Justin (8 page)

The bungalow he chose had two bedrooms and two baths. “I hope you remembered your swim suit.”

She nodded. She’d bought a new one the day before that was a lot less modest than any she’d ever worn before. She’d also brought two one pieces that she could wear with the others on the beach.

She chose the smaller bedroom. “Where did our suitcases end up?”

“
They’re probably in the main villa. I’ll have someone bring them over in a minute.” He looked at her for a moment, simply studying her. “Are you going to be nervous staying her alone with me?”

She shook her head. “I trust you.”

He walked toward her, pulling her to him, his hand slipping under her hair. His mouth came down on hers crushing her lips. When she wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands went to her bottom pulling her hips up against his.

After a moment, he pulled his head up. “I’m not so sure you should trust me.”

She smiled. “You wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want you to do. Anytime I say ‘no’, you’ll stop. I trust you.” She repeated the last sentence making sure he knew she meant it.

He sighed. “I’m going to see about the suitcases, and then get a shower. I’ll be back in a little while.”

She explored the small bungalow while he took care of everything. There was a backdoor that led to a small garden filled with every tropical flower she could imagine. Also, there was a large round board, which she lifted to find a hot tub. She smiled. A hot tub would be nice to soak in at the end of the day.

She walked through the gardens for a few minutes, just exploring and appreciating their beauty. By the time she went back inside her suitcases were waiting on her bed. She pulled one of them open and pulled out a pair of short frilly white shorts and a white tank strapless tank top. It was form fitting and a bra couldn’t be worn under it. She smiled to herself.

She showered quickly, brushed her teeth, and pulled on the outfit. Justin had never seen her wear anything other than jeans and slacks. She wondered how he’d react to this.

Stepping into the living area, she found Justin, also freshly showered, going over his notes for the meeting the following day. He was wearing only a pair of khaki shorts and a cowboy hat. She almost laughed at the look, but decided against it. His shopper must not have told him not to wear cowboy hats without shirts. He looked silly, but sexier than she’d ever imagined. “Do you need any help?” She kept her voice low as she asked.

He shook his head, barely turning his head toward her. After a moment, he stopped short and then turned back to look at her. He swallowed hard. “I don’t know if you’re going to be able to keep trusting me if you wear stuff like that.” His eyes swept up and down her body making it very clear what he meant.

Sarah smiled, holding her hand out to him. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”

He looked at his notes for a moment, but then stood, taking her hand and walking out the door with her. They walked in silence, away from the part of the island where the others were staying. She was wearing a pair of flimsy sandals, and he was barefoot.

Once they’d rounded the end of the island, she took off her sandals and waded in the water. He went after her, kicking water at her legs and making her laugh. She turned and tried to push him down in the water, but he didn’t budge.

Their eyes met and his mouth came down on hers. She wrapped her arms around his back, stroking his bare muscles. He took her hand and pulled her out of the water, sitting on the beach, and pulling her down to straddle him. She went down happily, kissing him with everything inside her.

He leaned back on his hands and she leaned over him, her hands exploring his bare chest and shoulders. She cupped his face in her hands, being the one to deepen the kiss by tracing his lips with her tongue, and plunging it into his mouth when he opened for her.

After a minute she pulled back, removing his hat and putting it on her head. “Let’s go back to the bungalow.” Her words were barely a whisper, but he jerked as if he’d been burned.

“
Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” His eyes stared deeply into hers trying to determine if she was serious.

She nodded, blushing profusely, but not trusting her voice.

He waited until she was standing beside him and got to his feet. He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her back to the bungalow in his enthusiasm. She half ran trying to keep up, laughing at his reaction. “My sandals!”

“
Get ‘em later!”

Once they were inside, he turned to her, and the laughter died in her throat. He took both of her hands and walked backward toward his bedroom, with the larger bed in it. He didn’t give her a chance to change her mind, just pulled her shirt over her head and pushed her shorts and panties to the floor. The cowboy hat flew across the room, but neither of them noticed. He maneuvered her backwards, so she was lying on her back on the bed, while he kissed her, his hands roaming her body in his excitement.

His hand went down to her thighs and moved between them, slowly stroking her core. She moaned beneath his lips, and he went up on one elbow while the other hand played with her, trying to gauge her reaction. Sarah watched him her green eyes steady on his brown. She licked her lips nervously as he pressed one finger inside her.

“
Make love to me,” she whispered.

He stood up, dropping his shorts to the floor, and came down on top of her, in the notch between her legs. His mouth came down on hers as he reached down a hand to guide himself inside her.

She sucked in a pained breath as he plunged inside, but wrapped her arms around him and deepened their kiss, trying to hide her reaction. He pulled back, looking down into her eyes. “I’m sorry. It won’t hurt again.”

He started moving inside her his hands constantly roaming her body, trying to bring her back to the passion she was feeling a few minutes before. It only took a moment for her to start writhing under him, her hands caressing his back. When she reached the breaking point, she called out his name, clutching him tightly.

Afterward, he lay beside her on the bed, holding her with her head pillowed on his shoulder. His hand stroked her hair away from her face. “We’re supposed to be meeting the others in an hour. Do you want to pretend they don’t exist and stay here, or go?”

She smiled kissing his shoulder. “I’d probably prefer to pretend they don’t exist, but I think we should go.”

He sighed heavily. “I thought you’d say that.” He pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “It’s gonna be a five minute walk. How long will it take you to get ready to go?”

“
How dressed up do I need to be? Can I show up in shorts and a tank top?”

“
Sure. I’ll probably just wear my shorts and cowboy hat.”

“
Um…Justin?”

“
Yeah?”

“
I think the shorts and cowboy hat look is adorable, but the others would probably laugh at you.”

“
Am I supposed to care what the others think?”

“
I really wish you would.”

“
Shorts and a t-shirt?”

She grinned. “Probably a lot more appropriate.” She thought about his original question for a minute. “If I’m just wearing shorts and a tank, it’ll take me about fifteen minutes to get ready.”

“
So, you wanna hit the hot tub before we go?”

“
Absolutely. I could hot tub every day of the week.”

Chapter Seven

Sarah was surprised at how much had been done for their dinner when they arrived at the main beach in front of the villa. A large table had been brought in with chairs all along one side of it, and a buffet had been set up so they could serve themselves. It consisted mainly of a variety of meats, rice dishes and vegetables with a variety of fruits and a chocolate fountain for dessert.

Sarah found herself sitting at one end of the table next to Justin. She wished she were close enough to talk to the other women, but certainly wasn’t complaining about sitting with Justin. They filled their plates and sat down to watch the show, which was scheduled to start just after sunset.

She wasn’t sure exactly what she’d been expecting from the show, but it wasn’t what they saw. The woman who did the traditional Polynesian dance wore long black and white dresses with slits up the back instead of the grass skirts she’d thought they may see.

The first part of the show consisted of the women doing a fast dance to soft music and a drum beat. Next came a fire dance with men wearing only loin cloths. Justin winced several times as the men moved the sticks between their legs rapidly.

“
This is amazing,” she whispered to Justin.

He grinned at her, squeezing her hand. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

It wasn’t just the show, but the entire atmosphere. Sitting on the torch-lit beach, just after dark, while eating outside was an experience she wouldn’t have missed for the world. She leaned around Justin to catch the faces of the other women, and they seemed just as awe-struck as she felt.

After the show, she talked to both of the women, and they agreed to meet at the villa for breakfast before going whale watching. Their boat was set to leave at nine in the morning, so they would meet for breakfast at eight.

Sarah had worried about feeling out of place during the trip, but all of the others made her feel as if she were part of the team. It was hard to believe they’d all known one another around the same length of time, especially Bailey and Steven, who seemed as if they’d been a couple for a long time.

*****

On their last full day, Sarah was feeling sad and hating the idea of going back. She was sure her brief fling with Justin would have to end as they returned to reality. When she brought up the subject, he became annoyed.

“
Why would it have to end?” His eyes narrowed as he watched her. It was obvious he wasn’t ready to end their relationship.

She shrugged. “Well, it’s not like I can work with you and sleep with you without the whole office gossiping about us. I can’t live that way.” She wished she could, but she couldn’t stand to be the subject of gossip. She’d give up her relationship with him before she’d subject either one of them to that.

“
Fine. Marry me then.” His words were spoken in a calm voice as if getting married were something he did every day.

“
What?” She was stunned. Why would he say that? He didn’t love her. They couldn’t get married just because they wanted to avoid gossip, could they?

“
You heard me. You don’t want to be gossiped about then marry me. We’ll stop at Vegas on the way home.” His face didn’t let on what he was thinking.

“
Are you crazy? You don’t marry someone just because you don’t want to be the target of office gossip.”

He sighed. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since we got here. You’re not the type of woman to just sleep with someone. Are you?” She shook her head. “Well, I’m not going to be the man you regretted having a relationship with. Let’s get married before we go home. It’ll solve everything.”

She couldn’t believe she was actually tempted. She loved him, of course, or she never would have entered into a physical relationship with him. But what would he get out of it? She couldn’t just ask him that, could she? Well, why couldn’t she? “What would you get out of it?”

He smiled. “I’d get you in my bed every night, and I’d get to not feel guilty about having my way with my sweet assistant on a trip that she never needed to go on to begin with.” His hand cupped her cheek as he spoke. She had no doubt he felt tenderness toward her, but would it be enough?

“
Why would you feel guilty? It’s not like you coerced me in any way. I was a willing participant.”

Justin pulled her into his arms. “Every time I look in your eyes, I see an innocence there that I’m afraid I’m ruining. Marry me.”

She looked up at him contemplating. “Are you serious?” Could he possibly be serious about it? How would she feel when he was tired of her? Was it worth the risk of heartache to have a few months of happiness?

He grinned. “I’m more serious than I’ve ever been about anything. Cody and Amber will stand up with us. I’ll be the best husband you’ve ever dreamed of.”

She stood for a moment, just thinking about it. She wanted to marry him. She loved him and knew she always would. If he wanted it too, whether he loved her or not, who was she to say no?

Finally, she nodded. “Yeah, I’ll marry you.” Maybe she was crazy for agreeing, but she’d never wanted to do anything as much as she wanted to marry him.

A huge smile crept over his face. “You will?” He lifted her off her feet and spun her around once. “We’ll spend one night in Vegas and then head home. It won’t hurt anything to get back a day late.”

She bit her lip. “I don’t have anything to wear, and my mom will kill me if I don’t have good wedding pictures. Can we put it off for a few weeks so I can get a decent dress and my family can be involved?”

He made a face. “You can get a dress fast in Vegas. I’ll fly your whole family out there if that’s what you want, but I want to get married tomorrow.” He wasn’t going to give her time to change her mind. It just wasn’t happening.

As the only daughter, her mother would kill her if she wasn’t there for the wedding. But did she really want her whole family around for it? “How ‘bout we get married tomorrow, but have a big reception once we get back home? That will appease my mother, at least.”