His hand sneaked around to circle my clit again and his big body folded over my back as he told me what I did to him in harsh whispers. My core clenched again, and when I felt his stomach muscles dip against my lower back and he just about roared that he couldn’t hold back anymore, I found myself coming apart around him one last time.
When it was over, my limbs were numb and my throat was parched. I only just managed to climb underneath the covers and flip the bedside lamp off before my eyes were closing. Feeling the mattress shift, I reached for his hand but hit his thigh instead.
No matter. The movement from his side of the bed still stopped.
“Sleep here tonight,” I muttered, barely recognizing my own voice.
My eyes fluttered open to see him smiling at me in the soft moonlight filtering in through the window. He nodded when he saw me looking, joined me in the bed, and rearranged me so he was the big spoon to my little spoon.
The last thing I remembered before sleep dragged me under was him sweeping my hair to the side and placing a gentle kiss at the top of my spine.
“Sleep tight, baby,” he murmured, and I was gone, feeling more sated, comfortable, and protected than I ever had in my life.
Chapter 16
JAXON
When I woke up, Lindsay was—unfortunately—already showered and getting dressed for the day. She smiled when she saw me opening my eyes, her hair tied up as she pulled the straps of a soft cotton dress over her shoulders.
“Good morning, husband dearest.”
I grinned and opened my arms. “Is that any way to greet your new husband in the morning? Get over here.”
She rolled her eyes but gasped when she settled in my lap to hug me and felt what was going on underneath the covers. “Are you always hard?”
“Only for you.” I smirked before lifting a hand to cup her neck and pulling her closer for a lingering kiss.
She smacked my chest playfully, her cute nose wrinkling when we finally came up for air. “Have you ever heard of morning breath?”
“Have you ever heard of morning wood?” I countered, shrugging while she planted another little kiss on my jaw before clambering off me.
Her eyes met mine once she was standing next to the bed again. I didn’t miss the flush on her cheeks or how dilated her pupils were, but she was obviously not a morning-sex person. She probably already had something planned and refused to be late.
“Of course, I’ve heard about it.” She pursed her lips and gave me a look. “Just not after a night like that night.”
“Last night is not today.” I waggled my brows at her. “It’s a brand-new day and I vote for spending it in bed.”
“It’s my day,” she said, running her brush through her long ponytail before twisting it up in a knot on top of her head. “I don’t want to make things awkward between us, but I booked a couple’s spa day for today. Ages ago, obviously, but when I woke up, there was a gift basket from the spa at the door. I totally forgot about it.”
“Why would it be awkward?” I pushed the covers off and stood up, ignoring the way her eyes turned dark again when her gaze devoured me in my birthday suit. “I’m more than ready to pretend to be Mr. Lindsay Flinn again.”
“You’d better get dressed then,” she said with a dazed look in her eyes when she yanked them back up to mine. “We’re going to be late if you don’t hurry.”
“Wouldn’t want that,” I teased and gave her a light slap on the butt as I walked past her into the bathroom. “I just need a few minutes.”
“Evidently, you might need longer than that,” she muttered under her breath, her voice a little raspy.
I doubted she meant for me to hear it, but I paused in the doorway to look back at her anyway. “Only when I’m trying to hold back, but don’t worry. I’m saving myself for my sexy wife. I just need to brush my teeth since my morning breath was just pointed out to me.”
She laughed and ducked out of the room. I’d never been to a spa before, but I was definitely curious about why so many people attended the places religiously. Once Lindsay and I walked into the treatment center at the resort, I totally understood it.
“They built this place on a plateau known to the villagers as Heavenly Hill,” she informed me as we made our way to the front desk. “It’s called Bebe Spa, which is the Fijian word for butterfly, but it also means ‘your cocoon’ or ‘your sanctuary.’”
“It looks like a sanctuary,” I said.
It offered gorgeous views of the ocean from everywhere I could see, but when we were led to our private treatment room, I nearly swallowed my fucking tongue.
“Your open-air balcony has panoramic views of the coast,” the white-coated massage therapist guiding us said. “You also have an outdoor rain shower on it, as well as a hydrotherapy tub for sublime relaxation.”
She wasn’t joking either. The building was surrounded by lush, undulating landscape, and at the altitude the spa was at, there was no doubt that I would spending the day in that tub being sublimely relaxed.
“Thank you,” I said after clearing my throat. “My wife and I have really been looking forward to this.”
The therapist inclined her head, but I saw how Lindsay rolled her eyes at my roleplaying. “I’ll be here to start your first treatment in thirty minutes. Please enjoy the fresh fruit and pastries we’ve set out on the balcony for you.”
“We definitely will. Thank you.” I bopped my head. “I’m sure it will be lovely. I’m so glad my wonderful wife insisted on this.”
Once she shut the door behind her, my wonderful yet fake wife elbowed me in the ribs. “You don’t need to lay it on that thick.”
“Of course, I do. I really am glad you dragged me out of bed for this.” I eyed the tub before reaching for her and tugging her closer to me until her chest was pressed up against mine. “Although, they won’t be here for another thirty minutes, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not that hungry for breakfast all of a sudden.”
“Cool your jets, stud. We didn’t eat last night either.” She pushed me away gently, reluctantly almost.
“I did.” I grinned and earned myself another smack even though she was smiling again, her blue eyes coy on mine. “Fine. Have it your way, but at some point today, I’m getting my hands on you in that thing.”
“Give it your best shot.” She blew me a kiss before heading out to the balcony.
I pulled her chair out for her, then shrugged when she shot me a questioning look. “What? I’m giving it my best shot.”
She laughed when I rounded the table to take my own seat, then piled our plates high with the food that had been left for us. In the end, it was a good thing she’d turned me down.
Our half hour for breakfast was over before I’d even taken my last bite, and two therapists walked in right on time for our couples’ massage. At first, it was a little uncomfortable having another woman’s hands all over me and only a small towel covering my ass, but when I saw the serene smile on Lindsay’s face and realized she’d dozed off, I relaxed too.
Warm towels were applied to our backs to draw out our tension after a light massage, and I nearly moaned out loud over how good it felt. Seriously. I was definitely going to start frequenting spas if it was always like this.
The massage was followed by time in a sauna, and the lazy smile was still on Lindsay’s face when we entered. The hot air and thick humidity made it hard to breathe, but it also made me feel more languid than I ever remembered feeling before.
“Enjoying yourself?” she asked as she gave me a sidelong glance, sitting down next to me on the heated wood.
She was only wearing a short robe, which elongated her legs when she kicked them out in front of her and crossed them at the ankles. I couldn’t tear my eyes off them, but I still answered her question. “Definitely. This has to be the best part of having a wife so far.”
“Really?” She kicked my ankle to dislodge my heated gaze. “The best? Better than last night?”
“Second
best,” I corrected before letting out a sigh when I looked into her eyes. “Last night wins, hands down. But this is fucking awesome.”
“I’m guessing none of your previous wives dragged you to a spa?” she joked.
“Nope. Clearly, none of them loved me enough to expose me to this kind of experience.”
She tilted her head slightly to the side, leaning back but keeping her eyes on mine. “Seriously, though. You’ve never had a girlfriend bring you with her or booked a spa day for an anniversary or something?”
“I’ve been light on the girlfriend front,” I admitted after a brief pause. “Back when I was still in the service, there just never seemed to be enough time for anything meaningful to develop. Now, I’m still away more often than I’m at home. It makes it difficult to get to know me and for me to really get to know someone else.”
“Are you saying that you’ve never been in a relationship?” Her eyes stretched wide open, the blue filled with shock and disbelief.
“I’ve been in relationships. They’ve just never lasted very long. What about you? Other than your last relationship, obviously.”
She chuckled, not tensing or clamming up like she had the last time her ex had come up. “I was too busy focusing on my career to spend much time bothering with love and relationships. I had a few before Will, but they also never got serious. I spent far too much time in the office for it to get that far. I guess we’ve got that in common.”
“I know you don’t really want to talk about Will,” I said cautiously, “but why would he leave you? Did you ever take him to a spa? If you did, he was fucking crazy to run out on you.”
“Are you really that impressed by all this?” She flicked her hand in the air. “I mean, it’s nice, but it’s not really the kind of thing that would inspire someone to stay with you.”
I scoffed. “I wasn’t only talking about the spa, but I could be convinced to stay with you forever if you keep bringing me to places like this.”
Laughing as she shook her head at me, she dropped her gaze to her lap when it turned sad. “I don’t really have a good answer for you about why he left me. And yes, we did spa days together all the time.”
“If it counts for anything, I think he was an idiot for leaving you.” Truth rang out clear as a bell in my voice, and Lindsay shot me a small smile.
“Does that mean you think I’m cool?” she asked.
“Not cool… but all right.” I winked as I wound my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me despite the intense heat in there. “You’re definitely one of the cooler planners I’ve ever met.”
She rested her head against my shoulder. “You’re one of the cooler impulsive people I’ve met.”
We talked for a while longer until the therapist came to get us again. Exfoliation and detoxification treatments were on the menu for the afternoon, and we emerged smelling vaguely of the papaya and pineapple lotions they’d applied to rejuvenate our skin.
As we were saying goodbye, one of the therapists handed us a neon flyer for a beach party the resort was hosting that night. She smiled when Lindsay took it from her. “We hope to see you there. You can’t leave here before you’ve experienced a party beneath our star-filled skies.”
Lindsay’s eyes darted up to mine, and I saw the hesitation in them. “I don’t know. I’m pretty ready to just fall into bed after how relaxing this day has been.”
A minute ago, I’d felt the same way. But now, all I could think about was dancing with her curves pressed against my body underneath that star-filled sky the therapist had just mentioned.
Giving her my very best puppy-dog eyes, I wrapped my hand around hers and brought it to my mouth to brush a gentle kiss against each of her knuckles, interspersing the kisses with words.
“I think we go should, baby. It’s a beach party. I love beach parties.”
A soft smile lifted the corners of her lips as she sighed, then nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I’m down to go if it means that much to you.”
“It does.” I bent over and kissed the top of her head. “It really does.”
Chapter 17
LINDSAY
The night was clear when Jaxon and I walked out of our bungalow after cleaning up and having a drink together on our patio. Stars glittered in the sky above us, and the scent of a bonfire and grilling meat drifted in the air.
He took my hand when we stepped onto the beach, spotting the festivities just a little ways away and located farther down the private stretch of sand. Although we’d been holding hands a lot, I still felt a tingle whenever he first pressed his skin against mine.
Now that I knew what else he could do with those hands, the tingle was accompanied by a healthy dose of lust. It’d taken everything I had to turn him down this morning, but I knew that he would make good on his promise of keeping me in bed all day and I’d really wanted to go to the spa.
As for turning him down again once we’d gotten there, that’d purely been my inhibitions talking. The treatment rooms were private in terms of the fact that one was shielded from view of the occupants of the neighboring rooms, but they were definitely not soundproofed. We’d heard other couples laughing and talking while on our balcony, and I knew there was no way they wouldn’t hear us if we did anything on ours.
I wasn’t a prude. I just really didn’t want to have to look people in the eye after if he made me scream and moan the way he had last night. And none of those noises had been fake or exaggerated.
Jaxon squeezed my hand, peering down at me as we walked along the moonlit beach with the waves crashing gently to the shore. “What’s got your mind all busy?”
“Nothing much.” I bit my lip, averting my gaze to stare at the luminous, glowing white ball as it hung just above the horizon. “Just about how this trip has turned out really differently from what I’d expected.”
“You’re starting to realize meeting me was a happy accident, aren’t you?” He didn’t smirk. His expression was filled with genuine warmth as he walked beside me.
I nodded. “Maybe I am, but the same can be said about you meeting me.”
“True, but I never thought otherwise.” He bumped his side gently into mine. “I realized what a happy accident meeting you was as soon as I saw you laughing into my shoulder when I threatened the manager.”
“Jeez. I can’t believe that was only days ago. It feels like I’ve known you for years.” It was true, even though it was a truth that scared me a little.
“What can I say? I’m an easy guy to get to know.” He licked his lips, his eyes narrowing as he brought our joined hands up to drape his arm over my shoulders again without letting go of my hand. “Actually, that’s a lie. I’m really not that easy to get to know. I feel the same way about you, though. It seems almost impossible that it’s been less than a week.”
“Well, I suppose we’re already living together,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood. “If you count the cumulative amount of hours we’ve spent together so far, I think it’ll probably be the equivalent to having dated for at least a couple of months back in the real world.”
“How do you figure?”
“Think about the average length of dates and how many times a week you see that person.” I got comfortable in the crook of his shoulder and pressed a kiss to the top of his arm. “We’ve barely left each other’s sight in—what is it now—probably just over a hundred hours?”
“What do you think the average length of a date is?” he asked. “About three or four hours?”
“If it’s going well, yes. It’s probably around there somewhere.” I rocked my head from side to side while I thought. “That’s either thirty-three or twenty-five dates worth of time we’ve spent together.”
“How many times a week do you think regular couples go on dates?” He grinned down at me. “Two or three nights a week?”
I shrugged. “Seems fair enough. We’d have to look it up to be sure.”
“I don’t really give a fuck, but let’s accept for the sake
of argument that we’re right. That means we’ve spent as much time together as people who have been dating for anywhere between two to four months.”
“Wow.” I blinked back my surprise. “A lot of people who’ve been dating for that length of time are either engaged or married for real.”
“See, baby bear?” He gave me another of the fake, dopey looks he seemed to love so much. “We’re meant to be.”
I checked his hip with my own but couldn’t hide my smile. “Yeah, it’s got to be that. You’re actually becoming less annoying with time. I haven’t found one of your socks in the bathroom in all this time.”
“Does that mean I can start leaving my socks in the bathroom now?”
I shook my head and punched his side gently. “Don’t you dare. The fact that you fold up your clothes and pack them away so neatly is one of the most endearing things about you.”
“Here I thought it was my good looks and my banging body.”
“Banging body?” I laughed as I rolled my head back on his arm to look into his eyes. “You just gave away your age, buddy.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but we’d reached the party. The smell of the fire and the roasting meat was even stronger there, and I also caught a whiff of the sweet-smelling, tropical flowers decorating the tables.
The event looked very much like what I imagined a luau did, with tables laden with food, local music being played by a live band, and fires everywhere. People danced to the sultry sounds of the guitars, and a singer was swaying with her eyes closed on the makeshift stage.
Jaxon grinned when he saw Big Mac ambling up with his arms open and a flowery necklace in each meaty hand. “Welcome, my friends. I’m so happy to see a real couple decided to join us. I can’t stand all these touristy, fake, ‘I love you’ couples.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, suddenly super aware of the real status of my relationship with Jaxon. Even though it was starting to feel real, it wasn’t. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
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