Interlude (30 page)

“Oh baby,” He said, his face buried in her
neck.

“Don't stop! Don't stop!” She gasped
helplessly. She was trapped in his grasp. Like a frightened
passenger on a roller coaster, she could only ride out the waves of
pleasure as he exploded inside of her. His thrusts slowed, and his
breathing returned to normal as he collapsed on top of her.

They both lazily rested on the towel. They
would have been quite a sight to any random beach goers! Cal's
shirt off, his pants around his ankles and Karen's bikini bottom
shot away to God only knows where. She listened to his quiet
breathing. She was glad to have him here. He always knew what she
needed. Not only was he great in bed, but he cooked like it was an
art form. He was strong and understanding. This weird, dangerous
life that she led only scared off normal guys, and the ones who
worked in the “Biz” tended to be dangerous and unstable. He was
just the opposite. He just wanted her, and he proved again and
again that that was the case. She trailed her fingers down his
chin, and over his strong neck muscles.

“Penny for your thoughts?” He queried
softly.

She looked down at him. “I'm just glad you're
with me.” She said quietly.

“Ditto babe,” He said, looking up at her with
a lazy smile.

“So, how did you find me here?” She asked,
remembering his little magic trick.

“When I switched out yours, and your
employee's, smart phones I installed my infamous mobile stalking
application. For the last week, I've been able to pinpoint you and
your crew's whereabouts to within ten feet.” He said
confidently.

Karen wasn't so sure she like this invasion
of privacy. “So, you know where I am at all times?” She asked
defensively.

“Only when I want to… This is the first time
I've used it. I figured finding you after flying half way around
the world was a justified use of my intrusive abilities.” He
finished with a smile.

She laid back and closed her eyes. “So,
you're not just stalking me all the time?” She joked.

“I don't really need to. I'm so tuned in to
you. I probably could have found you just by following my
instincts.” He said mildly.

Karen moved her toes in the sand. She ran her
leg up his body and said, “You make me feel so wanted.”

“Me too babe,” He said, “That reminds me,
what are you planning on doing here for two weeks? This is a great
island and all, but besides clubbing and sunbathing there's not
much else.” Cal said.

“I have a meeting with a client tomorrow
evening. After that, we have a week to ourselves before the
'convention'.” She said, her fingers forming air quotes around the
dubious name for the event.

Cal sat up and stretched. Karen looked as his
body through his open shirt. “Convention?” He asked
quizzically.

Karen shook her head and elaborated. “It's
actually lots more than a convention. There is a remote part of the
island that us 'runners use to showcase or buy weapons. Lots of it
is old military hardware from the Cold War. It usually ends up
being a big party. There will be tanks, helicopters, old fighter
jets, assault rifles, missile launchers. It's different every year,
but we always get something cool. Since we bought and sold the
Sikorskys, we have tons of capital for new expenditures.”

“So, if all of these guys are here with this
dangerous weaponry, why doesn't anybody stop them? Isn't there
Interpol, or the U.N, or something?” He asked.

“Actually, nobody will ever admit it, but
it's crawling with CIA. We all know that the CIA and MI5, that's
like the Brit version of our CIA, are all over the place.” Karen
paused, looking for words to describe the awkward arrangement.
“It's like when you were a teen, and you wanted to have a party.
Your parents offered to let you use the house, as long as you
didn't trash it. That way, they knew where you are and what you
would be doing.” She finished.

“I get it.” Cal said, adding, “They don't
condone it, but they get to watch who buys what, and what goes
where. That's actually kind of clever.” He realized.

Karen sat up and checked the time on her
phone. “Yeah, but these conventions usually devolve into chaos of
the partying kind. There's music, dancing, girls-” She paused,
eying Cal with mock suspicion, “and something always gets blown up!
It's like the Burning Man Festival, but with more explosions.” She
said with a reminiscent grin on her face.

“So, do you know what you'll be buying?” Cal
asked.

“That's the best part. Some of the stuff we
buy on the underground market originates from this convention, but
it’s completely random. From here, it moves through our circles of
influence like a commodity. You can track an item's value like a
stock. When the market is right, you sell high and reap the
profits. The guys, and girls, who make the most money, are the ones
who can read the world's conflicts. If they can buy a shipping
container of missiles for a closeout price, they can resell it
later to the right customer for a killing.” She said.

“You said girls. How many other female gun
runners are there?” He asked.

Karen smiled down to him as she stretched.
Cal watched her long arms unfold as she grunted lethargically.
“About half of us are 'girls'.” She said, emphasizing his word
choice. “Most of the other women are ex-provisions specialists from
the military forces of the world. Not all of them are as hot as me
though.” She said with a cocky smile. “Actually, the client we are
meeting with tomorrow is a girl. She's a little older than me, but
she's still a man killer. I sort of don't want to bring you,
because she can be flirty.”

Cal chuckled at her little streak of
insecurity. “Babe, you know you're the girl for me.” He said,
brushing the sand from her tush as she re-tied her bottom. She
flashed him a quick smile and continued.

“I know you're my faithful little knight, but
she's a different story. She's the daughter of a rich Saudi, and
she was very spoiled growing up. She wanted for nothing, and when
our fathers would do business, she took every opportunity to make
me feel like the awkward teenager that I was. She's beautiful, and
she's been spoiled to the point that it's made her almost
psychotic. She buys anything though, and she pays top dollar. So, I
tolerate her eccentric ways for the sake of the company. That being
said, she is still a boy crazy teenager at heart. She always has
some piece of mindless arm candy that she's showing off.” Karen
said.

Cal pondered the thought of a rich,
beautiful, dangerous arms dealing woman. What a strange new land he
was in! “So, the plan is to bring me to counteract her arm candy?”
He asked.

“No, you're intelligent and thoughtful. Her
guys usually tend to be models or other assorted male bimbos.
They're nice to look at, but there's nothing going on underneath.
She just keeps them around for sex and the occasional back rub.”
She said, adding, “It's kind of like they're male versions of harem
girls.” She looked to the ocean as the sun began to dip lower. “We
should get going. There's a great little restaurant around the
corner from my hotel, and I'm starved!”

Cal gathered up his stuff and walked with
Karen to the parking turnout. After negotiating the rickety stairs
together, Cal reached in his pocket and thumbed the unlock button
to his car. His cheeked reddened slightly as Karen turned to him
with her mouth agape. Parked next to her cute little blue SUV was
Cal's rental; A gleaming, black Aston Martin. Sensing her gaze on
him, he turned and gave her a boyish smile.

“An Aston Martin? Really? I've been in your
pants babe. You don't need to compensate for anything.” She joked.
She watched him put on his sunglasses and slowly button his shirt.
Although, seeing his beautiful frame standing next to that shiny,
black sports car was making her weak in the knees again. “Alright,
you do look pretty hot with it.” She admitted. She unlocked her
little SUV and started the engine. As Cal pushed the start button,
the Aston Martin's engine roared to life, and calmed back down to a
throaty growl. She yelled to him through the open top of her little
car, “Follow me. No passing!” He nodded and gave her a
thumbs-up.

Karen pulled out onto the main road. Her
little car chugging ahead of Cal's rumbling penis extension/car.
She laughed to herself as she watched him play with the various
buttons and knobs on the interior. From her rear view mirror, he
looked like an excited kid. Her hotel was in Sant Antony de
Portmany. It was a beautiful little villa-style hotel that always
seemed so romantic to her. Now, she would get to stay there with
Cal! She relished the thought of rolling around with him on the
canopy bed in her room. The crimson sheets, the damask duvet, just
the thought if it was driving her crazy!

After winding down the coastline, they came
to the Hotel Sol Bahia. As the last light of the long day dwindled,
she showed him up to her room on the second floor. The white stucco
walls retained the heat of the daytime sun as she leaned against
them, waiting for him to find a parking spot. She smiled and waved
to him from the balcony as he lugged his duffel bag from the
street.

“Can't you buy some decent luggage? You're
driving an Aston Martin for goodness sake!” She teased from her
high perch.

He smiled up at her as he found the stairway.
“Very funny! I'll have you know it's my security blanket. It's the
only thing from my former life that hasn't been set on fire,
blackmailed, or beaten unconscious.” He joked.

Karen gave him a timid shrug.

“Baby relax, I would do it all over again in
a heartbeat.” He leaned in to kiss her over his giant, smelly bag.
As he looked deep in her eyes he said, “I love you.”

Her heart sang as his sincere words
registered in her mind. “I love you too babe.” She said.

The quaint little room was a departure from
the luxury hotels Karen was used to. This place had always had a
special vibe that spoke to her. Ever since she first took over her
dad's duties, she always made an effort to come here once or twice
a year. It would be great to share this with Cal. As he found a
place to throw his bag, Karen set her keys on the bureau. She
watched him familiarize himself with the rustic little room. He
acclimated so quickly to things! Whatever made him a good chef, and
programmer, also made him able to acclimate to everything.

Karen took quiet pride in the fact that she
was the one that brought him out of his shell. He admitted it
multiple times even, always going on about how she had saved him.
Now he was this strong, confident, hunk of a man that was hers to
use as she pleased! On an impulse, she reached into the bureau and
fished out her skimpiest and laciest undies. It was time to change
things up!

She threw the underwear at Cal. They ended up
hitting him right in the face. As he pulled the blue thong from his
eyes, he gave her a questioning expression.

“I want you to wear those to dinner.” She
said in a commanding, but sweet, voice.

Cal looked at her as if she had changed
shape. “Babe, if I wear these to a restaurant, they're not gonna
let us in.” He joked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “No silly!
Under your pants,”

“Uh, why?” He asked.

“Because I said so,” She said, mocking his
tone of voice, adding, “I don't think you have the guts.”

“Oh, this is real mature. Are you going to
dare me to do it?” Cal asked incredulously.

Karen let out a quick giggle. “Yeah, I
double-dog dare you.” She said. “Now put them on, we're going to be
late.” She ordered.

Cal gave her a mocking salute and dropped his
pants right in front of her. She held her hand to her face and
suppressed a laugh as he wiggled into the lacy little underwear. He
winced uncomfortably as the thong settled into place.

“Man, how do you girls wear these things?” He
asked, trying to position his manhood somewhere inside the
front.

“You get used to it.” She said, staring at
him as he shimmied back into his pants. Cal tried a few steps in
his new undergarment. Every footstep seemed to put him on edge as
the lacy fabric shifted everywhere on him.

Karen bit her lip and waited before she said,
“The restaurant is only a few blocks away, so we'll just be
walking.”

“Not cool babe, not cool.” He said as she
locked up the room.

Cal tried his best to maintain his composure
at the restaurant. It was a neat little place, and it had a great
local atmosphere. All he could focus on was the thong that had
parked itself in his ass. He would occasionally catch Karen
giggling at him as he shifted and squirmed.

“You're just loving this aren't you?” He
whispered in the quiet little restaurant.

Karen gave him a little wink. “You know, blue
is really your color.” She teased, adding, “Also, the more you move
around, the further up it goes.”

“Thanks for the pro tip.” Cal said through
gritted teeth. When the waitress arrived with their drinks, Cal
took the opportunity to order for them. He met the waitress in the
middle as far as their language barriers were concerned. She spoke
a local dialect that had them both laughing as they tried to work
through the dinner and appetizer orders. Karen was feeling a little
left out in this little moment shared by Cal and their waitress, as
they stumbled over one another's Spanish.

“What were you two talking about? I couldn't
understand any of it.” She asked as the waitress strode off.

“I told her that I was being held hostage by
a crazy woman, and she was forcing me to wear her underwear.” He
said to her with a smile.

“Oh very funny! Really, what did you order
us?” She insisted.

Cal looked at her over his wine glass.
“You'll see. How's the wine, by the way?”

“It’s great! Is it local?” She asked.