Anything but Vanilla (26 page)

‘What are you looking at?’

‘The man who’s fucking me so good.’

‘Yeah.’ He began to lean forward, so that his front pressed against her back. His hands skimmed over her stomach, pushed inside her T-shirt and claimed possession of her breasts. Her nipples immediately hardened. Sparks of arousal shot between her nipples and her groin. ‘I love that you have big tits. I love the way they feel and how they jiggle.’ He thrust forward particularly hard, setting the boat rocking. It made their position even more precarious. One wrong jolt and they’d both fall head-first into the bottom of the boat, yet somehow that made it all the more wonderful. The downward tilted position meant Kara’s heart raced and the head of his cock bumped the sensitive spot on the front wall of her pussy. She kept lifting her bottom to meet his strokes. It left her dancing on her toes as euphoria engulfed her. She clutched the sides of the boat tight. Time seemed to thin and stretch. For a while she danced entirely to Ric’s tune. He possessed her breasts and her cunt, and somehow managed to get the angles right so that her clit got in on the action too.

This was living. This was real, in a way her life hadn’t been before she’d set foot on Liddell Island. Hell, she needed this. She needed this man. Yes, fuck me. Fuck away the trauma of last night in exactly the same way Zach had done. What was wrong with sex to forget? It certainly beat stewing.

The ache in Kara’s pussy soon spread. It washed through her synapses leaving every one of them alert.

She came hard, squealing out his name. It was so good that for a long while she dared not open her eyes, for something was sure to destroy the moment. Eventually, her muscles burned too much, and Ric’s spent cock slipped from her cunt.

‘You all right?’ He offered her a hand so she could stand up. She did so rather unsteadily. Muscles ached that she didn’t know she had. She pushed her cold hands inside his jumper, up into the warmth of his armpits. Ric grunted but he let her linger. He lowered his mouth and offered her a kiss.

‘What are we doing, Ric?’ It didn’t feel light any more. At some point in the last few minutes they’d crossed an invisible boundary into uncharted waters. They weren’t simply fuck buddies any more. This had developed into something else. She wanted him in the way Zach did. She wanted this to be personal, intimate. She wanted what she felt to be love and for them to explore it and grow together, only she wasn’t sure Ric felt remotely the same way.

He scratched his throat beneath the roll-neck of his sweater. ‘Better get back to it. They should have the van on the tow truck by now.’

‘Is Robin still around?’

He shrugged. ‘Forget about her.’

She couldn’t. Not when he hadn’t answered her questions.

Ric started back along the beach ahead of her. Kara caught up and grasped his hand. He paused, looked at their joined palms a moment. ‘You know Zach will freak out more about this –’ he raised their clasped hands ‘– than he would if he’d seen us a moment ago.’

Kara squeezed Ric’s fingers tight. ‘Then you’ll just have to hold his hand too, because I’m not letting go.’

Then ice-cream van stood on the back of the tow truck by the time Kara and Ric returned to the bay. Zach, as predicted, responded to their hand-holding by giving them both evil looks.

‘I’ve made coffee,’ he said, before handing over polystyrene cups filled with tar-like liquid.

Ric gave the sludge an uneasy glance before tentatively taking a sip. Kara swigged a mouthful of hers, but spat it straight out. ‘Ew, gross!’ She hoped it was down to bad coffee grounds and not Zach’s seeking vengeance. He obviously had questions about where they’d been and what they’d been doing – she could see them dancing about in his eyes.

‘Is the truck off to the garage?’ she asked, hoping to avoid that issue.

Zach shrugged inside his jumper. ‘It is, but I suspect the scrapyard would be more appropriate. It’s not going to go after the swim it’s just had. The bodywork is full of dents, the underside is probably going to rust to hell, and the engine and all the electrics are fried.’

‘So, you’re stuck here,’ she said, determined to put a positive spin on things. If he wasn’t tempted to leave the island every night to run home, then there’d be more opportunities for them all to be together. ‘Where are you going to stay?’

‘With Ric,’ Zach replied without hesitation.

The remark simply earned a shrug from Ric. ‘We’ll work something out. What’s the going rate for a live-in sex slave?’ he asked Kara.

‘I don’t know. I’ve never had one. Are you volunteering?’ She placed her hands on her hips.

Zach made a low growl in the back of his throat that forced their attention back to him. Clearly the banter between them wasn’t doing anything to alleviate his paranoia.

‘Yes, you can shack up with me,’ Ric said. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, as if he was determined not to make a big issue out of the matter. He looked up at Zach from beneath his long eyelashes. ‘Play your cards right, be a good boy and I might even let you sleep in my bed.’ He tilted his head and smirked. ‘But no twitching every time I look at Kara, please.’

Zach slowly swallowed, though his shoulders remained hunched. ‘OK,’ he replied breathlessly. He nervously rubbed his arms. ‘Where’ve you both been?’

‘Just along the beach,’ Kara insisted. She wrapped an arm around his waist and snuggled close.

‘Talking?’ he asked in a way that suggested he knew they’d been doing something far more intimate.

‘Arguing actually. I told Robin some things I shouldn’t have. Ric was expressing his displeasure.’ All of which was the absolute truth, without getting into details that would likely upset him. Evidently, jealousy was going to be an ongoing issue. One she guessed they were going to have to stamp out fast if things were going to progress between them. Mind you, it was early days yet, and poor Zach was hopelessly smitten, as well as being under tremendous stress because of the van.

‘It had to be done, man.’ Ric slapped his palm against Zach’s shoulder. Clearly, Ric wasn’t prepared to adopt any form of subterfuge, regardless of the consequences. ‘I couldn’t let her get away with that, but it’s not something you need to worry over. Let’s keep things in perspective, eh? You’re coming to live with me, Kara’s not.’

While that fact seemed to perk Zach up a little – the corners of his mouth even briefly turned upwards into a smile – it also reminded Kara that she was going to have to work at this if she didn’t want to get left out of the fun. Maybe she wasn’t feeling jealous in the way Zach was, but she certainly did feel prickly at the notion of them enjoying too much time together without her. ‘Yes, but you’re going to invite me over for dinner tonight, aren’t you?’ She smiled sweetly up at Ric, who remained unmoved.

‘I am?’

‘We are,’ Zach interjected. He stopped rubbing his arms and curled them instead around Kara and Ric’s waists. ‘We’re going to have dinner together. It’ll be great. A first for all of us. I’ll cook. You two just have to show up in some decent togs.’

‘Right,’ Ric drawled dubiously, but he didn’t veto the plan. ‘I’d better dig you out some more clothes then.’

That at least put a smile on Zach’s face. ‘No need,’ he breezed.

‘What about now?’ Kara asked. The tide was beginning to roll up the beach again, a fact that was adding to her unease. She caught herself twitching each time the waves washed a little closer to where they stood. ‘Are you planning on opening up?’

Given the grey weather and lack of tourists there seemed little point in opening the Bunker’s doors. Zach hunched his shoulders up around his ears. ‘I dunno, hardly anyone comes in at the best of times.’

‘That’s because it’s full of crap,’ Ric remarked, typically blunt.

Kara contemplated slapping him, except he had a point. Buckets and spades were all very well, but the other assorted seaside tat wasn’t very appealing, especially given the Bunker’s poor lighting. ‘Have you ever thought about converting it for use as a café?’ She turned Zach so that he was facing the front of the Bunker. It was by no means a visually stunning building. It’d been constructed for practicality, not aesthetics, but it did fit the landscape, and it was an interesting site. Inside, it had a wonderful cave-like quality, and there was something she found very appealing about the way the red-brick vaulting meshed with the natural rock. ‘You could go for a proper continental feel, have lots of outside seating during the day.’ The place definitely looked better without the ice-cream van parked outside. ‘And offer intimate candlelit dinners inside during the evenings. I bet people would come for the novelty value and the location, especially if you hired a decent chef, maybe someone who knows the local delicacies or could make you a signature dish.’

‘I can cook,’ he grumbled.

‘Since when?’ asked Ric, sounding surprised.

‘Since for ever. Which you’d know, if you weren’t only interested in me for one thing. Wait and see. I’ll prove it tonight.’

Wow, if Zach could cook, then the café idea definitely had currency, although Zach seemed less sure. He scratched at his sea-dampened hair. ‘I supposed it might breathe some life into the place, and the insurance on the van might cover the set-up costs if I don’t opt to replace it. A few extra visitors wouldn’t hurt either. Course, it might be a bit seasonal.’

‘It’s still a fab idea,’ Kara reassured him. ‘Isn’t it, Ric? People love unusual venues.’

Ric crushed his coffee cup in his hand and then flicked it into the nearby bin. ‘I suppose,’ he grunted.

The muscles in Zach’s arm tensed beneath Kara’s fingers. When Ric turned away and began to walk towards the cliff path, he brushed Kara off and trailed after him. ‘Wait up. You know I’d be happier if you were on board the idea. It’s your island. I know you like things quiet. I can just as easily keep things the way they are.’

Ric stopped abruptly to face him. ‘I don’t actually. I’ve never liked it quiet. I never deliberately set out to live like a hermit. As long as people don’t pry into my personal life, I don’t mind them being here.’

‘Really?’ Zach forehead rumpled into a confused frown. ‘Then why aren’t you leasing out all those empty properties you have and making some money on them, instead of having them stand empty?’

Exasperated, Ric tore a hand through his flaxen hair. ‘Because I’m a photographer, not a flipping holiday rep. I don’t want to be hassled with it. I don’t do admin. It’s a total soul suck.’

‘But …’ Zach remained incredulous. Kara too couldn’t quite grasp what she was hearing. Why would anyone sit on a gold-mine like that? Well, if they didn’t need the money. She guessed Ric was even better off than she’d thought.

‘That’s mental,’ Zach continued.

‘I’ll do it,’ Kara piped up.

The two men turned to face her. ‘You’ll do what?’ Ric asked.

‘I’ll organise your holiday lets. I’ve worked for a letting agency before. It won’t be that much work once they’re listed on the major websites. How many properties are there?’ She was expecting him to say two or three.

‘About six,’ Zach replied. ‘He has six empty cottages, and another handful of buildings that could be let if they had some work done to them first.’

‘What? Seriously, you’re sitting on that many?’ Kara stared at Ric. He hadn’t been joking about owning the whole island. Her brain started churning figures, likely income from a holiday home in this part of the country. He wouldn’t need to take photos and more importantly, if he’d let her manage them, she’d have a job and a reason to stay on Liddell Island once her baby brother returned from New Zealand. ‘Why are you holding on to them if you’re not doing anything with them?’

Ric mooched about, kicking at the gravel. Obviously being put on the spot over money made him uncomfortable. ‘I wasn’t doing nothing with them. I was selling the leaseholds. That’s how your brother got Beachcomber’s. But I had to reconsider after I had some interest from certain undesirable elements.’

She knew without questioning him that he meant Robin. Still, that was no reason to leave them empty. Families would love to come here for a holiday. There were unspoiled beaches and rock pools, the mainland attractions were only a few minutes away and, if Zach opened his café, maybe even thought about an alcohol licence, then it would be pretty much what anyone wanted. ‘Let me help.’

Ric shrugged. ‘Whatever. Have a look at them, if you like. See if you think they’re up to scratch.’ He started back up the cliff path again. Kara watched him go for a couple of seconds before turning to Zach. ‘Did he say what I think he said?’ Had he just given her a job? ‘Shouldn’t we talk salaries and stuff?’ she called after Ric. He just raised his hand in a wave.

‘Is he serious? Will he actually pay me?’ She danced around Zach, clinging to his hands, so that he was forced to turn with her.

‘Probably some sort of commission,’ Zach reassured her. He grinned at her exuberance. ‘Anyone would think it was your birthday, not that you’d just been given a glorified cleaning job.’

‘Yes, but it’s a job. I didn’t have one, in case you hadn’t noticed.’ She’d no longer have to live on her brother’s kindness, and she could phone her family and tell them truthfully that she could look after herself. ‘Where are these houses? Are the keys up at the fort?’

‘Tomorrow,’ Zach insisted. His mouth stretched wide into a yawn. ‘I’ve done enough tramping about for one day.’ He put his arm around her shoulder and guided her back towards the Bunker. ‘You can start tomorrow. Most of them are up towards the eastern tip where the old lighthouse used to be.’

‘I haven’t been there.’

‘No, I’m not surprised. Access is a bit of an issue. That’ll have to be addressed, but, as I said, tomorrow. We’ll persuade Ric to join us, and make sure he knows you’re serious. Right now, though, come and toss some ideas with me for the Bunker, since you suggested converting this cave into a café.’

‘Toss is an unfortunate turn-on phrase,’ she joked, launching herself at him, so that he was forced to catch her. Kara wrapped her legs around his waist.

Zach held on to her tight. ‘Yeah, well, maybe I’ll let you do that to me too.’