"Bloody wonderful." He pulls me close with an arm around my waist. "I'm having the best time of my life, and that's because of you. Thank you, Maddie."
"You're welcome. I'm having a good time too, because you're here with me."
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Movement catches my eye peripherally, and I glance in that direction.
"Look!" I say, smacking Rick's arm to get his attention. "It's a dolphin!"
He swerves his head toward where I'm pointing just as the dolphin surges out of the water again, only to dive under the surface. "Bloody brilliant! I've never seen a dolphin before."
"Aren't they amazing? So graceful and pretty."
The dolphin pops up again and makes clicking sounds, then it vanishes into the blue water.
I shriek. Seriously, I do. For the first time in my life, I've seen a dolphin—and it's not more than thirty feet away. My pulse races, which seems dumb, but I can't help the giddiness that overtakes me at this moment, here in the crystalline aqua sea surrounded by beautiful, enchanting creatures and accompanied by a gorgeous, sweet, amazing man.
Once the dolphin swims away, we paddle back to shore and dry off with our towels, then we race back to the house while naked—and while carrying all our gear. Our footsteps slap on the bare floors inside the house as we sprint down the hall to the wardrobe room, laughing the whole time. Rick tickles me while I'm trying to get dressed, so I tickle him back. Turns out he's super ticklish on his chest, especially his nipples.
I love learning that about him.
And he learns where I'm the most ticklish—at the base of my spine, right above my buttocks.
For the next week, we have lots and lots of fun. More snorkeling, with and without swimsuits, and even some scuba diving. Dexter teaches us how to do that, and he and Ilsa join us for a magical dive into the deeper water farther from shore, where we see all kinds of mind-boggling creatures. Dex is far more knowledgeable about the sea life than I am, and he explains all of it with far more flair. That's not surprising since he's a writer, but his enthusiasm for all of it does surprise me. When we'd first met, I kind of dismissed Dex as a shameless flirt and a bit of a libertine, but I've come to appreciate his kindness, humor, and intelligence.
Every night before we go to sleep, Rick and I curl up in our big bed so I can read Dexter's book to him. Okay, it's not exactly Nobel Prize material, but I find myself getting interested in the bizarre behavior of the main character. Though I've never read or even heard of carnivalesque erotica before, I have fun reading the salacious text to Richard. He enjoys it too, and his nightly erections prove the sex scenes arouse him, but we haven't done the deed lately. Though I've fully recovered from my soreness, after spending each day exploring the island and the sea, we're too wiped out to do anything but sleep. It's the best kind of exhaustion, though, and I wouldn't trade this time with him for anything.
I've also discovered I love sharing a bed with Rick. We spoon, and I snuggle my backside against him. Often, we talk before we try to go to sleep.
One night, he asks me about my sister and my parents, whether we all get along.
"Sure, we get along great," I say. "Rika and I haven't been best friends, but we're getting closer these days. It's hard to forge strong relationships with anyone when I've been bouncing around the world for years, to places where cell phones don't work and nobody has a landline. Ham radio and satellite phones are the only means of communication."
"That must be difficult, being out of touch with your family. I've met Rika, and she talks about you all the time. I met your parents once, but we didn't get to talk much. That was at the engagement party for Dane and Rika."
"I've stayed with Rika and Dane a few times, but only for short visits. I wanted to spend more time with my sister, but work kept getting in the way. The last time I saw those two, they shipped me off to the Caribbean six days after I landed in England."
Rick has his body molded to mine, his chin on my shoulder and his arm draped over my midsection. He swirls his fingertips on my belly in a lazy motion. "Now we both know why Dane and Rika did that. They were playing matchmaker."
"You mean they were interfering in our lives." I lay my hand over his on my belly. "But I'm glad they did that. I love this vacation, especially since I met you."
"I love it too." He kisses my neck. "Meeting you is the best thing that's ever happened to me."
His statement makes my tummy flutter but also triggers an odd anxiety. I'm the best thing that's ever happened to him? I don't want to read too much into that, because maybe he means he loves having company, not that he's claiming to have feelings for me. The mix of anxiety and excitement sparked by his statement suggests I might have feelings for him. Even if that's true, I can't think about it right now. We've known each other for a week. Dr. Solberg whispers in my head that I cannot fall for a man after such a short time, but Maddie wants to dive in and drown in the rush of it all.
Meeting Richard Hunter has changed my life in ways I can't even explain yet. Coming to the Caribbean, and especially to Dexter's private island, has also changed me. In a week, I have to fly back to England and figure out what on earth to do with myself now. Should I accept Naveen's offer to work at the CDC? For the next week, I vow not to worry about any of that. I want to know Rick better and find out if we could have something more than fantastic sex, if we mean something to each other beyond a friend to share new experiences with.
And I know what I need to do to find those answers. I need to interrogate him.
In the morning. Tonight, all I want is to fall asleep in his arms.
Chapter Eighteen
Richard
For the first time since I met Maddie, she's already awake when I rouse from the best night's sleep I've ever had. The more time I spend with her, the more relaxed I feel. So it's no surprise to me that I sleep better too. Having her body tucked against mine while we both drift off plays a large part in that. I even love listening to her snore. It's always soft little snorts, nothing that would keep me awake all night, and it's only the occasional bout of snoring.
I sometimes wake up overnight to see her smiling in her sleep. Is she dreaming about me? I dream about her every night.