Page 27

Royal Fleet

Haley

T he way he growled “We have some playing to do” makes me want to wash my hair myself and get to the good stuff, but Sam sets me on the big rock. The tide is high enough that the water’s close by. “I can?—”

“Lie down. Tilt your head over the edge of the rock.” He points.

I pull my hair out from under me, and Sam takes a small plastic container and carefully pours water over my hair. With one knee popped up in the air, it’s actually comfortable. And it’s surreal watching the clouds go by.

“You good?” Sam’s serious face pops into view.

“Uh-huh.” He’s gentle but firm as he rubs the soap through my hair. “I’m seeing the appeal of being petted. If I had a tail, I’d be wagging it.”

He rinses my hair and wraps it in a towel before helping me off the rock. He sweeps my feet from the sand and carries me back to the mat. He points. “Lie down, Haley.”

I don’t go all the way down onto the mat.

Nope, I stop on my knees. Am I testing him?

Yes. This holiday isn’t at all what I thought it was going to be.

I worked myself up for being the one doing a lot of the work.

But now? Now I’m the one getting all the attention when I thought it was going to be me giving them the attention.

But now I want badass Sam to come out. I smirk up at him, my hand skating down the front of his pants.

“No. All the way down, Haley.”

I blink and reach. I want to please him. I want to make him fall apart on my tongue.

“No, this is about you.”

My body acts on impulse, and I follow through without another word. Face up, I stare at him, the sun behind his head, his long muscular legs and that delicious V that starts at the top of his shorts. He shakes his head at me.

“This is about us,” I say.

A guttural sound bursts from him. It’s quick. His eyes twinkle at me. “Take your swim shorts off and roll over. I get pleasure from making you fall apart. Now roll.”

I bite my lip and wiggle out of my shorts, but I don’t roll over. I can’t stop staring at him.

His eyes crinkle, and in a flash, he grabs me by my ankles and flips me over. “You need to follow directions, Haley.” There’s gravel in his voice. He pulls the tie on my bikini, and the straps fall away.

I’m panting. I should know by now that I like it when they do things like that. Maybe I like a little red flag. “Yes, Captain.” I move the towel under my neck. I place my hands over my head. I’m half expecting him to tap my butt and tell me, “Ass in the air.” But that doesn’t happen.

There’s a warm drizzle of the coconut oil that Dante’s been making on my shoulders. Then Sam lightly straddles my hips, his large hands skimming lightly over the back of my shoulder blades. He works the oil into my skin, applying more and more pressure as I melt into the mat.

“Oh, that’s good. Right there.”

“You have big knots in your shoulders.” He moves from them to my neck. “And your neck is tight too.”

It’s from weaving. I hunch over the fronds. The darn things cut up my fingers too. But I like it, and it’s useful. I open my mouth to say all of that, but only a soft moan comes out.

“Right there?”

I moan again.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He works his fingers perfectly on the pressure points of my back.

I’ve had more than a few massages in my life. I had one owner who insisted I get a massage before she did to make sure the masseuse was good enough. And she wanted a massage in every port. That was a good season. But Sam... he’s amazing. Those fingers know how to do lots of things.

“Oh, you’re really good at this.”

“Thank you. I . . .”

My eyes roll back in my head. There’s drool running out of my mouth. “I’m turning into a limp poodle. So good.”

He laughs.

“Noodle... I mean noodle.” I’m not letting my brain go off wondering how he’s this good at it. Nope. That isn’t happening. Focus.

Sam’s touch changes. He shifts positions, scooting down my body. His focus moves to my lower back. His touch is lighter. “Hey, Sugar. Don’t tense up on me.”

“I’m...” I let out a cleansing breath, a yoga breath.

“That’s right, just like that.” He moves down to my butt cheeks, and honestly, I’ve never been a fan of someone massaging my ass. But then I’ve never had Sam working his magic until now.

I’ve lost the ability to tell time. “Am I purring?”

“No, that’s Pepper.” Sam laughs. She’s helping. That’s when I feel her little paws on my back. “She’s kneading biscuits.”

I cock my head to the side and wiggle my fingers. Pepper rubs up against my hand for a few minutes before trotting away.

“Where’d she go?”

“Over to the supervisors.”

I turn my head the other way. The rest of the guys are sitting on the big rock, watching. Their hair is wet like they’ve been for a swim. I let out another breath and cock my head up at Sam.

“Time to flip.” He taps my hip and lifts himself off me.

I roll and blink up at him again.

“Water or wine?” he asks.

“Both.” I push up on my elbows. I half expected the other guys to come running over when I flipped, but they’re staying by the big rock and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

“Water first.” He hands me my bottle.

When I’ve had my fill, I exchange it for my wine and we clink glasses. It tastes even better now. He feeds me a piece of coveted mango. And I hold one out for him to take. He sucks my fingers into his mouth. And I close my eyes—I’m vibrating with need.

Sam straddles me again. His large chest hovers over mine, his lips a whisper away from my ear. “What does my queen wish for now? Do you want the court jesters to come play with you too?”

“Aren’t they my kings?” I giggle and run my hand over his beard.

Sam’s eyes twinkle. “Not in front of them. I wouldn’t want to inflate their egos any more.”

I take his lips in mine. He planks over me, caging me in. My legs wrap around his hips. When did he take his pants off? I run my fingernails down his back, and he hisses. His cock rubs down my core, and I wrench myself up against him.

“Fuck,” Dante says, the restraint in his voice strong. Sam’s body hides the others from my view down the beach.

Sam deepens our kiss, and when my head falls back to the mat, the blue in his eyes matches the cloudless sky above his head. He winks at me. And damn if his charm doesn’t send a bolt of electricity around my body.

He rests his forehead against mine. “I think this party of two is about to get much larger.”

“Oh.” I drop my legs to the mat.

“Here or the loft?” It’s a simple question.

“No sand. Loft.”

“Good choice,” he whispers. “Get on my back.” He thrusts up to standing, like he’s doing a workout.

And I follow suit, jumping onto his back.

Then he’s off running down the path to the camp.

He’s up the ladder before I can even try to get off.

A quick dusting off of our feet and I’m hauling him down on top of me.

My fingers skim the tips of his shoulders as the other guys arrive on the platform.

Our bodies press together, and I squeeze my hand between us, reaching for his cock.

But Sam’s hand lands in the middle of my chest and he eases down my body.

His warm mouth settles on my core, and I’m lost. My neck bends, and the top of my head pushes the pillow away.

My vision blackens as I break apart. Catching my breath, I slowly come back.

My eyes snap open, and Sam’s there. His blues glowing at me as he crawls up my body. There’s a rustle to my side. Dante.

“Look at him, not me,” Dante commands.

Sam gives a robust chuckle and takes my chin in hand.

His kiss centers me. Even in the glow of an orgasm, my need for him builds.

I lock my feet around his back and rock my hips, and he enters me with a swift thrust that has me slurping down air.

“Sam.” I buck against him. But he doesn’t move, not yet.

I shouldn’t either. I need to let things stretch out.

I love feeling him inside me. Holding on to his biceps, I close my eyes and tilt my head back.

They’re here, but I need to finish what I started with Sam. He grabs my hips and tilts them upward, driving himself deeper into me. His pace pushes me into the mattress. He surrounds me, a wall of muscle. A fortress. In his arms, I’m safe. I’m free to be the queen.

Until the island, orgasms were generally something I had alone. But my second orgasm races at me, drowning all of my senses. Sam’s fingers are in my hair, and he tugs on my wet, uncut locks. I’m over the edge again, dragging him with me.

“Fuck, Haley.” He’s clamped on to my shoulders with one hand, the other holding him up until it doesn’t and his whole body crashes into mine.

My eyes fly open. I love it. I love how he’s locked me in. If I could, I’d stay here forever. Flattened under one of my kings.