The Bad Boys of Eden (93 page)

Vive froze. Her entire body tensed. She knew what I meant.

Waiting for her to say something, she didn’t. So I provoked her and reminded, “After watching you unbuckle your seatbelt I’m not sure you believe what’s coming out of your own mouth, because I sure as heck don’t. You wanted to die up there, Vive.”

“I did not!” Vive seethed through her teeth.

The sun’s brightness started feeling all too warm upon us.

“Do not insult our friendship and lie to me. So help me, I’ll throw you over this railing into the moat.”

I would too.

“Taddy…” The whites of her eyes doubled.

“Tell me what was going through your pretty bleach-blonde-head when you unbuckled.”

“No!”

“You handed Hedda off to Lex. That dog would die without you in its life. And you just tossed Hedda away like your friends would take care of her.” Without thinking, the words pelted out of me. I felt sick after I spoke. I didn’t want to hear her answer. But I had to know.

“I’ve already apologized to Lex and Blake, who finally agreed to drop it. I’ll apologize to you too. I’m sorry for wanting to die up there. Now…let it go.”

I grabbed her tight. My face pressed up against hers. “You promised us you’d never do
that
again.”

A span of our lives together had been spent in darkness. Once before, Vive had tried to kill herself. We’d been in juvie. Somehow she’d gotten her hands on a knife from the cafeteria. After we’d gone to bed, she’d slashed her wrists.

Her eyes had changed colors again from white to red. “Don’t remind me. Last night none of slept, between worrying about you, Lex and Blake went off on me about that non-stop.” Rubbing her forearm against her nose she fought back a sob.

Pulling her close, I hugged her. “I’m…sorry.”

Her breath in my ear, she muttered, “We had a moment on board where everything started to shake. All I thought about was Sanderloo, and the night he died. I wanted to punish myself.”

Hearing Vive’s reasons made my own problems with Leon feel embarrassingly small.

“We were cleared of all charges. If the state of Connecticut can drop the case, then we have to forgive ourselves. We’ve gone over this a million times.”

“I’m allowed to stumble, Taddy. I’ll never be one hundred percent. I’ve made peace with that, which in my own way is me forgiving myself.”

“We’ve got too much to live for now. There’s college, our future.”

“I swear on Hedda, I won’t ever try again.” She cupped her hands with mine. “I’m looking forward to college. If you want the money, girlie, it’s yours. We’ll catch the boat in two days.”

We walked into the castle.

“Look honey, that’s the pretty lady that got sucked out of the plane,” a passenger said.

“Thank heavens you’re alive,” someone else exclaimed.

With an Irish flare for the dramatic the building was like nothing I’d ever seen before. I felt like I was in another world. You know that look that some amusement parks have where everything is pristine and picture perfect, so much so it appears fake, almost tacky.

Not here at Eden.

Idyllic yet real, this place felt good. There seemed to be something intangible in the air causing everyone to smile especially me.

I introduced myself to the Eden staff. They called their doctor and wanted me to get an exam to make sure I didn’t have a concussion or anything from the crash. After all, I had been sucked out of an airplane and plopped into the middle of sea.

* * *

Two hours later, the Eden doctor told me, aside from my scrapes and bruises, everything seemed fine.

I ate two servings of Eggs Benedict in Lex’s room with her and Vive. Hedda sat on my lap which oddly enough gave me a huge feeling of calmness. The girls drank a pitcher of mimosas and talked about college days ahead.

Did I tell them about Leon?

Hells no! I couldn’t. Shame? Perhaps. I didn’t want to hear it from them. They’d think I was a freak of nature, finding these two guys hot and all. I mean really.

When I came into Blake’s room he was sound asleep. Vive had mentioned the pain medication the Eden nurse had given made him sleepy. And that he’d been up most of the night hollering at her as I had just done probably left him exhausted.

A pot steeped in our room. The Master had sent up herbal tea to help with my nerves. He had some sundresses in various bright colors and sandals in size large, placed in my closet. I ran a bath, filling the basin with a creamy paste the Master had promised would alleviate the abrasions on my skin.

While I waited for the bathwater to get to a temperature I liked, I sat on the edge of Blake’s bed, and drank the tea.

Admiring his hands, they were the only part of him that wasn’t blistered from the fire. I could tell, his scars were going to be bad.

“Taddy…” he muttered. His piercing gray eyes opened.

“Hey babe,” I swallowed back a cry, leaning down I planted a peck on the lip.

“You’re okay.” He tried to sit up.

“I am now,” I said, taking him against my bosom. I fixed his pillows on his bed. We talked for a while. The sweet aroma from the bath came down the hall into Blake’s room.

“Maybe you should skip college, you know, enter the Olympics for swimming.” Blake swiped the mug out of my hand and took a sip.

“Leon could, he’s a great swimmer,” I said, feeling my lips curve into a grin when saying his name.

“I’m sure that’s not all Leon is great at, boo.” Blake’s manicured eyebrows shot up with provocation.

“Did you know, he and Fabian were together?”

“Nope. Hadn’t a clue. I put a call in to Mother Nature and asked her to repair my gaydar. Apparently it’s broken.” He pouted.

“Hahaha! Well are they gay or bi?”

“Potato, patato—tomato, tamato.”

“Huh?”

“Does it matter? They both suck cock. Who cares!” Blake’s sarcasm that I’d grown to love over the years never ceased.

“Jealous?” I thought about Leon and Fabian as Blake described, sucking one another’s cock.

“No, boo. School starts in one week. I’m sure I’ll make some new friends. Ones who don’t get us arrested like Vive, blown up like Lex, or plane crashed like y-o-u.” He put a hand up to his face as if suddenly realizing he might be starting class not yet healed.

“What-the-flip-ever.” I had to keep his spirits up. “You’d be lost without us.”

“Ditto.” He rolled over on his side.

“Let me ask you something. Do you ever think about being with a woman?”

“I tried that already. Remember?” Blake smirked.

During our sophomore year, or was it our junior year, Blake had slept with a girl before coming out. He said he had to try it just once to make sure he wasn’t straight. He’d owed his family at least that much.

Blake told us the girl was beyond livid. Had made him swear he’d never tell a soul. And he hadn’t. We didn’t pry. Although, at first I thought he’d made the story up, perhaps for a cool factor with the classmates. But why lie about that?

When I’d agreed to help him come out to his family and had gone to his parents house for Thanksgiving, he’d said, “Mom, Dad, I had sex with a girl at school. It’s not for me.”

“Well have you tried having sex with a boy?” His mother had asked.

“No. Not really.”

With relief his mom had cried out, “Good—”

“But I want to.” Blake had admitted.

His father moved his dinner plate to one side and had encouraged, “Son, maybe you should try another girl, a redhead like this Tabitha Adelaide.”

Crying, sick and nervously laughing, Mrs. Morgan had such mixed emotions that day. Months later, everything had turned out okay.

“I never forgot.” I ran my hands over the plush blue comforter Blake’s legs were lost under. “Want me to bring you anything?” I got to my feet, looking down at him.

“Nope. You’re alive. I got my VBF back. That’s enough for today.”

“Ha!”

“Girl, you smell. Go bathe. I’m going back to sleep for a bit.” He closed his eyes.

“I love you Blake Morgan the third.” Addressing him by his formal name from time to time I hoped would remind him of how important he was. Not just to me, but to his community. Blake’s father and his grandfather are prominent upstanding people in New England society who loved their gay son very much.

“VBF—I heart you more.” Blake snapped his fingers for me to get to the bathroom. “Go before it gets cold.”

Exhausted in the bathtub, I pressed my back against the marble, and closed my eyes. Images of Leon flashed before me, his sweet face, those big muscles, that thick cock. Slipping my hand into the milky water I rubbed my sensitive clit.

Moaning softly, I submerged deeper into the water, releasing tension. I tried my best to relax…

The bathroom door opened.

With a turn I expected to see Blake.

“Bonjour
Tabby
,” Fabian said in a playful voice. Stepping in, he closed the door.

Every fiber of my body stood as I lay in the tub. Covering my breasts with a nearby hanging towel I shouted, “Get outta here Fabian!”

Not listening, he came closer. Black sexy cat-eyes focused. “We need to talk.”

“I’ve got nothing to say to you, your lover, or that photographer. I quit.”

“Tabby!”

Water dripping from between my legs, I stood.
Fuck this.
I tossed my towel on the floor and glanced down to where I’d looked every morning when he’d done my makeup—at the large bulge in his pants.

Clear as day, under his shorts, Fabian’s erection stood nice and firm.

“Let me dry you.” He rolled up his sleeves revealing his forearms.

“No,” I said but I didn’t mean it.

“Oui.” He scooped up the towel.

Turning my back, I allowed him to towel-off my shoulders. Okay I’ll be honest, my nipples pebbled. Fabian Henry turned me on. He was exotic. But I wasn’t going to let him know that.

“This week…I’ve washed your hair.” He ran his strong fingers up then down the back of my neck. My pulse quickened.

“Yup.” I tried to act as if this was just work. Inhaling the yummy smell of his heady tuberose, I knew Fabian hadn’t come to talk about
Claire Le Femme.

“Every day I’ve dressed and undressed you.” The coarse cotton fibers fisted in his hand raked over my backside, following a gentle buff from his palm as he massaged, almost kneading at my flesh.

OMFG!
My eyes rolled into the back of my head. On instinct I spread my legs a smidge. Air, I need to breathe. God, it’s hot as hell in here. “Fabian—”

“All week I’ve cared after you and for you.” He spun me around. “And you go and give yourself to my boyfriend.”

Unable to make eye contact with him, I focused my attention on the marble floor. “I didn’t know.”

His fingers, the ones that every morning painted my face, pressed over my lips shushing me. “Don’t speak,
Tabby.
Not yet. I’m not done.” He extended his hand and with the other pointed to a nearby chair next to the sink.

Holding on to him, I stepped out of the tub and made my way over.

“Sit.” He ordered.

I did and then he dropped to his knees beside me.

“All week I have painted these toes.” He lifted one foot up, dried my calf, and pressed his firmly on the sole of my foot. His full beautiful lips kissed the tip of my big toe. My mouth hung open. What the frickin-A was going on? Just as I went to pull myself up in the chair, his grip around my leg tightened.

“Umm.”

Dark eyes narrowing, he raised his chin, and spoke in a timber voice, “And now—Je veux t’enculer.”

“I want to fuck you,” I echoed his words, feeling that melting Klondike-bar-action all over again.

“Oui!”

Sweet bi-gay-a-licious.

Chapter Seven

Princess Lolly

The Eden Castle

“Faaabian,” I stifled his name in a heavy exhale.

Done talking, he nipped at my clit.

My legs, tossed up over his shoulders. He growled in French. I held onto the edge of my seat as if the chair might set sail for Bermuda. Who needs Air Carribea when you had Fabian Henry’s tongue lapping at your flesh?

Trying to get a control of what was going on, I smoothed my hair back. Him, me, this, everything was happening at light speed.

Pulling me into him, close and tight, his hands slid under my buttocks. With a slight tap, Fabian spanked me and I liked it. The pad of his thumb poked at my anus.

“Nooo.” I squirmed. My front door had just been opened and here he was trying to bust into the back.
Not gonna happen.

With a lick of his thumb he replied, “Oui, Tabby. I will have your mouth, your pussy and this tight little derrière.” Possessed, Fabian wasn’t the soft spoken, tuberose smelling, flirtatious man I thought he’d be when it came to foreplay.

Nope. They were both so different. I tried hard not to compare him to the man who’d taken my virginity. Oh, what was his name? Ha! It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours and here I was already in another man’s arms.

Craporama!

If I kept this up, I’d be labeled a whore by my nineteenth birthday.

From between my legs, his adorable face peered up at me, “Stop!”

“What?”

“Such an American. You are thinking.”

I leaned forward at him. “I can’t help but think. I’ve never had a man, ummm—”

“Give you oral pleasure?” He asked as a single line ran across his forehead in surprise.

“No monsieur,” I mocked his French timber accent.

“Allow me this pleasure. S'il vous plaît
Tabby
.”

Shaky at the revelation, I had all the power. Or should I say my vajayjay did.

This man was putty in my hands. “Keep speaking French and say my name over and over again.” Getting my confidence, I grabbed onto those black luscious wavy curls, the ones on the plane ride I had dreamt about knuckling through my fingers.

He returned his focus to between my legs.

My fingers held a death grip on his hairline. Edging me to climax, every time I’d get close, I’d open my eyes and realize what the flip was going on. I couldn’t sum it up for any sane person to understand. A hum here, and hum there, and my body hummed all over.

Toes curled.

He spoke to me in French between tongue lashings. Fabian’s hands ran up my inner thigh, and then his short nails raked me on the way down. First, gentle. The second time, not so much. He increased pressure, causing everything all over my body to become extra sensitive.

“Come on my face,” He said.

Did I hear you correctly?
Drunk in ecstasy, I gazed at him. “Say what?”

In French Fabian repeated his orgasm on demand command. Determined and in control, he lifted me off the chair and onto the floor.

On top of him, I knelt over his striking face.

“Relax.” His grip on my ass was firm. His nose, that long freaky tongue, all of it, was up inside probing me.

Leaning forward I owned my vajayjay power. So close. Every part of me was on fire. All of a sudden, I felt his wet tongue, licking where his thumb had been moments before.

WTF!

I tried to get up.

He snarled, “Mademoiselle, as I said, your derrière is mine.”

Sweet booty-licious. My hands on his shoulder, I gyrated my hips to the left.

He moaned, pushing his tongue past the ring of muscle.

Forbidden excitement pinged through me. A touch of my clit, I repeated the motion to the right. Frantic, I pressed my fingers against my sensitive spot.

“Come woman. I want to drink you.” He begged.

With a slight bounce, I held onto his shoulders feeling the wave of my orgasm washing over me, “Yes! Fabian.” I ground out, and shut my eyes, tight. Explosions of color pulsed behind my eyelids, enough to where I let go, and fell beside him.

On our backs, we lay there for a minute, speechless, panting.

“
Tabby
, you are—

There was a loud rapping thud at the door.

It took us both by surprise.

I got to my feet and reached for my robe, cinching it around my waist.

Fabian, who was still fully clothed, sat up and said, “Enter.”

Gustave. From the look on his face he was disgusted.

“Red. Nice to see you decided to show up for work.” With a cold glare at Fabian he continued, “You know the rules, Monsieur Henry. Consider yourself fired from
Claire La Femme
. Pack your things and go.” He turned and left the bathroom.

“Hey!” I ran after him into the main living area.

Blake, Lex, and Vive sat on sofa with Hedda. Speechless, their mouths hung open.

“Gustave you can’t fire Fabian. He wasn’t breaking your silly rule.” I gave him a look letting him know I knew about their policies. “I’m not one of your models. This morning, I quit. So technically, I’m an Eden guest who bumped into a friend.”

Fabian came up behind me.

“Is that so?” Gustave got in my face. Eyes intent, he was pissed.

Rounding back my shoulders I wasn’t afraid of him. “You have no model, and now no stylist. Maybe you can take pictures of the beach.”

Out of nowhere Vive cackled. Then snorted and said, “Sorry.”

Anger streaked his cheeks. He forced a smiled and stepped to the side of the room with Fabian.

Man to man, he and Fabian cussed one another out. Their shouts turned to a conversation and then a few minutes later ended with a chuckle.

I didn’t like sound of that.

Lex raised her hands up in the air and mouthed, “What’s going on?”

I shrugged.

Together they approached me in one uniformed stride. “We have a proposal for you Mademoiselle.”

There is one thing I hated more than an itt-bitty airplane I can’t stand up in, flip-flops, the Caribbean and the French and that was a proposal. “What?”

Gustave slung his arm around Fabian’s shoulder. “Tomorrow we do one last shoot with you. Your new lover will get to keep his job and I’ll double your rate.”

“A quarter of a million dollars,” I stuttered.

“Oui.”

Lex shot up from the sofa, standing beside me she asked, “What’s the catch?”

“Yeah.” Vive and Blake followed.

“You are a Brillford. The daughter of the royal house in Austria, are you not?” Gustave stood tall, rocking himself up on to his tippy toes.

“Sorta.” I crossed my arms. I had no flippin’ clue where he was going with this.

“We shoot you, here, in the Eden castle. Made up like a princess.”

“Okay, sounds easy enough.” I said as my besties started to sit back down.

“Then throughout the shoot you disrobe.”

“Naked?” Vive shouted and everyone crowded around him.

“It will be tasteful.” Gustave defended.

“No frickin’ way!” On instinct my hand came wide to strike Gustave across the face.

He grabbed my wrist and hissed at me to cool it. “Mademoiselle, you know my work. If Claudia and Naomi can show their body off, why can’t you?”

“We’re not like them.” Vive answered for me. “For starters Gus—Taddy doesn’t
need
this job. She’s got my money for school.

“Yeah, and while your publication has a Vogue-like reputation, we can’t start off our first year at college with more tabloid crap.” Lex’s hand bounced on her curvy hip.

“Crap,” Gustave echoed her insult. “I see. Well if you don’t do the shoot Fabian is out of job. Leon too.” He glared at me as if he knew of my feelings for them. “And we shall invoice Mimmie for our time, airfare, hotel, day rates, etcetera, etcetera.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Watch me.” Before I could get another word out, Gustave was out the door.

“Fabian, how could you just stand there and not say anything?” I turned my frustration on him.

He didn’t seem as fazed as I expected him to be. Perhaps Gustave had threatened to fire him before. Or maybe Fabian never challenged his boss.

“We shoot at nine in the morning. I’ll be at your room at seven to get you ready.”

“Just a second.” I grabbed his shoulder. “You’re in on this with Gus.”

“I don’t have a choice Taddy.” He said my name without the “b.”

My heart sank.

The alliances had been set. It was Team Taddy vs. Team Gustave.

“What’s the big deal?” Blake chimed in. “Their magazine is artsy. You’re gorgeous. Gus is the best photographer in the world.”

“Blake! You heard what Lex said. We don’t need any more media mud in our face.”

“This will help your reputation, Mademoiselle.” Fabian said.

“How so?” Vive asked.

“Anyone who poses for Gus has—how do you say in English—career transformation. They become goddesses, immortal superstars or supermodels for that matter, Oui.” Fabian spoke with confidence.

“I just want to be yours truly, Taddy. Honest. I don’t want fame. I just want my friends and school.”

“Then do it with style, with us.” Fabian rubbed my arms sending an electrical surge of anger and excitement through my body. I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss him or punch him, probably both. “Do you trust us?”

“I don’t know…”

Fabian appeared hurt by my reply, his cat-like eyes that I’d grown fond of seemed sad. “When you were lost at sea, did you, or did you not, put your life in my boyfriend’s hands?”

“That was different.”

“Answer the question.” His black eyes widened as if hungry for my reply.

“Yes, I trusted Leon with my life.”

“Then allow us this opportunity to only do right by you Mademoiselle.”

I didn’t know what else to say other than, “Let me think about it.”

“Very well.” He said his goodbyes to the group and left.

My palms at my face I rubbed my eyes and pulled back my hair. I felt as if I was going to go out of my mind. “Could this week get any more insane? First Leon and I have sex in the water, and again on the beach. Now this,” I said frustrated without thinking.

“Come again?” Blake asked.

“You lost your virginity to a gay guy.” Lex blurted.

“Shut up Alexandra!” Vive snapped as if Lex had hit a nerve.

“Oh. My. God.” I smacked my lips shut realizing as Blake and Vive stared at one another with a look of “been there, done that,” on their faces—they had sex when we were at Avon Porter.

“Holy shit!” Lex who was sometimes a little slow, even without the Xanax, caught on.

“Seriously, Vive, Blake popped your cherry? It wasn’t Sanderloo?”

Lex’s mouth hung open, “Holy—” I covered it with my hand.

“We were fifteen.” Blake said.

Unfrickin’ believable.

“Sixteen,” Vive corrected. “We were drunk.”

“And stoned,” Blake admitted.

Lex and I were getting dizzy from turning our heads back and forth.

Vive’s voice rose, “I was nervous. Sex was awkward back then.”

“No. You were perfect, Vive.” Blake reached out for her hand, kissed the top of it and said, “I couldn’t think of any other woman in the world that I would’ve rather lost my virginity to. That night was special for us.”

“Why do I suddenly feel jealous?” Lex asked when I released her muzzle.

“That explains why you two are so close,” I reasoned.

Together, we all sat on the sofa and talked.

Blake looked at me and said, “Can you imagine if society said that you had to have sex with a woman. You knew it wasn’t your cup of tea. But you’d be willing to try, to see if it was or was not for you. Would you do it?”

“Maybe,” I offered.

“Who would you pick?” Blake pressed on.

“Vive, no doubt.”

“Forget jealous. Now I’m offended.” Lex tossed me a decorative pillow.

“I’m sorry honey, but Vive is…hot.”

“Thanks Taddy, You’re pretty too,” Vive said, acting as if we were about to have a lesbian moment.

“And Lex who would you pick?”

“I don’t like this game.” Lex said, reminding me of the dream I had earlier of our childhood. It was obvious this conversation was making her uncomfortable.

Later, Vive and Lex went to the spa for facials, while I crawled in bed with Hedda and slept. I don’t know how I could get any sleep with all of the insanity going on between my friends, the boys, and now this opportunity to pose nude, but I did. When my head hit that pillow I was out.

No Candy Land dreams. No sexy moments either.