Chapter 26
"You know," I murmured a few days later. "I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this vacation thing. "
"Really?" Owen said, pressing a soft kiss to the hollow of my throat. "It certainly took you long enough. "
It was early Wednesday morning. Owen and I had left the others sleeping in the beach house and had slipped out to the cove so we could have a little privacy. The sun had just come up over the eastern horizon, and we were lying on a couple of blankets, protected once again by the striped umbrella over us.
And once again, we were completely, blissfully naked.
We'd already made love and were basking in the warm, soft afterglow, watching the rest of the world wake up around us. The seagulls were once again flying their usual circles above, while the heat of the day had already started to shimmer up in waves from the golden sand. The ocean rolled in and out of the shore on its endless journey, the sparkling water looking just as bright and blue as the cloudless sky above.
"I can't believe we're going home this afternoon," I said, snuggling a little closer to Owen.
"Don't tell me these past few days have turned you into a beach bum," he teased.
"No, but it has been nice to just relax. As much as I hate to admit it, Finn was right. I needed a vacation. "
And I'd finally gotten one these past few days. We'd all decided to play hooky from work and stay in Blue Marsh a little while longer to help sort out the consequences of Dekes's oh-so-timely demise. Really, though, Donovan had done most of the heavy lifting, dealing with the police and their questions and keeping the rest of us out of things. I didn't know exactly why the detective was being so helpful, but I wasn't going to question his motives too closely, since his handling of the investigation had left the rest of us free to while away the hours as we pleased.
Jo-Jo had spent her days by the beach at the Blue Sands hotel, sipping tropical drinks and flirting with the cute cabana boys and lifeguards. More often than not, Sophia joined her older sister, although the Goth dwarf was more interested in swimming and relaxing than flirting. Finn also frequented the hotel to get his long-awaited massages and other lavish pampering, along with Bria.
My sister had also spent quite a bit of time with Callie, helping the other woman come to terms with everything that had happened. Callie had been more than a little shaken up after being kidnapped and smacked around by Dekes, and Bria was helping her friend deal with things as best she could. I thought that hanging out with Callie was good for Bria too, and that it might get her to face her own lingering demons about being tortured by Mab. I hoped so anyway.
As for me and Owen, we'd taken more than one long, cliched walk on the beach to the cove. In between walks, we'd gone out and explored Blue Marsh, from the downtown shops and restaurants to the island's nature preserves and parks. We didn't talk much, but just being with Owen soothed me and made my own nightmares about Dekes and his attack on me a little easier to bear. I would never forget what the vampire had done to me, how he'd stolen my blood and my magic and had almost killed me, but that was all right. I'd add the hard lessons that the vamp had taught me to all the other painful ones I'd learned over the years.
"So what are you going to say to Donovan when you see him this afternoon?" Owen asked, cutting into my thoughts.
Callie was throwing a good-bye luncheon for us at the Sea Breeze before we headed back to Ashland. I knew as well as Owen did that Donovan would be there. I hadn't seen the detective much these past few days, but I'd told Owen how Donovan had reached out to me when he'd seen me outside Dekes's burning mansion. Needless to say, Owen hadn't liked that one little bit.
"I don't think there's anything to say," I replied. "Donovan made his choice back in Ashland, and I made mine the other night. Actually, I made it a long time ago, even if I didn't know it yet. "
"Really? What choice would that be?" Owen asked.
I tapped my index finger on his nose. "Why, you, silly. "
"Oh. That. "
I rolled my eyes and punched him in the shoulder. Owen just laughed, his deep, rumbling chuckles washing over me like the waves crashing into the shore.
"Well, I still think that I should kick Donovan's ass for hurting you. Hell, just on general principles," Owen said. "The man's an idiot. "
"Oh, quit being such a guy. I am perfectly capable of defending my honor and whatnot. Besides, kicking Donovan's ass might be satisfying, but in the end it's not worth the effort of washing the blood out of my clothes. "
"But I thought you womenfolk liked it when your guy acts all rough and tough and alpha male. When we take charge of things. "
"Maybe," I admitted. "It depends on what you think you're taking charge of. "
Owen drew me into his arms, and his hands started sliding down my body once more in slow, deliberate, delicious way. I drew in a breath and arched my back, leaning into him.
"Just maybe?" he whispered, his violet eyes shimmering with heat.
"Definitely," I whispered back, before pulling his lips down to mine once more.
Owen and I made love again and then lounged on the beach for most of the morning before putting our clothes back on and heading to the beach house. We took a shower, threw on some fresh clothes, and packed up our belongings. Jo-Jo, Sophia, Finn, and Bria came back from their various excursions and did the same, chattering on about all the things they'd done and seen. Then we all headed over to the Sea Breeze for our last vacation hurrah.
Callie had decided to close down the restaurant for the afternoon to give us a private good-bye luncheon - and what a luncheon it was. Grilled chicken smothered with a sweet mango salsa, sticky cilantro rice mixed with chunks of pineapple, smoky mesquite-marinated steaks, lobster tails dripping with butter, blackened shrimp, fresh-baked bread, baskets of deep-fried hush puppies, crispy sweet potato fries, gallons of pomegranate lemonade, even a couple of key lime pies for dessert. Callie had pulled out all the stops, and we all dug into the scrumptious meal, sitting at a series of tables that had been pushed together in the center of the restaurant.
"I couldn't have made it better myself," I told Callie after I'd stuffed myself with two pieces of pie.