“Did you ever go on vacations as a kid?” I ask, only realizing after the words have left my mouth that she’s probably been all over the world.
“Not many. My parents were always too busy with work or their committees to pay attention to us, but go on.”
“That was the best part of my childhood. I loved seeing new places. I loved hotel rooms and the pools. I was like obsessed with them. I used to beg my parents to go to hotels, even just in our town.”
“And when you grew up, you wanted to do that every day of your life.”
“Exactly. Besides, it’s not like it hasn’t been lucrative.”
She smiles and I tell her about how I grew my business from one hotel to a hundred as we enjoy our dessert.
I pay the check and take her hand in mine as we walk back down the beach toward our bungalow.
She turns to me, smiling up at me, and I feel my head start to dip toward hers. I’ve been dreaming about her lips on mine, our mouths molded together, and it’s finally about to happen.
Then Chloe steps back, her cheeks flaming a bright red.
“I…” she starts but she doesn’t finish that sentence.
“It’s alright,” I whisper, taking her hand in mine. “We have time. Let’s get you to bed.”
It’s late and Chloe yawns, leaning on me more. I can’t help but smile. She’s getting used to me already. I want to tell her that it could be like this every day of our lives. I want to tell her that I love her, but I know that she would balk if I said that right now. She’s not ready for that. Not even close.
I only hope that she is by the end of the five days.
FOUR
Chloe
I collapse onto the beach,trying to hide my smile when I see Knox going for the sunscreen. He’s been applying it almost religiously since we left the bungalow this morning. He says that he just doesn’t want me to burn, but I have a feeling that it’s more than that.
He seems to savor running his hands all over me. I think that he just likes taking care of me and making sure that I’m safe.
I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t like that too.
I’ve been taking care of other people for my whole life and it’s nice to have someone do it for me for a change.
The way his patient hands keep stroking over my bare skin has me going out of my mind. I didn’t feel ready to give into him last night, but today, after he’s spent all day being so charming and wonderful, I’m ready to jump his bones.
It’s more than that though. I’ve been fighting my feelings for Knox from day one. I was too worried about what people would say but I don’t have to worry about that here. Maybe that’s why I’m letting my inhibitions go.
“Time to reapply,” Knox says and I can feel myself growing wet as he moves to kneel behind me, his bare skin rubbing against mine.
I sit up in the sand, moving my hair out of the way as he starts to rub the sunscreen onto my shoulders.
I bite my lip, trying not to moan as his thumbs dig into my tired muscles. It’s a good thing that I packed a swimsuit on the off chance that I had some time off when I thought that this was a business trip. We’ve already been swimming and paddle boarding and I’m starting to get worn out.
“Want to try kayaking next?” Knox whispers as his hands glide farther down my back.
This time I do moan and lean back against him.
“Too tired. I need food. And a nap,” I sigh and I feel him laugh against my back.
“Alright, let’s get dressed and get you fed. Then we can explore the island some more or head back to the bungalow for a nap.”
I take his hand, letting him pull me to my feet. He grabs our towels and the bottle of sunscreen and then grabs my hand again, leading me down the beach and back to our bungalow.
“Do you want to shower first?” he asks me as he lets me into our cabin on the water.