Intaglio: Dragons All The Way Down (23 page)

They wandered up
the aisle of seats, hand in hand.  They had just reached the end of the line
when Chim’s eyes lifted from the book he was reading:
The World is Flat.
 
He eyed Cole suspiciously.

“What’s up with
you?” 

Ava giggled,
pulling Cole along with her like a little boy.  She’d been drinking too, though
she’d had one drink for every three of Cole’s.  His hands found the base of her
shirt as she stopped in front of Chim.  Cole ignored Marcus and all the other
people waiting for the plane.  He focused on the smoothness of Ava’s skin and
the thought of all of it, exposed to him... soon. 

“Cole and I just
figured we’d get a head start on things...” Ava explained.  He dropped his
mouth to her neck and she giggled, squirming out of his grasp.  “Get the party
going a bit early.”

Suzanne muffled
a laugh behind her hand.  Chim scowled in irritation, nose flared.  He looked
like Frank Thomas when he did that.  Cole snorted with half-suppressed
laughter.

‘Not feeling so
bad anymore...’

“I’m not sitting
next to him on the plane then...” Marcus warned.  “He looks like he can hardly
walk.” 

“He’s fine,” Ava
drawled.  “I’m sure Cole can handle a few shots.”

She pulled him
back against her, her hip bumping against his.  Suddenly that was the funniest
thing that had happened all day.  Cole began to laugh while other passengers
glanced up in concern.   Chim began rummaging through his bag.  He stood up,
handing Ava several air-sickness bags. 

“You started
this, Booker,” he growled.  “You deal with it.”

She rolled her
eyes.

“Don’t need a
dad, Mar-cus,” she taunted.  “I’ve got one.  A’right?”

Chim pushed them
into Cole’s hands instead.

“Here,” he
insisted.  “Just take ‘em.”

Cole fumbled,
dropping the bags onto the floor.  Ava laughed and then so did he.  (Marcus
grumbled before sitting back down and hiding behind his book.)   Cole pulled
Ava into a sudden kiss.  She tasted of tequila, hot and burning on his tongue. 
There were people around them, but he didn’t care.  He wrapped his arms around
her, grinding her against his hips. 

Cole was vaguely
aware of someone coughing.

“Uh... you might
want to tone that down kids,” Suzanne chided, “I’d rather we all were allowed
onto the plane.”

Cole let go of
Ava, noting how dark with desire her eyes were.

‘Yup,’
Cole’s swirling
mind thought.
 ‘Damned good way to start the trip...’

: : : : : : : :
: :

An hour into the
flight and Ava's plan had dismally failed.  Cole was very sick and she was next
to him, helping with the air sickness bags while the contents of his stomach
came back up again and again.    She glanced up to see Marcus peeking over the
headrest ahead of them with a ‘told-you-so’ look that made her want to punch
him. 

He peered down
at Cole, opening his mouth to say something.  Ava interrupted.

“Say it and
you’re a fucking dead man,” she hissed, eyes dangerous. 

For the first
time since high school, she really did want to punch Marcus Baldwin.  He rolled
his eyes instead.

“Go.  Away. 
Chim.” Ava growled.  Next to her, Cole heaved again.

“You know,” Chim
said cheerfully, “I think you guys have reached the next level in your
relationship.  Pretty cute, you know:  you holding Cole’s hand while he
pukes.” 

Ava swore under
her breath, glaring at the passengers watching her and Cole with wary eyes. 
Cole groaned and Chim laughed, dropping back down to his seat.  Cole vomited
loudly and Ava looked away, catching the gaze of a steely-haired woman watching
them with wide-eyed indignation.

“WHAT?!”  Ava
shouted, furious. 

Around her,
people averted their eyes.  She heard giggling coming from the seat in front of
her and she slammed her fist against her thigh, fighting the urge to beat the
shit out of Marcus right then and there.  She could just imagine the phone call
to her father…

‘Yeah, hi, Dad. 
I’m in jail.  They had to turn our flight around because I freaked out on
Chim….’

Next to her,
Cole opened his eyes, skin grey under the overhead lighting of the plane.

“God, Ava...” he
mumbled, “I’m so sorry.” 

He swallowed
convulsively. Ava handed him a can of ginger ale. 

“Drink the soda
and stop worrying, Cole,” she said with a tired sigh, squeezing his shoulder. 
“I’m sure you’d hold my hair for me.”

He nodded, and
the second hour of the endless flight began.

They arrived at
Trois Îlets after nightfall and awakened to a world transformed.  Their sense
of being out of place was enhanced by the French language.  Suzanne was the
only one who spoke it, so she became their official translator and guide,
leading them through their days. 

They'd rented a
rural chateau.  It was in poor repair, with cracked mortar and water-stained
wallpaper, but there was still an air of grandeur to the place.  Ghosts lurked
in the wide hallways and palm-shaded rooms, faint chamber music sneaking into
their dreams.

Chim and Suzanne
had set up in a bedroom at one end, Cole and Ava at the other.  The chateau
provided plenty of room for hanging out without getting in each other’s way. 
The weather in Martinique was not so hot that they had to escape it midday, and
balmy enough that they spent late nights on the patio drinking beer and
laughing. 

Chim teased Cole
mercilessly about spending the first night of their vacation sick as a dog. 
This continued until the third day when they went out for dinner and Chim
ordered out-of-season clams. 

Revenge was
sudden and sweet.

They all spent
their days sunbathing, exploring, and snorkeling.  Mid-week, when Ava and Cole
were swimming in the crystalline water, he grabbed her hand, pointing excitedly
beneath them.  There, in the shimmering blue depths, was a large Hawksbill
turtle.  They watched until the animal disappeared into a forest of seaweed,
their hands clasped together.  Beneath them, the light through the water 
pulsed to some beat no one could hear.

‘Ripples…’

Ava had intended
to start the books that Nina had given her, but every moment seemed filled with
activity.  She dragged the novels from spot to spot, but ended up becoming
distracted in the best possible ways.  One afternoon, lounging on a quiet
beach, she decided to begin.  They’d come in by catamaran.  Chim and Suzanne
were out snorkeling, but Ava stayed back, determined to get through the first
few chapters.

Cole, of course,
decided to stay too. 

Ava lay out her
towel, flicking through her mp3 player to find a playlist for the beach: Bob
Marley and Jimmy Buffet and some harder rock tunes.  She had just laid down on
her back, sighing contentedly, when she felt Cole bump up against her.   He was
smiling down on her, his face in shadow, only the white of his teeth visible
against the brilliant light.

“I think you
need more sunscreen,” he said. 

He waggled the
bottle.  Ava smirked.

“Reading today,
Cole... you know Nina’s going to ask me about the books when we get back.”

He laughed, pouring
the liquid into his hand and positioning himself at her feet.

“Go ahead and
read then,” he murmured.  “Just ignore me...”

She nodded, but
didn’t move to pick up the books.  Ava closed her eyes, smiling as Cole’s
fingers dropped to her calves. She relaxed, body melting as he moved past her
knees to her thighs, his fingers tugging at the string tie on her black bikini.

“Cole...” she
warned, opening one eye.  “Public beach.”    Her voice was stern, but she was
grinning.

He shrugged,
letting go of the strings, moving to her other leg.  This time his fingers dug
deeper, leaving Ava sighing with pleasure.  Cole Thomas knew how to use his
hands. As he reached her inner thigh, his thumb slipped under the edge of her
suit.  Ava gasped. 

“Cole,
please...” she said quietly, voice wavering.  She hadn’t even lifted the book
yet.

Her lids
fluttered open to find Cole backlit, his body blocking her from the rest of the
people.  He moved forward, bracing himself on either side of her, his face a
few inches from her own.

“No one can see,
Ava...” he whispered, voice husky.  “Just don’t make noise.”

She let out a
huff of frustration and desire at his words, her eyes closing as Cole continued
to massage sunscreen into her skin.  He spent a few minutes at her thighs,
going up to her hips, then teasing inward until she began to writhe.  Grabbing
his hands, Ava squinted, chest heaving.

“Cole,
seriously... you need to stop that right now!”

He grinned,
pulling back and Ava relaxed under his ministrations.  Cole shifted to her stomach
and then up her chest, fingers sneaking under the edge of her bikini top,
rolling her nipples.  She moaned and Cole chuckled.

“Quieter,
Ava...” he warned.   “The creepy guy by the palm trees just looked at you.”

Ava blinked,
head tilting to the side and laying back again.  There was a pink-skinned
tourist peeking over a New Yorker magazine, wide-eyed and curious.

“This isn’t
helping with my plans to read,” she muttered.

Cole leaned in
again.

“Forget the
book... let me touch you.”  The sound of his voice was the same one he used in
the dark, telling her what he wanted her to do.  A shiver ran the length of her
body.

“Alright,” she
whispered, closing her eyes, body humming in anticipation.

Cole worked her
arms and shoulders first.  He had sculptor’s hands, strong and deft, finding
and working out the knots under her skin.  She’d almost fallen asleep when he
asked her to turn over.  He massaged her back, moving down to her buttocks and
legs, the buzz under her skin returning.  His fingers kneaded and traced the
lines of her spine.  With his knowledge of anatomy from figure drawing classes,
he accurately followed the striations of her muscles, leaving her moaning with
relief and pliant beneath his fingers.  She was half drugged by sheer pleasure
when Cole finished. 

She turned back
to him, shocked by the expression on his face: frustration so intense it was
pain.   Ava licked her lips, nodding to the water.

“You want to
swim for a bit?”

Cole scowled.

“Baby, you know
what I want.”

Ava sat up, her
mouth next to Cole's ear.

“You remember
that place just up the beach that Suzanne pointed out as the catamaran
arrived?”  Ava asked breathlessly.  “The one that’s hidden by the rocks on
either side.”

“Yeah.”

Ava shrugged.

“Well, let’s go…
the catamaran doesn’t leave for another three hours; we’ve got time.”

Cole’s eyes
widened.  In seconds, he was on his feet, grabbing her hand and pulling her up
after him.

“Lead the way,”
he said with a grin.

: : : : : : : :
: :

They wandered
along the edge of the forest where the overgrown brush met the water, heading
toward the hidden section of beach.  There was no one sunbathing here, as the
creepers and lush plant life reached almost all the way to the water.   Cole
had a towel wrapped around his waist and so did Ava.  They were hand in hand
when they finally made it past the last jetty of rocks, finding the alcove. 
Ava and Cole tossed their towels onto the narrow band of sand, stepping into
the water together.

It was a
sheltered tidal pool, the size of a small swimming pool, and just as clear,
brilliant azure blue.  It was sandy on the bottom, protected from the ocean
beyond by a small ring of rocks that broke the surface of the water.  With high
tide scouring the bottom on a daily basis, and separated from the ocean at low
tide, the pool was completely clear of any plant life.  Ava sighed happily as
she sank her toes into it. 

“Oh god, that
feels good,” she murmured.  “So warm.”

Cole's eyes were
on her mouth, body throbbing in anticipation.

“Where?”  he
asked, eyes heavy-lidded, intense.  Ava smiled, glancing around.  They were
completely alone.  She took his hand.

“In case anyone
comes up the beach,” she explained, breath quickening.  “I mean we saw this
place... someone else could have, too.”

He nodded,
following her further into the tidal pool.  Partway out, she pulled him down to
a crouch, their bodies floating in the salt water.

“Love you,” Ava
said, her arms over his neck. 

His mouth
crashed down like a wave as his control disappeared.  She floated next to him
and wrapped her legs around his waist to tether herself to him as his lips and
tongue worked her mouth. His fingers were insistent, shucking the bikini top up
under her armpits, leaving his hands free to roam her breasts.  Ava gasped,
breaking the kiss as he reached her nipples, rolling them roughly between his
thumb and forefingers.