Holiday Home (A Harem Fantasy #5)

Chapter Twenty-Two

White Sands, Clear Waters

T he decision the others had made while waiting for him and Victoria was to cut across the island, heading through the forest to reach one of the eastern-facing beaches. With how thin the island was, it was maybe half a mile from one side to the other, so it wasn’t much of a trek. The forest was dense and gnarled, however, so their idyllic vista still required a little bit of trudging. Liam ended up with more than one scratch on his forearms as he maneuvered branches out of the way, and three separate roots tried to trip him up.

After he’d picked both his and Victoria’s outfits, they returned to Tess, who escorted them back to her, Anna, and Avril’s bure. Once there, Victoria resolved some of her slight hunger pangs with the leftovers in their mini-fridge. Anna and Avril returned before long, likewise dressed for a brief excursion into an island rainforest.

The former had a cooler basket at her elbow, which he assumed she’d picked up at the resort. The latter, face buried in a small map of the area, spoke and pointed animatedly at something on it.

“Welcome back,” Tess said as the younger women arrived. “I’ve collected the other two members of our wayward group.”

Avril looked up from the map. Although Victoria’s skin had long since absorbed any signs of the golden massage oil, the younger woman squinted at the older woman’s collarbone and neck.

“Took you two long enough,” Avril said. “Well, grab what we need while Anna and I load up the basket, and let’s go.”

Along with numerous beach towels, sunscreen, a cooler specifically for drinks, and all the other standard amenities for a day at the beach, Avril asked him to remove the beach umbrella from the center of the deck’s table.

“Stick it in the sand once we’re there,” she said. “We can use it as shade.”

Both shade and shades were clearly on the women’s minds. Each of them had sunglasses on, though Tess’s sat on her head, not yet in use. Thanks to Victoria’s last-second suggestion, he also remembered to grab his pair. When they departed, after he made a well-received suggestion to bring along their deck umbrellas as well, he left them hooked on his shirt’s collar, waiting for the time when he needed them.

With everyone loaded up with beach supplies for the day, no one wanting to have to return to the resort until much later in the day, they headed into the forest. Between the paths, signs, and Avril’s map, there was no chance of getting lost. Especially when they were walking all of two thousand feet.

Upon breaching the dense forest’s eastern wall, sand so white that it was almost blinding greeted them, and a dazzling blue ocean shimmered just beyond. A diminutive island stood on its lonesome, rocky, uncivilized, maybe half a mile into the sea. Beyond that, they could see the mountainous center of Viti Levu many miles farther away. With some binoculars, perhaps they could have even seen the hilltop they’d stood on yesterday.

“This way,” Avril called, waving the group to follow. She turned south, becoming the first to set her sandals on the sand. They walked for barely a minute before they rounded a bulge in the forest line. Avril stopped and spoke again.

“And feast your eyes on paradise,” Avril said, gesturing ahead of them. There, at the place they’d be staying for the afternoon, an untouched expanse of beach stretched straight ahead. Pure white sands, an ocean lapping at its border, eight hours of sunlight, and four incredibly beautiful women. That was the day’s lazy plan.

It was perfect.

Wherever the island’s landmass sat beneath the waves, visible and even walkable at many places along the stretch of beach, the water turned bright turquoise. Only a few hundred feet out, once the rock was no longer so close to the surface, it returned to its resplendent blue. Beautiful as those sights were, he knew there was a better sight closer by.

After everyone sprawled out their blankets in a line, after they dug holes and stuck and unfurled their umbrellas in the sand, and after they put their coolers under the newly made shade, it was finally time to see some beach attire.

Anna had the least to take off. After removing a crocheted V-neck, she was ready for the beach. Wearing a single-shoulder black bikini top with a mesh cover that showed off more of her left breast than the right, she elected to keep wearing a matching, sheer miniskirt, which reached halfway down her thighs. Raising her sunglasses to stare at the crystalline ocean, she soon noticed him staring at her. Shifting her focus, she brightened an already bright day with a dazzling white smile.

“Make sure to keep her from getting burned,” a sly voice whispered into his ear.

Swinging his gaze to the right, he found Avril ready for sunbathing and swimming as well. Like Anna, she wore black bottoms, though with a large metal hoop on the left side binding it together—and showing off more skin. Her top was black with colorful imprints of various tropical plants across it. Soft red and vivid baby blue, lime green and subtle magenta—she’d brought the rainforest beyond the tree line with her. But… that wasn’t why he stared quite as much as he did. Her top was far more revealing than Anna’s, and Avril grinned as he struggled to free his gaze from her alluringly heavy breasts.

She was in her element. A curvaceous body, skin on display, eyes flickering with the glowing embers of sordid promises. The beach belonged to Avril. But it was his playground, he knew.

“I’ll need lots of sunscreen, too,” the gorgeous redhead whispered.

His playground wasn’t yet fully developed, however. On the other side of Avril, standing under the shade of one of their umbrellas, Tess and Victoria began stripping down to their bikinis. Noticing this as well, Avril slid out of the way, though she came back to watch alongside him, pinning her breasts into his arm so both could watch.

Looking to earn something of a tan before the day was out, Tess had chosen a vivid green bikini. Thin spaghetti straps were all that kept her breasts restrained, tied together behind her neck by just a single knot. Similarly to Anna, she’d elected to wear a wrap, though hers wasn’t evenly distributed. It fell to her knee on one beautiful leg, yet barely dropped an inch on the other. It clung tightly to her enthralling curves, like an evening dress might. Only much, much easier to move out of the way should her lover want to kiss her gorgeous thighs.

Which Liam would. He’d also learned his lesson earlier today. Kiss first, apply oil or sunscreen after. It was a lesson he wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

Finally, it was time for a second look at Victoria. Even though he’d picked out her outfit, even though he’d dressed beside her, he wasn’t anymore resistant to her sheer sexiness now than then.

Because of him, she also had on a black bikini. Because of him, her breasts were the most readily displayed, both the inner and outer parts. Who could blame him? She’d brought it along, and she’d let him decide what she’d wear today.

Straps that were a little wider than his hands were the only things covering Victoria’s breasts. They swept around from her back to her sides, then passed diagonally over her breasts, narrowing on their way to crisscrossing in front of her neck, then forming a vital loop around it. Contrarily, for display, not any particular purpose, two very narrow straps crisscrossed in a slouched X over her stomach. All it would take was a single snip; that was it. With a single snip from a pair of scissors at that all-important loop, she’d be topless again.

“Don’t drool,” Avril whispered into his ear, but he only grunted at her.

With how snug the straps were on her breasts, offering their support with glee, Liam could admire Victoria’s unraveling buxomness from unique angles. Hadn’t he gotten enough earlier? After all, he’d done more than just look; he’d put his hands all over her.

Of course not. Never. Not for her, not for Tess, not for Avril, not for Anna. He could never get enough of them. No amount of time or activity would help him develop a tolerance for their indelible beauty.

“Which makeshift pillow is your favorite?” Avril whispered into his ear. “I know which mine would be.”

“ Everyone knows which yours would be, Avril,” he responded, which caused her to shrug unapologetically.

“Well, let me know once you’ve decided,” the smiling redhead said. Bending down, she picked up a bottle of sunscreen, then handed it to him. “Enjoy.”

As though he’d been handed a loaf of bread while standing in the middle of a starving crowd, all eyes snapped to him. However, he experienced pretty much the opposite feeling as he might have in that situation. On this secluded beach, where his hands were known to be so skillful, he felt nothing short of ecstatic. And he was definitely in a generous and helpful mood.

There was one problem, though. Who should he pick first? Or should he wait for someone to ask to be first? As with any multiple-choice question, he decided to simplify things. Among the four women, one stood out as the “safe” choice. In this rare instance, he considered the safe choice the best choice.

“Anna, want me to get you first?”

Looking surprised that he’d turned toward her first, that didn’t prevent the dark-haired woman from immediately smiling and nodding.

He joined her on her towel, which she sat on, and imitated the same motions he’d made when warming up massage oil earlier that morning. Acutely aware that this performance had a crowd, Liam didn’t let that stop him. Beginning with Anna’s back, he gently kissed her shoulder, which caused her to shiver. Only then did he start applying sunscreen to her silky-smooth skin.

She let him cover areas beyond the ones she couldn’t reach herself. Up her neck, along her arms, getting her sides. Once he’d covered those areas, she settled onto her back, and he went over her stomach, then her legs. All the while, she blushed. All the while, the others watched. Liam knew they’d want at least the same amount of attention as he gave to Anna, and that he’d also be watched by those he’d already covered in sunscreen—to ensure he didn’t provide the later women more.

It was thrilling, and he was already starting to grow aroused even before he slipped his hands under Anna’s top and covered the revealed part of her breasts with sunscreen. The fact that she so willingly let him, even with an audience, forced him to bend forward and kiss her while he worked. Based on what he could feel with his fingertips, her heart was racing.

“Feel like I hit every spot?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” Anna said, breathing a little heavily. The sparks of arousal within her turquoise eyes nearly caused him to ask if he could double-check a few key areas. However, he withheld the urge. He’d made one woman safe for a day on the beach.

There were still three more waiting.

He did Avril next, if only because she was the other particularly fair-skinned woman in the group. Feeling his lust flare up with each sultry smile he earned as his hands traveled along her lithe body, he made sure to follow the same procedure he’d used on Anna. That didn’t stop Avril from shifting when he began coating her breasts in sunscreen, causing his fingertips to slip beneath her top and glance against her nipple.

“In-corr-i-gi-ble,” he said.

“And not regretting it at all,” she grinned.

Rolling his eyes, he still kissed her before moving toward the professors in their group.

Unlike the younger women, they’d teamed up. While he’d worked on Avril, they’d started working on each other—almost like they were punishing him for starting with the younger women. Yet, their punishment was also his reward.

Liam spent a handful of moments watching Victoria spread a line of sunscreen down Tess’s right shoulder, then began using her palm to ensure its coverage spread to the places Tess couldn’t easily cover herself. Up to the shoulder, then along the collarbone. Tess leaned her head to one side, giving Victoria better access to protect the back of her neck from the sun’s rays. Watching all this, Liam knew he’d be the first person who needed to crack open their cooler.

“That’s not fair,” he complained as he stepped over to them.

“You were taking too long,” Victoria said, which caused Tess, aware of the irony of that statement, to hide a smile.

“Are you really in a position to complain about something like that?”

Victoria merely shrugged.

After butting in, Tess smiled and let him take over the task of getting the rest of her body. He greedily did so, especially as his hands moved down to her curvaceous sides and hips. He still remembered what she’d mentioned about giving him a chance to see how it felt to fuck her ass. He was hopeful that the chance would arrive sooner rather than later.

So, apparently, did Tess.

“Dinner? Tomorrow?”

Liam nodded. “I’ll set it up when I go to dinner with Avril tonight. On the secluded beach?”

“It needs to be very secluded,” Tess agreed quietly, eyes glowing like burning sapphires.

Heart thumping like the noisiest upstairs neighbor possible—like his upstairs neighbor back at Perrymont—he finished rubbing in the sunscreen on her gorgeous body. That left only one beautiful woman left, though she’d already received more attention from his hands today than all the others combined.

That didn’t stop her from ensuring he didn’t skimp on coating her with sunscreen. Not that he would ever want to speed things up. Rather than gold, he applied white. Across skin that had already felt his touch, already received a bounty on this island that the others hadn’t yet received.

“I’m almost surprised you haven’t suffered a hand cramp,” Victoria said, sliding down her sunglasses to look over them.

“Don’t jinx it for me,” he said, running his hands along her shoulder. His fingertips went a little lower, bumping into one of her breasts. “Besides, I’m pretty sure you’d get blamed if I did.”

“I didn’t force you to give me such a luxurious massage,” Victoria said.

“Didn’t you, though?”

Victoria snorted softly and accepted his touch as it traveled to all the unique places her bikini allowed. That included several trips to the outer and inner areas of her breasts. While Tess watched from not too far away, Liam ran his hand up Victoria’s flat stomach, crossing over the thinner set of crisscrossing straps. With small circular motions, he applied sunscreen just beneath the swell of her amazing breasts. His knuckles regularly bumped into their exposed slopes, and soon enough, his fingertips were gently covering them as well.

“Horny boy,” Victoria whispered.

“I can’t wait to fuck these,” he replied, reaching the last areas that needed to be coated in sunscreen.

Even though she reset her sunglasses, one corner of Victoria’s mouth rose as she shifted out of the shade onto one of the many towels aligned in a row. She wasn’t the only woman ready for some sun. Tess took the towel next to her, and the two voluptuous women began to converse while they let the sun’s soothing heat cascade over them.

Liam went for that drink he so desperately needed. While at the cooler, Avril bumped her hip into his, then went digging for a drink of her own.

“After you’ve got your sunscreen on, want to come out to the water with me and Anna?” she asked, coming up with two cool beverages, not just one. Turning around, she tossed one toward her roommate, who fumbled with the catch, having been expected just to be handed her drink.

“Sure,” Liam said.

With the sound of the waves growing louder as they headed toward them, Liam chugged half of his water bottle before his feet touched wet sand. With a beautiful woman to either side of him, and two more easily accessible once he decided to relax on a towel, he could find nothing at all wrong with his morning. While not quite to its highest point yet, the sun cast warm rays across his body, and a pleasant and consistent breeze kept him feeling as balmy on the outside as he felt on the inside.

God, but he was happy to be here. Not just on this specific beach, not even on this specific island. But on a planet where he could share his affections with all four of these women.

“That sounds fun,” Liam said, stepping back into the present. Avril had just mentioned her desire to go snorkeling at the Blue Lagoon Caves, where they could go swimming through secretive caves beneath an extinct volcano.

“Yeah, the nearby resort is right near a reef, so we can go looking for sea turtles, squids, and whatever else is out and about after our tour. I’d say we can spend most of the day around there; it’s just a short boat ride over. That work for you two?”

“It’s one of the activities I was looking forward to,” Liam said.

“As well for me,” Anna said.

“Just don’t touch the coral. They don’t like that.”

Liam and Anna shared a look.

“I was nine, ” Avril huffed. “And in case you’ve forgotten, I was a billionaire brat—no empathy yet. I’m better now.”

“She is,” Anna confirmed, though she glanced at him. “Most of the time.”

“Most of the time,” Liam agreed with a nod.

The first wave lapped at their feet, passing them by on its race up the beach, but still, they kept going. Soon, they no longer stood on sand at all. Walking across a fifty-foot-long patch of igneous rock, they headed towards its inevitable drop-off—of about a foot. The waters around them slowly shifted from turquoise to cerulean, and they soon hopped down from the shelf. Sinking his toes into the wet sand, warm waters lapping at his knees, he stared across the ocean.

“Let’s go out a bit more,” Avril suggested.

They kept walking until the water reached their hips—a little higher for Anna, who lacked a few inches in height compared to her best friend. Surrounded by peerless blue waters, Liam dragged his fingertips over the surface. Nearby, Avril noticed and did the same. With their fingertips inches apart, the ripples they made smashed into one another like colliding armies.

“It’s a pretty good view, isn’t it?” Avril asked.

“And with the best company,” Liam agreed, smiling.

Grinning, Avril swept her fingers over the back of his hand, then up his arm. Kicking forward a step, she swung about and lifted her hands. Both Liam and Anna came to a stop because of it.

“This is far enough.” She shadowed her eyes with a hand, staring back toward the distant beach. “Yeah, far enough.”

“If you say so,” Liam said.

The wind kept the unsubmerged parts of their bodies cool enough, and the three of them relaxed in the balmy waters. Some small chatter followed, headed mainly by Avril, who remained focused on how much he and Anna had so far enjoyed the trip.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “Obviously. You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Avril.”

Avril beamed with the brightness of the sun.

“Her true calling is that of an event planner,” Anna said. “She’d be excellent at it.”

“I could see it,” Liam agreed. “You bustling about, handling every detail for your wealthy clients.”

“You don’t want that, though,” Avril said. “If I started planning events for others, I’d have less time to give to our sexy, little group.”

“Fair enough,” Liam chuckled. “I wouldn’t want that.”

“Same for you, Anna?” Avril asked.

Anna sighed and shook her head. “No, Avril, I wouldn’t want that either. Your events are always… unique. So, it’s probably for the best that they’re not shared with other people.”

“And how about the advice I give?”

“Your advice too,” the dark-haired woman reluctantly said.

Liam could hazard a guess as to what kind of advice Avril was alluding to. He’d received heaps and heaps of it himself. He wondered about the specifics of whatever advice Avril was referring to, though he didn’t have much time to consider such things.

Still grinning, Avril closed the distance between them and kissed him on the cheek. Pushing into him from his left, she used enough force to propel him into Anna. However, Anna didn’t get out of the way. His arms found themselves comfortably snug against two of the most beautiful women around, on land or sea.

“What did I do to deserve this?” Liam asked, setting a hand on each woman’s lower back. Both stayed enviously close to him.

“A lot of things,” Avril said. “Probably different for each of us, though. If I'm honest with you, I’m a little awed.”

“You? Awed?”

“It happens from time to time,” Avril said, shrugging. Leaning deeper into him, her lips left a warm kiss on his shoulder, and her eyes smoldered like verdant fire as she looked up at him. “Now, spill the details. How did you get Victoria to become interested in you? You didn’t once come to me for any advice on our resident ice queen. Was Tess acting as my replacement?”

“She gave me some helpful nudges,” Liam admitted. “But if it’s not too arrogant of me to admit it, I actually took the lead—for once.”

“Oh? And how did it feel?” Avril kissed his shoulder again.

“Really nerve-wracking at times, but ultimately really good. Especially with how things have worked out.”

Avril nodded sagely. “See? It always feels good to go on the hunt. I’ve been trying to get Anna to learn that same lesson.”

“I’m coming along at my own pace,” Anna complained from his other side. She’d wrapped her arms around his right arm, which kept her wonderful breasts pressed against it. “A little less teasing, please.”

Avril bent to the left and beamed at her best friend. “Never been prouder of you than I was last night.”

Anna blushed. “I would hope you’d be prouder of me when I do something good for other people, not just when I’m willing to play strip poker.”

“Playing strip poker was something good for other people. Me and Liam.”

Anna huffed but mimicked Avril’s earlier gesture. Kissing him on his upper arm, she made it clear that she didn’t intend to let go of him anytime soon. Neither woman intended to. This was their time with him, away from the professors.

“But also, she’s proud of you when you do those other good things,” Liam said, nudging Avril with his arm.

“But of course,” Avril said. “I’ve always been proud of you, Anna, since the day we met. You’re a way better person than I am. When it comes to that sort of stuff, being giving and kind to strangers, I try to imitate you. ”

“On the day we met, you pulled my hair and threw mud at me,” Anna quipped dryly.

“Since the day after we met,” Avril quickly corrected.

“Everybody learns from everybody,” Liam said. “Makes the whole world go ‘round.”

Both women nodded. Not much more time passed before he kissed one of them. Intentionally, he started with Anna. Blushing though she might have been, she let it happen. More than that, she arched onto her toes once she saw him staring into her eyes. Permission. Consequence.

He kissed her softly, lovingly, so enthralled by the tenderness and shapeliness of her lips. He felt her arms tighten around him, and he absorbed the warmth spilling off her body. Her eyelashes fluttered with satisfaction as their kiss ended. If it’d just been the two of them, he’d have gone right back in for another.

But he wasn’t, and they’d both known that. Before she could clear her throat impatiently, Liam turned toward Avril. Her emerald eyes shone excitedly, expectantly. He didn’t leave her waiting for very long.

A little deeper, a little longer, he and Avril kissed. Her grip around his arm loosened, which was only so she could sling her arms around his neck and keep him in place as their mouths met. Her fingertips skimmed across his thundering pulse as they made out. Avril was smiling when they finally pulled their lips apart.

“You two are both amazing,” he said, slightly breathless.

Their eyes hadn’t cooled, however. It wasn’t just this. They wouldn’t be heading back to shore for a while.

He kissed them both, again and again. Trading off like a kid who couldn’t decide which thrilling roller coaster was his favorite, Liam made sure to give them equal attention, equal fervor, and equal love. While kissing Anna, Avril ran her hands down to feel his cock through his swim trunks. When he shifted back to Avril, Avril found her best friend’s wrist, then dragged her hand down to his erection. For the next fifteen minutes, there was pretty much always a hand in that vicinity.

He wrapped his arms around their narrow waists, keeping them close—not that either of them would have let the current separate them from him. He kissed Avril’s neck, eliciting a happy purr from her. He nibbled at Anna’s ear, causing her to shiver and briefly add a second hand to his engorged manhood.

“If you want it, you’ll need to ask for it,” Avril whispered into his ear at one point, and he didn’t need her to clarify what “it” was.

He ended his kiss with Anna. Looking between both women, arms slowly bringing them closer together, he asked for it.

“Will you two kiss one another?”

Avril didn’t say anything. She didn’t do anything. She, like him, waited for Anna’s answer.

“Okay,” Anna said. She leveled only a single stipulation at Avril’s excited smile. “But only when Liam’s around.”

“Of course,” Avril said. “At your pace.”

Their kiss was short but unforgettable. Avril closed most of the distance between their mouths, but she ultimately waited for Anna to bring their mouths together. After only a moment of collecting her courage, Anna did so.

Liam’s own lips tingled as the stunningly beautiful women kissed. Brief as it was, both women shut their eyes. Acceptance and attraction coalesced around the three of them, and the water felt even hotter than it had moments ago.

“How was it?” Avril asked afterward.

They hadn’t pulled apart, lips just a few inches apart. Anna’s face was nearly as bright as Avril’s hair, and she breathed the heaviest of the two. Swallowing dryly, Anna glanced toward him. She found something in his captivated stare that sustained her. Imbued her with confidence, maybe.

“It was good. Enjoyable.”

“Better than when you kiss Liam?”

“No.”

Avril tsked. “Well, it was just our first kiss. Give me a few more, and then you’ll know I’m the better kisser.”

Anna did. A few more, and one or two that were particularly passionate and lengthy. Much to Avril's chagrin, she didn’t change her mind about who she enjoyed kissing more. However, that “better” kisser had played spectator for long enough, so he eventually nudged Avril out of the way.

“My turn,” he said, cupping Anna’s face with wet, warm hands.

“Yes,” she said.

Avril watched Liam and Anna share one of several passionate kisses, playfully grumbling about how she thought she’d kissed Anna just as well. Liam and Anna stayed focused on one another.

They had so much in common, including their relative inexperience. These moments were almost as new to him as they were to her. Together, they worked to strip their inexperience away. By the time the trip ended, it’d be impossible to say they were new to at least this shared experience.