more.
#7. Alone on my graduation with no one but my friends and their families to acknowledge my good grades was beyond craperific. In my cap and gown, I was the class valedictorian who’d emancipated from my folks the year before. Would I be spending the rest of my adult life with no family to call my own?
#8. Learning that the college fund I’d received as a settlement in my emancipation and lawsuit against my parents, that I’d banked on to set-up my life as an adult, was empty. Zilch! Not a penny to my name. Who knew my parents would take the trust given to me and transfer those funds into some offshore bank account.
#9. Thinking my besties had died. My flight to hell and the plane crash that followed weren’t as bad as allowing myself to believe that my friends were gone. Heck, I thought about them non-stop, except for maybe those seven minutes that I was with Leon, which leads me on to my finale of number ten.
#10. Giving in to temptation and having sex with a beautiful man. A man I’d wanted since the first day I met him. A man who might’ve only fucked me because he probably thought we’d die out there. I know I did . A man that loves other men!
They turned me the freak on. That shook me to a core I hadn’t thought about since I’d learned my parents were swingers. No thank you!
Shit. SHIT. SHIT!
Vive glared at me. “What’s wrong? Are you cold?” Her worried voice snapped me out of my TMI thoughts.
“No.” I folded my arms over my breasts. The towel kept me warm.
“You’re shaking.” She pulled me close, wrapping her arms around me. “Maybe you got diphtheria from being in the water for so long.”
She always made me laugh. I chuckled. I didn’t want to but I did. “No. My nerves are shot. I’m hungry too.”
Squeezing Vive’s hand, I didn’t want to let her go.
We walked from the beach toward the stone castle ahead. Gaelic and feudal in structure, the resort was about half a mile from the shore. Stiff and sore from kicking in the water, I wondered if my legs could manage even another step. “What is this place?”
“Magical paradise,” Vive replied, all giddy and pointing to a bronze sign.
“Welcome to Eden, where reality is whatever you want it to be…”
My reality was that I’d been screwed. What I wanted was for this trip to be o-v-e-r. I’m done with modeling. “F” the French, and dagnabbit I wanted my bedazzled Swarovski crystal flip-flops back.
Vive seemed happy though, which was a far cry from the suicidal face she had on the plane. I humored her and asked, “Like Club Med?”
“Kinkier.” Vive selected a pink orchid off the ground and handed it to me.
Succulent smells filled my nostrils, causing hunger pains to ache in my empty stomach. The aroma made me ravenous.
“Meaning?”
“Clothing optional, BDSM dungeons, marijuana and LSD are legal here. We can drink too. Daddy should get Farnworth Firewater an account at this place.” Vive was a picture of debauchery.
Oh brother! My eyes narrowed, noticing the acres of nature. Tropical trees, white sand, and green ferns were at our feet. It was breathtaking.
“There are fitness and beauty services at the spa. All the food and juices are organic. Eden has something for everyone.” Vive talked faster, perhaps trying to cover up her wishful party aspirations, which she usually camouflaged as her family business.
“Who owns this place?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.
Leon and Fabian hadn’t followed us. They’d gone for a walk near the water. I wondered what they were talking about right now. I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away, two brawny men, holding one another.
“A gazillionaire named Theodosius Vardalos. They call him the Master. I’ve only seen him once. He checked in on Blake and gave him a jar of face cream for his injury. He promised it would heal him.”
Vardalos…
I took in a shallow breath, thinking about my GBF. Blake’s insecurities about his looks
Lindsay Buroker
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