New Beginnings

by Lori Maguire

  I just shook my head at him smirking. I was certain this was just the beginning of a life full of surprises now that I was Mrs. Xavier Hart, and I couldn’t be any happier!

  Within an hour of getting back to our room, Stewart showed up to get our bags. We checked out of the Fairmont and made our way to SeaTac. It was nearly one in the morning by the time we reached Xavier’s company jet. It was white and sleek with the Hart to Hart logo on the tail. It looked like a fast jet just sitting on the tarmac.

  Standing at the foot of the stairs was a tall, older gentleman with gray hair and luminous gray eyes. The uniform he was wearing indicated that he was part of the flight crew. Xavier introduced him as our pilot, James. He was very polite, addressing me as Mrs. Hart even though Xavier introduced me as Ella.

  We stepped onto the plane and I found the sheer lavishness of the interior to be quite impressive. It was tasteful and luxurious. There were gleaming hardwood accents glistening under the cabin lights. A bar complete with crystal wine glasses hung carefully in a row. There were twelve plush leather seats that looked bigger than first class seats on a commercial airline. A small flat screen was available at each seat.

  A young man was sitting at the controls flipping a bunch of switches and recording information on a clipboard. Xavier assured me he was just doing the usual preflight checks, but he didn’t disturb him to introduce me.

  Xavier took my purse and placed it in a bin under the bar. He directed me to one of the plush seats. The butter-soft leather creaked as I settled in. Xavier then disappeared toward the back of the plane to retrieve a pillow and blanket.

  “Once we get in the air, sweetness, I want you to try and get some sleep,” he said, handing the items to me.

  An older woman with blonde hair pulled back into a neat chignon and large brown eyes approached us. Her silver engraved nametag read Julia. Her white button down shirt had the Hart to Hart logo embroidered on the left side. She politely asked if there was anything we would like before take off. I declined her offer while Xavier politely asked for a cup of coffee.

  Once we got in the air, Xavier showed me how to recline the chair. He lovingly made sure I was comfortable before kissing my forehead and returning to his seat. The cabin was dark except for a small light that lit up a foldout table in front of his chair. He had some papers spread out and his laptop open.

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re headed?” I asked.

  He looked up from his laptop with smiling eyes. “Some place sunny.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s helpful.” I said sarcastically.

  He smirked at me. “Relax, Ella. Get some sleep. We’ll be there before you know it.”

  I closed my eyes and quickly drifted off. Xavier woke me shortly before we landed. I found it a little disorienting to see it was still dark out. “What time is it?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

  Xavier studied his watch for a moment before he spoke. “Well, it’s currently 7:30 a.m. in Seattle, so it’s half past four in the morning here.”

  We were three hours behind Seattle? Based on that information, I concluded that we must have been getting ready to land at one of the islands of Hawaii. I’ve never been to Hawaii. I eagerly started looking out the window trying to get just the smallest glimpse of land.

  Thirty minutes later, we landed at Kona International Airport on the Island of Hawaii. A black Lincoln limousine met us on the tarmac. Once our bags were loaded in the trunk, we drove for about thirty minutes before we pulled up to a large home with a black gate. The driver got out to hit a few buttons on a keypad. The gate started to slide back allowing us to enter the driveway.

  The home from the outside was huge and looked opulent. Every room was brightly lit. I almost thought it was a small resort until Xavier informed me we had all 4500 square feet to ourselves.

  He grabbed my hand to lead me into the house. The main living area was an open floor plan with light, neutral coloring that reminded me of his home in Port Angeles. I glanced around the huge area in awe. There were pale wood floors and natural wood accents. The kitchen was equipped with professional-looking stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and a long kitchen island that sat six.

  Huge sliding doors, which opened from the main living area, led to a covered lanai with a table that sat twelve, a gas grill, and a huge infinity pool. The beach was visible from the deck and just a short walk from the house. I stood for several seconds watching the waves. It was windy so there were a lot of white caps out on the water.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Xavier asked. I just nodded in reply still stunned by the beauty of the place.

  A king-sized bed that faced the two walls open to the ocean dominated the master bedroom upstairs, which was located in a corner of the house. Xavier slid the huge glass doors back. The smell of the sea traveled into the room with the gentle breeze while the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach echoed around the room. I noticed that our bags were already stacked at the foot of the bed.

  “Come. There’s something special I want to show you,” Xavier said, grabbing my hand to lead me out of the bedroom up to a third story lookout. There were 360-degree views of the property, including the ocean and beach.

  The sun was close to rising, which was why he eagerly led me up here. The pale blue sky was streaked with clouds in white and various shades of gray. As the sun pierced the horizon, the bottom of the darkest gray clouds looked like they had been set on fire as they glowed shades of red and orange. The dark waters of the ocean turned a gorgeous cerulean blue as the sun rose.

  I have no idea how long we stood there. It was breathtaking. The extraordinary colors made me long for my camera. “Please tell me you packed my camera in one of those bags,” I said, continuing to stare out at the beautiful sight before me.

  Xavier chuckled. “Of course I did.” He kissed me on the cheek. “But the beautiful views aren’t all we can see from up here. From January to April, Humpback whales come to this area to breed. We should easily be able to spot them from up here.”

  “This is beautiful, Xavier. Really. You’ve outdone yourself. Thank you.” I turned to look at him and froze as all the air left my lungs in a rush. He looked beautiful in the early morning light wearing my favorite half-smile. The gentle ocean breeze was blowing his dark wavy hair around. His twinkling blue eyes were the same color as the ocean and just as deep.

  “Anything for you, wife,” he said softly. His warm hands grabbed my face so he could kiss me deeply.

  We made our way back to the bedroom to unpack. I sighed heavily when I saw the amount of lingerie that Renatta had packed for me. At least I assumed it was Renatta that was responsible for it. And if so, I really hope my mother didn’t see these.

  “You won’t need those,” Xavier said, casually lounging against the closet doorjamb. I raised my brows at him in question not realizing that he had been watching me. He gave me a smoldering look. “The only thing I want to see you climb into that bed wearing every night this week is your birthday suit.” I winked at him. He pushed off the doorjamb and made his way over to me. “Anything else is completely unacceptable.” Stopping before me, he wove his fingers into my hair. Holding my head firmly in place, he kissed me passionately for long moments. When he broke away, I made a little sound of protest.

  Xavier gave me a knowing look in response. “Come.” He grabbed my hand and led me back downstairs. “Or we’ll never get out of the bedroom for the rest of the week,” he added quietly. I smiled and shook my head as we made our way down the stairs. What would be so wrong with that?

  Handing me a cup of hot tea, he directed me out to the lanai, encouraging me to relax while he fixed us breakfast. Relaxing was easy to do when you had the convenience of watching the palm trees sway in the warm breeze while listening to the ocean crash upon the shore. I also had the added luxury of an unobstructed view of Xavier working in the kitchen.

  He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts with a button-down shirt. The
first few buttons were undone revealing his long neck, collarbones, and just a hint of his muscular chest. The sleeves of his button-down were rolled up, showcasing his toned forearms. But the sexiest thing about him was the beautiful platinum band on his left ring finger that would gleam every time the light hit it just right. It was a glorious reminder that this beautiful man was all mine.

  Following breakfast, I changed into one of the bikinis that had been packed for me, and moved to one of the lounge chairs by the pool with my eBook reader. All concentration on what I was reading was quickly lost when Xavier decided to swim laps in the pool.

  Not able to resist any longer, I jumped in while he was still underwater. He swam over to me and circled like a shark, reaching out to run his fingers up my legs. When he broke the surface, he pulled me to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist holding on to him tightly.

  “You are such a distraction, Mrs. Hart.” He ran kisses down my neck to my shoulder.

  “As are you, Mr. Hart,” I said breathlessly, leaning my head to the side to give him better access.

  He walked over to the steps leading out of the pool. Effortlessly, he climbed the stairs with me still wrapped around him. I pressed my lips against his neck before resting my cheek on his shoulder. My right hand played with the wet hair at his nape.

  “How are you feeling? Tired from the flight?” he asked, grabbing a towel from a nearby chair and wrapping it around us.

  “I feel good,” I said, pulling back to look at him.

  “Good,” he whispered, giving me a heated look.

  Walking into the house with me still wrapped around him, he didn’t stop until he could set me down just inside the bedroom. Walking over to the huge open doors, he pulled sheer white curtains in place. They weren’t going to offer much in the way of privacy as they billowed into the room from the ocean breeze. Not that it mattered. There was no chance of anyone seeing us.

  The sight of him standing by the curtains as they blew around him with that heated look on his face galvanized me into action. I reached behind me to untie the string as I sauntered towards him. He took a few steps to meet me at the foot of the bed. He wrapped his arms around me as soon as I got within reach. I could feel his hand snake up to the back of my neck to pull the remaining tie of my bikini top loose. As soon as he had it untied, he was frantically pulling it from between us as if he was as desperate for the skin-on-skin contact as I was.

  I moaned as soon as my over-sensitive breasts came in contact with his bare chest. A low growl rumbled from him as he trailed kisses down my neck. The feel of him kissing and nipping along my skin had my desire for him reaching a fever pitch.

  I reached for the waistband of his swim trunks just as he reached the ties of my bikini bottom that rested on each hip. I loosened the tie at his waist and pulled the wet material over his hips, allowing it to hit the floor. I could feel his fingertips give a slight tug as the bows broke lose, the material falling from my lower body.

  As he wrapped his arms around me once again, his arousal pressing into my stomach, our kisses became more urgent. His hands roaming along my body restlessly until we finally fell down onto the bed a tangled mess desperate for each other.

  Afterwards, I laid my head on his chest running my fingers through the light smattering of hair. His left hand was leisurely running up and down my spine. We were quiet for several minutes as we tried to catch our breath. The light sea breeze swirling within the room, felt cool blowing over my heated, sweaty skin.

  “You know we completely missed lunch,” he said in a conversational tone.

  I moved to straddle him completely taking him by surprise. “Oh, that’s a shame. We’re just going to have to go until dinnertime now,” I said, leaning forward and crossing my arms over his glorious chest.

  He raised a brow at me. “It’s going to be like that?” he asked, gripping my hips possessively.

  “It’s going to be like that,” I said, moving suggestively against him despite his firm hold.

  Quickly, he rolled over and tucked me beneath him. “Nympho,” he mouthed before he sealed his mouth over mine.

  “My lech,” I whispered as soon as he broke the kiss before I quickly pulled him down for another heated kiss. “I want you inside me now,” I said breathlessly, breaking away from our kiss.

  He groaned at my request, resting his forehead against mine. I ran my hands up his arms, paying close attention to the taut muscles of his upper arms as he held himself over me. Wiggling suggestively under him, I whispered in his ear, “Please.”

  “As if I could ever deny you,” he whispered roughly as he took me.

  I laid snuggled into him once again. His stomach suddenly rumbled loudly. I chuckled and moved to get out of bed. His warm fingers wrapped around my arm. “Where are you going?”

  “You’re hungry. I’m going to see about fixing something for dinner.”

  “Maybe I’m not done with you yet.” He gave me a salacious smile.

  “Maybe I’m not done with you either, but you need to keep up your energy level, fiend, if you have any hope of keeping your nympho happy.”

  With that having been said, he let go of me. I grabbed my bikini bottoms off the floor and threw his t-shirt on. His shirt was long, resting at my mid-thighs, but I knew it would be just enough to drive him crazy.

  He rolled out of bed and grabbed his swim trunks off the floor. I could feel he was hot on my heels as I made my way to the kitchen.

  “I was marinating some steaks for dinner,” he said, reaching into the fridge. “I’ll go start the grill.”

  I found some red potatoes in the fridge that had been cooked. I sliced them up, coated them in some oil olive, garlic, and parmesan cheese, and spread them out on a cookie sheet to bake. I also found the fixings for a salad, putting that together as Xavier began to grill the steaks.

  I set up two place settings at the table on the lanai, planning on having the two of us sitting across from each other. When I came back out to the table to place the salad down, I had noticed that Xavier had made it so we were sitting next to each other. I knew my scantily clad body would drive him crazy. How right I was. He couldn’t keep his hands off me during the dinner. Although, I have to admit, I couldn’t keep my hands off him either.

  Once dinner was cleaned up, he took my hand and led me to two beach chairs set at the waters edge along the beach. It was the perfect spot to watch the sunset, which turned out to be spectacular. The sky turned several shades of blue as the sun set into the ocean. The clouds turned from pink and purple to yellow and orange as the sky turned fire red before the sun finally disappeared below the horizon.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Xavier broke the silence.

  “Breathtaking,” I said softly.

  “How do you feel about living near the water?”

  I turned to look at him. “Don’t tell me you bought this place?” I asked skeptically.

  He chuckled shaking his head. “No.” He was quiet for several seconds. “Do you want me to?” he asked with a serious look on his face.

  “No,” I quickly replied. His face fell. “Don’t get me wrong, I love this place. It’s just not somewhere I want to live.”

  “Well, what would you say to living on Bainbridge Island then?”

  “Wouldn’t you have to take a ferry every day?”

  “Yes, but it’s also one of the places where your parents are seriously looking. There are also several exclusive properties there that would be ideal for us. One in particular you’re already aware of.”

  “I am?” I asked incredulously. He nodded his head at me slowly. I looked back out over the ocean trying to figure out what he was talking about. Then I remembered that monster house that Renatta and I had been to that was for sale. Xavier had come home from work while I was downloading the photos. I gasped and turned to gape at him.

  “I haven’t bought it.” He rushed to tell me. “But I would very much like to go look at it with you. I’ve ma
de an appointment to do so upon our return. Now, I know you think it was too much house, but it’s gated on several acres. It’s very exclusive. I think it would be perfect for us. Can you go look at it with me and keep an open mind?” He raised his brows at me.

  I had to think for several minutes. It was too much house. But then again I’m pregnant with twins. We are going to go from the two of us to the four of us rather quickly. I turned to Xavier who was sitting there looking at me patiently but expectantly.

  “Let’s go look at it. I’ll keep an open mind. I promise.” I winked at him.

  I squealed with surprise when he jumped up and grabbed my hand to pull me out of my chair. “Thank you, sweetness,” he said, holding my face in his hands tenderly. “Let’s head to bed,” he said, with a heated look in his eyes that told me sleep was the furthest thing from his mind.

  The following Monday, I found myself sitting once again in the plush leather seat of his private plane. I was stunned that a week had passed by as quickly as it had.

  As I stared wistfully out the airplane window, I thought back on what a wonderful week we had shared together. I couldn’t have asked for a better honeymoon or a better opportunity for us to connect before having to return to the daily routine of our lives in Seattle.

  We never left the property. Xavier had planned to take a helicopter ride of the island to view some of the volcanoes, but we never made it. He also planned on attending a traditional Hawaiian luau, but the thought of giving up any quiet time between us just didn’t seem right.

  The strong urge to be together kept us in the confines of the gorgeous home. I knew Xavier had cut himself off from his business world for the week, which made me want to spend every moment with him all the more. It was as if we had our own little, private, tropical island, and we didn’t want to spoil any of our time together by leaving it or sharing that precious time with anyone else.

  Every morning we caught the sunrise from the third floor lookout, had breakfast on the lanai, and swam laps in the pool amongst other water activities. A couple of the lazy afternoons, we curled up with each other in the large hammock, but that always ended in a make-out session since neither one of us could keep our hands off the other in such close proximity for long. A few times we found ourselves getting dumped out of the hammock because we would get too carried away. We would just laugh at each other, as we lay sprawled out on the grass before one of us silenced the other with a heated kiss.