Finally, I have to withdraw, and I dispose of the condom, turn on the aircon, then pull a sheet over us and toss the rest of the covers onto the floor.
Clio’s already asleep. I turn out the lamp, and now she’s covered in the starlight from the open curtains. Her skin is silver, shining slightly. She’s so damn beautiful, so young.
I think about what she said, and examine how I feel about it.
Surprisingly, I realize I feel just fine.
I kiss her hair and hug her tightly to me. Then I fall asleep too.
*
A few hours later, I get up to pee, and Clio wakes and visits the bathroom, too. When she comes out, I’m standing by the window, drinking from a bottle of water. She joins me there and accepts the bottle, and has a few mouthfuls as we look out over the Alice Lawn, which seems so different at night, a mysterious land of shadows and silvery light from the moon hanging above us like a pearl.
When we finish the bottle of water, we go back to bed, and I pull her into my arms, and we kiss for a while, gentle and playful, exploring each other, just enjoying being together, being close. Then she rests her cheek on my shoulder, and we fall asleep again, wrapped around each other.
*
The next time we wake, the room is full of light. A brief glance at the clock tells me it’s 6:47 a.m. We’re all meeting for breakfast at 8:00 a.m., so we have plenty of time. She visits the bathroom again, then opens a window before returning to bed.
We lie facing each other, and just study each other for a while. She reaches out a hand and traces a finger down my nose, over my cheeks, along my jawline. I trail a hand down her side, over the top of the sheets, following the dip of her waist, the swell of her hips.
“About last night,” she says eventually.
I meet her gaze. Her blue eyes are a shade darker than the spring sky outside. “Hmm,” I reply.
“You can just forget I said it, if you want.” She moistens her lips. “We’ll put it down to over-imbibing champagne.”
I trail my fingers back up her side. “Did you mean it?”
She nibbles her bottom lip. “I don’t know. I’m not ever sure what being in love means.”
“What do you think it means?”
It’s very quiet. I doubt anyone else is awake. Outside, I can hear a tui bird’s distinctive cry, George! George!, as well as the fantails’ chirruping. The air smells clean and fresh, as if someone’s gone into the garden and scrubbed each leaf and flower. The morning seems filled with light.
“I don’t know,” she says again. A touch of color appears in her cheeks. She doesn’t want to say the wrong thing.
“All right,” I say softly. “I’ll tell you how I feel. Full of hope, like the new day.” Her gaze rises to meet mine. “I feel sort of excited,” I continue. “As if I have something wonderful planned for the day.”
Her lips curve up. “Me too.” She clears her throat. “Perhaps we should be really honest with each other. Say exactly what’s on our minds.”
“I’d like that,” I reply, thinking about all the unsaid things between me and Samantha, all the words I couldn’t say, either because I didn’t know how to say them, or because I was afraid she wouldn’t want to hear them.
“I don’t think either of us meant this to happen,” Clio says, dropping her gaze to scratch at the sheet. “It really came out of the blue for me. If you hadn’t missed that plane, I don’t think we would have gotten together.”
I nod my agreement. I’m convinced that was the case.
“It kind of feels like…” She hesitates, searching for the words. “A gift. It wasn’t meant to happen, but it did. And now that it has, it doesn’t feel right to toss it away as if it didn’t mean anything.”
“I agree,” I say.
“I don’t know what it means.” She sucks her bottom lip for a moment. “I’ve just qualified as a vet, and I don’t know what I want to do with that. And you’ve got a possible job offer coming in Wellington. Everything seems up in the air.”
“That’s true. There are some difficult decisions ahead,” I tell her. “So I guess the first step is to decide whether this,” and I gesture between us, “is worth pursuing. Should it be part of the equation? Or does it make things too complicated?”
Her eyes meet mine. “I want more of you,” she says simply.
My lips curve up. “I want more of you, too.”
We let that sink in for a moment.
Eventually, she begins to smile, then laughs, and I laugh as well.
“So…” she says, “what does that mean?”
Am I really saying this? Only a few days ago, I couldn’t see myself being with someone else ever again. I thought I was destined to be single forever. I couldn’t face the thought of getting to know someone, of starting all over again, only to discover after a significant investment of time that we weren’t suited.
But this is different. I know Clio. I know her past, and I know her friends and family. We’re not strangers, and we’re not starting completely at the beginning. I know that doesn’t mean everything will work out, or that we’re one hundred percent compatible. But it’s a start I hadn’t expected.
“I guess we begin dating,” I say. “When we get back to the Ark.”
“Dating?” She gives me a beautiful smile.
“To see if we fit. Hot, amazing sex is one thing. But I might drive you mad when you spend a significant amount of time with me.”
“You might,” she says happily. “And I definitely might be too blah, blah, blah for you.” She mimes someone talking too much.
I chuckle, already knowing that doesn’t bother me. “We’ll take it day by day,” I tell her. “And we’ll make decisions together, when they arise. I’m sure it’ll become clear soon whether it’s something that could turn out to be permanent, or whether you want to move on.”
“All right,” she whispers.
“All right,” I agree. And I pull her into my arms and kiss her.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Clio
“Was there a storm last night?” Albie asks.
I pour myself a glass of orange juice from the jug and take it back to the table. It’s 8:15 a.m., and we’re all sitting in the Lodge’s dining room, having breakfast.
“I don’t think so,” Hal replies. “It didn’t even rain.”
“Weird,” Albie says. “I thought it was real windy. I could hear all this groaning and moaning.”
I cough into my juice. Albie’s room is next to Ryan’s. I thought I’d buried my face in the pillow, but it appears I was louder than I thought.
Everyone around the table laughs uneasily and exchanges glances, apparently unsure to whom Albie’s referring. Does he know who was in the adjacent room? Is he teasing me? I glance at him to find his gaze on me, his eyes twinkling as he bites into a croissant.
“Albie,” Remy scolds, unperturbed. “You were snoring so loudly I doubt anyone could hear anything else in the Lodge.”
My gaze slides to Ryan, who looks most amused. I glare at him, and he hides an answering grin by smiling at the woman who comes in with his full breakfast and places it before him.
I poke at my poached egg and watch the yolk spill onto the toast, determined not to look at Albie again. Everyone obviously knows about me and Ryan now, although they’re all politely pretending they don’t.
I think about his words this morning, We’ll take it day by day… And we’ll make decisions together, when they arise. He wants to date me. He’s not talking about moving in together or assuming that everything’s going to be perfect. He’s saying he thinks we have potential, and he’s excited about exploring that, and seeing whether we have a future.
Slowly, I lift my gaze to find him watching me. He holds it for a moment, and his eyes hold affection, and fill me with warmth. I hadn’t expected this. It’s taken me completely by surprise. It feels as if someone’s walked up to me on the street and handed me a million dollars, or a bar of gold.
What
does it mean for my future? I have no idea for the moment; I don’t know what will happen, whether he’ll take the job in Wellington, or whether I’ll stay at the Ark. But we can talk about it together, and as he says, I guess time will tell whether our paths will run parallel, or eventually part and go in different directions.
The conversation moves on, and I finish my breakfast, trying not to think about it, to live for the moment instead. My body feels warm and heavy; we made love again this morning, slowly and gently this time. The day feels bright with potential and hope. I feel a flutter of nerves in my stomach, and a brief fear that I’m making more of it than there is. Maybe it’s just the magic of the wedding, or the beautiful location, that’s making us feel as if we could have something together. Will it still be the same when we get back to the Ark? I suppose there’s only one way to find out.
Everyone seems relaxed and happy, apart from Jules and Stefan. They’re sitting at opposite ends of the table, pointedly not looking at one another. Jules’s face is stony, and I notice that she doesn’t eat anything, and leaves early, saying she has to pack. It makes me sad, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
When breakfast is done, it’s time to go. We return to our rooms and pack our cases, then head out to the waiting taxis, giving wistful glances back at the castle and the gorgeous grounds. The taxis take us to the airport. Leon and Nix are flying to Darwin, to take a train trip across Australia, something they’ve always wanted to do. Mom and Dad, and Noah, Abby, and Ethan, go with them in the Yonder Star, and the rest of are flying Air New Zealand to Auckland.
As we queue up to check in, Ryan comes to stand by my side. I’m conscious that our original tickets are booked all the way back to the Bay, but of course his car is in the Auckland Airport car park. I look up at him shyly, not sure whether to offer to drive up with him, or whether he’d rather be alone.
But he says, “You wanna drive up with me? No worries if you need to get back.” And he smiles.
My heart lifts. “Okay.” It’s that easy.
So we fly to Auckland, then leave the others to board the plane to the bay, collect our bags, and go out to his car. Soon we’re on the way north, music playing, and we spend a lovely three hours singing, talking, and holding hands, just enjoying each other’s company. He’s so easy after Theo, who was so prickly, so demanding. I feel so relaxed with him. I know it could just be because it’s new, but I don’t care. I’m going to make the most of it while I have it.
When we get back to the bay, it’s nearly five p.m. It’s a balmy late-spring evening, hinting at summer, and the low sun has turned the hills to a bright gold.
Ryan takes me to the airport to pick up my car. The others landed hours ago, and there’s nobody here except for the staff. I pick up my keys, and then the two of us stand by my car. His skin is a warm brown in the early evening light, and his brown eyes have orange flecks. He’s so handsome it makes my heart ache.
“I’m sure you’re tired tonight,” he says. “I’ll leave you to go home and unpack. But maybe tomorrow you’d like to go out for dinner?”
“I’d love that.” I feel so happy.
“It’s a date.” He studies me with a smile, then slides a hand to the nape of my neck and bends to kiss me. I return it, opening my mouth to him, and shiver as he slides his tongue against mine.
When he eventually moves back, I sigh and release him. “Have a nice evening,” I tell him.
“You, too.”
We part, I get into my car, reverse it out of the parking spot, then follow him out of the airport and along the road to the bay.
I feel wistful as I drive home, and oddly emotional. I miss him already. Is that stupid? I’ve only been with him a couple of days. It’s hardly a long-term relationship. But I miss his hand in mine, the warmth of his body. I feel as if I’ve set out on a long journey, and I’ve just taken the first few steps, and now I have to set up camp for the night. But that’s dumb. I’m going to have to get used to being apart from him. I can’t expect to live in his pocket.
When we reach Paihia, he waves to me and continues along the road that follows the waterfront, and I turn off and head up to my apartment on the hill. Jules will be there already, probably watching TV and eating a microwave meal.
I pull up outside and sit there for a moment. I feel oddly dispirited, and fearful that it’s all come to an end. I have to get my mind in gear, or I’m going to end up with a broken heart, and I’ll only have myself to blame.
I retrieve my bag from the back, and go in.
“Hey.” Sure enough, Jules is on the sofa, feet on the table, tucking into a plastic-looking lasagna. “Have a nice trip?”
“Very, thank you.” I put my bag in my room, take off my shoes and jacket, then come in and flop on the sofa next to her. “How are you doing?” I ask her. I note that there’s a wine glass on the table, and a half-full bottle of Chardonnay.
“Fine,” she says. She picks up her glass and finishes it off, then refills it.
“Jules…” I begin.
“Don’t.” She stabs her fork into the lasagna.
So I don’t say anything. I need to have a bath and get myself something to eat, but I can’t be bothered. Instead we sit and watch Game of Thrones, even though we’ve already seen this episode three times.
My phone buzzes against my hip, and I pull it out. It’s a text from Ryan.
Hey. Got home okay?
I smile and text back, Yep. All good here. Jules is melancholic, but I expected that.
Aw. That’s a shame. I suppose you don’t want to leave her like that…
My pulse picks up a little. Why, what did you have in mind?
I miss you.
I miss you too.
Have you eaten?
No.
Wondered if you wanted to come over and get fish and chips?
Joy fills me. I look up and see Jules watching me, a smile on her face.
“Ryan?” she asks. I nod. “Go on,” she says. “Go and be happy.”
I hesitate, though. I can see she’s hurting, and I don’t want to abandon her when she’s feeling down.
“Go on,” she repeats. “I’ll mope for a couple of days, then I’ll be fine.”
I move closer to her and hug her, and she laughs and hugs me back. “You’re sure?” I say. “I can see him anytime, if you want to sit and talk.”
“I don’t want to talk,” she states firmly. “I’m going to bed soon. Go on. Make the most of him, Clio. Don’t pass up this chance to be happy.”
I think of her words as I text him that I’m coming over, and drive to his bach. She’s right, isn’t she? When you have a chance at happiness, you have to grab it with both hands. Opportunities like this don’t come along very often.
He’s texted me directions, and I follow the road out of Paihia, over the hill to the other side, then take the next turnoff. There’s a gate where you have to punch in a code, and it opens and then closes behind me as I head toward the sea. There are several baches here, spread out along the beach, and I slow and turn onto the drive to the third one along, coming to a stop outside, beside his car. It’s a long, low beach house, a far cry from the old Kiwi baches built from driftwood and held together with nails and duct tape.
I get out and bring the overnight bag I brought just in case, and head around the side of the bach. He’s waiting for me, and he comes toward me, takes my face in his hands, and kisses me. Oh my God, what a kiss, with the sun low in the sky turning the Pacific Ocean orange and purple, the sea breeze cool on my skin, and Ryan’s mouth hot, full of desire, as he plunges his tongue into my mouth, his hands lifting my tee to slide onto my skin. Oh Jesus, he wants me, and I thank God as we move into the bach, still kissing. I begin pulling off his T-shirt, hungry for him, wanting to feel him against me.
In seconds, we’re naked, and we barely make it to the sofa, where I push him down and straddle him, plunging my tongue into his mouth. His strong hands stroke me, caress me, cupping my breast and playi
ng with my nipples, and it’s only minutes before he’s rolling on a condom and I’m taking him inside me.
We both sigh, and I look into his eyes as I begin to move. I slide my hands into his hair and kiss him, and our tongues play together as desire builds between us. He kisses down my neck and takes a nipple in his mouth, his hand warm on my breast, and I sigh, moving faster, as pleasure begins to build inside me. Oh God, I needed this, and I shiver from desire and the cool sea breeze from the open window, thrusting hard, until I can’t hold back any longer, and my orgasm sweeps over me. It only takes him another minute and then he’s coming too, swelling hot and hard inside me, and I kiss his face, his eyes, his cheeks, his mouth, as he groans and shudders, until eventually he opens his eyes.
“Hey,” he says, the first word either of us said since I walked up.
“Hey.” I kiss his mouth, gently.
“That took us, like, two minutes,” he states wryly.
I shrug. “What do you expect when we’ve been apart for so long?”
We both chuckle. He lifts me off and disposes of the condom, and then we stretch out along the sofa, me in his arms, and listen to the waves outside.
“We’ll get some fish and chips in a minute,” he says.
“Okay.” I kiss his shoulder.
His fingers trace up my spine. “Are you staying the night?”
I draw a figure eight on his chest, through the scatter of brown hairs. “Sure.”
It’s as easy as that.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ryan
It all happens organically, without any big decisions being made, and no announcements being given. She stays with me the first night, and then gradually brings over more of her stuff, until it’s clear to both of us without anything being said that she’s moving in with me.
Everyone at the Ark seems to know we’re together, and when we meet up to have lunch in the break room or in the garden, if someone else is there, they don’t say anything about the fact that we share a lunch box, or when I pay for Clio’s coffee, or she treats me to a chocolate bar.
My Wicked Billionaire (The Billionaire Kings Book 6) Page 18
