“I don’t know.”
“Just don’t think about it, okay? Let me do this for you…”
I shrug my shoulders without answering; I really don’t feel comfortable using the money Nicholas earns working so hard, for something like getting my hair done. I see his point about it though, with the media hounding us, appearances are going to be more important than they’ve ever been. I guess I just never thought that would mean that he would make me a joint owner on his bank account. It seems…
“I trust you, Kenzie,” he leans over and kisses me, which immediately ends my worried thoughts.
Chapter 20
Kenzie
Today is our last full day in Fiji; tomorrow night we will be back in New York and back to reality. It’s hard to think about being back there and having to deal with reporters, schedules, business dinners and charity events again—things here are so different. I wonder if things will change between us when we get home and real life takes over. I especially don’t want to lose this: Nicholas’s arm wrapped around my waist and his body pressed up against mine as we sleep.
We haven’t talked about what our sleeping arrangements will be once we get back, though if it were up to me, I would keep things just as they are right now. I don’t understand it, but for whatever reason sharing a bed seems to keep his nightmares away. I doubted his simple explanation as to why he had a nightmare the other night, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. In New York, he had nightmares nearly every night for the two weeks I lived with him, yet we spent almost an entire week sharing a bed and the only time he had a nightmare was when we slept separately.
I gently lift his arm from my stomach and slip out of bed, toss on a robe and head out to the living room. I spend the next few minutes planning out our last day on the island; Nicholas had said there wasn’t anything specific he wanted to do before he left, so I thought it would be nice to surprise him. A few phone calls later, I have managed to arrange our entire day, one that I hope he will enjoy. Everything planned today was done with him in mind: I’m really hoping that he likes what I have picked out. I’m nervous, though, I want him to enjoy today, but I’m worried that he might not like something I arranged. I’d like to think I know him fairly well, but the reality is we have only known each other a few short months, so I could easily be wrong. He has spent so much time and money doing things that make me happy, I want to do this for him.
“You’re up early,” Nicholas finally joins me on the patio a couple of hours later.
“You slept late.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to get back on schedule when we get home tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve been awake before eight this entire week.”
“I know, I was thinking the same thing earlier,” I don’t let on that I was also wondering if things will change between us. “I was going to wake you in a few minutes anyway, I planned a few things today, and if we don’t get a move on it we won’t be able to get everything done.”
“You planned a few things?”
I can tell how surprised he is by his tone, in the few months we’ve known each other, I haven’t planned much or taken the lead often on things we do. By the definition of our original arrangement, Nicholas was the planner: he told Bridget where and when he needed me and I showed up. With our revised arrangement not much has changed in that sense. He will need to continue to tell me when and where he needs me, so the mirage of our marriage continues, and the press stays off of his back allowing his focus to remain on PFS where it should be.
“Yes, I’ve planned the entire day. Brunch should be here in a few minutes, then we need to leave within an hour if we are to stay on schedule.”
“On schedule?”
“Of course, two of our activities have set times that they occur. There’s an activity in the middle, that if times allows we can do, but it doesn’t have a strict start time like the others.”
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing today?”
“Nope, it’s a surprise,” I chuckle at his heavy sigh, knowing that he has done this same thing to me a couple of times now.
“Do I have a choice?”
“Nope.”
He laughs but wraps his arms around me and kisses my neck softly. He starts sucking and nibbling on my neck, as his hands struggle to untie the knot holding my bathrobe closed. Eventually, he gives up with the knot, instead sliding his hands between the folds of the bathrobe, groaning when he finds my silk covered breasts. I can feel him hardening against me, leaving me no doubt that he wants me as much as I want him right now. Things have definitely changed for us in this department: lately neither of us can keep our hands off of each other. I had thought that after I flipped out at Accord Towers that night, things would have cooled off, but it has only heated up since then.
I’m startled when I hear someone in the villa behind us, but Nicholas holds me tight against him not letting me turn around to see who it is. The staff here somehow performs their jobs without ever interrupting the guests. Our brunch was delivered and they left all without saying a word or interrupting us. Thankfully, from where they were in the villa, they couldn’t see us on the patio, but even if they could, Nicholas’s back is all they would be able to see. When he sucks on my ear lobe, I moan loudly, thankful that the staff left us only moments ago.
“I want you, Kenzie…” he whispers, pressing his hardness against my ass as if to prove a point.
“I want you too,” I admit breathlessly. His breath hitches with my admission, I guess I surprised him with my honesty. I do want Nicholas, just as much as he wants me; we just need to figure out how that can happen with our issues.
“Let’s go take a shower.”
“Later… we need to eat and get ready to leave.”
“It can wait.”
“It can’t… we have appointment times.”
“Reschedule them.”
“It was the only time left.”
“Hummppppffff.”
I turn around so I’m facing him and wrap my arms around his neck. His arms immediately go around my waist anchoring me to him. The silk fabric of my nightie and bathrobe allow me to feel every muscle in his body when he holds me against him.
“We’ll take that shower later tonight, I promise,” I kiss him gently on the lips even though I want nothing more than to deepen the kiss and take him up on his offer.
“Tonight,” he reluctantly agrees before kissing me one last time.
After eating a quick brunch, we head into separate bathrooms to quickly wash up and get changed. I’d much rather have Nicholas in here with me, than in the guest bathroom, but I know if he were here we would never make our reservation. I was so tempted to cancel everything I had planned, in favor of spending the day right here with him, especially after he suggested we take another shower together. But, at the same time, I really wanted to do this: I wanted to spend our last day on the island doing things that he might choose to do for himself.
“Are you ready, Kenzie?” Nicholas knocks on the door just as I’m slipping on my shoes.
“All done.”
He comes into the bedroom to grab a pair of socks out of the dresser before sitting on the bed next to me. It really touches me that even though we have been sharing this bedroom for the entire trip, he continues to knock before coming in, especially if he knows I’m getting dressed. I like that he doesn’t take whatever is happening between us for granted. I don’t know how to label what we’re doing exactly, but I know this week things have definitely changed between us. We’ve gone from incredibly close friends to something much more.
“So where to?” he asks.
“I told you it’s a surprise.”
“Do I need to bring anything? Bathing suit, towel…?”
“Nope, just you.”
We take the golf cart through the resort, parking in the lot by the dock where we first arrived on the island. I see Nicholas’s immediate confusion when he sees a plane waiting for us.
&
nbsp; “Kenzie… if you didn’t arrange for Carter to accompany us on this trip, I’m afraid we can’t go. We can’t leave the island—”
“Technically, we’re leaving the island but really, in a way, we’re not. I spoke with Carter this morning and he agreed we didn’t need security for this trip.”
“What do you mean we’re leaving the island but we’re not?”
“It’s an island tour by air. The plane is going to take us around the entire island, as well as over the nearby islands. It’s just the two of us and the pilot on the trip, so Carter didn’t feel there was a security risk. We won’t be landing until we return to Turtle Island. However, he said if you insisted, he could be here within minutes—”
“No, he’s right, we don’t need him. I’m sorry, I assumed you wouldn’t have thought about security.”
“Don’t be. When I first arranged this, I didn’t even think about security, it wasn’t until after I finalized all of the plans, that I thought to run this trip by Carter to be sure he didn’t feel we needed security. Being here is different: in New York we need security whenever we leave Accord Towers, but here we have so much more flexibility. It was easy to forget that I should ask Carter.”
“You’re right, we have much more flexibility here than we do in New York. I wish it were like this in New York; then I wouldn’t need security and wouldn’t have to worry about what the press thinks of me.”
“True, but then we wouldn’t be here right now. You yourself said this was your first vacation…” I don’t mention that we wouldn’t be doing whatever it is we’re doing right now.
“You’re right, and I’ve really enjoyed spending this week with you.”
“Me too.”
“Mr. Parker, Mrs. Parker?” one of the workers from the activities department arrives.
“Yes, that’s us,” Nicholas confirms.
“The plane is ready when you are. We are scheduled to take off in the next ten minutes, so I would recommend you make your way to the plane as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.”
We head down the dock to the plane that is waiting for us. I climb up the steps, my legs shaking the entire time. Although I know this plane is safe, I still hate how small it is. As soon as I’m in the plane, I wait for Nicholas to climb in before gesturing for him to sit closest to the window. Once he is seated, he reaches over and straps me into my seat; my hands were shaking so bad that it made buckling the seat belt difficult.
“Are you okay? We don’t have to do this—”
“I’m fine. I just hate how tiny this plane is.”
“You are the one who arranged this trip, right?” He chuckles.
“Yeah.”
My nervousness all but disappears once the plane is in the air, and we are able to take in the amazing views before us. We are flying much lower than we were when we first arrived on the island, allowing us to see so much more of the island. Our pilot takes his time going around Turtle Island, while describing things in detail to us. I’m surprised at just how large the island is, when the pilot points out all the undeveloped areas. There’s so much to do on the section of the island where we are staying, that it’s hard to think that there are parts that are purposely left undeveloped for the local wildlife. While flying over the other islands that make up Fiji, the pilot shares information about the culture.
As we circle back to Turtle Island, I spend a couple of minutes watching Nicholas. His face is practically glued to the window, watching as we fly over everything taking it all in.
“Wow… that was an amazing trip, Kenzie. Thank you for arranging it today,” Nicholas pulls me into his arms the moment I step off the plane and onto the dock.
“You really liked it?”
“It was really something. To be able to see everything so clearly… we were able to see so much that we couldn’t see on the flight in. I read about the air tours on their website, when I was researching the island, but I didn’t think we would fly as low as we did to be able to really see everything. And for some reason I had thought the tour was shorter—”
“It typically is only an hour; I had requested a longer tour so we could look at the other islands.”
“Thank you. It was… really something.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
We walk back to the golf cart hand in hand; I feel much more relaxed than we first arrived. I was more worried about this activity rather than the dinner I planned for later today.
“So, what’s next on our schedule?” Nicholas asks as we reach the villa.
“Let’s see,” I glance at the clock mentally reviewing our schedule. “We have about two hours before we have to be somewhere. I had thought we could swim or go down to the beach one last time? Unless you want to do something—”
“No, that sounds perfect,” he interrupts before I have a chance to finish my thought.
“Oh, dinner tonight is formal. I sent your suit out to be cleaned, so it should be back by now.”
“You did?”
“I didn’t see another suit in the closet, so I assumed you only brought the one that you wore for our wedding?”
“I didn’t think I would need one, but at the last minute I had Carter add the bag to the plane. I guess I needed it after all.”
“I hope you don’t mind—”
“Of course not. Although, I have to admit I’m intrigued as to what you have planned that requires me to wear a suit.”
“You’ll have to wait and see,” I smirk at him.
“You know, I normally don’t do well when I don’t have control over things like this. I’m not one for having my schedule changed at the last minute. Ask Melody, I have to know my schedule in advance, and be notified immediately of any changes that are made. Surprises for me are extremely rare, especially with Carter, Melody, Brian and Asher at PFS ensuring that surprises don’t occur.”
“I’m sorry—”
SHIT, I didn’t think of that. I should have realized he was like that, since he runs his own company where he has complete control over everything. Thinking about it now, I should have recognized he would be uncomfortable leaving today’s schedule unknown.
“Don’t tell Melody, but I’ve kind of enjoyed this week not having too much scheduled. And what’s more surprising, is that I’m okay with you having planned today without me knowing anything.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he looks out at the water for a few minutes without saying anything.
I’m not sure what he’s thinking right now, but something tells me not to ask him. I hadn’t thought about how difficult it would be for him to not have complete control over everything. The more I think about it, the more I see how he has been in complete control almost since the moment we met.
“Did you want to head down to the beach?” I ask.
“Yes, I’ll just go change.”
We don’t have much time, but I’m glad we were able to spend some time today on the private beach at the villa. Who expects to go on vacation and have a large section of a beach all to themselves? We both changed into swimsuits but didn’t actually end up going in the water. We walked in the water, stopping every so often so I could pick up a seashell, but neither of us made any attempt to actually go swimming. Before I knew it, we were heading back to the villa to get changed for dinner.
“Wow… Kenzie you look…”
“Thank you,” I find myself blushing at his reaction.
In a few steps he is in front of me, running his hands along the sides of the red halter style dress, before wrapping them around me so he can feel my bare back. I think I hear him groan, ever so quietly before he leans in and kisses me. Within moments of his lips finding mine, the kiss is deepened, the need from earlier this morning quickly returning for both of us. By the time he pulls away, we are both breathless and once again, I’m tempted to just cancel everything and suggest we spend our last evening on the island right here.
“We need to go, right?” Nicholas whi
spers.
“We do,” I reluctantly admit.
He kisses me one last time before pulling completely away; I lean up and wipe my lipstick from his lips which for some reason makes him blush. I laugh that something as simple as that made him blush, yet so many of the other things we’ve done haven’t. He leads me by the hand out to the golf cart, and since he doesn’t know where we are going, I drive us to another part of the island where we walk down yet another dock. A large boat is waiting for us at the end of the dock; this time we are not alone, but there are only a handful of guests on the cruise tonight.
“The sunset dinner cruise?” Nicholas asks.
“I thought it might be nice to see the island one last time before we left. It’s supposed to be really beautiful at sunset,” I shrug.
“I’ve heard some great things about this cruise; the views of the island are supposed to be breathtaking.”
We board a few minutes later and head out to the large deck to watch as we pull away from the island. The cruise is scheduled to take us around Turtle Island, and around one of the neighboring islands. The deck of the ship is set up for an obviously very intimate dinner: several small tables outline the perimeter of the boat, ensuring that each couple has an unobscured view as we move through the water. We are immediately escorted to the table at the front of the deck before three other couples join us on the deck. Wine and appetizers are brought out just as we pull away from the dock. Everything is timed just perfectly, we’re about halfway around the island as the sun meets the horizon, which is the same time that the main course is served.
“Dance with me?” Nicholas asks once we finish our dinner.
“Sure.”
He takes my hand and leads me to the small dance floor where another couple is dancing. Instead of placing his hand on my hip, like he has done every other time we have danced, he wraps his arm around my back pulling me close to him. With how close we are to each other, the dance feels far more intimate than any of the other dances we’ve shared. He leads me around the dance floor, somehow ensuring we never get too close to the other couple, even though his eyes are always on mine.
On Her Terms (The Arrangement Duet Book 2) Page 21