Page 22 of Captivating Nights

Words of praise came from the men behind her. It was as if it was part of their DNA to be perverts. Placing her hands in front of her, Cali started crawling on her hands and knees, ignoring the voices around her while she focused on making sure that there was nothing on the sand that could bite her.

After making her way completely through the opening, she rose to her feet, dusting off the particles while waiting for Zane and Xavier to emerge. Once they rejoined her, she glanced around, spotting a pathway of rocks that appeared quite treacherous in some areas. It was obvious now why her initial choice of shoes wasn’t the smartest one.

“We’ll head this way up to Devil’s Bay, belleza,” Xavier stated, motioning toward the trail of rocks. That destination was certainly fitting. These two devilish men would feel right at home there.

Nodding, she took Xavier’s hand, allowing him to help her onto the first rock. To her left was a handrail made of rope, which she gripped tightly and tested, making sure it was strong enough to hold her. A murmur behind Cali had her shaking her head ruefully. From the research she had done when writing that one book series on the D/s scene, rope was always readily available to Dominants and usually used in the most creative of ways. There was no doubt in her mind that Xavier and Zane were extremely skilled with rope. She already knew how handy they were with silken ties. They were truly incorrigible.

Remembering back to this morning had her face flushing with heat. With any luck, anyone around would mistake her flushed state for that of a sunburn.

The three navigated along the rock formations, and she almost lost her balance twice. Both times, one of the men was right there to help steady her. Eventually, they made their way to a wooden ladder. She didn’t even have to guess whether they were close to the beach because the waves became louder as did the sound of sea birds she could hear close by.

Climbing up the ladder first, Zane and Xavier followed her before they all took the last few dozen steps to the ocean. “Wow,” she exclaimed almost breathlessly as she took in the sight. There were only a handful of people scattered across the small space, but that wasn’t what caught her eye.

Cali’s attention was aimed directly at the sea of blue ahead. She really did love the ocean, and in this moment wondered why she’d never traveled to any of the beaches in Massachusetts during the balmy summer months.

Her eyes shifted excitedly from the large body of water back to the men she was with. Zane’s expression had drastically changed from earlier in the grotto. If she had to guess, he wasn’t as enamored with the Caribbean Sea as she was. A slight frown formed but disappeared when she looked over at Xavier.

“Can we go swimming now?” she asked him. Xavier had been studying the water, but turned his full focus on her once she spoke.

“Go ahead, belleza,” he told her and then shot a warning look at the other man.

Cali had no idea what was passing between them and decided it was none of her business. As disinterested as the idea of swimming seemed to him, Zane didn’t tell her not to, so she removed the cover-up and water shoes before handing them to Xavier.

It dawned on her in that moment that she was standing before them in a bikini. Her insecurities bubbled to the surface, but she forced them down as fast as she could.

Zane was now staring directly at her, like he was ready to devour her any minute, making her skin tingle at the thought. Her desire to both swim and cover herself finally won out and she turned around to head to the shoreline.

Once her feet hit the warm waters of the sea, she tuned out all else, wading about waist deep before dipping her head into the water. Glancing over her shoulder one last time, she saw the friends engaged in a heated conversation on the shore, but ignored them as she spent the next hour frolicking in the water.

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