Chapter Thirty

Booker

A warm breeze glides along my cheek. For an instant, my mind tells me Sasha’s fingertips are brushing against my skin, but when I open my eyes, she isn’t there.

Our tropical cabana opens right up to the beach. A large bed takes up precedence in the middle of the space, adjoined by a small kitchen and bathroom. The point of this place really isn’t staying inside, anyway.

I sit up and face aqua waters. Waves caress the shoreline, a long line of pure white sand tracing along as far as the eye can see.

I frown.

The only paradise I care about is one where Sasha is beside me. We fell asleep together for an afternoon nap, but she seems to have disappeared. I toss my legs off the bed, and my bare feet land on the sandy floor as I branch out in search of her.

I step out onto the beach and glance around. From behind the cabana, I hear her voice.

“Yes, I think that’s a great idea. We can open the boutique in a month and get everything going. Why don’t you put in the paperwork today, and we can secure that by tomorrow afternoon?”

There’s a pause, where presumably someone is talking on the other end of a phone line. I walk around our little nest to see her sitting at a small table beneath a pair of palm trees. She’s dressed in a light cotton shirt and a sari skirt, the fabric flowing freely around her legs. I catch a flash of thigh and make some plans for later.

I want my lips on that exact spot.

I stroll over, though she still doesn’t realize I’m approaching. Her head is bent over a pile of paperwork as she takes diligent notes. When I reach her, I place my hands on her shoulders and plant a kiss on the top of her head. She glances up and smiles at me.

Her skin is still pale as ever, with some new freckles sprinkled along the bridge of her nose. Her red hair is up in a messy bun, her shoulders relaxed.

We’re a long way from corporate life in New York.

“What was that about?” I ask.

I take a seat across from her and reach into a nearby cooler for a bottled beverage.

Sasha glances back down at her paperwork and then looks back up at me. “The city council board approved out proposal. We’re really going to run a travel boutique! I think this could really bring in some tourism here.”

“Yeah? Is it cost effective?”

I can’t help the surge of pride that pulses through me at her hard work. Sasha was always so much more than an assistant, but when she told me about her idea for a tourism company that not only provided excellent vacations but also helped local economies, I asked to invest straight away.

I’ll never forget the look of disbelief on her face when I did.

Sasha nods, glancing back down at the numbers as she reads. “Probably the most cost-effective branch to date. At this rate, all the money you invested and the interest I promised should be refundable once this branch opens.”

“Bravo, Ellis,” I say. I sip on an ice-cold soda, the bubbles dancing along my tongue before I swallow.

She leans in and reaches for my hand. Her thumb strokes the back as she gazes into my eyes. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you. You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

“That’s not hard to do. You are way more talented than you give yourself credit for,” I tell her. I love the little blush that peeps out from her skin when I pay her a professional compliment. I do it as often as I can.

“Yes, well. I’m sorry I left our nap. I just saw the call come through, and I knew I had to take it.”

I put up my hands to stave off her apology. “Never be sorry for tending to business. Far be it from me to be angry about something like that.”

“And how are things going, with yours?”

“You mean has Kieran begged me to come back yet?”

It was a difficult conversation to have, but a necessary one. Once Sasha and I patched things up, we made some new plans together, and I asked Kieran out for dinner to tell him.

There was no way I was going to continue working for Cupid’s Bow. Not only did I make a complete ass of myself, but it was time for a fresh start. A start where I stopped addressing the people I worked with formally.

Sasha laughs and shrugs. “Something like that. You do have more important things to focus on these days than that old company.”

“True,” I say, and I search her gaze. I let her know silently that she is certainly at the top of that list. “All is well. The other startups I’m running are in good hands, though it’s nice to keep tabs even on an extended little retreat like this one.”

Sasha waves around us at the tropical paradise. The sky is the perfect shade of blue, the ocean a stunning reflection of that color. I would say I’ve died and gone to heaven, but when I look at Sasha I know I am very much alive.

I am more of a man now than I have ever been.

“You may not know this, but it’s been exactly one year since the day I gave up Cupid’s Bow to Kieran.”

Sasha’s eyebrows lift in surprise. Her mouth purses into a tiny little O, and I just want to run my finger along those lips.

“Has that much time passed already? Gosh, it seems like it was just yesterday.”

“And yet here we are. What say you to a romantic celebration dinner? One year since we changed our lives forever, and decided to take the more adventurous road.”

She leans in and gives my hand a squeeze. “I’d say that sounds like one of the best ideas you’ve had, and that’s really saying something. You’re kind of a genius.”

“Oh, come now. You keep stoking my ego like that, and I’m going to have to lay you down on our bed and make passionate love to you.”

“Oh, no, how terrible,” she says in a deadpan voice. I tug on her hand and pull her across the table until her lips are within reach, then I kiss her with everything I’ve got.

My dick goes hard on impact, as it always does. When I end the kiss, Sasha’s gaze darts to the ocean and back to me.

“One for the road before we get cleaned up for dinner?”

“You read my mind,” I say. Sasha stands and removes her top and sari, revealing a black bikini underneath.

“You know, this is reminding me of a suspiciously familiar conversation we had a long time ago.”

Sasha saunters toward the ocean and glances back at me with a sexy grin. “Is it? It just reminds me of a fantasy I’ve been wanting to play out for a very, very long time.”

I’m out of my seat and by her side before she can say another word. I bend and scoop her into my arms, and she laughs as she clings to my neck.

“I believe this is how it went, if I remember correctly,” I say.

“Either way, I like it,” she giggles. I carry her into the water until we’re deep enough to be immersed up to our chests. I reach back and tug off her bikini top, revealing her pale breasts. She kicks up her legs and slides out of her bottoms as I do the same. In an instant, we are completely naked, alone, in tropical waters.

Sasha wraps her arms around my neck again and lifts until her legs are wrapped around my waist. I can feel her opening against me, and I don’t bother waiting. I slide right in.

“Just as lovely as I imagined,” she breathes. I grab her ass and fuck her in our own private heaven. She arches back to take me in as deep as she can. She circles and gyrates her hips as she rides me in the rocking waters.

“This is going to be quick,” I warn.

“You can say that again,” she whispers, then calls out as an orgasm rocks her body. I thrust into her, the warm heat paired with the cool water sending me totally over the edge. I finish as she clings to me, then I start walking back to the shore.

“Um, don’t we need our clothes?” she asks.

The sun is cresting along the horizon, and I know it will be dark soon. I don’t have time to care about our clothes or the fact that we’re both naked in plain sight. I slide out of her as we crest the surface and carry her the rest of the way to our cabana.

“They’ll wash ashore. If they don’t, I’ll buy us new clothes. Your job is to shower up and meet me back at the table in twenty minutes.”

I set her down and kiss her before I slap her ass.

“Get a move on,” I say, and she laughs.

“Yes, sir.”

When she disappears, I make quick work of drying off and dressing in a white shirt and tan slacks, then I open a suitcase I’ve managed to hide in a side closet and bring it with me outside.

Tonight is going to be a night she’ll never forget.

When I open the suitcase, I pull out a number of white candles, grateful for the lack of a strong wind this evening. All around me, the sky has turned from blue to a smattering of creamy pinks and oranges. By the time she comes out, it should be perfect.

I pull out some champagne and a few chocolate-covered strawberries from my cooler and move to light all the candles. By the time everything is ready, I hear her walking around the cabana.

It’s time.

When Sasha turns the corner, my breath leaves my body. She’s wearing a long white dress, her wet hair braided along her shoulder. She takes in the candles, then looks up at me.

“Surprise,” I say.

She laughs and walks forward, her eyes wide with amazement. When she reaches me, she takes my hands in hers. “I’ll say. You’re that excited about the one-year anniversary of giving up Cupid’s Bow?”

“No, not that.” My heart is pounding. This is the moment. I kneel down and watch her mouth hang open in surprise.

“I’m more interested in making you my wife,” I say. “In fact, I’m only mad at myself for not asking sooner, but I wanted it to be something special.”

I reach into my pocket and pull out a little black box. When I open it, Sasha’s hand flies to her mouth and tears well up in her eyes.

“Sasha Ellis, the woman who saved my heart and soul, will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?”

A sob tears from her as she nods. She drops her hand from her mouth to give me the only answer I want to hear. “Yes! Yes, of course!”

I grin from ear to ear as I take my ring and place it on her finger. Then I stand to take her in my arms, where she’ll be safe and loved forever.

“Good. Because I love you, Sasha.”

“I love you, too, Booker Knight.”

She gazes up, and all I see is love and adoration. Now I know I’ll never be the unloved orphan ever again. I’ve finally come home.

“Let’s have some champagne,” I suggest. “Then we can get to the real celebration.”

Sasha beams up at me, her heart in her eyes. “Don’t mind if I do, Mr. Knight. Don’t mind one little bit.”