Sweetest Taboo (SIN 3)

Besides, he wanted to catch up with Liam and the guys. And that was a conversation he didn't want to have in front of Jane. Not that he intended to keep the investigation into her attack from her, but this island was supposed to be about escaping, not about reliving the horror.

Escaping. He smiled a little to himself as he walked. That was true. He'd come here wanting to escape everything. Everything, that is, except Jane. He could never escape her, even if he wanted to. She was the key to his life, to his heart. Hell, maybe even to his sanity.

She'd told him that she would go into the dark with him, and that promise had the power to drop him to his knees. But what he was starting to realize was that he didn't need the dark anymore. All he needed was her. All of the other shit that he'd craved fizzled away when she was around, no match for the pure intensity of what he felt for her.

Sure, he still enjoyed sex rough. Still got hard at the thought of knowing that she would bend to his will. That she would give herself over to his enjoyment and, more, that he was responsible for hers. That she was surrendering everything to him. That she was trusting him completely.

But it wasn't kink that he craved--it was Jane. The pleasure of feeling her against him. The heat of her skin. The allure of her touch. Wild, gentle, rough, easy. He wanted it all. Hell, with Jane he craved it. Needed her touch, the way she gave herself over to him, as much as he needed to breathe. Not as punishment, but as pleasure. As a gift for the both of them, every intimate act taking them higher and making them closer.

And yes, they both still fought their demons--hell, they probably always would--but for the most part, they'd weathered the storm.

Pretty fucking amazing.

And yet there was still a hole in his heart. Because no matter how much they'd conquered and how much they overcame, at the end of the day, they couldn't be together. He would never stand at an altar and watch her come toward him in a white dress. He'd never see their grandmother's face light up as they cut the cake at their reception. He'd never see Jane dance the first dance with their father.

And he'd damn sure never see Eli give her away to him.

Fuck.

He wanted those things--he did. But he knew well enough that they'd never be his.

His phone buzzed, and he stopped walking as he pulled it from his back pocket, expecting Jane. Instead, he realized that a call from Liam had gone to voicemail and he brought the phone up to his ear, listening to Liam's update as he walked.

In the message Liam ran through all the dead ends. The attempts to track who might have released Carol Lucas's dog from the kennel. The update on searching for the van in various security and traffic camera footage in an attempt to get a photograph of the driver and passenger. Quince's progress with Colin, which was pretty damn minimal. In other words, nada.

"That's pretty much it," Liam's message continued. "We're still pulling at threads. Analyzing the paper those letters to you were written on. Comparing guest lists to all your parties over the years and checking the names against their social media accounts to see if any crazy shows up. But it's not going to be fast. We're dealing with an extremely intelligent psychopath. So watch your back. And take care of Jane."

Dallas frowned, wishing the news were better. He started to type out a text response to Liam, then decided not to. Liam hardly needed Dallas's input, and for one more day Dallas craved escape.

When he looked up, the women on the beach had gotten close enough to recognize, and he waved. The tall brunette with the vibrant tattoo of a bird on her arm and shoulder was Cass, Sylvia's best friend. Sylvia was Stark's former assistant and now the project manager for The Resort at Cortez. But it wasn't Syl who walked beside Cass, but a lean redhead who he recognized as her girlfriend, Siobhan.

"I didn't realize you two were on the island."

Cass shook her head. "We weren't supposed to be here at all. Syl and Jackson had intended to come last night with the kids for a few days of R & R, but then Jeffery got an ear infection, so they're staying home." She reached for Siobhan's hand and grinned. "Worked out well, though. No better place to celebrate than here, right?"

"What are you celebrating?"

As if they'd both been waiting for him to ask the question, they each thrust out their left hands, revealing matching silver bands ringed with Celtic symbols. "You got married. That's wonderful. Congratulations."

"Not yet. But we did get engaged."

"She popped the question," Siobhan added, grinning. "Got down on her knees and everything, it was totally corny and incredibly awesome."

"I didn't have a ring, but I didn't want to wait. We were playing miniature golf

of all things, and she just looked so perfect."

"So she used one of the hoops from her ear," Siobhan continued. "It didn't even really fit, but I wore it anyway on the tip of my pinkie until we could go buy matching rings." She lifted Cass's hand to her lips and kissed it. "And so here we are."

"When's the date?"

"Haven't set it yet. You'll come?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

They exchanged glances. "Is Jane here?"

He felt his gut tighten. Cass had never met Jane, but the fact that she knew of her made it all too clear that she'd seen the media reports. "She's back at the bungalow."