Topaz Goes Downunder (Jewels Cafe Book 18)

by J. E. Cluney

  “Caught us a few fish, nothing big enough to keep though,” Tyler admitted.

  “And Darcy caught a boat,” Jackson chuckled.

  “A boat?” I snorted as Darcy shot Jackson a displeased look.

  “My line must’ve gotten tangled on its motor or something,” Darcy grumbled.

  “He got so excited, thinking he’d caught something big,” Tyler grinned. “He was so let down.”

  I snickered as I pictured poor Darcy’s heart being crushed by that.

  “We were thinking of just doing a pizza night tonight. Order some, go pick them up, relax,” Jackson suggested.

  “Sure,” I said as I slid off the edge of the bed to stand and stretch. “What time is it?”

  “Four in the afternoon. We figured we’d come back and see if you wanted to go for a dip in the ocean while it’s a bit cooler,” Darcy answered.

  A swim did sound good, especially since the air-con had been switched off when they’d returned, and I could already feel the heat seeping in through the windows.

  I nodded as I realized I was still in my pink bikini from earlier when I’d sunbaked. I’d dusted all the sand off before climbing into bed to continue reading before falling asleep.

  “You look so cute in that,” Tyler murmured as he eyed me, his lip curving upwards.

  I winked as his grin widened, and I could just see him undressing me in his mind.

  “Well, let’s go down to the beach. There was practically no-one down there when we had a peek before,” Jackson said, shooting Tyler a knowing look.

  Tyler sighed, clearly having been considering something else fun that he could do.

  I rolled my eyes as I headed straight past the trio and out the door, drawing in the salty air.

  Kookaburras were laughing again, and the air had cooled down for the afternoon.

  It was perfect, and I fixed up my ponytail as I headed over the crest to the beach.

  I paused at the top, taking in the stunning view of the ocean and golden sands.

  It really was beautiful here.

  “Come here, beautiful.”

  I giggled as Tyler hefted me up, wrapping his arms around my waist and twirling me around, grinning widely at me.

  He set me down and kissed my forehead as Jackson and Darcy joined us. They’d all stripped down to just their board shorts, and I enjoyed the sexy view.

  We headed down to the water, Tyler holding my hand the entire way, and I sighed as I dipped my toes in the water. The air was still warm enough that it wasn’t too cool for me to bear, and I laughed as Tyler let go of my hand and splashed into the water. He dove over a small wave, and I watched as he swam out a decent way.

  “You coming out?” Jackson asked as he stepped up beside me while Darcy waded out to join Tyler.

  “Of course.”

  I walked out, the water slowly rising and small waves rippling over me once I’d passed the crashing ones.

  The boys splashed one another and swam around, before settling in one spot and just relaxing.

  “It’s so quiet on the weekdays here,” Jackson noted as he looked back to shore, where no-one else was visible.

  “Probably because everyone is busy,” Tyler shrugged, and we all gave him an obvious look.

  “Clearly,” Darcy snickered.

  “Makes you wonder if you could get away with some things,” Tyler said, smirking as he drifted over to me and pulled me into his arms, so my back was against his chest.

  “Hmm? Like what?” I said innocently as he kissed my neck.

  “Oh, you know, just some fun,” Tyler purred as he nibbled on my neck.

  I quivered as his hand moved up my waist, slipping under my bikini top and massaging my nipple. At least the water was up to my neck, so it wasn’t something easily visible.

  “Naughty,” I breathed, but I rolled my head back on his shoulder as he continued kissing my neck tenderly.

  “This is just a slight tease, nothing naughty,” Tyler chuckled. “Not unless I do this.”

  His hand slid down from my breast, gliding down my stomach and sliding right under my bikini.

  He swirled his fingers over my clit, and I gasped as I arched against him.

  “Tyler, not in public,” Darcy scolded him.

  “There’s no one around,” Jackson said, clearly enjoying seeing me getting teased as those baby blue eyes lit up with delight.

  “Still, we could get in trouble if caught,” Darcy grumbled.

  “Unlikely,” Tyler murmured as he continued to play with me, sliding his other hand up to squeeze my left breast. I shuddered as he eased a finger inside me as well, and I moaned softly as he stroked my walls.

  “This is so not fair,” Jackson growled as he waded closer.

  “Hey, you two said you had her the other night, it’s my turn,” Tyler chuckled.

  “You could share?” Jackson suggested.

  “You can have her after,” was Tyler’s response as he kissed my cheek.

  I turned my head, and he caught my lips in a passionate kiss as he worked his hands expertly, making me rock against him a little.

  Now would be the worst time for an aquatic shifter to swim by. But I couldn’t sense any other shifters nearby. Just us, all alone.

  “We should take these off,” Tyler murmured as he began easing my bikini panties off.

  I helped him remove them, and he tossed them to Jackson for safe-keeping as he got more rigorous with his hands.

  I moaned softly and arched into him, loving how good he was at this.

  “Are you going to fuck me?” I growled softly.

  That was all the coaxing he needed as he swiveled me around, tugging his board shorts down.

  I quivered as his erection nudged my folds, and even in the water, he knew how wet I was as he eased in, moaning softly himself.

  “You’re so warm and tight,” he breathed as he pulled me against him.

  I kissed his neck as I held onto his shoulders.

  “I’m so in on this next,” Jackson groaned as I began to grind down on Tyler.

  He thrust into me, holding my ass with one hand and using the other to hold me against him.

  I moaned as I bounced on him, driving down and quivering as he filled me up nicely.

  “Nope, I want some part of this,” Darcy finally caved as he waded over.

  He positioned himself behind me, sliding a hand down my stomach to help me.

  I gasped as his fingers glided over my clit, and I chuckled as I felt his own arousal pushing into my backside through his board shorts.

  He kissed my shoulder as he worked on my clit while I rode Tyler, who was now thrusting hard and fast.

  I gripped his shoulders tight, gasping as the combination of his thrusts and Darcy’s fingers had me nearing my edge.

  “Cum for me, Topaz,” Tyler commanded as he tightened his grip on me.

  I moaned and bucked, and Darcy slid his other hand under my bikini top, squeezing my boob as I threw my head back.

  I shuddered and cried out as my body convulsed, and Tyler grunted as he buried himself into me hard and fast, moaning as my tight walls milked him.

  He tensed and let out a low growl as he came, hugging me tightly and squashing Darcy’s hands between us.

  Darcy just pulled his hands free, and before I knew it, I was being handed off to him.

  “I feel like a bottle of whiskey or a blunt,” I joked as Darcy kissed my shoulder, now holding me in his arms.

  “Sharing is caring,” Darcy chuckled.

  “And we like seeing you get fucked,” Jackson stated as he drifted closer.

  I just rolled my eyes, still coming down from my blissful high.

  “Ready for another round?” Darcy murmured as he nuzzled my nose before giving me a soft kiss.

  “What do you think?” I smirked.

  14

  Australia Zoo. Definitely a place to visit. The staff dressed in khaki were cheery and welcoming as we paid for our tickets and inspected our maps and
show times.

  The show around lunchtime in the Crocoseum was the big must see, and I couldn’t wait to catch it.

  “Let’s check out the crocodiles first,” Tyler suggested as we went over what was closest to us. Otters were off to our right, along with a lizard exhibit.

  We made our way around, enjoying the animals on display and listening to the caretakers tell us about them.

  There was a komodo dragon on display, which you could even do an encounter with, but Darcy and Tyler wanted to get me an echidna encounter, since I’d expressed my adoration of the tiny, spikey creature.

  “I hear one of their binturongs escaped a few years ago. Some lady found it in a tree,” Darcy mused as we looked through the window at the weird little bearcats sleeping. The facts sign said that they smelled like popcorn, how interesting.

  “Bet that was a weird one for her. Wonder what she thought it was,” Tyler mused.

  I’m sure the woman was quite concerned considering it was only found in Asia. I would’ve been completely weirded out if I came across one.

  We continued on, checking out the cassowaries and dingoes, and I fell in love with the Tasmanian devils.

  I snapped photos of the various animals with my phone, grateful I’d upgraded before we came to one with a good camera.

  “Crocodiles next!” Tyler declared as we exited the walk-in exhibit.

  I shook my head at his enthusiasm, and we headed down the paths between the various crocodile enclosures.

  They were prehistoric beasts, and I was awe-struck by how giant they were. Each one had a name. Scrappa, Bosco, Acco, Agro, Bluey, and Casper, were just some of the crocs on display.

  “Shame how Steve died, I hear he’s a hero around here. I heard a bit about him,” Jackson sighed and shook his head. “Did a lot of conservation work.”

  “They’re still doing it,” Darcy stated. “There’s signs all over the place with what they do for conservation.”

  He was right there, there was an abundance of signs with information all over the place.

  We moved on from the crocs once we’d had a good look, and I got excited to see the ‘Kid’s Zoo’.

  The boys laughed as I ran in and bought some food, feeding some of the baby goats, piglets, and sheep.

  One little black goat was struggling to push through its companions, so I made sure to feed it when a child with food distracted the others.

  God, they were utterly adorable.

  We moved on to the Crocoseum, checking out the shops inside, and the boys booked some echidna encounters for us, which we’d have to do quite soon.

  So we hung around the area, browsing the shops, where I decided to buy some adorable kangaroo opal earrings, while the boys all bought souvenir shirts. I eventually picked one out, and then we popped outside to where they had some photos going on. Koalas and giant burmese pythons were on offer, and we jumped in line to grab some shots. We’d have to head to the photo area later on today to buy them if we wanted to, which we fully intended to.

  Then it was off to our echidna encounter.

  We walked through the kangaroo enclosure, where people were sitting with them, feeding them, and snapping pictures. We’d definitely be joining those tourists, although I did notice a few kangaroos hopped away when we drew near.

  It didn’t surprise me if some of them sensed what we were. A lot of animals did, but I had a feeling many of the zoo animals would have become used to shifters coming through.

  Although, maybe not big cat shifters.

  The lady who was with us was a caretaker, and she let us into the echidna enclosure, a large pen with various plants and hides for them, where you could easily look over.

  She instructed us to sit down on a log, and asked us to put out our hands.

  We did as told, and she explained what would happen before dumping some mince in our hands and collecting a few echidnas that were crawling around.

  I couldn’t contain my grin as she sat one on my lap, and the small, spikey critter began flicking out its long tongue to lick up the mince on my hand.

  “This is so cool,” Jackson beamed.

  “First time to the zoo?” the lady asked as she set the last echidna on Darcy’s lap.

  “Yep, holidaying from the States,” Tyler nodded.

  “Well, should be an awesome day for you then,” she grinned at us. “Now, Jessica here will take a group photo, then single shots. You can get your proofs at the photo booth and buy copies if you’d like, or even get them all on a disc.”

  We nodded, smiling for the photos as the tiny creatures enjoyed their meals.

  We enjoyed our encounter with them, and headed to the bathrooms after to wash our hands before heading to the big midday show.

  We found some seats in the small stadium, and I eyed the small waterway that ran out from one end of the Crocoseum and ended in a large pool. The grassy area around it was fenced off, and the water was crystal clear.

  “I hear there’s an epic bird show,” Jackson remarked as people began filling up the seats.

  I was excited to say the least, and when the music started and a staff member entered the small yard before us, I was bubbling with delight.

  The man greeted us, telling us about the zoo and Steve, about his dreams, while a screen had a small film play out.

  Then the show began, with birds being released and soaring around. How they trained them was beyond me.

  At one point, a black cockatoo even had a special segment, where a random member of the crowd was chosen, and he was to fold up a five-dollar note and hold it up.

  The cockatoo flew up to him, stole his money, and flew back to his trainer. She then suggested he try again with a fifty dollar note, which had the crowd laughing, before the cockatoo returned the money.

  Snakes were walked through the rows of seats, and facts were given, and assorted other animals were shown off, until the big finale of a croc feeding went underway.

  I leaned forward as the crocodile swam out, and the man splashed a piece of meat in the water, coaxing the crocodile to come up to the edge. He tossed it food, giving us facts as he did so, before moving to a platform and managing to make the crocodile show us an infamous move. He shot out of the water, using just his tail to launch himself, snapping onto the meat that the man was hanging over the edge.

  The crowd wowed at this, and even my boys were murmuring in awe.

  The show ended not long after, and we filed out, still amazed at the incredible show they put on for us.

  We decided lunch was the next stop, and unhappily joined the various long lines in the food court.

  I got a simple fish and chips meal, while the guys got various burgers, which we scoffed down while talking about the epic show.

  Then it was off to feed the kangaroos and snap some shots with them, check out the wetland birds, then head up to where the red pandas and tigers were.

  I had to admit, red pandas were probably going to become my new favorite animal, and I wished we’d booked an encounter with them too.

  We found seats for the afternoon tiger show, and we all watched quietly as the various tigers went about their business while we waited for the show to start.

  One tiger in particular hung around the display right before us, glancing our way curiously.

  “You think it knows?” Tyler murmured.

  “Probably,” Darcy said.

  I’d sensed many other shifters in passing, but none like us. And being tiger shifters, it didn’t surprise me that it somehow knew.

  The show started, and the tigers played and jumped into the water as their caretakers told us facts and informed us how they were looked after.

  They gave them small cartons of milk, making the tigers lean against them, standing as tall as their trainers on their back legs as they lapped up the milk. They did this so vets could check them easily if needed, inspecting teeth and claws.

  One tiger jumped in the water, where you could look in under the water. The children loved th
is, and a number of them were right up near the glass, watching with amazement.

  I noticed one of the trainers looking our way curiously, and I reached out with my senses.

  Well, I’ll be damned.

  He was like us.

  “Isn’t it funny how some zoos have supes who will stand in for some shows?” Jackson remarked quietly, making sure no-one would hear him. Only our keen ears would pick up his soft words. “I read about this one on the Supernatural Web, where most of the zoo animals were actually supes. Absolutely incredible and funny all at once,” he smirked.

  “Funny you say that, pretty sure he’s a tiger shifter,” I hissed softly.

  As if he heard me, the trainer nodded our way.

  “Well, that would make work easier,” Darcy noted.

  “Wonder if he even plays the role of a tiger?” Tyler murmured softly.

  “Maybe, although I doubt all the staff are shifters,” I mumbled.

  We watched the show play out before checking out some of the items for sale, and I picked up a cute Australia Zoo tiger keyring.

  “So, where are you visiting from?”

  I turned, finding the tiger trainer had come out to speak with us.

  “States, little place called Scarborough,” Tyler answered as he walked over and slid an arm around my waist.

  “Nice, how about I walk with you up to our Africa section?” he suggested as he eyed the various patrons around us still.

  We nodded, and headed off onto the track leading to the zoo’s Africa section.

  “It’s a nice change, meeting others like myself,” he sighed once we were out of earshot of other people. The track was rather quiet, and I had a feeling many people had decided to catch the shuttle bus instead of making the walk.

  “Where are you from?” Darcy asked.

  “Born and bred here actually. From one of the few old tiger lines that were brought over back when Asian trade boats passed,” the trainer said. I eyed his name on his shirt. Brad.

  “That’s interesting to know. I know they don’t allow many non-local predatory shifters to move here. Harder to blend in when they shift,” Jackson noted.

  “Yeah, they’re getting stricter, ever since a panther family down south had a few sightings. We need to be careful here,” Brad nodded.