Page 7

Paradise Beach

There was still some daylight left when Liam and the others made it back to their resort. For three of them, it was their final boat ride of the day. Yet, Liam and Tess were only an hour away from climbing back aboard. By then, the sun would have mostly collapsed into the horizon, leaving just the moon and stars to chaperone their romantic dinner.

Liam couldn’t understate how eager he was to spend his evening on an isolated beach with Tess. Even though he’d already spilled over the glass containing his first “I love you” on the first day of the trip, he remained excited to say it a few more times tonight. To hear it said back to him. To coax it from Tess’s lips as he pulled her against him, kissed her throat, and prepared to make love to her on a beach where nothing but the ocean would hear her cries.

The fact that Tess was planning for him to fuck her ass heaped on his eagerness. The first time for him, the first time for them. Admittedly, he was a little anxious. He didn’t doubt that it’d be a fantastic experience for him, but he felt slightly nervous about how well he’d perform. Tonight was a night in which Liam wanted everything to go perfectly.

Victoria may have been more right when she’d noted his relative inexperience than she realized. But by the night’s end, he’d be a little less inexperienced. A little more capable, hopefully. A little more confident about next time, as well.

Let there be a next time, Liam thought, instinctively finding Tess. The five of them were heading back to the bure she shared with Anna and Avril, leaving behind the Wave Rider and its affable crew. For those of them not heading out in an hour, they planned to eat at the restaurant together. But there was still time. Not as much as Liam might have realized, having limited experience preparing for a formal dinner.

“Now, begone with you,” Avril said, barely a minute after he’d climbed onto her deck. “Tess needs to start getting ready. You’ll distract her if you stay.”

“Just me?” Tess said, raising an eyebrow at the younger woman.

“Fine, all of us,” the redhead said, still trying to shoo him away. “Go hang out back at your bure until it’s time for you two lovebirds to get going. Better yet, go check at the resort and make sure everything’s still good to go.”

“It’s not a wedding, Avril,” Anna said. “He doesn’t need to avoid seeing Tess.”

“You need to learn about the benefits of building anticipation,” Avril said. “Why don’t you think Tess is telling me my idea’s a bad one?”

Liam held his hands up, forestalling further arguing. “I’ll go, I’ll go.” He looked at Tess. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

The most beautiful smile in the world saw him off.

As suggested, he went down to the resort. There, spending only a few minutes bothering the kindly worker at the front desk, he confirmed that everything was ready for him and Tess. Earlier in the day, just a few minutes before they’d departed for the caves, Tess had swung by to do the same. She’d also set up what food they’d be served, so everything was handled. They simply needed to show up at the shore and get aboard the small boat—a different one than the Wave Rider, whose day was through—waiting to carry them to the private beach Tess had obtained.

Paradise Beach was its name. Surrounded on three sides by difficult-to-traverse rock, the westward-facing beach would let them dine in sight of the setting sun, unbothered by any sights or sounds that weren’t their own or of the ocean. A five-minute boat ride would deliver them there, and then they’d be left completely isolated for an hour and a half.

It sounded like paradise to Liam.

After confirming that everything was ready, he made his way back to his bure. He missed having a companion with him as he showered, though he supposed it was sensible that Victoria didn’t show up to seduce him again. He’d been pushed to the brink of his stamina last night, which wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat tonight. He wanted to be rested and ready for the time alone with Tess. It was just going to be them. It was going to be just for them.

Following his shower, Liam pulled out his nice clothes from his suitcase. He had them because of Anna; she’d picked them out specifically for him, even gone so far as to have them tailored. That experience, unfortunately, was somewhat polluted by the treachery of the tailor and his first meeting with Anna’s father, Arnold. Still, he’d reclaimed things somewhat by wearing them to the New Year’s Eve party, where he’d made memories he’d never forget.

Tonight, he’d repeat that cleansing act. And at least once more, maybe more. He wasn’t sure yet if Anna and Victoria also wanted private picnics or dinners with him, but if they did, this outfit would get a lot of work—and he’d need to hope the resort had a good way of cleaning it in between uses. With each subsequent wearing, he expected that the stain left behind by Arnold Royce would fade.

Neatly folded, pressed, and ironed before the trip, he gently removed his shirt and slacks. This would be the only time he worried about ruffling his clothes tonight, and he wanted to give Tess and the others, who he expected might either be there to see them off, something good to look at.

He first put on the black slacks, then the navy-blue button-down. Caressed by silk, he still couldn’t wait for the chance to remove it in a little while. Actually, once he buttoned up his shirt, he realized that the perfect fit wasn’t as perfect as it’d been in December. He had a little more bulk on him now.

Liam smiled as he checked himself in the mirror, searching for any signs of wrinkles, pleased by this sign of progress. He wondered if anyone else would notice.

At least one of them did not.

“Looking sexy,” a voice called out from behind him.

He turned and found Avril waving at him with wiggling fingers in the open doorway separating the bedroom from the bathroom. Her eyes delivered their usual emerald heat, playful but with a kernel of admiration. Maybe a little more, actually.

“Did you swing by to remind yourself what I’ll look like for our date?” Liam asked, smiling.

“No, I’m here for a much more magnanimous purpose,” Avril said, slipping forward. “We all realized that you’ve been constantly drinking from a supply of gorgeous women for these past few days, and we might have cut you off too suddenly. So, I’m here to keep you from wilting away, suffering withdrawals. I’m a few drops of water from the tap, here to keep you going until you see how gorgeous Tess looks tonight.”

Liam snorted. “That’s what you all decided? Not just you?”

“We had a council meeting and everything. Promise.”

Avril continued to flow toward him, wielding far too much raw sex appeal for her own good. Or his. He didn’t even think about stopping her as she pushed her voluptuous body into him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

“I’m a pretty good appetizer, aren’t I?” she whispered, breathing in the scent of his cologne. Her lips curled into an approving smile. “You didn’t put too much on. Good job.”

“I’ve learned my lesson,” he grunted, which kept around Avril’s smile, though it turned a touch teasing.

“It’s a really good scent, nice and fierce. But every man alive likes to put way too much on. You’re not supposed to bathe in it.”

“I said I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Good, good. I won’t have to pretend to gag when I do this, then.”

He made a face at her, remembering when she’d done precisely that earlier in the year. They’d made plans for a dinner date at a respectable restaurant, and he’d tried to fancy himself up for it. As it’d been on a Friday, he’d come straight to the restaurant after driving in from Perrymont, so he hadn’t had time to let Tess or Anna advise him. The cologne, Sauvage Dior, had been recommended by both Tess and Avril, so he’d purchased himself a bottle the week before. Unfortunately, amid his first time wearing it, he’d apparently “doused himself in enough to make a drug-sniffing dog keel over.”

He knew Avril was remembering those teasing words as she kissed him just beneath his jawline. She knew he was remembering them, too.

“Is my appetizer going to keep her clothes on the entire time?” he asked.

Avril flashed a pearly smile. “If my shirt and bra come off, will you promise to show me a little of what you did to Victoria earlier?”

It was a promise he could happily make. And so, with Avril disconnecting from him, she made a show of stripping. Her shirt and bra connected with the floor, and then Liam propelled Avril onto her back onto his bed.

“This was where she was,” he said, positioning her on Victoria’s side of the bed. “Last night, this morning.”

Avril grinned as he swept his hands up her smooth sides. Her breasts became his playthings, her nipples rapidly hardening as he repeated the morning’s performance. On top of her, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand, he indulged in his “appetizer.”

“What were her moans like?” Avril asked, sighing as he nipped at her throat. “Husky and breathy, I hope.”

“You might hear them eventually, so I shouldn’t spoil things.”

Avril inhaled sharply, hopefully. “My promise still stands. You make something like that happen, and I will let you do anything you want to me.”

“I remember. I won’t forget.”

She shivered as, wet and ready for him, he slipped his available hand underneath her shorts. Unlike Victoria, she needed that little bit extra, that final push to reach her zenith. He gave it to her a few times, spending a good twenty minutes on top of her. His mouth moved, and she sighed. His fingers moved, and she moaned. Huskily and breathily.

Afterward, Avril helped him fix a few wrinkles their activities had created, then gave him a once-over. She grinned.

“I like what I see. I know Tess will, too.”

“That’s always my hope,” he said, kissing her. “Now, are you also my escort?”

“Of course,” she said, picking up her discarded clothes from the ground. “Right this way, sir. One of your beautiful women awaits.”

He found Tess with the other beautiful women Avril might have claimed were “his.” All three stood out in front of the resort, not far from where Liam and Tess were scheduled to depart. Sunlit in the evening and smiling beatifically, Tess drew the lion’s share of his attention. Immediately, she made him fall in love with her all over again.

Beach formal wasn’t quite the same as urban formal. This wasn’t the place for heels, evening dresses, and designer handbags. That didn’t mean the sight of Tess in the outfit she’d selected didn’t pierce Liam straight through the heart, though.

Rather than heels, she wore sandals, multiple cords tied around her ankles. Comfortable, easy to move around in. Suitable for walking on sand. And other things.

Rather than an evening dress, she wore a white sundress riddled with small grey dots, as if the dress already knew it was pointless to think it would stay mono-white the entire time. Like it knew they’d be eating on a beach, making love on a beach, so why not beat the sand to the blow? The dress clung tightly around Tess’s waist, dropping only to mid-thigh in the front. On the sides and behind, the dress continued to fall, its ends coming down to her calves.

It hung from her shoulders by a pair of thin straps, showing off plenty of her enticing cleavage. Like below, there was extra fabric for part of her upper arms. The dress wrapped around them loosely, covering about six or seven inches of her arms. Her shoulders and the rest of her arms remained uncovered, showing off Tess’s smooth, tan skin.

In terms of jewelry and accessories, she’d stayed light. She wore a few golden bands around her wrists, which caught the light as she lifted her hand in a small wave, and a small silver pendant around her neck. Having added some extra curl to her naturally wavy hair, he recognized the floppy, wide-brimmed sun hat she had on. He’d seen it in her closet months ago, during one of their first intimate moments together. It, like the rest of her ensemble, could finally serve its purpose: to send shivers of excitement coursing through her young lover.

They traded compliments, each finding plenty to like about how the other was dressed. That was nothing new. The audience was, however, as was the openness of everything. Being seen kissing Tess, delighted as she ran a hand along his chest, feeling his excited heartbeat. Knowing that this was just the first time that he’d visit a private beach with one of these beautiful women, understanding that they’d all reached a level of comfort—or near enough to it—about being open about their relationships.

“Are you ready to go?” the first woman he’d ever loved asked.

“One hundred percent,” Liam said.

They broke off from the others, who waved their goodbyes before making their way toward the resort restaurant. Walking down to where they found their oceanic carriage waiting, Liam and Tess discussed their plans for the evening. Along the way, Liam noticed a lack of pockets in Tess’s sundress, nor had she kept one hand balled into a fist the entire time. So, where was the bottle of lube? He’d assumed it would be an ally in their planned activities for this romantic liaison.

“You’ll see,” Tess said when he asked about it, smiling.

Upon reaching and climbing aboard their boat, a brief ride on relatively calm waters followed. After which, they made landfall on a peninsula of soft sand. It was indeed fenced in by tall rocky shelves, though there were enough outcroppings to look climbable in a few different places.

Paradise Beach, wearing the last vestiges of sunlight on its shore, was about a hundred feet across and half as wide at its widest point. It was a crescent-shaped slice of beach, perhaps deserving of a name change to Paradise Cove. It was certainly isolated, which both he and Tess approved of. The last thing they wanted over the next hour and a half was an audience.

About fifteen feet from where the waves lapped in, a single table stood at the center of half a dozen unlit tiki torches. With the sunlight receding by the minute, their small poles cast long shadows up the beach. Before they departed, the resort employee who’d carried them there saw fit to light them. The shadows of the flames and their smoke began to dance right at the base of the distant rock wall.

And then Liam’s time alone with one of the most beautiful women to ever exist began, the sound of a gargling engine fading into the distance. They wouldn’t hear it again until much later in the evening. Standing on the beach, listening to a murmuring ocean, jealous that it couldn’t reach as far up the shore as they stood, Liam and Tess looked at one another.

“Dinner first?” the woman he loved asked.

“Sure,” Liam said, but he delayed things by pulling her into a deep kiss.

They approached the table at the center of the tiki torches. Covered in a white cloth, several metal cloches—reminding Liam of an event involving chocolate and chess—covered their meals.

Tess went around removing each lid, revealing a meal that could have survived if Liam and Tess had decided to fuck first and eat second. There was a basket of bread, another with salad, and a buffet of sliced sandwiches. The soup was the only part of their meal that would have suffered from being pushed to the back half of their time on the beach. Still, right now, steam rose in potent waves off its body, promising it had only recently come out of the pot.

Wanting to perform at least one or two acts of chivalry tonight, Liam made sure he was there to pull out Tess’s chair once she was ready to sit down. That earned him a smile and a chance to lean over Tess’s shoulder and kiss her neck. She rubbed his cheek as he did so, letting him work his way down to her shoulder.

“To the first romantic vacation dinner I’ve experienced in years,” Tess said once he’d sat across from her, lifting a creamy orange mimosa—one of several premade drinks sitting on the table.

“Agreed,” Liam said, lifting one of his drinks.

“Though it might be my last,” Tess said after taking a sip from her drink. Sunlight caressed her right cheek but shadowed the other side of her face. Nevertheless, Liam could see the amusement glittering in her stunning eyes. “The secret is out, and your dance card got rather full rather quickly.”

“Kind of like how it went with my massages,” Liam said. “Same as then, you always get to be the first.”

With her glass hovering at her lips, Tess smiled and spoke with a meaningful sultriness. “I do like being your first.”

As it so often did around Tess Williams, Liam’s heart skipped a full beat. Eating and chatting, they cast numerous looks toward the horizon. The wobbling orange sphere struggling to stay above that distant line didn’t have long. The stars were already beginning to emerge, eager to take their lofty stage.

Back on the ground, Liam’s eagerness developed with each morsel of food that vanished from a plate or bowl. Neither was looking to fill up, ending up bloated and lethargic. Tonight, the romantic meal was the appetizer. They ate to pass a bit of time, build the anticipation, and heap more and more meaning behind the flirtatious looks they passed across the table.

“Did you enjoy the caves?” Tess eventually asked.

Liam held back a smile. Even though they were lovers, there was still a side of Tess that doted on him in an almost motherly way. She always tended to ask how he’d enjoyed his day, investigating things in the same way she’d done since she’d moved into the house beside his. Like she had on the very first day he’d come home from school during winter break, back when she’d been hoping to fix him up with Anna. Well, she had technically succeeded at that.

“I did, though not as much as the snorkeling. The caves were fun for a little bit, but I’m glad we didn’t overstay our welcome.”

“I think the same. The caves were nice, a fun experience, but more of a one-off. I could go snorkeling again tomorrow and love it as much as I did today.”

“So could I. I know Victoria and Anna would probably feel the same.”

“You were spending a lot of time with them,” Tess noted lightly, taking a drink of her mimosa. “I lost track of you all for a while.”

“We were on the hunt for a sea turtle. Anna really wanted to find one, so we co-opted the resident ecology professor’s help.”

“And were you successful?”

He nodded. “Took us a while, but yeah, we eventually found one. Pretty sure it made Anna’s day.”

“If we can go snorkeling at a reef again, invite me along too. I’d like to have seen one.”

Liam promised he’d do so with a nod. A little more conversation about their time at the reef followed, each discussing what they’d stumbled upon during their time in the water. Tess’s moment of note involved spotting a cylindrical anemone bending and pushing itself away to a new location, either because it wanted a better hunting ground or because it wanted to vacate the hunting ground of one of its predators.

“I don’t think our current schedule will allow it, but if we ever make our way back to Fiji, we have to visit the Rainbow Reef. It’s supposed to be breathtaking. I’d like to see if we can go all the way down into the abyss.”

“Maybe it could be how we spend next winter break,” Liam suggested. “Our winter is here’s summer.”

Tess nodded, liking the idea. “We’ll talk to the others about it at some point. Maybe I’ll make it my prize if Avril and I win at the forthcoming tennis match.”

“You can’t do that; I’m the one who gets to decide on what the winners get.”