Chapter Fourteen
No. This could not be happening.
Jackson turned his head slowly and closed his eyes. When he opened them, the two figures he had hoped he’d imagined were still walking toward them from the direction of the cave he had suggested they retreat to earlier.
“Jesus, son. Put that thing away!”
Maxwell jumped to his feet and surged into the water until he was waist-deep. After a mortifying second, Jackson quickly followed. When he turned back around, the mayor, Adeline Carrington, was grinning at them as one of her husbands, Judge Jethro Carrington, scowled by her side.
Addie shielded her hand over her eyes. “Good afternoon, Jackson. Why, hello there, Mr. King! Welcome back to the island.” Before he could respond, she turned her head and waved cheerfully at where Trinity was in the water up to her neck. “Hello, Katrina! It’s so nice to see you again.”
“Ah, yeah. Hi, Addie.”
Jackson turned to shoot Trinity an incredulous look, which she simply returned with a shrug and a what the hell do you want me to say look.
“Sorry to barge in on you like this. We were just walking and thought it would be better if we announced ourselves rather than just sneaking by. This is my husband, Jethro. We both had the day off today so—”
“I’m not sure this is the time for introductions, and it’s not sneaking to mind our own damn business,” Jethro muttered. He looked at his wife’s smiling face, then scowled at Jackson and Maxwell when he noticed where she was looking. “You boys need to cover those muscles up before you give my Addie a heart attack. And that water is pretty damn clear so can you…” His voice trailed off as he waved a hand toward them.
Jackson and Maxwell quickly moved their hands to the front of their bodies and tried to cover up their large, rapidly deflating cocks behind their hands.
Unable to help it, Trinity burst out laughing. She was relieved when Addie joined her. Trinity glanced over to see both Jackson and Maxwell glaring at her. “What? Seriously, like your hands are supposed to cover those monsters?”
“You are a lucky woman, Katrina,” Addie said with a grin.
“That’s it. We’re leaving!” Jethro declared, pulling on his wife’s arm. “We’re going to forget this ever happened. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” Jackson replied along with Maxwell’s quick nod.
Trinity nodded as well, then couldn’t help but call out to the retreating couple. “Oh, Jethro? You may want to rebutton your shirt. It’s a little…off.”
She watched the older man blush as he looked down to see that his shirt was two buttons off the mark. Addie’s laughter trailed on the wind as the older couple walked away.
Trinity’s grin faded as Jackson groaned.
“Just fucking drown me now, because I’m never going to live this down.”
Without waiting for them, she dove into the water and quickly made her way back to the boat. The men caught up to her as she pulled herself onboard. Not caring she was still wet, she put her clothes back on, glancing over to see that Jackson and Maxwell were doing the same.
On her swim back to the boat, Trinity’s anger had returned. She got up and moved to take the driver’s seat, but Jackson stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“What the hell was that back at the beach, Katrina?”
Her eyes narrowed on him as she jerked her arm away. “Seriously? You really don’t know why I’m pissed? Then I suggest you think really hard. You, too,” she added as she shot a glare at Maxwell as he sat down in the driver’s seat.
She muttered to herself as she sat down, ignoring them. As soon as Jackson pulled up the anchor, Maxwell put the boat in motion, speeding back toward the marina. By the time they made the turn back into the Blue Horizon Marina, part of her fury had faded. She was still angry but realized that she wasn’t helping the situation by not telling them why she was so pissed.
Before they got back to the dock, Trinity turned her head to glare at the two men. She saw Maxwell shooting her irritated glances every few seconds and could see the anger plain on Jackson’s face.
Good. They were pissed now, too.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
She sighed. “You might think I’m being a bitch, and yeah, maybe I am, but the two of you really did piss me off.”
“Why?” The question burst out of Jackson like an accusation. “What the hell did we do?”
Could they really be that clueless?
“I usually find dirty talk pretty fucking hot, but not the way you were doing it. Do you know how shitty you made me feel back there?” She turned bitter eyes toward Maxwell. “And I fucking warned you about my triggers.”
“I know you did, Trinity. But I have no bloody idea what I did that pissed you off!”
She sighed again. Maybe this was just her being too sensitive, but damn it, she couldn’t help the way she felt.
“I know about your pampered little playthings you usually bring to the island, Max. So, you better think twice before you ever call me your fucking pet again.”
He cursed. “I didn’t realize—”
“Yeah, well, it’s a deal breaker for me. Calling me your fucking pet and ordering me to drink your cum is not the way to get me to blow you again. Ever. It might work for some people, but I am not one of them. And you—” She rounded on Jackson. “—don’t you even think about coming anywhere near my ass with some toy you’ve used on your countless other hookups. If you do, you may find it shoved up your own ass.”
Jackson cursed viciously as the boat drifted back into the spot where it had originally been parked. She got up from her seat and grabbed her black case before it came to a complete stop.
Slipping her sunglasses back on, she said, “Look. I know this is new to all of us. I get that. But this isn’t easy for me either. Now, I need some time to think all of this over. I’ll see you later.”
She hopped the short distance onto the dock, leaving the men to finish tying the boat back up.
Maxwell cursed as he turned off the boat. “Trinity? Where are you going?”
“I said I need time to think,” she called back to him.
Striding quickly along the dock, her scowl turned into a grin when she caught sight of a familiar figure leaning against the side of a sleek little red Porsche. Nikita Nuria was dressed in a pair of black cargo pants with a plain white tank, leaving her tattooed arms on full display. Her glossy black hair was pulled up in a messy bun on the top of her head, and her unusual violet eyes looked darker than normal behind a pair of amber sunglasses.
Even with part of her face covered, it was easy to see that she was gorgeous. The creepy manager who had checked them in earlier was obviously trying to hit on her, but Nikita was blatantly ignoring his attempts. When Simon leaned in closer, whatever she said made him stumble back in fear.
“We’re done with the boat for the day,” Trinity said to him, taking pity on the poor soul. “Why don’t you go grab the keys from the guys?”
Simon was smart enough to listen to her and quickly trotted away.
“What did you say to him?” Trinity asked.
“Just warned him what would happen if he kept bothering me.” Nikita nodded toward the case Trinity was carrying. “You shoot anyone with that thing?”
“Not today.” Setting down her case, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her reluctant friend. “Nikita! I’m so happy to see you!”
“Fine. Good. Whatever. Can you stop hugging me now?”
Laughing, Trinity pulled back. “How did you find me?”
“I hacked your phone for your location.”
“Of course, you did.” Trinity couldn’t even say she was surprised. “Let’s get the fuck out of here and go have a drink.”
“Sounds good.” Without asking, Nikita opened the trunk of the car so Trinity could store her case away. “But they might have something to say about it.”
“Damn it, Katrina! Where the hell are you going now?” Jackson called out.
“I’m going for a drink with my friend. And no, you aren’t invited. This is going to be a penis-free evening!” Pulling the keys to her convertible out of her pocket, she tossed them at him. “Give those to Max.”
Trinity climbed into the passenger seat as Nikita started the car. Her friend glanced through the window at the two men now glaring at their vehicle.
“Which one is yours?”
Trinity sighed. “I guess both of them.”
Nikita snorted delicately. “I see you really embraced the island spirit. Are you just going to start collecting hot men now like a harem?”
“Fuck all the way off.”
Nikita’s laughter drifted in the wind as she revved the engine and took off.