Bare All

by L M Allen

  “You didn’t have to. Most wouldn’t. But you took legal, parental responsibility for Summer, because you love her too. And this one?” I flatten his hand on my tummy again. “I doubt you go five minutes without worrying about her already, so don’t you bloody dare say you’re the same! You are nothing alike. Nothing.”

  Will half smirks. “All right, don’t get all het up about it. It’s not good for the baby.” I slap his arm playfully. “You really think I’m a good dad?” he asks quietly, searching my eyes.

  “I know you are.” He frowns like he doesn’t believe me. I nod firmly. “I think that there are no luckier girls in the world than yours. Myself included.”

  “I need to feed you.”

  “You need to believe me. You are a good man, Will. And an amazing daddy. And you’re not bad in bed either.” He laughs. At last!

  “Food. And then bed. This is our honeymoon after all.” I nod and take his hand before we walk towards the restaurant and dinner.

  ***

  The following day, I’m sitting at the poolside bar, enjoying the midmorning sun with my book. Will is still asleep, and I fancied having a little nose around on my own.

  “Good morning.” The barman smiles. “Can I get you anything?” He nods at my three-quarters-empty glass.

  “Virgin mango daiquiri, please. With lime.”

  “Coming up.” He moves away to collect ingredients but brings them back over to begin drink assembly. “How long are you staying?” His eyes flick from his task to me.

  “A couple of weeks.”

  “You must have only just arrived. I’d have noticed—”

  “Cal!” Marina’s short, sharp blast pulls his attention round so fast he spills the mango juice. “A word.”

  When he comes back to clean up his mess, he hands me the drink, barely looking at me at all.

  Okay...?

  I don’t get long to wonder before Will occupies the stool beside mine. “Is this seat taken?”

  “It is now.” I smile and give him a coquettish wink.

  “What are you reading, beautiful?”

  “The Hunger Games. I’m kind of obsessed.”

  “Will!” the barman called Cal gasps. “Can I have a quick word?” Will drags his eyes from mine and gives his attention to Cal.

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “Um...over here?” Will frowns but stands and follows Cal to the other end of the bar. He circles around to the not-so-fun side, and Cal seems to impart some very urgent information to him. I keep my attention fixed to Will, dreading the worst. But he laughs, a genuine happy laugh, and claps Cal on the shoulder. Cal calls after him, but Will waves him away and saunters back towards me.

  Will spins me around on my stool and nudges my knees wide. He moves in close, his eyes glued to mine. His hands thread through my sun-kissed hair, and he kisses my lips as though there’s no one else here.

  When he moves back a half step, I’m glad I’m sitting down, but hold on to his forearms to make sure I stay that way. He waits for me to regain bodily function and then drags his stool closer, perching beside me. He drops a kiss on my bare shoulder.

  I clear my throat and glance up. Cal is staring open-mouthed.

  “Cal. This is Eva. My wife. Can I get one of those? Tastes good. Baby, Cal is the head barman, poolside.” I cough over a chuckle and drop my eyes to my hands on the bar, as Cal struggles to pick up his jaw. Will leans in and speaks quietly.

  “Marina warned him off. Told him you were strictly off limits, or she’d have his balls.”

  “Oh!” I choke. “Did she?”

  “I should give that woman a raise,” Will muses. His hand moves across to my naked knee and curls around, his fingertips circling on the back of my leg. “So... what do you want to do today, baby?” Will raises my hand for a sweet kiss as Cal sets his drink down in front of him.

  “Thanks.” Will’s attention briefly leaves me for his barman.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Same as yesterday?” Total R & R sounds like heaven to me.

  “Sex then?” There’s a crash behind the bar, and we both look across towards the sound. Cal has just tripped over something. My face flushes at Will’s cheeky grin. “I think that could be arranged, Mrs Hunter. Sex on the beach? Or do you want to try the bed? Just for a change?” I close my eyes and turn my face away, praying I’m not bright red. I feel Will move in closer. “Choose, Eva. Which one. Tell me how you want it.”

  “Will!” I screech.

  “Choose, or I’m taking you in the pool right now.”

  “Bed.” I’m not about to test that theory.

  “Hmm. Okay. Good choice.” He picks my drink up from the bar. “We’ll bring these with us.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.” Will glances at my face, his eyebrow raised as we walk along the ocean-front road, twenty minutes later. “I don’t want to go to bed. I want to go for a swim after all.” I jerk my head towards the inviting turquoise ocean.

  Will gasps. “Oh! Fuck, yes.” And he drags me along faster to our own private stretch of paradise.

  We run right through the villa, stripping off as we go, and giggling madly as we dash across the sand and into the warm waters. Will snags my waist and seals his mouth on mine as I wrap my arms around his neck. He lifts me off my feet, pressing me closer to his warm, hard body as he wades out deeper into the blue.

  When the water is waist-high, he stops wading and grips my knees, encouraging them up around his waist, and then reaches down between my legs, circling his fingers over my singing flesh, his tongue swirling with mine. He moves his head back quickly and drops his lips to my breast, sucking my nipple into his mouth. I cry out, my hands pushing the back of his head closer. Harder.

  He stands straighter, his magical fingers still moving. “Baby... I can’t wait any more.” His voice is a strained groan.

  I press my weight down, as he guides himself inside me, and throw my head back, tipping my face up to the Mexican sky and calling out my man’s name. He tightens his grip on my hips and positions me how he wants me. Up and down. Up and down. My thighs flex as I move with his tempo.

  I grind as his breath hisses through his teeth. “Eva...” I lower my mouth to his neck, licking and sucking the salt from his skin.

  “Come. Please,” I whisper.

  “Baby...you...” I breathe my release, my face buried in Will’s neck, and he quickly follows with a groan that curves his upper body over, bending me backwards.

  Will holds me tighter and starts to walk towards the shore. He lays me on the wet sand, our feet and lower legs still in the foaming water, and kisses me gently.

  “My wild mermaid.” I scoff as the memory of the mermaid’s tail fills my brain. “What?” Will asks, pushing my wet hair from my face and tucking it behind my ear.

  “Summer’s birthday... I took her to the seaside. She mer-made me. I have a picture.” Will’s face darkens. “Hey.” I reach up to stroke his cheek. “What’s wrong?”

  “I missed it. I missed my daughter’s birthday. And our first Father’s Day.”

  “Will...” I begin, but I have no idea what to say. “There will be others. One every year.” I give him a little smile, but he doesn’t return it. “How about we do it again? Father’s Day. And Summer would love a belated birthday party.”

  “Yeah?” Will’s face clears like magic.

  “Yes. Now shut up and kiss me.” He shifts his weight over me and kisses me with purpose, before taking me back to mer-heaven.

  ***

  “Eva? Are you awake, baby?”

  “No,” I grumble, and pull the sheets up higher. “Shush.” I don’t know how long I’ve been in bed asleep, but it’s not long enough.

  “I’m going down to the restaurant to get us some dinner. Do you think you could be awake enough for that?”

  “Maybe,” I grumble again, but I can’t stop the smile when he pecks my lips.

  “Try.” I feel the movement as he leaves the bed. I pull my pillow around sideways and
hook my arm over it, more than ready to go back to sleep.

  I wake when my stomach rumbles painfully, the bedroom blanketed in rich blackness. “Will?” I call, but there’s no answer. I push my heavy body up and out of bed and wrap a sheet around myself. It trails behind me as I walk through the bedroom and out into the hallway. “Will?” I check each room in turn.

  The lamps are on but there’s no one here.

  I return to the bedroom and dress, before I grab the key and make my way towards the restaurant. I was half-asleep, but I thought he meant he was bringing food back. Oh, crap! I hope he’s not waiting for me in the bloody restaurant!

  But when I get there, it’s closed. The chairs are stacked on top of the tables, and a man is mopping the floor. “Excuse me, sir? Have you seen Will Hunter this evening?”

  “I saw him earlier, Miss...?”

  “Mrs...Mrs Hunter.” I give him a little smile and his face clears.

  “Ahhh, Eva... Mrs Hunter! Yes... Will was here, but I’ve not seen him since he left with your food. He says you’re eating for two?” He gives me a toothy grin, but now I’m worried.

  “But...I haven’t seen him since he left...?”

  I see it when my words register. He pulls out a phone and calls someone, holding up a finger to indicate I should wait. He speaks too quietly for me to hear what he’s saying.

  “Come, come,” he says urgently, and ushers me towards another door. “He needs you.”

  “Oh! Why? Where is he?”

  “Come, come!”

  We’re walking so fast we’re almost jogging as I follow my new friend through a labyrinth of corridors, until we arrive at a huge wooden door. The man I’m running with knocks and opens the door, ushering me inside. He gasps. I’m trying to make sense of the picture. “What the...?”

  The room, which is supposed to be an office, has been trashed. There’s a pile of firewood (that I suspect was once a desk) lying forlorn and splintered in pieces under a huge dent and a missing chunk of plaster from the wall. The chairs are now no more than kindling. The guts of a desktop computer have been spilled and spread around the room. And Will is standing in the middle. His shirt ripped, his chest heaving, his hands dripping blood, and his eyes wild. I turn around and address the man hovering on the threshold. “It’s fine. You can go. Thank you.” And then look back at Will, falling apart in front of my eyes. “Will!” I gasp and rush towards him. “Oh my God, Will! What happened!”

  “Get away from me, Eva. I’m no good for you.”

  His words sting, but I push them aside. “You don’t believe that.”

  “Don’t I?” he growls, his voice savage, his face contorted.

  “No.” I shake my head firmly and grab hold of his face, my palms on each of his cheeks. “No. You don’t. And neither do I.”

  “Jack would be so much better for you. That was the fucking plan.” His eyes move to the cracked monitor a few feet away on the floor.

  “What plan?”

  “That’s why! Why he was your client. Because he was asked to be.”

  “Will...look at me.” He jerks his face free of my grasp. I place my hands back where they were, my fingers clutching his hair. “I said look at me!” His eyes hit mine with force. “I love you.”

  “You shouldn’t. I’m—” I seal my mouth on his, tears stinging my eyes behind the closed lids. I can feel him trembling beneath my grasp. His lips quiver under mine.

  “I love you,” I whisper again and again, my lips pleading with his to kiss me back.

  I don’t know how long it takes. How long I’m begging him. But eventually his lips soften and yield. He takes over the kiss, growling and lifting me off my feet. He kisses me savagely, pinning my back to the wall.

  “There’s no fucking desk.” He pants a laugh.

  “No. Looks like someone went nuts in here.”

  “Yeah.” Will lifts a hand and inspects his split knuckles.

  “Let me see.” I take his hand gently, my eyes on his as he lets me. I keep my face smooth as I assess the damage he’s caused himself, and press on his fingernails to check capillary refill. They’re not broken, thankfully. “Where’s the first aid kit, Rocky?”

  “You’re a funny woman, Hunter.”

  “You love me.”

  “I do,” he chokes. “I love you so much, baby. Please don’t leave me.”

  “Will...” My heart aches for him. What do I have to do? “I’m yours, baby. Yours. When will you believe that?” Will drops his gaze.

  “Jack...Scott...he’s in love with you.” I almost giggle at the ridiculousness... Until Will’s unamused eyes hit mine. He’s being serious! I clear my throat and marshal my thoughts. ‘...He’s madly in love with some woman he works with...’

  “And... I... encouraged him to...” He swallows hard. “When he told me about this wonderful woman, I told him to dance with her. To charm her. I didn’t know he was talking about you.”

  I can see it all. His torment, his self-doubt. That is what he does to other people’s wives. Not his own.

  “Well, if that’s true, I feel sorry for him.” I hear Will’s sharp breath. “Because I’m totally in love with another man. I couldn’t ever feel the same about anyone else. He’s the only man I’ll ever want. We just got married. We’re having a baby.”

  “Even if he’s a fucked-up mess?” I sigh and wrap my arms around him.

  “Will...you have a lot to work through. A lot you’ve hidden from. I get it. I do. But do you think, maybe, you should talk to your dad? If he’s still here? You’re a grown man now. And that doesn’t excuse what he did, but do you think, maybe you should talk to him? Man to man? Try to understand his reasons? Even if his reasons were that he’s a loser? Because you will never move on until you close that chapter.”

  “I’m not sure I can sit in the same room as him, Eva.”

  “So make it outside.” I shrug. “You need to do this. And please try not to punch him.”

  “I can’t promise you that, baby.”

  “Try. And, Will?” I begin, choosing my words carefully. “If...if it is true, about Scott...or Jack, or whatever...I’m sorry. I really am. I know it must be hard for you. But... just imagine how he must have felt. The day he found out about you and me was the day he discovered we’re pregnant, and then he watched us get married. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for him if...”

  Will’s shoulders fall and he drops his head to rest on mine. “I bloody love you, Wild Thing.” He takes hold of my waist and moves back a step. “You’re right. It must have been hell. I can’t imagine how that would feel. If I’d have met you a couple of months later and watched you marry him, it would have destroyed me...” He trails off; his eyes get distant. “Poor bloke.”

  “It hurts like hell, let me tell you.” Will looks at me and frowns. “When I came to Escape to tell you I was pregnant, I’d just had a miscarriage scare... And then that woman I’d watched you kiss told me she was having your baby...” I shake my head, remembering. Will’s eyes fill with pain. “It hurts...is all I meant.”

  “Oh...baby...”

  “I know. I know it wasn’t true. Davey told me, but I didn’t know that then. And I still just wanted to make it as easy on you as possible.”

  “I don’t deserve you. I’m not sure I ever will.” He pulls me back to his chest and holds me tight.

  “Will?”

  “Hmm?” He kisses the top of my head.

  “I’m really hungry. Is there anywhere open?”

  “Baby. We own the place.”

  “Let’s fix your hands first, Rambo.”

  “Funny.”

  I wink and mouth, “You love me.”

  “There’s an onsite doctor’s office. This way.” Will leads me away, my hand resting on his bent elbow. “Maybe I should leave a tip for housekeeping in the morning,” he says, frowning at the locked office door.

  “A tip? I think they’ll need a bloody holiday,” I tease.

  Will unlocks and ope
ns the door with the red cross on it, and we walk inside. He twists the lock behind us. For some reason, I assumed the doctor would be here.

  I glance around and scan through the many labelled drawers. “Sit.” I direct him to a chair. I wash my hands and grab a disposable apron.

  “I’ve never been so happy to be in here.” Will grins as I collect the things I need and rewash my hands. I turn on the lamp, move it over his injury and push it down lower, towards the target. I need more light.

  “You have debris in it,” I murmur as I gently turn his hand side to side. “This might sting.” There’s no might about it. Call it a courteous lie.

  When I’ve picked out the splinters with tweezers, cleaned and stitched Will’s hands, I smother an antibiotic cream over the wounds, wrap both hands in bandages, and clear away and wipe down everything we have used. I turn to look over my shoulder when I can feel Will watching me.

  “What?” I giggle.

  “Did you ever want to go back to nursing?”

  “Oh, I think you keep me plenty busy in that department, my love.”

  “Hmm. My own private nurse. I like it.” I chuckle and throw the antibacterial wipe in the bin. “I’m glad. I don’t think I could stand you touching other people.”

  “Other people?”

  “Men. Other men,” he huffs.

  “It’s a job, Will. Just a body. A flesh-covered machine. It’s no different from being a mechanic.”

  “It’s plenty bloody different.”

  “To you. To the patient, maybe. Not to the person in the uniform, believe me. We’re only concerned with fixing one problem before moving on to another.” Will unlocks the door and holds it open for me. I walk out into the corridor.

  “So, are you saying if I were your patient, you wouldn’t have even noticed me?”

  “You? Probably. Anyone else? No.” I shake my head as he locks it again behind us.

  “Huh.”

  “Come on. You’re on bed rest for the next twenty-four hours.”

  “Oh?” I nod with my best serious expression on my face. “I thought I was all fixed?”