Her Island Fantasy, an erotic novella (Bridesmaids in Paradise) (2 page)

“Wow, you taught her that?” Bailey asked.

Sully looped his arm over her shoulders. “I have to wonder, did she come back for me or the surfing?” But she heard laughter in his voice.

She loved that her intense friend had found happiness with a guy who appreciated her. Funny how their relationship had started as a fling. Bailey didn’t dare let herself hope for the same thing for herself, but she also didn’t want to go home wondering, what if?

If only she had the courage to act.

***

Bailey was already tired when they arrived at the dock for dinner at seven. Of course, it was eleven back home in Texas, and Bailey had never been a night owl. She hoped she didn’t look as tired as she felt. She’d modified tonight’s outfit to a more form-fitting black knit skirt and a scoop-necked blouse. She’d wound her hair into a messy bun and tied a scarf around the crown of her head, adding color to the outfit.

She spotted Ian the instant she boarded the boat—he was the one leaning on the rail looking pale.

She crossed to him and placed a hand on his arm, below the sleeve of his white shirt. “Are you okay?”

He swallowed manfully and turned to her. “Not great with boats.”

“We went out on this cruise when we came out here with Haven. It’s really very smooth,” she said, though she actually didn’t remember. The fact that she didn’t remember meant it had to have been smooth, right?

Right then the boat shifted and bumped into the dock and he groaned.

“Maybe Eric will let you stay behind,” she said, not believing the words coming out of her own mouth. If he stayed behind, her plans would be ruined.

“He gave me a couple of motion-sickness pills. I’m hoping they’ll kick in any minute now.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh, yeah, that’s not better.”

“Once we get underway, it’ll be better.”

He nodded solemnly. “Sure. Up and down and straight ahead.”

She cocked her head. “You weren’t sick on the plane.”

“Just seasick. Not crazy about heights, either. Or going around in circles.”

“Not a fan of amusement parks, then?”

He swallowed. “Except for those old cars at Disneyland. Those I can get behind.”

She laughed. “Come on. Let’s try inside. You might be better if you’re not thinking you’re on a boat. She looped her hand through his and guided him into the spacious restaurant portion.

They weren’t the only people on the boat—their party of twenty-three wasn’t even the biggest party on the boat. Their table was by the window, situated so everyone had a view, but Ian sat as far as he could from the window. A shame, really, since the sunset promised to be fabulous. She actually let herself stop thinking about him for a few moments as they made toasts and were served their dinner. Only when he jumped up from the table and headed out the door did she follow.

When she reached him, he’d just lost his stomach over the side and was looking sheepish, but had more color in his face. Wordlessly, she handed him the linen napkin and glass of water she’d thought to bring. He pressed the napkin to his mouth, then took a few sips of the water, then leaned against the rail with a sigh.

“You know, I’ve looked down the barrel of a gun, I’ve helped process murder victims, I’ve walked in on overdoses. Pisses me off that I can’t ride on a damn boat without getting sick.”

“You’re in vice, right?” Like she didn’t know. “Do you like it? I mean, is that where you wanted to be, or is that where they put you?”

“Definitely where I wanted to be.”

“You don’t go undercover, do you?”

He rubbed at the scruff on his jaw. “I want to, just to see, you know? But the opportunity hasn’t come up.”

“That would terrify me,” she said.

“But you’re, what a kindergarten teacher?”

“Pre-kinder.”

He shuddered. “That would terrify me,” he said, and smiled.

“Especially the first week of school. God. It’s like herding cats. But once they get into a routine, they’re really a lot of fun. And they love school, mostly, and they love their teacher mostly and there isn’t the stress of state testing and…” She trailed off. “You don’t want to hear my rants on education reform.”

He lifted his glass in her direction. “Well, I haven’t thought of my stomach for the past ten minutes, so feel free.”

She laughed and sat on the bench across from the rail.

“You look great,” he said. “I should have mentioned it earlier.”

She felt her whole body warm. “Thanks. I worked on it. Gym every morning at five, no more diet drinks, no snacking between meals unless it’s fruit or vegetables.” She snapped her teeth together. She hadn’t meant to make herself sound like a martyr.

“Paid off.”

His gaze lingered on her and some wild reckless part of her wanted to invite him to touch her, but that would be stupid. God, he was a cop, weren’t they always cocky? Why didn’t he make the first move? Why hadn’t she known he was single sooner so she could have planned how to approach this?

Just then the door opened and his mother walked out, carrying a glass of water and a napkin. Bailey wanted to melt into the deck. How could she have forgotten his parents were here? They were the parents of the groom, after all.

Worse, his mother’s remedy was the same as hers. Way to turn him on. She made her excuses and slipped away as his mother made a fuss over him.

***

She cornered Elizabeth near the bar. A benefit to already being on local time, Bailey supposed, since she was pretty sure one sip of alcohol would knock her out.

“So. Remember when I told you to have a fling and you said why not me and I said the next man in my bed is going to stay there?”

“Sure,” Elizabeth said warily. “If you’ve changed your mind, Max is already taken.”

“Oh, I’ve changed my mind.” She looked pointedly toward the door as Ian and his mother walked through the door. “Tell me the truth. He’s out of my league, isn’t he?”

“No, of course not.”

Elizabeth’s reply was quick enough to be suspect. Bailey leaned on the bar and dropped her head to her arms. “God, he is. What is wrong with me? I lose a few pounds—”

“And look great,” Elizabeth interjected.

“And think I’m God’s gift.”

“You are. I just don’t think he wants you to give yourself to Ian Viera. Besides, Ian’s on the rebound.”

“I’m fine with that. I just want one night.” Liar. A week. A month. “I just want something physical.”

“Max has this friend Jace, remember, from scuba diving?“

“No, I want Ian or no one. I thought maybe you could get me some pointers so he’d notice me.”

Elizabeth made a face as she looked past Bailey. “Noticing you is one thing, using you is another.”

“I’ll be using him, too,” Bailey pointed out.

Elizabeth considered for a moment. “Let me think what to do.”

“Don’t tell anyone,” Bailey said, and Elizabeth pursed her lips. “Not even Max.”

“Geez, ask me for a favor and tie my hands,” Elizabeth muttered. “Is he going on the hike with us tomorrow?”

“I didn’t ask.” That would no doubt turn him on, seeing her sweaty and red-faced. Ooh, baby.

“Let’s presume he is. I’ll work on a plan tonight.”

Once again, Ian was late. He joined the group in front of Max’s van, looking only slightly less rumpled than he had on the flight. Max stood back against his van and gave them all a look, inspecting their clothing.

“The hike we’re taking today is a little less than a mile, but it’s a bit steep, going up 560 feet in a short distance. It will take us about two hours, round trip. But it’s got some of the best views on the island. Seriously, take-your-breath-away views. So make sure you’re comfortable in what you’re wearing, that you brought your camera. I have water in the cooler we can carry up, and Liz packed a picnic lunch. Everybody ready?”

Bailey considered backing out for a moment, but when she saw no one else was, she sucked it up and got in the van.

The drive was shorter than she expected, the trail closer to the city. Max paid the admission and parked, and led the way to the trailhead.

“It starts out paved, but doesn’t stay that way,” Max told them. “We have a couple of tunnels to go through, too.”

“So we’re hiking inside the crater, not the outside,” Ian said.

“Right.”

They headed up the paved path. Bailey was surprised that it didn’t look too different from hiking in the Hill Country back home, same dry grass and brush along the way. More tourists than she expected clogged the tunnels, and they had to wait their turn to enjoy the vistas on the way up. The couples—the parents, the bride and groom, Max and Elizabeth, even Joslyn and her best friend Andrew—had their pictures taken at each concrete outcropping, then the bridesmaids all together with Haven, all laughing as they stood with Waikiki stretched below them. Bailey hung back when they got started again so she could take photographs. Elizabeth hung back with her.

“I know what to do.”

“What?” Bailey asked, looking through her viewfinder.

“Remember the hula lessons we took last time? I think you should get up during the luau tonight and show off.”

Bailey lowered her camera to stare at her friend. “I am so not doing that. One thing to make a fool out of myself with Ian, another in front of a whole crowd.”

“No, I’ve been thinking about this, see? We get Haven up there, saying she’s the bride and learned to do this for her husband. Then the focus is on her, but we all get up there, and Ian will see you.”

“Unless he sees Joslyn, or someone else at the luau.”

Elizabeth huffed. “I’m not a miracle worker, Bailey. I’m just trying to help.”

Bailey sucked in a breath. “All right. All right. It might take a couple of Blue Hawaiians, but I’ll do it.”

“Now all we have to do is convince Haven,” Elizabeth said with a wicked grin, and hurried off to join the rest of the group.

***

Bailey tried to relax on the beach after the hike. She was grateful she was used to moving, and Max hadn’t lied about the breathtaking views. She’d practically filled her camera with shots, and had already exchanged the chip so she’d have plenty of room for the luau tonight.

But she couldn’t relax, knowing what she’d planned, and why. She was being ridiculous, was why. She should forget about Ian, concentrate on having a good time at her friend’s wedding, not thinking about seducing a hot guy who would be not part of her plan.

She wondered if it was a self-esteem thing—getting the hot guy into her bed would make all the hard work she’d done to get into shape worth it. For about a minute. No, she deserved better, a man who would love her, in shape or not, a man who would think she was hot no matter what.

And then Ian emerged from the ocean looking like a sea god and all her high intentions fled as she swallowed her tongue. He swept his hair back from his face and headed toward Sully, who was standing on the beach with a surfboard under his arm. The two men stood and talked for awhile as every woman on the beach had an elaborate menage fantasy. Then Sully set the board down in the sand and stepped back, motioning for Ian to lay down on it.

Bailey sat forward and wrapped her arms around her knees, watching in pure lust as Sully made Ian hop from a prone position to a squat, to a crouch, arms spread. Ian staggered, bracing his foot in the sand, but laughed and dropped flat on the board again.

Every muscle in his arms and back was defined and all Bailey could think about was how they’d feel beneath her hands as he loomed over her in bed. She reached for the warm bottle of water she’d stuck in the sand beside her to soothe her suddenly-dry mouth.

Sully made him repeat the exercise again and again, until sweat ran in rivulets down Ian’s back. Bailey had the strangest desire to lick it off. God, what was she turning into? She shifted, stretching her legs out before her and sitting back on her hands, knowing she should probably hit the waves to cool off but not wanting to surrender this view.

Finally Sully seemed to think Ian had the hang of it, and the two men strode out into the water. Before she could even think about it, Bailey rose and trailed after them.

She stood waist-deep in the water as Ian tried to mount the board in the water, more often than not falling sideways and disappearing under the water. After about the third time, he turned to Bailey as if he’d known she was there all along, shook the hair out of his face and grinned. “Want to try?”

She froze, caught, then lifted her hands in front of her and backed off. “I’ll just watch.”

“That was kind of my intention,” he said with a wicked grin, and got back on the board.

Well, him knowing she was watching took a lot of the fun out of it, and she retreated to the hotel, questioning her courage about dancing tonight.

***