Twice Cherished

by Ava Branson

  I struck out after her and a couple of minutes later, we hit shallower water. I touched bottom before she did. She flipped on her back and treaded water, smiling at me as she did.

  “You know this is heaven, right?”

  I certainly did. “It’s shaping up rather nicely.”

  “Come on,” she coaxed. “What could possibly be missing?”

  “I don’t know.” I darted underwater and took a hard kick to come up beneath her, wrapping one arm around her waist before coming up for air. I tossed the ditch bag towards shore, letting the waves carry it to the sand. “A mermaid, that’s what’s missing. Oh, wait!” I pulled her towards me. “I found one, and she’s wearing the most delightful excuse for a bikini I’ve had the privilege of seeing in a long time.”

  Laughing, she pushed away from me and out of my grasp, kicking off for shore. The difference in our heights gave me the advantage. I reached out and caught her by the ankle, yanking her back, squealing the whole way. This time she let me pull her up against my body, her hands resting on my shoulders. Strands of hair crisscrossed her forehead and I reached to move them. Dropping my gaze back to those haunting dark eyes, I knew I’d lost any chance of keeping my hands off her.

  Her chest rose and fell along with mine and I couldn’t tell whose heart was beating the hardest. The waves, as if in collusion, gently nudged our bodies against each other’s, like a tuneless dance only we could hear.

  I lost the battle.

  Chapter Eleven

  Micki

  My hearted thudded painfully in my chest as he hesitated, his arms reaching for me in what felt like slow-motion. All the sleepless nights, the days filled with fantasies about being here with him detonated in a white-hot rush that left me dizzy. His strong, warm arms around me cradled me as if I was the most delicate thing he’d ever held. He was being too careful. Too gentle for what I wanted.

  Reaching up, I cupped the back of his head with both hands and hauled his head down the last two inches and sealed my mouth on his. Electricity sizzled through my body, skewing my equilibrium. It filled me with a restless, edgy energy, a result of coming in direct contact with his body, that sun-warmed hard slab of muscle against mine, and those sinfully carved lips. Not wanting to maul him and…God. What if I’d made a huge mistake? I pulled back and let the water push between us.

  “Um…I’m thinking I should probably apologize for that.”

  “Why?” he fired back hoarsely.

  “I, uh, well…I don’t make a habit of jumping on men like that.”

  “Are you sorry you did?” His voice casual, but the look in his eyes was anything but.

  I couldn’t lie. “No, I’m not sorry.”

  His body tensed, nostrils flaring as strong muscles flexed in his jaws. “I just got done telling you that this is your call, but goddamn it all to hell, Micki. I’m three seconds from hauling you back in my arms. Move away if you haven’t decided yet.”

  There was a dangerous hint in his voice that heated my core, firing signals of all out sensual awareness and obliterating all rational thought.

  I didn’t move.

  He took a step toward me, closing the gap, stopping an inch from my body. For a brief second I thought he’d changed his mind until his arms shot out like lightning, wrapping his fingers around my upper arms and pulling me hard up against his length. His lips crushed against mine in a mind-blowing kiss that had me digging my fingers into the back of his neck, his shoulders—anything I could grab a hold of to bring him in closer. Pin him to me. Deeper. Harder.

  His tongue dipped and explored every bit of my mouth until every ounce of air had left my lungs. My body melted into his as he held me, our lips parting only to breathe. The rigid length of his erection pressing into my belly had me panting to get closer. To touch every inch of his body in the water… Oh God, he felt so good.

  I traced one hand down his shoulder, across his back to his waist then cupped his backside, pulling him tighter. He groaned against my mouth, lifting his mouth to whisper against mine. “So much for my self-control, huh?”

  I laughed breathlessly, hiccupping on a gulp of air. “Kind of enjoying it, actually.”

  He dipped down and pressed a hard kiss on my mouth. “Let’s go get showered and get the Jeep. I want to take you out to dinner. Do this the proper way, you know?”

  At the moment, I wasn’t too keen on proper. Or anything else, if it delayed feeling him inside me.

  Out of the corner of my eye, a dark, shadowy shape appeared. I yelped, practically leaping into Devin’s arms. He turned to look in the direction I was looking and chuckled. “It’s okay. It’s only a ray coming in to check us out.”

  We stood and watched as the winged fish glided through the shallows, circled around us once before gracefully swimming off and disappearing into deeper water.

  “Now that’s a good omen,” he said.

  I watched as the last hint of the creature vanished. “It is? I’ve never heard that before. What does it mean?”

  “It means,” he inched his face closer, his eyes on my lips, “good things are about to happen.” He brushed his lips over mine in the gentlest kiss. Shivers ran down my spine as he straightened, taking my hand and pulling me toward shore.

  “I’ve never heard that before, but I like it. Unless…” I looked up through suspicious eyes and searched his face. “Are you making that up?”

  He shrugged, answering cryptically. “Wait and see, Micki.”

  An hour later, showered and dressed, I met Devin downstairs in almost the exact same place I’d found him earlier today. Leaning against the wooden railing of the porch, his perfectly chiseled profile staring out to sea. What thoughts filled his head, I couldn’t begin to guess.

  As he had earlier, he sensed my presence and turned. I didn’t need my camera to preserve every detail. I raked my gaze from head to toe, loving the way his thick hair, long enough to cover his collar, managed to look windblown yet perfectly styled. The crisp white of his shirt deepened his tan and showcased broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He filled out his jeans in a mouthwatering way and filled my thoughts with how wonderful it would be to unzip them and pull them off him. He was part Ralph Lauren model and sex god rolled into one delicious package.

  “You look…” Amazing. Sexy beyond words. “Really great,” I finished lamely, feeling, once again, like a schoolgirl on her first date.

  Not to be outdone, he leaned against the rail and folded his arms across his chest. I watched his eyes flicker and burn as he surveyed me from top to bottom. I was expecting an easy smile and a flattering compliment, but that wasn’t what I got. Instead, when his eyes met mine, the blast of pure, primal lust he pinned me with made my knees buckle. As powerful as his kisses had been, what I saw in his eyes was beyond carnal and it stripped me bare. Determined to meet him on his level, I met his hungry gaze with one of my own and watched his eyes as they glittered back.

  “You take my breath away, Micki.” Judging from his reaction, the black, off the shoulder mini dress I was wearing met with his approval. I’d hoped as much when I packed it.

  My pulse still pinging all over the place, I struggled to recover my poise. And, with what could only be described as comedic timing, my stomach decided to make itself known and growled so loudly the neighbors two lots over probably heard it.

  His shoulders shook as he laughed. “Once again, rather impressive!”

  Trying to cover my embarrassment, I joked. “Just my way of saying hello. You know how salt air makes you hungry. So, yeah, um…well…I’m starving, in case you missed the obvious.”

  His phone pinged with an incoming text. He plucked it out of his pocket and read the message. “Then this is all working out according to plan.” He pocketed the phone and extended his hand to me. “Our taxi will be here in a minute or two, so let me lock up and we’ll be on our way.”

  I fell into step beside him as he closed the doors and we walked down the steps to meet the taxi. “You have a plan?�
� I asked, curious as to what he had in mind that mattered so much.

  “You’ll have to wait and see.”

  Another wait and see. I didn’t want to wait anymore!

  The seven-minute cab ride to the marina to get the Jeep left me wide-eyed, jaw tense, and fingernails leaving indentations in the armrest. Our driver had to have been ninety-three, if he was a day, and squinted out over the road for more of the drive than I cared to remember. He had a decided lead foot, too. Couple that with driving on the opposite side of the road—which I wasn’t used to—and the countless times he’d turned around to talk without looking where he was going, left me mentally driving for him. And drained. I tried, oh-so hard, not to stomp my foot on the floorboards to help him brake, but after realizing his braking skills were more of a crash-test-dummy kind of procedure, I gave up. There was no doubt he was a happy soul so I finally accepted the fact that if he’d lived this long driving the way he did, we just might make it out alive.

  Finally at the marina and still in one piece, Devin paid the driver and we got in the Jeep. A muffled, inarticulate sound gurgled from him as he reached for his seatbelt. Looking over, I saw his shoulders shaking.

  “Are you laughing at me?” I demanded.

  “No,” he claimed, but the simultaneous cough and clearing of his throat said otherwise. “Not at all.” He gave me an assessing look, before adding, “I guess I’m just more used to the driving than you. You squeaked, did you know that? But don’t worry,” he promised, patting my hand. “You’ll get used to it.” He flashed me a quick grin before putting the car in reverse. When we pulled out of the marina, he was still grinning and looking at me.

  “Eyes! On the road!” I pointed to the so-called street, which was no more than a double-wide sidewalk, in my opinion. In this part of the harbor, quaint cottages lined the streets, some a pale pink, others a sunny yellow or blue that echoed the skies. All peppered with bougainvillea and hibiscus and palms. Occasionally, Devin would have to stop to let a slow-moving resident or feral cat cross the road. No one was in a hurry on the island. Not even the four-legged variety.

  “Island time is a real thing,” he shared. “If you want something done quickly, well…you’d better be prepared to do it yourself. Otherwise, it’s a when they get there or when they feel like it kind of schedule. It’s a little frustrating at first, especially when you come from a high-speed kind of existence, but you get used to it.”

  The schedule thing I could get used to. The driving? Not so much.

  A few minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant he had told me about. Fish Tales looked to be no bigger than my cottage back home. Small, manicured hedges framed a pristine white gravel path that led to an unassuming front door.

  Automatically my left hand went to my hip. It took less than a second to realize what I’d forgotten.

  “Looking for your camera?”

  I shook my head in disbelief. I’d left it deliberately before we went sailing, but this time? “I can’t believe I left it behind. That’s like a cardinal no-no for me. I don’t know, Devin. My head isn’t working like it’s supposed to.”

  “Ahh.” He stroked his jaw with two fingers. “Does this mean my plan to sweep you off your feet is working faster than I’d hoped?”

  He had no freaking idea. I gave him a sideways look. “So, what is this great plan you’ve alluded to? You can color me curious.”

  He moved close enough that the heat of his body warmed mine. “I’m hoping you’ll like it. If you don’t, then I’ll move on to plan B. And if you don’t like that one, I’ll bring on plan C and then…” He stopped and frowned. “Wait a minute. I’m droning on and on, and you haven’t even attempted to kiss me to shut me up.”

  I stared at him for a full second before dropping my head back and laughing. “So that’s your plan? Babble on until I kiss you?”

  He didn’t bother trying to deny it. “Maybe. Maybe not. Why? It’s not such a bad idea. I mean, hell, it worked today and I didn’t even know what I was doing.”

  I looked at him with suspicion. “Devin, I have a feeling you always know what you’re doing.”

  The teasing light in his eyes faded a bit. “Not always, love,” he answered quietly.

  Feeling the mood slip from lighthearted to something less, I opened my mouth to fill the void. “You said the stone crab claws here were delicious, but you told me that Edith makes them better than anyone.”

  He pressed a finger to my mouth, silencing me. The intimate contact made me want to purr. He lowered his head and whispered conspiratorially. “They are good here, but Jesus—whatever you do—don’t rave about it in front of Edith. She’ll skin me alive.”

  “Okaay…” I drawled. “And why is that?”

  “Because,” he kept his voice low. “She swears the chef’s wife stole her recipe for the mustard sauce at a church dinner or something, and it still pisses her off to this day. I mean,” he opened his arms wide, “like this kind of pissed off. Gigantic.”

  I made a zipping gesture over my mouth. “I won’t utter a word. I promise.”

  “Good. She’s a termagant when she wants to be, but the old lady sure tries to take care of me.”

  “Do you need taking care of?” The thought of Devin helpless in any capacity seemed ludicrous.

  “I do not,” he assured me. “But doesn’t it feel good now and then to have someone make a fuss over you?”

  I couldn’t remember the last time someone made a fuss over me for anything. Excluding my assistants, Alethea, Kim, and Toby. They fussed at me when I worked non-stop. “I guess so, but since I really don’t have anything to draw on, I’ll go with you on this one and say yes.”

  His brows pulled together over probing eyes. “That sounds like something I need to rectify immediately then.”

  Puzzled, I asked, “You need to make a fuss over me?”

  “Yes,” he replied simply.

  I shook my head, not understanding the level of importance he seemed to be putting on this. “You’re a confounding male, Devin Stockton. I’d better keep an eye on you.”

  “I’ll certainly keep an eye on you, beautiful lady. Now, do I get to pick which part, or is this the whole body in general, because—”

  “One-track mind, Stockton. Now,” I pointed to the restaurant’s door to the left of us. “Is there, or is there not, food on the other side of that door?”

  He smacked his head with the palm of his hand. “Oh, my God! I’d almost forgotten about that stomach of yours…well, not really. I totally remember that delightful part of you because this afternoon I got to touch it and—”

  I looked meaningfully towards the door. “Can we?”

  “Talk about a one-track mind—what?” He looked surprised as I pushed past him toward the door. I was no match for his long legs and he easily beat me to the door. With a grand bow, he swept the door open. “After you, beautiful lady.”

  We stepped into the small entry where a tiny, stout woman with spiky silver hair stood to greet us. “Two, please,” Devin began, “and out on the deck, if possible.” He turned to me. “I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you first. Is that okay with you?”

  “Outside is perfect.” Through the wide bank of windows in the quaint restaurant lay the money shot. The white deck was about the same size as the entire building. Built out over the water, the entire area was kissed by the steady breeze. Farther out in deeper water, boats of all kinds and sizes bobbed at anchor in the large, protected harbor. The island’s red-and-white striped lighthouse stood sentry at the mouth of the harbor, its beacon standing at the ready to light the skies at sundown. The hostess led us to a small table in the corner, perfect for two. After being seated, she left us with menus and the assurance our waitress would be right over.

  I sighed dreamily, taking in the vibrant colors of the island, the water, and the assorted color hulls of the boats. “I feel like I’m sitting in the middle of a postcard. You could serve me a bowl of sawdust right now and I’d think it was the
greatest dish ever. Speaking of Edith…how did you meet her?”

  He chuckled as he took his sunglasses off and hung them in the open neckline of his shirt. “Nice non sequitur.” He paused as our waitress stopped by with waters and asked for our drink order. The clean salt air called for a crisp chardonnay for me and Devin ordered a Belvedere vodka martini. “Only place on the island with it,” he pointed out. “Except the bar back at the house.”

  Top shelf liquor wasn’t always available in the islands. That I knew from my travelling friends.

  “Back to Edith?” I prompted.

  “Ah, that. She sort of came with the house. Like a package deal. But it’s worked out well for me, I gotta say. I can leave the place and not worry about a single thing.”

  I was perplexed. “So, how exactly does a person come with a house?”

  “Well now, that’s an interesting little story, actually. She took care of the previous owner, the man who built the place. He was an older guy who lost his wife the year the house was completed. Anyway, he was lonely and she took to the old man and they shared, from what I can tell, pretty much the same soft and gentle relationship we have. As you’ve seen, she’s in awe of me most days.”

  I laughed hard. The mere idea of Edith being in awe of him—or anyone, for that matter—tickled the hell out of me. Before I could recover, the waitress delivered our drinks.

  He lifted his glass and clinked it against mine. “Here’s to a—mutually satisfying next few days.”

  There was no denying the heat that radiated from his gaze. “I’ll drink to that.” I touched my glass to his and took a long sip. Unless I was completely out of touch with sexual innuendo, and hell, it’d been a long time, we were on the same wavelength. And it was one that left me aware of all the lady parts that would like to reacquaint themselves with his gentlemanly parts. The more room I gave my fantasies, the more difficult it was going to be to sit still.

  “Back to Edith?” I prompted once again, propping my chin in my hands.