Breaking Even

by Lily Bishop

  She thought for a minute that he planned to join her, but he pushed her towards the bathroom and closed the door. Lindsey was glad, needing privacy just them to gather herself.

  Ric was right. She did feel better after a shower. When she came out, Ric had changed the sheets and turned back the comforter. She hadn't even though about that. They weren't even her sheets.

  “You changed the sheets,” she said. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Least I could do. I tossed the others in the washer.”

  “Not planning on hanging the evidence from the balcony are you?”

  He laughed. “If we were at my family’s castle, I might have to consider it. You know, the honor of my ancestors and all that. Come over here.”

  She climbed back in bed and snuggled beside him. Stretched beside him, half on his chest, the physical contact soothed her. Just a few weeks ago, any skin-to-skin contact had made her want to jump out of her skin. Perhaps she had just needed time to get used to him, to get used to the feel of him.

  “Are you good? No regrets?” he asked.

  “No regrets,” she echoed.

  “Next time will be better, I promise.”

  Lindsey drifted to sleep, just happy to be near him.

  #

  Lindsey woke up with a heavy weight over her hip. Ric. She looked down to see his arm thrown across her. She rolled over on her back, careful not to wake him. When she turned her head so she could see him, his eyes were half-open.

  “How long have you been awake?”

  “Since sunrise. It appears that my friend’s wife doesn’t believe in window coverings. That’s one thing I’d change if I buy this place.” His hand had landed on her stomach when she moved. He caressed with just a touch and then moved up to the underside of her breast. “How do you feel this morning?”

  “Fine. Why wouldn't I?” At his look, Lindsey realized why he had asked and blushed. “I'm feeling fabulous. No complaints. No complaints at all. In fact, give me just a minute and I will show you how uncomplaining I am.”

  After they each took time in the bathroom, Lindsey snuggled back under the cover. She had never even unpacked her new peach gown past night. They never made it that far.

  Ric climbed in beside her and slipped under the cover.

  “You are not pulling the cover down. It's cold in here!” she said, laughing.

  “I can think of a way to warm you up.”

  “I just bet you can.”

  Lindsey held herself up on one elbow and let her hand roam over Ric's bare chest. “I didn't look at this much last night. What is there to see here?” She leaned over, kissed each of his nipples, and was rewarded when he sucked in his breath. “You like that, baby?”

  “Yes. Much.”

  He slipped his arm around her, and while Lindsey liked it, she felt he should have a taste of his own medicine. “No, no, no touchy. Keep your hands on the bed like a good boy.”

  “You're killing me.”

  “Yes, and you killed me last night. So we will be even.”

  Lindsey teased him with her tongue, going lower and lower until she reached what she sought. She took him in her mouth and he grew harder as he increased in size. He made little satisfied whimpering noises.

  When Lindsey lifted her head, his erection stood proudly at attention, moving on its own. She straddled him, careful where she sat. “Now that I've got you, I don't quite know what to do with you.”

  “You'll figure it out.”

  She stretched out on top of him and leaned down for a kiss. She could kiss him all day.

  Her hips had a mind of their own, and they tried to ease down on him, but she felt awkward. It wasn't working like she thought. He gripped her bottom, squeezing.

  “You might have to help,” she said sheepishly.

  “I can do that,” he said. He flipped her over until she was on her back under him.

  “I didn't mean that—” Lindsey said.

  He laughed. “Don't worry. You'll try it all eventually. Be patient with yourself. For one thing, you can't just dive right in. Your body needs buildup. Like this.”

  He bent and sucked on one nipple while caressing the other with his hand. Her nipples tightened immediately and little shivers swept her back. That felt better than what she was doing before, but she reminded herself that she had been focused on giving him pleasure. She reached around him and squeezed his bottom, just as he had gripped hers.

  After telling her that she needed to be ready, Ric made it happen. He teased and tormented her until she was ready to go over the edge and then teased her some more. When he entered her, the pain that she half expected didn't come. Then he started to move, and she gasped. She had enjoyed the night before, but this was different, so much more intense.

  Her hips bucked to meet him and she pulled him down to her. Her hands traced his back, pulling him to her. Waves of pleasure rushed over her from her core to her legs. He pumped one last time and then hung above her, suspended in time. Lindsey felt like they fused as one.

  He lowered himself on top of her, his elbows taking most of his weight. She clung to his shoulders, reveling in his strength.

  He rolled off her and half pulled across him. The cover, long since discarded, lay in a heap on the floor. Lindsey didn’t mind her nudity around him now. He had seen all of her. What else was there to hide? His eyes half-closed, he lay still, his chest rising and falling.

  Lindsey wanted to tell him he was amazing, but that felt like too much. She wanted to tell him she loved him, but that seemed like a cliché. Great sex. Oh, and by the way, I love you. She couldn’t get the words out right then.

  “Glad I’m past the age where I have to go back in January and tell what I did on my Christmas vacation,” Lindsey said.

  Ric’s laugh rumbled deep in his chest. “Sí, that is a good thing.”

  Lindsey’s stomach chose that moment to growl loud enough that he heard her. She laughed and buried her face in his neck.

  “Hmmm, I’m hungry,” he said. Let’s go see what they left us for breakfast.”

  “I could eat,” she said, pretending to have no interest, but then she hurried to throw on a T-shirt and shorts.

  They found the kitchen well stocked with breakfast foods. Lindsey started a pot of coffee and Ric put on bacon and eggs. They also found the housekeeper's note explaining how to cook the cinnamon rolls in the freezer.

  “We make a good team,” Lindsey said. They sat down to a breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, and fresh fruit. Lindsey poured him coffee.

  “That we do.” Ric smiled at her across the table, that million-dollar smile that gave her warm feelings inside. “I think we’d make a great team if we opened a fencing school here.”

  Lindsey thought about his statement. “Maybe, but I still don’t see you leaving the island. You’ve built up such a wonderful resort there.”

  “True. I love Calliope, but I’m thinking I could split my time. We could make a great thing here.”

  “We?”

  “Of course. You’ve got several years left, especially if you go the PhD route. This isn’t too far from Clemson. You could live here and help me manage things.”

  Lindsey gaped at him. She had never realized he was considering this estate with her in mind. She just thought rich people bought things. “I hadn’t thought about moving up here. I guess I could consider it, but I don’t know anything about a fencing school, and I would be the draw you would. Besides, if you weren’t here I don’t think I would want to be up here all by myself.”

  He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “We’ll figure it out.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Christmas Eve on Calliope

  Lindsey should have been happy to be landing in Calliope on Christmas Eve, but she felt out of sorts. Laura, Fox, and his family were taking a cruise on a private yacht somewhere near Bermuda. Once Lindsey learned that Laura wouldn't be home, it had been easy to choose Ric. She had no interest i
n being on a ship for Christmas.

  She should have been happy that she could spend Christmas with Ric without making Laura angry. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, Christmas wasn't the same without her mom. Her mother had loved Christmas. She put up two Christmas trees, baked all the goodies they could eat, and piled presents under the tree. They didn’t always get everything they wanted, but their mother made Christmas morning magical.

  When Lindsey exited the plane in her jeans and Christmas sweater, the heat rushed over her. The red cotton sweater with snowmen was fine in Clemson, where the temperature was crisp and cool. Unfortunately, on Calliope, the weather was sunny and almost eighty degrees. It would be a long hot weekend with the clothes she had brought.

  She looked around for Ric, but didn't see him. A wave of disappointment rushed over her. She had come all this way. The least he could do was pick her up at the airport. She waited beside her luggage, burning up in her sweater.

  It had been a week since their trip to his friend's estate. The estate he wanted to buy, she corrected. She still didn't know what she thought about that. For years, she had shied away from being touched. Now she couldn't stop thinking about Ric touching her. She craved him. But was that love? She still had to finish her education. Was she ready to change everything and merge her life with his?

  “Miss Lindsey?”

  She looked up to see Xavier. “Ric is sorry he couldn’t pick you up, but they are busy decorating the main lobby and he couldn’t get away.”

  “It’s fine," she said, the words coming out a bit more clipped than she intended. "It doesn’t feel a bit like Christmas here, though.”

  He laughed. “Growing up in Venezuela, I’ve never known anything different.”

  “Well, we don’t get snow, but at least it’s cold enough to wear a Christmas sweater.”

  He laughed. “You won't find many Christmas sweaters in the Bahamas.”

  “So you’re not going home to family this Christmas?”

  Xavier frowned. “Ric is my family.”

  Lindsey immediately backtracked. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I know I miss my mom at Christmas.”

  “Sometimes old aches fester more this time of year.”

  “That’s the truth,” she said, trying to snap out of her depressing frame of mind. Her mother wouldn’t have wanted her to sit around all maudlin on Christmas Eve. She would have wanted her to keep living her life.

  The hotel staff all wore bright red Christmas T-shirts and either jeans or khaki pants. They bustled around the common areas hanging garlands of greens. Many of the core staff that she met on her previous trip smiled at her, waving.

  A bare Christmas tree rose at least twenty feet in the middle of the foyer, waiting for decorations. Jacquetta sat with Rudy on the floor by the tree, setting up a large, complicated model train set. Lindsey smiled and waved, but Rudy didn’t notice, and Jacquetta looked away. So much for trying to make friends.

  Xavier waved a bellhop over. Lindsey recognized him as Dureau from the funeral. “Dureau, take Miss Todd's luggage up to the tower suite.”

  “Will do. It's nice to see you again, Miss Todd. Merry Christmas.”

  Dureau's big smile was infectious, and she found herself smiling back. “Merry Christmas to you as well.” After a quick salute, he departed with her two bags, carrying them as if they weighed nothing.

  “I just realized I didn't give him a tip,” Lindsey said, feeling horrible. “I wasn't expecting him to take my luggage.”

  “Ric takes care of it. You don't have to worry.”

  Lindsey scanned the room, but didn't see Ric. “Speaking of Ric, where is he?”

  “I don't know. He's around here somewhere. It's been a crazy morning. The tree was late coming in on the ship, and he thought it wasn't going to get here. He always gets the islanders a big tree for Christmas, but it got held up this year.”

  Lindsey smiled, just noticing that the tree was real. “It will take a lot of water to keep that tree from shedding in this heat,” she commented.

  “It just has to last until New year's Eve. Then we burn it in a giant beach bonfire.”

  “Oh. That sounds like fun.”

  Ric came out of the office area, carrying two boxes marked ornaments. When he saw Lindsey, he set the boxes down and rushed to her, taking her in his arms. “I’ve been checking the sky every five minutes looking for the plane. I must have missed it while I was in the storage rooms getting these decorations out.”

  “Xavier picked me up,” she explained.

  He kissed her then, and she let her arms rest around his neck.

  “I’m so glad your sister was going on that cruise so you could come here. I’ve missed you so bad it hurts,” he said.

  “Me, too,” she said. Laura thought Lindsey was spending the holiday at her friend Sarah's house. Ric didn't need to know that she hadn't told her sister how close she and Ric were.

  “I hope you don’t mind—we have a big island party tonight. All the staff come together to decorate and we light the big tree when the kids get here. They get a chance to sit on Santa’s lap. It’s become a tradition with Rudy, too. I give him his presents on Christmas Eve.”

  Lindsey smiled and turned away, focusing on the decorations. She didn’t belong in his world. Her holidays had always been small and intimate. She didn't know how to act at a gathering for the whole island.

  Dinner was quick, eaten buffet style with people sitting where they could find a seat. Lindsey was separated from Ric in the line. She found him again at a picnic table outside filled with several of the local kids. He patted the bench seat beside him.

  “There you are. I saved you a seat. Come sit beside me.”

  Jacquetta came out, looking for Rudy, and frowned when she saw him at the crowded table with Ric. There wasn't an extra seat for her. “He’s fine, Jacquetta. He’s eating with us,” Ric said.

  “All right then. I’ll go back inside.”

  “She does not like me,” Lindsey whispered after the woman left.

  “Of course she does. She’s just stressed out after getting everything ready for tonight.”

  “No, it’s more than that.”

  After dinner, Lindsey helped one of the women box cookies for the locals to carry home. She sensed someone at her elbow and looked up to see Jacquetta take an empty box and start filling it.

  “It’s good to see you again,” she said, trying to be friendly. “I hope Rudy hasn’t had any ill effects from his accident on my last visit.”

  “My son is fine,” she said crisply. “Thanks for asking.” She packed cookies until the other woman walked away, and then she turned to look directly at Lindsey. “You can come down here to visit and for holidays, but it is a waste of your time. Ricardo will never leave the island life.”

  Lindsey looked around, but no one else stood close enough to hear the hissed warning. Jacquetta always acted friendly around other people, but Lindsey knew it was an act.

  “Why do you dislike me so much? According to Ric, the two of you have never dated. He said he likes to spend time with Rudy, but that is it.”

  There. She had said it. Lindsey was proud of herself for making a stand.

  Jacquetta grabbed Lindsey’s arm and pulled her to the side. Lindsey looked down at the woman’s red fingernails digging into her forearm. The nails shined like daggers. “A man will say anything so he can be a woman’s first, no?”

  How did she know? Lindsey’s faced heated in a blush. “It’s not like that.”

  “You say that. Tell me what it’s like. Because nothing has changed between Ricardo and I. He turns to me when he wants companionship. You. You are nothing more than a diversion.” When Lindsey didn’t answer, Jacquetta continued. “He took me to Atlanta, and I waited at his home while he played with you. I was the one he returned to when he finished with you.” Jacquetta walk away, her back straight and her shoulders back.

  Lindsey could not believe that woman had just said that t
o her. She didn’t believe her, but the words still hurt. What motive would she have to lie? To get you to leave.

  Lindsey almost growled at the thought. Well, she didn’t plan to give Ric up without a fight. She needed to collect her thoughts. She made a straight line toward the restroom, and was almost there when Xavier motioned for her. He had changed clothes, she noticed, from his earlier attire. Now he wore all black.

  “Ricardo wants you to join him on his yacht for a romantic cruise. He told me to bring you out to the pier, and he would join you shortly.” He looked around, as if he expected someone to interrupt them at any minute.

  “Okay, I will be right out,” she said, turning to go in the restroom. She needed a minute to collect her emotions before she saw Ric. She had to decide how she was going to ask him about Jacquetta. She wanted the truth this time.

  Xavier squinted at the crowds beginning to fill the room. “You might want to come now.”

  “I will, I just need to step in the restroom. Ric will wait for me.” She didn’t wait for his response.

  In the harsh light of the restroom, Lindsey pushed down her emotions, determined not to cry. Her instincts told her that Ric had not told Jacquetta about their sexual relationship. The woman was guessing. She would simply ask him if Jacquetta had gone to Atlanta with him, and that would be the end of that.

  When she emerged, her emotions back under control, Xavier was gone. She went out the back exit and started towards the pier, but ran into Ric and Xavier on the way.

  “I said I would be right out,” she said playfully, batting Ric’s arm. “Now where’s your ship?”

  He frowned at her. “My ship? It’s in dry dock getting repairs. Why?”

  “That makes no sense. Xavier told me to come out here for a romantic cruise.”

  Ric and Xavier exchanged glances. Xavier shook his head. “Maybe it was someone who looked like me. I’ve been with Ric.”

  Lindsey frowned. “What is going on? I could have sworn it was you.”

  “So he looked like me—what was he wearing?”

  “All in black. That’s why I noticed. I thought you had changed clothes.” She glanced over at Ric. “What are we doing? If we’re not going on a cruise?”