Paradise Island: Complete Edition Read Free Page B

muscled back. I had the sudden urge to throw myself in his arms. To play with his hard nipples, like one of the women in his movies, to show him how attracted I was to him.
    But of course I just stood by the sliding door, not really sure why I was there in the first place.
    Then I let my eyes wander to the view all around me and realized why I was there: the storm outside was raging. I saw lightning in the distance. I closed my eyes and put my hands over my ears as I readied myself for the huge, deafening sound of thunder.
    And it came. Worse than I imagined. The force of it resounding itself through my body, making me ill to my core.
    Once it was over I opened my eyes and saw a familiar face in front of me. He had put on a fresh shirt and another pair of jeans.
    “You scared of thunder?” He asked me.
    “Yeah, ever since I was a kid. I know it’s silly, but...”
    “No, no, it’s not silly. We’ve had a couple of guys get hit by lightning at some of my shoots.”
    “That makes me feel much better.”
    He smiled that devilish smile. “Most of them lived, though.”
    I smiled back. “That’s not funny.”
    He turned toward what looked like the living space, and I admired the view from the back. I felt like a pervy guy looking at a girl. But it was natural, Lucy had said to me many times. Men weren’t the only ones who had sexual feelings. Women had them as well. And what was the harm in looking, anyway? It wasn’t like anything was ever going to happen between us.
    “I’ll light a fire,” he said as he walked toward the modern looking fireplace.
    “Need some help?” I offered, more out of habit than anything.
    He turned around and had a huge grin on his face, showcasing that perfect movie star smile of his. He flipped a switch I hadn’t noticed before and where before there was only wood, now there was fire. Where there was darkness before, there was now light.
    “I think I can manage it,” he said.
    “Right,” I said, not moving from my spot.
    “Are you going to join me? It’s gonna get pretty chilly with the storm outside and all.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “I guess I will.” I wanted to go home and crawl in bed, and maybe even put pillows over my head to drown out the sound, but that wasn’t going to happen now. Everyone stayed indoors in weather like this. Since it was such a small place, barely anybody owned a car. That was fine by me, because I never learned to drive anyway. I liked the fact that I could walk anywhere I wanted to. But that also meant that I was at the mercy of the elements. I knew it was getting ready to rain, but I still decided to take a walk anyway. It was my fault that I found myself in this situation.
    Yeah, I know I found like a miserable cow, as Lucy would often say. Most girls would be jumping from joy to be in such close proximity to Jack Stark, movie star. In his own home (or for the time being, anyway) no less. But all I felt was a mix of fear and self-loathing.
    I joined him by the fire and warmed myself up and let my shirt dry. I put my coat next to the fire as well. Jack made me take off my big boots as well.
    It was nice sitting next to him by the fire, watching him watching the flame, and then watching the flame myself. 
    It felt simple. Pure. He didn’t say anything for a long time, and neither did I, and I felt a little more at ease. No expectations to answer questions or nod and smile. Just to be. I closed my eyes when I saw the lightning outside, but I felt a little safer with Jack next to me.
    “Want me to pull down the shades?”
    I wanted to say no, don’t bother, but I nodded instead. If I couldn’t see the lightning, I would feel a lot more at ease.
    He got up, barefooted and went around closing all the shades, leaving us in darkness. Then he went out of sight and came back with a couple of big candles. he used the fire to light them and positioned them around the room. I immediately felt better.
    “Want anything to drink?”
    “Yeah, sure. Water