We were halfway across the world, but we still couldn’t escape the press. After three months of dating—actually dating: no contract, no agent, no one’s business but our own—I was still getting used to the fact that sometimes people would follow Jax around and try to take his picture.

For the most part since we’d been in Australia, it had been curious, but polite fans, but now that the tabloids had learned exactly where Jax was going to be shooting Captain Atom, they had all flocked to the remote tropical island.

Luckily, he wasn’t going to start the shoot for another week, so the two of us had managed to sneak away to a practically private part of a nearby island where absolutely no one had been able to find us. It had been several days of tiki huts, pig roasts, and umbrella-topped drinks. And I had Jax all to myself. It was pure paradise.

Rolling over, I enjoyed the view.

Sure, our private cabana on the beach offered an unbeatable view of the ocean and the cliffs, but at the moment, my attention was focused on the mostly naked man fast asleep next to me.

Jax Hawthorne was truly a heartthrob. And he made my heart throb every time I looked at him. He made a few other body parts throb as well.

I slid closer to him, dragging my hand across his superhero chest. He stirred, his hand capturing mine and pressing it against his heart.

“Good morning,” I whispered, pressing a kiss against his shoulder.

“Good morning,” he echoed, his voice sleep-rough and sexy.

I kissed across his collarbone, dipping down to drag my tongue across a firm pec. My hand escaped his and also traveled down, finding that beneath the sheet, he was naked and hard. He let out a hiss as I wrapped my hand around his cock, his eyes falling closed.

“It’s a very good morning,” he groaned as I stroked him.

“Mmhmm,” I agreed, pulling back the sheet and moving down his body.

When I took him in my mouth, he practically arched off the bed.

“Fuck,” he said through gritted teeth. “A bloody fantastic morning.”

I took him deeper, loving the way he tasted, loving the way his hands gripped the sheets near his hips as I pushed him towards the edge. But before I could take him over, he pulled me up his body.

“I want to be inside you,” he growled, reaching for the bedside table drawer.

Pulling out a condom, he passed it to me, and I happily did the honors, rolling the condom down his impressive length. Then, I straddled him, his hands on my hips as I guided him inside of me.

I took him deep, both of us letting out a sigh when he had filled me completely.

“Fuck, you feel amazing,” he breathed.

I couldn’t respond, my entire body tingling with the pleasure he gave me. Then, with his hand urging me on, I began to move. I rode him slowly, taking my time, taking my pleasure. His head was thrown back on the pillow, the cords in his neck standing out as his breathing became shallow.

I chased my own pleasure, speeding up, rocking against him. Then, just when I was on the edge, Jax reached up to cup my breasts. He drew his thumbs across my hardened nipples and then dipped one hand downward to touch my clit.

I exploded at his touch, my hips rocking forward, my entire body shuddering at my release. Grabbing my ass, Jax thrust upward one last time and then his own climax hit him, pulling him over the edge with me.

I collapsed on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath my ear, his hands stroking my hair.

“This is the best morning I’ve ever had,” he murmured, kissing my cheek and then my lips. The kiss deepened, and it was several hours before either of us moved from the bed.

“It’s beautiful here,” I told Jax as we walked along the beach that evening.

“It is,” he agreed, but when I turned to him, I found that he was looking at me, not at the sunset.

I blushed. I couldn’t help it. Even after everything, just a look like that from him was enough to make me flush from my head to my toes.

He looped his arm around me and pulled me close, planting a kiss on the top of my head.

“Are you sure you’re not going to be bored when I start filming next week?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nope. Emmy and Charlie got me set up with a bunch of new clients, so I’ll have plenty of work to keep me occupied.”

Ever since I had crashed a premiere to confess my love to Jax—a confession that had made it to every major news source across the globe—every other decision I had made had felt a lot less terrifying.

I hadn’t expected to like freelancing as much as I did, but it gave me the freedom to travel with Jax, which I was loving. I was still getting used to the constant attention from the press, but Mia was helping me navigate that, as well as Paige and Emmy, both of whom had experienced a similar situation. And it helped that Morgan was co-starring with Jax in the Captain Atom movie. Somehow, I found that it was a lot easier to watch them kiss in rehearsals when I knew we’d all be pigging out on cupcakes afterwards.

“I’m proud of you,” Jax told me.

I turned to face him. “Proud of me?” I asked. “You’re the one who got the part of their dreams and brought us to Australia!”

Jax linked my hand with his. “Yeah, but you’re the one who took a risk on me. And on herself.” He kissed me, long and deep. “And I’m proud of you for that.”

I smiled at him. “When I’m with you, it doesn’t feel like a risk at all. It feels right.”

And it did. It felt perfect.