Chapter Twelve
"It’s over between us." She said.
"What’s over?" Alex said.
"Nothing. It was nothing. We were seeing each other and then--"
"You know what that means at Drummond Melanie: instant dismissal for both of you."
"It’s done now. There would be no point."
"Those things are never really over. Besides, it’s not up to you. Drummond Corporation is very clear and fair regarding these issues. If you are becoming romantically involved with someone you work with, then one of you has to resign. It’s that simple. If you break that rule then you both resign. You’ve broken the rules already, both of you. So unfortunately for you, when we get back to LA, both you and Mitch will be looking for new careers."
"That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. There’s no reason to punish Mitch for something that ended."
"When? When did it end Melanie?" Sebastian pursued the question.
Three days before our plane went down. The truth didn’t sound good.
"It’s not important."
"It is to me." Alex said. "What did he do to you?"
"It’s none of your business and he didn’t do anything to me."
"I’m your boss, Melanie. So yes, it does concern me."
"You just told me I was fired, so no, you aren’t my boss, and no, it doesn’t concern you."
"Don’t forget that there’s more than one Drummond here." Alex said. "You aren’t fired yet."
Melanie’s whole body was shaking with emotion. She wanted to tell the two men where to stick it but she had to hold back. There was a lot of money riding on this and not only her job. For all she knew, her mother had already been made homeless or was in some hellhole of a care facility being mistreated by underpaid staff.
"I thought I had broken the famous Drummond rulebook when I had a relationship with another single, emotionally unattached person of the opposite sex. So now I can break the rules?"
"It’s Sebastian’s word--"
"My name’s Alex."
"It’s his word against yours and against Mitch’s. There are no grounds for dismissal there."
"So you would lie to your own company? To your own father?"
"Yeah little brother, what kind of CEO does that?"
"The rule needs to be reformed. But for now, we can only work around it. It’s patently unfair."
"I’ll do better than that Melanie." Sebastian added. "You don’t need the job. If you want to, I’ll help you get a better one or retrain--"
"This isn’t an auction." Melanie shouted. "I’m not for sale to the highest bidder here. Just because we’re all desperate to sleep with each other…"
Damn. She shut her eyes tightly. This damned island. This stupid situation.
When she opened her eyes, one of the brothers was smirking. The other was staring with his mouth just slightly open in anticipation.
"That’s not what I meant to say, obviously."
"But it’s what you were thinking." The smirking one said.
"Don’t twist my words."
"Not much to twist." He said. He was insufferable. But he was also right.
"I...I need to get out of here." Melanie turned from the brothers and retreated into the forest.
"Great, now look what you’ve done." She heard Alex say. Then she second-guessed herself. How did she really know which was which?
"Melanie, come back!"
"Leave her alone for God’s sake. She needs some space away from you and your crazy mind games."
"You mean you and yours."
Melanie was glad when the sound of their bickering voices receded into the background. She walked for what seemed like forever and then threw herself onto a patch of warm golden sand in the forest, shaded by tropical foliage.
She was in more turmoil than ever. In some ways, she didn't want this dream to end. But on the other hand, she didn't want it to become a nightmare either. She had begun to think that maybe this could go on for a long time. With the attentiveness of the brothers, she had been seduced into thinking that this was something she could get used to, a life she could enjoy. After all, why not? Her life in LA wasn’t so great. Most of her old friends were married with kids already or if not, they were planning for families or weddings. She had somehow been ‘left on the shelf' with only Mitch McGovern beside her.
Since she was a little girl, Melanie had dreamed of being swept away, taken by someone so utterly in command that she could just surrender herself to him. But no man had ever been able to do that. Not until Alex had come along…and there was a memory coming back now. She froze, struggling to hold onto it. Alex... they had met in the airport, hadn't they? And he had... it was no use. The fleeting memory was gone. At least she was sure that they were both trying to be Alex for a reason. He must have been the one she liked of the two. The one she had made the connection with. Maybe there had been something between them, just as she had overheard at the lagoon. Had she really made love to one of those beautiful men already?
She longed to take him again in her arms, between her legs, to feel his passionate breath on her neck, her arms, her breasts, and his head going lower as she arched her back in ecstasy
"Melanie?"
She sat bolt upright.
"Damn it. Isn’t there any privacy on this stupid island?" She said irritably.
It seemed that every few minutes she would slip into a reverie of some kind but never get farther than she just had. Her lust and desire were always just beginning to rise but were never satisfied, then a deep sexy male voice would call her to herself again. Or she would notice a pair of lustful deep brown eyes watching her. Even if she had packed her vibrator and even if it was salvaged from the wreck, she wouldn't have been able to use the damn thing. It reminded her of the summer camps she had been on as a teenager, bunking with a roomful of other girls and just talking and thinking about the boys in the male dorms every spare minute of every day, and then even more intensely at night. There had been nowhere to do it though, not with the camp monitors watching them like hawks twenty-four hours a day. Not with public showers you couldn't touch yourself in. How the hell were any of the boys or girls ever to get their minds off the opposite sex under those conditions?
This situation was ten times worse -- God no, it was a thousand times worse! Alex and Sebastian weren't two goofy teenage boys; they were tall, handsome, confident, and very wealthy men. From what she could tell, both of them longed to fuck her as well. Even though there were no camp monitors, they were all adults, and there were only three of them on the island. Hell, she might as well have been locked in a convent with buff, tanned, naked fire fighters parading around outside her cloister window.
The man looking at her looked hesitant, respectful.
Alex. She thought.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Strong and I have come up with an idea. It may be a little crazy but look, what else are we going to do until we get rescued from this damn island?"
His eyes were filled with longing but at the same time, he carefully remained a respectable distance from her. It drove her mad.
This one always did the same. He was so careful not to touch her under any circumstances and all the time she was just crying out for his touch, dreaming of his hands, his fingers, his arms, his chest, his hungry mouth against hers...
The other one was different. He always came close to her. His animal scent and masculine presence filling her senses and sending her raging hormones into overdrive. But he was careful never to touch her either, unless it was some half-intentional light brush of his hand or thigh here or there. It drove her mad but made her go the opposite way. She wanted the big tease to be reduced to his knees, to tears if possible, begging her to touch him. Of course, he would do it if she asked him. She was sure of that. But she intended to make it so that he wasn't sure of anything. If he was lying to her, then he deserved every bit of the pain she would inflict upon him.
The difference between the two brothers physically was almost nothing, but in temperament, they couldn't have been more dissimilar.
"Tell me the idea." She said, not allowing herself to speculate what the two brothers might have come up with.
"Well, it's about you and us. I think it's pretty clear that we both, uh... that we both like you." Melanie was trying but she couldn't stay angry at this huge man who was acting like a tongue-tied schoolboy in front of her. The look he was giving her, the sound of his voice made her want to throw herself at his feet.
She looked up at him, her gorgeous blue eyes filled with anticipation, her skin tingling with excitement.
"Yes." She said.
"In case you hadn't noticed, uh, there's only one of you and two of us."
"I've noticed." She said. "Trust me, I've noticed."
"And you haven't said anything about your feelings to either of us -- at least not to me anyway."
Her heart was beating and she could feel herself becoming wet. The pressurized sexual tension of the island in the last days had turned her into a simmering volcano of desire, ready to blow at the tiniest provocation.
Tall was wearing nothing but shorts and a ridiculous garland of flowers that Melanie had given to him and to his brother the day before when she had been in a softer, more conciliatory mood. It embarrassed her to look at them now.
"I haven’t said anything to your brother, either." She said.
“Okay." He said with relief. "Now we aren't asking anything of you Melanie, just that you give each of us the opportunity to explain ourselves to you in complete privacy, one at a time."
"I'm not sure I understand." She said.
"It's not like we are asking you to choose between us or anything. I don’t know how things really stand with you and Mitch and you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to." He paused to allow her to speak, but she just dropped her eyes. She didn't want to talk about it. Mitch was an idiot but she had said too much already. He didn’t deserve to lose his job for cheating on someone. As much as it riled her, work and romance were separate.
In addition, it was still too soon to fully trust these men who were essentially strangers to her. No matter what her feelings were, she couldn't give herself up to them so easily. They were rich and powerful and all she had were vague feelings about them. They could still toss her aside like the $60 million airplane they had barely talked about since it sank into the ocean.
"Just give each of us an opportunity to convince you that we are telling the truth. One evening -- the other one of us will cross the island and spend the night there."
A thrill shot through her. A night alone. With each of them. What could that mean?
"And no funny business." He added. "All we want to do is give you the chance to hear each of us out without the background noise of us squabbling."
It was hard enough to resist them as it was, but if she was alone with one of them? What if one of them lost control? What if they couldn't hold themselves back? After all, she had heard them say about her how straightforward could a night alone with one of them be.
"Please, Melanie. We owe you this much. You must be so confused by all of this." His dark eyes pleaded with her and he reached his hand towards hers, but then pulled back at the last moment.
“Okay," she said, "I'll do it. But just like you say, this isn't about me choosing between you two; it's just about helping me to figure out what's going on here so that I don't go crazy before we get rescued."
"And we will be rescued, Melanie. You can trust me on that. Do you really think that our father and little brother will let us disappear into the ocean like that?"
It was true. Eventually this crazy dream would end, but in the meantime, she needed to hold on to her sanity and maybe onto her heart as well. This would all seem very different once she was back home in LA going to work as a low-paid flight attendant while they continued to jet off around the world with their supermodel dates and celebrity friends.
"When do we start?" She said. The man gave a broad smile, relieved.
"Tonight," he said. "after we build the campfire then one of us will go to the far side of the island."
"Who goes first?"
"It's your choice."
"Don't make me do that." She said, and reached a hand out to him, but he pulled away.
"You first." She said instantly. Melanie suddenly wanted to punish him for rejecting her like that.
"It's okay." He said. "Strong is pretty keen to be the first to be with you so--"
"I want you first." Melanie said with determination. She wasn't going to make it easy for him. Let's see you pull away from me tonight when we're all alone Mr. Billionaire.
“Okay." He said, his head hanging down, brow furrowed with anxiety. "I'll tell Sebastian--,” he corrected himself, “I mean I'll tell Strong."
That evening the two men built a fire together in tense, angry silence. Melanie couldn't wait for Strong to go and leave her with Tall. As much as his hot, angry jealousy and desire for her made her almost quiver with excitement, still she wanted Tall to be alone with her first. One of them was lying, and one way or the other he would be punished tonight. If it were Strong, then he would just have to accept the fact the she had chosen his brother over him and take advantage of being alone in the forest to satisfy his needs in some way or other. If it were Tall, then she would punish him by taking her time alone with him to the absolute limit of his self-restraint.
Melanie was sure she could make him crack or reduce him to tears, but she would never give him her permission. If he really didn't want to touch her, if the sensation of her skin against his was so abhorrent to him, then tonight would be his chance to demonstrate it. If he were fighting his own desire, which she believed he was, then he would need every iota of his resolve to hold himself back.
At last, the fire was built and Strong stalked off into the forest to leave his brother alone with the woman of his obsessions for one whole night. He sounded like a wounded jungle cat as he crashed through the leaves, stomping gradually further away.
Melanie looked down at her own legs and arms and the deep hue of honey brown that long days in the tropical sunshine had given her. It was a humid night and she was wearing just a bikini they had salvaged with a mini sarong across her hip. Her bikini top barely covered her nipples; her long, shining, sun bleached blonde hair spilled down her right shoulder seductively covering her right breast.
Alex continued to work with his back to her, preparing their evening meal of freshly caught fish, tropical island fruits, and cracked coconuts. He was as far away from her as he could be without leaving the circle of light from the fire. He seemed tense.
"Alex." She beckoned softly.
He stopped working but didn't turn around.
"Why are you calling me that?"
"Isn't it your name?"
"Of course it is, but why would you use it now?"
She stared at him across the crackling campfire.
"It's your name, so why wouldn't I use it?"
"So you believe me?"
"I didn't say that."
He turned back to the meal he was preparing but only served to provoke her. He was here to 'explain' himself. But he owed her more than that -- a lot more. Melanie would be damned if she was going to let him turn his back on her.
"Alex." She repeated softly, teasing him unimaginably. "Come over here."
He didn't move.
"Or will I come to you?" She said.
He stood up, awkwardly. "No, you stay there. I'll come to you."
He came over to her slowly in the burgeoning twilight and then sat down about ten paces from her. Melanie watched him, silently, her back gently arching, her breasts slowly rising and falling. Those ten paces would be his downfall. Whatever pity she had for him was gone now. She would make him beg to touch her, he would crawl, sell his soul, and she would still say no. He would have to sacrifice everything he owned and everything he was in order to satisfy his desire.
She would make him crack and then when he finally seized her and took her, as he so easily could, she would still never say yes to him.
How dare you keep that distance between us! You're going to pay, Mr. Billionaire.
"You wanted this, Alex. Now tell me what you have to say. I'm ready for you. All you have to do is say the word."
Alex swallowed hard and it wasn't the only thing that was hard about him at the moment. He was glad he had approached her when he had because a moment later and he wouldn't have been able to stand upright with his erection cramped into his absurdly tight denim shorts.
"Maybe this was a bad idea." He suggested.
"It's perfect." She said. "I've wanted to be alone with you since the moment we arrived on this island." She couldn't believe her own words. Melanie was never this forward in relationships, she was always the one to hang back and wait. She loved to be chased; loved to see the hunger in a man's eyes as he became obsessed with her.
But the one she wanted the most wasn't biting. On the other hand, maybe she wanted his twin. Hell, even she couldn't tell anymore.
"First things first." She said, emboldened by his silence. "I need to see your ass before we do anything else."
He looked at her for a moment, his eyes pleading. Then he conceded. "Of course." He said, with resignation.
She stood up and walked over to him, allowing her hips to sway a little more than usual, sensually enjoying the curvatures of her own body as she approached him. She had bathed herself with the essence of some of the sweeter, subtler fruits of the island. She was transformed by the rising moonlight into a pure island beauty.
She stood over him, the shadow of her hair, her breasts, and long thin legs obscuring him in darkness.
"Turn around." She said. The birthmark was on his left flank, about halfway down. He would have to expose more than half his beautiful, rounded, and rippling butt in order to show her. He turned awkwardly onto his hands and knees, striving to hide his tight erection.
When he was in position, she reached for the top of his shorts, just allowing her hand to glide lightly over his flank. His butt clenched in one involuntary spasm as she touched him. Then she began to tug at his shorts.
"They aren't coming down." She said. "Loosen them at the front."
He didn't move for a moment, as though disbelieving and impatient with her, but eventually he came up to his knees and clumsily undid the buttons at the front of his pants. Melanie stood behind him, craning her head to see over his powerful square shoulders.
It was all he could do prevent his manhood from springing out of his pants as he undid the buttons. When he was done, he lifted his hands to his head and mumbled.
"Go ahead, it's all yours."
She slowly came down to her knees as well. Melanie could hear his rapid and deep breathing. She allowed her own breath to reach his neck and left ear. She could see his body twitch and arch as she came closer.
Okay Mr. Billionaire, she thought, let's see you keep it together now.
She put her hand to the back of his shorts while her other one slid in front to the line of his hip, down along the rip of his sculpted abdominal obliques. His chiseled stomach drew in from her touch but he remained where he was, arms raised above his head as though he were under arrest.
Still resisting. You are going to get so whipped for that.
Maybe it was the moonlight, the solitude, the raw, animal beauty of the man in front of her, or maybe it was just four long weeks without the release of her trusty vibrator. But the normally demure, subtly alluring Melanie was a changed woman. Drunk on the feeling of health and beauty in her own body and alive to the powerful attraction that existed between her and the semi-naked man in front of her, she no longer cared about thinking straight or sorting things out. Sebastian or Alex, she felt an attraction to this man that transcended anything she had ever known.
She took a deep breath in and then as she exhaled the exotic scent of her bathing perfume into his ear and nose, she slowly drew the shorts down revealing, little by little, more and more of his abdomen, hip and exquisite left cheek.
Her hands weren't trembling anymore; she knew exactly what she was doing. Melanie allowed her fingers to press into his taut, brown flesh and felt the tug of his powerful erection against the denim.
"There's still something there, Alex." She whispered so close to his ear that a shiver ran down his entire left side and then that was it. In one sweeping motion he turned and gathered her into his arms, picked her up, and brought her next to the campfire.
She stared into his eyes as he set her down on the sand and then pulled his shorts off to reveal his manhood, every inch she had imagined, and then some.
It quivered in the tropical night air, straining for release and then he fell on her, showering her lips and face, neck, and shoulders with kisses. His tongue explored her like a viper on fire, hungry for her, devouring every inch of her pleasure filled body.
She lay back in the sand as his huge hands and arms manipulated her like a rag doll, taking away her bikini top and laying it next to her in the sand.
Yes, yes, yes! She screamed inside her head. But some old discipline kept her from speaking out. Her fantasy was to be taken as the plaything of a rich and beautiful man with assets to match, who was driven wild with desire at the very sight of her.
She began to open like an eager flower in May, waiting for him.
But then -- nothing. He had stopped moving and remained there on his hands and knees, mere inches above her, panting, gasping for control over his own impulses. She looked down and saw his mane of hair, damp with humidity and the moisture of desire, his wide shoulders across her hips like a bridge, the two perfect round bumps of his ass and the pink tip of his desire still shuddering between them in mid-air, unsatisfied and throbbing for release.
As suddenly as he had taken her down, he turned and stood up, found his shorts, and proceeded to put them back on.
For a moment, Melanie just lay in uncomprehending shock and then her ire began to mount, together with her own desire for release.You will pay for this, rich guy. She thought. When I finally get you inside me, I'm going to break you.
"What's wrong?" She said. "And don't tell me 'it's not you' or you can get over to the other side of the island and stay there until we're rescued."
He struggled to zip up his pants, almost hurting himself in the process and then finally turned to face her. She still had no top on and her long blonde hair cascaded over her right shoulder. She was ethereal, impossibly beautiful, and sensual in the moonlight.
Alex was holding on by a thread, emotionally and in his pants as well. If she touched him it might be too late, he would not be able to hold back. He would take her as he had taken hundreds of women before, fuck her until she shrieked for more and then fuck her again until she was speechless, spent with exhaustion. That's when the trouble would all begin.
"Melanie, this is just crazy." He said. "I've never met a woman as perfect as you before in my entire life. I'm looking at you now and can barely believe I'm seeing a human woman and not an angel here on earth."
"Do you normally drag angels to the ground and then tear their bikini tops off?" She said, messing with him.
"God no," he said, "I mean, I don't mean angel in that way. I just mean...” It was just like when they had first met. She wasn't seeing him as Alex Drummond the billionaire anymore, but just a guy -- a clumsy stupid guy. It excited him even more. He had never been one to lose control easily, in fact, he had always been able to outlast any woman he had slept with. But tonight he had felt again and again as though he could easily come in his pants as he gazed at the fiery vision before him.
"I just mean that you confuse me, Melanie. I've never met anyone quite like you and this whole situation is just making me want to..."
Melanie stood up and took a step closer towards him, stared up at him with the most seductive 'take me' eyes she could muster, her perfect naked breasts made even more flawless in the moonlight.
"Just listen to your instincts, Alex." She whispered. "What are they telling you to do?"
"I can't." He almost howled and then turned to flee into the forest.
Melanie stood for several minutes in the flicker of the campfire. She was alone and more ready to be with a man than she had been in years. She smiled to herself. See you later, Mr. Billionaire.
He would be back. No man she had ever met could feel that level of attraction and hold himself back. He wouldn't be human if he could.
But what the hell was wrong with him? Why would he not just take her the way she obviously wanted to be taken?
Men. She would never figure them out if she had a million years.
Not even a billion.