I have no idea where I am when I open my eyes.

All I know is that I’m underneath a gauzy canopy that’s gently swaying in a tranquil breeze, and Gideon is curled up at my side, his body pressed against the length of me.

Gideon.

The memory of last night comes to me slowly, deliciously, in the same way that I woke up, and when the full realization hits me, it’s all I can do not to let out a giddy screech of euphoria. I settle for rolling to my side and wrapping myself around the silky white sheets, my smile so big it hurts my face.

I told him I loved him.

I don’t know why I thought that moment would be the best one to confess my feelings to him, but out there, together in that warm breeze, lying next to his unbelievable body on that lounger, it bubbled up out of me like the world’s truest truth, the most basic fact in all existence. The stars are bright and glittering. The earth is round. I love Gideon Hawke. 

I’m never going to be able to look at that lounger the same way again, that’s for sure.

Gideon stirs next to me, and then his breathing settles back into the rhythm of sleep. 

I slip from beneath the sheets and pad into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me with a soft click. I’ve never been high, but I’m imagining this is a similar feeling—all my limbs buzzing, my heart pounding, everything so bright and clear that it’s being burned into my brain. I’m not going to forget a single moment of this trip for the rest of my life.

I run my hands through my mussed hair and look at my reflection in the mirror. The glow of happiness is real.

Everything I need to freshen up is here, and I take my time brushing my teeth and washing my face. When is Gideon going to be up? It could be a while, after all the activities we partook in last night. The shower beckons. I answer its call.

I’ve barely stepped underneath the stream of hot water in the massive shower when there’s a quiet knock on the outer tiles and Gideon is grinning in at me. “Want some company?”

I grin back. “Only if it’s you.”

“There’s nobody else here, remember?”

“Thank God.”

He steps in beside me and slides his hands up to my face, kissing me softly, tasting of mint and satisfaction. The kiss deepens as the water cascades over us both, but he doesn’t rush. He explores my mouth with his tongue, taking my bottom lip between his teeth, everything so gentle and slow that it lights me up like embers lighting a branch on fire—slow and sensual and deep. Sparks multiply between my legs, and finally Gideon reaches down, stroking me there with the same slow rhythm. He takes his time bringing me to the edge of a soft orgasm that makes my legs tremble, my feet unsteady against the shower tiles, but the rest of me secure in his arms.

Then, before I can kneel down and return the favor, he turns me to face the wall, lifts my hands with his, and then spreads my legs wide. With one motion, he positions me so that I’m open and ready for him, and he enters me. Somehow, even though we had our way with each other more than once last night, I still stretch to accommodate him, and I moan at the pressure of his cock filling me, at the feeling of being claimed. 

Gideon’s strokes are slow, the same rhythm he used to bring me to that first orgasm, and before he comes, he reaches around to stroke my clit. He makes me come again, only this time my muscles work against his cock. I’m filled. I’m fulfilled. There is nothing else I could possibly want out of this morning. Waking up next to him, being with him like this, with all the time in the world and no chance of being interrupted—it feels so good that I come a third time as Gideon works into his own release.

When he’s spent, he releases me and I slide back down to the floor of the shower. Turning me toward him again, we finish by sharing another deeply seated kiss. It’s starting to move into more passionate territory again when my stomach growls loud enough for both of us to hear the rumbling. Gideon laughs out loud, tossing his head back. “I know you want me,” he says, still laughing, “as much as I want you, but I think we might have to take a break for breakfast.”

“No, Gideon,” I tease, running my hands through my slickened hair, pushing the water back through to the ends. “I don’t need to eat.” My stomach disagrees as we both hear it growling again. 

He reaches behind him to one of the glass bottles located in a holder attached to the wall. “Here. I’ll help you move things along,” he says, and then his strong hands are in my hair, massaging the citrusy-scented shampoo into my scalp, and I lean my head back and sigh. “Don’t do that,” Gideon says.

“Don’t do what?”

“Enjoy this too much. You’re too beautiful. I might not let you out of the shower.”

I open my eyes and grin at him coyly, then glance down to his cock. He’s already getting hard again. “There could be worse things.”

He rinses the shampoo from my hair. “Are you sure?”

I fix him with a pointed stare. “I’ll help you move things along.”

This time when I kneel in front of him, I don’t bother keeping things slow and sensual. Gideon groans when I take him deeply into my mouth, and again when I increase the rhythm, threading his hands through my hair a second time, this time gripping harder, this time less tender.

I love it.

So we’re a few minutes late for breakfast.

Out on the terrace, a few members of the staff have set out a breakfast that I’m sure is too elaborate for only two people, right up until the moment I sit down and my stomach pinches with hunger. I can’t put food on my plate fast enough, stopping in the middle of serving myself to bite into a slice of bacon, perfectly crisp.

“Mmmm.”

Gideon smiles at me from across the table. “Watching you enjoy things is one of the great pleasures of life.”

“You should stitch that sentiment onto a pillow.” He bursts out laughing, so hard tears come to the corners of his eyes.

“You’re right. I should pull it back a little bit. I can’t help that I’m in love with you.”

My face transforms into a serious expression. “I’m in love with you, too.”

He looks at me tenderly, his green eyes steady and calm and happy. “I know it.” My heart swells in my chest, aching a little. It’s too good to be true. But I can’t bring myself to think so in this moment.

Gideon finishes filling his own plate with food, then looks at his watch. “We’ve got about an hour to enjoy this.”

“What do you mean?” In the shower twenty minutes ago, I was completely convinced that we’d be on our own schedule.

He looks up at me, his eyes shining. “I have a surprise for you.”