Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

E vangeline

As I headed into the suite, I could hear music. Our friend, and the bride to be, had almost died and the others were still festive? I think they had their priorities a little screwed up. I tossed my purse onto the coffee table, finding them at the end of the large room. I smacked my hands on my hips, shaking my head. They were already having another drink, laughing and talking as if nothing had occurred.

“I at least assume our friend is safe, well taken care of and in no danger?” You bet my tone was accusatory.

Rachel looked over first, almost allowing her lips to form into a pout. How old were we? We certainly weren’t in high school any longer, every single one of us professionals now, living our own lives.

“Oh, stop being a mother hen,” she said. “We had a hero and you jumped in as well.”

I held my tongue and it took all I had not to rip them all new assholes. As I sucked in my breath, I realized what she’d just said. “I am not a mother hen.”

“Uh-huh,” the three of them said collectively.

“Fine,” I hissed, walking past the group toward one of two bathrooms. I didn’t have time for childish antics.

“Don’t go away angry. That guy was hot, hot, hot.”

I stopped short, turning back around. As soon as I noticed Ashley was fanning her face, a tiny bit of jealousy rolled into me. How crazy was that? I didn’t know the man, but I felt green with what, envy?

That was the thing about good-looking men; they were usually as infuriating as they were sexy. “That guy is the owner of this fine establishment. If something more drastic would have happened with Heidi, what do you think he would have done? Tossed us off. He might be hot, but this is his place. I’m going to take a hot shower.”

“Then come join us for a drink!” Kristen called after me.

Not a chance in hell. I needed a little time alone. This was the reason we weren’t roomies and had never been. Maybe I couldn’t stand women. I did like my privacy, which was healing if nothing else. I resisted slamming the bathroom door, grabbing one of the fresh towels. Yes, the man was sexy. I’d need to be blind to think anything else.

But that meant shit in my book.

Plus, the man had made it pretty clear he didn’t like me either.

As I turned on the water, I realized in addition to my nipples being tight, my pussy was throbbing, my core enflamed.

That infuriated me even more than the man himself. Men were the problem with the world.

Snickering, I yanked off my clothes, tossing them to the side before stepping in. The hot water felt good, eliminating the bitter chill as the beads coming from two heads peppered my naked body. That helped make every inch of skin more sensitized. I turned around, ensuring I was wet everywhere, raking my hands through my long hair.

The action gave me another reminder I was aroused. That just didn’t happen. What was wrong with me, a powerful man challenged my senses?

Whatever the case, I was determined to ignore my wants and needs.

Forever.

Yet after adding shampoo to my hair, I found myself rolling my palms down my stomach, a single finger finding my clit. I had trusty vibrators to provide whatever pleasure I needed, my hand a distant second but right now, my body screamed for relief of some kind.

There was no shame in masturbating. Not in this day and time of the world. It was much safer on every level than being with a man. I was undulating my hips within seconds, wishing I didn’t have his chiseled face firmly planted in the forefront of my mind.

But I did.

I used a second and third finger, driving them up and down the length of my pussy. While water was running over me, it was obvious how wet and slick I was with anticipation. Of what? Not him.

He could be the bane of my existence while I was here.

Panting, I was shocked when perspiration dripped in my eyes within seconds, the sting maybe something I deserved for gawking at him. As the pleasure began to build, my breathing became more ragged. I finally closed my eyes, forced to place one hand on the shower tile. I wanted to dig my hand into the cool marble, but I refrained from doing so.

I certainly didn’t want to pay for an entire slab with what I made.

And more important, with the extra expenses I had.

All. By. Myself.

When I drove my fingers deep inside, I was certain I would come on the spot. Another strangled breath left my throat and I bit it back. The last thing I needed were the girls coming in to see if something horrible had happened.

It felt good to let myself go, even if I was all alone. The last thing I needed, especially right now, was a man in my life. I wanted to relish the previous good times but I hated my ex too much.

My mind foggy, I shifted my thoughts to the hunky hero.

I could feel the pressure building, especially when I pressed my thumb against my clit, holding it there while I continued to pleasure myself. It didn’t take long until my toes started to curl, a sweeping orgasm pulsing through me. I threw my head back, taking gasping breaths. The thing I’d come to realize was that I could never replace a man, that is if he was good at pleasuring a woman, but if this was what life was at this moment, so be it.

Life was full of important duties. Sex wasn’t one of them.

As the ripple effect started to fade, I continued to hear an echoing hum in my ears from the vibrations. And my mind betrayed me by picturing that man, a hero who was nothing but a jerk. Oh, well. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to deal with him ever again. Owner or not, I was fairly certain he had far more important things to take care of.

As I finished my shower, I refused to think about Gage. Why bother? He was out of my reach anyway. I’d seen him in glossy internet pics, his arm firmly entwined with some hot chick in a dress I could never afford. I was a pauper in comparison. My parents had worked hard but often it hadn’t been good enough. There was never enough money for anything extra, like vacations. But I’d learned what to value and respect of the few things we had. And our family time together.

Which is what I thought I’d found in Joseph. All I’d really learned is that men could snow you with their charm and cunning smile. Once lured in, the switch was quick, becoming idiots, abusers, or just assholes.

I turned the water off, thankful I’d realized his true personality early. Even if he was being a butthead right now.

Time to get dressed, dry my hair, and have some alone time on a tropical island. Honestly, other than the glow and show of my honeymoon, I’d been to the Bahamas only once. That was basically it as far as the tropics.

My friends on the other hand had been to dozens of incredible locations. They’d been born with silver spoons in their mouths. I couldn’t fault them. They’d never treated me as a less than equal partner in crime. It was a phrase we’d coined early.

Barely fifteen minutes later, I was in another tropical dress, one of the few treats I’d allowed myself even though the attire had come from a discount store. My hair at last dried, although I’d tied the unruly curls in a ponytail holder.

Time to have a little fun. I plastered on a smile. Who knew. Maybe I could have a drink with a hot guy. That might be technically considered flirting, even if I had no intention of having a fling.

Nope.

Not this girl.

I slipped through the living room, likely because the girls were too drunk to notice, grabbing my purse and heading out. It also felt good to be slinking around like some criminal. As I headed to the elevator, I laughed softly to myself. At least I was feeling better mentally.

Emotionally would always be another story, an ugly one that took at least a full bottle of wine to tell.

Gage

My two brothers I’d consider wild children. They’d been told more than once all the risks they enjoyed taking would come back to bite them. They had, but not in the way my mother had been worried about. There’d been no skydiving accidents, no mauling by tigers or wrecks on the racetrack.

Just a few run-ins with the law.

But given my father’s influence, those had been handled quickly.

I’d been the studious one, the kid who enjoyed his education, craving more. I’d been afraid of heights, claustrophobic, and my terror involving all creatures at Halloween had made me fodder for my brothers. They’d even chased me dressed as the monster from the Halloween movie chain and my personal favorite, the one I’d been goaded into seeing, Freddy Kruger.

Yeah, those nightmares had almost made me resort to peeing in the bed all over again like I was five.

Thankfully, I’d grown out of most fears. But that didn’t mean I wanted to jump out of a perfectly good plane.

I chuckled all the way down in the elevator, realizing I’d changed a hell of a lot over the past few years, enough so my brothers no longer enjoyed opportunities to make fun of the scaredy cat in the family.

I headed through the main lobby, checking out the two casinos. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Thankfully. There were no screams of drunk women and no cries for help. Maybe I could have a quiet drink after all.

“Sir. I have a purchase order if you don’t mind signing it.” The young man was a new hire, second in command to the series of chefs I’d hired. He was on the administrative side, certainly not considered a cook himself. But he’d organized the creative yet vulnerable group, two of which continued to have tantrums when they didn’t get their way.

“Of course.” I took the iPad from him, flipping through the various screens. Only when I noticed octopus did I lift my head, furrowing my eyebrows. “Octopus?”

“Oh, yeah. They’ve cooked up some pretty interesting and very creative dinners.”

“I’ll say. And no, I won’t taste the dish.” I finally signed off, handing him back the computer. “Thanks, Mark. I’m glad you found me.”

“Yes, sir. I’m like a lion, a predator. I always find what I want.”

I glanced at him in amusement. “I’ll keep that in mind.” I headed through the crowd, narrowly avoiding being accosted again, although I had a few regulars nod out of respect or wave, which didn’t bother me.

Our regular members had been both pains in the ass and godsends, our bread and butter. Now I catered to them rarely, mostly allowing the doms and subs on my employee roster to handle that.

I was going to head to one of the smaller, darker cigar bars that the three of us had insisted on having in both resorts. It was usually catering to men but there were always a few women who loved a good Cuban. I was headed in that direction when I realized I should probably check the pool area. It was one of three pools, but the one where the almost drowning had occurred was the main focus.

For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved Henley. I usually only wore shorts when I stayed at the private bungalow. But it was after nine, most guests already having left the pool area.

It was still warm, the incredible LED lights shifting colors. While there was some activity at the tiki bar, a few guests enjoying drinks and more tropical music, there were not that many. I moved down the side where CPR had been performed. There was no sign of anything happening.

Although I was certain it would be the buzz at breakfast the next morning.

As I rounded the corner, something caught my attention.

Not something.

Someone.

I stood in the shadows, studying the beauty sitting at the end of the bar. With her long legs ending in sandals, her hair in a ponytail, she was a vision of loveliness. I debated ignoring her, but the electric connection held my curiosity. Why did she of all women spark my interest? There was only one way of finding out.

How she was sitting on the stool blinded her to my approach. Fortunately, there were a couple of spaces next to her at the bar. As soon as I arrived, slipping next to her, the bartender acknowledged me immediately. There wasn’t a single man or woman working behind the bar who didn’t know what I preferred to drink.

Without the man asking what I wanted, he began to pull my personal favorite brand of whiskey from the top shelf, making it just the way I preferred. I was odd in that I preferred the liquor chilled, a lemon rind rimming the edge of the glass. With flair, he eased the cocktail napkin down, placing the drink in the center.

Up until then, the beautiful Evangeline hadn’t paid much attention. Only then did she turn her head slightly after the bartender issued his traditional salute. It was just something that had gotten started the day he’d been hired. He liked to call me the captain.

I settled back in the barstool, trying to keep from chuckling like the evil man I truly was.

She barely turned her head, just enough to see me, instead concentrating on a martini of some type. We sat in silence for a couple of minutes and I was going to allow her to be the first one who said anything.

When she did, it was with that caustic mouth of hers. “Do people always do your bidding? Do they consider you some celebrity and need to kowtow to you as a requirement for their membership?”

“Absolutely. It’s written in their membership agreements.” I knew that would get to her. Now she snapped her head in my direction, glaring at me as if I was an alien who’d just landed.

“You are perhaps the most arrogant, self-centered ass I’ve ever met and I assure you, I’ve met lots.” Her voice was still charming, even if it had an edge to it.

“Why, thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

The way she lifted her drink, studying my face with such venomous eyes meant she was considering tossing the drink in my face. I’d had it happen plenty of times, but watching her mentally struggling with the decision was more fun than I’d had in a long time.

“Bastard.”

“I don’t think you really want to waste extremely good vodka and blue curacao. I’m certain Tommy over there can provide you with a cheap alternative that might even stain my shirt. If that’s what you want.”

At first, I thought for certain she was going to blow a gasket but instead, she smiled sweetly, even placing her palm against my shirt. When she crumpled her fingers around the soft material, I was certain I heard her purr.

“Now, why would I ruin a perfectly good shirt when it’s the jerk I’d be going after?”

She had a way of making me laugh, another rarity. “Well, you do have a fairly good point. Are you always so negative to someone who saved your friend’s life?”

The moment she pointed a finger in my face, even daring to brush the tip across my lip, I wasn’t certain entertaining her… vengeance had been in my best interest. Given my shorts were fairly tight, I was certain she could tell how aroused she made me.

In fact, it was as if she was reading my mind, sliding her gaze to my crotch, daring to continue being a bad girl by licking her bottom lip. Damn, the sexy move was hot as Hades.

“I’ll remind you, buster, that we saved her life. You and I.”

“Ah, yes. The perfect team.”

“We aren’t a team, just two people who actually gave a damn.”

“A real compliment. That looks much better on you, lovely Evangeline.” I don’t know if she had been surprised I’d remembered her name or what, but her features softened somewhat. When they did, it was easy to think of her as the most incredible, exciting woman alive.

“Touché,” she said, lifting her glass. “Another thank you to a real hero.”

Even though I knew a touch of sarcasm lingered in her attempt at a real compliment, I had a feeling at that moment she was going through some shit. That was the only account for the hard edge of her voice and the sadness in her eyes. I’d become pretty good at reading people.

Some asshole had hurt her, jading her once happy go lucky personality.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot. Why don’t you allow me to introduce myself in a different way?”

“Why the hell not?”

I held out my hand for a shake, which seemed to surprise her again. “My name is Gage Royal. I’m one of three brothers who own the joint. We were shocked to find the two islands for a fairly cheap price, investing several days in the jungle living and avoiding wildlife before we made our decision to purchase both.” I allowed myself to laugh.

“Really?”

“Yeah, we did. I won’t lie; it was an awakening experience since up to that point our idea of camping had been glamping. In a hotel. However, it truly gave us an appreciation of the lay of the land, the beauty of Mother Nature, and the fact we weren’t going to consider what a couple investors had suggested, basically bulldozing so much of the beautiful foliage. We came back from our spur of the moment adventure sunburnt, sore, incapable of doing anything for a few days but with ideas that turned into a vision. It was truly a remarkable time, shaping us entirely differently.”

“What did your rich parents think about what you were doing?”

She’d been doing some research. I liked that. “That we were completely nuts. But we were dead set on the idea and nothing and no one could deter us. We designed both, hiring the right people to make the vision come true, but watching as our dreams were almost shattered several times was more difficult than just about anything. Between the hoops with two different governments, we had to jump through several times regarding getting water and electricity plants built, the construction delays and the exorbitant costs and other overruns, we almost killed each other by the end. But the Royal Players Club turned out more incredible than we’d ever dreamed.”

I had to scan the bar and surrounding area. She continued staring at me. “Why a kink club?”

I laughed, taking a sip of my drink. “Why not? We were members of stodgy clubs for old men. We started asking them what kind of club they would pay significantly to be a member of and the overwhelming and somewhat surprising answer was a private BDSM club. I’ll be honest with you, I thought the dudes were pulling our leg, but I was the one who did the research and there are plenty of BDSM clubs across the United States. But very few are private, and many are simply glow and show. No substance. No training. Some of what they did was scary.”

“Hmmm… I’ve been to one club in my life and the place looked like a dungeon, all the waiters and waitresses in dark hoods and wearing leather and chains. It was very gothic but nothing I wanted a part of.”

“Is that why you originally came here?”

She laughed. “Not me and I didn’t choose this location. Heidi’s family has more money than God. I guess her dad has a membership.”

I knew my eyebrows had lifted and this time when she laughed, the sound was entirely different. “I know. When she told me I think my mouth dropped open for like fifteen minutes. However, my mother had once told me to never judge a book by its cover. That what happened behind closed doors of anyone’s residence could be completely different than the way they portray themselves.”

“That is very true.”

“If only I’d heeded my mother’s advice of being very observant so I wouldn’t place myself in harm’s way. If only.”

The slight drop-off in her tone was a clear indication I’d been right before. “Then what do you think about the place?”

“I’m not the best judge of character, but you and your brothers did an amazing job of making this resort relaxing, the food inviting, the bartenders friendly, and the thought of being in a private space nicer than I would have imagined. So no one can get on or off the island without your permission?”

“That is correct. We take our privacy very seriously. So do our clients. This is their private space and time. They are allowed to live out their fantasies. If they did so in public, some would likely be crucified.”

She laughed again, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t think I want to know.”

“Probably not but just remember, everything is safe, sane, and consensual. We also take the safety and health of our clients seriously, which is why we hire the best and most trained people in the business.”

“Wow. I had no idea you could receive training to what, wield a whip?”

I leaned in, drinking in her incredible perfume. It was more floral than I liked but I had a feeling the choice had been more island driven. “The acts are considered a form of art. From wielding the various implements so as to not physically harm someone to the artwork and skill involved with Shibari, rope play, if someone doesn’t know what they are doing, they could either rob their submissive of the sheer joy of letting go or even permanently hurt or disfigure them.”

At least it would seem I’d impressed her for a change.

“Well, then I stand corrected. I honestly had no idea, not that I have a lot of time to surf the internet on BDSM clubs and methods.” Her smile was more genuine, more relaxed.

I did prefer her warm smile to the snarl. Whatever was going on in her life had wound her up tight, so much so she was jaded, not just guarded when it came to men.

Why was it I felt possessive and protective of a woman I’d just met?

And one who likely still hated me?