STAG: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 7) (43 page)

Chapter 11

It was late afternoon before they woke up again, bathroom breaks notwithstanding. The sun had finally risen, and they stretched comfortably in the cabin. They'd gotten used to the smell sometime during the night, and without it, and with the touch of the sun, it was actually really cozy. Layne laid in bed, looking at the pictures on the walls, a framed leaf plated with gold on a cream mounting board; a motivational phrase embroidered onto a scroll, encouraging everyone to live in the moment and believe the best is possible. She recognized the quote from somewhere but couldn't quite place it anymore. It had been too long since she dared to wander into a library. Most of them had water damaged books, and the smell of mold was too much for her allergies. She might as well have rolled around on a rug made of cat fur.

Finally, she gazed at the perfect sleeping body of Jax. She let her eyes roam in full golden glory what she hadn't been able to see in the dark. It had been the best sex of her life, nothing could possibly compare. His hand was resting on his bare chest, and she touched it, unable to believe that somebody so mysteriously powerful had come into her life. But there he was.

He gripped her hand tightly as he opened his eyes. He looked well-rested for the first time since they met. She realized that he never seemed able to fully relax – he was always on the alert, looking out for danger, watching out at all times so she wouldn't have to. It was nice to see him have a break for a change. It was something that she would like to get used to. He deserved some peace of mind once in a while.

“Good morning,” he said with a smile.

“Morning,” she replied.

She was worried that her breath smelled bad. She had cardamom seeds in her bag. She hoped that once they were planted they could chew on them to improve their oral hygiene. She had a toothbrush but without toothpaste it wasn't exactly breath-refreshing. Most people didn't bother anymore, but she did her best. It was something she and Jax had in common. The people in the tribes were too miserable to care much about their hygiene.

Jax sat up, kissing her on the cheek, and cracked the window by the bed open. They were hit with a smell that Layne found intoxicating, and she had a sudden urge to run outside and play like she would have when she was just a young girl. The fresh air and the trees awakened her.

“Let's go explore!” she exclaimed. “I want to see what it's like here.”

“All right,” he said, laying lazily on the bed, everything tantalizingly exposed but his groin. Each knew what the other was thinking, and he tackled her back onto the bed.

When they were done, they pulled their clothes back on and headed outside with their backpacks.

“I really like it here,” Layne decided. It had a good feeling about it. Good energy, as if it had been inhabited by kind people. After a while of wandering, you got a sense like that about a place. She tried to avoid old homes because the bad feelings were the worst, especially when you were alone.

Jax nodded.

“Look, it gets better!”

They had suddenly come upon a gravel pathway. They glanced at each other excitedly. Each side of the path was littered with edible berry bushes.

“This is quaint,” Jax said, plucking a berry from its stem and popping it into his mouth. Layne laughed. Jax was the kind of person who would say “quaint and mean it.” She followed his lead, picking a handful of berries, and they began walking down the path, unsure of what they would find.

“Why do I feel like this is Hansel and Gretel?” Layne asked as they moved forward cautiously.

“Maybe we all feel like characters in a book when things are too good to be true, because we believe the catch will come at any minute.”

“What if I choose not to believe in a catch this time?” The day had been too perfect.

“We'll find out when we reach the end of the path,” Jax said with a shrug.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, picking berries and eating until finally, they reached a clearing. They stared at the sight in disbelief, clinging to each other's hands tightly.

They were standing in front of a giant solar panel, surrounded by a garden – boxes of raised beds with old, shriveled, plants wilting in them.

“This is unreal,” Jax said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. If he had glasses he would put them on right now.

“Pinch me,” Layne whispered.  Jax pinched her butt and she laughed, pushing him away. “Ass.”

He grinned, turning to her, giddy with pleasure.

“This means running water. They would need a well out here. Layne, you can have this. We can keep it. You can have a home again!”

The threat of the wild dogs seemed like a distant memory. Here was the remains of somebody's dreamland. A place that was already growing its own compost. The animals got into all of the food of course, they would have to be careful, but it was a start. They embraced tightly, and Layne wept tears of joy. Jax held her tightly, kissing the top of her head. She would be safe her, and they would stick together, creating a home, somewhere stable where he could bring his brother to safety.

THE END

The story continues in Book 2, available now from Amazon

Natalie Nixon

Copyright ©2015 by Cynthia Wilde. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Thank you so much for your interest in my work! Please

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

Club SINZ
was celebrating its grand opening, and had pulled out all the stops to make their first night in business a memorable one. The place was packed with everyone from porn stars to rich losers to travel writers, all desperate to be part of the Caribbean's newest adult getaway.
Club SINZ's
advertising promised to make the Hedonism resorts look like a church picnic. Among the guests was a contingent of Estonian tourists, who not coincidentally, just happened to be beautiful, open-minded, and available women. The owners had clearly "stocked the pond" with professionals to ensure their initial guests left with fond memories  - and maybe a few painful urinary tract infections as well.

Cass Bauer, the main bartender was more interested in the clock than the crowd. She had important plans tonight that didn't involve
Club SINZ
. The last month of opening preparations had been chaotic, forcing her to work endless hours. Being an army veteran she had leadership skills, which had inspired management to entrust her with more responsibilities than the usual mixologist. She'd practically built the main bar as well as helped with everything from overall renovations to the hiring of local staff.
SINZ
was the first American business to open on
Isla de Tortura
, so the Caribbean locals eagerly lined up for the relatively high paying jobs. Two dollars and twenty-seven cents an hour represented big money on Tortura.

Designed like a wagon wheel,
Club SINZ
had a central pool, surrounded by small cabanas. Tucked behind those were the VIP cabanas, which of course came with private Jacuzzis. The largest building held the dining hall, indoor bar and the industrial sized kitchen facilities. There was a band pavilion and even a miniature golf course. The abundance of outdoor bars guaranteed liquor would always be within staggering distance.

Cass worked the main patio bar. She also taught windsurfing and kickboxing on the beach, but since the clientele lived on a diet of alcohol, frozen shrimp and pharmaceuticals, the turnout for physical fitness had been… underwhelming. But her time at the beach hadn't been a waste, because that was where she had met Talin, who was, of all things, the island's Voodoo Priest. At first she had been understandably wary of him. Talin had to be the most eccentric person she'd ever met, and that was saying something. You might wonder what an ex-military bartender had in common with an islands-raised witch doctor, and you would be surprised. Chemistry can go a long way. Over the course of a few weeks she'd happily become his lover as well as his pupil, of all things. If her current infatuation held, she planned to stay on the island with Talin for the rest of her life. It was a big change of plans, but she was impulsive like that. She’d been getting by like that for years and it always seemed to work out, so she wasn’t worried about it. She was actually pretty excited about the future.

Initially Cass planned to kill a few months on
Isla de Tortura
, and then drift on to the next spot that held her interest. Keep moving and don't tie yourself down had become her mantra since leaving the military. Her first months in the civilian world had been dicey though. Without the boundaries of military life her behavior had gotten reckless and out of control. The endless parade of anonymous sexual encounters and all night drinking binges had gotten more and more extreme as time went on. None of it so much as put a dent in the pain that enveloped her though. She had actually been trying in vain to envelop herself in a nice cushion of emotional numbness, but to no avail. Eventually she had had to acknowledge that
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
was really “a thing”, that she had it, and that it wasn't going away on its own. Once she had acknowledged and begun to face it, she'd come a long way in just a few months. Her drinking was almost nonexistent; she'd stopped banging nameless losers and, most amazingly, hadn't beaten the shit out of anyone in a month or more. But the customer leaning on the bar at that moment was really challenging her on that last note at the moment.

He was an oily looking guy, who clearly bought his way into the grand opening. They probably had charged him double. He was definitely a beta male who bought his clothes in the alpha male store. From the moment he had approached the bar, he'd been finding excuse after excuse to make casual contact with Cass' hands. He also kept offering to buy her drinks. Maybe he hadn’t noticed that she was the bartender and already had access to any drink she wanted. Fucking idiot.

"So what time do you finish up here?" he asked, for the sixth time.

Amazing, she thought… in what he should have identified as a perfect storm of women with high blood alcohol and low self-esteem, this jackass fixates on the one woman he can't have. Cass counted backwards in her head, engaging an old trick she often used to diffuse the inner rage this guy seemed intent on releasing.

"I'm on until eight, and then I have someplace to be."

"You should be with me, I've got plenty of booze, a little 420 and more… if you’re into a little P&P?"

"P&P?"

"’Party and play’ babe, the only way to fly." He discreetly held up a little baggie of either cocaine or meth.

Cass casually reached over to a bowl, picking up two walnuts with a showy flourish of her hand. She put her hand in front of the jerk's face and squeezed, crushing the nuts easily. He got the message.

"Um, I guess I’ll go check out the Jacuzzi for a bit," He said back peddling away from the bar.

"Good idea," Cass responded flatly, tossing the walnut shards into the trash. Who the hell ate walnuts in the tropics anyway?

The fleeing jerk bumped into Jack Godwin, an alleged travel writer who asked way too many questions to be writing for Travel and Leisure. He was intelligent, and good-looking in a rough Sean Bean kind of way. But Cass had been watching him long enough to see through his travel writer facade.

"Hey Cass, how's your night going?" Jack asked, smiling. He had brilliant green eyes with a penetrating gaze that never wavered. When he asked a question he heard your answer, but also seemed to know immediately whether you were hiding something else or not. "Can I get another house special?"

The house special was a "Mai Tai" rip-off that contained enough sweet fruit juices to hide the rotgut liquor that gave it its punch.

"No Problem Jack," Cass said, breaking the house rules by using a non-toxic brand of rum. This was Jack's third drink, but she'd seen him leave the other two, mostly intact, on empty tables. She surmised that Jack wanted to fit in with the drunks while staying sober and alert. Travel writer my ass, she thought. He’s probably some federal agent hunting crooks on the lam. This resort would be like flypaper for horny criminals.

"So Cass, I hear you've been spending a lot of time with the locals?"

"Yeah, I've made some friends," Cass replied, trying not to sound defensive at the prying question.

"How are they feeling, you know about the resort and things in general? I've heard there's been trouble?"

"Nothing I've noticed, but I'm too busy with my boyfriend to listen to the gossip."

"So there is talk then?"

Cass put down the glass she was washing, "Why is a travel writer so interested in local politics? I thought you just wrote about cheap buffets and places to get Seaweed Wraps?"

"I'm just a big picture kind of guy I guess," He replied innocently.

"Uh huh,"

A nasal female voice cut off their witty banter, "Hi, can I have four shots of gold please? Bill it to cabana seven." She was Fawn, a pretty young girl with long brown hair and a great pair of natural tits. Cass could tell because she'd abandoned her bikini top three tequilas ago. She turned to Jack, "Hi I'm Fawn, you're really cute."

"Thank you Fawn, it's nice to meet you too." Jack replied politely.

"I'm in cabana seven with
Hot Stuff Productions
. I'm starring in a movie tomorrow."

"How nice for you. What's the movie?"

"
First-Time Bukkake Babes #27
, but we don't have enough dudes, so if a cute guy like you wanted to drop by I can get you in."

"Oh I don't know. I've never been in a movie before. I'd probably forget all my lines."

"Oh you don't have to remember anything, you just, well, you know… like the other guys… it'll be fun."

Cass couldn't help eavesdropping. She could hear the uncertainty in Fawn's voice, like she was really trying to convince herself it would be fun. 

"Okay, I'll try to swing by, but no promises."

"That's so cool, I'm really excited," Fawn replied grinning. She grabbed her tray of tequilas and bounced off towards the Jacuzzi.

Jack gave her a little wave, "Good luck with that." He turned back to Cass, "Guess I'll see if I can find some great story for my blog."

"That's so cool, I'm so excited!" Cass replied, mimicking Fawn.

Jack Laughed, "Careful Cass, don't mock the afflicted." With that he slipped back into the crowd.

"Travel writer my ass," Cass mumbled to herself. She glanced at the clock, smiled and immediately started cashing out. Her twelve-hour shift was over, and she had someplace to be.

Another bartender took her post and Cass made a beeline for the staff exit. She knew escaping from Stalag-Sinz wasn't easy, with management always on the prowl, trying to shanghai staff into extra shifts. Cass took a practiced detour behind the VIP Cabanas. She'd almost made it when Eric, the resort manager, appeared, blocking her path.

"Cass, where are you going?"

"Uh, out of here? It's been twelve hours Eric, I'm done."

"But it's our big night, the president of the island is making his speech in a few hours. I need everybody… including my best bartender." Eric was half pleading and half demanding.

"Well, first of all, I told you three times, grand opening or not, I had plans later tonight, and second of all, he's a Prime Minister… not a President."

"Oh it's the same thing."

"No, the PM is appointed by the standing legislature whereas the president is elected by popular vote… and I'm still leaving, good night." She slipped past him before he got any more whining in. With Eric shaken off Cass continued towards the staff exit.

She rounded the corner near cabana seven and paused. Fawn was in the Jacuzzi making out with some lucky college boy while a few other guests lounged on the nearby deck chairs. They seemed to be ignoring Fawn's little play-date. They were probably too jaded by wild group action and other kinky stuff to care about a college boy and a hick town girl. But Cass found it intriguing. She was a voyeur at heart. If she'd continued on her initial post military drinking and partying trajectory she might have actually have graduated to become a full blown sex and drug addled degenerate.

What really got her attention was Fawn's demeanor. Without a crowd and cameras she was just a shy girl making out with a cute boy. Cass couldn't help thinking that after her descent into porn stardom Fawn might someday look back on this, fondly remembering the nights when she was just a regular girl.

Cass watched as they kissed, awkwardly at first, before quickly falling into a rhythm. The lucky guy moved down, tasting Fawn's ample breasts. The new club was already living up to its name. He dabbed his tongue on her nipples, then began to suck on them alternately. Fawn cooed softly, loving the attention.

Cass took a step back into the shadows so she could enjoy the show more discreetly. The couple were a little drunk, a little clumsy, but very cute. Although she couldn’t see it, she knew Fawn was stroking his cock beneath the water. It was probably rock hard already, she knew, getting a little turned on herself.

The college boy hopped up, and sat on the edge of the Jacuzzi. Cass had been right; he was fully erect and ready to go. He had apparently lost his shorts a little earlier, assuming he had been wearing any to start with. Fawn pushed her head between his legs, kissing his inner thighs while stroking him. She slowly ran her tongue along his shaft, never breaking eye contact. She was definitely studying to be a star.

College boy moaned, "Oh that feels so good."

Fawn slipped his cock into her mouth, savoring every inch.

Cass could tell college boy was fighting for control, holding back the urge to release already. Fawn continued sucking away until his entire cock was down her throat. Fawn clearly had a gift for oral sex. Practice does make perfect, she reasoned.

The boy slid back into the water, coaxing Fawn to take his place. As she did, he spread her legs wide and kissed her inner thighs.

"Oh, that's nice, yeah keep going," Fawn moaned.

Cass fought the urge to laugh. She didn’t think College boy was really so much interested in pleasuring Fawn as he just wanted a time out to keep from shooting his wad during the first round. Having said that, he was still a pretty enthusiastic pussy eater from what she could tell.

His tongue ran across her labia before he parted her lips and poked it inside.

Fawn's legs stretched out, toes curled as he dug in. It wasn't gentle kissing; he was running his full tongue across her pussy, increasing the tempo with each lick.