Chapter Eleven

Micki

 

My hearted thudded painfully in my chest as he hesitated, his arms reaching for me in what felt like slow-motion. All the sleepless nights, the days filled with fantasies about being here with him detonated in a white-hot rush that left me dizzy. His strong, warm arms around me cradled me as if I was the most delicate thing he’d ever held. He was being too careful. Too gentle for what I wanted.

Reaching up, I cupped the back of his head with both hands and hauled his head down the last two inches and sealed my mouth on his. Electricity sizzled through my body, skewing my equilibrium. It filled me with a restless, edgy energy, a result of coming in direct contact with his body, that sun-warmed hard slab of muscle against mine, and those sinfully carved lips. Not wanting to maul him and…God. What if I’d made a huge mistake? I pulled back and let the water push between us.

“Um…I’m thinking I should probably apologize for that.”

“Why?” he fired back hoarsely.

“I, uh, well…I don’t make a habit of jumping on men like that.”

“Are you sorry you did?” His voice casual, but the look in his eyes was anything but.

I couldn’t lie. “No, I’m not sorry.”

His body tensed, nostrils flaring as strong muscles flexed in his jaws. “I just got done telling you that this is your call, but goddamn it all to hell, Micki. I’m three seconds from hauling you back in my arms. Move away if you haven’t decided yet.”

There was a dangerous hint in his voice that heated my core, firing signals of all out sensual awareness and obliterating all rational thought.

I didn’t move.

He took a step toward me, closing the gap, stopping an inch from my body. For a brief second I thought he’d changed his mind until his arms shot out like lightning, wrapping his fingers around my upper arms and pulling me hard up against his length. His lips crushed against mine in a mind-blowing kiss that had me digging my fingers into the back of his neck, his shoulders—anything I could grab a hold of to bring him in closer. Pin him to me. Deeper. Harder.

His tongue dipped and explored every bit of my mouth until every ounce of air had left my lungs. My body melted into his as he held me, our lips parting only to breathe. The rigid length of his erection pressing into my belly had me panting to get closer. To touch every inch of his body in the water… Oh God, he felt so good.

I traced one hand down his shoulder, across his back to his waist then cupped his backside, pulling him tighter. He groaned against my mouth, lifting his mouth to whisper against mine. “So much for my self-control, huh?”

I laughed breathlessly, hiccupping on a gulp of air. “Kind of enjoying it, actually.”

He dipped down and pressed a hard kiss on my mouth. “Let’s go get showered and get the Jeep. I want to take you out to dinner. Do this the proper way, you know?”

At the moment, I wasn’t too keen on proper. Or anything else, if it delayed feeling him inside me.

Out of the corner of my eye, a dark, shadowy shape appeared. I yelped, practically leaping into Devin’s arms. He turned to look in the direction I was looking and chuckled. “It’s okay. It’s only a ray coming in to check us out.”

We stood and watched as the winged fish glided through the shallows, circled around us once before gracefully swimming off and disappearing into deeper water.

“Now that’s a good omen,” he said.

I watched as the last hint of the creature vanished. “It is? I’ve never heard that before. What does it mean?”

“It means,” he inched his face closer, his eyes on my lips, “good things are about to happen.” He brushed his lips over mine in the gentlest kiss. Shivers ran down my spine as he straightened, taking my hand and pulling me toward shore.

“I’ve never heard that before, but I like it. Unless…” I looked up through suspicious eyes and searched his face. “Are you making that up?”

He shrugged, answering cryptically. “Wait and see, Micki.”

 

 

An hour later, showered and dressed, I met Devin downstairs in almost the exact same place I’d found him earlier today. Leaning against the wooden railing of the porch, his perfectly chiseled profile staring out to sea. What thoughts filled his head, I couldn’t begin to guess.

As he had earlier, he sensed my presence and turned. I didn’t need my camera to preserve every detail. I raked my gaze from head to toe, loving the way his thick hair, long enough to cover his collar, managed to look windblown yet perfectly styled. The crisp white of his shirt deepened his tan and showcased broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He filled out his jeans in a mouthwatering way and filled my thoughts with how wonderful it would be to unzip them and pull them off him. He was part Ralph Lauren model and sex god rolled into one delicious package.

“You look…” Amazing. Sexy beyond words. “Really great,” I finished lamely, feeling, once again, like a schoolgirl on her first date.

Not to be outdone, he leaned against the rail and folded his arms across his chest. I watched his eyes flicker and burn as he surveyed me from top to bottom. I was expecting an easy smile and a flattering compliment, but that wasn’t what I got. Instead, when his eyes met mine, the blast of pure, primal lust he pinned me with made my knees buckle. As powerful as his kisses had been, what I saw in his eyes was beyond carnal and it stripped me bare. Determined to meet him on his level, I met his hungry gaze with one of my own and watched his eyes as they glittered back.

“You take my breath away, Micki.” Judging from his reaction, the black, off the shoulder mini dress I was wearing met with his approval. I’d hoped as much when I packed it.

My pulse still pinging all over the place, I struggled to recover my poise. And, with what could only be described as comedic timing, my stomach decided to make itself known and growled so loudly the neighbors two lots over probably heard it.

His shoulders shook as he laughed. “Once again, rather impressive!”

Trying to cover my embarrassment, I joked. “Just my way of saying hello. You know how salt air makes you hungry. So, yeah, um…well…I’m starving, in case you missed the obvious.”

His phone pinged with an incoming text. He plucked it out of his pocket and read the message. “Then this is all working out according to plan.” He pocketed the phone and extended his hand to me. “Our taxi will be here in a minute or two, so let me lock up and we’ll be on our way.”

I fell into step beside him as he closed the doors and we walked down the steps to meet the taxi. “You have a plan?” I asked, curious as to what he had in mind that mattered so much.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

Another wait and see. I didn’t want to wait anymore!

 

 

The seven-minute cab ride to the marina to get the Jeep left me wide-eyed, jaw tense, and fingernails leaving indentations in the armrest. Our driver had to have been ninety-three, if he was a day, and squinted out over the road for more of the drive than I cared to remember. He had a decided lead foot, too. Couple that with driving on the opposite side of the road—which I wasn’t used to—and the countless times he’d turned around to talk without looking where he was going, left me mentally driving for him. And drained. I tried, oh-so hard, not to stomp my foot on the floorboards to help him brake, but after realizing his braking skills were more of a crash-test-dummy kind of procedure, I gave up. There was no doubt he was a happy soul so I finally accepted the fact that if he’d lived this long driving the way he did, we just might make it out alive.

Finally at the marina and still in one piece, Devin paid the driver and we got in the Jeep. A muffled, inarticulate sound gurgled from him as he reached for his seatbelt. Looking over, I saw his shoulders shaking.

“Are you laughing at me?” I demanded.

“No,” he claimed, but the simultaneous cough and clearing of his throat said otherwise. “Not at all.” He gave me an assessing look, before adding, “I guess I’m just more used to the driving than you. You squeaked, did you know that? But don’t worry,” he promised, patting my hand. “You’ll get used to it.” He flashed me a quick grin before putting the car in reverse. When we pulled out of the marina, he was still grinning and looking at me.

“Eyes! On the road!” I pointed to the so-called street, which was no more than a double-wide sidewalk, in my opinion. In this part of the harbor, quaint cottages lined the streets, some a pale pink, others a sunny yellow or blue that echoed the skies. All peppered with bougainvillea and hibiscus and palms. Occasionally, Devin would have to stop to let a slow-moving resident or feral cat cross the road. No one was in a hurry on the island. Not even the four-legged variety.

“Island time is a real thing,” he shared. “If you want something done quickly, well…you’d better be prepared to do it yourself. Otherwise, it’s a when they get there or when they feel like it kind of schedule. It’s a little frustrating at first, especially when you come from a high-speed kind of existence, but you get used to it.”

The schedule thing I could get used to. The driving? Not so much.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant he had told me about. Fish Tales looked to be no bigger than my cottage back home. Small, manicured hedges framed a pristine white gravel path that led to an unassuming front door.

Automatically my left hand went to my hip. It took less than a second to realize what I’d forgotten.

“Looking for your camera?”

I shook my head in disbelief. I’d left it deliberately before we went sailing, but this time? “I can’t believe I left it behind. That’s like a cardinal no-no for me. I don’t know, Devin. My head isn’t working like it’s supposed to.”

“Ahh.” He stroked his jaw with two fingers. “Does this mean my plan to sweep you off your feet is working faster than I’d hoped?”

He had no freaking idea. I gave him a sideways look. “So, what is this great plan you’ve alluded to? You can color me curious.”

He moved close enough that the heat of his body warmed mine. “I’m hoping you’ll like it. If you don’t, then I’ll move on to plan B. And if you don’t like that one, I’ll bring on plan C and then…” He stopped and frowned. “Wait a minute. I’m droning on and on, and you haven’t even attempted to kiss me to shut me up.”

I stared at him for a full second before dropping my head back and laughing. “So that’s your plan? Babble on until I kiss you?”

He didn’t bother trying to deny it. “Maybe. Maybe not. Why? It’s not such a bad idea. I mean, hell, it worked today and I didn’t even know what I was doing.”

I looked at him with suspicion. “Devin, I have a feeling you always know what you’re doing.”

The teasing light in his eyes faded a bit. “Not always, love,” he answered quietly.

Feeling the mood slip from lighthearted to something less, I opened my mouth to fill the void. “You said the stone crab claws here were delicious, but you told me that Edith makes them better than anyone.”

He pressed a finger to my mouth, silencing me. The intimate contact made me want to purr. He lowered his head and whispered conspiratorially. “They are good here, but Jesus—whatever you do—don’t rave about it in front of Edith. She’ll skin me alive.”

“Okaay…” I drawled. “And why is that?”

“Because,” he kept his voice low. “She swears the chef’s wife stole her recipe for the mustard sauce at a church dinner or something, and it still pisses her off to this day. I mean,” he opened his arms wide, “like this kind of pissed off. Gigantic.”

I made a zipping gesture over my mouth. “I won’t utter a word. I promise.”

“Good. She’s a termagant when she wants to be, but the old lady sure tries to take care of me.”

“Do you need taking care of?” The thought of Devin helpless in any capacity seemed ludicrous.

“I do not,” he assured me. “But doesn’t it feel good now and then to have someone make a fuss over you?”

I couldn’t remember the last time someone made a fuss over me for anything. Excluding my assistants, Alethea, Kim, and Toby. They fussed at me when I worked non-stop. “I guess so, but since I really don’t have anything to draw on, I’ll go with you on this one and say yes.”

His brows pulled together over probing eyes. “That sounds like something I need to rectify immediately then.”

Puzzled, I asked, “You need to make a fuss over me?”

“Yes,” he replied simply.

I shook my head, not understanding the level of importance he seemed to be putting on this. “You’re a confounding male, Devin Stockton. I’d better keep an eye on you.”

“I’ll certainly keep an eye on you, beautiful lady. Now, do I get to pick which part, or is this the whole body in general, because—”

“One-track mind, Stockton. Now,” I pointed to the restaurant’s door to the left of us. “Is there, or is there not, food on the other side of that door?”

He smacked his head with the palm of his hand. “Oh, my God! I’d almost forgotten about that stomach of yours…well, not really. I totally remember that delightful part of you because this afternoon I got to touch it and—”

I looked meaningfully towards the door. “Can we?”

“Talk about a one-track mind—what?” He looked surprised as I pushed past him toward the door. I was no match for his long legs and he easily beat me to the door. With a grand bow, he swept the door open. “After you, beautiful lady.”

We stepped into the small entry where a tiny, stout woman with spiky silver hair stood to greet us. “Two, please,” Devin began, “and out on the deck, if possible.” He turned to me. “I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you first. Is that okay with you?”

“Outside is perfect.” Through the wide bank of windows in the quaint restaurant lay the money shot. The white deck was about the same size as the entire building. Built out over the water, the entire area was kissed by the steady breeze. Farther out in deeper water, boats of all kinds and sizes bobbed at anchor in the large, protected harbor. The island’s red-and-white striped lighthouse stood sentry at the mouth of the harbor, its beacon standing at the ready to light the skies at sundown. The hostess led us to a small table in the corner, perfect for two. After being seated, she left us with menus and the assurance our waitress would be right over.

I sighed dreamily, taking in the vibrant colors of the island, the water, and the assorted color hulls of the boats. “I feel like I’m sitting in the middle of a postcard. You could serve me a bowl of sawdust right now and I’d think it was the greatest dish ever. Speaking of Edith…how did you meet her?”

He chuckled as he took his sunglasses off and hung them in the open neckline of his shirt. “Nice non sequitur.” He paused as our waitress stopped by with waters and asked for our drink order. The clean salt air called for a crisp chardonnay for me and Devin ordered a Belvedere vodka martini. “Only place on the island with it,” he pointed out. “Except the bar back at the house.”

Top shelf liquor wasn’t always available in the islands. That I knew from my travelling friends.

“Back to Edith?” I prompted.

“Ah, that. She sort of came with the house. Like a package deal. But it’s worked out well for me, I gotta say. I can leave the place and not worry about a single thing.”

I was perplexed. “So, how exactly does a person come with a house?”

“Well now, that’s an interesting little story, actually. She took care of the previous owner, the man who built the place. He was an older guy who lost his wife the year the house was completed. Anyway, he was lonely and she took to the old man and they shared, from what I can tell, pretty much the same soft and gentle relationship we have. As you’ve seen, she’s in awe of me most days.”

I laughed hard. The mere idea of Edith being in awe of him—or anyone, for that matter—tickled the hell out of me. Before I could recover, the waitress delivered our drinks.

He lifted his glass and clinked it against mine. “Here’s to a—mutually satisfying next few days.”

There was no denying the heat that radiated from his gaze. “I’ll drink to that.” I touched my glass to his and took a long sip. Unless I was completely out of touch with sexual innuendo, and hell, it’d been a long time, we were on the same wavelength. And it was one that left me aware of all the lady parts that would like to reacquaint themselves with his gentlemanly parts. The more room I gave my fantasies, the more difficult it was going to be to sit still.

“Back to Edith?” I prompted once again, propping my chin in my hands.

“Ah yes, back to Edith.” He pulled his chair closer to the table and copied my posture, bringing his face inches from mine. “Have I told you recently how incredibly easy it would be to spend an entire day just looking at you?”

Normally my automatic response to a cotton candy line like that would be to scoff it off and move on, but something in his face told me he was only teasing a little bit. Between his piercing blue eyes, those beyond sexy lips, and pretty much everything he ever said, kept knocking me for a loop and it had become increasingly hard to keep my equilibrium.

I had to struggle to clear my throat. “Edith?” I asked, pointedly.

He gave me a look that let me know I was glossing over his comment. “Yes, so back to Edith. Unfortunately, the elderly gentleman died of a heart attack, and even more unfortunate was that it was at the house. Edith found him the next day.”

“Oh, my God, how awful for her.” I could only imagine how horrible that would’ve been for anyone to go through, and Edith, despite Devin’s trying to portray her as a tyrant, was anything but and probably a very deeply caring person.

“Yeah, it wasn’t too great for him either—what?” He complained when I scowled. “It was a joke! Just a—” He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, tacky, I know. I’m sorry. Anyway, when the house came on the market, I flew in to see it and she was there, dogging my every step. She didn’t talk much while I toured the property, but she didn’t miss a single move I made. At first, I thought it was a little odd, you know? Every corner I turned, there she was, either sizing me up or keeping tabs on me. I couldn’t tell which. But, I liked the house and I must have passed whatever test she was giving me because—and you’ll appreciate this—when I told the realtor I wanted to put in a bid, she stood in the corner of the living room, arms crossed, and a part of me wondered if I shouldn’t have asked her first.” He shook his head and snorted. “I guess she’d decided I was acceptable enough to own the place. And I’m only half kidding on that score.”

I grinned at the image of Devin walking through the house and a silent, but hawk-eyed Edith following him from room to room, making sure he didn’t break anything, take anything, or otherwise taint her domain.

The waitress appeared to ask if we were ready to order. He looked inquiringly at me. “Would you like a few more minutes to decide?”

“I’m in no rush.” Honestly, food was the last thing on my mind. I was still having to pinch myself to prove that I was sitting in a such a picturesque setting, across from the first man I’d ever had sex with. My first love. The one that I’d subconsciously measured all others by.

He eyed me suspiciously. “What about the roaring beast?” He pointed to my midsection.

“It’s sleeping for now. Ssshhh,” I urged.

He shook his head and went ahead and ordered two shrimp cocktail appetizers.

After she walked away, he explained, “To keep you socially acceptable, otherwise, if that thing goes off,” he pointed to my stomach again, “we’ll draw all kinds of stares.”

I gave him a sheepish look, but conceded. “Yeah, probably a good idea. And, it’ll help soak up the alcohol. I’m not a huge drinker.”

He wagged his brows and leered. “Are you saying I could easily get you drunk and have my way with you?”

“I’m saying I don’t want to get drunk!”

He lifted an eyebrow. “But what about the other part?”

One look at the sparks flickering in his eyes and bam, just like that, my body went all warm and willing. One word, one crook of his finger, and I’d crawl across this table and into his lap. And he was worried my stomach would bring attention! Ha!

“You make stringing two sentences together a challenge at times. Did you know that?”

Maybe he could read my mind. His gaze drifted lower to my breasts. When he lifted those sharp, steel-blue eyes back to mine, time stood still. Voices around us faded into white noise. I no longer saw the water just beyond the deck nor the boats in the harbor. All I could process was the man sitting across from me, who could strip me naked with one look and leave me begging for more.

He leaned over the table, taking my hands from my glass. “What I do know is I can’t wait to hold you in my arms again. To feel your mouth on mine.” My fingers began to tremble as he held them. I struggled to suck in enough air to keep the dizziness at bay.

Whatever I’d kidded myself into thinking before tonight, I’d been wrong. Way wrong. I wasn’t going to leave this island a whole person. Devin would forever hold my heart and no matter the outcome, I no longer cared about the risk.

The thought both thrilled and terrified.

He slowly let go of my hands and sat back in his chair, picking up his glass and taking a long sip of his drink. Looking down at the clear liquid, he idly traced the rim of the glass with his finger. I couldn’t see his eyes until he looked up, but my heart skipped a beat when he did.

What I saw there was raw, primitive need. Emotions stripped bare.

And—how had he phrased it? Grim determination.

“I want a second chance, Micki. I don’t give a shit what happened before, or since, for that matter. I don’t give a shit how long or what hoops you want me to jump through, but I want to try. Again.” He shifted in his seat, scraping his hand across his strong jaw. “If you say you don’t want this, well, I’m telling you right now I’m not going to accept that. At least, not without trying anything I can…doing anything I can to change your mind.” He pressed his lips together in a firm line, the muscles in his jaw working as he stared at me. “I fucked up not fighting for you once before.” He shook his head slowly, twice. “I’m not going to give you up without the fight of my life. Not this time.”

I stared at him for no more than five seconds. “Why are we here?” I asked in a faint voice, so soft it barely registered in my ears.

He looked confused for a moment. “You mean, here?” He indicated the restaurant with a jerk of this thumb.

I nodded, never breaking eye contact.

Tense silence filled the air between us.

He leaned far over the table, his tall frame bringing him an inch from my face. In precise, clipped words, he told me. “We’re here because I wanted to do this the right way. To show you that you matter. What you want matters—to me. Very much. I’m not like your dickhead ex-husband who didn’t make you a priority, Micki. I recognize your value. My goal is to make you see it, too.”

How it was possible this enigmatic man had, in one day, changed everything I wanted in my life, I didn’t know. But I did know one thing.

I licked my bone-dry lips. “There is something I want.”

“What do you want, Micki?” he whispered hoarsely.

“You.”