by Nic Saint
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t he tell you? The man is loaded!” Burke waved his arms furiously to drive home his point. “His dad died last year and left him the family fortune, and trust me, a fortune it is.”
They were sitting in a small beachside restaurant, wicker chairs around low tables, their feet in the sand and several waiters weaving between the dozen or so guests enjoying breakfast on the beach.
A gentle breeze was wafting in from the sea, and the air was still cool and fresh, before the day’s heat would raise the temperature into the eighties or even nineties.
Erin thought she’d never enjoyed breakfast more as she curled her toes in the sand and sipped from her mocha.
“Have you ever heard of Bradley chocolate?” Burke asked, his eyes alight with the promise of a pleasant surprise.
“Sure. It’s probably about the best chocolate around,” said Sophie, who was a connoisseur.
Bradley spread his arms. “I rest my case.”
Erin’s eyes went wide, and so did Sophie’s. “Raminar Bradley? Like in Bradley’s Chocolate? That’s him?”
Burke nodded happily, leaning back in his chair, which creaked under the weight of his bulk. “Yup. That’s my buddy. We used to call him Raminar Chocolate back on the base, also for his tendency to enjoy backdoor sex.” He suddenly slung a hand before his mouth as he eyed Erin in horror.
She frowned. Backdoor sex? “What do you mean?”
Burke exchanged a startled frown with Sophie, who merely shrugged.
“Ram likes to… um, slip in through the backdoor,” explained Burke quickly.
It still wasn’t entirely clear to her why that would be such a big thing, but she decided to let it pass. She’d ask Ram about it later. She simply couldn’t wait to know every little detail about his life before they met. Though there was little to reveal about her own life that would fascinate and entertain, she was sure she’d find much in his that would keep her hanging on his every word.
A momentary spasm of doubt assaulted her equanimity. Raminar Bradley, heir to the Bradley fortune, soldier, entrepreneur, budding architect and environmentalist… And then there was her. Erin Walters. Practically no life experience, and only a single degree to her name. Perhaps he’d find her too young and inexperienced and, generally speaking, too boring?
A man as accomplished and worldly-wise as Ram might be utterly bored with a girl like her, who had—if she had to be totally honest about it—very little to offer…
She decided to thrash this thing out a little further, now that she had one of Ram’s best friends here with her.
“Did… Ram say anything about me last night, Burke?”
Burke’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, he said plenty, honey.” He looked a little doubtful. “Though I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you.”
“Did… he say if he… liked me?” She was feeling increasingly silly about this, but she simply had to know all of a sudden.
“Oh, he likes you all right. I can tell you right now he likes you a lot.” He leaned in, and dropped his voice to a whisper. “You didn’t hear it from me, but my man even used the L-word in connection with you.”
He winked and she blinked. The L-word?
Sophie grinned. “The L-word? Really?”
Burke gave an exaggerated nod. “Oh, yes. Freaked me out a little. Don’t think I’ve ever heard Bradley even mention a girl before, let alone telling me he loved her.”
Sophie looked pained all of a sudden, and Erin wondered if she was… jealous? She didn’t care. Her mood had magically lifted once again. So she’d been right after all. Ram did love her!
“Don’t tell him I told you,” Burke repeated. “Bradley is a very private man, and he wouldn’t want me repeating his words.”
“I won’t,” she exclaimed happily.
“Sophie?”
“My lips are sealed,” said Sophie morosely. She gave her a sideways glance Erin had a hard time to read, then stared off into space.
She decided to change the subject, as it was clear all this talk of love was upsetting her friend. “So. What are the plans for today?”
Burke folded his arms behind his head. “I’m spoken for I’m afraid. Have to go into town and meet with a couple of friends later on. But you girls have fun on the beach. I’ll see you when I get back.”
“When will you be back?” suddenly said Sophie softly.
Burke seemed surprised by this sudden interest in his comings and goings. “I, erm… Well, hard to say, really. There’re some things I need to take care of, and, erm…” Suddenly he reached over and took Sophie’s hand in his, then placed a cell phone in her palm and folded her fingers around it. “I’ll call you,” he said simply, and placed a tender kiss on her lips. The act seemed to surprise them both, for they remained uncharacteristically silent for the rest of the meal.
When Burke had taken his leave, after paying for their breakfast, Sophie gave a soft cough, then said, “I’m sorry about what I said last night, Erin.”
“Sorry? About what?”
“You were telling me about true love and shit? And I told you those were just a bunch of fairy tales?’
“Oh. That.”
She looked over with an expression of contrition. “You were right. Raminar does love you.”
“You think so?”
“Trust me, honey, if he told his best friend he does, it must be true. Guys never talk about the mushy stuff unless they’re practically bursting with it. He must really care a great deal for you, or else he’d never have confided in Burke.”
She smiled at the idea that Ram really was in love with her, then her smile faded. “He’s rich, Burke said.”
Sophie’s lips quirked into a smile. “Yeah. You really hit the jackpot, honey. Gorgeous, rich and in love with you. I guess your dream really came true, huh?”
“My dream?” she said absently.
“About a soulmate? Didn’t you tell me you came to India to meet your soulmate? I thought you were delirious but you were right. You did find him.” She stared before her. “Now I have to find mine.”
“Burke seems to like you very much.”
She gave a dismissive jerk of the head. “That’s just sex talking. Not an ounce of real feeling lost between us.” She shrugged. “But hey, I’ll take what I can get, right? At least he’s a decent guy, something that can’t be said of a lot of the guys I dated back home.”
Thinking back to some of the cretins Sophie had gone out with, she had to agree with her. Burke definitely was a big improvement. “I think he really cares for you, Soph,” she repeated.
She gave her a wistful smile. “Thanks, hon. He’s no Raminar, but he’ll do for now.”
“Until you find your own prince charming.”
“Until then…” She seemed to pull herself together and clapped her hands. “So. What about securing a spot on the beach, huh? I want to work on my tan today.”
She didn’t tell her then, but this whole conversation had left her feeling jittery, torn between elation that Ram loved her, and doubt whether this thing between them would last. For now, though, she decided not to worry too much, and follow Sophie’s lead.
She drained the last of her cup and got up. “Let’s work on that tan, Racklin. Before the boys are back, you and I will look our absolute best.”
“Irresistible,” Soph agreed.
She tossed her blond tresses across her shoulder and tilted her chin, mimicking some beauty queen. “Absolutely stunning!”
They both dissolved into a concert of giggles, and as they stumbled from the restaurant, their feet digging into the sand, she had the feeling today was going to be even better than the day before.
How little did she know…
Chapter 18
Ram was mad. Mad with himself, first and foremost, but also with the idiots stubborn enough to thwart his good intentions for the place he’d come to consider his second home.
The meeting hadn’t gone well, to say the
least. They hadn’t thrown him out on his ear, listening carefully to what he had to say, but he could just as well have been talking to the walls for all the result his words had managed.
His pleas to save the beaches for future generations had been summarily dismissed, and even his calculations and cost-profit analysis had met with skepticism bordering on irreverence.
Near the end of the meeting the chairman of the board had summed it up neatly: Ram was a guest in these parts, not a resident, and it wasn’t up to him to dictate the future of the beaches.
Idiots, fumed Ram as he waltzed out of the glass atrium that housed the lobby of the investment group. They would willingly destroy the sanctity of this place just to make a couple of bucks.
Not that he didn’t understand or appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit. After all, he hailed from a family of entrepreneurs and had been soaked in the business sense from an early age, his dad grooming him to be his successor one day. When he’d finally opted for a career in the military, it had all but destroyed the old man, and now that he was retired, it was too late to make amends. Dad had died before he could announce his intentions to finally assume the mantle of heir to the Bradley throne.
It still didn’t sit well with Ram that he’d never had the chance to make his peace with his old man, though they had been fairly amicable these last few years. They’d never discussed his choice to serve his country rather than his family, though, and that still troubled him.
As he stormed out the building, the file folder with his sketches and drawings under his arm, he silently raged against the shortsighted pricks running this place, and he knew that now he’d have to resolve to the execution of Plan B.
He’d so hoped it wouldn’t be necessary, but now that it was, he was glad he’d brought Burke out here. He needed a wingman if he was to succeed, and Burke was just the guy for the job.
He hurriedly crossed the busy intersection, weaving through the hellish traffic, and was glad to find his car where he’d left it. Stepping in, he shoved the key into the ignition and the car roared to life, eliciting not a few glances from passersby. He opened the throttle and eased the car away from the curb and into the incessant stream of traffic.
As he passed dilapidated storefronts and an occasional cow trundling in the street, his thoughts kept returning to Erin.
If all had gone well this morning, and the board of directors had accepted to meet his terms, he’d have been glad to further nurture the delicate plant that was his budding relationship with the young woman.
But now all had changed, and he couldn’t risk dragging her into his mess any longer.
He didn’t mind the danger and the possible fallback when things went south, as they always could, but he didn’t want to involve an innocent like Erin, even if he loved her. Especially since he loved her.
He didn’t know how it had happened or why, and the strong emotions surging through him were strange and foreign to him, but he was conscious enough to recognize them for what they were: a deep kinship and care for her, and he’d be damned if he let her come to harm.
No, he had to nip this thing in the bud, before they both got involved any further. As it was, she’d always remember him fondly as her very first. And if he handled things right, she wouldn’t even hate him.
If he let things move past this point, their love could only deepen and it would be that much harder if the inevitable occurred and he’d have to really break her heart.
A veteran of many campaigns, he’d calculated his chances of success as less than fifty percent, and he was fine with those odds, but he couldn’t involve anyone else.
His lips tightened as he made up his mind. He’d do it quickly, like tearing off a band-aid. She deserved as much.
Chapter 19
Erin awaited her lover’s return with a happy heart. As she lay soaking in the rays, intermittently taking a dip in the waves to cool off, she thought she’d never felt better in her life. The heat lent her body a lazy drowsiness, and her mind kept drifting off into a relaxing slumber. Contrary to what she’d expected, the beach was not very busy. It was, of course, late in the season, it already being February and all, but still. She’d expected more people to enjoy the beach rather than lounge around the hotel pool.
Her mind kept drifting back to last night, how Ram had thrust into her with that powerful… thing of his—okay, with his cock, if she had to use Sophie’s vernacular. She could almost feel the heat rise in her belly at the mere thought of him here with her, caressing her skin with his gentle hands.
Oh, God. She felt wetness spread out between her legs at the mere thought of the man’s hands on her.
Tonight she’d suggest Sophie and Ram switch cabins. She wanted to spend the night with him, and this time do ‘it’ in a proper bed for the first time. Sophie wouldn’t mind, she knew, to be joined by Burke. In spite of her misgivings about the more romantic aspects of life, she knew her friend well enough to see she really liked Burke, even beyond the mere physical aspects of their relationship, and Burke obviously cared for Soph as well.
She watched as the heat shimmered over the sand, her eyes drifting closed again. Sweat pearled on her skin and dribbled down her belly in small rivulets.
With a groan, she sat up, adamant to protect her pale skin by applying factor thirty sunblock every hour on the hour.
And she’d just popped the top off the sunscreen, when she saw Burke and Ram trudging down the slope, heading in her direction.
A thrill of anticipation shot through her at the sight of her lover. He looked as handsome and startlingly massive as she remembered from the day before.
“Soph! They’re here! The guys!”
Sophie emitted a lazy groan, clearly not as excited at the prospect of being joined by the men as she was.
She jumped up, deciding she couldn’t wait one second longer before feeling Ram’s lips on hers and his arms touching her feverish skin. She leaped across the hot sand, eyes happy and bright.
As Ram watched Erin run up to him, he felt his heart sink. How he would ever be able to do this he didn’t know.
“You sure about this, man?” echoed Burke his own thoughts. “Cause if you’re not, it’s not too late to change your mind.”
“I’m sure,” grunted Ram. “It’ll save her a lot of pain if I end this now.”
Burke looked doubtful, something that greatly surprised Ram. His friend wasn’t usually this sentimental. Had Erin gotten under his skin as well?
But then she was in his arms, and his mind turned blank. Before he knew what happened, she was kissing him, and he was kissing her right back.
From the corner of his eye he could sense Burke’s bemusement. Strange way to end it, bro, the big guy was probably thinking.
Erin was gratified to feel the heat she was feeling inside being reciprocated by Ram. Judging from his hot kisses, he’d clearly missed her as much as she’d missed him.
“Let’s go inside,” she murmured against his lips, her boobs rubbing up against his hard chest and yearning to be freed from the confines of the flimsy bikini top.
Without another word, Ram followed her lead, and when the door to his cabin slammed shut, she jumped into his arms, her legs enveloping his waist, and from the heat they generated, they could probably have fired up a small town.
Ram staggered to the bed, Erin in his arms, her tongue doing strange and wonderful things with his, and the fresh taste of her was just what he’d needed after the hellish morning he’d had.
He curled his tongue deeply into her mouth, savoring the closeness of their connection, and when he let himself drop backwards onto the bed, she was on top of him, yanking off her top, and her pert breasts were pressing against his naked chest, her nipples already hard, the soft flesh of her tits fleshy pads of pure heat between them.
Her hands were all over him, and when she snaked her fingers into his boxers and wrapped them around his proud cock, his breath hitched.
God, he wanted her so bad…
/> Erin felt his hardness under her fingers and suddenly felt a strong urge to feel him in her mouth. To touch her tongue against all that raw male power. She ducked down inside the circle of his arms, and surprised him by closing her lips around the huge tip of his mushrooming manhood. Before last night, she’d never done this before in her life, and she was glad the first time had been with Ram, like everything seemed to be the first time with him. She swallowed him eagerly, driving him deeply into her mouth, then dip down her throat a little until her eyes stung, then enveloped his ball sack with her eagerly exploring fingers. The wiry hair was soft against the heat of his scrotum and she loved the feel of all this power in the palm of her hand.
“Come here, you,” he said throatily, and grabbed her by the shoulders. He flipped them around easily, and now she was the one pinned down and he was in control.
She giggled as he eased his way down her belly, dipping his tongue inside her belly button, then moving down even more, until he’d reached her bikini slip.
Ram made short shrift of the tiny garment, and next thing she knew, he’d placed his lips on her and entered her with his thick tongue.
She slammed her head back, an involuntary yelp of surprise escaping her lips.
“Ram,” she sighed, curling her fingers in his hair, willing him on. He pushed in deeper, licking inside her trembling cunt, and tasting the tartness of her freely flowing juices. Damn, she was hot. He’d known it from the look in her eyes when she’d come traipsing up to him on the beach, and he knew it now, as his tongue was overflowing with the nectar of her sex.
He gently eased his thumb across her swollen nub, and the response was immediate. Arching back, she writhed under his grip, and when he placed his hands on her nubile breasts, grasping her naked flesh, she bucked wildly under the onslaught of his tongue lapping at the most intimate spot. She trembled and quaked, then, and he knew she’d finally reached her climax. The night before, it hadn’t escaped his attention that he’d been the only one getting off, which was not surprising considering it had been her first time.