Escape (Billionaire Island)

“I have. Nemo and Lyle. My suitemates.” He smiles. “But I’ve never taken a woman there.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve never wanted to.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You went there with guys, and you say it’s a gorgeous stretch of beach, but you never went back with a woman?”

“I never did.”

“Why?” I can’t help asking.

“It’s too special,” he says. “I never wanted to share it with a woman. Until now.”

His words melt the last layer of ice around my heart. Lucifer Black disappears, and for this moment, I’m safe.

Safe with Scotty.

And I want to share this with him.

“Let’s go,” I say.

We walk another mile or so until I see the cliff he’s talking about in the distance. “Beyond the cliff is the other side of the island. There’s a retreat center there, and beyond that, the Wolfes are building a huge resort.”

I nod. “My brother told me all about it.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. He works for the Wolfes.”

Scotty nods. “I may apply for a job at the resort. Resorters are allowed to tip.”

I laugh. “You’re hardly living in poverty here.”

“Not at all. But a guy’s got to plan for the future.”

I widen my eyes. Scotty is so much more than a beach bum. He’s thinking about his future. I like that.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“For what?”

“For thinking you were a beach bum with no goals.”

He stops walking. “That’s what you thought?”

“Well, if it looks like a duck…”

“Hey.” He cups my cheek. “I live day to day. I pull each sliver of happiness I can out of each minute of my day. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think about the future. In fact…”

“In fact…what?”

“In fact, I’ve been thinking more about the future during the last twelve hours than I have in a long time.”

I don’t reply. Does he mean me? Silly to even think that. We hardly know each other.

Still, his words warm me. Soothe me. Comfort me.

And, of course, turn me on.

The night is warm, and the ocean breeze cushions us. This tiny stretch of beach is isolated, pure white sand. What must a sunrise look like from here? A sunset?

I need to come back here with my paints.

But for now…

“Scotty?”

“Hmm?” He plays with my fingers.

“Kiss me. Please.”

14

Scotty

I press my lips to hers gently. Oh, I’m raring to go. I’ll gladly kiss her into tomorrow, but I get the impression she needs slow tonight.

So I gently pry her lips open with my tongue, delve between them, explore her mouth languidly.

She kisses me back, and then, to my surprise, she takes the lead.

She deepens the kiss, exploring my mouth this time, and tiny little groans vibrate from her throat into me, fueling my desire even more.

I grab a fist full of her long glorious hair and give it a sharp tug. She responds by grabbing my ass and pulling me closer to her.

The kiss, the beach, the world… It’s all perfect.

I want her so badly. I haven’t wanted a woman this badly in a long time, perhaps not ever.

She breaks the kiss and gasps in a breath. I inhale as well, trailing kisses across her cheek to her ear.

“You’re so beautiful, Em,” I whisper.

She shudders beneath my touch. “I wish…” she says.

“You wish what?”

“I wish we could stay here. Just you and me. Where there aren’t any other cares in the world.”

“We can.” I nip at the outer shell of her soft ear.

“Mmm…we can’t. The carriage will turn into a pumpkin eventually.”

“But we don’t have to think about that right now.”

“But…” She sighs, trailing her fingers up my arms. “But…it always happens. It’s inevitable.”

“Shhhh,” I say. “It won’t happen tonight.”

I ease her onto the soft sand until she’s lying on her back, her dark eyes glowing in the moonlight. I’ve never seen anything lovelier. We’re close to the shoreline but still on dry sand.

I kiss her again, deeply, our tongues tangling, our lips sliding, and then I work a strap of her white flowing dress.

She doesn’t stop me.

Soon her breasts are bared, and my God, in the moonlight, I swear she’s a goddess. Aphrodite herself. So beautiful and perfect, her nipples brown and hard and tight. I brush my fingers over one and then the other.

Then I lean down and take one between my lips.

She moans softly, so I suck harder, gripping the hard nub with my teeth and biting gently.

“Mmmm… Good, Scotty.”

Very good from where I am as well. I cup the other breast and lightly thumb the nipple. I could spend hours on these gorgeous tits alone, but there’s a certain heaven between her legs that calls me.

I let go of her breasts for a second—she whimpers—and remove my shirt. My dick is aching inside my board shorts, but I don’t want to scare her off. I’ll leave it encased for now.

But her dress. The top of it is bunched around her slender waist, while the bottom of it is still covering the gems between her legs.