CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Cat
Fiji.
We’ve all seen it in magazines or on a TV show or in movies, and when I joked to Seth that I wanted to go there—to escape—I thought my dream was far-fetched. Then he shocked me and actually did it. But I couldn’t let him pay for the entire thing, even if he insisted, so I paid for the flights, and he was going to pay for everything else.
Once we made it to the resort on the Malolo Island, we were escorted to one of the ten private huts or what the locals referred to as bures. Words could not describe the pristine, turquoise lagoon and marine sanctuary. It was awe-inspiring. Once inside, I was breathless as I took in the plush king-sized bed and wood accents throughout. What amazed me the most was the Plexiglas section of the floor that allowed us to see all the fish swimming below. It was pure heaven, and I was in it with Seth. We had our own deck and were told we would have a canape plate from the chef and a glass of champagne daily. When the gentleman mentioned the glass of champagne, Seth turned to me and smirked. Clearly, Seth didn’t need a glass to drink champagne.
“What do you want to do first?” Seth asked as we both fell backward onto the bed.
I was exhausted from the twenty plus hours it took to get here, so my first thought was that I wanted to sleep, but it was still the afternoon, and I didn’t want to miss our first sunset in paradise.
“We could swim and then eat dinner while the sun goes down,” I suggested.
“I like your thinkin’, Kitty Cat.”
“I can’t believe this is our backyard right now,” I beamed as we changed into our suits.
“It really is paradise.” Seth looked out the opened wall. The entire wall was rolled up and revealed the crystal blue water. There were no neighbors to look at, no people walking by. The only thing you could see was a small island in the distance.
We walked out onto our wooden deck and straight into the warm water. It came to the top of my shoulders and to Seth’s pecs. As we swam a few feet, tropical fish swarmed below, and I felt as though I was in an aquarium. I couldn’t get over the reality of where we were, and honestly, who I was with.
A month ago I never dreamed I would be in Fiji with Seth. For so long I had questioned why. Why did Seth take my virginity and not care? Why did I have to fall in love with my best friend? And why did it still hurt after years of trying to find a replacement for him? But, of course, life has a way of working out, and in the end, the pieces fell into place.
If we hadn’t gotten together when I was eighteen, maybe that Tony guy would still be stealing women. Joss finding Bryce had nothing to do with Seth and me, but would things have gone differently if I hadn’t been kidnapped? And what if Seth and I had stayed together when I was eighteen? That didn’t mean we would still be together. Maybe teenage Cat and rookie cop Seth would have never worked out. Now we were older, smarter, wiser, and I was willing to accept that maybe our good thing back in the day fell apart so better things could come together now.
After a long time of soaking in the water, me in Seth’s arms as we talked, we decided to shower and call for room service. As we waited for our food to be delivered, we lounged in bed, staring out at the sun as it set into orange, pink, yellow and red hues.
I wasn’t sure if it was the location or the view or just everything together, but suddenly my mouth found Seth’s and I forgot all our worries. It was slow at first, tasting, teasing, and I realized that I’d never get enough of this man. For so long I yearned for him, and now I could kiss him whenever I wanted.
Seth was kissing me harder, leaning over me as his tongue thrust deeper into my mouth. Shivers raced down my spine, and I moaned, wanting more—needing more. My body missed his touch, the way he felt pressed against me, his hard to my soft. Seth groaned in response, not doing anything except working his mouth against mine as though he was trying to memorize the feel of my lips on his. My mind started to think, overpowering my body that wanted to only feel. Was Seth trying to memorize the way I felt against him? Did he think that, at any moment, I could be ripped out of his life again? That I’d run? If he thought that, he was wrong. But I couldn’t give him more right now because I felt broken, like a piece of me was missing.
Finally, my brain caught up to my body, telling it that my missing puzzle piece was Seth all along. And he was here, now, kissing me with such emotion that I was melting beneath him. I wrapped my fingers in his short brown hair, trying to bring him closer to me—needing to bring him closer to me. If I could, I would crawl into him and never leave because this man was the one who wanted to protect me. My heart exploded in my chest at the thought that I was finally going to get my happily ever after. The one I’d read about in so many love stories. The one I’d longed for since I was twelve years old. The one that was almost stolen from me.
Seth’s hand ran over my breast, and I willed my brain to continue to listen to my body and heart. But as his hand skimmed lower, the memory of the faceless man invaded my thoughts. I cringed. If I couldn’t stand Seth’s hands on me, how was I going to get my HEA?
Seth pulled his lips from mine and looked down at me. “You okay?”
I wanted to tell him yes, but before I could utter a word, a single tear slipped from my eye. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
His thumb brushed my cheek collecting the salty drop. “Don’t be sorry, baby. We’ll go as slow as you need to.”
“How do they do it?”
“Who?” he asked.
“Women who were raped. How do they get past it and have sex again?”
“I don’t really know.”
“Joss was able to.”
Seth nodded slowly. “Because she found someone she could trust. You know you can trust me, right?”
I sniffed. “Of course.”
“And you remember all the fun we had having sex?”
I smiled at the memory. “Of course.”
“Then maybe focus on that? Don’t think about the faceless man. Know that it’s me who will be touching you, bringing you pleasure, not pain. It will be me loving you.” He kissed my lips softly.
Seth was right. Instead of thinking about the villain, I needed to think about the good guy. The one who literally wanted to give me the world starting with Fiji.
Our five nights in Fiji were coming to an end. We’d snorkeled, paddle boarded, sunbathed, walked on the beach and just relaxed. Seth and I still hadn’t had sex, though. He wasn’t trying, and I was trying to get out of my head. It didn’t stop us from making out like teenagers whenever we got the urge. Each night when we’d kiss before bed, we got one step closer to going all the way. It was as though I was a virgin again. Oddly enough, I wasn’t this nervous the first time around. The first time with Seth—with anyone.
Now it was our final night, and Seth had planned for us to have dinner on the beach. The night couldn’t have been more perfect. The sunset was beautiful red, pink, yellow and orange shades, the weather wasn’t too hot or cold, and the wind blew a light breeze. And I was experiencing it all with my man.
We were led to a table not far from the waves hitting the shore, two glasses of champagne were poured, and then we were left to enjoy the night as we waited for our dinner.
“The trip went fast,” Seth stated after taking a sip of his drink.
“It did,” I agreed. “I don’t want to leave.”
He nodded. “Neither do I.”
“Are you going to go back to D.C. right away?”
We hadn’t talked about what was going to happen when we’d return to the States. I never brought it up because I didn’t want to hear him tell me he had to go back. I’d become used to going to bed each night with him, and waking up every morning to his smiling face. The first thing I needed to do when I returned home was get a dog. I needed someone to cuddle with while I waited for each visit. Would it be days? Weeks? Months? The thought made me sad.
“I don’t want to.” He sighed and looked out to the endless waters as though he was thinking.
“I don’t want you to either,” I confessed.
Seth thought for a moment, still looking out at the water and then he turned back to me. “I can look into finding a job in Miami.”
My eyes lit up. “Yeah?”
“Kitty Cat, I’d do anything for you.” He grabbed my hand and leaned toward me from across the table. “Even if that means leaving the one place I’ve always called home. I don’t care. I once chose my career before fighting for you, and that led to years of being miserable. I don’t want to go down that road again.”
“Me either.” I nodded.
Seth grinned. “But you see, if I’m willing to pack up and move to you, you need to do something for me.”
I tilted my head slightly. “What’s that?”
Seth’s smile widened, and before I knew it, he was sliding from his chair and down on one knee in front of me. My world stopped. The waves, the birds, the moon. Everything stood still except for Seth as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond ring. The flames from the candles on the table reflected against it, and my breath caught as I stared at the round diamond on a band that looked like two vines wound together.
“Marry me.”
I didn’t have to think. My brain, my heart, and my body were all screaming the right answer.
“Yes.”
I couldn’t eat my dinner fast enough. It was some sort of fish, but all I could focus on was the diamond on my left hand.
“I hope you like it.” Seth took a bite of his food.
“Are you kidding me? It’s gorgeous!” Not only was the band woven together like a vine, but one side had petite diamonds along the band and solid on the other.
“I didn’t know if you’d want gold or silver, so I went with white gold.”
“5-0, really, I love it.”
He smiled. “I also thought that the twisted vines were like us. You light up a room, sparkle in the moonlight.”
“It’s perfect. Just like you.” I stood and moved to sit on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. “You could have given me a ring out of a Cracker Jack box, and I would be happy. You make me happy.”
“And you make me happy.”
I practically pulled Seth to our hut. I was so excited. I had no idea he wanted to get engaged because we’d been together for only a few weeks. But Seth was right. We were miserable without each other, so why wait? If two people loved each other, it shouldn’t matter. Look at Joss and Paul. They were only together for a few months before they got married. Seth and I had seventeen years of history. And he said he’d move to Miami for me. I didn’t know what that would entail, but the thought that we’d be together forever had me rushing to our private room so I could show him how happy he made me.
Seth opened the door to the hut, and our mouths locked. We spun to the bed as the door closed behind us. The entire time our lips were pressed together, I thought about Seth. If I couldn’t let him touch me, then how would our marriage last? It wouldn’t. I needed to trust him. Trust that he would take care of me like he always had.
At the side of the bed, I unbuttoned his shirt, getting it off his body and onto the floor. Then we removed my dress, his shorts, and our underwear until we were both naked, him on top of me.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
I nodded. “I think so.”
“Want me to go slow?”
“Maybe I should do it?”
Seth grinned. “I’m not going to stop you from riding me, baby.”
I smiled, and we switched positions so I was straddling his hips, the picturesque ocean view in front of me. The moments it took for me to grab his cock and position it under me, I kept chanting to myself, “I can do this. I can do this.” I needed to remind myself that it was fun and this was Seth. Before I slid onto his base, I looked into his emerald eyes and knew, at that moment, that I could do it. I was staring at the face I dreamed about all the time.
It wasn’t some faceless man, it was Seth.
The tip of his shaft probed at my entrance, and I lowered, taking him in little by little. A sense of relief washed over me. Maybe I would still have nightmares—still think about what had happened, but not now. Now I was going to ride my fiancé.
My fiancé.
Seth and I were engaged. To be married. It was surreal, to say the least.
“That’s it, baby,” Seth groaned.
“I’ve missed this,” I confessed because I had.
I started off slow, moving my hips back and forth, getting used to him. I braced myself, my hands behind me on his thighs as I arched my back and picked up my speed. Seth’s hands roamed up my stomach lightly, then to my breasts, cupping them and squeezing lightly. The feel of his rough hands on my soft skin intensified my mood, and I leaned forward, placing my hands on his biceps as my hips moved up and down on his hard erection. Seth was hot. Plain and simple. From his piercing green eyes to his tatted arm to his ripped abs. And then, of course, his cock that was bringing all the pleasure I craved. I needed to taste him, show him how happy I was to be marrying him. Every slide of my hips, every twirl of my tongue, was me pouring my heart out.
His hands rubbed my ass, turning me on more, causing my hips to roll. Our mouths were still tasting, sucking, devouring. Every inch of our bodies needed to be rubbing together. It was my turn to memorize the feel of him, remember that fear wasn’t going to stop me from living my life.
“God, you feel good,” he groaned. “I love your pussy, baby.”
I moaned in response, continuing to ride him. I stole a glance at the ocean in front of me and smiled. This was what I’d imagined heaven would be like. At least my heaven.
“You’re so beautiful.”
I looked down, gazing into his eyes again and smiled.
“I’m going to dream about you riding me like this. How your perfect tits bounce with each roll of your hips. How you let out little moans when I hit your G-Spot. How the fucking sunset glows off your tanned skin.”
“Babe,” I moaned.
“Just kiss me, baby.”
I leaned forward, taking his mouth with mine, and let out a gasp when Seth’s hands grabbed each side of my ass and spread me open. Our movements picked up and he slammed up into me. I sucked in a breath and held on while he drove me closer and closer to the point of letting go.
“Oh my God, keep doing that,” I moaned.
“I want to fuck you like this until I feel that sweet little pussy clenching around my dick.”
Seth’s hands grabbed my breasts, each one squeezing a nipple, and then I spasmed, my orgasm rocking me to my core. I hadn’t realized how much I missed this—missed him—missed the feel of him.
“Christ, Cat,” he groaned, my pussy clenching his cock like he’d wanted. “Fuck!”
I held on as he pumped into me with vigor until he was groaning his release and we were left sweaty and sated. “I love you,” I said, kissing his lips as we both tried to catch our breaths.
Seth’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me until I was pressed flat against him, his shaft still inside of me. “I love you more and more every day, Kitty Cat.”