Chapter Nine
While Opal showered, he took the time to get caught up with his business. Unfortunately, the only way he could give her the honeymoon she wanted was by being in contact with his main office at all times. He fired up the laptop and checked through his mails, giving her plenty of time to soak and relax. Making sure they had a one bedroom beach house had taken some working as most of the houses had been taken in the holiday rush. He owned the whole resort but still needed to book in advance.
Richard had warned him to tread carefully, reminding him of Opal’s long-time crush. As if he needed warning. Tony had spent most of his time under the thrall of hero worship. When nothing of any importance showed up in his inbox, he closed the email down and unhooked his laptop.
After a quick glance around to make sure everything was still in order, he made his way up to the bedroom. The bathroom door lay open. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door to the room where they would share a bed as a married couple.
She sat in the middle of the bed, drying her hair. He smiled as she looked up. The nerves were clearly written on her face.
“There’s plenty of hot water if you want a shower,” she said. Tony had to fight to keep his eyes above her chest. She wore one of those silk nighties, with thin straps and a whole lot of lace. It was a pale pink shade that worked wonders for her. He thought about their shopping trip and how he’d gotten her to model the dark red underwear.
“Ouch.” She ran a brush through her long hair. “I swear, one day, I’m going to get all this cut off.”
“Don’t you dare,” he said. Tony took the brush and the towel from her. “Why don’t you use one of those hair dryer thingies?”
“Because they are bad for your hair. Besides, I like brushing my hair, or at least I do when my conditioner does what it says for smooth and silky finish,” she said. He heard the grumble in her tone.
Tony chuckled. “Let me try.” He took the spot behind her, his legs on either side of her. Taking her by the waist he pulled her closer. He tried not to think about how good it felt with her body directly close to his. Or the way her skin looked so soft and flushed from the heat.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said.
“I want to. It will give me good practise one day.” He used the towel and stared to dry her hair. Gently, not pulling. Her floral scent invaded his nostrils, and he smiled thinking about how perfectly the scent suited her.
“Why will you need practise?”
“I might have a daughter one day who’ll want me to do her hair.”
She tensed, and he knew he’d hit a nerve.
“Do you really think you’ll have kids one day?” she asked. Tony smiled. He was hoping to have enough to fill at least seven bedrooms. Maybe more.
“We’re going to have children someday, Opal.”
He laid a kiss on her shoulder and finished drying her hair. It was surprising how happy he was to simply be with a woman. Opal wasn’t just any kind of woman. She was his woman and would be so for the rest of her life.
When he was done, he picked up the brush, careful not to hurt her.
He heard her yawn. “I take it I’m good with the whole hair brushing thing?” he asked.
“Much better than I expected.”
Tony spent a great deal of time on her hair until it was dry and silky smooth. “Maybe you should read the fine print on your conditioner. I’m going to jump in the shower.” He kissed her again before leaving her to go and shower.
With her being closer, he took a long cold shower to try to get rid of his hard on. He didn’t want her to be worried about him wanting to get his rocks off this early.
Twenty minutes later, he walked back into the bedroom. She sat reading a book.
“You’re into erotic romance, I see.”
She blushed, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “You can’t hide it from me. I pay the bills for all the books you read. Can’t you get one of those e-reader things that everyone is raving about?”
He switched off the main light. He was purposefully trying to keep the topic light so he could make it into bed without her panicking.
“I thought about it. I guess I should give it a go and stop allowing trees to be cut down,” she said.
Tony pulled back the cover. His got a glimpse of pale, creamy thigh. Ignoring the instant reaction in his body, he climbed into bed beside her. She leaned over and switched out the lamp.
“I’ve never slept in a bed with a man before,” she said as she settled down.