Surrender The Booty (11 page)

Jose reached for her hand. “I didn’t know your parents died. I didn’t know his care had fallen on you.”

“Would it have mattered?”

He pulled her close. “It matters to me.”

* * * *

Beneath her cheek she could feel Jose’s heartbeat, slow and steady. The familiar rhythm filled her with longing. An ache opened in her soul, threatening to swallow her when they got off this island and the real world sucked them back into their real lives. Her anger at him had come so quickly and with such force it frightened her, but forgiveness had come even more swiftly. She loved him, and wouldn’t even try to deny it.

His hand twisted in her hair and tugged gently, raising her face to his. “Tell me you love me.” His eyes searched hers and his breath blew soft against her cheek. “Don’t lie. Tell me the truth.”

“Jose—” Her voice cracked. She buried her face in his chest.

Candlelight bounced of the cavern walls. The scent of his skin filled her lungs and warmed her heart. She’d grown closer to him than she’d ever been to any man other than Trevor. But once they left the island, neither of them would be hers. She knew she loved him, but what good would confessing it do?

She breathed in his masculine scent and kissed the smooth skin beneath his lips. “Are we ever going to get off this island?”

“I’m not in a hurry. Are you?”

Surrender the Booty

85

She rocked her head from side to side. No. Back home, she’d be alone.

Trevor’s long shadow filled the mouth of the cave. “A boat!” He yelled. “By God, I think it’s the Coast Guard!”

Jose bolted out of the cavern, taking her with him. Her heart sank deeper with every step. The fantasy had come to an end.

86

Carmie L’Rae

Trevor surveyed the grassy hills and gently sloping pasture below the hill where he stood. The Coast Guard craft that cut close to the island never stopped. And though he’d stayed awake most of the night listening in case it came back, it never did.

There were worse places to be stranded. If he didn’t have business to take care of at home, he’d never leave Isla de Amantes. This land was perfect for him and for the horses. But he didn’t know how in the hell he’d be able to afford it. Even if he managed to outsmart Jose and win the bid, he’d have to figure out a way to make a profit. He couldn’t live without income.

“Good morning, Cowboy.” Bella’s hand cupped his ass. He hadn’t heard her approach.

“You walk through the garden or just wake up horny?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her in close. She snuggled in next to him.

“Maybe I just like your ass.”

“Makes two of us.”

“Is that a stream down there?” She pointed to the far end of the pasture where water sparkled like a silver snake in the grass.

“A little one. Big enough for a watering hole.”

“You’ve got big plans for this island, don’t you? How many horses you plan on bringing out here?”

“About thirty of them to start with. More if this island makes them as horny as it does us.”

“So you’ll move out here all by yourself with a bunch of animals.

No cowgirl to keep you company?”

Surrender the Booty

87

“That’s the plan.”

“You don’t like to talk about her, do you?”

“Who?”

“The one who broke your heart.”

Trevor dropped his arm from her shoulders and started toward an overgrown path between the rocks. Ahead of him the pasture spread out, a little overgrown, but not too bad. It wouldn’t be hard to get it ready for the horses. He could live in the cabin, just fix it up a little.

He didn’t need much. Hell, half the time he slept on the ground anyway. He liked it like that. Nothing to hold him in. Just a blanket of stars and a bed of grass. He had enough sense to come in out of the rain, most of the time, but outdoors was the only place he could breathe.

Trevor filled his lungs with the clean island air. A hint of the familiar erotic scent landed on the back of his tongue, but he swallowed it down. He didn’t need an aphrodisiac to want Bella, and he knew enough about women to know you could only take one to bed so many times before she started expecting more than a good fuck.

Bella had followed him. Her small hands circled his hips and her forehead pressed into the center of his back. The heat of her body so close to his drew his balls in tight. She didn’t say a word. Her hands slipped beneath the front of his shirt and caressed his abs, his ribs. Her fingertips traced a line beneath his pecs and then slowly circled his flat nipples. Another shot of awareness lit a trail down his spine. His cock stretched, poking out of the waistband of his briefs. He bit his lip. If he had half a brain, he’d push her hands away and let her down easy. But he’d never been smart when it came to women.

“Why do the horses mean so much to you?” Bella’s gaze was gentle, her voice soft. “I mean, I understand that you fight for animal rights, but don’t you think the developers will find them a good home?”

88

Carmie L’Rae

“No. I don’t trust them to do that, and …” He scratched the back of his neck and squinted into the sun. He’d never told anyone what the horses meant to him. Didn’t know if he could.

“And what?” Bella caressed his chest. “Tell me, Trevor.”

“I was engaged. And young. Too stupid to pull my head out of my ass and be a real man. She loved me.” His voice cracked and he stopped. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t talk about her. Even after all these years he couldn’t say her name. After he lost her, the horses were the only ones who hadn’t questioned him. He had lived with them, near them, for nearly a month. They were the only company he wanted. And he would never forget what he owed them.

“I can’t imagine a woman not loving you.” Bella’s fingers stroked his skin. “You’re easy to love.” He could hear the honesty in her voice and he knew he had to tell her the truth about himself. She needed to run for the hills and after he told her who he was, she would. He had no doubt about that.

“No I ain’t. I’m a man. Worse than most.” He took a deep breath.

“And it’s best you know it. I had everything a man should want, but I met a pretty little thing that I wanted a piece of. Figured I was too young to tie myself down and broke off the engagement for a piece of ass.”

“Maybe she wasn’t the one you were supposed to marry. Maybe you were too young.”

He pushed her hands away and turned to face her. “Don’t sugarcoat this, Bella. She loved me, and I loved her. But it wasn’t enough for me. I ran off to have a good time, didn’t think twice about what I’d done to her. And …”

He walked off. He couldn’t do it. Couldn’t say the words. Hell, he tried every day to block out the memory of what he’d done, but he’d never shake that guilt. And he’d never make the mistake of letting a woman fall in love with him again.

Surrender the Booty

89

Bella came up behind him again. Her hands slipped around his waist. Her forehead pressed into his back and her palms flattened against his stomach. “What happened?”

He stared straight ahead into the clear blue sky. He didn’t dare turn around to see Bella’s reaction. “She killed herself. She was pregnant, but I didn’t know that part.”

“Would it have changed anything if you’d known?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s hard to remember who I was back then, or what would have made sense to me at the time.”

He expected her to leave. To run as far away as she could. But her arms tightened around him. “Make love to me,” she said.

90

Carmie L’Rae

Bella’s skin burned from the rub of Trevor’s whiskers. Her pussy lips were so swollen they ached, but pure satisfaction made her muscles feel warm and liquid. The sun shone behind him like a halo as he looked down at her, his cock still buried deep and the smell of sex as fragrant as the grass beneath her head.

“You sure you won’t need a cowgirl out here if you buy this place?” She squeezed his biceps. The corded muscles and smooth skin beneath her palms shot another twang of satisfaction between her legs. Her inner walls contracted, squeezing his dick and his eyelids lowered in response.

He bent closer, kissing her collarbone, her neck, earlobe and then he stopped. “I like you, sweetheart. But I wasn’t lying. I don’t do relationships.”

She turned to see his eyes, clouded now. “Don’t worry, Cowboy, it’s just pillow talk. I couldn’t stay here if I wanted to.”

A heavy breath of relief landed against her cheek and he kissed her. “We all got things to take care of when we get back,” he said.

“But when it’s all said and done, I don’t want you to think I ever lied to you. My word is solid.”

She lifted her hips, pressing her body closer to his. “I don’t expect anything more than this.”

Indecision played out on his rugged face. He was deciding whether or not to believe her. Fine. He could think what he liked. She wasn’t playing a game. Even if she wanted him, she couldn’t have him. She couldn’t run off with any man. Her brother needed her.

What she wanted didn’t matter.

Surrender the Booty

91

“Having breakfast without me?” Bella twisted her head around to see Jose. He had pulled on his jeans, but hadn’t bothered with a shirt.

His dark skin had grown darker in the days they’d been on the island and the scruff that had been on his face was gone.

“Look what I found.” He held up an old-fashioned razor, the straight-blade kind she’d seen in old television show barbershops.

Trevor glanced down at her and stroked the stubble burn on her neck. “Reckon I ought to use that myself.”

Bella pushed her fingers through the short beard that was coming in on his chin. “I like you scruffy, but I vote yes. I don’t know how much more my skin can take.”

“I found something else for our lady.” Jose held up a tall narrow bottle with a cork in one end. The glass was a pale shade of green, but there was no label. Another homemade concoction, no doubt.

“What is it?” Bella pushed herself onto her elbows.

“Bath oil.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. Old family recipe. Wait ’til you smell it.” He walked toward them and knelt down. He removed the cork and moved the bottle toward her nose, but before he got near her face, he tipped the bottle. A stream of warm oil slid onto her chest, into the valley between her breasts and made a beeline toward her navel.

“Taste it,” he said to Trevor.

“Oil?”

“Edible oil.” He grinned from ear to ear. “My family never believed a bedroom should be boring.”

The warm oil pooled in her bellybutton. She arched her back, rubbing some of it on Trevor. Crooking her hand behind Jose’s head, she pulled him closer. “You eat it,” she said.

He raised a dark eyebrow. “Um, senorita. You’re too good to me.”

Trevor shifted to the side, pulling Bella’s thigh with him. His cock had begun to stiffen again. She gripped him with her vagina as he
92

Carmie L’Rae

turned them, never breaking the connection. She twisted just enough to see Jose.

Jose’s hand slid up her stomach, beneath the curve of one breast and then the other. There was no better feeling in the world than having the two of them this close, touching her, tasting her, making love to her. Trevor’s fingers dug into her hip, holding her body to his.

Jose moved closer. His hand caressed her breast, and the smooth heat of his tongue dipped into the valley of her throat where some of the warm, fragrant oil had pooled. The scent was intoxicating, having some of the same tones as the air in the garden. Nerves in her clit danced with excitement. Her nipples hardened to a sting. He took his time, dipping his tongue slowly, spreading the oil across the base of her throat, nibbling and licking it off her skin.

She pulled the curls at the base of his neck and pushed her hips into Trevor. Trevor reached between them. His broad thumb pressed the side of her clit and rubbed slowly. She arched back against Jose and thrust her hips again, demanding more contact from both of them.

Neither changed a thing they were doing.

“Please.” She gasped. “Please give me more.”

Jose kept a steady pace but moved lower, toward her nipple. She pulled his hair harder and tried to lift her breast to his face, anything to get him there faster. Trevor continued the maddeningly slow ministrations to her clit. Torture had never felt so good. Fire spread through her body. Sexual hunger ate at her. Anticipation had her muscles on edge and her scalp tingling.

Trevor’s big cock had swelled, stretching her channel, but he wouldn’t pump like she wanted him too, and he effectively stopped her hips when she pushed for more. “Give it to me,” she begged.

“Please. Both of you. Please.”

Jose murmured in Spanish as he leaned over her, his head between her chest and Trevor’s. His tongue dove between her breasts, licking slowly, not leaving a drop of the delicious-smelling oil on her skin.

Surrender the Booty

93

An unexpected smack landed against her ass. The sting surprised her.

She yelped, but instantly wanted more.

“Again!” she pleaded.

Jose rubbed the pain away, and then spanked her again. Harder this time. She cried out and rose up, pushing her breast to his mouth.

He sucked her nipple in hard and smacked her ass again.

“Oh, God!” she panted. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

Trevor slung her knee over his shoulder and twisted her body more. The first thrust of his cock nearly sent her over the edge. He wrapped his arm around her thigh and drove his cock in deep. Jose coated his fingertip in oil from her bellybutton then drew a slick circle around her anus. She whimpered.

“You like that, don’t you?” Jose whispered near her ear. He smacked her ass again. “You bad girl.”

Trevor pulled his cock out so slowly she almost cried to have it back again. Her vagina tightened, holding him as hard as she could, not wanting to let him go.

Only the broad tip of his shaft remained inside her. “How bad do you want it?” Trevor asked.