, didn’t I?” he said and took the glass and threw the rest of the liquid in the sink, ice cubes flying every which way.

  He held me closer too, his big strong arms encircling my entire body it seemed. I could sense his dick getting harder as I kissed him deeply, my hand reaching down to squeeze his ass. In responsive, he did the same to mine, and we giggled as we kept on kissing.

  In one full sweep he lifted me up in his arms and set me down on the counter in the kitchenette.

  I laid down, my legs firmly around his hips, as he fell on top of me, his hand gliding up under my shirt until he reached my boobs.

  “Oh, God, Jack,” I moaned. “I want you so bad.”

  I’m pretty sure you can figure out the rest. We lost ourselves in ecstasy the moment he slid down his underwear to reveal that thick, veiny cock of his. My center ached for his presence again, and we proceeded to make love right then and there, with the shutters to the outside completely open. At first I worried that someone might accidentally see us, but in the end I didn’t care. All I cared about in this world was Jack, and it seemed he felt the same. He fucked me long and hard as I moaned in pleasure.

  “Oh, God, Sophie,” he moaned as he fucked me harder.

  I was lost in him, my hands hungrily holding onto his big broad back, my nails digging into his skin as I hissed with pleasure, but that only made him fuck harder.

  At one moment, I looked out on the world outside and the bodies that were buried there. Still just darkness, and I wond
ered if that was some kind of omen as well.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Suffice it to say, me and Jack found many ways to keep each other entertained during the dark hours of the night. A bit of thunder rumbled in the distance, but no storm came, thankfully. Me and Jack explored each other’s bodies as only lovers who are completely comfortable with each other could, until we fell asleep in his bed again, sweaty and exhausted in each other’s arms.

  We woke in the early morning as the harsh morning sun entered his bedroom. I wished then that he’d kept the damn blinds down, but we had a long day ahead of us. There were things that needed to be done, and they couldn’t wait.

  It was hard to let go of each other now that we just found each other. We planted kisses on each other’s bodies, neither willing to break the spell we had cast, but eventually, the spell was broken, but we did it mutually, agreeing it was time to get some things done.

  We made breakfast together and ate it together, and it felt so natural that I thought of myself as a fool for resisting Jack’s advances for so long. I bit into some jam covered toast and looked out at the view outside. Everything looked normal, except for the slightly uneven terrain, which was the only clue as to what took place here yesterday. The rest of the island seemed unaware of the horrors that happened in their midst. I saw several fishermen boats going out to start their work for the day. I took a sip of my tea and sighed.

  Jack joined me, circling his arms around me from behind.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” he whispered in my ear.

  I let the warmth and strength of his body comfort me. I breathed in the aroma of him and felt much better. It was weird how with a single touch of his hand he could set me on fire, and this occasion was no different. I yearned for his hands to go lower, for his fingers to penetrate my depths, and to his credit, Jack did just that, as if he had read my mind.

  I moaned as he massaged the spot there, while he passionately kissed my neck.

  “Oh, Jack,” I sighed in pleasure.

  This was just all too much. Happening too fast. But I didn’t seem to mind one bit. I let him massage the place between my legs, until I came. I almost dropped my cup of tea, but Jack helped me out with his other arm and then kissed me deep on the lips. I could feel his hardness from behind, which only made me wetter.

  “I should go take a shower,” I said simply. Jack kissed my neck and whispered in my ear. “I’ll join you,” he said.

  He took my hand and led me to his bedroom and then to his bathroom, which was beautiful. We helped each other get clean and spent a lot of time appreciating each other. It was amazing that we had been so close, yet it still felt like the first time when I watched the water hit his perfect body and make its way down.

  After we had dried I laid back down on the comfy bed and closed my eyes. It felt like I was in a dream. Besides all the bodies in our wake, this felt like the perfect moment.

  Jack laid down beside me and put his arms on my hips, gently exploring my body as he breathed into my neck and kissed me gently.

  “I love you, Sophie,” he whispered.

  “I love you, too,” I said and closed my eyes, letting the only reality I experienced be the one Jack wanted me to experience. His touch, his smell, his breath.

  I lost myself in him again, and it took me awhile to get back to myself.

  “We should probably be getting ready,” I said and broke the spell. There would be time for all of this later, but first we needed to make sure that we were perfectly safe to go on with our lives. Together.

  Jack grunted in frustration but agreed. “You’re right, let’s get down to business,” he said and got up from the bed. He put on a shirt on and some jeans and I did the same and joined him in the living room. He was already seated on the couch. He had pen and paper at the ready.

  “I need to make an appointment with the mayor today, or maybe it’s just safer to show up?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I think it would be safer to just show up, so there wouldn’t be a record of any visits.”

  He nodded in agreement, not writing anything down. “I also need to call a contractor to do the deck as soon as possible. I want to be able to observe the work that they’re doing,” he said.

  “That sounds like a good plan,” I said, though I did feel a bit jittery about staying on this island even a couple of more days. It felt like nothing good could come out of staying here. It felt a little like the ghosts of the dead were ready to attack at any moment, and if indeed there was such a thing as ghosts, I could see Lucy becoming very vengeful.

  Lucy. I thought about her a lot now that she was gone, especially all the judgment I had over her sex life. Now that I was exploring that world in Jack’s arms, I felt a bit guilty for judging her. Sex was amazing, especially if it’s with a person you love. I still couldn’t believe all Jack and I had been through in such a short time. It felt like a lifetime. For goodness sake, the man had killed for me. How many girls can say that about their significant others? Not many, I wagered to guess.

  “What do you plan on doing in that meeting?” I finally asked the question that needed to be asked. I thought we agreed that there shouldn’t be any killing unless absolutely necessary, but I needed to make sure we were on the same page.

  “I’ll talk to him. See if he’s applied for those papers. I reassure him, tell him that I’m done with digging up the property. If he seems suspicious, or if he seems uncooperative, I’ll just slip some of this in his drink,” he lifted the bottle of white power he’d shown me earlier. “And then the problem will solve itself. The last guy to know anything about our problem with Lucy would be gone, and we could finally get on with our lives.”

  I nodded. I hated the idea of another dead body in our wake, but the mayor didn’t leave us a lot of options. Why couldn’t have he been a decent man and refused to help that treacherous whore I called my best friend? Then Lucy’s words about Jack echoed in my mind. How easy he was to seduce and all that. But that was before he had me, so I had nothing to worry about, right?

  I let those thoughts go. They weren’t doing me any favors at the moment anyway, and I needed to focus on the here and now. I needed to make sure that me and Jack got off this island clean.

  “I’ll join you,” I said. “At the meeting, I mean.”

  “Nonsense,” he said. “You will do no such thing.”

  “But you’ll need help if he’s being uncooperative. While one of us distracts him, the other will add a little something to his drink.”

  Jack looked deep in thought. “I guess I didn’t think about that. Maybe I was just hoping he’d have forgotten the whole affair. Am I naive for thinking that?”

  I put my arm around his shoulder. “Not at all. But if there’s one thing life, and this island, have taught me, it’s that people don’t always act the way we want them to, or the way we hope they would. Life would be a lot simpler if that were the case.” I looked out onto the view in front of me. The freshly covered earth, the sea way below, the horizon that went on for miles. It almost felt like a dream. Everything that had happened.

  “Let’s go to town together,” I said. “I hope you are right, Jack, but if anything goes sideways, I want to be there for you.”

  He hugged me back. “You’re amazing,” he whispered in my ear.

  “So are you,” I whispered back in his.

  We both looked at the horizon before us. Pretty soon we would be seeing the last of this place, and our life together would officially start. I wondered what kind of life we’d build with everything that had happened on this damned island. I could say that I wished that I’d never stepped foot on these shores, but that wouldn’t be true. Not at all. If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have Jack by my side now. Yes, life would have been a lot simpler, and some people would still be breathing, but was what I lived before a life worth living? Now that I had Jack, it was easy to see that I had wasted most of my life being afraid.

  Well, I wasn’t going to let fear rule my
life ever again. I wasn’t going to let people like Lucy, Henry, and Greyson control my destiny, to manipulate me for their own ends. They all tried, and where did that get them? Dead. And I was still living, breathing, and happy. That meant that I was stronger than them. And at this moment in time, with Jack right by my side, it was enough.

  I held on tight to Jack as we rode into town on his motorcycle. The air was chilly, but I had dressed for it. Jack had his trusty leather jacket on which kept him warm. He had done a bit of research and had found out where the mayor’s offices were located. It seemed that it wasn’t at all formal. There wouldn’t be many people there, if any besides him at all, and that was a relief.

  Soon Jack spotted the building, which looked like an old fashioned house with a sign out front. It was still early in the day, but hopefully he was there. If he wasn’t we’d have to wait. I admired Jack as he got off the bike. It was hard to believe that he was all mine. He was beautiful on the outside as well as the inside. Even I knew that was a hard combination to find in this world.

  He held my hand as we went up the steps to the front door. The bottle of poison was in my purse, slightly open, ready to be utilized at any moment. We had no time to waste. If this was to be done right, it had to be quick and clean.

  Jack rang the bell. I heard him sigh hard. He was getting ready to act, I thought, I just hoped the mayor would buy it.

  It took a minute or so, enough time that we were ready to call it a day and move on to our next destination, when the old wooden door opened slightly.

  “Oh, Mr. Stark, what are you doing here?” The mayor said, looking like he had just gotten out of bed, which was more than possible.

  “I came here to talk about the problem you brought up the other day. May we come in?” It was extraordinary how calm and collected Jack sounded. How confident. Even I, who knew our true motives for this visit, was spellbound by his performance. He had a trust worthy face, at least when he looked at you with a certain flair, and the tone in his voice could make you do anything.