Five Stars (Desire Island Series Book 5) Read online

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  Chapter 1

  The crowd around the fire pit quieted as Master Ryan approached, Shani’s leash held loosely in his hand. Barefoot, she walked beside him, head held high. The sand was cool beneath her feet, myriad stars sparkling overhead in the night sky. Her gold satin cape billowed behind her in the sea breeze, accentuating rather than covering her nudity.

  Fellow staff slave Tommy, also naked save for a codpiece covering his cock and balls and the black leather collar all unowned island slaves wore, waited beside the pit. He had prepared the Kevlar whips and floggers, which were neatly arrayed on the prep table alongside the wet towels, ice bucket and his hand drum.

  The crowd parted, whispering and murmuring with unsuppressed excitement as Master Ryan led Shani to the whipping post beside the blazing fire. At a nod from Master Ryan, Tommy removed Shani’s cape from her shoulders and the leash from her slave collar.

  Master Ryan greeted the Desire Island guests who had come out to watch and participate in the fire play that evening. As he explained what was going to take place, Shani held out her arms to allow Tommy to bind her wrists together. She sighed with pleasure as the leather cuffs tightened. Her heartbeat quickened as he extended her arms up against the whipping post and clipped the cuffs into place over a large eyebolt.

  Master Ryan approached her. He placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “I want you to offer your body to me, slave girl,” he said in a voice designed to carry. “Rest your forehead against the whipping post for balance, feet firmly planted shoulder-width apart, ass out.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  As Shani shifted to obey, he added, “You will remain in that position until released.”

  “Yes, Sir,” she said again. She was aware of the excited murmuring and jostling of the crowd around her, but only in a peripheral way. Her primary focus was on Master Ryan as he moved behind her, preparing for the erotic torture.

  Though she craved the hot, stinging kiss of the fire whipping to come, a shudder of anticipatory fear moved through her body. Despite her complete faith in Master Ryan’s skill with fire play, there was always the very real possibility of being burned.

  Acceptance, she reminded herself. You serve the Master. You give yourself freely to him and all Masters on the island. This is your choice. Embrace it.

  She closed her eyes, readying herself to accept his gift with submissive grace. A breeze came off the ocean, gently wafting over her skin. She inhaled deeply of its briny tang, letting the peaceful rhythm of the crashing and ebbing waves calm and soothe her.

  Master Ryan appeared in front of her. “You ready, Shani?” he asked quietly.

  The crowd was silent now, as if holding its collective breath. “Yes, Sir,” she replied, consciously calming her skittering heart. The smooth wood of the whipping post felt good against her forehead. She flexed her hands above her cuffs and pressed her feet firmly into the sand, centering herself both physically and mentally. “I’m ready.”

  Master Ryan dipped the prepared head of the wand into the fire. It whooshed to life with a dramatic flair, pulling a gasp from several of the onlookers.

  Tommy struck the hand drum with the flat of his palm, setting the rhythm with a percussive beat. Shani’s heart thumped in time to Tommy’s drum, her soul open to the erotic pain to come.

  Taking his place behind her, Master Ryan tapped the flaming wand between her shoulder blades. She gasped when the first heat sparked against her flesh. The fire flicked over her back and ass, moving in time to the primal beat of the drum. Ribbons of sensation snaked across her skin, patterning over her in rivulets of flame.

  Her eyes were closed. She could hear the “Oohs” and “Ahs” from the audience. It was as if they were watching fireworks, her bare skin the canvas of the dark night sky. The constant movement of the tapping heat relaxed her mind and soothed her soul. She settled into herself, embracing the lick of fire and the soft thump of the wand against her flesh.

  All too soon, the wand’s flame burned away and the drumming stopped. Not yet released from her position, Shani remained still, save for the rise and fall of her chest as she worked to get her rapid breathing back under control.

  Master Ryan would now move to the Kevlar whip. As he dipped it into the fire, it would draw more cries of excitement and trepidation from the island’s guests. Shani’s skin thrummed with expectation, her inner submissive reserves fully primed.

  Just then, the faint whiff of the particular leather balm Adam Hawk used to treat his whips floated in the air. Shani drew in a sharp breath, resisting a very strong urge to turn around and see if, by some miracle, the man himself would appear behind her.

  Even now, though he’d left the island just over a week ago, she could almost feel his gaze upon her, as if he’d left a piece of his spirit behind to watch over her. Her mother, steeped in the Native American traditions of their ancestors, would have said Adam and she had walked together in the spirit world before taking their place in this one. All Shani knew was that the very first time he had gazed at her with those clear green eyes, she’d felt as if she were reconnecting with a part of herself she’d thought had been taken from her forever.

  But he’d had to leave after only four days on the island, and it would be at least a month before she saw him again. If she saw him again…

  Shani hushed her mind, returning her focus to the scene. The drumming resumed, its pace faster now. Her heart increased its beat along with the drum. She focused on remaining still and strong, receptive to the hot kiss of the lash to come.

  But, instead of the searing flick of the blazing whip, only another cool, salty breeze brushed over her skin. There was a shuffling sound and the soft murmur of masculine voices behind her. Was something wrong? Again, she resisted the impulse to twist her head back to see what was happening.

  Finally, she heard movement again. Oddly, that sweet, soothing scent of leather balm tickled her nostrils once more. In her mind, she whispered a soft prayer to the spirit goddess. If she could conjure Adam’s scent, could she conjure the rest of him?

  She heard the excited gasps of the onlookers as the whip ignited in her peripheral vision. Quieting her mind, Shani closed her eyes again, mentally preparing for its fiery kiss.

  The fire licked in searing, rhythmic strokes over her skin, moving in time to the steady beat of the drum. It hurt! Oh, it hurt, it hurt, it hurt! Her breath came fast and urgent, her heart pumping violently in her chest.

  As always happened, this was when she questioned her own special brand of madness. Why had she thought she wanted this burning lash snapped cruelly against her flesh, welting and marking her, its flame singeing away the tiny hairs on her skin?

  But it wasn’t so much a matter of wanting it. She needed it. It stilled the constant tumult of her thoughts and quieted the haunting memories of a past she longed to erase. The insistent, perfect snap of the whip provided welcome erotic pain—a cleansing pain that stilled her mind and soothed her soul.

  Yes, she silently mouthed. More. More, more, more.

  As the fiery whipping continued, she settled into herself once more, fully accepting the stinging heat that graced her skin. Her heart slowed and her panting breath subsided into a deep, slow rhythm that matched Tommy’s steady beat.

  She imagined it was Adam wielding the whip. The fantasy was so real at that moment that she could have sworn it was him behind her now. She could actually smell the distinctive scent of his skin, which had reminded her of clean cotton dried in the sun, with a spicy note of fresh ginger root. She could visualize him, squinting a little as he concentrated, the whip held confidently in those long-fingered artist’
s hands.

  “Adam,” she murmured, too quietly for anyone to hear.

  She let the fantasy overtake her, sliding down into the experience and allowing it to claim her completely. Her entire body was tingling with pleasure now, her clit throbbing, her nipples hard as the searing tresses whipped lightly against her body.

  All too soon, the whip’s flame sputtered out.

  She bit back a cry of frustration, aching for the scene to continue. She wanted to sink deeper into a subspace where no dark memory could touch her. She wanted to get to that place that wasn’t oblivion, but the opposite—a place of pure, peaceful awareness, where she remained fully in the moment, every nerve ending receptive to the erotic pain.

  But the scattered applause and eager cries of, “Me! Pick me next!” yanked her back to reality. It was only a demo, after all.

  Hands reached around her, unclipping the cuffs that had held her in place. As she looked up, something about those hands—not Tommy’s hands and not Master Ryan’s—made Shani catch her breath. The man behind her drew her arms down to her sides. He was so close now she could feel his chest against her back. Again, the nearly overwhelming desire to fall out of position almost got the better of her. As a cool, damp towel was draped around her shoulders, her entire being fizzed with an excitement her brain didn’t yet fully comprehend.

  Then a warm, sweet breath tickled her neck as an unmistakable voice murmured in her ear, “Hello, Princess. I’ve missed you.”

  ~*~

  Adam laughed with pleasure and delight at Shani’s expression as she whirled to face him. She had such a lovely face—so distinctive with its combination of African and Native American features. Her skin was a smooth copper, her cheekbones high and proud, her huge eyes black as night, her lush, sensual mouth made for kissing. There was always a hint of sorrow in those dark eyes, or was that only his imagination?

  She kept her hair cropped very close to her head, little more than an inch of dark fuzz. While that should have made her look less feminine, it only served to heighten the delicate beauty of her bone structure.

  It was rare that Adam fell hook, line and sinker for someone he’d only just met. When he’d accepted his old friend’s invitation to spend a few days on the island on the way to his next gig, he certainly hadn’t planned to fall for anyone.

  But something about Shani had captured and then held his attention from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. There was the obvious physical attraction. Shani was truly lovely—tall and voluptuous with legs a mile long. She carried herself with the regal, willowy grace of nobility, but without a trace of arrogance.

  She could be playful and fun, and was extremely sexually responsive. But just below the surface, he’d sensed a thick bedrock of reserve, one he hadn’t been able to chip away at, even a little, during their four brief days together. Maybe it was the challenge of uncovering Shani’s mystery that had hooked him. Whatever it was, he’d thought of her constantly in the week since he’d left the island.

  “Adam,” Shani cried now. “The goddess heard me!”

  “I’m sorry?” Adam asked, not sure he’d heard her correctly.

  “Never mind,” she replied, looking both flustered and happy, her wide smile mirroring his own.

  Unable to hold back another second, Adam pulled her into his arms and lowered his head to kiss those luscious lips. He was vaguely aware of the scattered applause and shouts of approval from the crowd, but too engrossed in the lovely girl in his arms to pay much attention.

  Ryan, whose idea it had been to surprise Shani when Adam’s schedule had unexpectedly cleared up that week, put his hand lightly on Adam’s shoulder. “All right, kids. I’ve got a fire demo to finish. Go be lovey dovey somewhere else.”

  Shani immediately pulled away, her coppery skin darkening with a rosy blush. “Excuse me, Master Ryan. I’m so sorry, Sir.”

  “Not at all,” Ryan replied, smiling good-naturedly. “You’re fine. You handled the fire demo beautifully, as always. I enjoyed watching from the sidelines when Adam took over the second half. Oh, and Shani, you have the rest of the evening and tomorrow off.”

  Shani looked confused. “Tomorrow? But I have several sessions booked with some guests—”

  “Not anymore, you don’t,” Ryan interjected, his grin broadening. “When I found out Adam was coming through for a day or two, I cleared your schedule. One of the perks of owning the place. Now, Adam will see to your aftercare and what y’all do after that is entirely up to you.”

  Chapter 2

  Adam led Shani to one of the small recovery tents a dozen or so yards away from the pit. She felt dazed, as if awakening from a wonderful dream, only to discover it was real. The endorphins from the fire whipping were still zipping through her bloodstream while the shock at Adam’s sudden, almost magical appearance made her mind reel.

  She stared up at the tall, handsome man, still not entirely sure he wasn’t a figment of her fevered imagination. He was even better looking than she’d remembered—tall and broad-shouldered with raven black hair that flopped over into soulful green eyes set in an angular, rugged face. She wanted to bury herself in his arms or fall to her knees at his feet. She did neither, preferring to let him take the lead.

  After all, they’d only spent four days together, and even then, only when she could get away from her duties. Just because she’d fantasized nonstop about him since he’d been gone didn’t mean he was necessarily ready to pick up where they left off.

  She hadn’t expected her strong reaction to Adam Hawk. In the year and change since she’d worked on Desire Island, she’d scened with dozens of guests as part of her job. But in all that time, she’d never, not once, felt the instant and passionate connection she’d experienced with Adam.

  To her delight, he’d seemed to feel it too. Most of the dominant male guests on the island liked to sample the submissive staff slaves as if they were chocolate candies in a box. But for some wonderful reason, Adam had only seemed to have eyes for her.

  He was every inch a Dom, and he never bullied or pushed her past where she felt safe. Yet, unlike any other guy in the scene she’d gotten close to, he not only didn’t demand, but wouldn’t even allow her to call him Master. He’d explained that while he understood it worked for some people, for himself, he found it pretentious.

  He’d taken to calling her Princess, claiming she had the regal bearing and stately reserve of royalty. While the rather lofty endearment had embarrassed her at first, she now found she quite liked it. It made her feel special and reminded her of a happy time in her past.

  “So, was it a surprise to find that it was me behind you?” Adam asked, grinning. “I kept expecting you to turn around, what with the all the commotion when I finally showed up. I should have remembered you’re too well trained for that.”

  Shani laughed. “It was a crazy, wonderful surprise! I was dying to turn around, but yeah, I caught myself in time. Even when I smelled you, I didn’t believe my own senses.

  Adam scrunched his nose, making a funny face. “You smelled me?”

  “A good smell,” Shani hastened to add, still laughing. “Your leather balm. The particular clean scent of your skin. I thought I was hallucinating. You know, an olfactory hallucination because I so wanted you to be here. Even then, I still thought I had to be imagining it. But when I saw your hands…” She trailed off, still not quite believing he was actually there.

  “These hands?” he asked softly, lifting them to cup her face as he leaned down to give her another long, deep kiss.

  “Yes,” she breathed as he let her go. “Those hands. Those beautiful hands that craft beautiful things.”

  A world-renown whip maker, Adam had given her a parting gift of a pair of gorgeous wrist cuffs he’d made from leftover strips of leather dyed in shades of russet, umber and gold, intricately braided together to form impossibly soft but sturdy restraints.

  Adam smiled, taking her hands in his. “I work in leather. You work in metal and gemstones to
make that beautiful jewelry with these lovely hands.” He lifted them one at a time to his lips, kissing each palm.

  Shani shook her head, embarrassed he’d compared the two of them when in her mind, there was no comparison. “I don’t work in it,” she protested. “It’s just a hobby. Something I do for family and friends.”

  “Come on, Shani,” Adam protested. “I can’t be the only one who’s told you that you could do it professionally, if you were of a mind. Your creations are really unique. In fact—”

  He cut himself off, turning away. “No. Not yet.”

  “What?” Shani replied, confused. “In fact what? Not yet what?”

  “Nothing, nothing,” he said quickly. “We can discuss it later.” He reached for a bottle of the island’s special welt lotion from the supply bench. “Let’s give your skin some aftercare so it doesn’t blister. You took quite an intensive fire whipping.” He gently removed the towel from her shoulders and set it aside. “I’m so glad I got to be a part of it.”

  His hands felt wonderful on her skin. She sighed with pleasure as he smoothed the soothing balm over her shoulders, back and ass.

  “I should have been here two hours ago,” he said as he worked, “but the boat guy apparently had engine trouble and was late picking me up from the mainland. I haven’t even been up to my room yet. I just threw my bags in the lobby and raced out to the beach.”

  “I thought you weren’t coming until next month,” Shani said, still dazed with happiness. “I thought you had back-to-back events all over the country.”

  “See?” Adam said teasingly. “That’s what comes of being off the grid, Princess. I could have texted you to let you know but…”

  Shani chuckled. People always freaked out when they asked for her contact information, and she gave them her physical mailing address. She didn’t own a cell phone or maintain a presence on email or social media. She had never wanted to be sucked into that whole cycle of cyber communication and intrusion. Her mother and sisters knew how to contact her on the island if they needed to, and there was no one else she cared to stay in touch with. It had been a definite advantage when she’d needed to disappear.