She collapsed and straightened her boneless legs. She pulled out her vibe, and her hands flopped to the side. Stupendous.
She panted until her heart stopped racing. Looking up at the ceiling she wondered where that surge of lust had come from. Her massage had definitely brought out something extraordinary… a fleeting, fanciful escapade. This? This was brought on by thoughts of Nicholas, such powerful thoughts, and God help her, she wanted them to be real. She wanted her few days on the island to be spent with him. She could do that.
She didn’t need to dive into a new relationship. Heck no. But why not enjoy a little fling while she could? He’d expressed his interest in her, and she was certainly interested in him.
She set the vibe on the nightstand and clicked off the light.
Why not? It wasn’t like she needed mountains of trust in the man to build a relationship on. To build happily ever after on. This would be “happy for right now.”
And a fling would surely be considered adventurous. She smiled as she drifted off.
Nic was so damn anxious to see Cat, he almost left his cell phone on the plane.
Hailing a cab, he texted Cat.
I’ve landed. Give me a few minutes and I’ll swing by and pick u up.
She replied quickly that she would be ready.
He wondered what her day had been like, if she’d ventured off hotel property to draw with her charcoals. He made a mental note to ask if she was being taken only to safe areas. Maybe she’d gone on a tour. The resort could schedule so many fun things; Nic had tried several tours over the years. He thought of planning something for them this weekend.
Every once in a while Dillon popped in his head. If Dillon were alive today, Nic knew Cat would be the kind of woman he would tell his best friend all about.
As he arrived at her door, a small bouquet of flowers in hand, his heart pumped wildly. He’d missed her. In just a few days together, he’d become very fond of Cat and wanted to spend any free time he had together.
His dreams were filled with images of her, some where she was naked in his arms. He’d woken hard for her, and truly if he had a choice, dinner would be the last thing on their agenda tonight. But that wouldn’t be right for Cat. He would just need to keep his dreams and fantasies to himself. She definitely didn’t needed some jerk taking advantage of her vulnerability.
She opened the door in a pale-blue, spaghetti-strap dress. The style gently hugged her curves and the scoop neck showed just a hint of cleavage. Her dark blonde hair was pinned up and a few loose pieces framed her tanned face and slid down her bare neck. She reminded Nic of a model for a high-end women’s boutique.
“Wow. You look incredible.”
She bit her bottom lip. “Thank you.”
With a hand on her waist, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. Her skin was soft and warm, and she smelled of a sweet, citrusy perfume. “Ready?”
She flashed her keycard and accepted his hand. He led them to a nicer restaurant than Seaside in the main building.
“Mr. Westbrook.” The hostess greeted him with a smile. “Please follow me.”
Right after Cat had agreed to have dinner with him, he’d called to make reservations, requesting the side with floor-to-ceiling windows. While the sun was still out, they’d get a gorgeous, uninterrupted view of the ocean.
Cat took a seat, her eyes rounded at the scene. “This is beautiful.”
“Isn’t it?” He sat beside her at the intimate square table. His fingers itched to touch her, but he needed to pace himself.
They perused the menu and after deciding on the chef’s seafood special and ordering a bottle of white wine, Nic pivoted to face her.
“How have you been doing?”
“Well, I got to go into town yesterday and do some drawing. I think I told you the concierge put together a list of places I might like. So, I went to an old schoolhouse. It was built in the 1830s and is positively charming.” Her eyes twinkled as she recounted her day.
“I should have asked you to bring your sketchbook so I could see.”
A subtle blush crept over her cheeks. “Okay. Maybe later.”
The waiter poured their wine, and he lifted his glass to toast her.
“And what did you do today?”
“More of the same. This time I walked to where we’d gone Monday night.” She motioned her hand toward the beach. “I found a little area, like a park, and drew for a few hours.”
“You really enjoy sketching.”
She nodded. “I do. I sorta put it on hold when I was planning my wedding. It feels good to get back into it.”
The idea that Cat could take this time and, instead of wallowing in grief, make something great of it warmed him inside. “Good for you. Do you mind me asking, are the places you go safe to be alone?”
She stopped midway from sipping her wine, perhaps surprised by his concern. “Yes. On the list, the concierge marked the best places to go by myself, and then a few where I would need accompaniment.”
“Well, if I’m free, I volunteer to go with you, if you want to check out a particular spot.”
She chuckled and hooked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. But I know you have to work.”
He’d juggled appointments to clear his schedule just in case she was free, something he’d never done before. Their time together on the island would be short and he wanted to cram in as much as he could before she disappeared into her normal life. The way she made him feel was magical, and he’d go with it rather than make excuses. “I have a little free time built into my schedule. In fact, I was wondering if you’d like to do something this weekend.”
“Oh, sure. Like what?”
“Have you ever been parasailing?”
Cat’s instinct was to say no, to proceed with caution. But in truth, she thought parasailing looked exciting. She swallowed. Not only did she want to try it, she wanted to spend more time with Nicholas.
“Parasailing sounds fun,” she said through a dry mouth.
His smile made her tummy flip. “Okay. I’ll look into it.”
Dinner was served. He had the salmon special and she’d chosen the sea scallops. Everything was fresh and delicious. She’d only been on the island a few days and already didn’t want it to end.
After dinner, they lingered over the wine and chatted about his work.
“So anything interesting happen on your trip?”
He scratched his upper lip with his index finger. “Yes. I learned that one of my clients, a bar owner, intends to open another bar in the near future.”
“Oh, good for him.”
“Yup. And good for me.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I also learned that another customer is expecting their first baby.”
“Nice.”
“Why don’t we take our glasses and go walk the beach?” His chin jutted toward the ocean.
With her hand in his, he led them to a vacant cabana on the sandy beach. “We can leave our shoes here, then come back and watch the waves rolls in.”
She nodded.
A relaxation spread throughout her body since being on her “honeymoon” that she couldn’t define. Was it the ocean, or Nicholas? Could it have something to do with breaking up with Jack? Wasn’t she supposed to be feeling miserable?