“I can't believe I'm doing this. Whatever you've got in store, it better be worth it .”

I don't say anything, just smile as I drive our luxury rental higher into the mountains. Honestly, I'm still a little stunned Skittle kept the blindfold on .

She balked when we first left the cottage, and I let her know it was a condition for enjoying our last night in Reykjavik .

“Almost there, beautiful. Keep your panties soaked and un-twisted. Ten more minutes, they'll be gone .”

“You hope!” She throws a punch at my shoulder, laughing. Misses me by a longshot. I hear her hand crash into the leather seat .

Not the best timing on these roads up here. She's blind to the crazy twists and turns carved by a psycho construction crew who thought it'd be wise to hide the country's best kept secret behind a gate barely big enough for a car to fit through .

But I've taken this route a hundred times. It's almost second nature .

I stop at the entrance and punch my code into the box. The gate swings open, parting for one more elite member of Iceland's most exclusive spa .

The valet who takes the vehicle when we step off at the curb doesn't even blink at the blindfold she's wearing. I'm sure they've seen crazier things from rich men and their mistresses, and if they haven't, they're paid a princely sum to keep their lips shut anyway .

Vegas has nothing on this place. What happens here, I'm not sure even the NSA knows .

It's the kind of blasphemous, addictive secrecy that makes me throb .

“Come on, Cade, just a little peak!” she whimpers, as soon as I take her hand, giving it a sharp tug .

“No. Be a good girl, though, and you just might get a taste ...”

She whimpers after me, wondering what I mean, but my lips are sealed for the next five minutes. I lead her down the stairs slowly to the private spot I've readied. It's a cool night, and the steam surrounds us like a cozy cloak once we're on the pool deck .

Champagne chills in the bucket just like I asked. Two bottles of Dom, which we won't even finish. I've got plenty more enticing ways than booze to keep her occupied tonight .

“Stay there.” I walk a few paces over, rip one of the bottles from the bucket, and dig the bottle opener in .

She jumps when the cork flies off with a pop . If the resonant fizz doesn't give it away, the two crystal flutes I click together gently do .

Skye's smiling anyway. Christ, those lips .

Makes me think twice about whether I want to serve us drinks, or toss them off the edge of the cliff and get busy making that sunshine on her face glow .

“Gently, Skittle. Take it nice and slow,” I whisper, bending her glass into her hand, raising it to her lips .

She can't tease me with her eyes, but damn, the way she swallows says it all. My dick jerks in my pants, lips aching to criss-cross her throat, and then work their way down to the nipples guaranteed to be pebbled if I just reach out and –

“Delish,” she whispers, tasting her champagne. “So, is this the big send off? Or do I just get to hang out like an extra from Eyes Wide Shut ? ”

I smile, taking a long pull from my drink, trying to dampen the horny edge in my blood. Naturally, it doesn't do shit. “Didn't know you were a Kubrick fan .”

“Sure. Art snob kinda goes with history major. If I want to sit in front of the TV for more than an hour, it better be worth it .”

“You fret too much, Skittle,” I say, grabbing her hand. Slowly, I lead her over to the railing, then stand behind her. Love how she presses into me when my hands wind around her waist, snaking up her shoulders. “You want something worth looking at? Feast your eyes on this .”

I undo the blindfold and let it drop. She makes a muffled sound, somewhere between the one she made when we went up the other side of the mountain in the daytime, and the pleasure oozing out of her in bed .

“It's marvelous,” she says quietly, eyes taking in the expanse. Stars wink in the distant night like silver and ice. The cool breeze is a summer sigh next to the hot spring at our backs, urging me to stop screwing off every second I'm next to it and rip off our clothes. “You shouldn't have, Cade. It's just going to make home feel more surreal. I'm messed in the head. Can't help looking at this place and feeling like it was here forever, just waiting for us...and after we leave, all this disappears .”

There's a sudden sadness in her voice I don't like. I take her drink, setting it on the small marble platform at the lookover's edge with mine. This is serious. “Damn it, love, don't you get it? If I wanted this fairy tale to end like nothing happened, I wouldn't be pulling you in deeper .”

She's silent, a slow, wild blush forming on her cheeks. I turn her around in my arms, press my forehead to hers, pulsing my breath on those lips I'm two-point-five seconds from devouring .

“That sky isn't meant to make you worry, or yearn, or whatever the fuck. It's meant to be a backdrop.” Training my eyes on her, I watch the storm in her wide grey pools, and I love it. “This doesn't have to be our stars or our sky. No poetry. None of that Romeo and Juliet bullshit where we hold hands and suck face while nature smiles on. What's here on earth is what really matters, Skye, and so does the moment. That's what's ours. And what the hell would I ever do with more stars when my Skye's right in front of me ?”

“Cade...” She leans into me, tits plush against my chest, calling the fire in my balls to drive me mad. “You're a total dork, and I love it .”

Fuck, those lips. They get the jump on me, and then I'm on her mouth whole, tongue and teeth claiming what's mine .

I meant everything I said .

Meant it in ways that won't stop fucking with my head even when we're caught in our rapture .

Because when my mouth runs rampant on hers, when my palms catch her ass and can't dream about letting go, when my brain wolfs out with the frantic, animal need to be inside her, I'm afraid to decipher the wicked tempo beating in my ribs .

Fear never scared me off .

And when there's a woman wrapped around me with half her dress pulled down, nipple in my mouth, purring as I fluff it back to perfection with my tongue, fear is an absolute bitch encouraging the lust in my blood .

I need to be inside this sweet chaos I can't forget, and I need it fucking now .

My hands peel away our clothes in record time. We're at the pool's edge and I'm on my knees, eyes fixed on the wet spot seeping through her panties. The harder she squirms in my arms, the more I want to taste her .

“Oh, Jesus. Cade...” Lace in hand, I tear her panties down her legs and fling them over one ankle. Her moan is reward enough .

I lay her against the table next to the water and suck her lush little cunt from behind .

She cries out in less than a minute, legs shaking, fists in a ball over her head. Her thighs try to press shut and I rip them apart, bury my face deeper, hellbent on stealing the O from her body .

My tongue is all warrior. It fucks, it strokes, it licks her world apart, and then it thieves .

I push my cock in my fist when she shudders, leans into me, and screams .

Sweet fuck, that's it .

There .

Come, Skittle, come! I want this rainbow turned to lightning .

I suck her clit straight through the grinding, erratic orgasm rending her in two. Every twitch in her muscles turns me on more. Her pussy drips honey on my lips. I give it every scratch of stubble on my chin, make her ride my face like I know she wants to, and fuck, I almost bust a hot mess all over my hand when she arches her back tighter, prolonging her ecstasy .

I can't take a second more of this .

Normally, I like to take things slow. Love to get them so deep in the zone they have time to savor it, to breathe, to remember their own names .

Not Skye .

I can't remember my own damn initials unless I bury myself in her in the next five seconds. Once her legs stop shaking enough to settle in my grip, I ease her into the pool, diving in the shallow heat with her .

I haven't forgotten the condom in my pocket. Tough and water proof, though a scary part inside me wishes it wasn't. I want to be in her raw, and I want her tight body sucking every seething drop from my balls .

We have to use protection. I remember her words the first night we met, when she thought a quick fuck was where our business would end .

Can't stop thinking about that scared, shaken girl agreeing to do the unthinkable. I wonder where she's gone as I look into her eyes, spread her legs, and smother her in a dozen kisses before I roll the condom on and push between her legs .

The Skye who moans when I fill her to the hilt isn't the shy, sweet, mysterious young thing I met our first time .

I've known her body, and I'm working on her soul .

I'm glad I laid next to her that first night, and didn't consummate the fake marriage she didn't even know about then. In a few more weeks, I'm marrying her, and I know we'll be doing this soon like a proper honeymoon .

So different from what we thought .

So dangerous .

So impossible to stop .

Her eyelids are fluttering. Unless she's a real lightweight, drunk on a splash of champagne and my relentless sex, she can't be coming again...can she ?

“Hey, beautiful, look at me!” I pull her slick, steamy hair behind her neck, loving how that cotton candy melts in my hand .

“No, no. Just fuck me.” Her voice is harsher than before. She's climbing all over me, until I have to plant my feet on the stone under us for leverage .

She's grinding. Sucking at my shoulder. Then she bites hard, and I grab her chin, wondering what the fuck's gotten into her .

There's a wet heat in her eyes and it's not the hot spring's reflection. “What's the matter?” I growl, kissing off a tear as it spills down her cheek .

“Nothing.” That's not what her eyes are saying. She looks away, leaving me to stew, cock still hard and rooted in her .

Damn it all. I actually care why she's going nuts all of a sudden, and not just because I really want to fuck her .

“Tell me,” I say, pushing my fingers into her chin. Holding her face, I pull her into another demanding kiss .

“Cade, no. Forget it. Let's just enjoy –“

No. I'm not falling for that fake light in her eyes. Or her little fingernails dancing on the back of my neck. Grabbing her hand, I pull it off, clenching her face tighter, my eyes burning into hers .

“Tell. Me .”

She sighs again, looking away. “I don't want to go home. I don't want this to end. It's stupid, and wrong, and we barely know each other, even after we've fucked. But that's how it is. I can't hide it anymore. I was afraid this would happen, when we broke our contract, and decided to –“

“We didn't decide shit, Skittle. Our flesh made the hard decisions for us, so why deny it now?” It's not just my cock talking when I lay my forehead down on hers, arms winding tighter on her hips. I win a soft moan from those fiery lips, shifting her deeper on my cock. “Why worry? Why give the future a second to curdle the now? I'm happy with this, Skye. With you .”

Her eyes roll toward me, slow and mellow. There's disbelief I don't like. I want to fuck it right out of her grey-blue gems .

“Because this is just making it harder, Cade. Because I thought we'd do this, and keep some distance for both our sakes.” She pauses, bites her lip, anger sweeping sadness aside in her eyes because she thinks I still don't get it. “We shouldn't be doing this. We're losing control .”

Good. Anger, I can work with, and I understand everything she isn't telling me between the lines .

“Fuck yes, we are. And since when is that a sin?” I rock my hips into hers. Long, hard strokes, thrusting the turmoil out of her face, smoothing it to bliss. “Tell me you don't love it, Skye. Say you're willing to give in just so we can satisfy some prim and proper ego. Don't know about you, but this ego isn't nearly bruised enough for that. Remember the cottage/ You were on me like a cat in heat. I'm still on you because I want this, I want you, I want us. Tonight, I want to revel, beautiful, and whatever the fuck tomorrow brings, it's got nothing on us. Nothing . ”

That isn't the word that stands out when I take a second to mull what I just said .

It's us. Us .

Oh, fuck. Did I go too far ?

I bury my questions by thrusting into her harder. Lust grunts through my teeth, hisses with a heat that's fiercer than the steam. If it wasn't for the tan I've kept from a business trip to Arizona a month ago, I'd be blushing like Ms. Totally Pretending She Doesn't Want My Cock. And failing miserably .

Skye moans louder. My cue to quicken my strokes, clenching her ass with one hand. We drift to the wall where I hold her, kiss her, drive into her depths with a passion that's freaking me out more than the bashful heat in my blood .

All the better to make this right .

All the better to let her nails descend my back, and add her mark to my mess of tattoos .

All the better for me to brand her, inside and out .

I piston my hips into hers. Her pulse matches mine. Our hearts, our bodies, our heads are one, gloriously one, and we race toward our release, continuing a dialogue too warped for any words .

She's the first to give it up. Skye comes like a rocket, hips quaking, whimpering because I've fixed the fever inside her. I hope like hell I've cured the feels bug, too .

I'll never get sick of hearing those noises she makes. They reach through me, pepper my cock with the urge to bring her off harder .

Fuck, yes !

Every thought in my head melts in sweet friction, churning water and the grind of my pubic bone on her clit, stealing the air from her lungs. My hand rips through the water, smacks her little ass when she comes, and her pussy grips my dick so hard I see stars .

“Can't. Fucking. Hold it !”

I don't try. There's just enough time to put my mouth on hers one more time, and suck every whimper out when my cock swells, burns, and shoots fire up my spine .

Good goddamn .

There's no doubt or fear or future where we're going. For a wonderful, star-crossed second, we're in the moment ruled by the flesh, where everything is two, and also one .

Two thudding hearts .

Two pumping balls .

Two breathless, shaking, clutching bodies .

Sweet dualist fuckery, and one steady breath .

* * *

A seven o'clock flight isn't exactly the Red Eye. But when I've spent the whole night fucking the woman who's already passed out next to me, her sweet face resting on my shoulder as the jet drifts on at twenty thousand feet, and my eyes are very red, I think it qualifies .

She took my advice, or maybe I just screwed good sense back into her. Our tongues stopped lashing each other with words, turning to fleshly pursuits between several more glasses of Dom .

When she took me in her mouth...Christ .

It was new, it was fresh, it was better than any champagne blowjob I ever had, even though I coaxed her through every step of giving head for the first time .

We didn't return to the castle until well after one in the morning. Of course we were famished. Fortunately, the cottage's kitchen is always stocked with fancy cheese, bread, and my guilty boyhood pleasure, a whole case of Matarkex biscuits .

We ate laughing, telling jokes, staying as far off the heavy stuff as we could .

No, even with Iceland a couple hundred miles away, I'm no closer to sorting out the crap running through my head while we were there. Neither is she .

But am I happy? Yes .

Fuck yes .

Can't remember the last time I went overseas and came home feeling truly refreshed. Feeling alive, even .

Every trip before was more of the same: family visits, mountain hiking, drinking my ass off into my early twenties, and when that got boring, poaching local pussy I'd never see again, much less bring to bed for seconds .

This trip was different. What should've been a high stress do or die talk with Jonas vanished in the sticky haze of her kiss and the first real smile I pulled out of her on that mountain .

I'm smiling, sipping my morning coffee, reluctantly sliding a pillow under her head when she stirs. She needs it if she doesn't want to wake up with a stiff neck, but damn I miss her heat .

I miss it already. It takes me back to the bliss we've enjoyed for the better part of a week. Everything I don't want to let go of, even though the serious business at home won't wait to leap up and bite me in the ass like a rabid poodle .

Reclining my seat all the way back, arm around her, I close my eyes. I'm hoping to catch a few winks while I've got the caffeine in my system. Nothing like a coffee nap to slash my sleep time and amp up the energy .

Or just make me want to rip her skirt off first thing after we touch down on Seattle's sacred soil again .

I'm almost out when I hear a crash near the back of the plane. I sit up, heart racing, bracing for an apocalyptic announcement from the flight crew. It never comes .

It's not something mechanical failing. It's in the cabin .

I get up and walk to the plane's rear, step into my room, wondering what the kid's gotten himself into. Skye thought he'd sleep the whole way home, sprawled out on my bed, but he's very much awake when I knock. He practically rips the sliding door off its rollers .

“You okay in there, Vinnie? Heard the noise and wondered.” I stop when I see his face. That teenage rage and angst is too familiar .

How many times did I see it in the mirror when dad grounded me for fucking off at Maynard? Or when I got into a fistfight with Spence over that chick we both wanted to take to homecoming, whatever the hell her name was? Only reason we both walked away with our teeth intact is because Cal broke it up that day .

“Sorry. Didn't mean to throw it so hard...” He's busted and ashamed .

I don't have to ask. He just steps aside, lets me through, and I see his phone in the corner with a crack in the case .

Walking over, I pick it up. It's taken quite a beating. “They ought to pay you for quality control. You've clearly found the weakness in the design,” I say, trying to lighten the mood .

Kid isn't having it. He slumps down, fist on his chin, a fifteen year old Thinker with more emotion than Rodin ever captured in bronze .

“Want to tell me what's wrong, or just keep sulking ?”

He looks up, surprised. Until now, I've been the distant, genteel rich douchebag his older sister is marrying. A benefactor who paid for an awesome trip with lots of frills, including this private jet he's on now, without ever getting real .

“Nothing,” he says, turning away .

Inwardly, I smile. Looks like he's got one thing in common with his older sis: they're both stubborn fucking mules .

“Bullshit.” One word, and he does a double take. I stand there, arms folded, head cocked. “Talk to me, young man. I'm old enough to know nothing is almost always a load. You wouldn't have almost dented the gold trim on my wall if you were upset over an undercooked burrito .”

I nod toward the uneaten breakfast on the table next to the bed. He sighs, taking his sweet time gathering his words, scratching his head like he doesn't know how to begin. I walk over and plop down next to him, never taking my eyes away .

“It's this guy. He's just an old friend of the family. Always good to me, but kind of an asshole, sometimes. Skye doesn't like him much ...”

“No? Why's that?” My ears are ringing. Might be more than teen spirit storm and angst here after all .

“They had a falling out recently. A few times in the past, too, I guess. Never really understood over what because he tried to help her...both of us, really. Anyway, she's doing the usual big sister thing. Says he's a bad influence, more or less. Wants me to stay away from him. But the thing is, he's like family. He's not a monster. He's just making sure we're okay, even if he's not the most upstanding guy.” Vinnie's eyes go the floor. “I've known him too long to just ghost like she wants. It isn't fair. I told him Skye isn't treating him right, and he got kind of crazy. Real hot under the collar, I mean. He yelled at me a little, but then he apologized. It's frustrating, is all .”

What the hell is really going on here? I'm trying not to let skepticism bleed through to my face .

Vinnie pauses, rubbing his temples. “Christ, nobody can just level with each other! If she'd be more open about her beef with him, talk it through, then maybe I'd get it. Everything is such a big damn secret. Skye never tells me anything !”

“Easy, Vinnie. She holds her cards tight, yeah, but she's got her reasons .”

Does she? I wouldn't bet a spare dime on it, knowing how well she hides the parts of her she doesn't want me seeing. But if she's going to these lengths to keep Vinnie away, treating this mystery man like a danger...was that debt I paid to Adele owed to someone else ?

“You don't get it.” The kid whips his head around, anger flashing behind his lenses. “He was always there. Only constant in our lives. He was close to mom, before she offed herself .”

Holy fuck. He's hurt, but way too casual when he says it. Maybe he's blocked it out to numb the pain, the way brains do when they can't hold more poison .

“Say no more. You've had it rough, and I'm sorry.” I slap him on the shoulder and give it a brotherly squeeze. “You want my two cents? Sounds like this guy is taking advantage of you, whoever he is. Look how upset he's got you, and for what ?”

I'm not just playing devil's advocate. I want to know more .

“Yeah, whatever. Maybe.” Vinnie twists away, rubbing his face. At least he doesn't look so pissed off anymore. “He's no angel, like I said. He got Skye to do some things in the past she wasn't proud of. I did stuff, too. And I told him too much today like an idiot, when he got up my butt about her. I never should've picked up the dumb phone ...”

Whatever stuff means. Drugs? Petty crime ?

How old is this guy? Is he tied in with the same assholes Skye owed mega-money ?

No grad student I know wracks up a cool million on Starbucks and tuition. Nate told me her place was lower on the great digs meter, too .

I'm baffled. The background check I ran on them both before signing off on the wedding didn't turn up anything. No convictions, no criminal record. Nothing worse than a single parking ticket for Skittle .

If I had serious reason to worry, we never would've gotten this far. But I can't just pretend she wasn't in some level of hell I thought I'd ended when I wiped her debt out, and saved her from more musical peep shows .

If she's still in danger, hell, if Vinnie is...I need her to come clean .

Can't have her legally hitched, and maybe for a lot longer than we first agreed, if she's sitting on secrets that could go nuclear .

I smile, hiding the questions lashing my brain. “You did the right thing. You're entitled to blow off a little steam. Let's just save it for when we're back on the ground, okay? Then you can knock yourself out in my gym. The Ass Kicker loves a good beating. If that's not good enough, I'll put Fields on standby to take you somewhere better .”

“Thanks,” he whispers, reaching for his phone on the bed. He winces when he feels the broken protector screen .

I'm halfway out the door when I stop, turn, and look back at the kid whose soul is so trampled I think there's footprints on his shadow. “Don't worry about the case. I'll take care of that, too. You rest. We've got a few more hours before we're home .”

I walk back to the cabin lounge and take my seat. Skittle hasn't moved, curled up with her blanket, sleeping like a kitten. I settle in, shifting her pillow to my shoulder, gingerly stroking her brow every time she moans in her sleep .

“What's happening in those dreams, beautiful?” I whisper. I hope they aren't nightmares .

Because if we've got a future, and I haven't just bought the world's most expensive mail order bride, then I can't have her pretty head full of darkness .

It's my job to bring this woman paradise .