34
T heir surroundings were beautiful, and Erin couldn’t wait to wake up to the sun rising over the ocean for the next week. The scenery from the luxurious hut they were staying in had been breathtaking. She made a mental note to take as many pictures as possible and have Chayse send her some of the ones she knew her friend would take.
The description called it a hut, but it was well-insulated with thick walls and air conditioning. From the outside, the gable roof was covered in straw, and it resembled a hut in shape. The inside was picturesque. The open living room and small kitchen were airy, and the front windows streamed in plenty of light.
They’d chosen a hut with a king bed. It wouldn’t be the first time they all slept in one together, but it would be the first time they’d done so more than one night at a time. Erin was looking forward to it. Even when she’d stayed with them leading up to Cruz leaving, she’d rotated between the three bedrooms. They both slept with her in hers, but she’d slept individually in theirs.
The bedroom they’d be sharing was comfortable, about the size of hers back home. A standing wardrobe took up one wall and housed drawers below it. The far wall had floor-to-ceiling windows and a sliding door that led out onto a patio over the ocean, and she was ready to watch the sun rise over it.
The bathroom was as airy as the rest of the house. The standing shower was large enough to fit two people if needed, but she was sure it’d be a squeeze.
Erin was excited to spend uninterrupted time with her men and her friends. Even though they all made time to see one another, she felt she deserved some reward for her opening and all the work she’d put into it, a chance to relax after the first successful months. She’d left it in Dahlia and Torei’s capable hands, both women stating they’d only call if there were an emergency.
“This is beautiful,” she stated when her men joined her in the bedroom. They’d allowed her to look around on her own. She was sure they didn’t care as much about the scenery as she did, just that they all enjoyed their time there. “We should unpack and meet the others. I don’t put it past Chayse to start knocking on people’s doors and hauling us out if we take too long.”
Paetyn chuckled. “She did seem rather eager to eat.”
“I can only assume Nik tried to make them late, and she didn’t eat this morning, aside from the muffins on the plane,” Cruz stated.
“The same way you tried to make us late?” Erin questioned with a raised brow as she opened her suitcase.
“We made it on time, and you still ate,” Cruz countered.
“Because my boyfriend is a chef who has this unreal ability to cook things faster than humanly possible.”
“What can I say? It’s a talent,” Paetyn responded.
They unpacked and put everything away. She’d been skeptical of all their clothes fitting. Erin could admit that since she didn’t have to pay a bag fee, she’d gone a little overboard in her packing to ensure she had plenty of options.
Once done, they exited the front door and found Chayse, Nik, Lawrence, and Remy waiting in the little courtyard in front of their huts. They waited momentarily before Nik asked, “Should we go get the other two?”
“We might have to. Kieran is definitely in there trying to get her naked,” Remy responded.
Before they could step towards the other couple’s hut, they were walking out, Alijah fixing her shirt. The group refrained from asking as Chayse led them to a map, she chose the restaurant closest to them, and she damn near skipped off, pulling Nik along, and Erin smiled, shaking her head, as she leaned into Paetyn’s side; Cruz’s hand in hers.
E rin was seated on Paetyn’s lap, her legs thrown over Cruz’s as they watched a fire show later that night. Dinner had been delicious, and they’d chosen one of the more upscale restaurants at the resort. There were several people in attendance. Most of them were standing around watching. They’d gotten there early and snagged most of the seats.
When the show ended, their group went to one of the transportation areas and waited. It would take them a while to walk back to their huts, and Erin was against doing so in the heels she wore. Though she knew one of them would carry her. The fact the resort offered transportation across the island was a plus.
After a few minutes of waiting, a golf cart arrived, pulling a covered extension behind it. Paetyn got on before her, helping her with Cruz’s hand on the small of her back. She noticed three women trying to get on when they were seated, but only one seat was left. Chayse moved first, sitting on Nik’s lap. Erin did the same, asking Cruz to move over and settling on his lap since they were at the end.
“Thank you,” one of the women said as they all climbed on and claimed the last three seats.
Once they’d given the driver the area their huts were in, the vehicle was moving. They’d been driving about five minutes when Erin felt eyes on her. She looked over to find the woman sitting across from her, beside Nik and Chayse, staring at her.
“Are you okay?” Erin asked quizzically.
It was like her question brought the other woman back from somewhere, and Erin thought maybe she’d been staring through her instead, but when a light dusting of color bloomed on her cheeks in the glow of the overhead lights, she knew her first assumption was correct.
“Oh my gosh, I was staring!” She glanced at everyone at Erin’s question, but her eyes soon settled back on her. “I’m so sorry. You’re just…very attractive.”
It had been a while since she’d had a woman so flustered by being caught looking at her, and she couldn’t help herself. She smiled at the woman, leaning forward to be closer and look her directly in the eyes.
“You think I’m pretty?” she inquired, her smile morphing into one that could hold so many promises had she been serious.
“I, um…”
The other two women who’d gotten on with her laughed, and the one sitting next to them said, “She’s with someone, and you’re still hitting on her.”
“I wasn’t,” the woman Erin was still staring at responded, color darkening on cornsilk-colored cheeks.
“I don’t mind.” Erin ran her tongue along her lips. “You’d let me play with her, wouldn’t you, baby?”
She wasn’t asking them, but it sounded good. Cruz squeezed her waist, and Paetyn ran the back of his hand along her exposed thigh. The woman made a startled noise as the vehicle stopped, and the driver announced where they were. She hopped off quickly, her friends following with laughs at how flustered she was. Erin couldn’t help but laugh as she leaned back against Cruz, Paetyn’s hand resting on her thigh.
“That poor woman,” Chayse stated. “Did you have to give her that look?”
“She’s going to have wet dreams tonight,” Alijah added before Erin could respond, and they all laughed.
Erin was well aware of which look Chayse was talking about. Instead, she shrugged and stated, “All I did was ask a question.”
The rest of the ride was silent, and when they reached their huts, they said their goodnights and went their separate ways. Cruz picked her up and carried her into the bedroom when the door closed. He tossed her on the bed, and Erin sat up on her elbows as he removed his belt, making quick work of his button and zipper.
“Cruz, wait,” she stated, taking in the look in his eyes.
“Why would I do that, Ma?y?” He removed her shoes and tossed them aside.
“I was only playing, and it wasn’t a man.”
He raised a brow at her. “You think that matters to me?”
She looked to Paetyn, leaning against the door frame, watching them in amusement. “Paetyn. Do something.”
He tilted his head. “You riled him up with your little show, Angel. So deal with it.”
Her attention returned to Cruz as he tossed his shirt aside, and she let Paetyn’s words sink in. He wasn’t upset this time; this wasn’t punishment. She’d turned him on. Erin smirked at him.
“Should I pick out another woman tomorrow? We can bring her back here and—”
She cut off with a squeak as Cruz reached under her dress and ripped her panties.
Paetyn chuckled. “Careful, Angel. You keep it up, and you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”
Erin bit her lower lip at the desire in Cruz’s eyes. She hadn’t meant it; she was sure they both knew that because there was no way she was sharing them, but the thought of it seemed to turn them all on.
P aetyn sat beside Cruz on a lounge couch at one of the cabana bars the following afternoon, Kieran on a chaise beside them. Their group had met to swim, enjoy the scenery, and have a few drinks. The women had gone to the bathroom almost ten minutes ago, and he would have thought they were lost if it weren’t for the fact it was hard to get lost from where they were to the restrooms.
Lawrence, Remy, and Nik were placing orders for everyone with one of the servers, and from the way she was smiling at Lawrence and he shook his head adamantly, mixed with the amused look on Remy’s face, Paetyn assumed the woman was flirting with Lawrence. The three rejoined them a minute later, and Lawrence glared at Remy.
“You remember you thought that shit was funny when some woman is hitting on you, and I don’t say anything.”
“We both know you’re far too jealous to let something like that slide,” Remy countered.
“Not jealous. I prefer to show I care and put a stop to it.”
“You say that like I don’t care.” When Lawrence didn’t respond, Remy leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
The women joined them then. Erin took a seat on Cruz’s lap, and he wrapped his arms around her. She wore an emerald green two-piece bathing suit with a blue shawl around her waist. He could admit that they were almost late when he’d seen her walk out of the bedroom in it. Paetyn knew seeing her in something shouldn’t affect him as it often did, but he chalked it up to it being a good thing.
A server, different from the one flirting with Lawrence, brought their drinks. Nik pointed out who got what, and Paetyn received his last.
“Gracias,” he stated.
“De nada,” she responded with a smile. “You speak Spanish,” she continued in the mentioned language.
“I do,” Paetyn responded.
She glanced around the group briefly. “I don’t mean to be forward, but you’re very handsome. Too handsome to play the third wheel in this group.”
Paetyn could see how she thought it. Looking at his friends, it was apparent they were coupled up, and at the moment, it did look like Erin and Cruz were together. They were, but…he could see why she assumed.
“I get off at four if you want to—”
“He doesn’t,” Erin stated in Spanish. “And he isn’t a third wheel.” She gripped his chin and pulled him into a kiss. It spoke of possession, and he didn’t mind. He was hers and didn’t plan on going anywhere. Erin cut her eyes at the woman when they pulled apart. “Go away,” she demanded, switching to English, and the server did an about-face. “First, the woman this morning at breakfast hitting on Cruz, and now you. I swear I’m going to have to tie you both to my wrists.”
“I thought you were going to hurt that woman this morning,” Chayse stated.
“I contemplated it but refrained so they wouldn’t try to kick me out.”
“You still scared her pretty bad,” Lawrence pointed out.
“Then she should have kept her ‘accidental’ touches to herself.”
Paetyn chuckled before taking a drink. They all knew it hadn’t been an accident, and the woman had likely only done it because they’d been in the same situation. The waitress heard Erin call him baby while ordering, and he was sure she assumed Cruz was fair game. He wasn’t surprised they had to deal with it in bigger groups.
It wasn’t hard to see that they both belonged to her when it was just the three of them. In his opinion, seeing it in a group setting should have been easy, too. The chemistry between them didn’t change, but he was sure it was challenging to see when in a group of compatible couples.
The conversation shifted to an Asian-infused restaurant the women wanted to try for dinner and a poker tournament held the following afternoon. Nik wanted to enter, and Paetyn didn’t see the harm in them participating for fun.
“While the five of you do that, I think we’ll do some shopping and check out their art gallery,” Alijah stated.
“I want to take some pictures,” Chayse said. “There’s this hiking trail on the other end of the resort. That jungle-like area, and I think it would make for some good pictures.”
“Yeah,” Erin started. “We can—”
“No,” the five of them stated at the same time.
“No?” Lawrence asked.
“One of you better tell us what sweet reason you have for trying to dictate what we do tomorrow while you’re wasting money,” Erin stated.
“Quickly,” Alijah added.
“You can go shopping and to the art gallery, but you can’t go into the jungle alone,” Kieran stated.
“We’re capable of taking care of ourselves,” Chayse informed.
“And I need the five of you to realize that regardless of me dating a man, I still am one,” Lawrence told them.
“No one is saying you’re not,” Remy responded. “But I get to worry about your safety, and that’s what this is about.”
“We’re not saying no,” Cruz stated.
“Really? Because that was the exact word that came out of your mouths,” Alijah countered.
“We’re asking that you wait until we can go with you. We know you can take care of yourselves, but it puts us at ease when we can be there in a situation that has the potential to be dangerous. If we let you go alone, and something happens, we’d blame ourselves. Choose a different day and time, and we’ll go. That way, whatever amazing thing you see, we’ll get to experience it with you firsthand instead of you having to tell us. We get to make that memory with you,” Paetyn stated.
“Erin, I am so sorry,” Chayse said after a brief silence.
“Why?” Erin asked, confused.
“Because you live with that,” Chayse responded.
“Right,” Lawrence agreed with a shake of his head.
“How do you ever win an argument?” Alijah asked. “I was prepared to be stubborn and argue as long as necessary.”
“Same,” Chayse responded. “Now, I just want to nod and agree.”
“That’s sorcery. It has to be,” Lawrence threw out.
Erin snorted. “It’s definitely something, but we don’t really argue.”
“I see why,” Chayse responded.
“You act like we do,” Nik countered.
Paetyn tuned them out at that point as Erin placed her legs over his lap. “We’ll choose another day and find something else to fill the time.”
“Thank you, Angel.”
Paetyn took a drink of his Patrón as he ran his free hand up and down her leg. They could do whatever they wanted as long as it wouldn’t endanger them.