The Runaway Sub [Libertine Island 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

Who’d have thought that the man to reawaken her desires would be a gay Dom who lived on a tropical island? If someone had asked her a year about what she thought it would take to get libido revved up again, those were not the qualities she’d have guessed, except the Dom part, of course. She had tried vanilla, but when it came to sex, she needed a Dom in the bedroom. She needed someone who would take control, take charge, and let her just feel and experience. Of course, they also had to be trustworthy and respect her safe word, but she implicitly knew that Caleb was someone who wouldn’t violate her trust.

The day passed slowly. She brought her e-reader to the beach and found a nice shady spot. Of course, she also doused herself in a gallon of sunscreen, all the time wishing that Caleb were there to apply it. After about an hour, she took a quick dip in the water before returning to her lounger and her steamy Lexi Blake book.

Her stomach had just started growling, making her realize that she had skipped breakfast. She was just about to go looking for food Maggie appeared wearing another of her teeny bikinis, and accompanied by a blonde hunk.

She saw Maggie looking around and waved to catch her attention.

Dragging the hunk behind her, Maggie headed over to Jen. “Isn’t this place beautiful? And speaking of beautiful, this is Carter Hayes. He’s the head chef here. Carter, this is Jen.”

“Lovely to meet you, Jen. Hopefully we can get better acquainted. I have to go see what’s happening in my kitchen now. My brother Dalton agreed to take over the breakfast service, and I’m afraid to see what he’s done to the place.”

“Nice to meet you, Carter. And speaking of food, do you know when they start serving lunch? I missed breakfast and I just realized that I’m starving.”

Maggie looked at her friend critically.

“Maggie, really, I didn’t do it deliberately. It just slipped my mind.”

“Yes, well, you can’t afford to lose any more weight or you’ll be like Aly was after she got back from the war zone. And speaking of food, I worked up quite an appetite, too. Any chance of getting a bite to eat around here? I know everyone is probably busy with the rehearsal dinner and preparing for tomorrow’s wedding feast.”

“Never fear. I’ve drafted all available hands to get ready for the two big dinners. As for the two of you, for a beautiful woman, the kitchen is always open. The lunch buffet will be laid out at 11:30, but if you are hungry now, what do you say to omelettes?”

“I’d say yes. Jen?”

“That sounds lovely, Carter. Thank you.”

“You are welcome. Just head up to the open-air dining area and I’ll have your meal ready in twenty minutes.”

* * * *

Jen headed back down to her lounger stuffed so full she was afraid to go back in the water. Toast, bacon, home fries, grilled tomatoes, and fruit had accompanied Carter’s omelette. She’d been about to burst, but she finished every bite. It had been delicious, and she found she had more of an appetite than she’d had in a very long time.

Maggie lay beside her, her bikini top off as she relaxed in the sun. “So what’s the schedule for tonight’s rehearsal dinner?”

“I think the wedding party walks through the agenda for tomorrow around six, and then the rehearsal dinner starts at seven. It’s pretty informal, but there will still be a feast provided, probably by your Carter, drinks and general debauchery in the dungeon.”

“Mmmm. Sounds good. But he’s not my Carter. Not yet.”

“I saw him strapping you to the spanking bench before I left. What did you think of it? Was it your first time?”

“Yes, and it definitely won’t be my last. I think I may be finally starting to understand what all you deviants see in this lifestyle. It was hot. By the time Carter finally let me come, I was about to go out of my mind. And then I came like three times in a row while he was inside me. Damn that was just about the best sex I ever had.”

Maggie frowned.

“After, he unstrapped me and then did what he called
aftercare
which was divine. When I finally recovered, I looked around, but you were gone. I thought you were into all this kinky stuff?”

“I was—am. I guess that without someone to play with, I didn’t feel like hanging around.”

“Don’t tell me you went back to the room and watched
The Tonight Show
or something all by yourself?”

“No, I went for a walk and sat on a bench watching the stars.”

She saw Maggie staring at her and felt a blush beginning. When Maggie smiled at her color change, she blushed harder as Maggie began laughing. Damn having friends for twenty years. She could read Jen like a book.

“You weren’t alone, were you?”

“Well, I went out alone.”

“But someone joined you. Spill. Who was it?”

“Caleb?”

“The hot doctor? I thought you said he was gay. Word is that he’s hit on a couple of subs including Rebecca, but has never actually been seen in a scene, so to speak. There’s been some speculation about his sexuality, but pretty much all of the unattached subs are dying to be the one to get the question of his preference answered once and for all, but he’s been keeping to himself. Until you.”

“Um, well…”

“You two fooled around, didn’t you?” Maggie stared at her, and the blush deepened. “Damn. For a lawyer, you should have a better poker face. I guess this settles the question. He’s not gay.”

“Um…no…yes…”

“He is gay? He isn’t gay? But you’ve been fooling around, I can tell by your expression.” Maggie laughed with delight. “So, tell me, counselor, how did you go about convincing the doctor to give pussy a try?”

“I didn’t…we didn’t…”

“You are not going to convince me you two didn’t do the deed.” She looked into Jen’s face. “Okay, you might not have technically had sex, but you two definitely fooled around. Did you come? Did he come?”

“Yes and yes.”

“Damn, girl. Did you convert him or just turn him bi? And the most important question of them all…are you going to see him again and convince him to have a taste of pussy?”

“You are the crudest woman I know, Maggie, and yes, yes, yes.” She threw her arms around her friend. “It was wonderful, and we are seeing each other again tonight, and yes, I hope we have sex. Although with the way he makes me feel, I’d be happy just to suck him off, if that’s all he wants from me.”

“Why him? He’s handsome enough if you like gingers. And he’s smart and nice, but over the past few years, you’ve met a lot of handsome, nice, smart men, men who I would like to point out were not gay and don’t live and work on an island a couple of thousand miles from where you live.”

“I wish I knew. There was just this immediate connection. We can talk about anything. And the fact that he’s a Dom is just icing on the cake. I don’t know. Maybe I can let go with him because I know this relationship can only last the week, but it’s the first time I’ve wanted a man in years, and I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.”

Maggie grinned broadly. “There’s my girl. Now just don’t go falling in love and enjoy the ride. Or enjoy riding him. And make sure he rides you hard and…”

“And stop with the riding metaphors. I get it. And don’t worry. We both know the score and are just going to enjoy the week together. He broke up with the sub he loved just before he came here, so he’s lonely, too. I think maybe we are helping each other heal.”

* * * *

The rehearsal dinner was the most lavish spread that Caleb had ever seen. He couldn’t imagine what the actual wedding supper would be like. Apparently the head cook was actually a frustrated cordon bleu chef and was so thrilled to have a break from the standard tropical buffets that he was cooking up enough food for an army and had pressed a number of the Libertine Island staff into being his sous chefs and had them all chopping and mixing and tasting.

Chef Carter Hayes was a Dom, and generally treated everyone who worked in his kitchen as his submissive, giving orders and making sure that he had absolute obedience but in a caring, supportive way. But now with the wedding preparations underway, Carter had lost it.

He was still calm and collected and generous, providing whatever food they wanted, not giving away his inner anxiety about the wedding.

But in the kitchen with the staff, he barked out orders like a Dom crossed with an army drill sergeant. Anyone who entered his kitchen was now his slave and put to work. Caleb had made the mistake of popping in for a snack and had had to clean and chop ten pounds of carrots before he could make is escape. He was not going near the kitchen again. Ever. Not even if he starved.

Caleb had considered tracking down Carter’s brothers Dalton and Chris while he was on carrot duty until he had seen who was on potato peeling duty. He had to smother a chuckle under the baleful eyes of the other two Hayes brothers, who were elbow deep in potato peelings. It seemed that Carter had his brothers temporarily under his thumb as well.

Unfortunately for Dalton and Chris, when they paused to stare down Caleb, Carter walked in to see how his slaves were doing. Seeing them taking a break, he lost it for a second, and while his brothers were kowtowing to him, Caleb had made his escape. Luckily, as the island doctor, there was only so much revenge they could get on him, but he would watch his back for a while. The look that Chris had shot him over Carter’s shoulder had promised retribution as Caleb slipped away.

He decided that discretion was the better part of valor, as the saying went, and that it would be a great time to reorganize the clinic. He hadn’t been a part of the staff when the resort was being organized. Originally they’d looked for a doctor, but it was not easy to find one, who, even if not actually in the lifestyle, was knowledgeable and comfortable around it. They’d ended up hiring a nurse, and she’d done a great job getting things organized, but when she found out she was pregnant, given that she’d had several miscarriages, both she and her sub had decided that living on an island wasn’t a good idea. Caleb had heard that things were going well so far, which was good news.

But at her pregnancy, the owners of the resort had decided to try again to find a doctor for the island. He’d gotten the e-mail a few days before his injury. He’d looked at it wistfully, but then deleted it knowing that nothing would be able to tear Reynaldo away from Miami. Rey was a cop and a damned good one. Caleb was proud of him and all that he had accomplished. But there was always a price to pay when one was a good cop. There were a lot of people very unhappy with him. It wasn’t Rey’s fault that a brother of one of these people decided that the best way to get revenge on Rey for sending their sibling to prison for thirty years by shooting the man he loved. Not that Rey had shared this with him. Caleb had to get this information from Rey’s partner Joe.

Caleb had only been in the hospital for a few days. Lying in a hospital bed, Caleb had had a lot of time to think. There was no way he was going back to that clinic. He was done. Whenever anyone mentioned the clinic he found that he had trouble breathing and his hands started to shake. He couldn’t face one more act of violence, and he’d forever associate that place with the gunman. Whenever someone from the clinic stopped by and told him how much they were looking forward to him coming back, he found that it was like a thousand pound weight was sitting on his chest and he could feel his blood pressure rising. He sent in his resignation by email two days after the shooting.

Hell, he really wanted to be done with Miami, too, but he knew for Rey, it was home and he wasn’t sure what to do.

Rey had brought his cell phone and laptop to keep him occupied. He’d barely seen Rey those three days, as he had been obsessed with finding the perp. Caleb retrieved the e-mail that he’d deleted about the job on the island. Each day, he had looked at it for hours, following the link to the resort website and looking at each page carefully. He saw the relaxed lifestyle, the wonderful facilities, and the fully equipped playrooms. He and Rey hadn’t been to the Club in months. Rey was working six or seven days a week, often at night or on weekends. Caleb also had a full schedule, working at the hospital and volunteering at a clinic in a poor area that was underserved by doctors.

He loved his work, but he didn’t love Miami anymore and wasn’t going back to the clinic anymore, not that Rey knew. Rey hadn’t been around long enough for Caleb to tell him about that, or about anything. After three days, Caleb had been fed up and checked himself out of the hospital. His first night back in his own bed, Rey didn’t come home all night. Caleb had lain awake, and each sound, each siren, each bump in the night was like a knife in his wound. It was like coming home from the war again, but worse, because this was more personal.

One week after the shooting, Rey and his long-time partner on the Force Joe walked into their home. Rey’s long, beautiful hair that he normally kept neatly tied back was hanging lose and dirty, his clothes were torn and bloody, but he had a smile on his tired face.

“I got him, Caleb. I got him.”

“He’s in jail.”

“No. He’s dead.”

That was when Caleb noticed the blood on Rey’s clothes. He’d been frantic until Rey reassured him that the blood was not his own before heading into their bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind him. Caleb’s heart nearly stopped when Joe had described what had happened, including how Rey had been forced to shoot the guy when he got the drop on Joe. He swelled with pride when Joe told how Rey had then performed CPR until the ambulance had come, but it was too late.