I feel him withdraw, soft now, then use a tissue to clean me up before spooning against me. He gently removes my blindfold and I roll over to face him. I start to speak, but he cuts me off with a kiss that is so wild and deep and passionate that it fills me as much as his cock had before, and is at least as sensual.
“Now,” he says softly when he breaks the kiss. “This time you really do have to get under the covers and sleep.”
“Only if you’re with me.”
“Sweetheart, you couldn’t kick me out if you tried.”
He pulls the covers down, but I’m so wasted and limp that he has to help me under. And then, when he gets in beside me, I curl up against him, our legs twined together, then fall asleep content in his arms.
I wake hours later to the scent of coffee and cinnamon. “I could get used to this,” I say as I sit up against the pillows and accept the tray that has coffee, cream, and a warmed up cinnamon roll.
“I could, too,” he says, then kisses me softly.
I take a sip of my coffee, enjoying it, but enjoying more the view of Jackson changing into a pair of khaki slacks and a casual linen shirt.
“Shall I hurry?”
“Take your time. I’ve got some work to do on the computer, and the island’s not going anywhere.”
He squeezes my hand, then heads out. I lean back against the pillows again, relishing this sense of belonging. Of being part of this space. His space.
Once I’m done with breakfast, I shower and change into the same yoga pants and shirt I’d borrowed last night. Then I head up top to find him in his office. He has three huge computer monitors and there is drafting software open on one, a topographical map of the island on another, and a word processor open on the third.
I glance at the map and see that it’s one of the naval maps that Nigel sent over upon acquisition. “How’d you get that?”
“Aiden,” he says. “I called while you were in the shower and he sent it over. He also said it should be in your area on the Stark directory, but that I would understand that he couldn’t give me access to your files.”
“You’re very efficient,” I say, squeezing in beside him so that I can access the company website and then the private, secure area. I’ve got my files open in under five minutes, and I transfer all the various maps and surveys and photographs of the island to a folder on Jackson’s computer.
“And now you know what I know.”
“This is good information,” he says, opening files and sending them to the printer. “Let me just pull this stuff together and we can get going. I packed some snacks already, but if you’d grab some water bottles, that would be great.”
Since that’s a good idea, I do that. I consider taking a bottle of chilled wine, but decide against it. This may be a romantic, secluded island, but it’s also work. And probably best if we keep the line from getting blurred.
We leave the boat and walk down the floating dock to the helipad and the section of the island that’s been earmarked for storage and staging.
I point to the same path I’d followed to find Nikki and Damien just a few days before. “So I figure we can head that way and follow the island’s perimeter. It’s not huge, but it’s not tiny. It takes about three hours to make the full circle, more if we’re stopping to take notes or photos.”
I wish I had my camera, but Jackson has brought a pocket-sized one that has a decent zoom lens, so at least we’ll be able to document areas to accompany his notes.
I’m thinking about that—and wondering if I need to run back for an extra notepad—when Jackson takes my hand and tugs me to him, then draws me into a long, intense, bone-melting kiss. One hand is twined in my hair, the other sliding down the waistband of my pants. He cups my ass, then squeezes as his tongue teases me, and I know that I am already desperately wet.
I break away, breathing hard. “Not exactly workplace behavior, Mr. Steele.”
“And there won’t be a repeat performance, Ms. Brooks. But I thought a long kiss to tide us over was in order. After all, if I’m not going to get my From Here to Eternity moment in the cold Pacific, I at least wanted a kiss under the hot sun.”
I can’t help but laugh. I’d told him we need to focus on work, especially since we have to be back in the office tomorrow. Apparently he took my admonition to heart.
“Then again, I’m not sure it’s worth trying to keep a professional demeanor,” I say. I point to the security camera that has surely captured that moment.
