Chapter 1
Amanda Carpenter was in the kitchen when her son, David, arrived home from school. She smiled as he walked into the room and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. Then he kissed her on the neck and she could feel a little chill run down her spine. She giggled and said, "You know that gives me goose bumps," she said with a smile.
"Yes and they are lovely goose bumps too," David joked as he rubbed his hands up and down her bare arms, feeling the bumps on her skin.
They shared that joke almost everyday. But Amanda loved the affection her son showed her. Affection was something she sorely needed lately, having separated from her second husband several months earlier. The divorce had been difficult for her because she was an affectionate person and needed the closeness of a man. In fact, sometimes she thought she might be a nymphomaniac. Before she threw out her second husband, Roland, they had sex almost everyday, but now she had to use her battery operated vibrator ... not a good substitution for the real thing.
"What's for dinner?" David asked.
"I have a roast in the oven, so go wash up. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."
"Great," David said as he kissed his mother's neck again and then hurried away before she could swat him.
Amanda sighed as she watched her son leave the kitchen. He was such a good boy and never caused her any trouble, even when all his friends were drinking and staying out late, he would be home on time. He was very attentive to her, especially now that she was separated.
David had warned her about Roland. He said he was a gold digger and only wanted her money. Unfortunately, she refused to believe that. Roland had told her that he had his own money and in fact, seemed to be rather wealthy. He knew all the right people, including the Mayor, and drove a very expensive Mercedes Benz's. But now she knew that that was all a cover. She knew the truth; he was but a scam artist that preyed on lonely women.
She chastised herself over and over for letting her sexual drive overcome her common sense. Roland was certainly good in bed, but then, being a gigolo, he had to be. It was quite a shock when she found out, from a number of friends, that Roland had been seen with several women. When she confronted him, he denied it, but one of her friends had provided photos, for which he had no explanation. She had forced him to move out of her house that day.
"Earth to Mom," David said as he sat down at the kitchen table.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked.
"I said, what is the big surprise you have for me?"
"Oh yes, Jason Hensley offered to allow us to use his place on Marcus Island for as long as we want." Jason had been a friend of Roland's, but unlike Roland seemed to be a sincere guy and had shown compassion when Amanda told him she and Roland had separated.
"Really, where is Marcus Island?" David asked.
"It is a small, and according to Jason Hensley, a very exclusive and exotic island, somewhere off the coast of France, in the Mediterranean. I thought we could go during spring break ... that is if you want to go on spring break with your old mother."
David smiled. "First of all you are not old and secondly, I would rather go on spring break with you than anyone I know."
Amanda actually blushed. "Thank you," she said rather shyly. David was so sweet and she wondered why he didn't have a steady girlfriend. He was an extremely handsome boy with a great smile and pretty blue eyes. She knew he was shy and seemed younger than his twenty years, which probably made it difficult for him to connect with college girls. She worried about his lack of girl friends.
"So, when do we leave for this mysterious island?"
"We fly to France Monday and then take a private seaplane to the island the following day. Jason said a plane or a long boat ride was the only way to get there. So he is allowing us to fly in via his plane."
"Wow, sounds really nice. We can try out our new scuba gear."
"Yes we can," she answered with a smile. She knew that he had wanted to try out the new equipment since Christmas when she had surprised him with it.
David Carpenter had been having sweet dreams about his mother for some time. He knew it was wrong, but what was he to do when she always appeared in his dreams. She was still young at thirty-eight and had kept herself in great shape. Most people that didn't know them thought they were brother and sister. He had seen photos of her when she was his age and she was just a beautiful today as she was then. He would often go though the albums and look at her and his dad.
David missed his dad, who had died five years ago. He never wanted his mom to remarry, but he knew she needed someone. While he had tried to like Roland, he knew deep down that he was just a money-grubbing bastard from the beginning. When he found out his mother had thrown him out, it was the happiest day of his life. And now they were going to an exotic island together, just her and him. It didn't get any better than that.
Chapter 2
The large seaplane circled the tiny island twice before it descended toward the crystal blue water. From what Amanda could see, the island was as advertised ... remote and tiny. She could see what appeared to be a hotel of some kind with small cabana type buildings on the side of the mountain. There was a small town on the far side of the island with rather crude looking buildings and barely paved roads. In the middle of the island there was a lake surrounded by mountains.
The island seemed mysterious indeed.
A shiver of something went through Amanda at the thought that they were alone here. Jason was the only person that knew she and David were going to the island. What if it was some kind of devious trap for her and David? Then she almost laughed. She knew she was being silly. Who would want to capture them on an island and for what reason?
Of course she did have a lot of money, as David's father had been very wealthy. Most people didn't know that they had that much money though because they never flaunted it. In fact, Amanda didn't really know how much money she actually had. She lived in a modest house in an upscale neighborhood but nothing exclusive. They had a Volvo wagon and a small Mercedes ... most of the neighbors drove much more expensive cars. But Amanda liked it that way. She never worried about people thinking she was better than them because of her money.
Amanda told herself to settle down and enjoy their two weeks. She looked over at David who was staring out the window with wonder and smiled. He was a normal kid and he never acted rich to his friends. She made sure of that. She felt a rush of pride and reached over and grasped his hand.
David smiled at his mother and then turned back to the window, saying, "Wow, this island looks amazing. We can go snorkeling and diving, and parasailing and ..."
"Hang on there tiger, let's get to the island before we jump into the water," Amanda laughed as the plane touched down on the smooth water of the islands cove.
The seaplane taxied until the reached a dock. The pilot got out and helped Amanda and David out. Then a handsome older man in a white suit walked up. He was tall and dark. "I think we might be on 'Fantasy Island'," Amanda said to David as the man approached.
"What is 'Fantasy Island'?" David asked.
"Never mind," Amanda responded.
"Ah, Mrs. Carpenter," the gentleman said in a heavily French accent as he reached out and took Amanda's hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss. "And this must be Mr. Carpenter. I am Jacque Boucher."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Boucher, this is my son, David."
