Chapter 9 Locke
nine
Locke
Istrode out of the cabin, every fiber of my being begging me to stay.
Chris had revealed something of himself tonight that I hadn’t expected, and it had struck me in the chest, lodging itself there.
Under that bad-boy look—and damn did he do the tattoos, long hair, and scruffy beard well—he was insecure and kind of messed-up.
Instinct had me wanting to reach for him and kiss every ounce of doubt and fear from him.
I’d known who he was when we’d officially met.
But then I’d looked him up, checking out all the gossip sites for write-ups on him so I could learn more.
Aside from the major cheating scandal, which I didn’t believe a word of—I’d seen how protective they were of each other and how they read each other so well.
I knew without a sliver of a doubt that there was no way Kamirah could hurt Chris like that—he and Kam presented as any other ordinary straight couple.
My poor little bisexual hockey player was as deep in the closet as he could go, and I was guessing he’d repressed so much of his sexuality that he didn’t even know what he liked when it came to being with a man.
He’d said he was an exclusive top. But the fact that he’d been begging me to fuck him and riding my fingers, then came like a geyser hands-free, told me otherwise.
He’d let down a little bit of his guard with me.
It was a privilege to have been able to give that experience to him and witness the outcome.
I leaned against the palm tree and slipped off my mask before tucking it into my pocket.
I could still see the lights of their bure through the trees, and as I replayed tonight’s events in my head, I bit my lip, trying to hold back my grin.
I was giddy, my belly flip-flopping with excitement.
I couldn’t believe it had really happened.
It was even better than I’d imagined. I’d hoped for a hilltop blow job and a couple of dirty hand jobs in return.
I never imagined it could have turned out like it did.
I just hoped they were feeling as incredible as I was in that moment and that Chris wasn’t having second thoughts about what he’d experienced. I didn’t want him doubting himself.
I dragged my arse back to my golf buggy, my body protesting every step I took away from them.
I was glad I’d driven it rather than walked because my legs ached and my hands were still shaking from the workout, but I would much rather not have left at all.
It was precisely the reason why I had to get out of there.
I’d been avoiding them. I didn’t want to risk running into them and blowing my cover.
Now I was only on the island for one more day.
I couldn’t get attached, but… who was I kidding? I already was.
***
My final day on the island was beautiful, just like every day had been.
My masseuse, Aisake, had knocked on my door at precisely 11:00 a.m. and invited me to join him for a massage on my private beach under the dappled sunlight of the swaying palms. I still had to pinch myself at sentences like that—“my private beach.” It was wild that this was my life.
But I’d stripped off to my underwear, and the big Fijian had worked every knot in my back and legs out until I was loose and relaxed.
I’d spent an hour reliving every detail of last night’s experience and cringed when he’d told me to roll over. Thankfully Aisake was more professional than I was.
Now I was torn. On the one hand, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face, thinking about my time with Chris and Kamirah, but my chest tightened and gut sank every time I thought about having to leave.
I didn’t want to go, but my time here was running out fast, and no matter how much I wanted to extend my stay, it wasn’t possible.
I headed toward the main building to where I’d booked a table on the beach for lunch, hands in my pockets and sand between my toes.
I missed this. I loved LA, but I’d never really found my people there, and so the place never really felt like home.
Fiji was already that for me, but maybe it was the people.
I pushed the thoughts of Kam and Chris out of my head.
I was holidaying on an exclusive resort, and I was a pretty affable bloke.
I didn’t have any trouble talking with people.
I hadn’t done much of it since being here because I’d been preoccupied with my two pretty prey.
They had no idea who I was, and I needed to keep it that way.
I couldn’t exactly invite them over for drinks and a first date with my disguise on.
But if I ran into them or anyone else now, I could be myself. I was just Locke.
It was a complete mindfuck to keep parts of myself separate, but I was loving the chase. The capture…. Well, that exceeded every expectation by a country mile.
But it also needed to end. I couldn’t be weak and give in. I needed last night to be the final time Vigilante came out to play.
I walked through the entrance to the restaurant and was greeted by Anna, the server, who showed me the table on the sand that they’d set up for me. “I’ll be back in a moment to take your order, Mr. Ledger.”
“Locke, please, and that would be great, Anna. Thank you.”
The square table was set up under the shade of the tall coconut palms that separated the restaurant from the beach. I breathed deep as I sat. The scent of the tropics—hibiscus flowers, salt air, and coconut oil—were familiar scents that called me home.
I looked out at the view and relaxed into my chair.
Everything about it was beautiful. The ocean was calm today.
The waves lapping at the white sand were more of a wash than a wave.
A small boat bobbed gently in the water a couple of hundred meters out with a lone person fishing from it.
Their rod was straight, no fish on the end of it to be reeled in.
Much closer to shore, there was a couple on an aqua trike, riding it back toward the boat shed.
Otherwise, the beach was deserted, the swaying palms and Anna my only company.
The sound of laughter floated over the breeze, and I instantly smiled.
I would recognize that laugh anywhere. With my sunnies in place and my cap shading my eyes, I stared out at the couple.
I hadn’t recognized them at first, but I should have.
Though to be fair, I’d seen more of them from behind than face to face.
The erection that had persisted through the whole of my massage was back in an instant. I wiggled my toes in the cool sand, trying to distract myself from the persistent throb. But it was pointless. Both Chris and Kamirah were far too gorgeous for my body to react any other way.
I dragged my gaze away from them and forced myself to look at the dock in the opposite direction. The catamaran that I’d been on with Kamirah and Chris only a few days earlier was moored there, a deckhand polishing the chrome fixings and another mopping the deck.
“Mr. Ledger, are you ready to order?” Anna asked, startling me out of my thoughts.
“Shoot, sorry, I haven’t even looked at the menu.”
I picked it up and flipped it open, but before I could even begin reading it, she asked, “Perhaps just a drink to start with, then?”
I inclined my head and said, “Sure. I’ll have a gin and tonic.”
“Wonderful.” She smiled and promised to return with my drink.
I looked back out at the view again, but I didn’t see Kamirah and Chris on the water. Instead, they were walking up the beach.
Dressed in what looked like one of Chris’s shirts, a broad-brimmed hat, and dark glasses, Kamirah looked like sex incarnate.
She was all shapely legs, and that arse with its perfect amount of jiggle.
Damn. Chris was just as hot in cargo shorts that highlighted the thick muscles on his legs and a loose white singlet.
His long, dark hair was tied in a bun, and the aviator sunglasses he wore suited him to a tee.
Knowing what each of them looked like naked did not help with taming my erection.
“Locke, hi,” Chris greeted as they got closer.
Kamirah waved at me with a smile, and I couldn’t help the grin that instantly split my lips.
It took a second for me to remember to speak in my normal accent not the fake Canadian one I’d put on each time I’d been with them as Vigilante. “G’day, you two. Having fun?”
“We are. We had the same thought as you.” Kamirah gestured to the table just as I saw the server returning with my drink.
“You want to join me?” I asked on a whim, then frowned at my impulsiveness. “Well, unless you wanted it to be just the two of you.”
“We’d love to,” Chris said quickly.
I was smiling again when I asked Anna, “Would it be possible to get another couple of place settings added to the table?”
With a nod and a smile, she agreed. “I won’t be a moment.”
Within a couple of minutes, chairs were added, she had the cutlery in place and had taken another drinks order for us.
We drank cocktails and ordered a seafood spread. Twenty minutes later the table was overflowing with bowls and platters of food. Conversation flowed as easily as the drinks.
I wanted them to tell me about their masked Vigilante, but I knew the only way I’d get it out of them was to confess my role. So, I bit my tongue and asked, “What have you been up to?”
“We went snorkeling this morning just around the point.” Kamirah gestured to my left, and I looked out at the end of the cove where the palm trees grew out into the water.
“We got there an hour before high tide and were there through the whole of the slack tide. It was incredible. The water was so clear and still, and there were more fish than we could count. It was just… incredible.”
“It was,” Chris agreed with a nod and a smile directed at his wife. “This one convinced me to try windsurfing yesterday too.”