She didn’t see me, and asked Jimmy, “Do you happen to know where I might get a couple of bandages. There wasn’t anyone at the front desk when I went by and I don’t really want to go all the way to the infirmary.”
“Oh, sure, I have a first aid kit in the back. Did you win, or the other guy?”
She smiled and said, “The trash cans I hit on my bike won.”
Just then she saw me, and her expression went from smiling to serious. She looked annoyed, actually. “Hey.”
“Hey, I was hoping to run into you.” Trying to lighten her mood, I said, “Looks like the trash can beat me to it.”
When she just smiled, I definitely knew she was upset. “Look, I’m sorry about before. I had to...”
“Look, you don’t need to explain yourself to me, Liam. It’s not like we’re a couple or anything. You can see who you want, when you want. It’s not my concern.”
“I was at the police station.”
Jenny spun her body in my direction. “You were where?”
“The police station.”
“Oh my god, why? What happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it here. Do you want to take a walk on the beach? I’ll feel better if I know that no one is listening.”
Jimmy came back with the bandages. “Here you go. These look like they should fit.”
“Can I do it? I was a Boy Scout and got a badge for First Aid.” I really wanted to patch things up between us, metaphorically and literally.
Jenny grinned. “Sure. Let’s see how much you remember.” She held up a bloodied elbow. “Here ya go.”
When I touched her arm, I felt a jolt of attraction. You’ve got it bad, Liam, if you’re getting turned on bandaging her scrapes. I found myself looking forward to getting on my knees and bandaging up her knees. And looking at those long, brown legs. I began to remember being on my knees and tasting her...
“Ouch!”
My mind had been wandering. “Oops, sorry. Let me kiss it and make it better.”
“Liam, stop.” She looked at him with serious eyes. “I’m not the kind of girl who wants to be someone’s side chick. Or a main chick when there is a side chick. If you’re messing around with someone else, then...”
“Jenny, who said I was messing around with someone else?”
“Well, no one said it, but you’ve been spending so much time with Kayla that..”
I burst out laughing. “Kayla! My god, Jenny, I wouldn’t touch that woman with a ten foot pole. She is everything I hate in a person. Seriously. What on earth gave you the idea I was with her?”
Jenny looked truly confused. “I guess I don’t know. It was just...”
I interrupted her with a smile. “So, then. How about that kiss?”
***
We got all the way out to the beach before I got that promised kiss. Taking her face in my hands I tenderly kissed her, with the sun setting in the distance. Under different circumstances, it would have been perfect.
“So, why were you at the police?” Jenny looked up at me, as she tucked a stray blonde lock behind her ear.
“My place got ransacked.”
“Oh no! Were you hurt?”
“No, I wasn’t there. But someone came in and totally trashed the place.”
“Holy shit! Did they take anything?” Jenny looked genuinely concerned.
“No, but they left something.”
Jenny’s brow furrowed. “They left something? What do you mean?”
“A note.” I pulled the note from my pocket to show her.
“This is some scary stuff, Liam. No wonder you went to the police. What did they say?”
I shook my head, “They weren’t interested.” When she opened her mouth to comment, I added, “There’s more. When I went back to the cave and looked in those crates, I found drugs in them. Or, what I’m assuming are drugs. I’m no drug lord, but bags and bags of white stuff sure looks like cocaine to me.”
“Wow. Talk about hidden treasure. So, are the police investigating?”
“No. The whole thing seems really off, honestly. The sergeant I talked to made a whole thing about me trespassing and looking into the crates even though they weren’t mine.”
“Even when you told him about the bungalow and showed him the note?”
“Yeah, he said it was a prank.”
We had walked so far on the beach that they were almost back to my bungalow. “Do you want to just head on up to my place for a bit? It’s right there.”
An apprehensive look passed over Jenny’s face.
“It’s perfectly safe now. First off, I’ll be with you and can protect you with my black belt ninja skills.”
She smiled and said, “I’m a kickboxer. We can take them on together.”
“Hahaha. And, security told me that they were changing the locks this afternoon. Winston told me where to find the lockbox on the property.”
“Okay. I have a piece of the puzzle for you too, actually.”
We turned and headed toward the bluff where the bungalow was located.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I thought it was odd. Today when I went on a bike ride around town, I got lost and ended up in some narrow alley trying to get back to the main road.”
“How did you hurt your elbow and knees?”
“Yeah, the passageway was too narrow for my bike and the boxes and trash cans. Anyway, as I was going down the alley I saw these two guys and one was handing a paper package to the other guy. It looked like it could be money or something, but I couldn’t be sure.”
I frowned. “Okay, but I don’t see how that is connected to this. That was in town.”
Jenny stopped and looked me straight in the eyes. “Liam, one of the men was the manager of this retreat.”
Liam’s face changed to one of surprise. “Looks like we have a bona fide mystery on our hands.”
Chapter Twenty Five Jenny: In the Dark
As we headed back to Liam’s bungalow, I looked at him and my heart swelled. I realized that I was falling in love with him. That I had fallen in love with him. I had no idea what I was going to do about it, but the feeling in my heart was undeniable. When I thought about what might have happened to him during a break-in in the bungalow, I realized that this was far more than just a casual summer fling. It was almost a trope to fall in love on a romantic holiday, but that’s just what happened.
Liam found the lock box and entered the code given to him by security, and used the key to open the front door of the bungalow.
“It looks normal.” Jenny walked in the small bungalow and looked around. “You’d never know there was a break-in.”
“Well, technically they didn’t break in. I think they found the key that I dropped in the cave that day.”
When I didn’t respond, Liam turned around and looked at me with that gorgeous face that turned me on every time I saw him. Wordlessly, I walked over to him and stood on my tiptoes, and gently kissed Liam’s lips. Gentle at first, but then more insistent.
The passion that was always there between us ignited like a fire. Liam grabbed the back of my hair and pulled me even closer, as his kiss became demanding. My neck arched up and I could feel the rough stubble of his unshaven face on my skin. The flush of arousal was making me sweat.
Letting out a deep growl in his throat, his free hand made its way down my body to my breast. As his thumb ran over my nipple, it stood up, loving the attention.
Not breaking the kiss, my back arched and my body pressed into his. I could feel him, hard, through his jeans and wanted to touch him. I grasped his cock through the thick fabric, and felt a sense of pride when he groaned in pleasure. I made him feel that way.
Stepping apart, Liam pulled his shirt off and I could see his magnificent body; his erection outlined in the fabric of his jeans. He looked like a work of art. I saw him as a photographer would, with the shadows highlighting his face and his body sculpted like a god.
But there was no art gallery and I
wasn’t here to take his photo. I pulled off my t-shirt and headed toward the bedroom, looking back at him with a flirtatious smile.
By the time we got to the bed, we were both naked. I was already wet and ready for him and I laid down on my back, inviting him.
Wordlessly, Liam laid on top of me and kissed me again. My knees rose on either side of his hips, and I could feel my wetness running down between my legs.
Instead of entering me right away, though, he teased me. Rubbing himself up and down my labia and teasing at the entrance to my pussy, I was almost desperate to have him inside of me. My hips began to buck involuntarily in an attempt to move him into me, the sensation was so erotic that I was once again afraid I would climax before he was even inside.
Liam pulled away from the kiss long enough to look into my eyes. The look in his eyes was different this time. The pain and sadness I’d seen before were gone. The dark anger had disappeared. It was replaced with open tenderness and affection.
As the first light of the moon came in through the window, he moved his hips a certain way and entered me. Pausing so that I could accommodate his size, he then kissed me and thrust deeply inside.
This time it was my turn to utter a guttural moan. It only took two strokes before the feeling of him deep within me brought a wave of climax, and I heard myself screaming his name as I clutched him. “Liam! Oh god.”
I felt myself tighten around him, and warm wetness flooded our legs. Moving in unison, in and out, he held back his own peak until I was ready to come again. As he threw his head back in ecstasy, I knew that this time he wouldn’t be running away.
Collapsing on the bed next to me, we both floated in the afterglow, and dozed off in a loving embrace.
***
Shit. I woke up, still naked, and wondering what time it was. I hadn’t said anything to Julie about being gone all night, and since we’d walked to the bungalow from the beach, Liam’s golf cart was still at the Main House.
I better text Julie and let her know where I am. I chuckled at the thought of Julie’s reaction to her saying I was with Liam. Julie had been really encouraging about him since the start.
I can’t believe I used to call him Angry Hot Guy. He was definitely hot, though. That part was true.
Grabbing the phone I’d set on the counter, I realized that the battery had died. Maybe Liam has a charger.
I didn’t see anything in the kitchen or living area, so I went back to the bedroom. Liam looked so cute laying there in his bed, arms and legs splayed open in the shape of a big X. I was distracted by his nakedness, but realized that I really needed to find a charger. Maybe the bathroom.
Sure enough, there was a charger plugged into the wall outlet, but sadly it wasn’t the right kind of charger for her phone. An Android? He’s not an iPhone guy? I might have to rethink this whole relationship... I chuckled at my own joke.
I’m just going to have to find my way back to the Main House. I can’t stay out all night and not tell Julie.
Feeling around on the floor of the mostly darkened room for my clothes, I could hear Liam softly snoring. I really hated to wake him up; especially since he’d told me that he had trouble sleeping before he came to the retreat. Did I really need to wake him up to tell him that I was going back to the Main House?
What do you bet he tries to get all Alpha Male and insist on walking me back?
Yeah, I figured it was better just to leave him a note and head back to the Main House the beach way that we took to get here.
I dressed as quietly as possible, still tempted to get back in bed with Liam. He was out like a light, as they say. Well, he did say that orgasms help him sleep...
I rummaged around in the kitchen and found some paper and a pen and wrote him a note.
Headed back to my room for a bit to charge my phone. I’ll text you later. Jen
Leaving the note on the counter, I took one last look at a sleeping Liam before steeling myself to head out the door. I really have to go.
As quietly as I could, I opened and closed the front door to the bungalow, making sure to lock the door handle as I pulled it shut. The moon was high in the sky and almost full, thankfully, so I’d have good light for the short walk back to the Main House. I was really looking forward to the walk and thinking about Liam and my newfound awareness that I was in love with him. What did it all mean?
Before I knew what happened, someone grabbed me from behind and I instinctively let out a loud scream.
Struggling to get enough distance between us to use the self-defense moves I knew, I elbowed my attacker and tried to break free. But he grabbed me by the waist and with his other hand pressed a wet cloth over my mouth and nose. The smell was acrid, and the cloth felt cool on my face, as if it had alcohol on it.
I didn’t have time to think about it any more, though, as the world tunneled down into darkness and I felt myself collapsing into the man’s arms.
Chapter Twenty Six Liam: A Bad Dream
The rain was coming down pretty hard as I made my way through the jungle. My machete swung back and forth, clearing away brush and branches that were in my way. Suddenly, I heard screaming. It was a woman! Where was she?
I began to follow the sound. Then, I heard a loud thump.
My eyes flew open. That was a weird dream. But, something didn’t feel right. Rubbing my eyes, I tried to get adjusted to where I was and what had happened. Was that a real scream or part of the dream? I had been having strange nightmares and dreams ever since I’d come to the retreat. Sure, there was the recurring one I always had about the accident. But I hadn’t had a dream like that in a while. This seemed like more than a dream. It seemed more real.
Then, I remembered. Jenny. We’d fallen asleep together, here. She wasn’t in bed.
“Hello? Jenny?” Nothing.
Maybe she was in the bathroom? No, the door was open. Maybe she was in the kitchen making coffee or something. Not that we have any food in the kitchen...
I jumped out of bed and threw on my jeans and a t-shirt. Heading into the living room, I saw the note she had left for me on the counter. Upon reading it, I was not happy.
What the hell? Is she crazy going out there all alone?
I put the note back down on the counter next to my cell phone, slipped on some shoes and stepped outside to see if I could find her. It wasn’t safe for her to be walking around outside. “Hello? Jenny? Are you still here?”
I got three steps down the path before I was jumped. Someone leapt out from behind and knocked me off balance and then another guy came at me from the side. I went down, hard, but luckily, my body remembered how to fall from my Tae Kwon Do training.
I was at a disadvantage, though, as the only light available to see my attackers was moonlight, and they were wearing all black. And, I was face down on the dirt path.
I tried to roll over so that I could get to a seated position, but before I could, a foot stomped down on my lower back. Pain radiated down both of my legs. The attackers grabbed my hands and legs and bound them with something that felt like rope, and then put a hood over my head. These were no amateurs. Fortunately, I remembered that if you are being tied up with a rope, it was important to make your body as “big” as possible so that you’d be able to wriggle your way loose later. I took a deep breath, tensed all of my muscles, and let them tie me up.
Okay, Liam. Don’t struggle. Go limp and make them work to carry you.
The men didn’t speak, and I could feel myself being carried. From the way they placed my body, I suspected that I was in the back of a golf cart. The engine sounds and breeze on my arms confirmed that I was in some kind of open doored vehicle. It was starting to rain a little, and my clothes were getting wet as the cart sped along. The clear night must have gotten cloudy, quickly, as happens in the Bahamas.
I tried to memorize the turns so that when I escaped, I’d be able to find my way back. Right, one, two, three, four, five, and then left...
The vehicle came to a stop, and I
could hear voices speaking in Spanish. I began to wish I’d paid better attention to Spanish when I took it in high school. I only had a passing understanding of the language from the construction guys on my building sites, and they weren’t using the same words I was hearing now.
Someone, probably the men who’d grabbed me, pulled me out of the vehicle so forcefully that I stumbled to my knees. “Get up!” a voice commanded. Okay so they do speak English.
“Who are you? What do you want from me?”
The man didn’t answer, and instead I was grabbed under the armpits and dragged. I felt sand, and started to suspect that I was near the cave. It would make sense that the people who broke into my bungalow would come back for me. The rain was getting harder now, and my t-shirt and jeans were sticking to me as they dragged me along the beach.
I hope Jenny made it back to the Main House okay.
My nose was itching under the hood, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it with my hands and legs tied behind my back. From the apparent distance, I imagined that I was being dragged all the way back to that second, smaller cave—the one without the crates. The further back into the caves we went, the more water was creeping up my legs. I wondered if they were planning on drowning me and then making it look like an accident that happened when I was exploring.
The arms that had been supporting me threw me down, and a voice said, “Stay here.” I didn’t have much of a choice, as I was bound and hooded. It was going to take some serious concentration to get out of this situation.
I could hear the men slosh away back the way they came.
I managed to scoot my way over to the wall of the cave and turn around with my back propped up against it. At least I was alone now, and could figure out what to do. The rain was getting harder and was now up to my hips. Remembering the water line in the cave from when I was here before, if that’s where I was, I knew that I better get out of here or I could drown. As the world learned from that news story with the Thai cave rescue, these caves can fill up quickly.
Moving my feet and hands to see if there was any slack in the ropes, I knew that staying calm and keeping my mind focused was the key to survival. It was like one of those adventures I dreamed about when I was a kid, but this was very, very real. Deadly real.
Provocative Paradise: A Secret Stranger Romance Page 12