Page 21 of Captivating Nights

Chapter 15

AFTER BREAKFAST, SHE WALKED with Xavier and Zane to the front lobby and then outside where a candy-apple-red sports car was waiting for them. It was exotic, sleek, and sexy, much like the men who’d soon be in it with her. As she got closer to the vehicle, her own reflection bounced off the metallic finish of the custom paint job. Immediately, she took a few steps back, encountering a hard wall of muscle.

“Easy, belleza,” Xavier cautioned with a light chuckle. He rested his hands on her bare arms momentarily before walking to the driver’s side of the car. Even after he stopped touching her, the tingling sensation lingered for a few seconds longer.

As she circled around the car, Cali finally saw the hood emblem, recognizing that it was an Alfa Romeo. Reaching for her hand, Zane guided her toward the passenger side of the vehicle. Ever the gentleman, he helped her into the backseat and then took his place in the front.

Despite the car’s small appearance on the outside, it was quite roomy on the inside, which was good as her companions were larger than life compared to her smaller size. Leaning back in her seat, she removed her camera from its bag, snapping various photographs of the tropical landscape when the group passed it.

She had no idea where they were taking her, but surprisingly enough, that didn’t scare her like it probably should have. There was a quality about these men that she couldn’t quite pinpoint, but it made her feel safe and secure.

Cali noticed several differences between Virgin Gorda and Boston. Apart from driving on the left side of the street, the roads themselves were practically deserted even at this time of the day. The number of cars that passed by could have been counted on one hand. It was so serene and she could see why this island was dubbed an undiscovered paradise.

“We’re here, Calista,” Xavier said as he pulled into a parking lot. There were a few island taxis lined up near the entrance of their destination and she assumed that meant their excursion wouldn’t be a private one.

“What is this place?” she asked, craning her neck to the left and then the right, hoping to get a view. She saw that idea had been squashed, though, because Xavier had parked between two jeeps, effectively blocking her sightline.

“It’s called the Baths and this is one of the island’s most popular attractions,” Zane told her as he opened his door. A few seconds later, he opened hers and helped her out of the car. “In all your research on the island, have you read anything about them?”

Calista thought about all the places she’d read about and nodded as this was one of the places at the top of her to-do list. “Yes, I was looking forward to this excursion.”

“Great,” Xavier said as he came up behind her, pulling her against his chest. The motion seemed so natural to him, but Cali knew it would take her time to get acclimated to this level of attention. “I don’t think your sandals will be the best footwear for this place, Calista,” he continued. “Let me get a pair of water shoes from the trunk for you.”

Cali had come prepared, packing water shoes of her own. They were in her room at the resort. Had the men bothered to tell her where they planned to take her, then she would have brought them along. In any case, she smiled brightly as he handed her a pair of black shoes. “Thank you, Xavier.”

“You’re welcome, belleza. Go ahead and change shoes and then we’ll go check out this place together.”

Cali did exactly as he said, slipping out of her frilly sandals and handing them to Xavier. She also handed him her camera. Back in Boston, the thought of replacing her equipment with one that was waterproof had entered her mind, but she never did get around to doing so and didn’t want anything to happen to the one she had.

“I have a camera that will be fine for the excursion, angel. Let’s go,” Zane told her, seemingly able to read her mind once again. How these men had the uncanny ability to do that was still a mystery. She was no longer sure it was one she wanted to solve, either.

Zane and Xavier also changed shoes before safely securing their belongings in the trunk. The three then headed to the entrance where a larger group was already lined up and waiting. They took their places, and she listened to the mindless chatter around her while she tried to tamp down her nervousness.

From the moment she had first laid eyes on Xavier, everything about this trip had been surreal. Even more so was the fact that it mimicked the typical “boy meets girl” chapters she had either written or read about in books from her peers. Calista Grant was in paradise with not one, but two men who could have any girl in the world, yet they were with her. Shaking her head ruefully, Cali let out a sigh and heard something akin to a growl coming from beside her.

Glancing to her right, she flashed a smile at Xavier, earning one in response. Damn! That man is sex on a stick. He reached over, brushing a few locks of her hair out of her face and opening his mouth to say something when Zane nudged him. It was now their turn to enter and she was secretly relieved. Cali was sure there would be so much to see and do here at the Baths that she wouldn’t even have time to think about anything else.

She was more than ready to see what this place had to offer, and after reading a brief description about its history as well as the rules, they finally started down the sandy trail, quickly encountering several large granite boulders. The three stopped and she placed her hand against the smooth surface of one, the stone warm from the bright sunlight.

“The stone isn’t the only thing that would warm nicely.” Zane leaned in to whisper in her ear. Cali shivered, suspecting what he was referring to. After all, she had agreed to try out this BDSM stuff, even though it wasn’t something she ever thought she would do.

Thinking back to the state she’d found herself in when she had awakened, Cali had to admit to herself that being tied up wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Sure, she wrote about things like this, but her books were fiction, not derived from real-life experiences or desires. At least not yet.

“Let’s go, you two,” Xavier said, pushing her forward gently. “The sooner we get through this, the sooner we can get back to the resort. I don’t know about you both, but I can think of little else that I would rather do than finish what we started this morning.”

A soft gasp left her lips, not because he was wrong, but because others nearby could possibly hear them. Cali had barely wrapped her own head around whatever she was currently in the middle of and had no desire to try to rationalize it to anyone else, least of all herself.

She started walking faster, even moving ahead of the two men. From her position in front of them, the heat of their gazes seared her skin. Continuing their trek, they eventually came across boulders much larger than the previous groups. The interconnecting rock formations created numerous grottos to explore and she was able to walk untouched through the largest one. When she emerged from between the stones, she felt wetness on her feet. Looking down, she could see the sand right through the crystal clear water.

“Help,” Cali exclaimed before jumping backward. A small red crab had pinched a claw onto the outer edge of her shoe. Her voice was louder than she had intended. From behind her, she heard the sound of amused males chuckling.

Zane stepped closer and bent down, effortlessly removing the creature from her shoe and smirking at her while holding it up in front of her face. One thing Cali hated above all else was creepy crawly anything, and this ten-legged crustacean fell into that category. Her heart rate increased and her skin felt like it was crawling. “Pet it, Calista,” he teased.

Eyes widening, she shook her head vehemently. Xavier’s hands moved to her arms and he held her in place. Zane arched a perfect brow, and she knew he wasn’t going to let her off that easy. It seemed like the two men had been pushing her out of her comfort zone since the moment she’d met them. Resigned, Cali reached her shaky hand toward the crab, brushing a finger over its hard shell. As soon as she touched it, she snatched her hand back, watching as the blond Dominant placed it on a small rock. Able to move on its own once again, the crab scurried off.

A slight shudder wracked her body before she wiped her hand on the outside of her cover-up. Both men stopped short of laughing outright at her, and once Zane moved back behind her, Cali rolled her eyes even though a slight smile had tipped the corners of her lips. Men!

The next grotto was not only much narrower than the previous one, but the opening only went up to her hips. Cali realized then that she would have to climb between this set of boulders. She looked down and kicked some of the sand around, dropping to her knees only when she didn’t see any other crawling menaces.

---