If she wanted him to, he’d stay. She could count on him to take care of her needs. Like the need for that anchor.
Charlie was a man who would let her be herself and never try to keep her down. He wasn’t threatened by her strength or prone to hold himself back out of some misguided sense that she couldn’t handle something.
And then she remembered. He didn’t stay. He left, like every other man, but worse because he had a dangerous, secretive job that meant he could be killed and she’d never know.
Wishing things could be different was a path to madness. It didn’t stop her from doing it. Didn’t stop her from thinking that things could be different if she’d just open up to the possibilities.
Charlie plied Audra with room service and lots of orgasms. By dinnertime, her face had gained enough color to satisfy him. But they definitely hadn’t had enough sex.
“You can’t be serious,” she groaned good-naturedly as she caught sight of his expression over the remains of the hamburgers they’d ordered. “I still can’t see straight after that last time. All I was doing was leaning over the railing trying to enjoy the sunshine.”
“Not my fault.” He shrugged. “I’ve never done it on a balcony in broad daylight. Seemed like the opportune time.”
That had been his favorite of the day. Surprisingly. It would have been hard to top the bathroom, when he’d toweled her off after the bath and she’d dropped to her knees to suck him into her hot little mouth. He’d forever carry the vision of his hands tangled in her red hair, her lips spread wide to take all of him into her throat.
She was the hottest woman he’d ever known. The balcony had solidified it. She leaped into everything, held nothing back. No fear. Anyone could have glanced up from the beach and seen him lift her skirt to sink into her from behind. Instead of batting him away, she urged him on to a blistering pace that shot stars across his vision when he came.
“Thank you.” Her blue eyes caught and held his. “For today. I needed this. But I would have gone snorkeling. I wanted to do that for you.”
“I know.” It didn’t matter. They’d get to it eventually. But he couldn’t have dragged her along on his arbitrary bucket list that he’d created by throwing darts at a brochure he’d pulled off the Internet of Things To Do In The Caribbean.
Audra’s fragile expression had trumped the stupid list. And he wasn’t sorry he’d put her first. It had been a win-win sort of situation.
“If you feel like it, we can do the kayaking at Bright Bay tonight,” he suggested. “I texted Jared earlier, and he knows a guy who does private excursions.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course he does.”
“You’re not impressed with our host? Seems like he might be a Mr. Right for a lot of women.”
Shut up, jerk weed. Why open that can of worms?
“Sure. But I’m not looking for a Mr. Anything.” She smoothed a hand over his shoulder. “Besides, I have the best-looking man in the Bahamas right here. What would I want with Jared Anderson?”
The complement warmed him in a way sex never could. Yeah, he might have been fishing for her thoughts on whether money made Jared attractive, but she’d nipped that in the bud with style. It had been a while since he’d trusted a woman enough to spend time with her outside of bed. He’d forgotten how nice it was to be with one who was blind to other men’s charms. Or at least bothered to claim she was.
“I’d love to go kayaking with you, Charlie,” she said simply and something expanded in his chest. Lightness. Freedom. Who knew what all. Audra made him feel good, and he liked that.
Jared loaned them his speedboat and driver, who took them to another island where the excursion company was located. The trip took about forty-five minutes, allowing Charlie to see parts of the Caribbean he hadn’t thus far. Audra played the part of his tour guide as she’d been all over the area for her studies, and the setting sun threw a blanket of romance over the whole trip.
Once the sun fully set, Billy-Jack, a native islander who owned the excursion company Jared had hooked them up with, rowed them out into Bright Bay, explaining the body of water contained millions of microorganisms called dinoflagellates that glowed in the dark.
It went down as one of the most amazing experiences of his life. The boat glided through the water, waking up the bioluminescent creatures below. A neon trail of blue bloomed underneath the boat, spreading out until it looked like an alien spaceship was landing on the water. The quiet awe clogged his throat, and Audra’s hand tightened around his as she wordlessly expressed her own wonder.