Chapter Six

 

“Are you wearing sunblock?” Richard asked.

How sweet of him to ask. Meredith pried open her lazy lids. “No, I wasn’t planning to be in the sun for so long.”

Fetching a bottle from his bag, Richard said, “There’s a high UV rating today. Really, you should wear sunblock all the time. I even wear it in the winter, especially when I hit the slopes. The sun can do some serious damage, you know.”

Sheena turned away to snuggle up with Ash as Richard handed Meredith the sunblock. A pang of disappointment struck her in the gut when he took a seat on the adjacent Muskoka chair. Was he not going to slather the lotion on her skin and run his hands all over her body?

Richard closed his eyes, face to the sky.

Sighing, Meredith splattered a glob of sunblock into her palm and smoothed some against her cheeks and nose. Men could be so clueless sometimes. The fleeting twinge of disenchantment was followed by a rumble of hunger in her stomach. After all that exercise, she was famished.

In response to Meredith’s tummy growls, Joyce offered to make sandwiches. Normally, she would have been the first to offer assistance in the kitchen, but after the whole sunblock situation, she was a little peeved. Why couldn’t Richard go instead?

When Joyce rose from her seat in the shade, she placed some strange kind of corded ball on the arm of her chair. How could she stand to sit out in the early afternoon heat wearing that velvet dress?

“I’ll help,” Sheena offered. “Right after I get these wilted roses off my chest.” The blooms affixed to her voluptuous breasts had lost all but a few of their petals. She winked at Meredith, who couldn’t conceal her blushing smile. Richard’s cock slept on his athletic thigh. The rise and fall of his chest was somehow hypnotic. How could she ever go back to her husband after being ravaged by the strapping Richard? What a body! It was silly of her to be annoyed with him over sunblock…

When Ash pushed another Muskoka chair over to their corner of the deck, balancing the fruit platter awkwardly in the dip of the seat, the scandal of the situation occurred to Meredith. She’d just had sex with a group of perfect strangers and now she was lazing outdoors alongside a pair of naked men? Was this reality? Impossible. This was the world of Alice, where nothing made perfect sense and everything was just this side of frightening.

“I love the hot summer weather,” Ash said. “It reminds me of my country.”

The weather comment reminded Meredith to rub some sunblock against her chest and stomach. “Joyce said you’re from Sevidlam. What’s it like there?”

“It’s a tropical paradise,” Richard said, shielding his eyes from the sun.

“I’m surprised you still think so. Joyce told me you were arrested there.” Meredith stopped rubbing the sunblock. Sure, Joyce hadn’t said this story was confidential, but it was more than likely a secret.

To Meredith’s relief, the muscular blond only laughed. “Legal troubles aside, Sevidlam is a beautiful place. White sand, turquoise ocean that sparkles like a gem...” He gazed into the treetops. “I could wade in that warm water for all eternity. The tropical fruits are juicy and fresh, and the people are very friendly, for the most part. Most of Sevidlam’s inhabitants are congenial folks like Ash and Sheena, who love the natural beauty and tranquility of the islands, but disagree with certain government policies. Unfortunately, those who run the county don’t share the beliefs of the majority. It’s not exactly a democratic place to live. Still, I’d go back to Sevidlam in a second if their government hadn’t issued a lifetime ban against me.”

“A lifetime ban?” Meredith squealed. And she’d thought it was the height of gossip when Joey Lindbeck was banned from the video store! “What on earth did you do to get banned from an entire country?”

Richard looked over at Ash, who was looking back at Richard. Meredith tried to decipher the code of their stares, to no avail. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want,” she back-peddled, ashamed of her nosiness. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business.”

“I don’t mind.” Richard shrugged. “I’ve told this story so many times I figured everybody’d already heard it.” Stealing the sunblock from Meredith, he squeezed some white lotion against his strong chest, rubbing it in. “I’d heard the island nation of Sevidlam was a paradise on earth, so I took my vacation there years ago. I was blown away by its beauty the moment stepped off the plane. There isn’t a more relaxing spot on the planet, as far as I’ve seen.”

“Sounds lovely,” Meredith said.

“Oh, it is. My friends who’d been there before gave me only one warning: the government is very strict, so don’t engage in what they term, ‘immoral acts.’ At least, not outside of the resort.”

Ash interrupted, “The authorities turn a blind eye to prohibited acts taking place on resort grounds. To the government of Sevidlam, there is only one priority higher than morality, and that is money. Sevidlam’s economy is driven by its tourism industry. They do not wish to bite the hands that feed them. I know these things because I used to work for the Sevidlam government’s department of foreign affairs. As part of my job, I defended foreign citizens when they were accused of crimes in our country. Did Joyce tell you I am a lawyer?”

“She didn’t,” replied Meredith. “Do you practice law here?”

“No,” Ash scoffed. “Would you believe my degrees are not recognized in this country? Not yet, at least. I wish to practice immigration law here and help out refugees as they adjust to their new environment. It was not so long ago that Sheena and I were newcomers to Canada.”

“Yes, we’re all very impressed by your big important law degrees,” Richard interrupted, with a teasing smile. “Now would you mind letting me get on with my story?”

“Well, it is my story too,” Ash replied with a self-righteous air.

“We’re not at that part yet.” Richard turned to catch Meredith staring. That delicious body, with its angular contours, was constantly and undeniably tempting. “Anyway, Meredith, I spent the first five days of my vacation within the resort grounds. I lounged in the sun, went swimming, hung out in the clubs, played a little beach volleyball and made some new friends along the way. By my sixth day, I’d developed a hankering for life outside the resort. I’ve always been interested in people, and I wanted to meet some of the residents of Sevidlam, get to know what they’re all about.”

“The islanders speak a number of languages,” Ash said. “And nearly everyone in Sevidlam learns English.”

“Right, so I knew I’d have no problem communicating. On the sixth evening, I left the resort to wander the beaches. After hours of aimless roving, I arrived at a crazy celebration. A young couple and their family and friends had a naming ceremony for their child earlier in the day, and it developed into a wild party by the time I passed by.”

“You see, Meredith,” Ash interrupted once again, “the naming policies in Sevidlam are very strict. A child’s name must adhere to certain regulations or the government will consider the name offensive and withhold the child’s birth certificate. That, or they will issue the child a birth certificate with a name randomly chosen from the Acceptable Names List.”

“Wow,” Meredith uttered. Were Thomas and Jane on the list, or would her children have been denied birth certificates? “I’ve never heard anything about this. You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”

“Well, with everything going on in the world, these injustices do not make the news reports,” Ash answered. “The name regulations have been imposed upon the people of Sevidlam by our dictatorial government. We do not adhere to them. During naming ceremonies, such as the one Richard encountered, children are given their illegal family names. These are the names people go by at home and in their communities, but they do not appear on the child’s birth certificate. We in Sevidlam never realized how important our family names were until the government took them away from us.”

“But, Ash, if you didn’t believe in your country’s government, why did you work for them?”

Ash sat in silence, turning his gaze skyward. Goodness gracious, her prying had offended the kind man! Why couldn’t she keep her accusatory questions to herself?

“Richard, why don’t you finish your story?” Ash suggested.

“Sure,” he replied, snapping the lid closed on his bottle of sun block. “So, I found myself in the middle of this insane party. Everybody was dancing and singing along with Beatles and Michael Jackson songs playing on this old-school transistor radio, which was hilarious. There I was on a remote tropical island and still there was no escaping modern culture. The partygoers were very welcoming. The more the merrier, they said, and when a hot young islander approached me, I forgot my friends’ warnings to behave. The man was a dream, with skin the color of caramel and eyes like black coffee, hair black as a starless night. A few inches shorter than me, but strong as an ox.”

“You speak so nicely, Richard,” Meredith gushed as his deep voice caused sensuous vibrations in the pit of her stomach.

“My grandmother was an elocutionist,” he explained, but Meredith wasn’t sure what hair removal had to do with telling a good story. “Anyway, by that time it was past nightfall and just about everyone was drunk on this concoction the young man offered me. I’m not sure what that stuff was, but it was very sweet and very potent. One cup and I was, well, affected, shall we say? I tried to talk with the islander, but my words got muddled and, anyway, talking clearly wasn’t what he had in mind.

“He led me down a secluded path until we were overlooking the ocean. Basically, he told me he wanted to give me a night to remember. The concoction had me feeling even more frisky than inebriated, so I was ready for anything. It would’ve been wise to say no, but how could I resist? The guy was red-hot and ready.

“I was rock solid by the time he tore off my bathing trunks and sank to his knees. ‘I’ve always wanted to suck a white cock,’ he told me. Who was I to argue? Hey, the man had a dream! He took my stiff rod in his mouth, and his tongue undulated against my shaft. Never in my life had I received such an enthusiastic blow job. Man, I was harder than hard. I remember every second of it, though the rest of the evening is still a little fuzzy.

“This guy gave head like it was an art form. When I ran my hands through his hair, he moaned like I was the best thing he’d ever tasted. That got me even harder. I always need to know my partner’s as turned on as I am, or what’s the point of it all? If it’s not fun for him, it’s no good for me either, but it seemed like this guy was really getting off on blowing me. He latched onto my thighs. Those little hands were mighty strong. The islander reached up and squeezed my nipples, which sent me reeling. Variety is the spice, right? Then he ran his thick little fingers down my ass and tickled my hole. Oh, I thought I was going to come right then, but I held back.

“The guy encircled the base of my shaft with one hand and pumped it while he sucked hard on my cock. He grasped my balls until the pleasure was so intense my legs could hardly support me. While he sucked, he made these mmm noises like my cock was the most delicious thing he’d ever put in his mouth. I couldn’t help it at that point. I had to get my whole shaft in his mouth, and he took it. I fucked his throat until he pressed back against my thighs, then he sucked me like my cock was a mango pit, and he wanted every last drop of juice.

“This guy was so good I could hardly stand. Every muscle in my body clenched, my legs especially, all the way down to my toes. Those familiar pulsations came throbbing through my balls and up my shaft until I just exploded. There should have been fireworks. Man, oh, man! I nearly fell into the sand when it was over, my legs were so exhausted.

“I was already declining into a sort of dream state when suddenly there was a light shining in my eyes. A deep voice shouted, ‘Stay where you are. I am a government officer.’ I was stunned. I couldn’t move a muscle. The same could not be said for the islander, however. In a flash, the guy who’d just given me the world’s best blow job was gone and I was left standing naked and alone before the Sevidlam police.”

“Oh my goodness!” Meredith’s heart raced.

“And that’s not even the worst of it,” Richard said. “I was arrested on the spot on charges of immorality. In Sevidlam, homosexual acts are against the law.”