the midnight hours, and how Gabriel’s soft, skilled mouth and hard, practised body had claimed hers again and again.
Her every fibre lit up and tingled, recalling the bone-melting orgasms he’d given her. The way his tongue and hands had endlessly explored. She’d mindlessly given herself over to every wondrous stroke and squeeze.
Then he’d asked her to stay.
Her stomach somersaulted. She turned over, tried to focus her sleep-deprived brain, and realised she was alone amid the tangle of sheets. Where was Gabriel? She’d got severely sidetracked last night, but they still had a conversation to finish.
She had a confession to make.
Unfortunately talking quietly in romantic firelight was a far cry from coming clean in the cold light of day. She wasn’t a wealthy guest at Diamond Shores. She worked at the resort. She’d let Gabriel believe what he’d wanted about her identity, but now she needed to speak up.
He was attracted to her. He wanted this holiday fling to continue. Only he had no idea who the woman he was making love with was. Hell, she didn’t know who she was any more—or who’d she’d be next week. Next year.
Nina eased out of bed. Bringing a sheet along, she limped to the window. She had to believe he wouldn’t be upset by her news. They’d spent a glorious night together. Precious time not every couple got to enjoy.
She stopped by the window. He didn’t appear to be outside. When he hadn’t returned after a few minutes she removed her bandage and drew a bath. As she slipped into the warm water she fantasised about him sneaking in and surprising her. But when the bath cooled, she dried and dressed again in the shirt Gabriel had stripped from her late last night. She finger-brushed her teeth with some paste she found while her stomach knotted.
She needed to get this off her chest. How much longer would he be?
Through the smudge of glass, and a break in the canopy of palms and vines, a flawless dome of blue smiled down. The leaves looked greener, hanging low and heavy with morning dew. While the air had felt chilly last night, heat was already building inside the cabin. Another tropical day in paradise.
She’d felt so down of late. In limbo. Lost. Feeling alive again last night had felt so real! The light and smell and sound of everything had seemed amplified. Brighter. She wanted to feel that alive again, and now she knew how to make that happen.
Not by continuing this charade with Gabriel; hiding behind a fantasy, no matter how wonderful, wasn’t the answer. She had to step up and get her life back on track as quickly as possible. Until that opportunity arose, she’d put one hundred and ten percent into doing the best job she could here. Put her all into winning even a little respect from her co-workers.
Hope. A real belief that she could regain her pride. Her beautiful night here with Gabriel had given her that.
Her stomach growled. She’d eaten nothing but a handful of nuts since a scant salad yesterday at lunch. When a fruit bowl caught her eye, she chose an apple and chomped as she made her way aimlessly around.
She was about to make herself a coffee when a movement outside caught her eye. She tipped closer to the window and peered out.
Three … no, four wallabies!
When she swung open the door, air, fresh and minty, filled her lungs. She breathed deeply, listening to a symphony of birds, their squawks and chirps and whistles echoing off the treetops and jutting cliffs. To her left, the wallabies’ ears turned in her direction.
Three were sunning themselves, resting on their sides on a nearby red and black-patched ledge. The fourth had a joey in her pouch; Nina held her breath as two tiny ears and a black nose twitched from the soft furry purse on its mother’s tummy. They were similar to, but far smaller than, their marsupial kangaroo cousins. Their petite jaws munched rhythmically, and Nina longed to furrow her fingers through the thick brown fur of the curved backs. Their strong tails, which ended with a white tip, seemed to go on for ever.
Careful not to startle them, she bit off some apple, crept closer, then lobbed the fruit over. The mother used her tail and small front paws to edge away in the opposite direction. The others twitched their ears, but didn’t deign to turn their onyx long-lashed gazes towards their visitor. She sat on a nearby boulder, and after a time one wallaby rocked slowly over. It collected the apple in its paws and ignored her while it chewed.
This same scene would have existed fifty years ago. A hundred and fifty years ago. How peaceful it would be to live here without television or the internet, Nina thought. No sales pitches or rush-rush schedules. Just the gentle sights and sounds of timeless nature.
She was about to throw more apple when the wallabies straightened, fully alert. Their ears pricked up and then they bounded off, their tails acting as precision springboards. As they disappeared over the rocks and into the bush Nina heard it too—a motor, distant, but coming this way.
She perched upon the wallabies’ ledge and waited to greet her arrival. A few moments later Gabriel appeared, wheeling in a motorbike. Nothing large and mean—rather a fun ride, with chunky tyres obviously meant for off-road.
He stopped when he saw her, and his eyes opened in surprise. “You’re up.”
She eased off the ledge. “You were up earlier.”
He performed a flourishing bow. “Your limousine, madame.”
She laughed, but with a touch of irony. She hadn’t ridden in a limousine for a very long time.
He kicked down the bike’s stand, whipped a carry-bag off the handlebars and closed the distance separating them in three long strides. Then arms that felt like heaven gathered her in and his mouth dropped over hers. As one hand edged up to cradle and faintly rotate the back of her head, Nina dissolved into their best kiss yet. Her fingers fanned up to knead the muscle beneath his fresh jersey knit shirt.
His lips left hers reluctantly, coming back to sip again before he deftly took her hand and began to lead her inside. Her mind stopped spinning enough for her to pull up. She wouldn’t be distracted again. Before he swept her up into the clouds again they needed to talk. He needed to know this was no run-of-the-mill holiday fling. She needed to lay her cards on the table and own up to who she was … or at least who she wasn’t.
When she stopped, he stopped too, a frown tugging at his brows. Then he shook his head as if to clear it.
“I’m an idiot.” He swooped her up into his arms. “I forgot your ankle. I’ll carry you.”
Nina fought the impulse to hold onto him. His no-argument brand of chivalry was intoxicating, but … “My ankle’s fine.”
He wasn’t listening. Instead he moved with her towards the open cabin door.
He stepped over the threshold, and a sense of déjà vu filtered through her. Had so much time passed since that sudden rainstorm yesterday? They were here again, standing in the exact same spot, and he was just as imposing and commanding and delicious as ever.
But he wasn’t heading for the bed. He was looking down at her with a mix of desire and depth and …
Trust?
She cleared the lump from her throat and took a breath. Now or never.
“Last
