In Paradise Read online

"How do you know it's her first time?"

  "Shush." The woman smacked at air in front of him, almost brushing his nose. "I need a quiet moment myself to say my prayers. I hate this part of flying, the landing."

  Jake continued to stare at the back of the young woman's head. She had mousy, dirty-blonde hair, kinky and fighting to escape the funny little bun on the top of her head.

  He couldn't tell if it was long. She was probably fifteen to twenty pounds overweight. What had possessed him to do what he'd done?

  He settled back into his seat, remembering the way she smelled. It was that and the way she'd snuggled against him, awakening his long-dormant desires. He'd begun to wonder if he needed professional help since he hadn't even been interested in a woman in almost a year.

  And yet, this one had him risk being caught in a public place. Some might find that exciting. Not him.

  The condom he'd used had been in his wallet for almost two years, hopefully no longer. With a bit of luck, it did the job it was made for.

  And the way she'd returned his kiss...her taste, he would remember the sweet taste and feel of her plump lips for a long time. Movement caught his eye and he turned to see her looking at him before she jerked back to the window.

  Was she really so plain, or was it the lack of any makeup that made her appear washed out?

  Jake gave himself a mental slap. What a first-class jerk!

  She'd given herself to him and, from her demeanor, it hadn't been an everyday occurrence for her either. What a jerk he was to find fault with her.

  When the elderly lady began to fold her blanket, she did, too. Once again, her alluring fragrance came to him. Just like earlier, he started to get hard.

  Impossible! No way. Was the woman a witch?

  And he didn't even know her damned name!

  When the plane landed, Jake stood back to allow the women to go ahead of him. As she stood, he couldn't help but notice she wasn't dressed like someone who could afford to travel in first class. Her wrinkled sundress did nothing to accentuate the curves he wished he could have explored at leisure.

  She was taller than he expected, which, in retrospect, had probably made the fit so perfect. He estimated her to be only about four inches shorter than his six-foot-three, tall for a woman. With skin so white, she looked as though she rarely saw the light of day.

  The elderly woman tugged at her, but for some reason she didn’t want to move. Then he saw why. Her underpants were on the floor by her foot. He dropped his bag and scooped them up before anyone could see.

  Her expression of horror stopped him. What did she want him to do with them? He shrugged and shoved them into his jacket pocket.

  She gave a squeak and closed her eyes. The pesky old lady turned back. “Are you coming, dear. You’re holding up the line.”

  Jake followed her closely and hoped for an opportunity to return her undies. He didn’t want her to think he taken them as a trophy or something. The attendant, the woman he'd once dated, waylaid him.

  "I have the morning free, Jake. Why don't you wait on me?"

  Jake stopped, since it would be rude to keep moving and tell her he wasn't interested. "Sorry, Lori, but I already have plans. Nice to see you again. Take care."

  "You, too." Lori looked away, dismissing him.

  He continued down the stairs, where she was several steps ahead. The way she crowded near the backs of people in front of her told him she might be trying to avoid him.

  Too bad. No way was he going to let her get away without at least discovering her name.

  Once her feet touched the blacktop, she sped around the crowd and stretched into a long stride, just short of a run. He smiled. If she thought she was going to get away, she had another thing coming.

  As he walked through the doorway leading to the luggage lanai, a familiar face brought him up short. His nemesis walked straight toward the woman he’d fucked on the plane. It was a day for surprises and this one didn't sit well.

  “Paradise. Good to see you again."

  There was no doubt. The woman stopped as Boyd Hatcher spoke. Damn.

  "Did you have a good flight?" Hatcher looked away from the woman he'd called…Paradise? and stared into Jake's eyes. Jake cringed. "You didn't happen to meet my good friend Jake, did you?

  Di turned several shades of pink. “Please don’t call me that. I go by Di.”

  Damn!

  Hatcher started to laugh and she went from pink to red.

  Hatcher examined Jake's face for evidence of why she might be embarrassed by the seemingly innocent question.

  Jake didn't know how he'd done it, but evil Boyd Hatcher had managed to get the upper hand. Again. Somehow Boyd must have orchestrated the whole sordid event. Lord only knew how, but Jake had his cock in Paradise because he’d been set up.

  Jake didn't wait for his baggage. Hatcher probably had a camera crew hiding somewhere waiting to pounce at the opportune moment. "Stay the hell away from me, Boyd."

  CHAPTER 2

  Di had no idea what just happened. It was clear her new employer and the man she'd had sex with didn't like each other.

  "So you met Jake Forman on the plane. How delightful for you. At one time Jake and I were the best of friends. Super guy."

  Boyd Hatcher’s words didn’t ring true. "He sat next to me, but we didn't really talk much at all. He doesn't even know my name."

  "Huh, strange. I got a different impression. Jake seemed disappointed to see me with you. We're neighbors and rivals now. Our friendship has gone by the wayside, but I still have hope of restoring it."

  That made no sense to Di. "Rivals? But your books are nothing alike."

  Boyd Hatcher's brown eyes narrowed with a flash of anger so brief, Di questioned if she'd really seen it. Had she just insulted the man? One wrote fiction and the other non-fiction. Both were revered in their chosen genre.

  "Where are your baggage claim tickets?" Mr. Hatcher held his hand toward her expectantly. Di pulled the airline folder from the front of her bag and handed it to him. Mr. Hatcher handed off her claim ticket to a person dressed in an airline uniform hovering nearby. "Sam will bring your bags to the car. Let's not waste time. I have instructions for you before I leave."

  Sure enough, the employee had Sam on his nametag. Was this an indication of what a small world the island was? "Of course, Mr. Hatcher."

  "Boyd," he said almost snappishly, but he gave her a warm smile. "I insist you call me Boyd."

  He had told her to call him Boyd when she'd interviewed for the job, but it didn't seem proper. "Sorry, Boyd."

  "My car is parked out front." Mr. Hatcher...Boyd...didn't wait for a reply. He took off in the same direction Jake Forman had gone only minutes before.

  Di tried to keep up. "When will you be leaving?"

  Boyd jerked to a halt. "Shh, someone might overhear you."

  "Sorry."

  "It's important that no one knows I've left the island. I want the element of surprise on my side." He looked over his shoulder in both directions, as though he feared someone heard them speaking. And then he took off again.

  Di tried not to allow his dramatic flare to dampen her enthusiasm. This was the chance of a lifetime, a vacation in a beautiful island home. She didn't get Boyd Hatcher, however, she wasn't about to let little things get in her way.

  Boyd motioned her closer. "I didn't expect Jake to arrive until tomorrow. What a coincidence you flew in on the same plane. Did you talk about his art collection?"

  "I think I've already mentioned we didn't converse with one another."

  "Right.” He searched her face as if he doubted her. “When you give your lecture on Raduski, I believe you'll run into him again. He has several pieces and is interested in purchasing more."

  "Several pieces? Do you know which ones?"

  "A local paper did an article about his collection. I may have kept a copy if you’re that curious."

  Di knew immediately he was hiding something. May have kept a copy? Why he was being
so evasive. "Will you be back in time to attend my lecture?"

  "I should be there if all goes as planned. I wouldn't miss it." He paused a second to laugh and then continued to walk toward a limo. The driver gave a nod and jumped to open the door for them.

  "I've found a way to right an old wrong, and the Raduskis are the key. There are more Raduski paintings coming for sale. And you’ll be a part of it too, of course."

  Di crawled inside ahead of him, excited by the prospect of her first ride in a limo.

  Boyd’s comment about more Radudki paintings coming for sale worried her. "There aren't that many Raduski’s coming on the market. Their owners seem to horde them."

  He ignored the assessment she knew to be factual. "Now we can speak freely. I couldn't believe my luck when you agreed to watch my house for me. This trip has been worrying me. I need at least a week to make this work for me."

  Di's heart sank. "Two weeks. Don't you mean two weeks?"

  "Did I say a week? I meant to say two."

  She relaxed. "I still don't know why you think I'm so important to the success of this mysterious plan of yours. It seems to me anyone could watch your house."

  Boyd shook his head. "I need you. At least then I can be sure you'll be here for your lecture."

  "I hate to disappoint you, but my lectures don't usually draw a big crowd."

  "Well, this way I won't worry. The Raduski showing is very important to me."

  Di had been over this when she'd accepted the job. He wasn't any more forthcoming then than now. "What should I expect at your home? Do you have many visitors?"

  "The phone rings off the hook. But I already thought of a way to let people know why I'm not around and don't want to be disturbed. You keep my normal appointment at the hairdresser's tomorrow and tell Raul I'm holed up writing a new book. Tell him the wellspring of story ideas has burst and I need to work while I'm hot. Raul understands the creative process. Plus he's a notorious gossip."

  "Your hairdresser?" Di resisted the impulse to examine his bleached-blond head. After all, she wasn't the poster-girl for stylish dos.

  "Raul. He'll pass the word I'm not to be disturbed. Everybody who's anybody goes to Raul."

  Di self-consciously patted her unruly hair into place, when Boyd stared a bit too long at her head. Boyd watched her gesture with obvious interest. "Raul can even do something with your hair. My treat, of course. Tell him you're visiting as my guest until your lecture and I want you to have a makeover for the event. Raul knows how important it is for me to support the arts here on the big island."

  After the snide comment about her hair, she'd gladly take him up on his offer. Maybe Raul's prices were as big as Boyd's mouth. She could use a little help.

  Di didn't really care why Boyd Hatcher wanted to hide the fact he was leaving the island. Maybe he was having an affair he wanted to keep secret. The only thing Di cared about was using the two weeks of freedom she had.

  Hatcher's money had afforded a fulltime nurse for her hypochondriac mother. For the first time in a long time, Di didn't have to worry. She was free to enjoy herself any way she wanted. Two weeks in paradise!

  "Is it okay if I do some sightseeing?"

  "Just make sure you're in my home every evening. I don't want anyone to get suspicious about me, especially my next-door neighbor. He didn't ask about me, did he?"

  Di tried not to let her frustration show. She shook her head. “Are we talking about Jake Forman again? Are you saying Mr. Forman is your next-door neighbor? When you said he was a neighbor I never dreamed you meant next door.”

  "I don't mind if you talk to Jake or even pal around with him, but if he thinks you're staying at my place because we're intimate friends, please don't disabuse him of the notion. It will make him pea green to suspect I'm getting it on with a Raduski expert. He doesn't think I have it in me."

  Good grief. Di had no intention of ever speaking to Jake Forman again. What would be the point? What happened on the plane had been both surreal and a little weird. No way would a man like that want to continue what they’d started.

  What would Boyd say if she told him she'd already had sex with Jake Forman? "You think I can make Jake jealous? Did you get a good look at him...at me?"

  "I know Jake better than he knows himself. It isn't a pretty face that turns him on. It's brains."

  Did he just insult her? Or did he really think she had a pretty face? Di wanted to beg to differ about what turned Jake Forman on. A warm body was all it took, as she could attest. "And you're worried about his love life? It seemed to me Jake doesn't like you very much."

  "Nonsense. We are always competing with one another, but despite everything, I care about Jake. We used to be best friends and I worry about him."

  Another half-truth? Di didn't think so.

  All the way along the ocean front drive, Boyd continued to lay down the rules, until Di wondered if she'd made a big mistake. Then she saw Boyd's gated estate.

  Paradise.

  Her very private paradise for two whole weeks.

  Even better, he dropped her off, leaving immediately. While the house looked inviting, she wanted to see the ocean.

  She used the key Boyd gave her and disarmed the alarm per his very simple instructions. Boyd's house could easily be featured in an architectural magazine, but to Di it seemed too perfect, almost antiseptic.

  The best feature was the view. The windows running along the back wall brought the ocean view into the house. Black lava formations of rocks began where the white tiled deck ended, with a spray of water misting the air as the tide collided against the wall of rocks.

  Di laid her purse on the table in the middle of the foyer, taking a direct path toward the first door leading outside, leaving it hang open behind her. As she walked across the patio, she realized jagged black rock hid the sand from view everywhere. Her visions of walking along the sandy beach and into the ocean dissipated.

  Was the tide in or out? She didn't have a clue. She searched for a way to get to the water that wouldn't involve killing herself in the process.

  At the side of the house she found a walk with rails leading down around thick vegetation and exotic flowers. Sure enough it led to the beach, only it appeared as if the sidewall might belong to the neighbor's beach instead of Hatcher's.

  With no one in sight, she decided to take a chance and enjoy her dip in the Pacific Ocean. She could always claim she didn't know she was trespassing.

  Di removed her shoes and trod out onto the sand, only it wasn't like in the movies. The sand was coarse and painful to walk on with her tender feet. Stepping back into her sandals, she decided she'd go shopping for additional shoes if needed because she wasn't about to let the opportunity of strolling the beach pass.

  She stayed back where the water foamed upon her toes, cool and tickling. It didn't take long for her to brave going deeper.

  So engrossed in the beauty surrounding her, washing over her like cool velvet, Di didn't realize she heard a dog barking until it grew near. She turned to see a large yellow Labrador bounding happily across the sand straight toward her.

  Di had never had a dog. With her mother being—indisposed, a pet was out of the question. Not sure what to make of the beast, she froze in place.

  "Nice doggie, good boy," she said, standing up to her knees in the water and hoping he would just leave. However, he just kept coming until he stood in front of her, still barking loudly.

  She couldn't go forward and wasn't about to walk any deeper into the ocean, so she turned and headed back to rocky shoreline of Boyd Hatcher's property.

  It was slow going on the slippery rocks. To make matters worse, a wave larger than any she'd experienced came crashing into her, knocking her off her feet and sweeping her under water.

  The dog leaped at her as she went down, floundering in a swift, sucking undertow. He grabbed hold of her sundress and pulled.

  Di was fighting the strong current, the rocks, and the dog all at the same time. Unsuccessfull
y.

  "No, go away." When she lifted her head out of surf to yell at the dog, she caught a mouthful of water in the process.

  "Bad dog."

  The dog didn't listen. He only jerked harder, pulling the skirt of her dress up over her head and she went under a second time. This time panic overwhelmed her and she began to choke. She was in trouble. Serious trouble.

  Strong hands grabbed her, lifting her up and suddenly she could breathe again. She came up gasping for air, unable to see for the sting of salt water in her eyes. Coughing and choking up the vile tasting ocean, she gripped her rescuer.

  "That dog tried to kill me."

  "He thought you were drowning."

  Di recognized the voice. Jake Forman. Another wave pushed her into him and she was shocked to feel her bare skin pressed against his. She rubbed a hand across her eyes and looked down to see her skirt ripped away. How?

  To make matters worse, she hadn't recovered her missing underwear from the man’s pocket. She was stark naked from the waist down. "This can't be happening."

  * * * *

  The last thing Jake wanted to find was the object of his lust, half-naked and wet within walking distance of his home. He'd wanted her on the plane and his hard cock was a clear indication he wanted her again. He reached down, swung her into his arms and started to walk to where the beach was less rocky.

  "Are you hurt?"

  "Only my dignity," she said in an undertone and wrapped her arms around his neck. "My dress. You didn't return my panties. Is that your dog?"

  "What dog?"

  "You know damned well what dog."

  Jake looked over to Bo bouncing playfully beside them.

  "Are you going to sue me?"

  "Because of a torn dress? You've got to be joking."

  "I've been sued for less." Jake wanted to say more. He wanted to deliver a lecture about the man she’d chosen to associate with on the island. The sight of her nakedness nearly undid him. On the plane he'd thought she was overweight, but in the bright light of day she seemed perfect, too perfect.

  It would be so easy to take refuge in her soft heat a second time.

  As if she read his mind, she raised her face, bringing her sumptuous lips close to his. Even with the smell of the sea on her skin, he distinguished her unique scent. He wanted to taste her, take his time tasting her until she begged for mercy.