Faded Cotton (Erotic Romance) (7 page)

He was proud of this installation. Nothing
had been left out of the command center he’d help design—intuitive,
ingenious and the right people to man it. He’d been responsible for
much of the final implementation as well.

The whole purpose of the island compound was
protection. It had seen its share of dignitaries, both foreign and
domestic. It had seen its share of high profile prisoners too. In
use for training and available to him with his connections, it was
perfect for Jake’s use: protecting Laurel.

“Lieutenant, I’ll be on the beach for the
rest of the afternoon. Inform me immediately of any new
developments.”

“Aye, aye sir,” came from his intel
officer.

Jake was pretty sure no one would come
looking for trouble there. The place was almost impossible to
detect from air or sea. It would take sophisticated equipment to
find the installation since they were off grid. He was on a
Department of Defense approved Special Ops training mission as far
as anyone knew. If the enemy was going to stir something up, they
were going to have a hell of a fight on their hands.

__________________________

Laurel’s late lunch had company. “Sit down,
Jen, honey,” she directed.

Not seeing another choice for company or
food, Jen complied stoically, sitting in the same position as the
evening before.

“I’m not honey or babe or whatever. I’m a
damn police captain and I earned it,” she retorted.

“Ewww weee, what a mouth! You need someone to
call you those names, sweetie. Hey, since you and I are the only
unattached females on the whole damn island who aren’t working,
what do you say we keep each other company?” Laurel ran on as she
usually did, covering more than one subject at a time.

“Fine,” Jen agreed, hoping to get her current
companion to shut up.

“Now, I’m hungry. How do we get some food in
this place?” Laurel might be the only one who could help her piece
together the puzzle of why she was on the island; Jen figured she
would have to endure. Guards watched over them as they ate.

__________________________

Much to Laurel’s surprise, she’d arrived with
a wardrobe of her own clothes and several gifts. Flip-flops,
swimsuit, sunglasses, a sarong, and plenty of suntan lotion, had
been placed in a dresser drawer. She was impressed, but especially
with the swimming suit—Ocean blue bottoms, and matching tank with a
deep V, that showed off her ample cleavage.

Jake.
Her wardrobe had to have been
put together at his direction. He always liked her in blue. She
donned the suit and sarong. Gathering her things, she headed to the
hall to find Jen Delaney.

At the same time Laurel exited her room, Jen
opened her door across the hall.

“There you are.”

This is going to get old quick, Jen thought.
She kept her emotions in check, her face expressionless. They
proceeded down the wide hall and made their way to the cabanas on
the shore.

The island’s U-shape formed a beautiful,
protected cove; the deepest part was the center of the island. Its
inner part ran wide and deep with mountains rising behind, forming
the inner haven. A camouflaged runway was the only division between
the lush tropical forest that met the mountainside and the
manicured grounds of the compound that surrounded the cove.

__________________________

Not having any excuse not to, Jen had put on
the black bikini that she’d found in her dresser. Wow! She admired
her shape in the mirror. She wasn’t thin, but fit and strong,
shapely. Her breasts filled the cups of the top easily. Nice, she
thought—wonder who picked this out?

The bottoms didn’t cover much. Walking
through the white sand, she wondered how she could look that good
and there be no one to enjoy it with her. Maybe Adam MacClain?
Maybe she needed to chill out a little and let someone get close to
her for a change.

__________________________

“So, who are you, and exactly why are you so
important that all this is warranted?” Jen had gotten right to the
point as she started to drill Laurel.

Laurel took a long, cool drink from her
glass, considering the question, “I’m just a widowed farm wife from
Missouri.”

“Come on, the charges we had you up
on—prostitution and money laundering—there has to be something
going on. You’re obviously never going to grace the inside of a
courtroom, so how about a confession so I can at least justify
being knocked out cold and drug off to an island in the middle of
nowhere.”

“Middle of the Caribbean, I’m pretty sure.
Ms. Delaney, I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve loved some wonderful
men, but never done what you are accusing me of.” Laurel peered at
her over her new sunglasses.

“What about the new truck? The large diamond
studs you wear, the new tractor, and all the other high ticket
items you have given and received over the past few years?”

“Gifts. Some for me to pass on, some for me
to hang on to. Did you pay attention at dinner? Each one of these
men and their wives have a strong connection to me. I love them and
they love me. You met my son, Adam, and Jake’s son-Jess, and Seth.
All the others have come to work on my farm over the past ten years
or so since Jahn died. They were all over eighteen, willing to work
and stay. I have never
sold
myself. The gifts? The gifts
were all no strings attached. No one has a vested interest in the
farm except Shannon, Adam, and I. Well, and Derrick. He’s the
executor. Derrick is named on a life insurance policy as part
beneficiary, too. My choice. He owns the stallion that stands at
the farm, Big. I gave him to him as a gift years ago. Derrick lived
with me for about six months and has looked out for my interests
ever since. His wife Kate is my attorney.”

“Well that would explain how you
know
the ADA, but why is Derrick so important to you that he’s on your
life insurance?” Jen pried.

“Nosey lil' thing, aren’t you? I just got
through telling you most of my private business, and now you want
details? Derrick is a story for another day. Tell me about you. Who
is Jen Delaney, police captain?” Laurel redirected not wanting to
give intimate details to someone she barely knew.

Who
is
Jen Delaney? Had she lost
herself somehow?

“I don’t know,” she replied quietly. Whether
it was the circumstances, lack of sleep or loneliness, she didn’t
know why she had cracked, her guard threatening to drop
altogether.

“Well let’s find out. Race you to the water!”
Laurel jumped up and Jen met the challenge. Jen wasn’t one to back
away from a contest and this one was a sure thing she figured.
Running full tilt into the sparkling blue water was too appealing
not to participate. The splash of the cool drops felt good on her
hot skin. Both women pushed out to deeper water so they could sit
up to their shoulders. Laughing like children, they splashed and
played, throwing water on each other.

“Ohhh, this feels so good.” Laurel let out a
long sigh of satisfaction. ”I’ve wanted to do this for so, so
long.”

“I admit it feels great.” A smile crept back
in. “Oh wow, look at the fish!” Jen’s face lit up and a moment of
pure joy beamed radiantly on her face.

Just as quickly, her face fell, and she was
serious once more. “I’m adopted.”

It was as if someone had flipped a switch.
She wouldn’t face Laurel, but looked out toward the end of the cove
where the protected waters met the ocean. Bubbly and smiley were
quickly replaced by her previous cool, unflinching demeanor. “You
asked me to tell about myself.”

“And?”

“And, I lost both my biological parents to a
hit-and-run driver when I was seven. No relatives except an
alcoholic aunt who was in prison. My adoptive parents are great
people. I love them very much. I have a sister, too.” She stopped,
and considered them for a minute.

“But—they are
all
driving me
crazy.”

“Why?” Laurel wasn’t about to get that much
and not push farther.

“They want me to settle down. The corners of
her mouth started to turn up and the smile gave way to a snicker.
“Like that’s ever going to happen!”

Laurel laughed with Jen until they both sat
silent staring into the water.

“Why?” Laurel turned her head and looked at
Jen.

“Why what?” Jen asked.

“Why can’t you see yourself married with a
husband and babies?” Laurel posed the question gently.

Still sitting in the water, Jen hugged
herself tightly as the water treated her bent legs like islands,
water surrounding them. She laid her head on her knees and gazed
off into the distance.

“None of them ever understand me or they
can’t handle my success or my schedule or something.”

“Judging from the tough shell you retreat
into, it’s gonna take one hell of a guy to crack
that
safe,
sweetie. Give them a chance. I’m not saying that you don’t deserve
your career. I’m just saying it isn’t your only choice.”

“I used to think I could save the world, you
know?”

Laurel nodded for her to go on.

“But I can’t. Solve a few crimes, process a
few criminals into the revolving door system. A few big cases, but
it no longer holds for me what it did as I worked my way up. I just
don’t know where to go from here. I suddenly don’t give a shit
anymore. I’m thirty for Pete’s sake.” She buried her face into her
knees and sighed.

“If there is one thing I’ve learned, it is
that we
can
change, adapt and go on.” Laurel encouraged her.
“Jen, you can have your career
and
a family or walk away all
together. Cake is made for eating. It looks so good, but if you
don’t take a bite, you can’t taste it.”

“But it’s all I know,” Jen breathed.

“Yes, and that’s the problem. You have to
walk away from your comfort zone to see where it could lead you. My
family didn’t think I needed to go to college, but I did. I’m
better off for it. I went part-time until I finished my degree. I
still wound up running the farm, but I’m better at it than I would
have been otherwise. I’m part owner of a restaurant, too. I’ve been
able to do things I wouldn’t have been able to do if I hadn’t
stepped outside my comfort zone. If we ever get out of this mess,
you need to come to the farm and stay a while I think.”

“Maybe.” Jen felt trapped and didn’t really
know how or what she needed to do to change it.

They sat in silence for a while enjoying the
changing tide and the gentle touch of the waves. Jen broke in,
“Think we can get a massage?” She laughed. “We are supposed to be
on vacation, right?”

“Mmmhmm!” Laurel agreed. The two women headed
back to the main house together, both feeling as if they had made a
new friend.

__________________________

Early evening approached and Jen found
herself relaxing at the hands of an experienced massage therapist.
She wasn’t quite sure how the masseuse found kinks she didn’t know
she had, but it felt fantastic. Her eyes closed and she allowed
herself to relax. Jen pondered what Laurel had said. Could she just
walk away? Do something different? Maybe get married and do the
happily-ever-after thing? What was keeping her from it? Why wasn’t
there a man in her life?

It slammed into her with the force of a
freight train. Jolted, she opened her eyes and lifted her head,
reorienting.
The
cold case—her parents’ death. The therapist
gently pushed her head back down commanding her to relax. The case
had spurred her toward police work and driven her to excel in the
field, but she still hadn’t solved it.

It haunted her. No team she had ever assigned
it to, could come up with anything more than she had. What was
missing in her thought process? She had to go back to the
beginning, dig harder, ask more questions, and push farther. At
least it would give her something to do while she was stuck on the
island. It was time to be freed from her continual life limbo. With
a clear goal in mind, Jen relaxed fully and nearly slept through
the rest of the massage.

Sinking into the center of her plush bed, Jen
didn’t feel like she wanted to move. She’d dried her hair, but was
so relaxed she couldn’t bear the idea of putting clothes on. For
once, naked felt incredible, liberating,—sexy. Her mind wondered to
Adam. He was an ass, but then again, an incredibly hot ass.

She fit him, and he her. It wasn’t easy to
find a man that was capable of winding around her tall, strong
frame, but Adam MacClain was certainly a candidate. Hell, he’d
picked her up, thrown her over his shoulder, and carried her from
the beach all the way back to the house, the first time she’d tried
to run. The view had been incredible. Strong back, powerful
legs—between,
oh lord
. She’d had to resist the urge to grab
it just to see what it felt like.

Thoughts of him awakened a deep over powering
sensation that filled her core and radiated outward like
electricity surging through her veins. The peaks of her breasts
revealed her want. Naked and alone, with no schedule to keep, she
allowed herself a very personal luxury.

__________________________

Adam MacClain had only gone to check on his
charge that evening. Relieving the guards at her patio door, his
goal was to get Jen to talk to him—have a real conversation. God,
she was something else. He’d have to be careful to make sure he
kept his mind, and his body separated, so he could keep a clear
head around her. When he came near the glass doors that faced the
beach, he realized what he was having the privilege of seeing.

Adam stayed behind the decorative, potted
shrubs, him just out of sight and her in full view. He froze in
awe. He was transfixed by her beauty.
Damn.
Her long, golden
blonde hair was down. It flowed across the pillow, framing her
angular face, and melting around her feminine shoulders. She was
tall, and strong, not thin, but not round, toned. Lovely pink-brown
nipples sat as amazingly hard peaks high upon round, beautiful
breasts that he knew would feel incredible in his hands. His mouth
watered.