Crystal Coast Craving (Crystal Coast Romances Book 1) Read online

  Crystal Coast Craving

  Copyright © June 2017 by Sierra Brave

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY.

  No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author, Sierra Brave. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Image/art disclaimer: Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  Editor: Christy Lockhart

  Cover Artist: Talina Perkins

  Published in the United States of America

  Passion’s Paramour Press

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book.

  The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  Warning

  This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Passion’s Paramour Press e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

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  DISCLAIMER: Please do not try any new sexual practice, especially those that might be found in our BDSM/fetish titles without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Neither Passion’s Paramour Press nor Sierra Brave will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from use of the information contained in any of its/her titles.

  Dedication

  Dedicated to my dear friend, Jennifer: thanks for inviting me to visit the terrific little island that served as inspiration for the Crystal Coast.

  Chapter One

  Caroline sat on top of the old suitcase she’d borrowed from her parents, forcing the ugly mustard-yellow thing closed long enough for her to fasten the latches. Once they clicked, she hopped off and put the bag with the other four she’d packed. After ten months of teaching history to seventh graders, she couldn’t wait to get out of town even if it wasn’t exactly going to be a vacation. Comparatively, working at her aunt’s bar and grill would be a piece of cake.

  The doorbell’s chime told her she needed to get her butt into gear. Ryan would not be pleased if he had to wait around too long, and he could be a snippy bitch when he got irritated. Caroline took one last look around the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything she would need.

  Her mother’s sing-song Southern voice rang out like a chirping bird. “Caroline, honey, Ryan is here for you.”

  Caroline rolled one of her suitcases out of her room while using her free hand to tote a duffel bag by its handles. “Help me out, Ryan, please.”

  Ryan started to take the duffel, but Caroline shook her head. “No—there are two more in my room.”

  “Now Caroline, you know it’s not appropriate for Ryan to be in your bedroom.” Caroline’s mother was a true Southern belle raised with Southern manners by an even stricter Southern belle.

  Caroline and Ryan exchanged a knowing look. “How about I go ahead and take these two and you drag the others beyond the threshold of your bedroom while I put them in the truck?

  “Thanks, Ryan.” Caroline handed over the black duffel bag and green rolling suitcase before hightailing it back to her room.

  While she reached down to grab another bag, her long brown hair hung in her face. This mess is going to drive me crazy on the trip down to the coast.

  She dug a scrunchie out of her purse and quickly pulled her hair up into a loose bun on top of her head before snatching up both of her bags and walking out of her room. Ryan met her halfway down the hallway, taking the bags from her and turning to go back out to the truck.

  As Ryan walked out the door, Caroline’s mother called out to him, “Thanks for always being such a gentleman, Ryan.”

  “My pleasure, Missus Butler.” He didn’t miss a beat, turning to blow her a kiss before hoofing it to the Bronco.

  “Well, you have a good summer, Caroline, and don’t forget to call your mother every now and again.”

  “I won’t forget.” Caroline made a heart-crossing motion with one hand as she opened her other arm for a hug. Her mom gave her a tight squeeze, not letting go until Ryan was back and opening the glass storm door.

  “Ready?” he asked, giving Caroline a grin.

  “Now you two behave yourself. In my day an unmarried couple didn’t go off on vacation together, but you’re a grown woman, so—”

  Caroline cut her mother off. “We’re not a couple and it’s not a vacation. We’ll both be working. God knows we need summer jobs to supplement our pitiful take-home pay.”

  “Teaching is a noble profession.” Mrs. Butler smoothed a lock of her short brown hair back behind her ear.

  “I promise not to lay a hand on your daughter.” Ryan held up two fingers. “Scouts’ honor.”

  “I trust you, Ryan. Have a good summer.”

  “You too, Mrs. Butler.” The two shared a hug and Caroline beelined for the door, holding it open for Ryan to exit first.

  Once they were in Ryan’s burgundy sports utility vehicle, heading down the road away from her house, Caroline finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ryan stopped for a red light, and she glanced his way. Their gazes met, and they both burst out laughing.

  “When is she going to figure it out?” His hazel eyes lit up with mischief.

  “Probably never. Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. I’m less disturbed by the fact she doesn’t realize you’re gay than I am that she thinks I’d just pine away for someone who was unwilling to make a long-term commitment to me for seven years.”

  “Your mom is very old-school.” Ryan made a right turn to get out on the highway.

  “That would be why I’m a twenty-eight-year-old woman still living with my parents.” She shook her head while scooting around in her seat to get comfortable.

  “I told you about that crazy shit a long time ago. You need to get out of there or you’re going to go nuts.”

  Caroline pretended to clutch invisible pearls and mustered up her best imitation of her mother’s below-the-Mason-Dixon-Line accent. “But a young woman is just not safe living alone. Why, she shouldn’t even go out after dark at all.”

  Ryan snickered as he adjusted his cruise control. “This whole town is in a little bit of a time warp. If it weren’t so close to the Triad, I would never have moved here. I don’t mind a thirty-minute drive to go out and get my freak on. Plus, putting a little distance between me and the school means I don’t have to worry too much about running into any of my students’ parents.”

  “If your students’ parents are at any of the clubs you like to frequent, I seriously doubt they’re going to be in any position to call you out on it.” Caroline pulled down the visor and checked her look in the attached mirror. She needed color. She pinched her cheeks before unzipping her tan purse, fishing out some coral lipstick, and painting her lips.

  “At least your mom cooled it with the whuppin’s a few years b
ack.” Ryan laughed, taking the opportunity to playfully nudge her with his elbow as he reminded her of the embarrassingly long amount of time she had been subject to her mother’s spankings.

  “Only because I told her I’d move out if she didn’t back off with the ‘my house, my rules’ crap. God knows she couldn’t have me running off to live a harlot’s life in a God-forsaken apartment.” She sighed and shook her head. “God help me.”

  Ryan howled with laughter, but then his expression grew serious. “So your aunt…is she going to be all up in our business?” He gave her a sideways look.

  “Nah, Aunt Britt isn’t like Mom. She’s a reformed hell-raiser.” Caroline tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at him.

  His face fell. “Oh shit! Those ‘I done found Jesus and changed my life’ types are the worst.”

  “She never lost Jesus, so to speak. She was raised exactly like Mama but was the rebellious one. She just kind of grew out of partying, settled down, got married, but…I mean, she still runs a bar.”

  “True.” Ryan seemed more at ease. “Good, because I definitely intend to get some booze, sun, sand, and dick this summer and not necessarily in that order. You could use some too.”

  Caroline smacked his arm lightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Just that you’ve been looking a little uptight and worn out lately—you need something to bring back the sparkle in those chestnut eyes and the spring in your step.”

  “We’ll see.” Caroline couldn’t deny there was some truth in what her best buddy was saying but she wasn’t going to just spread her legs for any old guy that came along. She had standards.

  Chapter Two

  “Would you idiots keep it down?” Jake stood in the doorway of his bedroom, looking at the huge mess his roommates had made in the living room. There were beer cans everywhere and potato chips on the floor. Two of the muscle-headed louts were sprawled out on the sofa playing Xbox and his third roommate was on the floor a few feet away exercising. “Some of us are trying to take a final exam online.”

  “My bad,” Derek said, tossing Jake a look over his shoulder.

  “Sorry, Jake, we’ll try to keep it down.” Tanner gave him a weak salute from the spot on the floor where he was doing sit ups.

  Brent stood up from his seat, dropping the game controller and raising his arms over his head to stretch like a big, husky cat. “Hey isn’t it about time you finish that degree? You’ve been going to school forever.”

  “This is my last test in my last class. All I have to do is pass it, and I’ll finally be a college graduate.”

  “Well, all right, all right!” Brent said, fist pumping in the air.

  “So you’re really pulling up anchor and leaving the service?” Tanner asked with a slight frown.

  “Yeah.” Jake didn’t have time to get back into that whole discussion with him again, but he wasn’t going to lie. He’d had all he could take of the military.

  “I sure wish you would reenlist.” Tanner’s voice was low and sad.

  Jake sighed. “I’ll miss working with you too, but it’s not like I’ll be dying. We can still hang out.”

  “Oh come on!” Derek yelled at the TV screen. He had resumed his game and it wasn’t going so well.

  “Won’t be the same.” Tanner pulled his knees up to his chest and locked his arms around his legs, making him look much smaller than his normal lanky self and almost childlike.

  “Why don’t you two go ahead and kiss?” Brent laughed at his own adolescent remark.

  “Shut up, Brent! I’m being sincere.” Tanner’s face lost all its color, then turned bright red while Jake responded by flipping Brent off.

  Jake often wondered how Brent would react if he found out he was half-right.

  “Shut up is right—all of you!” Jake cut off any of that bullshit before Tanner was put in too much of an uncomfortable situation. That kid had been nursing a crush on him for a while, but Jake had pretended not to notice. Those other two Neanderthals hadn’t even figured out the Tan Man was gay.

  Jake returned to his room, sat back down at his desk, and recommitted his brain to finishing his exam. He had to graduate. He’d joined the military to pay for school but hadn’t counted on two tours in the desert slowing his progress or on what those tours would do to him. The year he spent in Afghanistan had been brutal but hadn’t lasted long enough for him to lose his nerve. The nearly eighteen months in Iraq were what broke him. He’d been a hell of a sniper back then, but he couldn’t even bear to hold a gun anymore. Luckily, he had been allowed to cross-train into a logistics position and not been washed out of service altogether.

  Chapter Three

  As soon as the busboy could get her table cleared, Caroline wiped it down and started getting it set up for the next group. Saturday night at Sharky’s was always busy and tonight was no exception. “Thanks, Danny.” Caroline nodded to the introverted teenager as he moved on to the next table.

  Ryan was behind the bar serving drinks, the lucky bastard. He’d be as busy as her tonight, but at least he’d get to stay in the same small area while she would be running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room all night.

  She checked on her other tables before she went to see if the kitchen had finished the order for her four top. “Is my…”

  Before she could get the words out, the cook pointed out the baskets of burgers and fries she was after. She thanked him before loading them up on a tray and scampering back out to serve her customers, a couple and their two teenage girls. “Does anyone need anything else while I’m here?”

  One of the teenagers quickly sucked her ice tea down until she was making noises with her straw.

  “I’ll be right back with some more tea for you.” She walked over to the waitress station and grabbed a pitcher before hotfooting it back over and refilling the girl’s drink. Caroline checked on a couple of other tables to see if they needed more tea on her way back to set down the pitcher. By then another group had been seated at one of her tables.

  As she approached the group, Caroline did a double take. Whoo hoo! She must have done something good because she’d been gifted with four handsome specimens. It was always nice to have a little eye candy while waiting tables. “Hi, my name is Caroline and I will be your server tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?”

  As she waited for them to answer, she smiled while giving them all a good once-over. There were two brunets, one light and one dark, a blond, and one guy with deep auburn hair. None of them were hard on the eyes though the raven-haired one was a bit stocky for her taste and baby-faced Blondie was definitely too young for her.

  As the man with light brown hair looked up from his menu, they locked eyes and Caroline held her breath for just about a millisecond as those bright green peepers threatened to snatch every bit of oxygen away from her. Wow!

  “Well, hello to you, Caroline,” the magnificent creature said before flashing a gleaming white smile her way.

  Her cheeks flushed, but she smiled back, trying not to let on how badly her knees were knocking. “What can I get for you tonight?”

  The blond spoke up. “We’re celebrating tonight so we need beer and shots.”

  Caroline laughed and asked, “You want me to move you to the bar?”

  The auburn-haired man chimed in, “No way, we want to be waited on by the prettiest waitress in the bar.”

  He was just running his mouth, and she knew better than to take customer flirting too seriously. “Well, since I’m working with a bunch of waiters tonight, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

  “Aw come on, I meant you.” He smiled, showing off his cute dimples.

  “She knows. She was trying not to embarrass you too badly by telling you to get lost!” the thickset, dark-haired man said before bursting out laughing.

  “So what are you guys celebrating? Is someone having a birthday?” Caroline desperately wanted to change the subject.

  “Oh, it’s a miracle! This
one graduated from college.” The same guy pointed to the gorgeous green-eyed man who was still studying Caroline much more closely than he had looked at the menu.

  “Would you please shut up?” The green-eyed hottie nudged his snarky friend, looking away from her only long enough to give him an irritated, sideways glance.

  “Congratulations,” Caroline answered sincerely.

  “Thank you, Caroline.” That was at least the third time he had used her name, and each time he said it, she nearly swooned.

  His voice was sexy as hell, and he was a work of art with broad shoulders, a firm, well-built chest, and muscular arms. His hair was cropped close along his neck and above his ears but was a bit longer and spiky up top. His high forehead and deep-set eyes were to die for, and he had cheekbones for days. His clean-shaven, angular jawline tapered down to his narrow chin. His slim nose had a slight bump in the bridge, but his lips were so kissable Caroline wanted to reach out and trace them with her index finger.

  “I’ll take whatever beer you have on tap.” His voice pulled Caroline out of her head, and she nodded, writing his order down on her pad.

  The other three men followed suit ordering draft beer, but at the last minute the blond added, “Bring us four shots of whiskey too.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll just need to see some ID.”

  Gorgeous green eyes flashed up at her and a smile dangled on his perfect lips. He was the only one of the four who she was absolutely sure was of age. All four men got out their wallets and anted up their identification. She checked Blondie’s driver’s license issued by the state of Florida first. His name was Tanner and he was twenty-two. The stocky man with the dark hair handed her a military ID. His name was Brent and he was twenty-four. The redhead also gave her his military ID and he too was twenty-four. His name was Derek.

  As she reached out for Mr. Perfect’s identification, he handed her his Alabama driver’s license. Their fingers brushed together ever so slightly, making Caroline’s pulse quicken. A speedy check of the birthdate told Caroline his name was Jake Devoe and he was just a couple of months shy of his twenty-seventh birthday. Their eyes met again as she returned his ID and he grinned.