Passion in Paradise (2 page)

After struggling that evening to get through a planned event at the resort with a smile on her face, Penny went back to her bungalow. She got ready for bed, thinking to herself,
I wonder what it would be like to be undressed by a man? If only Nick hadn’t deserted me in the middle of our date.

She had only been asleep for a short while when she was awakened by the sound of “
pop, pop, pop.”
She wasn’t an expert on the subject, but if she had to make a guess, it sure sounded like gunfire! All at once, she heard someone pounding furiously on her door.

Frightened, Penny leaped from her bed and grabbed her robe. Who the hell would be pounding on her door so late at night? Wait! She recognized that voice.

“
Penelope, it’s Nick. Open up!”

“
Just go away!” she replied, through the closed door.

A few hours ago, Penny might have run to him. Now, she wasn’t at all sure of his intentions. She just stood helplessly listening to his violent pounding. Suddenly it stopped and the door flew open.

“
You have to come with me now!” Nick demanded.

“
I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“
There is no time to argue!”

Penny stood defiantly, “First, you run out on me and now you want me to…hey watch it!”

“
What the hell are you doing?” she demanded.

Nick didn’t answer. He carried her kicking and screaming to a small waiting boat.

“
This is not the dingy I intended to use tonight!” he grumbled, as he lowered her down to the waiting crewman. Rifles were piled in the back of the boat. Instantly, she connected those rifles with the gunfire she had heard earlier.

“
Penny, you’ve really gotten yourself into it this time,” she said aloud.

“
Habib, hand me the rifles,” said Nick, who was still standing on the pier. He piled them on the pier.Then he and Habib changed places.

As Nick settled in the boat, he instructed, “After you drop the rifles off, get back quickly. I don’t know how fast this is going to escalate.”

In a pique of anger, Penny turned to Nick and slapped him, “You told me you were a salesman!”

“
I am,” he cheerfully replied, “I just don’t sell vacuum cleaners.”

Penny squinted and accused him, “I bet your name isn’t even Nick!”

“
No, it’s Nicolas actually. But my friends call me Nick.”

“
That’s good to know… Nicolas!”

Penny watched as the huge yacht she had admired from afar…
was that only yesterday?
... got closer and closer.

“
That’s yours? Business must be good,” she mocked him. “Is that why you’re carrying a gun?”

“
I do all right,” Nick replied, staring down at her bust.

Penny realized where his eyes were focused and she modestly tugged her nightgown up a little. Nick responded by looking even lower, between her thighs. She snapped her legs together.

“
You pig!”

When they reached the yacht, Nick tied up to the rope ladder.

“
Ladies first,” He told her with a smirk.

Penny examined the rickety ladder. It had to be an eight foot climb up to the deck of the yacht! “I’m not going up that thing!”

“
Don’t worry, I’ll help.” He smiled devilishly.

Reluctantly, she began to climb. He put the palm of his hand firmly on one of her buttocks and pushed.

“
What are you doing?” she stopped, blushing.

“
I’m helping,” Nick replied innocently.

He followed her up the ladder, pushing his body against hers as they climbed.

Again, she stopped, “Now what are you doing?”

“
I don’t want you to fall,” he argued.

Once on board, Penny decided it was time to confront her kidnapper. “Do you want to tell me why you’ve dragged me out here in the middle of the night?”

Nick didn’t want his crew to watch the spectacle. He dragged her down below to his stateroom. “You want the answer to your question? Take a look.” He pushed her face to the porthole. Fires are breaking out all over the city.

“
What’s going on here?” she asked nervously.

“
I do believe it’s a revolution.” he shrugged, replying nonchalantly.

“
Did you cause this?”

“
Not really. I just sort of go where the money is.”

“
So, you’re a mercenary.”

“
No, mercenaries fight battles. I just supply them…and rescue beautiful young sheilas from danger.”

“
And what do you do with all your rescued women?”

Nick moved a little closer to her, “That depends on how grateful and beautiful they are.”

Penny looked into Nick’s eyes, “Well, I suppose I am grateful.”

Nick softly added, “You forgot beautiful.” He pulled her closer to him, gently kissing her forehead, then her eyelids, then her cheeks. He teased the corner of her mouth with his lips. Shocked by her own feelings, she pulled away and turned her back on him. It wasn’t that she feared his passionate advances. It was that she feared surrendering to unknown desires.

“
I’m not sure I’m ready for this.” His arms went around her again, pulling her body closer to his as he nuzzled her neck. His tongue traveled slowly upward until he reached her tender earlobe. Holding it firmly with his teeth, he began nibbling it tenderly. She could feel him becoming aroused as he pressed against her. It made her nervous but it also strangely excited her. At the same time, he pulled his hips away from her backside, trying not to frighten her with his arousal. He was quite certain that this experience was her first.

At last her body relaxed. This was his cue to turn her toward him. Cradling her face in his hands, he drew her lips to his. “No. Please stop! Oh please,” she whispered, as her body betrayed her…pressing herself against his throbbing member, she succumbed to the passion. He carried her to the bed and gently put her down, never breaking that sweet kiss.

Nick was eager to caress and explore her most intimate places. He slid his hands under her gown, slowly running them up her body until they were cupping her breasts. He pinched her nipples. Penny moaned. She had never experienced anything like this but she knew she wanted more! She was getting excited and wet. He stood up and tore his shirt off…buttons flying.

She watched as he removed his jeans, revealing his throbbing manhood. Her body quivered with anxiety and expectation. He went back to his tender kissing, moving up from her belly until he reached her nipples. They were tender and he sucked on them until they became as erect as his penis.

Penny had always been shy and inhibited, but her body impulsively reacted to his touch. She arched her back, grinding her hips against him. He slipped his hand into her panties, finding her soft mound. Slowly, he removed her panties and tossed them to the floor.

“
I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.

“
I will teach you,” he said placing her hand on his erection.”

“
You’re so big…I think you are beautiful!”

Nick positioned himself between her legs and began to rub himself on her clitoris to prepare her for penetration. Penny took a deep breath as he thrust himself into her for the first time. The hours past quickly as they made love through the night.

After two days, the uprising died down and peace was restored. Through the porthole, Nick could see that the streets were quiet and the island was back to business as usual. “You’ll be safe here until I find out what’s happened.” he told her. “I don’t even know who’s running the country now,” he added, laughing.

Penny put her arms around him and kissed him deeply, “Please be careful my darling.”

Nick met Habib ashore and they headed for one of the local pubs to find out what had transpired over the last two days. They invited the two blokes seated at the bar to join them for a couple of pints and some gossip. When they were up to date, Nick sent his friend back to the yacht with new instructions.

Penny was getting really nervous. Several hours had passed and she had expected Nick to return long before this. Finally, someone knocked on the stateroom door. It was Habib. “Nick got tied up, so he sent me to come get you and return you to your bungalow at the resort.”

Penny frowned. “He is not going to come back for me himself? I thought his work here was finished!”

“
I am sorry, Miss. I don’t know anything about what is holding him up. Those were his instructions, and he never told me anything else,” explained the crewman.

Wow, he dumped me again! He made me trust him, got just what he wanted, and now he’s going to move on to his next conquest. What a stupid fool I am.
She might have been a naive farm girl, but she was pretty damn sure she had it all figured out. It was only wild speculation on her part, but that didn’t keep her from getting angry and feeling so hurt.

Habib deposited Penny safely in her bungalow, stopping only long enough to offer her a final piece of advice about Nick. “You have to understand this. It’s not you. Nick moves around a lot. We’re shoving off for Australia in the morning.”

The next morning, Penny had intended to get up early, but her late night tears caused her to oversleep. When she finally awakened, it took her a moment to focus. Her eyes widened when she remembered. “Nick!” She jumped out of bed and ran to the window. It was too late. His yacht was gone. There was only open water where the ship had been anchored.

Just then, the telephone rang. Penny ran to answer it, “Hello?” For a moment, Penny was flying high, with anticipation. But it was only the front desk, calling to remind her of a meeting with the staff in thirty minutes. “Yes, of course I’ll be there.”

 
Penny only had three more days at the resort and there was a lot of catching up to do. Given the recent civil unrest, it was doubtful that anyone would complain about her falling behind on the schedule, but she felt she had to impress Margaret with thorough research and a well written report.

That afternoon, Penny went on an island picnic. She boarded a sailboat with a small group of adventurers and set out to have lunch on a secluded atoll. Everyone had a good laugh at Penny’s expense, when a lizard appeared out of nowhere and seemed to chase her down the beach.

The following day, it was big game, deep sea fishing. She knew nothing about fishing, and was dreading the prospect of having to bait a hook and reel in a fish that looked large enough to swallow her whole! But it wasn’t like that at all. The members of the crew baited huge hooks with large hunks of fish, sewing them securely onto the hooks, and then casting them overboard. They trolled the waters until there was a bite, after which, they sat Penelope down and strapped her into her chair, handed her the fishing rod, and offered only advice from then on. When she finally reeled the tired fish in, they took it off the hook and took pictures. It was exhausting, but turned out to be quite an adventure!

She spent each morning exploring every inch of the resort, sampling every food they offered, and interviewing both staff members and guests. The nights were spent alone, rehashing the days she and Nick had spent together, and crying herself to sleep at night. She vowed that he would never get another chance to hurt her again. 

Penny filled every waking moment with something new, and was punctual for every scheduled event, but nothing seemed to matter any more. Even the tropical beauty of the island appeared a little less colorful now. The last day of her trip, Penny woke up, packed her bags and then went off to an exquisite farewell brunch. She didn’t have much of an appetite but it was her job to try everything and report on it, so she forced herself to taste a little of each dish. She then went back to her bungalow to wait for the porter to pick up her luggage.

It was time to say goodbye to the resort, to the island paradise and most of all, to her memories of Nick.

It was time to go home.

The same guide escorted Penny back to the airport. He remembered her from her arrival.

“
How was your stay?” he asked, as the ferry pulled away from the dock. “You certainly had more excitement than you expected. I hope you won’t hold the unrest against us. It doesn’t happen every day.”

“
The trip was wonderful.” She answered, not feeling comfortable enough to go into any more detail. She had hardly noticed the fires in the city because she had been too busy building her own inferno with Nick!

But in spite of all the intense passion they had shared together, she would never see him again. Or would she?
If he came looking for me would I even want him back? Should I be hoping for another miracle?