He smiled against her hair, breathing in the faint lavender of her shampoo. “Trust me. Having you in my arms is perfection.”
His words weren’t just empty flattery. They were a simple truth that was getting increasingly difficult to ignore.
For the first time, he wondered if his pursuit of Avery would have a higher cost than he’d anticipated.
But even if it did, there was no way he could walk away from her now.
…
Breathe.
She forced herself to focus on the air flowing into her lungs and not the feeling of Hayden’s arms around her.
Hadn’t she been wishing for this her first night here? To watch something amazing while wrapped up in her partner’s arms?
With the dense rainforest around them, this view certainly qualified. But she’d never thought to experience such contentment with Hayden Wexton. Hot sex, sure. Inappropriate innuendos and stolen kisses, absolutely.
But this was something more.
This was something that made her think of a future she’d never have. At least, not with him. A future where she had someone who could be both the man who rocked her world in bed and the one who enjoyed the simple moments of life with her.
Even if Hayden one day decided to settle down, it would never be with me. The harsh thought shredded her pleasure, but she refused to shy away from it. Hayden was from a different world. One with Porsches and private jets. If he ever fell in love again, it would be with some socialite or supermodel. It would be with a woman as extraordinary as he was.
Not with someone who like to solve puzzles and lived in a dust-coated apartment.
She felt him press a kiss against her hair and closed her eyes. Even if he didn’t only want her as a temporary fling, they’d never work. It was wrong to delight in his company.
Even if it felt disastrously right.
“There’s a waterfall,” he said, pointing to the left.
“Wow,” she breathed. Water gushed over moss-covered stone to run beneath the bridge they’d just driven over. Grabbing her camera, she angled it up to snap a picture.
“You’ll have more chances,” he said over her shoulder, staring at the miniature shot on her camera’s screen. “If I remember correctly, there are many waterfalls along this road. It’s famous for them.”
“I thought you didn’t know this area well.”
She felt his shrug behind her. “It’s coming back. Really, I shouldn’t have stayed away this long.”
With the lush greenery passing them by, she couldn’t imagine coming to this island and not partaking in all the wonder it had to offer.
“You’ll have remember that in the future,” she said. “Maybe there will be happier memories to overlay the bad.”
He stiffened behind her before letting out a brittle laugh. “What a good idea.” His arms tightened around her. “Going to help me banish my past? I’ve got a few suggestions about where we can start.”
Instead of getting annoyed, she chuckled at his teasing. “I’m sure they’re scandalous.”
“All my best ideas are,” he whispered in her ear.
She leaned her head back against his shoulder, his breath playing across her throat. “Not that I’d ever agree, but if I did, do you really think it’d help?”
He nuzzled her neck. “I don’t know. You’re more an expert in heartbreak than I am. What helped you move on from your ex-husband?”
You.
A damning truth she could never speak aloud.
“It took a long time,” she said. “At first it was like living in a dream. Not a good one. A piece of me was missing, and nothing I did would fill that hole.”
He hissed softly against her hair. “But you’d try. Hoping that you’d find the right ingredient, the right experience to make you whole again.”
“Yes.” She closed her eyes. “There’s no timeline to heal a hurt like that. Some people take years. Others, decades.”
Like he had.
“Some, lifetimes.” His voice was serious, no hint of his usual teasing self.
“It won’t take that long for you,” she said, her voice soft.
“How do you know?”
Because you have so much to give. When you find the right woman, you’ll make her the center of your world.
“I just know,” she said. “Trust me.”
His lips caressed the shell of her ear. “That request is mutual.”
Trust him.
She wanted to. Their foreplay in his suite had accomplished exactly what he’d wanted it to. He’d proven he was more than player bent on one goal. He wanted more from her. Wanted her to trust him. Believe in him.
And God help her, she was starting to think she did.
“I can be what you need, Avery,” he said into her ear. “You know I can.”