Read Online The Cancun Trilogy, An Erotic Beach Romance by Lena Malick - Free Book Online Page A

of time.
    Nik nudged her, looking up. She saw
Spidey, the howler monkey, scurry half way down his palm tree. He
raced around the trunk, screeching. He stopped and looked at Terra,
squealed louder as if berating her, then scampered back up the
tree.
    “He actually glad to see you. He upset
you take too long to come back. He’ll forgive you.”
    “Hola,” Terra called up, as a peace
gesture. Spidey gave her a final reprimand, then disappeared among
the palm leaves.
    When they got to the deck of Nik’s
house, a man came out and approached them, smiling. He was very
attractive, dark skinned, wearing only swim trunks, with an
athletic body and dreadlocks past his shoulders. “Hola,” he said to
Nik.
    “Hey, Carmine, this is Terra,” Nik
said. The man’s smile widened. “Ah, the mythical Terra! Hello,
hello!” He took Terra’s hand and put his other hand on it, holding
it warmly.
    “It’s nice to meet you,” Terra said.
His soft brown eyes had a gentle warmth to them. “You have been the
topic of many a long conversation around the fire with my good
friend Nik,” he said. “Stop it,” Nik said, pushing Carmine’s
shoulder and looking off, clearly embarrassed. “No, no,” Carmine
said, still holding Terra’s hand. He leaned in closer to her. “You
have him under your spell. In Jamaica, we call that Majik. It’s
like owning a soul. Big responsibility.” He let go of her hand with
a knowing nod. “So, what take you so long?” he asked
Nik.
    “Motor bike broke down.”
    “Ah, crap, man. Where is
it?”
    “I had to leave it in town and get a
cab.”
    “Ah. Let me know where and I’ll see
what I can do.” He turned and stepped off the deck onto the sand,
looking up at the sky. “Fire time,” he said as he wandered off,
leaving them alone.
    “Fire time?” Terra asked.
    “You’ll see. Come on,” Nik said,
leading her inside the house.
    The kitchen was alive with activity. A
large group of people, talking and laughing, were cooking and
preparing food. Music was playing from a portable stereo, giving
the place a party-like feel. It was very different from the quiet,
serene place Terra remembered from her last trip.
    Her throat tightened as her
insecurities grabbed hold of her. She was never much for crowds of
people, always feeling out of place in cliques. She’d been
surprised to find that college wasn’t much different than high
school, with its fraternities and social groups—just a more
formalized version of the high school social scene. Now, when she
saw the group in the kitchen, her first instinct was to
withdraw.
    “Hey, everyone,” Nik called out, his
arm around her. “This is Terra.” Everyone looked, flashing big
smiles. “Terra! You exist! We were beginning to wonder,” a girl
with wild red hair shouted.
    “Hey Terra, grab this, would you?”
said a portly guy with a shiny bald head, handing her a large plate
of cut vegetables as he walked past.
    “Guys, we just come from airport, let
her at least use the bathroom before you put her to work,” Nik
said.
    “No, it’s okay,” Terra said, taking a
deep breath and dropping her shoulder bag. “I’m good. Where should
I take this?” she asked the bald guy. “Ask Red,” he said over his
shoulder as he went out to the deck.
    “Over here,” the girl with the red
hair said, waiving Terra over as she swung her hips to the music.
They soon had Terra cutting vegetables and mincing garlic. Someone
poured her a glass of wine. Nik joined in, telling Terra who was
who as they peppered her with questions about college and recent
news from the States.
    More people came in from outside,
grabbing beers, bottles of wine, stacks of plates and cups, hauling
it all outside. Everyone wore bathing suits and sandals, or went
barefoot. Most of the guys didn’t wear shirts. There was a mix of
ethnicities, but most seemed to be in their twenties or thirties.
There was a casual, sexy, summer camp for adults feel to it all.
Everyone was relaxed and