Island Heat: Love Is Forever: The Templetons

by Rebecca Day

  Miles reclined back in his chair. “Recliner chair and TV. It’s luxury for me. I would have loved to have these digs in Korea, I can tell you.”

  “okay, old man, you can stay,” Doc said. “But you two, out.”

  “After Sam falls asleep,” Wyatt murmured, and Doc instinctively knew not to argue with him.

  They didn’t have to wait long. Sam was as exhausted as any of them, and within 15 minutes, she fell sound asleep.

  Janie clinked the keys in her hand as they walked to the parking structure. “You’re not going to insist on driving?”

  “No, I’m on machismo break this evening.”

  “Oh, a little humor from Dr. Wyatt Templeton. Will wonders never cease?”

  Wyatt cracked a smile.

  They rode with the windows open, enjoying the tropical breeze on their faces, as they made the long trek home. “I want to thank you,” he started.

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “You were great. You made things happen. You calmed everyone down, calmed me down. You fed us.”

  “Ha! Pizza, and Miles ordered it.”

  “You know what I mean. We were a mess before you arrived. I couldn’t do anything except for pace the hallway.”

  “That’s understandable. Your daughter was injured.”

  “No, let me finish. Since you’ve been here – not just tonight…well, I just wanted to thank you.” Wyatt wanted to tell her that since she arrived, they had become a real family. No longer a sprawling group of loving people, they had found their center with Janie. Tonight proved it to Wyatt. They were lost without her. They very happily revolved around her.

  When he opened the front door to the house, a waft of cleaning product odors hit his nostrils. “Wow. Clean.”

  “I thought I would surprise you guys with a Spring cleaning, but I didn’t get very far.”

  “Oh, Spring Cleaning. That would explain this.” Wyatt gently removed the bandana that had been holding up her hair. As it fell from her head, her long hair tumbled over her shoulders and down her back. Wyatt smoothed it out. It was soft as silk and marvelously thick. He threaded it through his fingers, enjoying the texture.

  Janie self-consciously put her hand up to her head. “I forgot I had that on. I must look like a real mess.”

  Wyatt took stock of her. She was wearing cutoffs and a sleeveless t-shirt. She was toned, and her breasts were outlined through the thin material of her shirt. He was hungry for her. It was a hunger that had built beyond any of his reserves of self-restraint.

  “Nobody has ever been there for me like you have.” His voice was low and needy. He let go of her hair and cupped her face with his hands. He marveled at her beauty and realized that he needed to possess her totally. One of his hands slipped behind her head, the other dipped lower on her back. Insistently, he pulled her to him. He looked deeply into her eyes, searching for a sign from her. She gazed up at him, her eyes dilated.

  “Come on,” he urged, pulling back, grabbing her hand, and steering her to the stairs. They didn’t speak as she followed him upstairs to his room. He pulled her inside and quickly shut the door. Pushing her against the closed door, he pressed his body against her and groaned as his erection leaned against her belly.

  With an urgency he never felt before, he kissed her hard, their tongues dancing in an undulating rhythm. The blood rushed to Wyatt’s head and down to his groin. His body tightened. His need for her overtook him.

  Wyatt pulled at her shirt, and she helped him, slipping it over her head. In a matter of seconds, they both stood naked, facing each other. She was more beautiful than he had imagined.

  And tonight she was his, he thought while the blood pounded in his head.

  Their breathing was heavy, as they took stock of each other. Their bodies were electric, sending out pulses to each other as they called out to be touched. It was the calm before the storm, Wyatt thought.

  The waiting was both agony and ecstasy. But in a whirl, they began their lovemaking. Wyatt brought Janie to his bed. He kneeled over her, taking in the luscious contours of her body. But Janie could not wait any longer. She pulled him down on top of him, and he groaned with desire as she kissed him hard.

  He snaked his body over hers, feeling the whole of her against him. His thickly muscled thighs separated her legs, and he settled even more closely against her. He was taut and ready.

  “Janie,” he whispered against her lips, urging her.

  “Yes, now,” she replied. “Please. Now.”

  It was all he needed to hear. In a moment, he entered her fully. She wrapped her legs around him, and he began to thrust quickly. In a matter of moments, they reached their climax together in a sudden explosion. As Janie began to shudder, Wyatt cried out, tossing his head from side to side. He collapsed next to her, careful not to crush her under his weight.

  His heart threatened to explode in his chest, but quickly it slowed to the preternatural, deliberate pulsating that happened after orgasm.

  “Wow,” he said.

  “Wow,” she agreed.

  Wyatt’s mind was hazy. He expected a large marching band to come in at any moment and play some kind of triumphant music to go along with his mood. So, this is what they mean by ‘following your bliss,’ he thought.

  Wyatt pulled Janie to him as he lay on his side. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Her body fit into his perfectly, his pelvis cupped against her bottom.

  “You’re amazing,” he commented, lightly nuzzling her neck. His hands caressed her belly. She moved encouragingly, and he dipped his hands further down, exploring her.

  “What are you doing,” she moaned.

  “The first time was great, but now I want to enjoy you a little more slowly. And a little more thoroughly,” he added.

  Wyatt turned her head towards him and captured her mouth with his. He slipped his tongue into her mouth. Their kiss was deep and slow like he promised. It was as if neither wanted it to end.

  But Wyatt wanted more. In fact, he didn’t know if he could ever stop wanting her.

  “Move towards me,” he commanded. He groaned as she complied, her body caressing his as she turned to face him. Her face was heat and passion. It drove Wyatt half with madness for wanting her.

  But this time, he wanted to experience every square inch of her.

  He made the long, slow trip down her body with his mouth. He paused at her breasts, circling her nipples lovingly with his tongue. Lower down, he found her folds and made her tremble, slowly bringing her to a climax.

  Seeing her satisfied, he finally entered her and thrust into her with deep, slow strides. “You’re so beautiful,” he said and kissed her face, while he moved within her.

  “Oh, Wyatt,” she half-cried. Hearing his name uttered from her lips drove his excitement further. His rhythm quickened until he finished with an explosion. Sated, they fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms, neither daring to think about the consequences of their act.

  Chapter 9

  Janie was awake. She had slept like the dead through the night, but now she was wide awake about two hours before dawn. She kept her eyes closed, unwilling to break the moment. Wyatt held her close, his hand on her breast and his face nestled in the back of her neck. She could feel the warmth of his breath as he snored lightly. His arm, which was draped over her, was heavy and well-muscled. She felt protected and secure.

  She wondered at how she got there. She had never gotten so serious so fast. But were they serious? Sure, they had gone to bed together, but perhaps it didn’t mean anything. Maybe it was only what people called ‘casual sex,’ something that Janie had never experienced before.

  It was so hard to gauge Wyatt’s motivations. At times, he seemed so caring and at other times, he was downright antagonistic. Perhaps it was only attraction on his part. Did he only want to have sex with her, or did he want a relationship with her?

  Janie felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. It was painful trying to read Wyatt. To be honest w
ith herself, she didn’t even know how she felt. The night had been wonderful. She had never felt such passion and had never felt so satisfied. She had wanted it to happen, and hadn’t had any second thoughts.

  This morning, lying in Wyatt’s embrace, she had no regrets. She felt wonderful. More than that, she felt that she was exactly where she should be. The man, the bed, the house, the family. She felt a part of everything. She belonged.

  Janie opened her eyes. The room was dark except for a small beam of light shining through the window, which hit the wall next to the bed. She stretched her hand out and played with the light, blocking it with her hand and watching it change as it weaved through her fingers.

  Wyatt stirred, and Janie stopped moving her hand. He groaned and pulled her closer to him. After a few moments, he resumed snoring, softly. Janie sighed deeply. As good as it felt to be lying in bed with him, she had a strong desire to be outside in the balmy air and in the water with the dolphins.

  Janie lightly gripped Wyatt’s arm and attempted to move it off of her, but every time she moved, he would stir and grip her tighter. She smiled. It was like she had become his teddy bear or something.

  The thought gave her an idea.

  She slowly stretched out her hand to grab a pillow that was hanging off the side of the bed. Grabbing it delicately, she moved it gently next to her and placed Wyatt’s arm on it. Twisting ever so slightly, she managed to extricate herself from his grasp by substituting the pillow in her place. Again, Wyatt stirred and groaned, but this time he drew the pillow to him. Janie watched him while sitting on the edge of the bed. He seemed so docile, sleeping. When he was awake, he was everything except docile. Wyatt was the most fearsome, masculine man she had ever met. But sleeping there, she had an almost irresistible urge to run her fingers through his wild hair.

  She pushed back the impulse and kept herself there until he fell back into a deep sleep. Then, she picked up her clothes from the floor and snuck out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

  Outside, it was still dark, but dawn was approaching quickly. Janie stood for a while next to the lagoon, enjoying the breeze through her hair. Feeling refreshed and generally content and at peace, she went over to sit on the dock at the lagoon and let her feet dangle in the water.

  It wasn’t long until Cindy came to greet her. Janie patted her, and when she stopped, Cindy insisted that she throw in some fish. “It’s early, Cindy. I’m just visiting,” Janie explained.

  It was no use. Cindy was not taking “no” for an answer. Soon, the leader of the pod, Jethro, was investigating Janie’s feet and probably wondering why she was there so early. He seemed to think the early morning was a good idea and began asking for fish, as well with a few clicks and squeaks that Janie had become all too familiar with. After the fourth dolphin approached her, Janie caved.

  “Fine. You guys win.” She went to the outside refrigerator and carefully vitamized fish for them. It was important to give them these fish first while they were still hungry. She passed out the fish and duly noted them on the roster. It only took a moment, and she realized just how much she had improved since her first day of work there. She now knew each dolphin, their physical characteristics and their personalities. How could she have had so much difficulty telling them apart before? She had grown close to them. She wished that she could see them make it back out into the wild. It would be hard for her to leave them and go back to her desk job in DC, she thought miserably.

  After giving them the vitamized fish, Janie handed out the morning portions in earnest. Jethro pushed Cindy out of the way when it was time for her portion. Since he had already been fed – indeed, the alpha dolphin always ate first – Janie was not going to allow such behavior from him. Janie distracted Jethro with some toys and a delectable herring, and managed to give Cindy her full portion.

  With everyone fed, Janie sat back on the dock and tried to peel off the fish scales from her hands. It was one of the drawbacks to the job, she thought. That and the smell.

  Janie lowered herself into the lagoon and floated for a while. She was aware of some of the dolphins approaching her, probably wondering why she wasn’t playing with them, but for the most part, they left her alone to enjoy her moment of floating in paradise as the sun began to climb in the sky. Janie watched as the sky began to change color and wondered if Sam was sleeping well and if she was feeling better and antsy to get out of the hospital and get back home. She was probably antsy to get back on her surfboard, as well, thought Janie. Sam did not let any setbacks hold her back. It was one of the things that made Janie admire her so much. Janie realized that she missed Sam, despite all the other things that were going on in her life right now.

  Wyatt opened his eyes to a narrow squint. He was aware that the sun was beating in through the window and cursed himself for over sleeping. He was becoming irresponsible, and his dolphins would not be very forgiving.

  What about Janie? Would she be forgiving?

  Thinking of Janie, he couldn’t help smiling. It had been a great night. A fireworks, Academy Awards, opening up presents on Christmas Day, great night. He couldn’t remember a night like that. She had responded to him completely. It was as if they had been made for each other, their bodies fitting together perfectly. She seemed to know instinctively what he wanted and did it without him having to guide her in any way.

  He had been voracious for her, and he realized that he was still voracious for her. He wanted her more than ever. It was more than sex. He loved holding her in his arms until they both fell asleep. She felt right in his arms. She belonged in his bed.

  Wyatt squeezed the pillow that lay between his arms. It was only then that he noticed that he was hugging a pillow. What in the heck? Where had Janie gone, anyway? He felt Janie’s side of the bed. The sheets were cool, which led Wyatt to believe that she probably snuck out in the middle of the night.

  Wyatt pushed aside the pillow and stretched. It was past time for a shower, and he welcomed the idea of a scalding, hot one. There was no sign of Janie in the bathroom. She must have gotten out of his room as quickly as possible without first stopping in the bathroom, he thought. Wyatt let the hot water pound on his back while he lathered up.

  His night together with Janie really meant something to him. He was not only attracted to Janie, but he cared deeply for her, too. However, it hurt him that she was a hatchet man for the government. She hadn’t even bothered to get his opinion on why the Dolphin Freedom Project was important and why it should be funded. She wasn’t giving him a chance. In fact, he had overheard her telling Keiko that she was almost finished with the report. Talk about jumping to conclusions! How could she finish a report in a measly week?

  One Week. She had been there for one week, and she would leave in one week. She would be out of his life forever, and all he would have is the memory of their night together and his life’s work to try and salvage.

  Wyatt slipped on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and glanced at the clock. It was already 8:00 a.m. He had wanted to be at the hospital by now to be with Sam. The whole romantic interlude had distracted him and allowed him to forget his priorities.

  He would have to rush to make it to the hospital in time to eat breakfast with Sam. The dolphins would just have to wait for him this morning, and hopefully Sam could be discharged soon, he thought.

  Wyatt took the stairs two steps at a time. When he reached the bottom, he saw Janie at the kitchen table. She was freshly showered, and she was almost edible in her cutoffs, tank top, and her golden wheat colored skin. She sat on the kitchen chair with her feet tucked under her. He watched as she dipped a spoon into a yogurt container. Swirling it around she lifted the spoon, covered in white yogurt, and slipped it into her mouth. Wyatt felt his mouth open, as well.

  Suddenly, Janie noticed him and smiled. “Hey, good morning, sunshine,” she called to him.

  Janie was strikingly beautiful sitting there in Wyatt’s kitchen without a smudge of makeup, just purely natural. He foug
ht the impulse to pick her up and take her back upstairs to make love to her again. But he couldn’t fall into that trap, again. He had responsibilities that he had to take care of.

  “I’m going to get Sam from the hospital. If you want to come with me, please be ready in 15 minutes.” Wyatt’s voice came out a bit strangled, and he hoped she didn’t notice him looking at her legs.

  He wondered ridiculously if it was possible that he was blushing and so as to not take any chances, turned quickly away from Janie to go visit the lagoon.

  “I did the morning feeding, by the way,” he heard her say. Wyatt held open the screen door but paused before walking out.

  “Oh. Uh, thank you, Janie,” he said without turning around.

  Wyatt practically stumbled down the walkway to the lagoon. “Get a grip on yourself,” he ordered. He had to regroup if he was going to last for another week around Janie. If he fell head-over-heels and couldn’t function around her, how on earth would he survive when she left a week later?

  She was still in shock. So much in shock, thankfully, that she didn’t shed a tear. They drove to the hospital in silence. To give her something to do, Janie decided to French braid her hair. As she pulled each plait tight, she thought about Wyatt’s coldness to her.

  After the night they shared together, he didn’t have a kiss for her, a caress, or even a kind word. He was colder to her than before it ever happened. He was acting like he regretted making love to her, but he didn’t seem to have any doubts about it the night before.

  Janie grunted in disgust and pulled the braids tighter.

  Wyatt was making her feel cheap, and she just didn’t understand it. Didn’t understand him. Janie supposed that it all came down to the fact that she really didn’t understand Wyatt, and that was why she couldn’t give up on him totally. The man who made love to me last night is not cruel. Something happened to make him act this way, and I have to be patient with him.

  Janie tied the end of her braid with a rubber band and felt a little better. She hoped against hope that Wyatt would get closer to her again and break through whatever barriers there were that were keeping him from staying close to her.