by Dee Tenorio
Yes, she decided, laying her head limply on his shoulder. This was where she belonged. Perfectly. Exactly. Rightly.
And if a tiny part of her heart cried out that something was missing…well, there was time. This was only the first step.
Chapter Eleven
David stared down at the woman in the bed, her hair still damp despite the fact that they’d left the shower behind hours ago, and watched her sleep. For reasons he couldn’t discern, she’d decided to forgive him. She’d even apologized when he was fairly sure she didn’t have to. Even now, sleeping deeply, she wore a smile on her face. As if she’d found the answer to all the questions that had been plaguing her the last two years. Maybe longer.
His questions, though, had only just begun.
What had changed her mind? What had she seen in his eyes in those raw moments while they made love in the shower? Because something had most definitely given her a sense of peace while he was left feeling—no, knowing—something was left undone.
She’d wanted to know what he was feeling, but she’d never asked. What did that mean? And could all this happen again when she didn’t see what she wanted to? If he failed to be what she needed on any given day?
He lifted the ends of her hair and watched them filter through his fingers. His father had been right about the colors. He couldn’t count them all, the deep chestnut, the rich auburn, even the occasional strand of gold. They all came together into a blend of dark caramel. It was beautiful.
But until he could figure out the right words to say, he didn’t really have the right to be touching it. He shouldn’t be here, with her in this bed. He wasn’t unselfish enough to leave, though. A few moments longer, he decided, running his hand over her arm and back again. He had to remember what Taylor had said.
A grand gesture.
Show Krista not only how he felt, but also how he saw her.
I need a man who loves me.
Slowing his hand, he looked at the closed wardrobe with the mini-office tucked inside. The fax was still there, waiting. Just because she’d let him in didn’t mean she didn’t deserve what he should have been giving her all along.
He finally realized what he’d been missing.
Slipping out of the bed, he padded to the bathroom and pulled on the uncomfortably moist pants and shirt. Then, silent as possible, he opened the wardrobe and pulled out the fax sheets. Making less than a whisper of sound, he drifted out of the bungalow and headed onto the walkway. He almost made the turn toward the hotel, but something stopped him.
Grand gesture.
Changing direction, he headed to the larger bungalow closer to the end of the pier. Part of him wondered if this was a bad idea. But she’d said they were her friends. He knocked. Before his third rap, the French door opened to the still-somewhat-disturbing smile of a very happy Cobb.
David looked him up and down, wondering exactly where this strange man came from. He wore only some kind of skirt, much like the fabric Krista had been wearing, only this one was green and printed with the shapes of palm fronds. And the knot at his waist left something to be desired.
“Did I wake you?” Not that he was one to point fingers about the mid-afternoon hour. And Cobb had taken a blow to the face, though his mouth didn’t look any worse for wear.
“Me? Oh, no… Why, did you want to?” Cobb blinked as if he had something in his eyes.
David frowned, wondering what it could be. The sun wasn’t setting at his back just yet. “No.”
Cobb’s happy demeanor shifted, but his sigh seemed to wash it away. “You really are straight, aren’t you?”
It was David’s turn to blink. “As in heterosexual?”
Cobb nodded.
That he needed incontrovertible proof gave David pause. Exactly what kind of vibes had he been sending out? “Irreversibly.”
The younger man’s bottom lip seemed to fill right before his eyes. “You’re sure?”
“Cobb, leave the man alone. No means no.” Jake’s gruff tone rumbled its way out the door. With a swoosh of sound, the other door opened and they had company. Hopefully more rational company. “Hey, the shiner looks good on you.”
For the briefest of seconds, David wondered if that compliment should concern him. Then again, Jake didn’t seem the type to knock him to the ground for affection. “Thank you.”
Jake glanced at Cobb, then shrugged when Cobb looked back blankly. “What can we do for you?”
“It’s actually something I want you to do for Krista.” He allowed himself to relax enough to smile. She always told him he should let his guard down more. “I wondered if you might keep her busy for me for a few hours.”
“Like shopping?” Cobb brightened again.
David sent a questioning glance at Jake. “Would that work?”
“Depends, how deep in debt do you want to get?”
Inborn aversion to debt gurgled to life. David squelched it. “I’ll need her back here at sunset. So…about two hours?”
“I don’t know.” Cobb’s face wrinkled with what looked like serious doubt. “How could we get anything decent done in two hours?”
Jake rolled his eyes. “I’ll take care of it. When do you want us to pick her up?”
“Now.”
Cobb did some kind of whole body wiggle that had Jake shaking his head.
“What should we tell her?” Jake asked, apparently ignoring his friend.
David smiled again, deciding he could go with that line of thinking. “Tell her it’s a surprise.”
{
“This sucks,” Krista grumbled for the fourth time in an hour. She’d awoken to excited knocking on her front door, her bed empty and not a single trace of the man who’d driven her to complete exhaustion. She sucked on her straw, not much enjoying the virgin piña colada in the swirl-shaped cup. “What kind of surprise is he planning?”
“He didn’t say.” Jake nodded politely at yet another woman giving him the eye.
“You should just wear a sign that says you’re gay.” Irritation with the world in general gnawed on her nerves. The guys had kept her on the other side of the resort near the shops and the pool. The downside was that all four of them were getting all kinds of attention from men and women alike while she stewed in a soup of unexpected anticipation. “No one’s going to figure it out if you don’t.”
“It wouldn’t matter. That girl’s too drunk to read.”
A quick glance at the brunette sagging over her drink at the other end of the bar didn’t help Krista’s mood. She had twenty minutes left and it felt like days. Ricky and Stevie were in the pool, soaking up the adoration from strangers since they claimed she wasn’t any fun.
“Cobb’s up again,” Jake warned.
Krista almost sobbed. “Why do they keep letting him sign up?” She turned in time to see Cobb—barefoot, shirtless as usual, with just low-rise leather pants and multicolored leather bracelets wrapped around his wrists—reach for the microphone. Since they’d arrived, he’d already had three turns on the karaoke stage. “Please, God, not another Pat Benatar song.”
As it was, she never—ever—wanted to hear “We Belong” again.
“I think the guy running the thing likes him.” Jake nudged her shoulder with his, chucking his chin toward the older, almost-five-foot-tall man grinning like a loon as the opening strains of “My Heart Will Go On” began rolling out of the speakers.
“I’m heading back.” She hopped off the stool and started walking. It didn’t take long to hear Jake’s feet on the pavement next to her.
“Your boyfriend said sunset.”
She pointed up at the darkening sky. “This counts.”
“Don’t you want him to finish whatever it is he’s doing for you?”
She turned onto the paved path that led to their part of the resort. She could hear the slow waves of the surf already. “Since when are you on his side? I thought you offered to kick his ass for me earlier.”
“Yeah, when I thought he might be a
jerk. He seems decent enough.”
“You just like him because he’s not remotely after Cobb.” She rolled her eyes, increasing her pace, and came over the last dune of manicured grounds. The bungalows were just ahead. She nearly skidded to a stop, able to see her own, lit from below with dozens of tiny lights.
Jake stopped next to her and whistled. “I guess he is ready.” She felt a nudge to her arm. “Aren’t you going to get in there?”
She wanted to. But suddenly, she was so afraid. “This isn’t something David would do.”
“So?” Jake pushed her forward again. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes?” she croaked.
“So what’s the problem?”
Hope. Hope was the problem. David…romantic? She’d thought she might be asking too much of him too soon. What if this wasn’t what she thought and it blew up in both their faces?
“Stop thinking. The man wants to do something nice for you. Now get over there before the water knocks out all his hard work.”
She smiled, realizing he was right. Before she left, she went to give Jake another kiss on the cheek. “Thanks Jake. For everything.”
“Yeah, well, don’t start thinking I’m your fairy godparent or anything. I look like shit in a tutu.”
She laughed, walking toward the pier. “You know, I was just thinking. If Cobb has such a bad crush on David, that could be good for you.”
“How’s that?” he called and she turned, continuing to walk backward.
“Look in the mirror, dufus. Black hair, blue eyes, grumpy temperament… You got more of a shot than you might think!” With the wide-eyed expression on Jake’s face to keep her laughing, Krista started running toward her bungalow.
Close up, she saw a wide net tied to the stilts of her bungalow, and floating in the pocket were small bowls filled with broad-petaled white flowers, a small votive lit at the very center. Delighted, she found a line of them starting at her gate and leading into the open bungalow.
She tiptoed her way inside, discovering the dark interior lit up by another dozen flower bowls. She smiled, looking around in wonder. The line led her into the dining room, where David was sitting at the table, a final bowl lighting the place setting in front of him.
The firelight glowed on his face, flickering across the smile that spread slowly over his lips. She took in the soft white shirt she could guess was new. It wasn’t buttoned all the way, leaving visible that little patch of skin she liked so much. In his hand he held a roll of paper, tied with a dark ribbon.
Unsure what to do, she stayed in the doorway until he reached out his hand for her. “What is all this?” she asked, stepping round a flower bowl.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful.” She clasped his hand and let him pull her onto his lap. He pressed the paper roll into her hands. “What’s this?”
“Our contract.”
She looked down, the joy and excitement in her leeching away.
His hand wrapped around hers on the firm scroll and he used the other to tip her chin up to face him. He pressed a small kiss to her lips, chaste but hopeful. Then he said something that sent her world spinning sideways. “Burn it.”
Her eyes nearly popped. “What? Why?”
“Because it’s a lie,” he answered quietly, staring at the papers as if they’d done something wrong to him. He looked at her again, jaw set, his eyes reflecting the candlelight as if it were a blaze. “When we first met, I practically forgot my own name. I was sure I’d say something, do something wrong, something you’d consider an insult. When you didn’t, I didn’t know how to hope for more.” He swallowed, lifting the papers. “I didn’t know how to keep you. Never imagined you’d want to stay. So I came up with this. The worst lie I’ve ever told in my life and because of it, I’ve been lying ever since.”
Guiding both their hands, he held the end of the contract over the small flame. For a quiet moment, they watched the flames climb around their agreement, eating away at the paper and ink in small crackling bites. Only when it grew too bright, too strong to hold together, did he direct the burning end into the water of the flower bowl. It extinguished with a hiss, leaving an acrid smoky haze in its wake.
“I don’t want you to stay with me because you signed a piece of paper.”
“Da—”
He pressed his finger to her lips, gently quieting her. “Let me say this. I’ve been practicing, trying to get it right. I don’t want to make any mistakes tonight.”
She nodded, pursing her lips into a soft kiss even as she held her breath.
“I don’t want you to stay with me because you signed a piece of paper, and I don’t want you to have to guess how I feel. I’ve been thoughtless with you. Unappreciative. Not because I don’t appreciate you, but…well, it seemed unnecessary to me. All my life, talking about things you already knew was unneeded. But you’re not someone I can take for granted that way. You need the words. You deserve the words.”
Krista gulped in a breath, trying to keep her emotions from getting the best of her. Already, though, tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes.
“I never meant to hurt you.” He wiped the moisture from her cheeks, the caress so gentle she almost missed that his hand was shaking. “I’m probably never going to be good at saying this at the right time or the right way, but I’m going to keep trying until I learn. I love you, Krista. I have from the first second I saw you and I will until there’s nothing left of me in this world. Probably longer than—”
To hell with mistakes. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him so hard the chair almost tipped. Only his hand jerking out to grab the table edge rebalanced the chair enough to keep them upright. She laughed, hugging him tight with her arms and her knees on either side of his hips. “I love you too,” she whispered in his ear before pressing a kiss to that as well.
His arms laced around her, holding her so close only the fabric of their clothes came between them. “Will you marry me? Not because it makes any kind of financial good sense or because of what we can teach one another. Just because you love me?”
She pulled back, wanting to look in his eyes as she gave her answer. She wanted him to see the lack of indecision in her own gaze. “Yes, David. I’ll marry you. And I’ll spend the rest of my life loving you too. Probably longer,” she added with a grin that took nothing away from her honesty.
He reached into his pocket for the old silver ring. It slid onto her finger with perfect ease, the weight of it feeling right and real for the first time. “This was my mother’s ring,” he added quietly. “It’s the only thing of her I have left.” His voice was solemn as he twined their fingers together. “It means everything to me when I see it on your hand.”
She touched the gleaming stone, a haze of guilt tingeing her at having thrown something so precious. Never again. She lay her head on his shoulder and sighed. This was what her heart had been missing. What she’d been dreaming of since he’d first opened that door and walked into her life. “I’ll never take it off again,” she promised, her whole heart in the vow.
David looked in her eyes, his smile growing. Heartfelt, relieved, pleased and wide. The kind of smile that could have broken hearts…but made hers whole.
Krista kissed him, taking that smile in, bubbling with laughter and happiness. As always happened, she felt the spark of heat catch fire. There was nothing to fear about it, either. She wasn’t lost, loving him alone. There would be no nagging emptiness ever again. Pulling back, she ran her palms over the sides of his face. “Make love to me?”
David nodded, taking her hand and helping her up from his lap. She let him lead her into the bedroom, quietly walking in the darkness, the candlelight from below offering a romantic glow though the glass bottom in the living room. Part of her wished they could be out there, in the glow of his gift, but she wanted to relax. To languish and savor this loving. To fall asleep in his arms afterward and know in her heart that everything was finally the way
it should be.
In the bedroom, they undressed each other slowly, hands grazing over each other as if they were touching for the first time. She caressed his chest as she opened his shirt. He kissed her shoulder, his fingertips trailing down her spine. For the first time, each touch felt shared. Not an apology. Not a sacrifice. Not a lie.
A gift.
By the time he lowered her to the bed, rolling them onto their sides, Krista was trembling. “Tell me this isn’t a dream.”
“It’s not a dream.” He kissed her softly, scooping her thigh upward so that her leg was propped up over his hip. She reached down to take his erection in hand, stroking him toward her, the heated silk of his skin sliding across her palm like a brand and he groaned. “This is a dream come true.”
She stopped. Her stroking, her breathing, even her heart beating. “David…”
“What?” For a second he looked nervous, his muscles tightening as he tried to guess what he’d said wrong this time.
“It’s all right, I’m sorry.” Krista kissed him again, apologizing by guiding him to the heart of her, slipping him through the slick folds until he was embraced inside. He hissed, his hand finding her hip to keep her still and yet pull her closer so he could fit deeper inside. She folded her leg around him tighter. “It’s just…” She sighed, feeling full and happy and absolutely positive that from this moment on, their lives could only get better. “That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Her body clutched him, reveling in the sensation, in the closeness. They didn’t need to move. She could lie here forever, joined with him heart, body and soul. His hand drifted from her hip, over the curve of her waist, to wrap around her back and tug her closer.
“I’ll learn more,” he whispered.
“I’ll listen better,” she vowed, her lips parting when he began to stroke, slowly moving in and out of her body with the sweetest precision.
For a long while, they didn’t need to say anything, their bodies flowing into one another in a way that defied words. No rush, no blind passion, but loving and trusting of the deepest kind. And when the end came, Krista held on with both hands, taking him with her over the edge. This is how it’s always going to be, she sighed to herself, wrapped in his arms, wrapped in his love. This was worth waiting for.
