“Oh my god, Miles,” Taylor said, throwing her head back, her hips moving to meet my thrusts, tentatively at first, then stronger, faster, her moans increasing in pitch until she gasped, shuddered, and convulsed on top of me.

  Her shaking had barely subsided when I got up, carrying her with me.

  “What are you doing?” Taylor said.

  “I’m not done fucking you yet, babe.”

  When we got to the Jeep I put her down gently.

  “Hands on the hood, babe, and spread those legs.”

  “Ooh,” she said, smiling. “What are you going to do?”

  I pushed her hair to one side, nibbled on her ear, and whispered. “Will you just do it, please? Once? Without question?”

  “Why?”

  I shook my head and made a show of sighing heavily as I faced her in front of the Jeep, placed her hands on the warm metal of the hood, and spread her legs wide.

  “Now keep still.”

  She shook her booty at me, another sign of defiance. I laughed and took a moment to marvel at her naked body, so sensual and perfect, and a stunning sight to behold on a secluded beach, on what has got to be the most beautiful place on the planet.

  Then my cock throbbed and jerked, reminding me of how it felt like to be inside of her, and how I so wanted more of it.

  I moved up behind her, dug my feet in the sand, grabbed her hips, and entered her slowly.

  Her pussy. Oh my fucking god her pussy.

  She was so damn tight, yet so wet and warm and pulsing as she clamped and wrapped my cock with her inner juicy walls. The feel of her was so goddamn incredible. Combined with the visual sensual overload from her perfect ass, perfect tits, and amazingly soft and smooth skin, it was almost too much for me, but I kept thrusting, wanting her to come one more time.

  It didn’t take long.

  “Miles,” Taylor whimpered, her knees starting to tremble, her tight abs rolling. “Oh my god, Miles, it feels so good.”

  I increased my pace, my cock sliding in her to the hilt, causing her entire body to jerk each time my balls slapped against her sensitive clit.

  “Oh god, oh fuck, oh, ahhh!”

  The trembling intensified, and then she stiffened and convulsed, thrashing wildly while I kept myself pegged in her.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” She moaned, banging on the hood and shaking so badly I had to wrap myself around her, but I was quickly approaching the point of no return, and the way her breasts kept shaking against my arm was not helping. I wanted so badly to release myself inside her, to fill her pussy with my seed, and it took every ounce of discipline for me to pull out at the last second, exploding all over her back and ass in what had to be the biggest load of my life.

  Completely drained, we both fell on the warm sand, giggling and laughing as we rolled around. My heart soared along with hers, and for the first time in a very long time I felt truly happy. That was when I realized I was in love, and had been ever since I first saw her. I would do anything to be with her.

  Anything.

  The rest of the day was a blast. Taylor put a t-shirt and shorts over her bikini, much to my disappointment, and we cruised all over. We had lunch at a local diner where I stuffed myself with Portuguese sausage, eggs, and fried rice, visited some surf shops, and shared a giant shaved ice. When we finally got back to the Plantation B&B it was almost dark. A taxi had just pulled away from the driveway after dropping off a tall, well-dressed woman with two suitcases. There was something oddly familiar about her, and it took a few seconds for my brain to recognize what my heart already knew.

  “Shit,” I said, unable to believe what I was seeing. “That’s my ex.”

  10

  EX

  Taylor

  I didn’t understand it. How could a perfect day get ruined so quickly? And what was that bitch doing here?

  The sight of Miles’ ex-wife was like a hot blade being slowly twisted around my heart. She was much older than me, of course, but she was hot. Her long legs, large breasts, blonde hair all wrapped in a very expensive-looking suit that accentuated her bumps in all the right places was something all guys lusted after.

  And Miles was married to this bitch.

  I had never felt so small in my entire life.

  I left them arguing outside, going straight to my room. Dad was in the lobby chatting with one of the guests when I barraged past him, the tears already streaming down my face.

  “Tay-Tay, are you okay?” Dad said. I ignored him, slamming my door shut and climbing up to the corner of my bed. I heard dad’s constant knocking a few seconds later.

  “Tay, what’s wrong?”

  “Just leave me alone for a second, dad, will you?” I said when I realized he wasn’t going to stop knocking.

  “You’re not hurt, are you?”

  Just my heart, I thought.

  “No.”

  “Promise we’ll talk later, okay?”

  “Sure,” I said. “Thanks, dad.”

  “You bet.”

  I stayed in my room for a long time, not moving. At one point I heard more shouting from the lobby - Miles, the shrieking woman’s voice, and dad. There were stomping of feet on the staircase, and a door slammed shut in the distance.

  When dad knocked on my door again three hours later I still hadn’t moved from the corner of my bed.

  “Tay, I’ve got your dinner here. Will you let me in?”

  I sighed, crawled out of bed, and unlocked the door.

  “Room service,” dad said, holding a tray of food. Kalua pork, cabbage, and macaroni salad, and a can of lilikoi passion fruit drink.

  My favorites.

  I smiled weakly, taking the tray from him and bringing it back with me on the bed. Dad closed the door behind him and sat on my study chair, watching me eat.

  “Did you hear the commotion earlier?”

  I nodded.

  “Miles and his ex,” he said, shaking his head. “Seems like she dropped back into his life unannounced, and she’s causing him a lot of grief.”

  “Where are they now?”

  “Up in his room,” dad said, looking at me.

  I continued eating, trying to remain unconcerned, but for some reason my fork wouldn’t stop shaking. I had to put it down a couple of times, and I stared at my hand like it was some traitor.

  “Were you with him today? When you took the Jeep out?”

  I planned on denying it, but I was exhausted from crying I no longer had the strength to lie, so I simply nodded.

  “I see,” he said, staring at me for a long time I finally looked up at him. I could tell he was grappling at something, struggling with himself. It pained me to see him that way.

  “Dad,” I said. “You don’t understand…”

  He held up a hand, a sad smile on his face. “I think I do.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  His next words chilled me to the bone.

  “Is he the one lola Nora spoke about? Your soulmate?”

  “What?! How?! You knew her?”

  Dad nodded. “I knew her from when I was growing up. She was one of the hired help of my father, back when he still had the sugarcane business. Nora and Ramon, the love of her life.”

  “You knew Ramon too?”

  “Yeah. He was a great photographer, and he would share the pictures he took with us. Your grandfather even bought a few of them. When the factory closed down they both did a bunch of odd jobs with the hotels for a while. Ramon enjoyed photography, but at the time there was no way he could make a living off them. I think it wasn’t until Ramon passed away that Nora decided to open up her fortune teller shop. I was always curious about her business, but I thought it was just some kind of, you know, parlor trick. But one time I was in a real bad place. I had a feeling your mom was cheating on me but I didn’t want to admit it. I was drunk and depressed, and in an act of insanity I went to her, to have her reassure me that there was no cheating going on.

  “She knew who I was, of course. She remembered me from the plantation days, and she said you come to her once in a while and she gives you cookies. She studied my palm and told me not what I wanted to hear, but what I needed to know. She didn’t let me pay, but accepted the large tip I dropped in her jar. Then, just before I stepped out, she told me about your future. She said a man would come for you one day once you’ve come of age. An older man. She warned me that I may not like the idea of someone besides me loving you, but that I shouldn’t keep you from him, because he was your soulmate, and you two were meant to be together.”

  I was speechless. My dad knew. He knew about Miles even before I did.

  “So Tay-Tay, tell me. Is this him?”

  “I… I think so.”

  “Then you shouldn’t worry. From the sound of it Miles really does not want her back in his life. She might stay the night, just because it’s late and she probably can’t get a room at this hour. But talk to him, give him a chance to explain things.”

  “So, you’re okay with us being together?”

  “No, not really, but if he is who we think he is…” Dad shrugged. “Nothing I can do.”

  “Oh, dad,” I said getting up and giving him a big hug. “You’re the best, you know that, right?”

  “I know,” he said, smiling. “Now finish your dinner. I’ve got to see to our other guests.”

  I stared at the door after dad had left, still reeling from what he said.

  Unbelievable.

  After finishing my food I took the tray back to the kitchen and helped dad out with the dishes. I still did not feel like facing Miles, so I went to bed, praying I won’t be seeing the ex in the morning.

  Or ever again.

  I woke up at five-thirty, as I always did, the remnants of a bad dream starring Miles and his ex-wife hottie and all the things they were doing in that room staying with me long after it should have faded away. I often wondered why that was, why the bad dreams seemed to linger around like some unwelcome guest while the good ones disappear so quickly you barely remember them.

  I brushed my teeth and put on my jogging leggings, sports bra, and loose t-shirt, just like I always did. After stretching on the floor I grabbed a bottled water, went outside, and hit the trail. I did this just about every morning, except when it was raining. This day seemed no different from every other day, except it was.

  It was different in one very significant way.

  It was Saturday, which meant Miles was leaving back for the Mainland the next day. I had planned on spending every waking hour with him, but after last night’s fuckery I was not even sure where things stood with us.

  The run helped for a time, the fresh oxygen getting pumped into my brain making it difficult for me to keep feeling bad, but when I went up to my cave and looked out over the waterfalls, the memories Miles and I made in that spot came flooding back. I sat down, hugged my knees, and swam in my sorrow and sadness.

  I stayed in the cave for a very long time, a part of me hoping Miles would walk in at any minute, assure me everything was fine, and make love to me again, but he never showed. Finally, with the sun at its zenith, I made my way back home.

  It was well past noon when I got back, and there was no sign of Miles. I wanted to ask dad if he saw him, but he was busy chatting with the guests. My phone buzzed, a friend of mine asking if I wanted to swing by the sandbar and hang out. He owned a tour boat and he would occasionally shuttle tourists to the bar.

  I was halfway through sending the decline message when I thought, why the fuck not? At least that would hopefully keep my mind off Miles for a time. I deleted the original reply and text a new one:

  Shoots, will meet u at the bar

  I went to my room, changed to my white bikini, and put on my cutoffs and t-shirt on top of it.

  When I stepped out Miles was sitting in the lobby.

  “Hey,” he said, standing up.

  “Hey,” I replied.

  “So, uh, can we talk?”

  “I’m about to go kayaking.”

  “Oh,” he said.

  I knew he would never go with me, not with his phobia of the water, so I was already walking past him when he held my arm gently, forced me to look at him, and said the words I never thought he would say.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  11

  KAYAK

  Miles

  “I’ll go with you.”

  The words spilled out even before I had a chance to think about them. I needed to talk to Taylor, to explain things, set things right. If I had to overcome my phobia in order to do so, so be it.

  “Are you sure?” Taylor said.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Do you mind?”

  Taylor shrugged. “Suit yourself. You’re gonna want to change though. You’re probably going to get wet.”

  “Gotcha. I’ll be right back.”

  I rushed up to my room, changed into my surf shorts and a Volcom t-shirt, applied sunscreen, and headed back down. I found Taylor in a carport around the side of the house. She was tying bungie cords from a double-seat kayak to the roll bars of the Jeep.

  “Need help?”

  “Nah, I got it,” Taylor said, giving the cords a final tug. “Shall we go?”

  “Yup.”

  We pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street. Taylor slowed right before we entered the main highway and turned into a steep, narrow road that cut through a few residential homes, emerging in what looked like a very small open field area. There were only three parking stalls. Next to them was a narrow stretch of sand that ended in a shallow water. It looked like a well-worn launching spot for small boats.

  I helped Taylor unlatch the bungee cords holding up the kayak. With her on one end and me on the other, we lifted the kayak off the Jeep and set it down. She pulled out two wooden paddles from the back and placed them in the kayak, then took off her shirt and shorts, revealing her hot white bikini and even hotter body. She tossed her clothes in the Jeep and turned to face me.

  “Ready?”

  I removed my shirt, tossed it in with her clothes, and looked out at the open sea. The water looked calm. Glacial.

  “How far away is it? The sandbar?”

  She shrugged. “About half an hour paddling, maybe a little more.”

  I took a deep breath, swallowed my fear, and chucked it deep in the shadows.

  “I’m ready.”

  We lifted the kayak, carried it to the edge of the water, and set it down.

  “Go ahead and sit down while I stabilize it and push us off.”

  “I can do that,” I offered.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re heavier, and you haven’t done this before. If you try to get on after me you’ll probably flip us both over.”

  She had a point, and she was obviously the expert. I took my place in the rear. Even then, the kayak wobbled dangerously when I pulled myself up. Taylor dug her feet on the sand and gave the kayak a good shove before she nimbly got in the seat in front of me.

  “Paddle!” She said, grabbing one of the paddles. I took the other and together we quickly paddled out.

  The water was crystal clear, glass smooth and shallow for the first ten minutes or so. I could see the corals on either side of us, and lots of small fishes darting about.

  “Tay, I’m so sorry about yesterday. I had no idea she was coming, and I swear to you there is nothing between us.”

  “Yeah, right,” Taylor said. “You must be in contact with her. How else would she even know where to find you?”

  “Uh, well, you see, her dad is my boss.”

  She stopped paddling and turned around. “You’re kidding.”

  “No, but we haven’t talked in nearly two years, until she showed up in my office the other day. She wanted to get back to me, but I’m done with her.”

  “So how did she find you?”

  “It must be from Brenda, my boss’ executive secretary. She’s the one who recommended this place.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “Gone. I dropped her off at the airport, and made sure she was on the flight back. She’s not going to be a problem anymore, I swear.”

  Taylor started paddling again, remaining quiet for some time.

  I was staring at the multi-colored fishes darting about when suddenly the corals dropped off and we were in what looked like very deep water. I paused my paddling as I peered into the blue-green murkiness of the ocean.

  Fuck.

  A loud splash behind us made me turn around, but I didn’t see anything. Goosebumps prickled along my skin.

  “Hey, Tay?”

  “Yeah?” She said, her focus straight ahead.

  “How deep are we now?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Are there, uh, sharks around here?”

  “It’s an ocean, Miles. Of course there are sharks.”

  Shit.

  I looked around, trying to spot the infamous fin cutting through the water, just like in the movies, but I didn’t see anything.

  “Come on, keep paddling.”

  I resumed, but paused again only a couple of minutes later. Another splash sounded, off to my left and behind me.

  Fuck.

  “Did you hear that?”

  “What?”

  “That splash.”

  “You heard a splash?”

  “Yes,” I said, trying to stay calm. “Twice.”

  “Where?”

  “Behind me.”

  Taylor stopped and looked around, scanning the surface. “I don’t see anything,” she said. “Could be turtles.”

  “Or sharks?”

  She looked at me. “We’ll be fine, Miles. Let’s just keep rowing.”

  “How much further?”

  “See those boats bunched up there?” She pointed ahead of us. “That’s where the sandbar is. About twenty minutes or so more.”

  Seeing the objective in front of me, I paddled harder, really putting my weight into the strokes while timing them to be in sync with Taylor. The kayak picked up speed, and we made it to the edge of a gigantic sandbar in fifteen minutes.