Chapter 16
I’d pushed my luck the other day in the kitchen. I’d come close, very close, to giving in to what I wanted. It’d taken all the restraint I had to resist grabbing Emily by the hips and bending her over the kitchen counter, shoving my cock into her deep and bringing her to orgasm again and again.
It was what she wanted, and it was what I wanted. However, one of us had to be strong enough to resist.
I’d woken up that morning in a state of total arousal, the dream I’d had during the night playing in my head with the clarity of a movie. The dream had been of Emily sitting in my bedroom in nothing but a matching black lace bra and panties, her legs crossed and a seductive smile on her face.
I’d stepped over, my cock at eye level.
“You know what I want,” I’d spoken in the dream. “And I know what you want.”
She’d responded without words, placing her hand on my cock through my slacks, stroking me slowly until I was hard as steel. A seductive, teasing expression stayed on her face, her hands working deftly to open my zipper and button, reaching in to retrieve my manhood.
Emily began by kissing my end, as she’d done on the plane. This time, however, she took more of me into her mouth. She parted those plush, full lips and wrapped them around me, flicking me with her tongue as she traveled up and down, her eye contact unbreaking, her eyes smiling with pleasure.
I’d let her please me this way for a time. But there was only so much foreplay I could take before I had to simply take what I wanted. I’d guided her off my cock, slipping my hands under her arms and turning her around. Her ass was perfect, round and heart-shaped, and I’d been unable to resist simply ripping off her panties and tossing them aside.
I’d placed my hand on her ass, spanking her firmly, gasps pulling into her as my palm made contact. I measured my strength, spanking her just hard enough so as not to cause anything more than the slightest sting. When I took my hand away, a red imprint was left on her cheek, a sign that I’d claimed her.
Emily was bent over on all fours, her rear pointed toward me as I took my cock into my hand, placing the end at her entrance as I prepared to push myself into her. She squirmed and moaned, pressing her ass against me. I teased her a bit more, dragging my head along her opening, pressing it into her clit.
“Are you ready for me?” I’d asked.
“So ready. Please, please don’t make me wait a second longer.”
I didn’t. I pushed into her, watching as her lips spread and my cock vanished inside, inch by inch.
Of course, that was when I’d woken up. My eyes opened and I didn’t need to turn and look at my nightstand clock to know that it was six-thirty—the same time I awoke every morning.
Sex dreams were double-edged swords. While they could be fun as hell, it always seemed like they stopped right when the good parts were about to happen.
Back in the present moment, I tossed off my clothes in the bathroom and stepped into the shower. While washing, I found my hand traveling down my body to my cock, as if I were being guided by unconscious forces to pleasure myself. It was a tempting idea. Images from the dream were still fresh in my mind, and I was certain it would take no time at all to finish to the mental image of Emily looking up at me with my cock in her mouth.
I decided not to do that. Ever since the near-encounter in the kitchen, I’d gone out of my way to put some space between myself and Emily. There were too many uncertainties with the current situation and making it all more confusing with sex wouldn’t be a smart long-term plan.
I dressed in a simple gray T-shirt and jeans, stepping into a pair of white sneakers as I headed out of my bedroom. I was hungry for something good for breakfast. The last few days I’d been taking meals in my office in order to avoid Emily. Now that it was day three of this strategy, however, I realized how much I wasn’t enjoying skulking around my own house like a trespasser. Sure, it might’ve been a challenge not to give in to what I wanted with Emily, but it needed to be done.
Lively chatter sounded from the kitchen as I approached. I stepped inside to see a small group there. Emily, Marta, Marianne and Pearl were gathered around the kitchen island, all chatting with big smiles on their faces, a huge platter of pastries in the middle of the island. A carafe of hot coffee was off to the side, my mouth practically watering at the idea of a fresh cup.
“Morning, ladies,” I said as I entered, grabbing a mug out of the nearby cabinet and heading over to the carafe.
A scowl appeared on Emily’s face, no doubt she was still salty from my rejection the previous day. She looked stunning as always, wearing a spaghetti-strap top and a pair of short jean shorts that showed off her long legs.
Just as it was impossible not to notice how stunning and sexy Emily looked, it was equally as impossible to not spot the hard, withering expression from Marta.
She was canny enough to have picked up very quickly on the sexual tension between Emily and me – and clearly, she wasn’t happy about it.
“Morning!” Marianne sprang from her seat, throwing her arms around me for a quick, tight hug. “Did you sleep OK?”
“Intense dreams,” I replied, stealing a sideways glance at Emily. “But other than that, I slept just fine.”
Marianne’s face lit up at my words. “I had a really intense dream, too! It was about the hill in the middle of the island. I have the perfect image in mind for a sketch I want to do today.”
“Sounds like you’ve got your morning planned. What about you, Emily?”
“She’s going to the beach,” Marta said, her tone sharp. “And I’m going with her.”
“That’s nice to hear,” I replied. “But I’m sure Emily’s more than capable of speaking for herself.”
Tension thickened in the air at my words, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t about to be spoken to like that in my own home. Marta didn’t care for my response one bit, shooting me another withering stare.
“That’s right,” Emily spoke up. “As Marta just told you, we’re going for a little dip in the water.”
Pearl chimed in as she took my coffee mug from my hands, pouring a healthy measure of coffee into it from the carafe. “Now, it’s supposed to be extra sunny today. Em, I noticed that you don’t have a decent sun hat.”
“I’ve got a ton!” Marianne said. “She can use whatever hat of mine she wants.”
“There you go,” Pearl said. “And make sure you’re wearing sunscreen.”
Marta’s hard expression broke, a small smile forming. “I said the same thing to her. Emily gets so excited about whatever she wants to do that she often forgets about practical matters.”
Emily laughed. “I feel like I’m here with two moms. But thanks, both of you. And I appreciate it, but I can look after myself.”
Pearl handed me back the mug. “Have something to eat. I know you’re not big on breakfast, but I went a little nuts with the Danishes this morning.”
The spread before me looked enticing, for sure. There were a good dozen Danishes, all with colorful filling from blueberries, cherries, and peaches. Part of me wanted one, but the greater part knew how I’d feel if I were to eat something so sugary first thing in the morning.
“I’ll have one after dinner,” I said. “Not sure one of those’ll sit well before my workout.”
Pearl chuckled good-naturedly. “Alright, alright. But I’d better see you eat at least one before the day’s out.”
“Sure, sure.”
I was in the middle of a sip of coffee when the kitchen door opened, Roberto stepping inside.
“Buenos dias,” he said. Roberto had a thermos in his hand and made a beeline for the coffee carafe.
The group said good morning to him, Pearl wasting no time putting one of the Danishes on a small plate and offering it.
“Have some breakfast, Roberto,” she said. “Logan gave the excuse of not wanting anything before his workout. You, on the other hand, need something substantial in your stomach.”
“Not going to see me turn down Pearl’s fresh pastries,” he said. “But let me take it to go—I need to get my day started pronto.”
“One, actually two, Danishes to go coming right up,” Pearl replied.
Roberto seemed more serious than usual. Something was on his mind. The rest of the women had fallen back into conversation, so I took the opportunity to get more information.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“It’s probably nothing,” he said. “Just got a feeling, so I wanted to get out there and check with all of the guards individually, maybe do a long sweep of the beach.”
Marta’s focus broke away from her conversation as soon as Roberto mentioned the beach. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before turning her attention back to Emily and Marianne.
“Sounds like a good plan,” I replied. “Don’t think we can be too careful about anything after what happened with that boat.”
“My thoughts exactamente,” he replied as he turned the cap on his thermos.
Pearl came over, placing a box of pastries into his other hand. “This better be empty within the hour; there’s three in there.”
“Three?” Roberto asked. “You trying to give me a belly?”
Pearl laughed, giving Roberto’s flat middle a playful swat. “You ask me, you could use a little meat on your bones.”
Roberto chuckled, shaking his head. “Anyway, I’m off. I’ll check in with you when I’m done with my patrol.”
“Sounds good. Keep me posted.”
Roberto nodded before heading out. Once he was gone, I turned my attention back to the other conversation as I took a sip of my coffee.
“Marianne,” Pearl began, “I think a trip to the beach sounds pretty fun. Why don’t you go with those two?” Pearl was always trying to get Marianne to socialize, to spend less time alone painting and drawing.
“No!” Marta shot out the word, her tone harsh enough to make me raise an eyebrow.
“No?” I asked.
Marta cleared her throat, collecting herself. “It’s just that Emily and I are going to be doing a little catching up on things back in New York. It’d be boring for Marianne.”
“I don’t know about that,” Marianne replied. “I love gossip. But I really want to get started on this picture I have in mind. I feel like if I don’t get it down soon, I’ll forget it.”
“You can come with us, go get ready!” Emily offered. “It’ll be fun.”
Marianne’s eyes lit up. “Yeah? OK, I can work on my picture later, I guess.”
Marta said nothing, a strange expression on her face. The group gathered some pastries for the road, Marta giving me one last look before the three of them headed out. Once they were gone, I wasted no time turning to Pearl.
“That was weird,” I said. “You agree?”
She nodded. “This Marta woman… I don’t know. She’s friends with Emily, I get it. But friend or not, she’s been jumpy since she showed up. And the way she reacted at the idea of Marianne going to the beach with them was beyond strange.”
“She didn’t want company. Just wanted it to be her and Emily.”
“Right. Maybe it’s nothing, but like you I’m trusting my gut. Might not be a bad idea to check on them.”
“Yeah. Not a bad idea at all.”
“Let me know what you find out,” Pearl said. “I know it’s only been a little over a week, but I’ve grown quite fond of Emily.”
“I’ll keep you posted.”
I took my coffee to go, heading out and returning to my bedroom. Once there, I opened a locked safe in the back of my closet, removing a silver pistol and tucking it into the back waistband of my pants. Packing my gun seemed insane to me, but if I needed it, I wanted to have it easily accessible. Along with that, I retrieved a walkie-talkie that could be used to get in touch with Roberto.
If anything was going down on my island, I was going to know about. And if so, there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d let any harm come to Emily.
I’d kill anyone who tried.