Surrender The Booty (3 page)

“I jumped in earlier to cool myself off after …” He laughed. “You can figure out why.”

“It was the same when you got the fruit?”

“Worse when you were with me.” He cocked a lopsided smile.

“But I reckon that’s to be expected.”

“Maybe we’re just tired. Or it’s a natural reaction to the stress of what we went through.” She grasped at straws and looked hard at the seemingly innocent paradise that surrounded them. “What’s that?”

She pointed to a rectangular shape covered with a dense flowering vine.

“A cabin. It’s not fancy, but it’s held up to the elements pretty well.”

“Does it have electricity?”

He chuckled. “We wish.”

“Is it …” She hesitated. “Did you feel the same when you were in the cabin?”

“It wasn’t as intense. My head cleared for a minute and then a breeze picked up and my hormones got jacked up again.”

“The beach doesn’t affect us like that. Do you think it’s just here in the garden, or is the whole interior of the island an aphrodisiac?”

“I guess we’ll find out when we look the place over.”

There were worse things than testing pheromone-laced air with a gorgeous man. But she couldn’t tour the island with Trevor and not Jose.

“Maybe you and Jose should take a look around, and I’ll stay on the beach.”

He didn’t look sure, but he didn’t argue.

18

Carmie L’Rae

She reached deep for her professional voice, not that she’d used it much when she was buck naked. Well, maybe once. Only they weren’t role-playing. He was her client, and she was standing a foot away from him without a stitch of clothes on. She cleared her throat.

“The island is two miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide at its widest point on the south end. A quarter-mile wide at its most narrow point on the north end. Shaped like a …” She caught herself before she said what the island’s unusual shape reminded her of.

“Shaped like what?” His eyes glittered and a wicked smile spread across his lips.

“You’ve seen the aerials haven’t you?”

He smile widened into a broad grin. “Shaped like a cock out in the middle of the sea.” He laughed. “Maybe that explains what we experienced.”

“A phallic island with sex-enhancing air.” She giggled and hugged her bare breasts. “This place would be overrun with condos if word got out.”

Trevor’s face grew grim. “Let’s keep it to ourselves, all right?”

“Like I said, I’ll divulge everything I know to Jose.”

“He’ll keep hush about it. He doesn’t even want anyone to know he’s looking at this place.”

The men had been friendly with one another on the boat, and neither of them seemed the cutthroat type. But still. There was one island, and two men who wanted it. Things could get ugly fast.

She bent her knees and sank shoulder deep, letting the warm water caress her back. She trailed her fingertips over her arms and let her head fall back. Sand from the beach clung to her hair and scalp. She submerged completely, rinsing her face and running her hands through her hair.

“Let me,” Trevor said, circling behind her. He ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed gently along the back of her scalp.

“Caribbean sand will stick in places you never imagined,” he said.

Surrender the Booty

19

He rinsed her hair, parting the tangled strands carefully and plucking out small clumps of sand that had become trapped in her tresses. His knuckles brushed her neck with a touch that was gentle and seductive. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of the flowers surrounding them. The island may be an aphrodisiac, but the warmth he spread through her veins right now was all his own doing.

Keeping things strictly professional had become impossible after the first kiss. Gorgeous men were hard enough to find. It’d be a shame to waste an opportunity like this. She laid her head against his shoulder and placed a soft kiss against his neck.

“Why does a cowboy want an island?” Her tongue darted out to lick the salt from his skin.

“I’ve got my reasons. And it ain’t so I can put up any goddamn condos.” His southern drawl became more prominent when his temper was riled.

She smiled against the straining tendon in his neck. “You’re sexy when you’re mad.”

“You ain’t seen me mad.” He turned her around, pressing her breasts into his chest and reaching below the water to cup her ass in his calloused hands. With one rough move, he lifted her, drawing her legs around his hips. The stiff ridge of his big cock teased her clit. He held her against him and ran a thumb slowly over her nipple. “Do I feel mad to you?” His lips moved against her temple. His kisses trailed to her ear.

She gripped his shoulders and shivered as the muscles shifted beneath her palms. Goosebumps spread across her skin and she leaned closer to his warmth.

“You’re the prettiest thing I ever laid eyes on,” he said. He wound a strand of her hair around his finger.

“I bet I’d look better beneath you,” she whispered.

“No doubt about that.” He flexed his hips, grinding his erection against her clit and spreading her folds with the broad base of his cock.

20

Carmie L’Rae

“Better let me prove it to you.” She nibbled at the scruff on his chin and sucked his bottom lip between hers.

Trevor speared his fingers through her hair and took full control of the kiss, sliding his tongue against hers, forcing her to submit completely. Normally, she’d want more foreplay. But not here. Not now. Not with him. She wanted him deep inside her, thrusting and easing the need that screamed from her core.

She tilted her hips, positioning the broad tip of his cock at her opening. He reached between them, running his fingers over her clit, rubbing and teasing. She squirmed in anticipation and swatted his hand away. He grabbed her hips, readying to give her what she wanted. She locked her ankles over his ass and broke the kiss so she could see the look in his eyes when he pushed himself inside. The pressure of his cock increased as she stretched to welcome him. His eyes darkened, and his breath heated her cheek.

She lay back, letting the water cushion and swirl around her breasts. She played with her nipples. “Don’t make me wait.” Her voice was hoarse, her body vibrated with anticipation.

“Oh, honey,” he said, tightening his grip on her hips. Like a movie in slow motion she watched the almost imperceptible withdrawal of his pelvis as he prepared to plunge inside. Her body arched in expectation. She kept her eyes focused on his.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt.” Jose’s voice jolted her, and Trevor’s head jerked around.

Jose’s bare feet were planted on the stone surrounding the pool.

His dark eyes were black as midnight, his chest heaved, and his designer jeans barely contained his bulging hard-on. The sun glinted on his dark hair and a faint sheen of perspiration accented his olive skin. The garden had him under its spell.

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21

Bella recognized the haze in Jose’s eyes as he hesitated at the side of the pool.

“Who slipped me the Spanish fly?” He clenched his fists and swallowed hard, as if fighting off a desire he could barely managed to contain.

“Come in the water,” she said. “It’ll help.”

“I doubt that.” His gaze fell to her breasts and his hand gripped a wet leather satchel he’d slung over his shoulder. “Only one thing’s going to help.”

Bella unhooked her legs from Trevor’s waist and made her way to the side of the pool. She reached up for Jose.

“Get in.” In an attempt to get his mind off the sex he craved, she asked, “Any sign of the captain?”

“Doesn’t look like he made it.”

His words weighed on her heart. The sea was unforgiving and unpredictable.

“I’m surprised any of us are alive,” Trevor said.

Bella swallowed back the fear that surfaced whenever her mind went back to their struggle to make it ashore. She was a strong swimmer, but without these men, she wouldn’t have made it to the island. It had taken all three of them and every ounce of determination they could muster to make it as far as they had. The coming days wouldn’t be easy, but nothing could be harder than what they’d already endured. Together. She reached beneath the bottom of Jose’s jeans and held his ankle in her wet hand. “You need to get in,” she said again.

22

Carmie L’Rae

He pulled his shirt over his head and reached for his fly. His hands hovered for a brief second before he twisted the button and shoved the jeans to the ground. No underwear peeked from the puddle of denim at his feet. He
would
go commando.

Bella kept her head down, focusing on his neatly trimmed toenails and the shock of dark hair on the tops of his long feet. She closed her eyes, resisting the temptation to see if what they said about men with big feet was true for Jose. She had a feeling he would prove that myth in a spectacular fashion.

He kicked out of his jeans and dropped into the pool. He splashed his face then sank to the bottom and submerged himself for several long seconds. The breath Bella had been holding came out in a rush.

God, how could she be so attracted to two men at the same time? If she had to choose one right now, she wouldn’t be able to do it.

Jose came up and gave his hair a shake. The longish strands swung out from his head and droplets of shed water sprayed across Bella’s chest.

He let out a low whistle. “I guess we know how this island got its name.”

“Isla de Amantes?” Bella asked.

“Lovers Island,” Jose translated. “What in the hell happened after I crossed that dune?”

Trevor cleared his throat. “It happened to all of us. And I’m guessing it’ll happen again as soon as we get out of this pool.”

Jose arched a brow at Bella. “Let me apologize ahead of time then, because I’m sure to cross a line.”

Trevor grunted. “Maybe we need to get out separately. Head back to the beach one at a time.”

“Is this pool what you meant by drinking water?” Bella asked Trevor. Her mouth suddenly felt drier than it had on the beach.

“No. There’s another little waterfall on the other side of the cabin.

An old tin ladle is hanging on one of the rocks. I drank from it earlier.

It’s good.”

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23

Bella made her way to the side of the pool and readied to push herself up. “I’m going to forget all about the water as soon as I get out of here. There’s only going to be one thing I’ll want.”

“Stay focused. Hurry over there. Then hurry back.” Trevor ran his hand through his short blond hair, not looking convinced his plan would work.

“We’re right here if you get in trouble,” Jose said.

She laughed. “What are you going to do? Get out and get yourself as horny as I’ll be?”

“We’ll figure something out,” Trevor said. “Go on and get a drink. You’re dehydrated. We all are.”

She swung her knee onto the rough rock and climbed out. She didn’t bother with her clothes, just kept her eyes on the flowering vine that covered the back of the cabin. The soft sand shifted beneath her feet and a sweet scent filled her nose. A familiar cloud swirled around her senses.

“Hurry,” Trevor called.

She resisted the urge to look back at the men in the pool, knowing without a doubt she’d run to them both if she did. She willed one foot in front of the other, picking up the pace as she went.

By the time she reached the cabin her body prickled with sexual arousal. A delicious ache throbbed between her legs. The urge was so strong she reached down to touch herself. Relief was instantaneous, but fleeting. She continued past the weathered wood structure. Only a dozen paces from the front door the land rose into a rock covered hill.

A tiny stream trickled down, falling the last couple of feet into a rocky basin. And there, just as Trevor had said, hung an old tin ladle, well used. Its curved handle fit neatly around the sharp edge of a jutting rock.

The ladle was cool in her hand and the water cold on her tongue.

She drank fast, relishing the icy burn that slid down her throat. A shadow in the corner of her eye startled her. She dropped the ladle.

24

Carmie L’Rae

No one was there, but for a moment she’d seen her brother, J.P., standing, although he hadn’t been able to stand for years.

Worry squeezed her heart. J.P. needed her. He wouldn’t understand if she wasn’t there to visit him tomorrow like she did every Sunday to curl up in his bed together and watch the small television in his room until he fell asleep. She had never missed a Sunday with him. Not ever. But that was a small problem compared to the elephant she carried on her shoulders. If she couldn’t sell this island to either Trevor or Jose, she’d never afford the mounting expense of J.P.’s care.

She closed her eyes, refusing to think about what might happen to her brother if he had to be removed from the private nursing facility he’d lived in for the past decade. He would never comprehend the whys. And she wouldn’t let that happen.

One way or another, she would get off this island and deliver a signed contract to the owner of this property. Guilt tickled her conscience. If Trevor bought the property, the full commission on the sale would be hers. If Jose bought it, she’d have to split the commission with Maxine, and she needed every dime she could get for J.P.’s care.

A breeze rustled a hibiscus covered in red blooms that grew at the base of the hill. She spun around, taking in her surroundings. The fog had lifted from her mind. Her naked body no longer felt crazed for sex. Had the same thing happened to Trevor when he drank from the waterfall? Why hadn’t he said so?

The door to the cabin stood ajar. Strings of shells clattered in the open windows, and the vine that covered the back of the house hung like streamers from the thatch awning that ran the length of the house, like a front porch. There was no wood or concrete floor, just thick white sand. A hammock hung in the shade at either end. Although the house had obviously been abandoned, it didn’t feel deserted. There was a sense that the people who lived there would return at any time, like they’d just stepped out for a stroll along the beach.