Guilty Pleasures (6 page)

“Hey, I’m the firm’s legal aide,” she said.

“I would still wager no Paris,” Carla said and chuckled. “Are we going to the club this weekend for dinner?” she asked. “I told Rick I was going.”

“How about Sunday?” Tiffany responded. “With Rick away you don’t want to have to cook for just one.”

“You could invite me for dinner,” Carla teased.

“I don’t want to have to cook either,” Tiffany said with a laugh.

“What time? Not too early. I’ll need to recover from Hawke’s playfulness,” Carla said with a grin. “Hey, it’s Saturday night, after all.”

“You are going to be exhausted by the time Rick gets home,” Tiffany said. “He’s going to think you’re coming down with something.”

Carla chuckled, and then she grew serious. “I’m still concerned about how this guy got into my fantasy. I did not think him, or anyone like him, up, Tiffy.”

“But you were thinking that you wanted more excitement in your fantasy,” Tiffany reminded her friend again. “Maybe that translated into your pirate king.”

“I didn’t think such a thing could happen,” Carla said. “With events maybe, but with people? I’ve always micromanaged my fantasy carefully. Pirates weren’t the nicest people in reality, as I’ve told you. I absolutely did not think up this Hawke character. So where did he come from, Tiffy?”

“You got me, Carla,” Tiffany admitted. “Maybe you should call the Channel’s customer hotline and ask.”

“Yeah,” Carla replied slowly. “Maybe I should.” She paused and added, “Just not yet. Since I didn’t program this, I’m curious as to how it’s going to play out.”

“You’re braver than I am. I think when that pirate walked in, you should have said ‘Fantasy end.’ If you aren’t in control like you’re suppose to be, then something is wrong, Carla.”

“I’ll call customer service after the weekend,” Carla promised. “It’s Saturday afternoon, and no one will be there anyway.”

“They have service twenty-four-seven,” Tiffany said.

“But what if they had to take me off-line until whatever is wrong could be fixed?” Carla murmured. “If I thought there was anything seriously wrong, I just wouldn’t access it, Tiffy. Who knows? Maybe my subconscious wanted an adventure with a bad boy, and the king of the pirates is certainly a very bad boy. Besides, I’m back in charge now, and I have some serious payback to deliver to his grace.”

Tiffany shook her head. “As I said, you’re braver than me. Nora’s home, by the way. Why don’t you ask her if something could go wrong? She works for the Channel Corporation, and she’s pretty high up in the organization now.”

“She’s the CEO of their development division,” Carla said proudly. “Who would have thought a woman who had the mind-set of a fifties housewife just seven years ago could have wised up and come so far? Yeah, I’ll go over and ask her if she’s ever heard of something like this happening.”

“Good,” Tiffany replied. “I’ll feel better about it then. You going to the Blairs’ barbecue today?”

“Yeah,” Carla answered. “I can’t get over how love found Kathy, and it’s all so perfect for them. See you there?”

Tiffany nodded. “Ride with us,” she suggested.

“Nah,” Carla responded. “I might want to leave before you do.”

Tiffany shook her head. “You mean you want to get back to Amorata Cay and your big bad boy.”

“Yep,” Carla agreed cheerfully, “but I promise to speak to Nora before I do.”

When Tiffany hung up, Carla did just that, crossing the lawn in midafternoon to Nora Buckley’s big white Colonial. Despite her rise in the corporate world, Nora kept the house she had lived in for so many years with her unfaithful deceased husband and their two children.

She called it her refuge.

“Hey,” she said as Carla came in the kitchen door and walked into her den. Nora was an elegant, attractive woman with red-blond hair and gray-green eyes.

“Hey, yourself,” Carla said, plopping down on the den couch. “I got a question for you. It’s about the Channel.”

“Shoot!” Nora replied.

“Did you ever hear of someone popping into a fantasy who wasn’t created by the customer?” Carla asked.

“No,” Nora said from her recliner. She sat it up and put her wineglass down. “Why? What’s happened?”

“Well,” Carla began, and then she went on to explain.

Nora Buckley listened carefully; then she said, “You’re certain you didn’t create him, Carla? Maybe once you thought of someone like this.”

Carla shook her head in the negative. “I’ll admit I’ve been bored lately being the pirate queen. That’s why I added Amorata Cay and my house. Actually, I go there to relax when I’m stressed out from the ER at the hospital.”

“And this Hawke, who calls himself the king of the pirates, just walked in on you?” Nora was thoughtful. “I’ll have to check this out, Carla. I have never before heard of something like this, but you never know, and the Channel isn’t my division. I will, however, call Mr. Nicholas about it.”

“Thanks. While I’m curious about how this happened, it’s Tiffy who worried,” Carla said. “The guy is a sexual master, so for now I’m just enjoying myself.”

“As long as you don’t feel you’re in danger,” Nora replied.

“Hey, I’m the queen of the pirates,” Carla said and chuckled. “I fear no man!”

Nora laughed, but she was considering the possibility that whoever this Hawke who called himself the king of the pirates was, he was no man. When Carla left, Nora picked up her cell and punched 1.

Mr. Nicholas immediately answered. “Yes, Nora?”

“I apologize for interrupting your weekend, sir, but we may have a problem relating to the Channel.” Then she went on to recount her conversation with Carla.

“I will speak with Julian immediately,” Mr. Nicholas said. “I feared he was too young to be put in charge of the Channel. I had been informed that he allows some of his friends to play in fantasies to which they have not been invited, but he assured me it wasn’t so. Obviously he lied. It isn’t a wise thing to lie to
me.
”

“No, sir,” Nora responded.

“Thank you, my dear, for informing me of this breach. Please tell Mrs. Johnson that she is perfectly safe.”

“Well, frankly, sir, I got the idea that while she was startled by his appearance, she was enjoying herself,” Nora told her employer.

“Then we shall allow her one more night. I am told Julian is quite adept at naughtiness, which is why I gave him the Channel to oversee. Obviously he could not resist partaking of the wickedness,” Mr. Nicholas replied. “Thank you, Nora.” And then the head of the Channel Corporation hung up.

At the Blairs’ barbecue that evening, Nora spoke with Carla. “Just a slight glitch in the system, Mr. Nicholas told me,” she said. “He assures me you are safe. They should have it fixed in another day or two. If you’re worried, just don’t access it for a few days. Or program another fantasy,” Nora suggested.

“Oh.” Carla sounded mildly disappointed. “Well, if it’s going to be fixed, then I suppose one more night with the king of the pirates won’t hurt.” She left the Blairs’ house shortly after eight. She was feeling very pleased to learn the pirate king’s tenure on Amorata Cay was about to end. It gave her a sense of power over him, and in the Channel, she had always been the dominant lover. While she had to admit to enjoying having the tables turned on her, she had had enough now. Well, almost enough, Carla thought and chuckled to herself as she pulled into her driveway. She wanted her island back.

The message light on the phone was blinking. She picked up the receiver and pressed the PLAY button to hear Rick’s voice. “Cheerio from London, babe!” Carla smiled. “Call me back if you get in soon. It’s just after two a.m. here. Can’t sleep again.” Carla erased the message and hit REDIAL.

“The Dorchester,” a woman with a plummy British accent answered. “How may I help you?”

“Richard Johnson’s room, please,” Carla said.

“Babe?” Rick’s voice answered. Despite his claim he sounded sleepy.

“Just back from the Blairs’ barbecue,” Carla said. “Everyone is fine. The baby is adorable, and Tim is a fool over her. Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “We’re flying back Monday morning. We’ll be into Kennedy by midday. Tomorrow Ryan is taking me sightseeing.”

“Then you’ll need some rest, sweetie,” Carla told him. “Two calls in just a few days. I think you miss me, Mr. Johnson,” she teased.

“I do!” he said with such sincerity that she was touched.

She had always taken Rick’s love for granted because she loved him back. Now, hearing the deep emotion in his voice, Carla realized that she loved him more now than when they had married all those years ago. And she missed him too. “Want me to sing you a lullaby?” she said. “Or can you go to sleep now like a big boy?”

“I’ll sleep now,” he said, and she heard the smile in his voice.

“Travel safe, sweetie,” Carla said.
Kiss. Kiss.

“I will. See you Monday,” he replied.
Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.
And the line went dead.

Somehow she didn’t feel like accessing the Channel now. Carla went straight to bed. On Sunday she had dinner at the Egret Pointe Country Club with Tiffany and Joe.

Tiffany got her aside in the powder room just before they were leaving. “So? Last night? Did it rock your world?”

“Rick called while I was out and wanted me to call him back. I just didn’t feel like dealing with the king of the pirates after that. You know, Tiffy, I’ll go back tonight, but then I think I’ll delete that pirate fantasy. I’m going to get myself a chalet up in the Austrian alps, where I can go and relax when I need a break from the ER.”

“And . . . ,” Tiffany queried, grinning.

“Welllll, maybe a ski instructor now and again, but
only
now and again,” Carla said with an answering grin.

Could she really delete the pirate fantasy she had enjoyed for so long? Yeah, Carla thought as she showered before getting into bed, she could. Like anything too delicious, a surfeit of it could become dull and/or sickening. One more wild ride with Lord Julian Hawke, the king of the pirates, and she was through. Climbing into bed, she picked up the Channel remote and pressed the A button to find herself alone in her bed.

Beyond the French doors, the sea sparkled. There was a ship just sailing into Half-Moon Cove. It wasn’t hers, but it did fly the Jolly Roger from its topmast. Her bedroom door opened and Lord Hawke strode in and out onto the porch without a word. “Is it your ship?” Carla asked.

“Aye, just back from Jamaica. They’ll be carrying a letter from Governor Morgan confirming my claim to Amorata Cay.”

Carla sat up. She didn’t bother to hold the sheet to her bared bosom. “You’re very certain,” she said. “But if your claim is just, I will have one thousand pieces of eight counted out from my treasure room for you. You will then sign the island over to me, your grace, and leave. I shall have to go a-pirating now to make up my loss.”

Turning, he stared fixedly at her full, generous breasts. “I want to see you being fucked by another man,” he said bluntly. “I want to hear you scream with passion, my pirate queen. My first mate, Nestor, wants a go at you.”

“He’s worn my poor servant Violetta out with his enthusiasm,” Carla noted to Lord Hawke.

“She hasn’t satisfied him in the weeks we’ve been here,” the king of the pirates said. “He needs to lodge that cock of his into a woman filled with fire as you are.”

“And if I say nay?” Carla asked him.

“If I say aye, there is no nay, my pretty little bitch, and I say aye!” he told her. “That defiance of yours has earned you another spanking, wench!”

“Will you fuck me before you depart with my gold?” Carla asked him boldly.

A slow smile lit the face of the self-proclaimed king of the pirates. “It will be my last act before I leave you to sail away to England.”

“Then how can I refuse you, your grace?” Carla murmured seductively.

“You can’t!” he replied with devastating surety. “Nestor! Come in. The lady is ready to receive your attentions.”

Nestor sauntered into the bedchamber.

“Can we all be naked?” Carla asked.

“A grand idea!” Lord Hawke replied enthusiastically. He nodded to his first mate, and the two men quickly stripped their garments off.

Carla smiled as she eyed them both. The king of the pirates stood at least six inches over his mate. He was golden all over from his wavy hair to the curly bush between his legs. Nestor was perhaps an inch or two over six feet. He was a stocky man with dark brown hair pulled back and tied. The bush beneath his flat belly was thick, and the cock nestled there was more than impressive, perhaps a tiny bit longer than his master’s, but Carla could see it would not be as thick. She held out her hands to the two men. “Do you mean to stand there preening, and leave me alone with my need for you both? Come, sirs! Join me at once.”

They complied immediately.

“Take the lead, Nestor. I want to watch for now,” the king of the pirates said.

Nestor smiled. “Those are a fine pair of tits you have there, lass,” he told her.

Her back supported by several pillows, Carla sat straight. She slipped her hands beneath her breasts and held them up and out to him in invitation. “Help yourself.”

He chortled, pulling the sheet away so her entire body was available to him, then pushed her legs apart and knelt between her thighs. Leaning forward, he availed himself of her breasts, kissing the nipples, licking them, then sucking the tender flesh hard so that the tips grew hard and pointed. He bit down sharply on one nipple.

Carla squealed and smacked his head.

Nestor laughed heartily. “By God,” he exclaimed approvingly, “you’re a feisty one, lass. I like a woman with a lot of pepper and spice. Your Violetta was too tame for me, but his lordship swears you’ll give me a good ride.” Then suddenly he yanked her legs over his shoulders, burying his face between her thighs with a growl. “Lock your ankles about my neck, lass. I’ll need my hands to play. I’ve never seen a mons plucked smooth as silk. ’Tis a pretty sight, I must admit.” When she had complied with his command, he peeled her nether lips apart, his tongue beginning to forage amid the sensitive flesh of her cunt, licking its walls first, and then finding her clit with the very tip.