PART 3 The boat cut through the late afternoon sea like a whispered promise. Fred stood barefoot at the bow, wind tugging at his open linen shirt, the salt air clinging to his skin. Behind him, the hum of the motor faded beneath the low pulse of music and the sound of laughter — female, warm, effortless. The girls were already aboard when he arrived — sun-kissed, glowing, their energy a magnet. Elena greeted him with a sm...

PART 2 The sun climbed lazily into the sky, gilding the thatched rooftops of Phi Phi with light that shimmered like brushed gold. Fred sat barefoot on the wooden deck outside his suite, a quiet contentment seeping into him like the morning heat. A bowl of tropical fruit sat beside his coffee, and the faint scent of salt lingered in the air, carried by a soft breeze that played with the edges of his open book. He had read...

Officer Anja Sørensen guided her patrol SUV onto the narrow shoulder of the steep service road halfway up the side of the hill. The sight was odd, but not unexpected, as she had gotten the call from headquarters alerting her to the situation. Headquarters is what the law enforcement and public safety community called the outpost that was little more than a guard shack a few kilometers inland. A compact car was parked, wit...

Anabelle adjusted her silk blouse for the third time, the fabric clinging to her curves beneath the tailored jacket that made TSA agents stare without shame. The moment she saw the ocean from the plane window, she exhaled slowly, finally allowing herself to believe it: forty-eight hours alone with Wade. She hadn’t seen him in nearly two months. Phone calls, dirty messages, whispered moans over late-night video calls — the...

I went to Greece for rest and relaxation, But two goddesses stirred my fascination. The sea called softly, a sapphire tease, But Mina and Zoe were harder to please. We cooked and laughed, a Dionysian delight, Then slipped from day into velvet night. Their kisses tasted of wine and flame, Each whisper low, each breath my name. Zoe moved like a siren’s song, With lips that knew where they belonged. Mina’s touch, a storm con...

My ex-girlfriend was direct, “Hey Brett, you know I don’t get a lot of pleasure when we try to make love. Instead, I would call it ‘make boring’.” It went downhill from there. I didn’t see it coming, so I moped around for several months. Then I decided that I needed to meet people, mainly women, and joined a site called “Lush Stories”. I added no photos, just some landscapes from around the area. Surfing the internet, I f...

As Beth watched her friends depart in the minibus, she hoped they would remember to keep her posted. Being in charge of the group's trips meant she missed out occasionally, although cruising bars had never been her scene, and the current adventure to Iceland hadn't changed that. Everything had gone very smoothly in the first two days. The visits to the hot springs and waterfall at Geysir and Gullfoss, the trip across the...

Call him Elias, if you must call him anything at all—for names are but the flimsy nets we cast over the sea of a man's soul, and Elias Raine is a soul not easily snared. A man of uncommon silences and uncommon storms, he arrived on the island as a shadow might alight on a wall—present, yes, but without ceremony or weight. He brought with him no companion save a battered leather journal, a pair of unrepentant boots, and th...

The big day has arrived! We have been dating for ten years, so this day has been a long time coming, and I am so excited to marry my childhood sweetheart. Whether it is a family emergency, a promotion, or an expense, something always comes up to put a stop to our wedding plans. Nevertheless, my day has finally arrived, and I am so excited to marry the love of my life. My family and I travel to the location to get ready, d...

Hawaii glittered under the tropical sun, a paradise of swaying palms and turquoise waves. For most, it was a dream vacation, but for Sebastian and Kate, it was a carefully orchestrated opportunity. Both had convinced their spouses—Sebastian’s wife, Melanie, and Kate’s husband, Mark—to vacation at the same sprawling resort, their trips overlapping by design. Neither Melanie nor Mark suspected a thing. The couples didn’t kn...