CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Scarlett
Christmas Eve
The light streamed in through the patio doors, and I groaned, blinking against it. As sleep cleared from my brain, my eyes took in the view outside the door, and I smiled.
The patio led right out onto the beach. White sands, palm trees, and beyond it an ocean Griff swore was the color of my eyes.
Tetiaroa.
A private island in the heart of French Polynesia. There were three exclusive villas on this part of the island, and ours was the only one in use over Christmas.
Griff and I were alone on a private Tahitian island that Marlon Brando once owned enjoying our honeymoon. My husband had surprised me with the vacation a few days ago. A honeymoon and a celebration that Hale O'Connor was behind bars, his bail set so high, he wasn't getting out. His men were happy to leave him there and take over his casinos.
I turned, the white Egyptian cotton sheets caressing my skin like silk, and my belly fluttered at the sight of Griff sprawled beside me. He looked younger in sleep. My eyes dropped to his lips that were surrounded by the bristle that scratched erotically against my skin when we made love. And those lips. That full lower lip.
Yum.
My gaze drifted down his torso. The wide shoulders. A body made strong from his early morning workouts. The sheet draped across his lower abdomen giving me an eyeful of that sexy ‘v' cut to his hips. Hair peeked out from the sheet, and I pushed it further down so I could look at his cock.
Desire stirred in my blood.
When we got back together ten days ago, we'd gone at each other like rabbits. It didn't matter if I had to stay locked up in the club until O'Connor was behind bars because Griff barely let me out of the bedroom.
Then my period had come a mere two days later, halting our festivities.
It sufficed to say that since arriving on the island in a small seaplane we'd taken from Tahiti, Griff had been all over me.
And it was possible he was turning me into a sex addict.
Or I was just making up for those long lonely weeks without him.
I know he was.
It shocked me that Griff would take a vacation. It had shocked everybody, but he said that life was different now and he had to start prioritizing what was important. I was his wife. I was his priority.
And apparently, I needed a vacation.
God, I loved him. I had no idea loving him this much would make me so hot for him all the time. Plus, bringing me to the most beautiful spot on the planet where we were waited on hand and foot by a small twenty-four service staff made me feel very thankful. And I liked sharing my gratitude in physical expression.
My sex tingled with need, and I trailed my fingertips down my husband's rippled abdomen and down over his groin. I wrapped my hand around his thick, silky hot cock and looked at his face as I began to stroke. He stirred in his sleep as his cock swelled and hardened in my hand.
I grew slick with want, pressing my thighs together as I tightened my grip on him and stroked harder, faster.
A flush crested his upper cheeks and his lids fluttered as he moaned. Blinking against the light, his hot, sleepy gaze finally met mine.
His hips lifted off the bed to meet my strokes. “Fuck.”
"Mmm." I murmured, pressing my naked breasts against his chest as I leaned in to kiss him. He cupped the back of my neck and took control of the kiss. Then he rolled me over so quickly I lost my grip on his cock.
He yanked the sheets out from between us as he kissed me in deep, drugging, wet kisses, and then he was inside me.
"Oh God," I broke the kiss on a gasp of pleasure-pain. My fingertips bit into his ass he flexed and thrust inside me.
Our gazes locked as he powered in and out of me, our breaths mingling, our eyes darkening as the bliss built in both of us. Considering how much sex we'd had it surprised me how little time it took for us to come.
My climax hit first, and the rippling tightness of my pussy tugged Griff's out of him soon after.
He rested his face in my neck, and I wrapped my arms and legs around him, caressing his back which was now damp with sweat.
I felt his tongue on my skin, and my pussy tightened around him, making him grunt with satisfaction.
Griff lifted his head and kissed me softly. Our eyes locked and his lips curled at the corners. "That was a very nice wake-up call.”
I grinned. “You make me insatiable.”
"Good." He kissed me again, slow, languorous. We kissed so long, so sweetly, that he eventually grew hard while he was still inside me. Griff's glided in and out of my pussy in easy, gentle drags. It was slower to build but when the orgasm came, it was longer, harder and it made Griff swell to unbearable thickness inside of me. His cum flooded out of him in an intense shuddering stream.
When he pulled out, cum coated the inside of my thighs.
Griff glanced down, seeing it and gratification darkened his gaze.
This man was so possessive, so much a caveman in bed, but I had to admit I loved it. I fought against it when it transpired into our everyday lives, but I luxuriated in it in the bedroom. What can I say? I was complicated.
As my husband got out of bed, he grabbed my hand, pulling me up with him. “We need to shower.”
I hummed under my breath. I liked showering with Griff. He cleaned every inch of my body with a gentle, loving thoroughness that I savored.
Marriage to him had a rocky start. We were uncertain, passionate, and volatile. And then our marriage had deteriorated with agony and heartbreak. Now that we'd finally been honest with each other it was easy, exciting, passionate and yes still volatile sometimes. We both had fiery natures. We clashed. But we loved the impact. And at the end of the day, we loved each other. No one could explain what connected two people. And I couldn't explain what connected us. I just knew that we were.
We were in each other's blood, and I intended for us to stay that way.
◆◆◆
The villa had a large private pool built up over the beach. Palm trees swayed in a gentle breeze as I laid on a lounger by the pool, sunglasses on, while the sun turned my newly-freckled skin a light bronze.
For the third time since Griff and I had ventured out to the pool after breakfast, I heard his lounger creak with movement and a soft exhalation expelled from him.
I knew he was trying not to sound agitated.
A smirk curved my lips.
My poor guy.
He did not vacation well.
I turned my head on the lounger to look at him while he laid there. He had his own sunglasses on, his naturally tan skin was deepening in color, and his hands were joined together on his muscled stomach.
Feeling my gaze, he turned his head toward me. "What?"
I grinned at him. "Could you be any more bored?"
“I’m not.”
I chuckled. “You so are.”
“I’m on vacation with my wife.” He looked back up at the sky. “This is what that looks like.”
Giggling, I rolled off my lounger and crawled over him until I was straddling him.
“Hmm, this is better,” he murmured, cupping my bikinied ass in his hands.
I pushed my sunglasses up into my hair and then pushed his sunglasses into his hair. Caressing his bristled cheeks, I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. "You know I don't expect you to change. I don't want you to."
His grip on me tightened. “What does that mean?”
“It means that my husband, who spends all day, every day, running around from one task to the next, has valiantly fully vacationed with his wife for two whole days.”
Griff scowled. “I—”
"But lying here by the pool doing nothing must be driving you insane." I laughed and kissed him again so he'd know I didn't mind. "Why don’t you go inside, answer emails, take some calls, check that all is right in the empire of Griffin Mandeville while I read a book for a couple of hours. Then we'll do lunch, and we'll take that bike ride around the island we've been talking about."
His hands slid up my waist and gripped me there. “You really don’t mind?”
“No,” I promised him. “I’m good out here with my book.”
He sat up and wrapped his arms around me, staring at me such adoration it was a wonder I didn’t melt into goo all over him. “How did I get so lucky as to meet you?”
“My sister conned us both.”
"Right," his lips quirked. "I suppose we should really forgive Mel considering the results."
“We should.” I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and got off his lap. “But we’re not telling her that.”
Laughing my husband pulled me back to him and kissed my belly before he stood up and pressed a quick kiss to the tops of each of my breasts. Chuckling I pushed him toward the villa. “Go work.”
While Griff wandered into the villa to do just that I got comfy on my lounger and began reading a romance on my e-reader. As I read through the story, I realized it wasn't even half as exciting as my romance with Griff and abandoned the book for something more angsty. I struggled to get into anything. Flipping from one book to the next. I didn't know how much time went by when one of the two ‘butlers' on in our twenty four hour staff was suddenly standing over me.
“Oh.” I sat up, a little startled by his presence.
He was a young Frenchman called Louis whom I gathered was only in his early twenties. He shared the job with Elena, a young woman from California. They both wore a uniform that was a mix of white T-shirts, white linen pants or shorts with boat shoes. The pants and T-shirt were made for Louis and his wiry, muscular physique. "Madame Mandeville, Monsieur Mandeville asked me to bring out some refreshments for you."
I smiled as Louis placed the tray with soda water and fresh fruit down on the table beside me. My husband. Always looking after me. “Thank you, Louis.”
“You’re welcome, Madame Mandeville.”
Curious about the staff here, I asked before he could leave, “Is this your full-time job?”
If he was surprised by the question, he didn't show it. "For now."
“What’s the dream?” I asked, reaching for the soda water.
“Dream, Madame?”
“You know. What do you want out of your life?”
He gave me a very French full-bodied shrug. “I am only twenty-one. I’m still trying to … uh… how you say… work that one out.”
I grinned. “I never had that problem. I always loved books and wanted to work in a library.”
His eyes darted down my body quickly before he looked away, frowning like he’d done something he wasn’t supposed to. “You… I am surprised. Librarian.”
Guessing he meant he was surprised I was a librarian I sighed. I got that a lot. “We come in all shapes and sizes. What do you love to do?” I gestured for him to take a seat on the lounger next to me.
He did. "I love traveling. That's why I find myself here."
“But you won’t stay long?”
“My mama she say I have uh… esprit d’aventure… uh… how you say… wandering lust?”
“Wanderlust.” I nodded. “Then if that’s what you love, that’s what you love.”
“You like to travel?”
"I haven't traveled much. This is my first real vacation."
His eyes rounded. “Very nice first vacation.”
I grinned. "Well, I have a very nice husband."
Louis’s cheeks flushed a little as he stood. “He has a very nice wife.”
“Thank you, Louis.”
“Call for me if you need anything else. I am available to you until five o’ clock and then Elena will be here to serve you.”
I nodded and watched as he walked away. Griff had appeared and was walking toward us. He and Louis shared a nod, and I reached for some pineapple slices as my husband neared.
Even wearing sunglasses, I knew he was frowning.
“What’s wrong?”
“Was the butler flirting with you?”
I laughed. "Of course not. I was just asking Louis if this was his dream job. And he's only twenty-one."
“What does that matter?” he grumbled, sitting down on the lounger where Louis had just sat. “He’s only a few years younger than you and have you seen you?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ve told you before, not every man in the world is attracted to me.”
“Then they’re fools. You’ve got a body made for sex.”
I turned and lifted my glasses so I could throw him a mock frown. “Are you telling me you only love me for my body?”
“My cock loves your body. My heart and mind love your heart and mind.”
He said it so seriously, tears burned in my eyes. “Don’t make me cry.”
Griff grinned. “Good tears though right?”
“Yes.” I swung my legs off the lounger. “Did you get plenty of work done?”
His expression turned tender. “I did. Thank you. I was a little agitated not knowing what was going on with the club, with my ventures.”
“I know that. You’re allowed to be.”
“But this is your first real vacation. I don’t want to spoil it for you.”
"Griff," I stood up and walked over to brush my hand through his hair, while his fingers tickled my bare thighs, "You could never spoil this. I'm just happy we're here." He tilted his head back, and I pushed up his sunglasses again. I hated not seeing his eyes. "This is still really new for us. Maybe one day you'll get to the point where you can be away from work and relax, but that's a big ask right now when you've never done that before. Let's not put pressure on each other for things that don't matter. Let's enjoy each other and who we are."
“It’s not that I don’t want to spend my time with you,” he assured me. “I’m just not very good at lying still.”
"I know." I kissed him softly, and then he rested his forehead against my stomach. My fingers played through his hair as we stayed like that in silence for a while. Eventually, I said, "I should go in and change for lunch."
He lifted his head and looked up at me. "Do you want kids, Scarlett?" he asked out of the blue.
“What?” I gaped.
“Do you want children with me?”
The truth was I was terrified to answer. I did want kids. I always had wanted to start a family of my own at some point. But unlike conventional married couples, Griff and I had never spoken about it because our marriage wasn’t supposed to turn out to be real. But what if Griff didn’t want kids?
“Do you?” I held my breath.
His brows drew together. "Honestly, I never thought about it until you. It wasn't ever part of my plan. But I want to give you everything, and if you want children, I'll give you that too."
My heart pounded hard against my chest. “You have to want kids too. You can’t just do it for me.”
His grip on me tightened as a fierceness flashed across his expression. "If they were ours I'd want them. I'm not saying I'm not fucking terrified of the idea, but sometimes fear isn't a bad thing, Scarlett. I was terrified of loving you and look how that turned out in the end. And I promise now that if we start a family, I will try to be the kind of husband and father I always wanted my father to be."
I couldn’t believe what he was saying. “You’d have children with me?” I clarified.
“When we’re ready, yes,” his expression darkened, “I’d enjoy the fuck out of trying to get you pregnant.”
My breathing stuttered as I caressed his neck and shoulders, just thinking about him getting me pregnant. How turned on it made me was seriously surprising. "God, I'm so wet."
Griff’s nostrils flared. “How wet?” he growled.
“Ex-extremely.”
Suddenly he pulled down my bikini bottoms. My fingernails bit into his shoulders. “Griff, stop,” I hissed, looking up and around to make sure Louis was nowhere in sight.
My husband didn't stop. Instead, he got on his knees in front of me, lifted one of my legs over his shoulder so I had to clutch to him for balance and then he pressed his face into my pussy.
At the touch of his tongue, I nearly lost my balance as pleasure zinged down my spine.
“Christ, you’re soaked,” his voice rumbled against me.
“Griff, we shouldn’t here. Someone could see.”
“Let them.” And then he fucked me with his tongue.
I undulated against his mouth as he sucked on my clit, my hands grasping his head probably too hard. He squeezed my butt, growling against my pussy as he tortured and sucked me.
Then his fingers joined in, pushing into my cunt.
I found myself lost in the moment.
I didn't care we were out by the pool where someone might see us. I writhed against my husband, glorying in the building orgasm as he fucked me with his fingers and tongue. Finally, the tension coiled tighter and tighter until I was pumping my hips and crying out in gasps that grew louder and louder.
The tension finally broke, and my hips shuddered against him as I came.
I'd barely come down from the orgasm when I stumbled back as Griff released me. His eyes were black with need as he pushed down his shorts, his erection standing proud and free. Before I could question his public nakedness, Griff grabbed my hand and led me into the cold pool. My feet barely touched the bottom of it when he maneuvered against the side. He untied my bikini top and wrapped my legs around his waist.
Griff pushed inside me.
And he made love to me in that pool until we were both crying out loud with ecstasy.
Afterward, I realized it wouldn't have mattered if Louis saw me. He'd have heard our mutual cries and moans and groans and grunts of euphoria for miles.
I didn’t care.
We loved each other.
We were on vacation.
And my husband wanted to have kids with me someday.
Life was better than I could have ever imagined. The 'me' from weeks ago would never have believed this was the kind of bliss waiting in my future.