“He kisses me with that, and he licks me. I just realized—I’m not the only . . . oh my gosh!” She’d worked herself up to near hysteria. “All I can think about is where that thing has been. Blech! I can’t handle it. It grosses me out!”
“Rhees!” Claire took her turn to be incredulous. “I know you care.” She tried to be discriminating in her choice of words. She knew Rhees was in love with Paul, but she didn’t want to listen to her argue that she wasn’t. “You’re going to have to get over this, this thing you have about sharing . . . those things. I wouldn’t share Dobbs either, if he was inclined to cheat on me. I’m not sure you’d even know what to look for. So I’ve been keeping my eye on Paul for you, but he hasn’t done anything to make me suspect he’s screwing around on you.
“If you’re hell-bent on keeping up this game you two are playing—” Claire shook her head. She couldn’t figure out a good way to break it to her. “Rhees. You may be a virgin, but Paul is not!” It came out louder and with more vehemence than she’d intended.
“You knew that when you signed up for this. You can’t go back on it now and renegotiate that part of the contract. It’s kind of a done deal. You’ve got to get over it, Sweet. Get over it!”
oOo
Paul and Rhees sat at the table in the gazebo eating lunch together. Paul ordered a plate of chicken and rice from Aunt Miranda. Randy lived next door to the shop with his mother, his wife, and four kids. His mother, Miranda, earned a little extra money by frying up her special donuts in the mornings, selling candy, soda, and beer from the window of her home facing the street, and taking orders for lunch from people at Paul’s shop.
Randy’s daughter, Olivia, brought the plate over for her grandmother, and Paul insisted Rhees share it, saying it was too much food for just him. He’d noticed her concern about spending money got in the way of her eating properly, even though he paid her American wages in a Third World economy. He wondered how long it would take her to realize she no longer needed to pinch her pennies.
He also wondered how much longer it would take her to notice the money he’d deposited into her bank account when he thought she was leaving for home. It drove him crazy that after nearly a month, she still hadn’t checked her account, but he knew the second she did, he would be in trouble for giving her the ten thousand dollars.
He thought it would be easier to just take it back, and almost wished he could, rather than deal with her imminent reaction, but putting money in someone else’s account was easy—getting it out would be criminal—not that it had ever been an obstacle before. He had to shake his head that she didn’t pay closer attention to her bank statements, but he couldn’t be too critical since he’d left his own financial management on auto-pilot for far too long.
His were more complicated, and he didn’t quite realize how someone like Rhees, who had a small amount in one account, didn’t need to check it too often. Four hundred dollars wasn’t going to earn enough interest to be concerned about. The interest he earned was better invested someplace other than a simple savings account.
Paul didn’t know how hard Rhees had been working to overcome her fear of his germs, even after her epiphany of where his tongue had been. Reminding herself that enough time had passed for none of those germs to still be in his mouth, helped. Paul also helped by being considerate about the way he ate, making sure not to touch food with his utensil unless he planned to eat it. It all amused him, and he made a game of it.
He thought it comical she struggled to eat a piece of rice that may have touched his fork, but it grew increasingly easier for her to accept his tongue in her mouth when they kissed for show—sometimes. She’d even started reciprocating once in a while.
They finished their meal and sat watching as Mitch and two new students, Rafael and Barret, flexed their muscles, trying to prove to each other which one of them had the biggest.
“Why do guys do that?” Rhees asked, bemused.
“I don’t know. Men are just stupid little boys sometimes,” Paul said, disgusted. “Guys refuse to grow up.”
He leaned over and gave her a swift kiss before getting up. He headed over to talk to the guys and their muscles, and a few seconds later, Paul joined them, flexing his own. He looked over at her and winked.
Chapter 9
“Tell me something about yourself.”
Rhees noticed Paul sitting, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling, sadness in his eyes. She closed the cover of the extra e-reader Paul just happened to own and insisted she “borrow” so they could read together at night without having to turn on all the lights. She’d whipped up an easy meal and they’d enjoyed a quiet dinner, alone in her apartment. Now they lie in bed for the night, but not ready to fall asleep.
“I’m not quite six-three. I have blue eyes. I own a dive shop—”
She playfully smacked his arm.
“You said—”
“I know you prefer to listen, but I’m tired of reading and I do most of the talking. You’re probably tired of hearing me ramble on.”
“I never get tired of listening to you.”
She made a face that meant the same thing as rolling her eyes.
“I don’t like to talk about my past. The last time you forced me, you didn’t like what you heard, remember?”
She looked appalled. “I forced you?”
“Yeah!” he teased, putting his hand over the arm she’d just slapped in a defensive move.
“You promised you would tell me, and then you tried to get out of it.”
“I never promised. I may lie, but I don’t break promises.”
“I know.” She smiled, admiring him for his commitment to keep his word. “It’s just, I do all the talking. Tonight I’m in the mood to hear you carry your share of the conversation for a change. She had a specific topic in mind, hoping to get him to clarify what Shanni had said when she shared her bit of gossip with the Coitus Club.
“Have you ever been in jail?”
His eyes shot to her in surprise at the question. “Yes,” he answered somewhat reluctantly. “Several times.”
“For what?” She braced herself for a confession about killing someone.
“Well, they put us in a jail cell for hopping trains. Remember Taye’s story? They took Bryce to the hospital for observation but the rest of us spent the night locked up, waiting for our parents to come and get us.” He checked her expression, looking like he hoped he could be done.
“And the other times?” She wasn’t going to let him be finished. He looked at the ceiling again and acted tentative about admitting more.
“That was the first time. There’re things I did in between that could have landed me in jail, but I was too good at talking my way out of trouble. Sometimes, all it took was a smile or a wink.”
“I think I’m the only one who’s had to deal with Mr. Meanie-Head-Grumpy-Pants. You turn on the charm for everyone else.”
“I showed you charm. Was I not charming just before you told me you were a lesbian?” He smirked. “Hey, I just realized. You can’t say you don’t sleep with men anymore.” He laughed at his own joke and she smiled.
“So how did you fail to charm your way out of jail the next time?”
“The next time—few times, were in Asia. In Thailand, I was arrested for beating a man.”
She hoped he’d missed her silent gasp. He must have because he didn’t stop.
“We were at a bar. A friend told me to meet her out back and when I showed up, she wasn’t there, but another man was. He started coming on to me. I told him, very politely, that I wasn’t interested, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He tried to rough me up. I don’t usually sit by and let anyone rough me up, but then you know that already, somehow. So anyway, I ended up in jail.”
“Why didn’t he end up in jail, too?” s
he pumped for clarification. If the guy went to jail with him, Paul couldn’t have killed him.
“The guy was some important dignitary. His bodyguard jumped in when his boss didn’t fare so well against me. When that didn’t help, another one showed up with the police. They whisked the guy off, out of the public eye, and hauled me to jail.”
“So, he isn’t dead,” she said quietly, thinking aloud before she realized it.
“No. He’s still breathing.” Paul gave her a funny look. “I found out later that my friend had pimped me out for a hundred dollars. She took the guy’s money, lured me into that alley, and ran.”
Rhees’ mouth hung open in shock.
“When I got out a few days later and caught up to her, she gave me some lame excuse about needing the money, and how she knew I could take care of myself.”
“Some friend.”
“That’s Ginger for you.”
Rhees had heard the name, a lot.
“Ginger was your girlfriend?”
“No.” He didn’t hesitate to set that record straight. He exhaled loudly and narrowed his eyes. The crease between his brows grew deep as he thought for a minute, acting anxious. “Look, that’s just one more story about my past you’d have been better off not knowing. It only gets worse. Can we drop this—me doing the talking? I don’t like polluting your beautiful mind with my trash.”
“Have you ever been to prison?”
“Rhees,” he warned, and she backed down, but she hoped that someday, he’d trust her enough to tell her.
“Okay, but you’re not off the hook. Tell me something that isn’t bad or hard to talk about, or just make something up. I don’t care. I want to hear you talk.”
“All right, all right.” He rolled his eyes and exhaled again. “I got one.”
Rhees snuggled up next to him, making herself comfortable.
“My mom was always trying out the latest trends in nutrition. She got on this kick once about eating raw. For the duration, we couldn’t eat anything except raw fruits and veggies. For dinner, we’d have these elaborate salads with every vegetable you can imagine, but after the first eight days, I refused to eat anything but nectarines. I’d lost my taste for anything else. I started losing weight and it frustrated my mom, the doctor, to hell.” He laughed.
“Mom tried everything, bribing, threats, blackmail . . . she finally gave up and told Carmen to serve me whatever I wanted.” He laughed wickedly. “I didn’t wawnt to eat anything else. It had to be nectarines or nothing. I held out for days—then Carmen brought home a cheeseburger from my favorite drive-through, the one mom had banned the year before.” His laughter quieted.
“To this day, if I had to choose one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it would have to be nectarines.”
They lay on their sides, looking at each other, smiling. Paul leaned over and kissed Rhees a little too passionately, a little too suddenly. She whimpered and put her hand on his cheek to gently hold him back.
“Wait,” she breathed.
He looked disappointed, and collapsed back on his pillow while she took a deep breath.
“Okay. Let’s try that again. I’m ready this time.”
He stared at the ceiling and didn’t move.
“Paul, please, you can kiss me now. I’m all right. You just took me by surprise, that’s all.”
“Naw, it’s okay.”
She sighed with frustration. “I’m so sorry. You’d think I could get over that by now.”
“Naw . . . your hymen just has good self-preservation instincts—a strong will to survive.” He suddenly grinned. He lifted the sheet and glanced down at himself with a raised brow. “It simply sensed the appropriate danger.”
She sighed again and flopped back onto her own pillow. “What are you doing here, still? Why do you put up with all my crappy issues?”
“Because you put up with all of mine.”
“Well, I think I got the better deal.” She giggled.
He hopped out of bed and started hopping up and down like he needed to burn off energy. “I’ve got it extra bad tonight. How about we head down to the shop? Let’s sleep there tonight. I could use a swim. I’ll jog circles around you on the way, and then I’ll do a few push-ups.”
oOo
Rhees overheard a few of the girls planning a trip to the mainland. Paul, as usual, made them promise to arrange to go as a group.
“Safety in numbers,” he said. They wandered around the shop asking everyone if they wanted to go.
“Rhees, do you need anything you can’t get on the island? You could come with us.” Dorene surprised everyone by inviting her.
“No,” Paul answered for her.
“Actually, Paul, I’ve been making due for quite a while. I really could use a few things. I tried to order them online, but they never showed up. I’m getting desperate.”
He shook his head in disgust. “Yeah, the mail in this country is unreliable, and that’s putting it kindly. Order what you need but have it sent to Taye. He or one of my other buddies will bring it with them the next time they visit. We came up with that system a while ago. It’s worked pretty well.”
“I would never send what I need to Taylor!” She needed new panties and a couple of new bras. It horrified her to think of Taylor anywhere near those items meant for her.
“Okay, but I can’t go this time. We have the singles group coming in a few days. I don’t like the idea of you being over there without me.”
“Okay, I guess I can wait a little longer.”
“Is that how you keep him?” Dorene asked later in the day.
Rhees had no idea what she meant.
“Paul’s found his own personal lap dog. You do everything he says. It’s like he owns you.”
“He doesn’t own me. He’s just concerned about my safety.”
“You don’t even realize, do you?” Dorene smirked. “I personally know he likes to be in control. You just make it all too easy. No wonder he’s still into you after all this time.”
Rhees went searching for him.
“Paul, I don’t want to put it off. I really do need to buy some things.”
“Okay. How about we take a trip to the capital as soon as our group leaves? Just you and I?”
That sounded really fun, but it felt good to be included for a change, and she couldn’t get what Dorene had said, off her mind. “No. I want to go with the girls. They rarely invite me to do anything with them and the things I need are personal.”
He sighed. He realized he was in for a battle he didn’t want and decided to handle it the way he knew best. He moved in close, slowly, so she knew he was coming. He held her hips with his hands and her attention with his eyes.
“I’ve got so much on my mind with this singles group coming. I need you. Here, with me. How am I supposed to manage without my right hand girl, hmm?” He rubbed her nose with his, still hypnotizing her with his twinkling eyes. “I can’t do it without you. You know that.” His eyes sparkled gloriously. His right eye twitched, doing the half wink thing.
“Okay,” she breathed as she gazed back as intensely as he gazed at her.
He closed his eyes for a second and let out a quick smirky breath. “I promise. I’ll make sure we get what you need.” He opened his eyes and resumed with his strategy. “After this group has come and gone, okay?”
“Okay.” It was all she could manage to say.
Chapter 10
It was after seven o’clock and Paul stood on a crate in the water so that it reached just below his chest. He focused, concentrated, holding the propeller parts together, looking at them like a puzzle to be solved. He’d been online all afternoon, researching the problem, and once Fred went home for the day, Paul had decided to check out the propeller. With no one left at t
he shop except Rhees, he went to work, hoping he’d found something in his research that would help him get the still unnamed boat running again. In the meantime, he’d been calling it The Piece of Shit until he could come up with the right name.
“Are you hungry?” Rhees asked.
Paul didn’t answer and she asked again.
“Just order something. Whatever you want.”
She sighed. “Miranda is the only one on this island who delivers, and that’s only at lunchtime. She doesn’t do dinner, and even lunch is only because she lives right next door . . . and because she has a crush on you. Naughty Aunt Miranda.” Rhees giggled. “I can run home and make something quick. I’ll be back before you even notice I’m gone.”
He glanced up at her and she knew he didn’t like her suggestion. “I don’t want you running around by yourself.” He turned his attention back to the boat. “Just call Fratelli’s. Call whomever you want. They’ll all deliver if you pay them enough.”
She sighed again. “I know I had trouble walking alone for a while, but I can do it now. I’m fine. I just want to go home and make something quick and easy—and cheap.”
He didn’t answer. She’d lost him to the problem with the boat. She frowned as she watched him, water dripped from his skin, making him shine. The muscles in his arms bulged as he manipulated the parts in his hands, his expression serious, but he looked . . . so cute.
His tongue stuck out slightly and he mindlessly manipulated it, rolling and flexing it between his lips. His brow furrowed as he thought about what he was doing, recalling images he’d seen online. He stared intently at the pieces, his cheek twitched, and the muscles in his neck were taut.
Paul had the sexiest neck she had ever seen. She’d never noticed or paid attention to men’s necks before, but as she watched him—she wanted to kiss his neck—no, she wanted to take a bite of that Adam’s apple of his. She closed her eyes and tried to banish the thought, but she couldn’t completely get the idea out of her mind, especially when it would still be there, the second she opened her eyes again.
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