Passion Flower: 1 (7 page)

Chest feeling heavy, she knelt down on the towel. She
hesitated a moment before moving forward to get herself into spanking position,
and when she did she was so clumsy about it she felt as if she’d practically
thrown herself across his lap. She felt foolish and awkward, but that all went
away when his hand settled on the lowest curve of her ass, his palm gently
curved to follow its contours. That one touch put her at peace. And made her
more turned-on than ever.

He lifted his hand, but it wasn’t gone for more than a split
second before it landed on her bottom again with a smack. It stung, but only
for a moment. She was sure he could hit her much harder if he meant to, and
knowing he wasn’t angry with her, that he was doing it because she liked it, made
it okay. She felt the tightness in her chest fade as he spanked her, each
little whap taking more tension away.

She closed her eyes, pressing her cheek into the soft nap of
the towel. A cool breeze off the ocean caressed her. She’d imagined spankings
to be many things—painful, sexy, submissive—but never relaxing. She spread her
legs for him. It seemed like the most natural thing to do. He slid his fingers
along her wet labia. She wondered what he saw, how she looked to him. She
turned her head and looked at him. He was looking between her legs with a
mixture of awe and wonder. It seemed as if to him she was a flower that bloomed
not at a time of day, but in response to being spanked. His look made her feel
beautiful, but it was almost too much to take in. She closed her eyes again,
content.

He kept spanking her, but she barely noticed its stings
anymore. They lasted only for an instant, followed by him massaging her butt,
pressing the flesh upward. He dipped his fingers into her pussy and she moaned
in response. She clenched at his fingers. She wanted more.

“Fuck me?” she asked. He wouldn’t say no to that, surely.

“No, love. After that lovely blowjob last night, my balls
have been aching and it’d be torture to be in your pussy without coming.”

“So go ahead and come.”
Take me. Use me.
The thoughts
were alien to her, but overpowering. She wanted him badly. Not to mention the
fact that he had pushed her far enough that she didn’t think he’d need to seek
her pleasure to give it to her. A good hard selfish fucking would push her
over. He’d demonstrated his control. Now she wanted him to lose it, to bury
himself deep inside her and coat her pussy with his cum. She was on the Pill.
She’d been tested, he’d been tested; that was part of the arrangement of the
island. There was no reason for him to hold back.

“Not until we have the truth between us,” he said.

“But—”

“No.” He added a finger and another, stretching her. Was
that three or four? He fucked her vigorously with them. She didn’t want to come
without him. Two could play this game. She could be as stubborn as he was. If
he could hold back his orgasms to try to influence her, she could hold hers to
punish him back.

His thumb brushed against her clit and she clenched her
teeth. It was going to require an effort, but she could do it. His fingers felt
good but his thumb was heavenly. He seemed to know the perfect way to move it
to build up the tension in her core. She gripped at the towel. She wasn’t going
to come. She wasn’t. When gripping wasn’t enough she bit at it, tasting sand
that had blown up onto it. That should help. Nothing erotic about eating sand.
She tried to spit it out.

He pulled on her hair, stopping her from doing it again and
sending a shiver down her spine straight to her pussy. She knew he was asserting
control and she wanted to resist, but dammit, he
was
in control. Her
pussy felt as though it was on fire. Her breasts ached with the desire to be
touched and her nipples were hard as steel. “Please,” she said.
Stop.

“Come, Natalie,” he told her.
I won’t.
But her body
obeyed him, not her. Her climax started with a flutter in her tummy that she
thought she might be able to control, but she couldn’t. Her pussy clutched
desperately at his fingers as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her. Her
toes curled as shivers ran down her legs.

“Good girl,” he said softly. “So lovely when you come.”

She gasped and tried to catch her breath. He lowered his
hand to let her rest her head against the beach towel again, then let go and
wrapped his free arm around her chest. His fingers curled inside her pussy and
coaxed one last shudder from her.

The leaves of the mangroves fluttered and the Pacific
continued its steady roar, but the only other sound was that of two heartbeats
and steady breathing. She twisted in his arms to face him as she cuddled up and
they stayed there for a long time. His arms felt so strong. He was such a solid
presence. She wished she’d met him somewhere else, but she supposed if she’d
met him at the university the odds she’d be cuddled up naked on a beach with
him were next to none.

“I love having you hold me,” she said.
And the way you
use your fingers.
But she wasn’t going to add that. Hopefully he knew.

“I’ll hold you all night long, Natalie.”

Wow. That sounded wonderful. She snuggled up closer. “Yes
Sir,” she whispered. It felt good to call him that. Safe, even.

Then she tensed up. If he was staying with her, she couldn’t
sneak out to look for the orchid.

“What’s wrong, little one?”

“Nothing,” she lied. “Nothing at all.” She doubted he bought
it, but he didn’t press. As she lay there, she discovered that missing out on a
nighttime exploration didn’t bother her nearly as much as having to lie to him.
But she didn’t know what to do about either.

Chapter Six

“So, how are the girls this time?” asked Roger. Carter had
picked him up in Cairns and was flying him back to the island.

Carter resisted making a face. As long as Roger meant Amber
and Rhonda, he had no objection to his Australian friend’s lighthearted manner.
But the idea of his friend with Natalie annoyed him. If Roger made a move,
Carter would tell him hands-off, but there was no reason to start an
unnecessary altercation. “Nice,” he said.

“One of ’em’s getting to you, isn’t she?”

Carter glanced away from the empty sky to look at Roger, who
had a smug expression. Roger had a lot of talents. He’d gotten a degree in
psychology after he’d finished working with the Australian SAS, and had a sharp
eye for business as well. A poker face, however, was not one of the man’s
virtues. He could read almost anyone, even Carter sometimes, but he was easy to
read as well.

“Perhaps. Her name’s Natalie. Interesting girl.”

“You want to talk about her?”

“Yes. No.” Talking about her would be a lot of fun, and if
Roger was in friend mode, that would be great. But he got the feeling that he’d
be on the virtual shrink’s couch, and he’d rather resist that. Especially while
he was flying. And Natalie’s undiscovered secret and strange behavior lurked at
the back of his mind as well.

“Suit yourself.”

They spent the rest of the short flight in silence. It
seemed to Carter that there was something on Roger’s mind, but it would come
out in due time. Normally he’d be more interested. Right now, he was looking
forward to getting back to Natalie. Partly he was concerned that she might have
gotten herself into mischief, although as long as she stayed out of the water
she’d be safe enough on the island. But mostly he wanted to be with her again.
He wanted to hold her soft body in his arms and see if he could make her laugh
or smile. Or moan.

He glided the plane onto the water. He never got tired of
the feeling of contact or the way it skimmed the waves until it slowed down. He
turned down the throttle and let it float toward the dock.

“When we’re there I want to have a business meeting.”

Carter nodded. More delay in getting back to Natalie, but he
wasn’t surprised. “Want to give me a preview?”

“Nah, I’ll spring it on everyone at once.”

Carter shook his head and chuckled. “All right, give me a
moment with Natalie and I’ll be right there.”

Roger raised his eyebrows.

“She’s a paying customer,” said Carter. He did try to make
sure the island provided its clients value for the money, but that wasn’t
really his motivation.

Tom and Kyle sent Rhonda and Amber out to the pool but
Natalie, apparently, had taken a walk toward the cove. Carter frowned.
Hopefully he’d made it clear enough that she shouldn’t be swimming from there.
He wanted to run out after her, but that was silly. She was a smart woman. And
he couldn’t watch her for every moment of her life. Hell, in a week or so she’d
be gone from his life entirely.

That was supposed to be part of the attraction of the whole
Submission Island setup. A vacation for the women. No risk of being tied down
for the men. A step out of ordinary life. But he thought he’d miss Natalie when
she was gone. He shrugged. Submission Island wasn’t about relationships. And
there was no chance of one with a woman who wouldn’t tell him the truth,
anyway.

He sat down at the dinner table, positioning himself so that
he could watch the swimming pool out the window. He wasn’t that interested in
seeing Amber and Rhonda frolic in and out of the water, but he wanted to see
Natalie when she came back.

“So what’s the scoop?” asked Tom.

Roger had grabbed the head of the table. “We’ve got an
offer. There’s a movie studio that is interested in using the island as a set
for a few weeks, and they are willing to spend big money if it’s suitable. But
first they want to send someone out for a couple days to scout it out.”

“I don’t like it,” said Kyle.

“Didn’t think you would. But I thought I’d put the idea
forward and see what you all thought.”

“What kind of money?” asked Tom.

“A hundred thousand a week for full use of the island.
Multiply that by four weeks.”

Tom whistled. “A healthy chunk of change.”

It was a lot more than they made running “Submission
Island”, that was for sure. Not that money was the point. The profit was often
negligible.

Kyle had come out from the war with a deep distrust for
others, almost paranoia. He made an exception for his friends, and he had a
weakness for beautiful women. But the island had become essential to his peace
of mind in a way, and he didn’t want anyone on it. Carter didn’t think Roger
could have named an amount that Kyle would go for. And they didn’t need the
money. For a few years after they’d been discharged, they’d all worked together
in an investing business. They’d made enough to buy the island and be set for
life.

“With that money, we could build some more play space. A
fully stocked dungeon,” said Roger, eyeing Kyle.

“We’ve got trees and ropes and whips. What more do we need?”

“Four hundred K would buy a lot of dungeon,” said Tom.

Kyle’s hands tightened on the table. Carter came and went.
Roger spent most of his time in Australia. Tom spent at least a quarter of his
time in the States. But for Kyle, this was home, and it was being invaded.

“Kyle, this is a chance to take a step forward for you, as
well as a lot of money for us,” said Roger in his best shrink’s voice.

Kyle glared. “We don’t need the money. And I’ll take my
steps when I’m ready.”

“Seems pretty good to me,” said Tom.

“They aren’t even promising us money. First they send us a
guy—I’m guessing it’s a guy—to scout. And he reports back whatever he feels
like, to whomever. Submission Island in the papers. It’s no good.”

“Maybe we should have a vote,” said Tom.

Kyle looked at them, his eyes calculating. Roger’s proposal
may have touched a nerve, but Kyle never panicked. Still, from Roger’s
presentation it was clear he liked the idea. And Tom sounded like a yes vote.
Which meant it didn’t surprise Carter at all when Kyle’s eyes narrowed in on
him.

And then, suddenly, they shifted to Roger. “This is just
like the botany thing,” he said. “The guy who wanted to come and look for that
orchid. If they’ll offer the money up front, a hundred K to have the guy come
for a week, then… Well, I’m not going to convince you guys. But without that,
it’s just like the damn botanist.”

Carter blinked. “What botanist?”

Roger waived his hand. “Oh, some guy at a university in the
States saw a rare plant in a picture of Fleury Island and he wanted to come
study it. There wasn’t anything in it for us, and you were in Singapore I think
when we got the proposal. Since Tom and Kyle and I were against it, we didn’t see
any reason to bother you with it.”

In other words, I would have been outvoted anyway.
He
looked at Roger and decided there probably hadn’t been any attempt to conceal
information. He leaned back.

“Shall we vote?” asked Roger.

“Bloody hell,” said Kyle.

“I’m for it,” said Tom.

“Yeah, me too,” said Roger with a shrug at Kyle.

“Against,” said Kyle, “of course.”

All eyes turned to look at Carter.

A botanist wanted to see the island. And Natalie was a
biologist of some sort. He’d watched her examine the plants along the path, and
today she’d gone out to the cove supposedly. But maybe the cove wasn’t her real
destination. Maybe she was going back to the jungle, to look at the plants.
Nothing wrong with that, if that was what she wanted to do. Maybe her interest
was pure coincidence. Maybe not.

But possibly, having been turned down for normal research,
she’d decided to come as a submissive just to get access to the island’s plant
life? That would explain her headache and her nighttime escape. What if she was
faking her interest in kinky sex the whole time?

He had to find out. He never wanted to master a woman who
was anything less than willing. His ego wouldn’t tolerate it, and neither would
his conscience.

“No for now,” he said. “We can revisit it later.” He pushed
his chair back, ignoring the surprise on everyone’s faces. Of all of them, he
was the least secretive. Be who you are and let the world think what it wants
was his attitude, and he knew it wasn’t always practical. But a story about
Submission Island was bound to go public eventually anyway. He would have let
the botanist come, and that made him annoyed he wasn’t asked.

Right now though, he wanted to get to Natalie. He got up and
walked toward the door to the swimming pool.

He stopped before he opened it. “Could I see the proposal
from that botanist, Roger? Email it to me or toss it on my desk if you’ve got
it in hard copy.”

“Sure, Carter. I’ll email it to you,” said Roger. “You’re
pissed, aren’t you? We honestly didn’t think it was any big deal.”

“Yeah. Well. I’ll get over it.” He would too. “I’m going for
a walk.” He slid the door open. Amber was swimming naked in the pool. Rhonda,
topless and lounging in a chair, turned to face him as he came out. She arched
her back, thrusting her enhanced breasts out for his gaze.

“Go on in and serve, Rhonda. Tell them I sent you in to
provide some, er, stress relief.” He kept walking past.

“Yes Sir,” he heard her say. She sounded eager, as he
expected.

He walked into the jungle, stepping softly. He didn’t have
the training Kyle or Tom or Roger had, but he knew a few things about moving
quietly. Even though he was in a hurry, he tried to focus on making his steps
sure, rather than quick. He was tired of Natalie’s deceptions, even though he
thought he now had a possible reason for them. It made it understandable, but
it didn’t make it okay. He wanted to catch her in the act of—whatever she was
doing.

He almost didn’t see her. She was off the path, and the
jungle really didn’t have anything in the way of clearings. Dressed in yellow
short shorts and a green camisole, she almost blended in with the broad
pale-green leaves of the undergrowth. He’d let her pick her own clothes for the
day, since he knew he’d be out picking up Roger. He could always take them off
later. Now those clothes were streaked with mud. She was crouched next to the
wide trunk of a tall tree, clawing at the dirt. If she hadn’t been so nice and
curvy, she could have been mistaken for an oversized child playing in the mud.

“Whatcha finding?” he asked.

There were hundreds of different plants on the island and
dozens of varieties of orchids. Trying to identify them positively without
their blooms would be highly difficult, and she still needed a nighttime foray,
but she had catalogued a few possible plants to look at more closely later when
she spotted the odd little holes in the ground. Made by some insect, almost
certainly, but there was no sign of them above ground. Flowers bloomed to
attract bees and other insects to them, relying on the bugs to carry their
pollen from plant to plant. If a plant bloomed at night, the reason might lie
with its six-legged friends. In an ideal world she’d have a shovel or a trowel
to help her, but she could imagine what sort of suspicions such a request would
create, so instead she was busy clawing away at the dirt. She’d already chipped
a fingernail.
The sacrifices I make to science.

The sacrifice hadn’t been in vain though. She found the bugs
responsible for the holes, and to her surprise they were caterpillars. Rather
unusual behavior for caterpillars, she thought, but she’d do more research when
she could. She’d need a computer for that, and she didn’t have internet access
either.
Dammit.

She was reaching for a twig one of the mottled brown and
green caterpillars had crawled onto when Carter’s voice made her jump.

“Huh?”

“Thought I might find you here,” he said without much
emotion. “Want to tell me what you were up to?”

“Playing in the dirt. Um. Yeah.” The truth, as far as it
went.

“I can see that. Looking for something?”

“There’s these holes in the ground.” She pointed out one of
the few that were left intact. “I was curious as to what caused them. These
little critters—now where did that thing go? There was a caterpillar right on
this twig when you distracted me.”

“Those things are made by caterpillars?” He looked
skeptical.

“They are quite adaptable,” she said, “and they have lots of
different behavior patterns. But I agree, it’s unusual, and that’s why I had to
have a look.”

“Well, I suppose it’s better than swimming for jellyfish. Is
that why you’re here, Natalie, to figure out caterpillars?”

Not exactly. And if they didn’t want someone looking at
their orchids, there was no reason to think they’d respond better to someone
looking at their bugs. She was curious as to what the caterpillars would
transform into—from the looks of them, moths and not butterflies. She stood up
reluctantly, deciding it didn’t pay to look too interested. “I’m here for a
vacation, Master Carter. But you were busy, so I decided to wander.”

“And that’s all there is to it?”

She hated lying to him. But she didn’t think he was really
hurt by it, even though he got that look in his eyes. He wanted to know
everything, and if looking hurt got him his way, maybe it was all part of the
game. He’d be letting her fly back in a week and change, as far as she knew,
without regrets.

“That’s all there is to it.”

He shrugged. “Well, I’m not busy now. You’re going for a
ride.” He picked her up suddenly and put her over his shoulder before she had a
chance to protest. Butt up in the air, her legs dangled in front of him and her
head was behind. It actually wasn’t a bad angle to view his ass from. She
shrieked and tried to kick, but he had a firm grasp on her ankles.