by Jennifer Rae
Amy slipped a hand in his and moved close to him. He put his arm around her and for a moment everything was perfect. She wasn’t sure if it would last, or if this would all end in tears, but right now it didn’t matter.
The boat tipped and water sprayed up to cool them down as it sped out to sea. A few other boats were speeding past and the people on them waved as they caught their rip.
Luke leaned down to talk in her ear over the roar of the engine. ‘I have to admit, Lolli...’
Amy smiled, the sound of his voice making her want to get naked right there. No one had ever done that to her. Luke had awakened some kind of sexual sprite in her and she was loving it. She loved trusting someone with her body. That had been taken away from her years ago, but with Luke’s help it was back.
She slipped a hand up in between his shirt and his skin. He pulled her closer. He felt it as much as she did. She knew he couldn’t get enough of her. He seemed to want to rip her clothes off every time they were alone...and sometimes when they weren’t. His desire for her made her feel powerful and strong—something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Luke was healing her in a way Laurie never had. He made her angry and sad and happy and so turned on she couldn’t bear it. Luke was bringing her back to life when Laurie had allowed her to sleep. He was giving her the strength to enjoy the life she’d left home for. He was making her finally think that making the move from Melbourne had been a good one.
But something niggled at her still. The way he always put his work first. The way he could neglect her. It screamed of the old Luke. Closed and cold. And earlier he’d said she’d make someone a lucky man one day. But not him. That thought irritated her. What did he mean? Did that mean he thought they were going nowhere?
Amy’s thoughts rattled in her head, getting mixed up and confused, and she shook her head. She couldn’t think like that. She couldn’t start reading into things and thinking about things that way. He’d probably meant nothing. She just wanted to feel happy—like she was now. She wanted to trust her feelings for once. She wanted to trust him. She wanted this to be real and she wanted it to last. It had to last because...because this was different. It wasn’t safe. It wasn’t predictable and it wasn’t one-sided.
She could see that Luke cared for her in the way he looked at her when he thought she didn’t notice, and the way he touched her, and the way he was constantly trying to protect her. And she cared about him too. A lot. She...she loved him.
Amy tried to shake herself back into the moment. As she looked across at Luke he grinned at her. He had mirrored sunglasses on, so when she looked at him all she saw was her own reflection. A pair of trusting brown eyes staring at him. Even she could see the pathetic puppy dog love in them.
She smiled and took a deep breath. It was okay. He had her. He’d had her back at Weeping Reef. When the absolute worst had happened it had been Luke who’d had her and he had her now. Yesterday, when they’d had that fight and she’d thought she’d lost him, he’d assured her that he had her and it had made her feel safe and out of control all at once—and she’d liked it. The feeling was addictive and she wasn’t ready to let it go yet.
‘I have to admit this was a pretty good idea,’ he said, leaning down again.
‘I only have good ideas.’
‘That’s true. You’re with me, aren’t you?’
Her grin was wide. ‘Perhaps that was not one of my best ideas. But I’m a glass half-full kinda girl—I can make the best of any situation. I’m sure I can work with you,’ she teased.
He took the bait. She could always rely on him to. He got her.
‘You can work with me, can you? Tell me, Lolli, what would you change about me if you could?’
His smile was wide and it showed off the tan he was starting to acquire since coming home to Australia and not working as much, spending more time outdoors. Sunshine and fun agreed with him.
She considered her answer. What would she change? Nothing. Except for his overbearing need to take care of everyone and be so responsible all the time. But she even liked that about him. As annoying as it was, you knew when Luke Moore cared about you because he didn’t let you out of his sight.
‘I’d change that belt. Black belt and brown shoes? So not working.’
He chuckled and looked down at his outfit. He was wearing his usual work attire today, sans the jacket, but she’d thought of that and packed him a pair of board shorts down in the cabin. She’d bring them out when they anchored. Seeing his gorgeous body in a pair of low slung boardies was going to be one of the highlights of the day.
‘Besides my apparently appalling taste in fashion, of course.’
‘Besides that?’ She considered him, then raised her hand to lift his sunnies. She wanted to see his eyes. He pushed them to the top of his head and she studied him. From the wrinkles at the sides of his eyes to his stubble-covered jaw. ‘Nothing.’
He breathed deeply and something changed between them. Something crackled to life that hadn’t been there before.
‘And that’s what I’d change about you too. Nothing.’
‘We must be perfect.’
‘We must be.’
Their conversation was simple. And Amy liked it. It made her feel that maybe she was right. Maybe she should love him. Maybe this was actually real.
His eyes locked with hers and he brought his arms down to encircle her waist, keeping her tight against him and still. Slowly, carefully, he bent his head and kissed her. Amy felt the bones in her body disappear. She leaned into him. This wasn’t one of his usual manic, sexually charged kisses. Although it was still damn sexy. This was slower, deeper. He was taking his time and creating a soothing, slow rhythm with his tongue.
She responded, holding him tightly around his neck and communicating with him the way he was with her. She knew it now. He loved her back. No one could kiss someone like that and not love them.
They stood for too many minutes, kissing and being totally unaware of what was going on around them. Amy wasn’t sure how long they kissed, but when they stopped she was out of breath and so was he. He looked as if he was about to say something, but at that moment Rocky appeared and they realised the boat had stopped.
Rocky coughed awkwardly. ‘I just need to get in here and release the anchor rope.’
They moved aside and shared a grin as Rocky anchored before disappearing back down to the cabin.
‘I think that means it’s time for swimming. You wait there.’
Amy’s heart was so full she was scared it would burst. After that kiss there could be nothing else for him to say but that he loved her. She wanted to hear it. She wanted to feel the words wash over her. She realised it had been for eight long years she’d wanted him to feel this way about her, and today it was going to happen.
Grabbing the board shorts, she headed back up, her heart pounding. When she saw him smiling at her, her hands shook. She wanted to hear him say it, so why was she so anxious now?
‘Here you go—I packed these. I didn’t think you’d have boardies on underneath that suit. You can get changed—or do you want to go down to the cabin? There are a few boats about—maybe you want to go down?’
She was rambling. Her words were coming out too quickly. She tried to think of more. What was she doing? It was as if she didn’t want him to get a word in. As if she didn’t want him to say the words she was longing to hear. What was wrong with her? Of course she did. She wanted him to feel that way about her. She wanted to know. What the hell was she so scared of?
His brow furrowed. ‘You okay, Amy?’
She nodded. ‘Of course—perfect. I think I just need more champagne. I’ll go get some. Unless you want to get changed first? Or we could go together? There’s plenty of room down there. You’d have your privacy. I mean, if you need it.’
His arms were
around her in a second. ‘Amy. You’ve seen me naked plenty of times. I don’t think it matters if you see me get changed.’
‘Yeah—yes. Of course.’ Her laugh was forced. Nervous. What the hell was going on with her? ‘So we should...go...together.’
‘We should.’
He laughed, taking the board shorts from her and holding her hand before leading her to the back of the boat and the cabin below.
Rocky passed them in the doorway on his way out. ‘So I’ll leave you two for a couple of hours and come back?’
They watched as he boarded a paddleboard and headed towards the shore. Amy watched him go and the fluttering in her belly started to grow. Come back now! she felt like screaming. For the first time since she’d seen Luke on that chair at Saints she was frightened to be alone with him. What the hell for?
‘All alone...what should we do now?’
There was no mistaking the look in his eye. She knew what he wanted. She wanted it too. As she watched him peel off his shirt she wanted it so badly. But after they were done he would probably say what he was going to say, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. Not yet. First they should do some paddleboarding. Yes—that was what they should do.
‘You get changed and I’ll get the paddleboards ready.’ She fled before he could argue.
When he emerged, gorgeously tanned, his muscled torso was begging to be touched. But she didn’t touch him. She handed him a paddle.
‘You’re really keen for this paddleboarding thing, then?’ he teased, taking the paddle and playfully smacking her behind with it.
Amy turned away. She needed to think. She had to figure out what the hell she was scared of right now—and watching him there, half naked and teasing her, wasn’t helping.
Amy pulled off her clothes and pushed a paddleboard out into the ocean, before diving in and emerging to haul herself up on it. Within minutes she’d mastered the oar and was paddling fast—away from the boat, away from Luke, and away from the conversation she wanted to have but which scared the hell out of her.
A half-hour later Amy’s arms were burning. Her thighs were sore and she could feel the burn of the sun on her shoulders.
‘You’re doing it wrong.’
Luke appeared like a shark in the water and tilted her board. Amy faltered but kept her balance. He laughed and she growled.
‘You’ve gotta be a little more stealthy than that to fool me, Moore.’ She poked at him with the oar and he disappeared under the blue-green water—only to appear on the other side.
‘What are you doing out here all alone? I thought you wanted to entertain me?’
He shook the board again but she stood steady, still swiping at him from her position up high.
‘I never said I was here to entertain you.’
‘Then what are we here for?’
Amy steadied herself and glared at Luke, whose hands were wrapped ominously around her board, and sat down, one leg either side of the board.
‘I wanted to sightsee.’
‘The only sight you need to see is me.’
Amy let out a little gasp and an embarrassingly girly squeal as Luke pushed on the board.
‘Permission to climb aboard, Captain?’
‘No! Permission not granted. Stop! We’ll both fall!’
The board rocked dangerously but Luke kept coming, sliding his stomach onto the board before swinging a leg over. He grabbed her shoulders and held her steady as she tried to keep still.
‘No, we won’t. I’ve got you, Amy.’
‘No, you haven’t!’ She grabbed at him, desperately trying to stay upright.
‘Stop moving, Amy. I’ve got you. Hold still.’
His deep voice reverberated through her head and she listened to him. He had her. All she had to do was be still. Amy breathed in deep and looked at his face, his smiling lips and his eyes. He had her. She just needed to stop.
‘There. What did I tell you? You need to learn to trust me, Lollipop.’
He grinned, and she grinned back. Trust. That was what they had. That was what she’d never had. Not since that night at Weeping Reef. Not really. That jerk had taken away all her trust, and even though Laurie had helped she knew she still kept a thick wall up.
She hid it well. Behind the non-stop working and the late-night parties and the quick jokes and the perfect outfits. But Luke had managed to get behind her wall. She was here, with limp, frizzy hair, in a vulnerable position, and he had her. Why had she been avoiding him? He had her. He’d had her eight years ago and he had her now.
Luke was facing her, one leg either side of the board, and she shifted so she was a little closer. Then she placed her hands on the board in front of her and carefully, while trying to maintain her balance, pushed herself towards him. His eyes darkened. His grin disappeared. He made a deep noise in the back of his throat before leaning forward and meeting her lips.
Their kiss was fast and furious and gained desperation as time wore on. He shifted closer and she did the same, all the while clamping her thighs around the board.
‘That’s better,’ he muttered. ‘Nice and close—that’s where I want you.’
‘That’s where I want you.’
He smiled beneath the kiss. ‘Yeah, right—until you have another party to go to. I know you, Amy. You’re a wild animal. Can never be tied down or tamed.’
She smiled back. ‘Maybe not, but there’s something to be said for staying wild.’
‘There is?’
He spoke between kisses and Amy’s body heated. She wanted him. Right here, on this board, in the ocean, with an audience of at least fifteen boats full of people around them. This was what he did to her. He made her feel as if no one and nothing else existed. Just him and her.
‘Of course there is. Domesticated animals get fat and lazy and scared, and they depend on their owners for everything. That’s not a life. Wild and free—that’s a life.’
Luke leaned back, stopping the kiss. Amy missed it. She wanted to taste more of him. She leaned forward again but he hesitated.
‘There’s something to be said about domestication too, you know,’ he said.
‘Is there? I can’t think of anything.’
His brow furrowed. ‘That animal knows where his next meal is coming from. He knows he has a safe home to come to at the end of the night. He has a family who take care of him.’
‘Maybe. But where’s the fun in that?’
Amy was keeping it light and cute. She wanted him to kiss her again. But whatever she was saying wasn’t working. He didn’t lean forward again.
‘So what you’re saying is...you want a cat?’
‘No.’ He smiled. ‘No. I don’t want a cat. I want a tiger.’
Then he leaned forward and kissed her so hard and so fast that any chance of balance completely left her and they toppled together into the ocean.
Water went up Amy’s nose and she emerged spluttering and laughing, her eyes stinging from the salt. But she wasn’t alone long, because Luke had his arms around her and was kissing her again.
‘I forgot—tigers can’t swim!’
Amy laughed and pushed on his chest. ‘This tiger can.’
And she left him smiling as she cut long, smooth strokes through the water. Her time on Weeping Reef hadn’t been completely wasted. One thing she could definitely do well now was swim. She’d spent every morning on the island in the resort pool, and even after all this time she was so fast Luke didn’t catch her until they were back at the boat.
As they climbed Amy playfully pushed him back in, and when she laughed and offered him a hand he pulled her back into the water. She knew she looked like a drenched rat. She had no make-up left and her hair was plastered over her face. But she didn’t care. He didn’t care. And she knew. She was in
love with Luke and he was in love with her and she was finally ready to hear it.
‘You go on up top,’ Luke insisted when they finally managed to get on board. ‘I’ll get us some food and drinks. You dry off.’
She smiled, wanting to kiss him and wanting to punch him as well. Of course she wanted him to say he loved her. Her apprehension had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her. She’d been a good girlfriend to Laurie for years. She’d been faithful and loyal and just as loving to him as he had been to her. But then she’d changed. What she wanted had changed. That didn’t mean she was bad and didn’t deserve love.
Luke had made her feel that she did. With Laurie, sex had been slow and respectful. With Luke anything went. Luke had been the one to save her from the attack on the island. He’d helped her then and soothed her, made her feel that what had happened hadn’t been her fault, and he was doing the same thing now. She loved him for that. And she deserved the love he was offering in return.
Lying back on the deck, with the ocean below, Amy started to relax. This had always been meant to happen. She’d been meant to have this break from Luke. In order to grow up. In order to gain some perspective. And they were meant to meet now. It was right. It was time. And she was ready.
Luke didn’t take long with the food and drinks and their former comfortableness returned as they teased each other and fed each other and laughed and played on the deck of the boat. When they’d finished Luke rubbed sunscreen into her already red shoulders and back, and she did the same for him.
She lay on his lap, her face turned towards the sun, and they just sat—full and content and not needing to talk for a long time.
‘This has been just what I needed, Amy. How do you do that?’
‘What?’
‘Know exactly what I need?’
‘I’m your soul mate—that’s how.’
The words fell out before she could stop them. Her heart lay heavy and her breathing stopped.
Luke was silent, and a tingling caution crept over Amy.
‘Do you believe in soul mates, Luke?’