Exposure (29 page)

The shore was rocky and made docking
difficult, so he pulled off to the east where there was more of an
immediate drop off. Raven would be able to step right from the boat
to land. He dropped anchor and tied the boat to a boulder just in
case.

Then he studied her profile, wondering how
open she would be to making love outside. The temperature had hit
twenty but, on the water, the windchill felt like ten degrees. The
boat cabin had thermo blankets and sleeping bags, plus the cave
would block the wind and he could start a fire for warmth. His dick
swelled as he imagined her underneath him, hair fanned around her
head, while they created their own heat.

She glanced at him and did a double-take. "I
know that look. What naughty things are you thinking about?"

His throat tightened as he took a step
closer, pulled her into his arms and said the first thing that came
to mind. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Her smile fell. She cupped his jaw, brushing
her thumbs over his stubble. "You don't have to, and the feeling is
mutual."

Maybe so, but she still hadn't reached the
point of no return yet. Not like he had. He was pretty damn sure
his heart would stop dead if anything happened to her.

He kissed her forehead and stepped away.
"How adventurous are you feeling today?"

Her mouth opened and closed as her eyes
narrowed. "Why?"

Unable to help it, he grinned. "I know you
hate surprises, but this is a good one. I promise."

Before she could argue, he grabbed a
sleeping bag, two blankets, and gestured for her to carry the small
cooler. He slung his camera bag over his shoulder. "Ready?"

She eyed the items and shrugged. "Sure."

As they climbed off the boat, she took stock
of the private property signs and raised her brows in question.

The wind whipped his hair over his brow as
he contemplated his response. He'd bought the island four months
after spotting it six years ago. It had taken a lot of legal
maneuvering to even find out if it was buyable, followed by land
surveys to investigate whether it was stable property or if it
would eventually sink or drift away. Turned out plates, below the
ocean surface connected it to the mainland. It had cost him a mint,
but he never regretted it. As he watched Raven, he knew why.

"You own this island, don't you?" She stared
at him like he had three heads.

"Yeah." Intuition said this might not go
over as he'd intended. He shifted his weight to the other foot.
Silence stretched. "Say something."

She didn't, not for the longest time. "You
own an island."

Shit. She wasn't going to start freaking out
about money again, was she? He'd give it all to charity if it--

She tilted her head back and laughed. Rich
and throaty, the sound drifted over to him on the wind and warmed
his gut. "You own an island." Throwing her hand up as if to say,
of course you do,
she laughed harder.

Shifting the sleeping bag in his arms, he
frowned.

She sighed, sobering a fraction. "What did
you name it?"

"What?"

"This place. What did you name it? I mean,
you can't buy an island and not name it."

Well, hell. She was giddy, why not burst
that bubble? "I call it Raven Crest. That's what the official tax
documents say. It has it's own decree, being an island." He paused.
"And it's in your name."

Her grin fell entirely. "Are you
serious?"

He nodded slowly, awaiting her panic attack.
"We could, you know, build our house here." That was why he hadn't
contacted a realtor this week, as planned. He'd wanted to bring her
out here first, see if she minded the location.

She reared back as if he'd slapped her.
Blinked twice.

He forced air into his lungs. "There's
plenty of land for a house and room for Aubrey to play. And…more
kids, if you want them." He cleared his throat. "We could build a
cabin for your mom, if you want. It would take months, but a bridge
could be constructed from the east side of the island to the
mainland. The stretch is only three city blocks of distance. We
went the long way coming in. We'd have to use a boat until then."
If his heart pounded any harder he'd stroke out. Fuck. He should
just shut the hell up. "This place would give you the solitude you
crave." Shutting up now. "Christ, Raven. Talk to me. Yell. Do
something."

Looking so fragile the next gust would
topple her, she closed her gaping mouth, shook her head slowly,
turned abruptly, and started walking toward a clearing deeper on
the island.

T
heir feet crunched
over snow and pine needles as they made their way silently across
the island. They headed deeper into a forest-like cluster of trees,
where Noah stopped every now and again to gather fallen branches.
She'd glanced over her shoulder once to check on him, but looking
at his handsome face just made the panic edge closer, so she didn't
do it again.

He'd taken any semblance of control away
from her. He, of all people, knew how much she needed that. She'd
conceded a lot since they've been together, and now she didn't even
have an apartment to go back to. Not that she'd want to live
anywhere Soreno had touched, but still.

Everything was moving so fast. Their
relationship, her feelings. He'd had years to pick this apart,
examine the angles, accept how he felt. She'd had two months, and
that was after he'd plowed her down with the truth.

Things weren't bad between them. Not at all.
She'd finally started feeling like a woman and not a shell. Noah
had opened her sexually and emotionally. They compromised and
talked and respected one another. She'd even begun to think she was
capable of long term without freaking. But today? This surprise? It
felt like backpedaling. A retreat.

Sucking in crisp, cold air, she pushed her
legs to walk faster, enjoying the burn in her muscles. Luckily not
much snow covered the small island because Raven had only been
wearing sneakers, having only planned to visit the police station,
not trek across an island. That he bought in her name. Where he
wanted to build a house and have kids. Maybe even a place for her
mom, because he'd known Raven worried about her mother's financial
security and hasty decisions, so having her close would give Raven
peace of mind.

God. Just…God. What in the hell was going
on?

Two months ago, she'd been sitting alone in
her apartment, idly passing time, bored delirious with her sex life
and her only satisfaction being with her gallery. Now her best
friend was declaring love, a hitman was after them, and…Noah bought
her
an island
.

She stopped. "When did you make the
purchase?"

His footsteps behind her halted, too, but
she didn't turn around. They hadn't said one syllable since his
tangent and she'd stalked off in a daze. His clothing rustled as he
shifted, but he didn't respond.

"How long ago, Noah?" Her pinched voice
echoed off the water and the rock ledge where she'd blindly led
them.

"I bought it six years ago."

Six years. When he'd started writing the
letters. He'd named the damn island after her. He'd never had any
intention of their relationship being temporary. This was all a
ruse to his endgame. Every move a chess piece to manipulate.

She dropped the cooler she'd been carrying
and grabbed her chest. A vise banded her lungs and squeezed. Her
airway collapsed. Her eyes welled as she struggled for breath. Her
vision grayed, black dots spotting her peripheral. She teetered on
her feet.

And then Noah was in front of her, shoving
her to her knees and pressing her head between them. "Breathe,
baby. Just breathe." He rubbed circles over her back. The hand in
her hair massaged her scalp.

Closing her eyes, she sucked in much needed
air. Tears welled behind her lids, but she fought them back and
focused on slow, deep breaths.

"That's it, baby." He lifted her head and
pushed her hair from her face to cup her cheeks. His blue eyes
scanned her face, worry and remorse etched in the icy depths. After
a moment, his lids fell closed and he shook his head, pulling her
to him. "We'll sell the island. Anything you want. Just…don't be
upset." His arms tightened around her back, a desperate quality
emanating from the gesture.

She burrowed into his embrace, even though
her emotions were rioting. Breathing in his cinnamon scent, she
clutched the lapels of his coat and rested her cheek on his chest.
"Why'd you do it? Why did you buy this place?"
And name it after
me? Put it in my name?
Deep down, she knew the answer. It was
obvious, really. But she needed him to spell it out.

His sigh ruffled her hair. "I guess,
subconsciously, I knew we'd end up here. That I loved you on a much
deeper level than I'd believed." He ran his fingers through her
hair. "At the time, I told myself I put it in your name just in
case, as added protection from Rizzoli. The truth is, Raven,
everything about this place reminded me of you."

She was beginning to feel like an ungrateful
bitch, but why couldn't he have just talked to her, instead of
springing this all at once? She didn't need diamonds and islands.
She just needed him…and a little time. "How does it remind you of
me?"

He rested his chin on the top of her head.
"The quiet strength. After all the elements, the island's still
here. The landscape reminds me of your gallery and how you designed
it with nature in mind. It's isolated from everyone, but close
enough to the mainland to observe the melee."

Was that really how he viewed her? Quiet and
strong? Isolated? She closed her eyes, suddenly drained.

"There's a spot just on the other side of
this rock wall. The first time I stumbled upon it, Hoan wanted to
capture you there on film." He swallowed. "I still do, if you'll
let me. It's an image that haunts me, never abating." His voice
deepened, his chest rumbling against her cheek. "I don't care if
anyone else sees it, or if you don't want it sold. I need that
photo for me, baby. Let me show you how I see you."

She'd encouraged him to take pictures at
Aubrey's Castle, and it had given her insight to the sexual need in
him. But this was different. Hoan Dwell captured women, in various
stages of undress, in nature settings. He peeked right into their
soul and exposed it to the world. Whether anyone saw them or not,
she didn't think she could handle what he'd uncover.

Yet his words, and the deep emotional timbre
with which he spoke them, called to her. Something inside him was
always searching for her, for everything she could give. One day,
she was going to disappoint him to the point they'd never recover.
A man like Noah, who had so much honor and strength and love to
offer, should never settle for someone who was incapable of
returning half as much. She was trying. Damn it, so hard she was
trying.

Bowing down as his muse she could do. She
lifted her head and looked at him, at the raw emotion in his eyes.
"Yes."

His jaw unclenched as he grabbed her nape.
"Yes?" he rasped, unbelieving.

"Show me this mysterious location." She
smiled, her heart hammering at his happiness. "I'm not exactly
dressed for this. I'm not even wearing makeup."

"I want you raw, natural. I would've asked
you to remove any cosmetics anyway." He kissed her forehead and
drew back to look at her. "Are you sure?"

Standing, she brushed the snow off her
knees. "Very. I've been dying to meet Hoan for years." Back at
Aubrey's Castle, it had been Noah, her lover and best friend, who'd
taken those pictures of her. She suspected Hoan was an entirely
different person.

He rose slowly, his hands flexing as if
itching for the camera in his bag slung over his shoulder. After a
beat, he picked up the blankets and sleeping bag, and headed toward
the rock wall. She grabbed the cooler and followed.

They rounded an eight foot wall, where a
small cave, no deeper than ten feet or wider than six feet, cut
into the rock. Just on the other side was a slope that descended
into a shallow valley. Boulders and snow covered the hill. Birch
trees sprinkled the small area. In the distance, misty fog from the
mountains set a backdrop like that in a fairy tale.

"Noah, it's beautiful."

He set their things down just inside the
mouth of the cave. "Wait here a minute. I need to start a fire
first to keep you warm afterward."

She nodded, more mesmerized by the view. She
wondered where he'd have her pose or…what she'd be wearing.
Glancing down at her jeans, she frowned. Under her coat was a black
sweater. At least she'd worn her sexy red lace panty set, which was
more up Hoan's alley.

Noah returned and made quick work of a
campfire just outside the cave opening. Kneeling, he unfolded the
sleeping bag inside the cave and pulled the camera from its bag.
Task at hand, he muttered over his shoulder, "We'll need to do this
fast, or in stages. It's too cold to leave you exposed for long."
He fidgeted with the camera. "When in position, just do as I say
right away. I'll give you verbal cues when I start. You'll need to
hold your breath for a few seconds, so I don't catch your
exhalation in the shot."

She walked up next to him, startling him
from his focus. "You're so bossy."

His gaze slid down the length of her as if
he hadn't heard. "Take off your clothes. All except your shoes and
undergarments."

She paused. "Why not shoes?"

"To walk across the snow. You can take them
off when in position."

"Right." Since he was all business, she
didn't joke around. She stripped her clothes and set them in a pile
close to the fire to keep them warm. Crossing her arms, she
shivered. "Ready."

He grabbed the red fleece blanket and turned
to hand it to her. He froze, gaze skimming over her once more, this
time with heat and interest, not with an artistic eye. "You're
wearing the red lace. Holy fuck. Perfect."