by Joy Fulcher
Chapter Fourteen
Passion
AS WELL AS PAYING for the wedding, Drew’s parents had booked them first class tickets for their flight, and despite it being a twenty-hour ordeal, Jade never complained once. As soon as the plane landed and they were able to switch on their electronic devices, Drew was tapping frantically on his phone.
“Yes!” he hissed, so as not to alert anyone else.
“What?”
“My inheritance is in my account. I was hoping they’d transfer the money quickly. We can really enjoy the trip now.”
Jade laid her head back in the seat and looked out the window as the plane taxied on the runway. Cairns actually looked a lot like Hawaii. Palm trees, blue skies, and green mountains surrounded them.
“Check your bank account,” Drew said. “I arranged with my lawyer for your first payment to be put in as soon as my money came through. I want to make sure it’s arrived.”
“Thank you, Drew. I feel like I owe you something.”
She pulled her phone out and logged into her bank’s app. Sure enough, a large deposit had arrived while they’d been in the air. Jade had never seen that many zeros in her entire life.
“No. Thank you, Jade. I wouldn’t have anything if you hadn’t agreed to this. Let’s have the best time we can here, okay?”
“Deal.”
They disembarked and collected their luggage. Walking outside was a shock for Drew, who wasn’t used to humidity, but it was similar to Florida weather, so Jade felt at home.
They took a taxi to a beach called Palm Cove, and Jade practically hung her head out the open window like a dog the whole way. She loved the smells and the sounds of this place. It felt so relaxed but, at the same time, had such a vibrant energy.
The hotel was grand and right on its own private stretch of the beach. There was a strip of shops and restaurants just outside the hotel, and the concierge told them a shuttle would pick them up the following morning and take them to the Reef Fleet Terminal, where they could catch a boat out to one of the islands. He recommended Green Island as a great place for snorkeling.
The hotel room was lovely. There was a huge bed next to floor-to-ceiling glass doors that opened out onto a balcony which overlooked the beach. Jade only stayed in the room long enough to dump her suitcase, take a quick shower, and get changed. She then headed out to walk the beach and spend some of her newfound cash in the stores. Drew, who hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane, lay down for a nap.
Jade came back to the hotel laden with shopping bags and saw Drew was still asleep. She didn’t want to wake him, so she went to a café she’d seen a block up the strip for a quick dinner and a sunset walk along the beach, and then had an early night.
She awoke the following morning and saw that Drew was sitting up, typing on his laptop.
“Morning,” she said, hating her groggy morning voice.
He looked down at her and smiled. “I’ve just organized for the construction crews to start work on the house. By the time we get home, they should be almost finished. We can move in pretty soon after we get back.”
“That’s great.”
“Now that I’ve got the money to pay them, things will move quickly. Speaking of which, you better move your butt, or we’ll miss the shuttle.”
“Oh, right!” Jade jumped up and had the quickest shower of her life, excited about going out to the reef.
She dressed in a bikini with denim cut-offs and a loose T-shirt over the top. When she left the bathroom, Drew tossed her a bottle of sunscreen. “You’ll want that. Apparently the sun here burns worse than at home.”
“Thanks.” She dumped the bottle in her beach bag along with her towel, sunglasses, and a bottle of water.
The ride into the city was longer than she remembered coming from the airport, but the sights were so pretty that she didn’t care. Drew’s phone kept beeping with emails flooding in, and he was glued to his device the whole way.
The Reef Fleet Terminal was bustling. It was a melting pot of cultures and people of all ages, everyone wanting to see the reef. Drew booked them on a boat to Green Island that had the added benefit of a submarine tour.
Jade stood outside on the boat, watching the waves churn from the turbines as they headed out into open water. Cairns disappeared, and she walked to the front of the boat, breathing in the salty air and watching for dolphins.
Drew watched the wind blowing Jade’s hair as they walked down the long jetty that led to the island. The boat ride had been less than an hour, but he was glad they were back on solid ground. Any longer and he might have become sick. He’d never been good with boats.
Jade’s skin already looked golden from the sun, and along with her radiant smile, she was practically glowing. She had her snorkel and flippers under one arm and was pointing out things with the other.
“Look, Drew, there’s the reef!”
Drew couldn’t really see anything. Where she was pointing just looked like a brown smudge under the waves, but he trusted that she knew what she was talking about. They walked along the beach awhile and then put on their flippers and masks, wading out into the water.
“You ready?” he asked.
Jade already had the snorkel in her mouth, so she nodded her head and gave him a thumbs-up. They swam out to where others were already snorkeling and dove under the water. That brown smudge Drew had seen was actually a vibrant rainbow of colors. Corals in every hue imaginable were home to a diverse variety of fish. Drew didn’t know what any of them were, but it was pretty. He followed along after Jade, letting her lead the way.
One of the items Jade had bought the day before while he’d slept was a waterproof case for her digital camera. Drew watched as she pressed the camera against her mask and snapped dozens of pictures. She turned the camera on him, and he blew a bunch of bubbles, hoping to make a funny picture.
She swam over to him, put her arm around his shoulder, and pointed the camera at them both, taking an underwater selfie. She waved and swam away to take a picture of a turtle.
Even though they couldn’t speak with the snorkels in, Drew could tell Jade was enjoying herself. It warmed his heart to know he’d had a part in putting that smile on her face. He’d never felt that before with a girl, and it felt good.
He motioned that he was going to go back to the beach. His stomach wasn’t faring too well in the buoyant water, and he wanted to sit on solid ground for a while. He emerged from the water and pushed the mask off his face, breathing in deeply.
“That was amazing!” Jade said from behind him.
Drew turned to see her coming out of the water. Her bikini fit her body perfectly, hugging her hips and accenting her curves. He watched a few drops of water as they cascaded down her taut stomach.
“You didn’t have to leave. I’m happy to wait here for you.”
“Nah. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but I’m happy to explore the island with you for a while. I might snorkel again before we go back.”
Drew held out his hand, and she took it as they walked up the beach. The island was quite small, a tall forest of palm trees with a small resort in the center and a ring of beach all the way around. They followed the beach, walking the perimeter of the forest until they came across an old fallen tree. It wasn’t a palm tree, so Drew couldn’t imagine that it was from the island. He wondered if it had washed ashore.
However it had gotten there, it had been there a long time. The wood was white from salt and age and as smooth as stone. Jade climbed up and swung her leg over the log, looking out at the blue horizon.
“This really is paradise,” she said. “It’s the most beautiful place in the whole world.”
Drew followed her gaze. The water was crystal clear, sparkling under the sunlight. The sky was the bluest he’d ever seen, with small patches of fluffy white clouds. The breeze smelled like salt and flowers, and Jade looked glorious with the wind in her hair and the sun on her face.
He crawled up onto the tree as
well and sat beside her. “I’m very happy to be here with you, Jade.”
She leaned into him and laid her head on his shoulder. He was glad she finally seemed comfortable with physical contact, even in private. They sat there together for a long time, sometimes in silence, sometimes talking, but the whole time happy and content.
When they finally boarded the boat to go back to Cairns, Drew leaned over and kissed her cheek. He’d wanted to kiss her properly on the log on the far side of the island but hadn’t wanted to make their time together awkward. This seemed like a safe option. He just didn’t want the experience to go by without showing her how much he enjoyed being there with her.
“Let’s send out a tweet,” Jade said. “Cassandra would want us to do that.”
“All right.”
He pulled out his phone and opened Twitter. He typed a tweet and showed it to Jade for her approval.
@TheRealMalikJr: Having a great time with @JadePratt89 on our honeymoon. #DrewAndJade #honeymoon #barrierreef
“Should we add a photo?” she asked.
“Sure.”
They leaned together and took a selfie, and Drew added it to the tweet before sending it off.
“Did our hashtag trend?” Jade asked, leaning over to look at the screen.
“I have no idea.”
He touched their tag and waited while the tweets loaded. They read through a few of them.
I can’t wait to see the wedding pictures! I’ve been in love with @TheRealMalikJr for years! #DrewAndJade
Congratulations to Drew. So happy he found
his soul mate. #DrewAndJade
I fkd @TheRealMalikJr a year ago in a club bthrm.
Jade is in for a wild honeymoon! #DrewAndJade
#hotsex #hunglikeahorse
Jade snorted out loud. “Hung like a horse?”
“I guess I impressed ‘at party girl nineteen eighty-nine’ with my skills.”
Jade snorted again and placed her hand on his arm. He tensed briefly at the contact and scolded himself. When had he ever been nervous around girls?
There were hundreds more tweets, all offering their congratulations. They scrolled through, laughing at some and replying to any that interested them. When they arrived back at port in Cairns, they put the phone away and caught a taxi back to their hotel.
“You must be starving. You barely ate anything today and slept through dinner last night,” Jade said after her shower.
“I am, actually. Would you like to have dinner with me, Ariel?”
It seemed a bit silly to him to ask his wife to have dinner, but their situation was unique, and it wasn’t his right to assume she’d want to spend time with him.
“I’d love to. There’s a restaurant just outside the hotel. When I walked past it last night, the food smelled amazing.”
“Let’s go.”
They both decided to have the buffet and enjoyed the best seafood they’d ever had. Jade also indulged in a few cocktails, and Drew sampled several of the local beers as they ate.
While Drew asked the waiter for the check, Jade drained the last of her sixth cocktail. The room swam around her in a haze of color and sound. Drew’s face was mingled in there somewhere, the only familiar thing in this foreign place.
“I had the best day of my entire life today,” she said, hearing her own voice as it slurred the words.
“I’m glad. I love seeing you smile.”
She spread her mouth wide in a large, toothy grin. He reached across the table and stroked her hand, fingering her wedding ring. It was still hard for her to believe she was married. But she was, and she was going to make the most of having a man at her disposal.
“There’s a bar next door. Do you feel like dancing?” she asked.
“Sure.”
Drew paid the bill, and they walked toward the loud music coming from next door. The bar had low lighting, and Jade stumbled, tripping over the leg of a stool.
“Sorry,” she said to the person she’d bumped.
“Are you okay?” Drew asked, slipping his arm around her waist to keep her standing.
“Yeah. Stupid stool jumped out at me. Bastard.”
Drew chuckled. “I like drunk Jade. She’s fun.”
“Jade isn’t drunk!”
The music pumped, and Jade’s body moved without her control as she grabbed Drew and dragged him onto the dance floor. She was impressed with his moves. He could certainly hold his own. She watched his hips move, his body sway, and couldn’t stop her thoughts from wandering to how his body would feel moving against hers.
With a steadying breath, she stepped closer, grinding against his leg. His eyes went wide, but he seemed happy to play along. He grabbed her and held her close, moving against her. Jade’s heart pounded in her chest. She didn’t know if it was from the dancing, the alcohol, or being so close to Drew, but she didn’t care.
Drew pulled her closer as the music changed and nuzzled his face into her neck.
“You smell amazing,” he said.
Jade giggled. She didn’t know why she was laughing, just that it seemed funny to have Drew’s arms around her. Lights flashed around them, strobe lights from the ceiling mixing with camera flashes. But neither of them noticed, their focus only on each other.
Drew looked into her eyes, and with what must have been a sudden rush of courage, or perhaps stupidity, he kissed her. She didn’t even blink an eye. She kissed him back, totally lost in the moment.
His lips felt soft against hers, and he tasted sweet, like the drinks they’d had at dinner. She wanted more drinks. She wanted the happy day to continue, to have Drew’s kisses mixed with more drinks and the memories of the reef.
She broke from his mouth, and he leaned toward her, his eyes still closed, searching for her lips.
“Let’s have shots!” she said.
Drew’s eyes flew open, and he grinned. “All right.”
They made their way to the bar and ordered two shots each, downing them quickly and then moving back to the dance floor. Their arms found each other again, melding their bodies back together, and Drew kissed her, not wasting any time.
Jade broke the kiss again, twirling around to the music. “I love this song!”
She noticed how Drew watched her dance and liked his hands sliding over her waist and hips. He kept pulling her back for kisses, but he couldn’t keep her still for long. After a while, Jade started to lose her buzz and slowed down.
“Do you want to go back to the room? You’re looking tired,” Drew said.
She nodded and let him lead her out of the bar. The hotel was only a block away so they were back in their room in only a few minutes.
Jade’s head was swimming with a combination of the cocktails she’d drunk and the affection that Drew had been showing her.
“This room is fucking amazing!” Drew said, looking around at the amenities as though he hadn’t seen them before. It seemed his buzz was still in full effect.
“I might have a soak. I feel like relaxing in a bubble bath.”
“Mind if I join you?”
Jade breathed heavily. It wasn’t that she was out of breath; she was just excited. The blood pumped through her body, and she didn’t want Drew to stop the kisses they’d been having. Even though she knew she’d regret it later, she didn’t want to say no.
“Okay.” Jade’s heart rate sped up. She was about to have a bath with Drew.
She dug around in her suitcase for her spare bikini and took it into the bathroom. She quickly changed while the tub filled and poured in some bubble bath.
She wished she could turn the jets on, but the churning water mixed with the bubbles would be a disaster. When the tub was filled, she opened the bathroom door to let Drew know he could come in, and then she stepped into the tub.
The water was hot, and it stung her skin as she sat down. It was nothing like the tepid ocean they’d swum in at the reef. Drew appeared in the bathroom wearing his swimming shorts and a cheeky grin.
�
��May I?” he asked.
“Please.”
As he climbed into the tub, his foot slipped, and he fell into the water, sloshing waves over the edge and onto the floor.
“Are you okay?”
Drew laughed hysterically, clutching the side of the tub as he sat down. “I’m fine.”
They both laughed until it became awkward, and then they fell into silence. His thigh was pressed against hers, and Jade felt a tingling where their skin touched. The tension between them was ridiculous. She knew it was a forbidden fruit situation for him. He didn’t actually desire her. He only saw her as a challenge, something to strive for. She knew all too well the male desire for the chase.
“Damn. I should have ordered some champagne,” Drew said.
“It’s okay. I think we’ve both drunk enough for one night.”
“But we should celebrate. We’re on our honeymoon.”
Jade laughed and then froze. His hand had crept along the seat and was gently stroking her leg. She didn’t know what to do. It felt so good to have him touching her that she didn’t want it to stop. But she knew she should push him away.
Before she could make her decision, Drew slid along the bench seat right up next to her.
“Ariel, I know this isn’t a real honeymoon, and we’re not married in the traditional sense of the word, but I do care about you. More than I’ve cared for any other woman.”
“I care about you too, Drew.”
She rested her hand on top of his on her leg, but didn’t push it away. He seemed to take that as encouragement and ran his fingers up her thigh.
“You’ve made your rules very clear, and I know your boundary.”
She laughed. “That wall is crumbling very quickly.”
He smiled and stroked his thumb over her cheek with the hand that wasn’t planted on her leg. “Is that a good thing?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
Picking up that he stood a chance, Drew moved his body closer, intoxicating her with his closeness.
“You never know what we could be if you never give us a chance, Ariel,” he whispered.