The Crow's Nest

By ISABEL JAMES

This story is a journey filled with the discovery of raw emotions and unbridled eroticism between Jack Cavallaro and Liz Bennet.

What happens when you meet someone who instantly unleashes your wildest fantasies? When a clash of looks in a crowded room kicks open a floodgate of endogenous opioids to surge through your veins?

Jack Cavallaro was robbed of breath when his eyes locked onto the beautiful brunette across the room at Cafe Des Artiste on the upper Westside of Manhattan. It was Kismet. A one in a million chance encounters. Stopping in for a quick double shot, then suddenly, magically, there she was.

In New York on a business trip, Liz Bennet had no intention of becoming involved with anyone. But the moment she touched Jack's hand, an electric shock ripped through her core, leaving her stunned.

Neither one questioned the rush of emotions and pure lust that exploded between them. They threw caution to the wind and plunged into an unknown void that would forever change their world.

Fate intervened when Jack's past caught up with them. Will Liz's mistrust and Jack's unwillingness to acknowledge the truth tear their newfound love apart? And would he be able to keep her safe when ghosts from his past are out for revenge?

This was more than just a writing experience. It was a revelation, something we hope all of you will enjoy as much as we did creating it

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linzi Basset
• Release date: Oct 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393862710

Book preview

The Crow’s Nest

A journey of emotional discovery on the White Pearl

A Romantic Suspense Novel

By

––––––––

Isabel James

Copyright © 2020 Isabel James – All rights reserved

The Crow’s Nest

Copyright © 2020 Isabel James

Copy Editor: Kristen Breanne

Proofreaders: Melanie Marnell, Charlotte Strickland, Kemberlee Snelling

Published by Isabel James

Book cover design by Linzi Basset

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, business establishments, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Isabel James has asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this eBook/book only. No part of this eBook/book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Warning: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase.

Disclaimer: Neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury, or death resulting from the use of the information contained in this book.

Et non examinatus

praeficitur vita opus esse censeamus indiscussum

Contents

Author’s Note

Dictionary

Prelude

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Excerpt: Truth Untold

More Books by Authors

About the Authors

Stalk Isabel James

Author’s Note

Dear Reader,

This story is a journey filled with the discovery of raw emotions and unbridled eroticism between Jack Cavallaro and Liz Bennet. Their tale to find love is proof that you’re never to old to find true, soul-depth kind of love.

Jack Cavallaro

It’s not your p*ssy, baby. It’s mine. You just get to wear it.

It was Kismet. A one-in-a-million chance encounter. Stopping in for a quick double shot espresso, then suddenly, magically, there she was―a beautiful brunette across the room at Cafe Des Artiste on the upper Westside of Manhattan.

Liz Bennet

Well, hell, honey, if I have to explain it, I must be doing something seriously wrong.

In New York on a business trip, she had no intention of becoming entangled in an affair with anyone. But the second she touched his hand, that notion died instantly when the surge of an electrical current ripped through her core, leaving her stunned.

One fortuitous meeting unleashed their wildest fantasies and sealed their fate. They threw caution to the wind and leapt together into the void on an emotional journey that would change their destiny forever.

Fate intervened when Jack’s past caught up with them. Will Liz’s mistrust and Jack’s unwillingness to acknowledge the truth tear their newfound love apart? Will he be able to keep her safe when the characters from his past show up for revenge?

Two people, searching for the right one for an entire lifetime, play the odds to discover the truth. Will they find it this late in life? Can they prove to themselves that one is never too old to find love?

Or would a black hole of emotional scars and demons completely crush them?

This story is a journey filled with the discovery of raw emotions and unbridled eroticism between two lovers who have given up on finding love.

Wishing you all well and trust you will enjoy this story.

Kind regards,

Isabel James

Dictionary

In Alphabetical order.

A piu tarde - See ya later

Andiamo al cucina - Let’s go into the kitchen

Aprire le gambe cazzo - Open your fucking legs

Cabishe? Mi fai schifo. Puttana - Understand? You disgust me. Whore.

Cazzo - Fuck

Ciao, bella - Hello beautiful

Cio che e tuo, e mio. Questa figa è mio. Hai capito bene? - What is yours is mine. This pussy is mine. Understand?

Da mi lo ... voglio di piu. Scoparmi. Scopa la mia figa col quello cazzo. Scopa mi - Give it to me ... I want more. Fuck. Fuck my pussy with that cock. Fuck me

Devo andare - I have to go

Dimmi - tell me

Dobbiamo parlare. Sono fuori sul ponte. Vieni, subito - We have to talk. I'm outside on the deck. Come quickly.

E loro non hanno mai dimenticare - And they never forget

Esprit de corps - Pride

Fa Schifo. Ma, che puzzo - It’s disgusting. But what stink (Fix)

Figa - pussy

Figlia di papa - Daddy’s little girl

Hai paura - Are you afraid?

Hai ragione - You’re right

Hai un profumo cosi buono - You smell so good

Het jy my lief? - Do you love me?

I coltelli sono fuori - The knives are out

Io ho una testa durissima. Tu recordi bene? Giusto? Allora, stai tranquillo. Lo so che tu capisci tutto - I have a very hard head. You remember well. Right? Now, stay calm. I know you understand everything

Is dit so? Dit is voorwaar uitmuntende nuus – Is that so? It’s spectacular news.

Ja, dit is – Yes, it is

Ja, my seksie Sicilian, ek het jou lief - Yes, my sexy Sicilian, I love you.

Kleine Boeremeisie - Little farmer girl

La piccola motociclista. Incredibile - The incredible little motorcyclist

Ma belle petite femme - My beautiful little lady

Ma, che un stronzo - But, what an asshole

Ma, che una bella figa - What a beautiful pussy

Mal verby - Past crazy

Ma, L’opera continuera - The opera will continue

Mi disgusti - You disgust me.

Mi hai capito bene, si? Senti mi bene, puttana - Have you understood me, yes? Listen to me well, bitch

Nee, dis nie nodig. Ek onthou dit – No, it’s not necessary. I remember it

Piccolo genio - Little genius

Pollice Verso - Thumbs Down

Qualcose dolce da - Sweet things from

Qualcuno dovra morire - Someone will have to die

Quelli occhipinti verde - Those beautiful green eyes

Ragazzi’s - Boys

Sempre stai scherzando ... minchiata - You’re always joking ... bullshit

Sfigato - Loser

Sono esausto - I'm exhausted

Stunod - Dummy

Tesora mia - My darling

Tessora mia, devi stare attento - You must be careful, my dear

Testa dura - Hardheaded

Testardo e testa dura? Io? Non ho dimenticato come si e sffaciato - Stubborn and hardheaded? They never forget

Ti adoro, Liz. Sei il mio amore - I adore you , Liz . You are my love

Ti amo, mi amore - I love you my darling

Ti voglio fottere - I want to fuck you

Ti amo - I love you

Tu hai una testa dura, mio caro - You have a hard head, my darling

Un po piu di café - A little more coffee

Un Siciliano pazzo, tu sai molto bene, cazzo - A crazy Sicilian and you know fucking very well

Uomo-a-uomo - Man to man

Va fan culo, stronzo di merda. Cornuto. Pensi che tu sei un l’uomo grande. Sei stupido e pazzo - Go fuck yourself, shithead. You think you’re a big man. You’re stupid and crazy.

Va fan culo, strunze - Go fuck yourself

Va fan culo, strunze. Lo sai che loro sono cazzo, gli Barese. Capito mi hai? - Go fuck yourself, shithead. You know they are fucking, the Barese. Do you understand me?

Waar is daardie goedkoop slet vriendin van jou? - Where is that cheap slut friend of yours?

Prelude

The beginning ...

Today’s Special: Instant attraction with a double dash of chemistry.

She stood facing the bar, bent slightly at the waist. Her tightly compacted hindquarters were displayed in all their curvaceousness, rounded and taut with the heart-shaped aperture that described the intersection of her sinewy thighs and pelvis.

He picked a table opposite her, several rows away from the bar. Leaning back, he stretched out then settled in with his arms slung passively across his chest, pretending not to look but soaking in the view with the furtive glances of a practiced voyeur. His eyes narrowed and swept in her lithe form that was clad in the delicate spare silk of an acid green party dress, hung precariously on a pair of chiseled shoulders by the frailest of angel hair spaghetti straps.

Slowly turning around, she stood and faced him, alerted by a tingling on the nape of her neck. She had spotted him the second he walked in; not so tall, lean with thickly muscled legs sheathed in tight jeans, the full features of someone, possibly Mediterranean, with a head capped in the closely cropped tonsure of almost silver-gray hair. Tossing her satiny chestnut brown mane, she caught him again undressing her with the leering countenance of a wolf quietly sizing up its prey.

She lowered her chin to meet the gaze of his blazing hazel eyes that, from across the room, silently calculated her height, weight, power and speed but more importantly, her ability to read and react to a developing situation. A cold shiver ran up her spine and plucked the raised cilia-like downy hair on her thighs.

Intrigued by the chance of witnessing an uninhibited, private exhibition of her sexual prowess for his own personal satisfaction amidst the din and employment of patrons, he waited patiently. Waited for a subtle gesture, a nod, a knowing glance, some glint of recognition that would signal her intentions that she was a player in the game.

Situated together in a gambit of sexual brinkmanship, it was her move, and she moved without hesitation. With the stealth of a sniper, she leaned back into the wooden bar, with elbows akimbo, and took aim at him by seductively spreading her legs open in a provocative gesture. One that was engineered to entice his senses just enough to make him aware that he was being targeted.

Jack felt the skin on his forehead twitch against his skull. A sheepish grin tiptoed across his mouth in anticipation of a lively encounter with a worthy opponent. His groin tightened as he watched her rose-colored tongue brush her lips as she pushed away from the bar to catwalk towards him. A playful grin pulled taut her pouty mouth.

Reaching his table, she gestured with the long fingers of her right hand to the seat opposite him. A smooth, husky voice tore open a rich seam of burgeoning lust that wrapped itself snugly around the nerve endings in his loins, sending shards of heat spiking through his core.

May I join you? she asked, looking down at him, somewhat unsure now which way to proceed and wondering what door she had just kicked open.

Jack felt his pulse quicken. A sharp breath hissed through his teeth as he barely managed to respond with a raw, Um, yes, please, and nodded at her to sit down. He watched her slink into the seat, her body folding gently at the waist.

Transfixed by the deft choreography of her slender hands, his mind began to flash on fantasies acted out and preserved in the amber of youthful experimentation. He stretched out his left leg in an attempt to make an unseen adjustment hidden beneath the tabletop but failed miserably by inadvertently sliding his leg between her knees, just brushing the inside of her thighs.

She felt the intrusion but accommodated his leg by opening hers.

That was fast, she said, as she leaned in on a pair of entwined hands. What should I expect next? The right leg? Her voice dropped half an octave into a husky timber.

Caught off guard by her sudden advance, Jack decided to play the fool. In a self-deprecating mime, he raised his shoulders, threw his hands up and mugged her with his best Cary Grant.

She glanced at him with a look of restrained amusement then broke down laughing, trying immediately to check her glee by clasping her mouth shut with her hand. Her laughter was infectious. Feeling emboldened by his ability to make her laugh, he took up the challenge and slid his right leg in between hers while reprising his comic impersonation. His timing was impeccable. He raised his eyebrows and grinned as she gurgled with laughter.

She patted dry her long eyelashes with the middle finger of both hands and looked across the table at his grinning face. I haven’t laughed that hard in years, she chuckled.

Jack was fascinated by her. She appeared younger than she probably was with silky and glowing skin but the telltale signs of crows-feet at the side of her eyes indicated she might be closer to fifty. The thought excited him. As did the vision of those long fingers caressing taut flesh linger in his mind. As if reading his thoughts, she reached across the table in a unilateral display of daring and took his left hand in hers. He flinched. Her fingers caressed the heavy silver ring that he wore on his index finger.

A silver-skull biker ring, she mused staring at the beautifully hand-crafted grotesque ring. Do you ride? she asked, dropping her eyes to watch how his full lips formed around his reply. She licked the underside of her top lip as she brushed a hand under his chin. His groin tightened.

You are naughty.

Yes, I do, Jack said, clearing his throat as the words croaked to the surface. He had never been so unnerved by a woman, at least not at first sight. She, oh, so subtly, stroked his index finger between hers and then shot a blazing glance at him, now boldly encroaching into his personal space without any backup.

He struggled to drag the thinnest breath into his lungs. She fingered the thick silver ring with a feathery touch, knowing full well the manifestation of cause and effect would have as a surge in blood pressure into the burgeoning protrusion crowding his loins.

Her eyes smoldered knowingly as she watched tiny opalescent beads of perspiration appear and situate themselves in a random pattern clinging to the skin above his upper lip. The tip of her tongue appeared again in a menacing reptilian display, flaring like a cobra’s hood, snaking out to wet a corner of her mouth.

She switched the subject and turned down the heat. Is that your beautiful white Harley out in front? she asked in a voice that sounded as if it were cured in bourbon and cigarette smoke. Her eyes focused directly on his.

Uh ... yeah. That’s mine. He berated himself as he struggled to separate his mind from the throbbing in his jeans.

Cranking up the flames again, she returned her fingers back to fondle the ring. Watching her slim hand holding onto his large weathered fingers made his mind wander once more and he cursed himself, sotto voce.

Mind if I ask you something? he said inquisitively, trying to regain his rattled composure.

Have at me, she purred, sending such an unexpected shard of heat into him that any unoccupied space that once existed between his legs had now completely disappeared.

Oh, really? Well then, I just might do that, he parried back in a lunge that caught her in a blush of red that bloomed to reveal a weakness in her defense.

Touché, darling. Now it’s my turn.

He slashed at her again to maintain the momentum. Would you like to come? Pausing with a straight face for maximum effect, On my bike? Another pause, For a ride some time? The purposeful hesitation was not lost on her. She reeled back into her seat surprised by such an audacious move.

Jack turned his hand and caught hers. Watching her, he traced the creases on the inside of her palm. Her breath caught in the back of her throat and her eyes widened. His provocative question was answered by a shimmering glint in her eyes. She squirmed in her seat, her hand becoming moist inside his. He felt an easy presence return that relaxed a look of uncertainty on his face.

I’ve got you now. You’re beginning to glow. Let’s see if you run.

She made a tactical retreat to save face. I make jewelry, too. Heavy pieces similar to your ring. I’ve got some beautiful samples in my car. Want to come for a quick look? she asked sounding naive in the hope for an answer that would either end the game right there and release the tension or prolong it with a walk to the underground parking lot into the deep end of the pool where she could be in way over her head.

Jack’s eyes narrowed to measure the gauntlet that she had just thrown down on the table. Thoughts about what he was about to do to her ran through his mind as he leaned back in his chair. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he visualized the debauchery he would bring to bear on her whole body. The wolf was sniffing eagerly at the door.

I usually don’t follow women to secluded dark corners, especially one I hardly know. I’m Jack, by the way.

His eyes challenged her to defy him, but her smile was disarmingly beautiful. A silent promise in itself to be quickly sealed as he nearly leapt from his chair to flush her out from the safety of the lit cafe into the enveloping cover of approaching darkness.

He held the door open as she walked under his arm, the top of her head barely reaching his chin. A whiff of citrus perfume teased his nose as he breathed her in.

Liz. It’s Liz. You forgot to ask me, she said in mock admonishment.

Her name, right! He thought frowning. His muddled mind snapped back into sharp focus.

Do I hear an Afrikaans patois? he asked as he attempted to mask his sudden fear, realizing that he just played a low percentage shot with a stupid question. Knowing that if she was a New Zealander, the mistake might be perceived at best as inelegant and at worst, a flippant jab that she would find too obnoxious, bereft of any sense of grace and finally intolerable enough for her to send him packing with his tail between his legs. He winced in doubt and wished he’d kept his mouth shut.

Good guess, she said flashing a smile at him. Have you ever been to South Africa?

No, but I might have good reason to visit there soon. For fuck’s sake, you fool. Shut up!

Liz chuckled in her now familiar smoky clipped lilt that again brushed across his loins. Jack closed his eyes, slowing his breathing to calm his nerves and arrest the swelling in his pants that continued to throb unabated in anticipation of an almost certain outcome due to unfold within seconds of reaching the car.

She walked slightly in front of him. Her curvy hips swayed seductively in the silk mini dress. A spaghetti strap hung provocatively off one shoulder. The glossy sheen of her dress flared in the illumination of passing headlights and shimmered against her hips and thighs with each step she took. Her calf muscles tightened into asymmetrical sculptured balls that rose and fell with every forward stride.

Jack’s eyes followed the shape of her tanned legs that tapered down onto ankles perched in a pair of black Jimmy Choo slingback heels that clicked out fuck me good with every step. He was slowly becoming unhinged. The desire to fuck her senseless tugged at his loins.

They walked back to her car. The garage was sparsely populated with other cars. There, near the back of level one amidst sodium vapor sconces fixed against the concrete walls, sat a black Range Rover parked as if waiting to aid and abet an act of unseen carnality. She pressed a remote and the hatch rose slowly and came to a soft stop. The metaphor was not lost on him or her as she glanced back at him and giggled.

A sharp gust of wind off the street above found its way to her, catching the back of her dress and ruffling it up over her hips to reveal round firm cheeks unclad in anything but herself.

Ooh! she gasped. That’s impossible! She turned quickly as a wolfish grin spread across his face. Jack, did you just see that? What in the hell was that? A nervous giggle escaped her throat as she looked around for the invisible perpetrator.

Such perfect timing, whatever it was, he said, smiling back at her that sent a wave of heat rushing into her loins. She was enthralled by the sudden roughness in his voice and the expectant look on his face. His arousal was apparent in every flex of his leanly muscled frame.

She pressed her thighs together, suddenly desperate to keep her sexual excitement contained. Never had she felt such an instantaneous chemical attraction and reckless impulsiveness for any other man. It scared her. But it excited the hell out of her a lot more.

A spotlight shone down from the ceiling of the Rover, illuminating a black deep pile shag rug. Several glossy red boxes sat up against the back seat.

They’re over here, she said as she bent over to reach in. Jack watched, riveted, as her miniskirt began to rise displaying the compactness of her tight buttocks.

A little help, Jack? she asked, her breath coming in short gasps.

I’ll help you, baby, he offered and reached out, but his hands had a will of their own and they found their way to knead and palm the softness of her cheeks between his fingers, instead. When the only reaction was an arch of her back and increased breathing, he allowed his hands to brush down her flanks and caress the insides of her thighs. A low guttural moan crawled out of her throat and disappeared into the emptiness of the car.

Oh God, she gasped. He straddled her legs and pressed his bulging erection in between her cheeks. She arched on her elbows and turned her head back at him in a beseeching look.

What’re you planning to do to me? she asked plaintively. Are you a gentle giant, Jack?

With you, always, baby, he intoned in an attempt to reassure her. But there was a raw potency that suffused his voice with a primordial instinct to mate with her in a powerful display of unleashed lust.

His eyes flashed as he reached between her toned legs. Carbonations of heat rushed in waves through both of them. His sharp gasps rose audibly as he found her heat with searching fingers.

Oh, she gasped, sucking air through her pursed lips. Jack, what if someone sees us?

Good for them. I hope they enjoy the show, he grunted as he put his hand between her legs and flipped her over. He pulled her hips to the edge of the threshold and gently bent back her legs.

Liz quickly became lost in his raw passion that was in such contrast to the gentle touch of his hands and the promise of unbound pleasure in his eyes.

The world fell away as they indulged in the unexpurgated lust fed by the instant chemistry that had drawn them together from first glance. No thought was given to their blatant display of exhibitionism as they indulged in the urgent needs of their bodies to copulate.

Afterward, their breathing haggard and worn, he pulled her into his arms and cuddled her against his chest. He closed his eyes and held her, allowing her essence to flow unbound into him.

Tilting her head back, he kissed her slowly in a meshing of warmth, passion and need; a need that was borne the moment their eyes had met over the distance. He looked into her haunting green eyes, rimmed in blue rings and smiled.

You do know this is only the beginning, sweetness.

She slowly nodded at him as she returned his smile and paused. Looking into his face, she pressed her fingers to his mouth and whispered,

I know.

––––––––

And now, their journey begins ...

Chapter One

Out of the chaos of life, the eternal law of