Chapter One
Lana felt his dominating presence, even though he was hidden from her view.
She opened her eyes, vaguely aware that her arms were up above her head and she was tied to something. Looking upwards, she saw rope snaked around her wrists and lashed to the bedposts. She pulled on her bonds, and grinned softly when she realized they had very little give. Her body began to throb in response.
A piece of fabric draped over her eyes and she could see no more. He had blindfolded her.
The mattress groaned softly as he sat down beside her.
Her breath hitched, nervous butterflies twirling through her belly in anticipation of what he might do next.
Stiffening slightly, a new realization came over her. She was completely naked.
His rough fingers cupped her chin and trailed down her chest, before he gripped a nipple with each hand. He pinched them roughly before palming her breasts. Lana groaned as her body began to pulsate with the pleasure he was giving her. His touch drifted even lower still, until he brushed the trimmed hair at the apex of her thighs.
She moaned, longing for him to touch her there, to take her, to claim her as his. Rolling her hips toward him, she tried to tell him exactly how much she wanted him to take her.
He pulled his hand away, and Lana nearly cried out in frustration. Her body felt like it was on fire, and only he could give her the relief she needed.
Feeling the bed shift again, she could sense him above her, his body over hers. He moved his knee between her legs, effectively opening them for him.
She wanted him, needed him there. Opening her legs further, she moaned with her aching desire.
His fingers brushed against her lower belly, reaching toward her pussy. Her hips shifted toward his touch, as she hoped he would continue his exploration of her body. As he glided across her lower lips, she realized she was extremely wet and ready for him. His thumb circled around her clit, and she nearly shouted as intense feelings of pleasure coursed through her limbs. She moaned loudly, and cried out when his pace slowed.
“Please, sir,” she begged, her voice hoarse with desire.
“Naughty girl,” he whispered in her ear, causing shivers to race down her spine and her juices to escape onto her thighs. He began to circle her extremely responsive bud once again, and she bucked against him, the sensations building to impossible heights.
“Who are you?” she whispered, almost in disbelief to the man above her who seemed to fulfill her every need. Secretly, she had always wanted a man to claim her, to control her, and to give her exactly what she needed, the domination she truly craved.
“You’ll soon find out,” he answered, his voice thick with authority.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Somewhere off in the distance, a strange sound began to go off, quickly building in intensity with each passing moment. It took a minute for Lana to realize that she wasn’t actually tied to a bed, but had been dreaming this whole time. She groaned, feeling the leftover effects of her dream still burning through her body. Reaching between her legs, she discovered just how wet she was.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
With a sigh, she closed and opened her eyes, willing herself to wake up. Her alarm was screaming somewhere off in the distance, and she forced herself to push the covers off her body and climb out of her very comfy bed. She trudged over to her dresser to smack the living crap out of her alarm clock, making the irksome noise stop. She was awake, and really didn’t want to be. In reality, she would much rather still be with her dream man, wondering what he was going to do to her next. Grumpily, she gazed longingly back at her bed, and then at the time on the clock. Why was she awake?
It read seven-thirty. With another cranky groan, she went into her bathroom to brush her teeth. Calculus started in half an hour. Why did she ever think she could handle eight a.m. classes?
She brushed her dark locks to get the tangles out and splashed some cold water on her face, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. Grabbing a towel, she wiped her face. Looking at her ocean blue eyes in the mirror, she assessed that so far, she looked semi-presentable. She applied some makeup to highlight her eyes and put on a little ChapStick.
Looking back at herself, she tried blinking the sleep away a little more. Her face was soft, high cheekbones rounding down to a narrow chin. Her lips were flushed and hardly ever needed anything other than ChapStick to accentuate them. To be brutally honest, she was really too lazy to do any makeup other than her eyes. Lana thought her pretty blue eyes were one of her best features, and she loved to bring attention to them. Next, she made her way into her closet, grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and changed out of her pajamas.
Allowing herself one last glance in the mirror, she confirmed that she was ready to head out the door and get to class. She smoothed her shirt over her slim frame, fussed with her shoulder-length, dark chocolate brown hair one more time, and slipped on some sneakers.
Reluctantly, she forced herself to grab her backpack and to move out the door, leaving behind her little humble abode and locking the door behind her. God, she hated mornings. On the walk to class, she hurriedly stopped at the campus coffee shop and ordered a massive iced coffee to help kick-start her day.
With a sigh, Lana sipped at her coffee and walked swiftly down the sidewalk deeper into campus. She was twenty-two, a junior at Arizona State University, and lived in an apartment a quick walk away from the campus. She worked hard to pay the rent, as well as her other bills, keeping a part-time job as a bartender at a local club. She was on her own, having left her parents years ago, for reasons that never really left her. Memories washed over her of her mother’s heroin addiction, her father’s alcohol problems, and she shook her head, trying to shake them off. Lana tried not to dwell on those recollections, as they always saddened her. Instead, she began to plan out the rest of her day.
Today was the last day of classes before spring break. She and her friend Rebecca had saved up all year, and they were traveling to Mexico for the week. They were each visiting Cozumel for the first time. They were going to talk to boys, order margaritas on the beach, and get a good tan. There was no way either of them was going to have to crack open a book, study, or do any sort of homework. Lana smiled just thinking about it.
With a little work, she had actually talked her crush Jake and his best friend Nathan into coming too. The four of them had booked two rooms in the same resort. She blushed, hoping she could get Jake to actually notice her for more than just a friend, at long last after all these years.
She’d known Jake since she came to Phoenix for undergrad a few years ago. The two of them flirted relentlessly, but he always went for the popular pretty girls; usually the blond cheerleader type who didn’t have much going on upstairs. Lana was always in the background, always the friend, and always the person he came to lean on so he could complain when his relationships bit the dust.
She told herself this trip was going to be it—when she told Jake what she really felt, about how he deserved to be with someone of substance, someone like her. She hoped that he would give her a chance. The whole idea was a gamble and she knew it.
Lost in her thoughts, her body automatically navigated around sidewalks, down hallways, and up a few flights of stairs. Making it to the lecture right on time, she scampered into the classroom without a moment to spare. She spotted Becca and Jake seated toward the back of the class and joined them.
“Hey, Lana!” Jake greeted her, using the nickname he had decided was simply right for her when they had first met. She smiled back and sat down next to him.
“Morning, Jake,” she replied, and waved at Becca. “Really, how did you guys convince me to take this class with you? I hate mornings so much…” Lana whined.
“I think you say that every morning, Lana,” Becca teased.
“Morning math… worst idea ever,” said Jake, looking toward the professor at the front of the room, who was rummaging around for a piece of chalk.
Class was only in her mind for a few moments before her thoughts took another turn. She could only focus on her trip and what she was going to say to Jake to convince him to hear her out. What was she going to say? When should she do it? Taking another sip of her coffee, she sighed. Why couldn’t things be easy? Why couldn’t he just notice her on his own?
After what seemed to be forever, the ninety minutes of math came to an end and Lana tried to stifle a yawn.
“I could use a nap already,” Lana muttered.
“Sleep on the plane! Think of the beaches, the booze, the girls!” Jake said excitedly.
“Sure, I’m really excited about all the girls, Jake,” Becca joked.
“Knew you were,” he said, smirking. “Damn, I still gotta pack.” His smile gave way to a frown. “Catch you guys later.”
Lana nodded. “Remember, we got to get moving by noon, our flight is at two-thirty!”
Jake packed up his notes, waved, and sauntered off. Lana watched him leave, his confident gait very distracting. Becca walked up beside her.
“He really has no idea.”
“I know,” Lana replied, a little sadly. “Hopefully, Mexico can change that. I mean, I bought a pretty rockin’ teeny weenie polka dot bikini.” She laughed and smirked.
“That would convince me!” Becca said with a giggle. “Hey, I gotta run, Lana. Meet at my place in a bit?”
“Sure! See you later!” Lana replied.
Becca waved and walked off. Lana went in the opposite direction and headed back home. She grabbed everything including her luggage and her passport, and took the short walk to Becca’s place. Becca lived with her mom in a big house not far from campus. It only took Lana about fifteen minutes to walk all the way there.
She gazed at the big white house. It was two stories, with desert garden shrubbery decorating the front yard. On each window, there were pretty reddish-brown shutters. The design was typical Arizona. Lana knocked on the front door, and was met by Becca within seconds.
“Hey, girl, hey!” she exclaimed.
Lana could only smile in response, giving her girlfriend a hug. Dragging her luggage indoors, she sat down at the kitchen island. She let out a deep sigh as her friend joined her.
“What are we going to do about those boys, Becca?” Lana speculated out loud, but Becca didn’t have time to answer because the doorbell rang again.
Becca smiled apologetically as she got up and went to the door. Lana heard Jake and Nathan before she could see them. They were joking around about some bet they made about the girls in Mexico. She shook her head and laughed.
Before she knew it, everyone was loading his or her bags into Becca’s mom’s SUV. Lana handed her bag to Jake, and he smiled at her before lifting it into the trunk. Lana felt a soft blush creep up her face as she quickly looked away.
It was moments like these that she felt she was the only one in his eyes. Simple gestures that made her feel special. Nervously, she thought about what he would say when she told him how she truly felt. She really hoped that things would turn out all right.
Lana climbed into the backseat with the boys and they were off to the airport, which was a quick trip on and off the highway. Becca’s mom, Cheryl, told them all to be safe, but have a blast.
“Don’t worry!” Lana replied. “We plan to do Cozumel like it’s going out of style!” Cheryl laughed in response and smiled.
“Remember not to go off by yourselves,” Cheryl warned. “Stay together.”
“Don’t worry, mom,” Becca said. “We’ll be back safe and sound in just a week.” Becca looked back at Lana and rolled her eyes. Lana laughed softly.
Before she knew it, they were on the plane, heading to Cozumel.