Chapter Eight

Devin

I stood by the corner of the customs building at the airport and watched Linc’s plane taxi in, my heart racing to get my first look at Micki. I wouldn’t let myself truly believe she was coming until I saw her physically step from that plane.

“Thomas,” I yelled to the customs officer I knew well who was waiting to process her bags. “Take good care of her, but hurry it up, will you? I need to kiss her.”

A slash of brilliant white teeth shone against mahogany skin as Thomas laughed. “Oh, you been bitten, eh mon?”

“It would seem so,” I shouted over the growing noise as the plane came closer. Linc taxied to where the ground control crew indicated and powered down the aircraft. A few moments later, he left the cockpit to lower the stairway. Micki appeared seconds later and stepped gracefully down the stairs, turning to retrieve her bag from Linc.

My body tightened and tensed, watching her as she reached for the bag. As she stretched, the breeze lifted the blue and white crop top she wore, revealing a glimpse of golden skin. The trim white pants hugged every curve of that luscious backside of hers. My cock surged to life, anticipating caressing those curves and long legs without the distraction of clothes.

She turned, whisking her hair off her face and caught sight of me. She smiled and waved. I pointed to the building and yelled, “I’ll wait for you outside.”

One of the benefits of flying privately was not having to slog through customs with tons of other passengers and being at an ultra-small airport made the process even faster. She cleared customs and was out the door in under ten minutes.

Ten minutes too long for my present mood.

As she pushed through the glass door, I pulled it and she stumbled out, losing her balance and went straight into my arms. Not that I’d planned that or anything. Our lips met in a kiss that quickly went from suited for public viewing to downright scalding. My cock, already primed, reacted to her body against mine in the most painful way possible. If this kept up, the car ride to my house was going to be uncomfortable.

She pulled back and gasped. “We’d better stop before this gets a little more…more...”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I grabbed her bag from her hand, admiring the small weekend bag for what it wasn’t—a huge suitcase filled to the max. “Travel light? Or did you take my suggestion and not bother with clothes?”

She looked up, her face shining in the late morning sun. “I prefer to travel light and yes, there are some clothes in there, but…they’re well-chosen clothes.”

I grinned but shook my head. “I have no freaking idea what that means, but I’m looking forward to finding out.” Taking her by the hand, I steered her toward the small parking lot. “Over there, the yellow Jeep.”

She followed in the direction I nodded. “That’s a fun little ride. Great for the islands, I’d imagine.”

“Mother Nature’s air conditioning, except on super-hot days when I zip her up and run the A/C.” I glanced at her hair, all loose and laying over her shoulders, which was the way I loved it, but… “Hope you don’t mind your hair getting blown. You have something to tie it up with?”

“Always prepared. I was a Girl Scout, you know,” she added with an impish grin. “For exactly one year. Hated it. Learned some things, to be sure, but the girls were so cliquey. It wasn’t the place for me, but I’m always prepared. That little bag of mine is deceiving. I can pack like there’s no tomorrow.”

I swung her hand high, feeling more carefree than I had in years. “Is there no end to your talents?”

“Well,” she drawled. “I’ve decided I can’t fly a plane.”

“Why? Wait…did Linc try to do something to scare you?”

“No, no, no.” She shook her head. “Not at all. He did let me take the yoke for a bit out over the ocean and that was really cool, but just now, when I saw the landing strip coming up? I had to close my eyes.” A sheepish look came over her. “I’ve never been in a plane in that position before. You know, in the cockpit? And to see everything as you’re hurtling downward at it, and so fast, and—well, everything. So, I’ve decided I’ll leave the flying to those talented people that like that sort of thing. I’ll just continue to pay for my tickets and watch the runway whiz by from inside the plane.”

We’d reached my Jeep and I deposited her bag in the back. She hopped in gracefully and as she was occupied with buckling her seatbelt, I cupped her face in my hands and brushed a light kiss across her mouth. “I can’t tell you how hard it’s been waiting for you to get here. It’s been four days of hell.”

Her eyes flickered over my face, her lips softly curved. “I’ve been eager, too.” Our gazes held, what thoughts she was having, I could only wonder. I sure as hell knew what mine were.

My hands slid down her neck and over her shoulders, flexing, wanting to pull her in for another kiss, but I’d been this patient this long. I could wait another hour. “What would you like to do first? Eat? Swim? Fish? Sail?”

“Yes,” she declared, then burst out laughing until she caught sight of the water to my left. There were very few places on this small island that didn’t have some view of the water. She leaned halfway over my lap to get a better look, putting my fingers oh-so close to being able to slide under her top. “Oh, my God…look at that water. I so want in.” We hit a bump and she bounced back in her seat.

“We’ll be at the house in about ten minutes. Can you make it or should I pull over and we’ll dive in here?”

“Tempting, believe me, but I want to see your house, too, so I’ll be a good guest and go along with what you have planned.” Her head swiveled back and forth from looking out her side of the Jeep, to mine. “Wow, Devin. The houses are gorgeous. A couple of these are like mini-mansions. Do they even need all that space indoors?” She glanced my way. “I would think being here, you’d want to be outside all the time, not inside, but I guess if you want luxury no matter where you are…” She shrugged, without finishing.

A thought entered my head that shouldn’t have, but still, it managed. The specter of Clint Thurman and the fact that Mick dated a guy who apparently had money, but also had an equally colossal ego as to think he could get anyone because he had money, chapped my ass.

No. I couldn’t believe Micki was into guys for what they had; otherwise she’d have found someone else who wasn’t a complete asshole but still had money. There had to be some of them around on Mimosa Key. Still, the thought burned enough of a hole in the back of my head to irritate. I’d had my own experiences with women who dated my bank account and it’d left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Micki continued to pivot her head from one side of the car to the other, trying not to miss anything. “Good God almighty, Devin, it’s so beautiful here. How you manage to tear yourself away is a mystery to me. I don’t think I’d ever want to leave.”

“It’s tough sometimes, I’ll give you that. But I’ve never spent the amount of time I’m going to now, so I may well not leave. Who knows? I’ve got a lot to think about over the next few weeks.” And now that she was here, none of that mattered as much as before. I navigated a sharp curve as we veered from the coast and entered a more tree-lined portion of the road. Partway into the turn, Micki gasped and reached for the roll bar.

I laughed, enjoying it a little too much at her expense. “A little too fast?”

“No, no…not really.” She tried for a carefree smile, but her eyes were a little too wide to back her words. “You know the roads…right?”

Without a word, I eased off the gas. We came to a part of the road where nothing but water was on either side of the road. On Micki’s side was a large cove. “See over there?” I pointed to the right. “Those are the ferry docks. If you want to go to any of the other islands faster than we can sail, we’ll take those.”

Just as quickly as we’d come across that narrow road, it curved more to the right and land spread out on either side. “Keep an eye out for a silver metal roof through the trees over there. That’s my place.” A couple of hundred feet later, I slowed and pulled off the road onto a shell-rock driveway that wound through dense trees. The house was completely obscured until the drive curved, opening to a large, circular driveway. My two-story, white clapboard Bahamian vernacular house sprawled against a backdrop of azure blue water and gently swaying palm trees. Black shutters framed the windows, and both the main floor and second story had wrap-around porches that invited outdoor living from every angle. The house was built on stilts to allow for maximum air flow and cooling, plus gave an extra layer of protection from storm surges during hurricane season. The French doors and windows were designed to open the entire house to marry the interior to the outside, as well as let the trade winds blow through. Air conditioning wasn’t necessary except for the odd day when the winds dropped or storms blew too severely.

“Uh oh. I may be in love,” she mused. “It’s perfection. Like I pictured a quintessential Bahamian house to look like. I’m so glad you don’t have one of the ones we just passed. The kind of over-done ones that look like they belong in a gated community in Florida. Yours looks homey and warm and welcoming.”

I couldn’t have been happier to hear her thoughts, on more than one level. Glad that she liked the house, but beyond happy to have doused the small hint of doubt as to her motives. The sun just became brighter. “Glad you came?”

“More than I can say.” She turned, beaming like I hadn’t seen her before. Everything held possibility now. Anything could be possible.

“Good!” I turned the car off and hopped out, grabbing her bag. “I’ll show you around. You can pick any one of the four bedrooms you’d like, but I must point out—being the good host I am, of course—you’re even welcome to choose mine. I won’t mind sharing at all.” I gave her the most innocent looks I could muster while my lips itched to smile and my hands ached to touch.

The corners of her eyes crinkled, and she tossed me a saucy, wry grin. “How magnanimous of you.”

With a butter-wouldn’t-melt-in my mouth look, I added, “Of course. Now, if you would come this way. Edith has been chomping at the bit to meet you.”

“Edith’s your house manager, right?”

“Yes, and a woman that I honestly believe could be classified as a force of nature all her own. She pretty much runs the ship and I do as I’m told.”

“Well, then,” she laughed happily. “I’m definitely looking forward to meeting her, and I’m really looking forward to tasting her cooking. I’ve abandoned all calorie counting for this trip.” She shook her head with a stern look and wagged a finger at me. “Don’t try to talk me out of it. It’s the least I can do for the occasion.”

My eyes skimmed over her body, which looked perfect in my mind. “You don’t look like you do a lot of fattening kinds of food.”

“Now that’s what I call a compliment because I work on it every single day. First, the torture rack—that’s Pilates to the uninitiated—then a run, or if the weather’s bad, my trusty treadmill. Throw in some weights and yoga so I don’t get bored out of my mind, and that is how I get to eat the occasional bowl of pasta or plate of nachos, which I absolutely adore, by the way.”

“Call me twisted, but I get turned on by a woman who works out hard like that.”

She gave me a sardonic look. “Oh, I’ve never had any doubts about you being twisted.”

I’d opened my mouth to tell her just how twisted up I was over her when Edith’s voice boomed from the first-floor porch.

“Well, don’t be keepin’ her out in this hot sun. I’ve got fresh conch salad that’s not gettin’ any fresher and my Mahi is beggin’ to get into the oven.” Edith stood in the middle of the pair of open French doors, wiping her hands with a white dish cloth before crossing her arms over her ample chest.

“We’re coming,” I called, turning to Micki. “See? Pushy old broad, just like I told you.”

“I heard that all the way over here and that’d be Mrs. Pushy Old Broad to you, young man.” Her stern expression was completely undone by the twinkle in her eyes and the ghost of a smile that almost made her lips lift at the corners.

I touched the small of Micki’s back. “We’d better move before she barks again.”

Once inside, I dropped Micki’s bag in the entry and made the introductions. “Micki Dawson, I’d like you to meet Edith Thompson, the woman singlehandedly responsible for everything that goes on in this house and, in her spare time, much of whatever else goes on this island. And when she’s not doing that, she’s hunting the cure for cancer, reversing global warming and—”

“Oh, stop with this nonsense already.” Edith lifted her hand in the air, waving me off, then reached to take Micki’s hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, lovey. Glad you’re finally here so he can stop yapping my ear off about makin’ sure everything is just perfect. You know, he acts like I don’t make sure this house—”

“Edith?” I interrupted with a pointed look. “She’s hungry?”

Micki stood, her hand still enveloped by Edith’s, her lips pressed tightly together to keep from smiling. Her shoulders shook as she returned Edith’s obviously approving smile. Pleased beyond words that these two were going to get along just fine. More than likely at my expense.

And that couldn’t have made me happier.

“It’s true, Edith. It’s lovely to meet you and I’ve heard nothing but glowing praises over your fabulous cooking.” Micki pressed her other hand to Edith’s.

“Humph, damn nice to hear he even notices. Always workin’ like that…” She turned, still muttering something about having a seat.

I nodded toward the dining room which faced another set of French doors that Edith had opened wide to catch the midday breeze. “The trade wind is continual almost a hundred percent of the time. The bedrooms are upstairs and, when all the doors and windows are open, it’s like a wind tunnel. I’ll tell you, nothing better than spending a day on the water and coming back for a nice, late nap with the sea air blowing over your skin.”

“Mm,” she murmured. “Sounds like heaven to me.”

“Speaking of which, what would you li—”

Edith came in with two plates of conch salad before I could finish. “Excuse me, lovey. What would you like to drink?”

“Water is fine, thank you, Edith.”

After depositing the plates in front of us, Edith turned to walk back into the kitchen. “I’d like a—” I called out.

“Yes, yes,” she waved a hand over her shoulder without looking back. “I know what you want.”

Micki’s lips twitched. She leaned over the table and whispered, “She’s everything I imagined and hoped she’d be.”

“Don’t tell her,” I whispered back. “It’ll only go to her head.”

“I heard that, too, young man.”

Micki’s shoulders shook. “What’s your usual, then?”

“Kalik Gold. It’s a beer that’s brewed in the islands and while I’m not normally a beer person, I’ve come to enjoy it here. Want one?”

“Maybe later, but alcohol would just slow me down. Not when I just got here.” She took a bite out of the conch salad and groaned. “Oh, my God, oh…this,” she indicated the salad with one hand as she stabbed another forkful. “This alone could keep me here.”

“Christ, if that’s all it takes—”

“Uh-uh, not so easy there, sir.” She pointed her now empty fork in the direction of the open doors. “I can see that glorious water out there. It’s calling my name and I must answer.” She munched on another bite. “That water…” She shook her head. “Indescribable. A serious reason to stay.”

I sat back and ran my fingers over my jaw thoughtfully. “Glad to hear that. So, if you’d like to stay a little longer…?” I trailed off suggestively.

She made a sad face. “What I’d like and what I can do are, sadly, two different things. No, work still calls, but I won’t lie. A few days down here and it’s going to be hard to shift gears and get back in the saddle.”

“Good,” I replied, satisfied with that as a start.

Edith appeared with our drinks. “Let this young woman eat now, or my Mahi’s gonna come out and sit ‘til it’s cold. That wouldn’t make me happy.”

I looked up with mock horror. “My God, that would be a disaster, Edith. I’d never forgive myself. Nope, never.” Chortling to myself, I shoveled a serving of food into my mouth. I didn’t see the dish towel until it snapped on my upper arm. “Ow!” I yelped, rubbing the spot. “That hurt!”

Micki hooted in delight. “Oh, this could be way too much fun around here! You have a one in a million, Devin.”

“Oh, she’s one in something, and yesss, I know you heard that, too,” I called out as Edith disappeared around the corner of the kitchen, singing to herself. I took another bite of salad. “Let me change the subject before she beats me again. Tell me how you got your studio going.”

“Mm,” she swallowed. “I’d love to say it had been a lifelong burning passion of mine, but it really wasn’t. I’d always loved photography…you remember, don’t you? You used to tease me about putting the camera on the seat between us in your car.”

I did remember. All of it. “It was rarely out of your hand. You were, like…the entire yearbook committee, weren’t you?”

“Hardly, but thanks. Anyway, people seemed to enjoy the photos I took so after I divorced, and not really knowing what else I wanted to do with my life, I started working for a small studio on Sanibel Island doing landscape and seascape shots. Commercial stuff. Then I realized I could produce things people bought, but I was getting a little bored shooting sunsets and waves. A friend of a friend was getting married on a shoestring budget and couldn’t afford a big photographer so I offered to do the wedding for next to nothing, just to start a portfolio. Then, one thing led to another and more eyes were seeing my work, and well—there you go.”

“You only do weddings now?”

She nodded, munching on another bite of salad before Edith returned with our plates of Mahi. “Mm hmm. Weddings and families. I do love my people.”

Edith glared at me. “You let this girl eat now and stop your talkin’. This fish just came up this morning.”

I saluted Edith with two fingers as she walked past me, and the older woman couldn’t keep her lips from curving up this time.

“I’ll look forward to seeing Jason and Chloe’s shots. I’ll bet they’re going to be amazing.”

Her face lit up. “You’ll love them, I think. They’re stunning and I can’t wait to put all the finishing touches on them. There was so much love that day and I tell you, it just flows from each shot.”

I could only imagine. I’d walked into that wedding one man and walked out another. “I don’t suppose you have any I could see?”

“Oh, no!” she shook her head, a look of alarm on her face. “Show wedding pictures before the bride and groom see them? Cardinal no-no rule. That’s professional suicide. I’d be drawn and quartered by any bride.”

“Okay, okay,” I chuckled, lifting my hands in surrender. “I’ll wait, right along with the rest of the family.” I frowned. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen your camera out yet. Isn’t it always attached to you somehow?”

“Oh, it’s here. Never you worry. In fact, I brought two for good measure.” She winked. “A really cool underwater camera I got last summer.”

“Well then, sweetheart. Let’s get this trip under way.” I wiped my mouth with the napkin. “Let me whisk you upstairs to the bedroom,” I suggested, with a choirboy’s innocence. When her eyes rounded, I clarified. “To choose your bedroom, of course. What? You thought I was just waiting to get you upstairs to have my way with you? Tsk, tsk. I’ve not a lurid bone in my body nor a lascivious thought where you’re concerned, Ms. Dawson. Shame on you.”

She was in the middle of taking a drink of water. I could be wrong, but I think she snorted out some water. When she recovered, she gave me a stink-eye look. “I’m keeping track of this, Stockton. I will get even.”

“Promise?”