Maybe it's Fate

by Weston Parker

  Big Mac shrugged a dark shoulder, the skin revealed since the shirt he was wearing had no sleeves. It was like a vest that had started out as a T-shirt, and the print of the front was faded. He draped the flowers around each of our necks while he replied.

  “You know what I’m talking about. Those couples who think they need to prove to everyone just how in love they are by constantly kissing and being on each other’s laps.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but Jaxon beat me to it. “Thank you for recognizing the depth of our relationship.”

  He glanced down at me with another simperingly sweet look on his face, and I rolled my eyes at him. “Sure. Yeah. That’s what it’s all about.”

  One corner of his mouth twitched up at my response, and he buried his face in my hair to hide his laughter.

  “Come and meet everyone,” Big Mac said when my fake husband had regained his composure. “I’ve been telling them all about the only couple on the island I can stand being around.”

  “Why do you work at a resort catering mostly to honeymooners if you can’t stand the couples?” I asked curiously as we fell into step beside him.

  He grinned and shared a look with Jaxon over the top of my head. “The pay, the perks, and the bikinis. In case you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of barely clothed people around here.”

  Jaxon laughed, tucking me closer to his side. Warmth bloomed inside me at the possessive gesture. There was no way he could be threatened by Big Mac, whether the man had checked me out in my bikini or not, but it was like these things came instinctively to him. Like he just couldn’t help himself because he didn’t even always realize he was doing it.

  Back home and in my career, I was no shrinking violet. I was the head of my department and dealt with a bunch of egotistical jerks all the time. Being a ball-buster was only one of the ways in which I’d progressed as fast and as far as I had.

  Will had known me that way, and he’d been perfectly happy to let me wear the proverbial pants. If there was a problem at a restaurant, I was the one to have to sort it out. When he caught another man making eyes at me, he’d trusted me to deal with it.

  While I was more than capable of handling everything myself, I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed the whole dominant, possessive thing Jaxon had going on. Alpha-male bad boys had never really been my thing, but now I was starting to wonder why.

  Not that he was a bad boy—at least not to me—but he definitely gave off that vibe with other people. And the way he had sex? Well, he definitely wasn’t a good boy. That’s for sure.

  On the other hand, he wasn’t a boy at all. There was nothing even remotely boyish about him. He was a man, and a pretty darn sexy one to boot. It wasn’t just his body or his looks that made him sexy. He just was.

  While I didn’t need the white knight galloping in on his horse to save me, it was nice to know someone really had my back for a change. That I didn’t always have to do everything myself. In the short time I’d known him, he’d made me feel more like a part of a team than always having to be the one leading from the front.

  “Where do you keep disappearing off to?” He whispered into my ear as we walked, his lips moving against the shell and his warm breath fanning across my cheek.

  Turning my head into him to be able to speak without being overheard, I decided to take another risk. “I was just having a girly moment and thinking about how sexy my new husband is.”

  He squeezed my hip and lowered his head, a lock of his light brown hair that shone almost gold in the firelight falling across his forehead as heat crept into his eyes. He brushed his lips against mine in the faintest of kisses but it still managed to feel like it held so many promises.

  “Funny. I’ve been having the same thoughts about my beautiful new wife.” He said it without lifting his mouth all the way off mine, his hard body pressing into me. He was so close that I could smell his delicious, clean scent, and I couldn’t help but take a breath that was just a touch deeper than normal.

  Everything—the way he looked, sounded, and smelled—got to me so badly that I rubbed my thighs together to ease the sudden tension between them, and he must’ve noticed something shift in my expression because he suddenly kissed me much more fervently.

  “I promise you I feel the same way,” he said. “Let’s meet all of Big Mac’s friends, have something to eat, dance a little, and then blow this joint. What do you say?”

  “Yes.” It was a whispered word, but he obviously heard it above the music.

  He kept me close to him all night, his fingers wandering along my sides and my arms while he talked and joked with the locals. They were innocent touches, but they sure didn’t feel that way.

  When we danced later on and he slid his leg between my knees, moving his hips in a way that nearly drove me out of my mind, I shook my head and moved to step away. “I can’t do this. It’s too much.”

  He held me in his firm grip but eased up on the sensual dancing in favor of simply taking me into his arms and dropping a sweet kiss on top of my head. “Better?”

  “Much.” I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Where did you learn how to dance like this anyway? I didn’t know dancing was a requirement for the Air Force.”

  “For the Air Force?” He let out a low chuckle, eyes filled with amusement as they held mine. “No. The Air Force didn’t require dancing, but getting a date with this chick I had a thing for in high school did.”

  I threaded my fingers into his soft hair, smiling as I tried not to get lost in the melted honey of his gaze. “Oh? Did you end up getting your date?”

  Rolling his hips in some kind of fancy move I thought I might’ve seen in Latin dancing at a club once, he grinned and lifted a shoulder. “What do you think?”

  “I think you’re not the guy who’s going to let a bit of dancing stand in his way.”

  “You know me so well already.” He ran his hand up my arm to remove mine from his shoulder, pushing me away from his body as he spun me around. Bringing me back to him once I’d completed the turn and was a second away from swooning as he dropped me into a quick dip, he held me with his front molded to my back, his lips brushing against my ear. “I should probably mention that the date I got wasn’t with the girl I joined the class for.”

  I rolled my eyes—something I seemed to do a lot of with him—and tossed him a look over my shoulder. “Why doesn’t it surprise me that you were a player?”

  “Player? Me? No. That doesn’t sound like me at all.”

  When he turned me back to face him, he held me tighter to his chest and peered down at me through his long lashes. “Not now that I’ve met my wife anyway. You still hungry?”

  “Nah. I had enough of the canapes they were passing around to last me the next week.” I rested my head on his chest and wound my hands around to my back to take his. “I’m ready to call it a night.”

  I wasn’t sure if he’d heard me, but when his fingers curled around mine and he pulled me to his side, I knew he must have. We waved goodbye to Big Mac, who watched us go with a knowing expression on his face and a quick salute with his beer, then turned back to the group of friends he was talking to.

  The walk back to our room was made in comfortable silence. After opening the door, Jaxon followed me inside and made for the sofa-bed and his bag.

  It was cute that he thought I was going to make him sleep there alone. I went into the bedroom and changed into a tank top and sleep shorts before going back to the doorway, beckoning to him when he looked up at me.

  “Do you really want to sleep out here?” I asked.

  He got off the bed immediately, coming over to wrap his arms around me. “Not if there’s another option available.”

  “I think there just might be. The bed is big enough for both of us, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Yes.” Without saying another word, we walked to the same sides of the bed we’d woken up on and pulled back the covers.

  The only light on in the room was the
one on Jaxon’s side of the bed, and he flipped it off once we were both comfortable. He didn’t stay on his side of the bed much longer though, moving over and holding me the same way he had the night before.

  “I’m ready for another day without an itinerary,” I said softly.

  I felt his answering smile, even in the dark, before he pressed another one of his sweet kisses to the back of my neck. “So am I. Let’s get some sleep. No waking up before at least noon.”

  A groan escaped me, and he chuckled before giving me another kiss. “Joking, sweet cheeks. Now go to sleep. There’s no knowing what tomorrow will bring.”

  Despite how worked up I’d been earlier, I fell asleep without feeling sorry that we hadn’t done anything. The massages earlier really had exhausted me, and our late night last night certainly hadn’t helped things.

  Besides, knowing Jaxon, there would definitely be a chance to have my other needs tended to tomorrow. Thoroughly.

  With that thought in mind, I succumbed to sleep, smiling and holding the hand draped over my middle.

  Chapter 18

  JAXON

  I hadn’t slept next to a woman in years. Yet I’d slept next to Lindsay for two nights in a row, and one of them hadn’t even been in a post-coital haze.

  For once, I was awake before her and had already showered by the time she opened her gorgeous eyes. She frowned when she saw me dressed and ready for the day, her gaze flicking to the window before she brought it back to mine.

  “What’s the time?”

  “Hey, that’s my line,” I teased, leaning over to kiss her cheek before motioning to the coffee I’d already made her. “It’s only seven, so you can relax. I was planning on waking you up soon anyway. I didn’t want you having a cardiac event if you only came to mid-morning.”

  Groaning as she rolled over and pulled the covers over her head, she lifted her arms out from underneath them and stretched. Her back arched as she did, pushing her breasts up as if she was offering them to me.

  My dick stirred, but I ignored it and focused on her instead. “Come on, sleepyhead. We’ve got places to go and things to see. Chop chop.”

  I grinned when I repeated her words from earlier in the week back to her, and her head popped out from under the covers just enough to show me her eyes as she glared at me. “Very funny. Keep the coffee for me. I’ll be right out.”

  Taking that as my cue to give her some privacy for her morning routine, I left the bedroom and heard the shower starting to run just a few seconds later. It was ridiculous how refreshed I felt, considering how early it still was, but sleeping next to her seemed to do that to me.

  I heard her humming when she got out of the shower and smiled, seriously thinking about going back in there while she was still naked. It was a day without a plan, my day, and spending it in bed with her still seemed like a really good idea to me.

  Too bad she’d never go for it. I let out a sigh, but I couldn’t really say I was disappointed. So far, every day on this island had been incredible. Loathe as I was to admit it, she had a point about getting an early start and making use of every hour of the day.

  There was no beach party tonight as far as I knew, so perhaps we could spend the night in bed instead of the day and order some room service instead of going out for dinner. Win-win.

  Lindsay finished up and came out of the bedroom dressed in another pair of linen shorts, a black, low-cut tank top, and sneakers. She gestured down the length of her perfect fucking body with a crease appearing between her eyebrows.

  “Since I don’t know what we’re doing, I didn’t know what to wear. Is this okay?”

  I nodded, clenching my fingers into fists around the sheets of the sofa bed until my knuckles were white. There was nothing I wanted more than to drag her back into that bedroom to discover for myself what she was wearing underneath those clothes, but I held myself back.

  Because I also wanted to just fucking spend time with her. It was exhausting constantly having to fight against such strong, conflicting urges. It’s no wonder there are so many bachelors in the world.

  “I’m assuming you noticed I was wearing sneakers too?” I asked instead of insisting she get back inside the bedroom and wait for me—naked.

  “Yeah.” She smiled. “I figured I couldn’t go wrong if I wore something similar to you. Care to fill me in on what we’re doing?”

  “Nope.” I relaxed my hands and got to my feet, jerking my head toward the door. “You ready?”

  “I guess so.” Nerves skittered across her eyes, and I knew she was thinking back to parasailing and swimming with sharks. But then she blinked and there was nothing but excitement staring back at me. “Let’s go do this thing.”

  I chuckled as I led her to the door, then locked it once we were outside. The air was already hot and thick, but I was getting used to the humidity, and it really didn’t bother me much anymore.

  “The first thing on our program for the day isn’t massively exciting,” I warned as we walked toward the outdoor dining area, “but we’re going to need our strength. Strenuous physical activity in this heat without eating would be a terrible idea.”

  “Are you telling me we’re just going to breakfast?”

  “Yep.” I whistled under my breath as we walked, and she shot me an incredulous look.

  “I won’t argue because the food the other day was divine and the breakfast they served at the spa yesterday was delicious, but I won’t lie about the fact that I’m a little surprised. I thought maybe you’d insist on grabbing local cuisine from a cart on the street or something.”

  “That’s not a bad idea. Let’s keep it in mind for another day. I think I’m in love with the way this place cooks their bacon. I just can’t get enough.”

  “How do you look the way you do with the way you eat?”

  I gave her a one-shouldered shrug. “We’re on vacation. Cutting loose is kind of the point, isn’t it? Besides, I think we’ve been plenty active enough to burn it all off. Someone wouldn’t just let me laze around all day.”

  “Someone who obviously cares about your health.” She batted her eyelashes innocently at me.

  I laughed and hugged her from the side. “Aww. I knew you cared about me.”

  “As if,” she muttered but her words definitely lacked any punch behind them.

  When we walked into the dining area, Big Mac was already there, standing behind one of the massive stoves fitted in the outdoor kitchen. He saw us entering and broke into a wide grin, his lips moving as he must’ve told one of his lackeys to take over.

  I cocked a brow at him when he came to say hi. “How are you already cooking? Don’t you ever sleep?”

  “There’s no time for sleep when there is food to be cooked.” He gave both of us a quick hug before patting his massive belly. “What are you guys up to today? The resort does packed lunches if you want us to put something together for you.”

  “We’re going for a hike,” I said. “You’re welcome to join us, and yes, please. We’d appreciate that.”

  “I talk. I don’t walk,” he said with another grin gracing his round face. Lindsay had told me at some point last night that she thought he had kind eyes, and I had to agree. There was real warmth in them when he looked at us. “I’ll put something together for you. Hiking in this heat without any provisions is a big no-no.”

  “Much obliged.” I inclined my head, but the big guy enveloped me in another hug.

  “You’re welcome, friends. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, any couple like you who comes through our doors deserves only the best. Plus, you’re always friendly to the staff. Most people here ignore us.”

  “Then they’re assholes,” Lindsay said, surprising me but I nodded my agreement.

  Big Mac beamed at her. “Right you are, but we always keep smiling. It’s the job, and we love it.”

  He left us alone shortly after that, promising us a freshly cooked meal even though there was a buffet table overflowing with food. Fresh co
ffees were delivered, and we both sipped them gratefully, seeing as how we hadn’t finished the mugs we’d left in the room before heading out.

  “Do you think they know we slept in separate beds?” Lindsay asked quietly after taking her first few sips. “The staff here seem to be a lot more observant than we thought before.”

  I shrugged. “Probably. Since the rooms are serviced, someone had to have noticed but maybe the cleaners don’t talk. Or maybe it’s not as uncommon as we think. Besides, it hardly matters anymore.”

  She held my gaze for a long second before dipping her head in a nod. “I suppose they probably see way weirder things than newlyweds in different beds for a night or two. What’s this hike we’re going on?”

  “It’s a nature trail about an hour or so away. I read about it on the flight over here, and it’s one of the things I really wanted to do. Do you mind hiking?”

  “I love it.” Leaning forward, she propped her elbows on the table and fixed me with a serious look. “Is it one of those with the caves and waterfalls?”

  “That really wasn’t where I thought you were going when you looked at me like that.” I nodded my thanks to the waiter who delivered our food and I popped a piece of fruit into my mouth to let her stew for a minute as payback for looking at me the way she had.

  She smiled sweetly. “You know how seriously I take the sights I wanted to see, and it just so happens that those hikes were on my list.”

  “Well, now I don’t think we should do them anymore,” I teased, but she didn’t buy it.

  Shaking her head, she picked up her silverware and calmly started eating. She polished off one of her eggs before calling my bluff. “You and I both know we’re still going for a hike. We also both know that the trail you had planned is one of those, so you’d really only be spiteful if you refuse to do it now.”

  I snapped my fingers, pretending to be disappointed. “Darn. You caught me.”

  She rolled her eyes, but I saw the slight crinkling at the corners of her eyes as she tried to hide a smile. “I’m your wife, honey. Of course, I know you better than that.”