The Devil She Knew(18)

     



 

"Sweet mother of dragons," she said, trying to get her breath back. "That was epic."

He gave a low laugh next to her ear, and his warm breath sent more  pleasurable shivers down her spine. "Good word. Describes it perfectly.  And did you just make a Game of Thrones reference?"

"So? I like Game of Thrones."

"Careful. You're going to get me going again."

He let her go so he could take off the condom, then lay on his back. She  snuggled against him with his arm around her shoulders and her face on  his chest. Her hair was still wet, but he didn't seem to care. He  stroked it gently back from her face.

Suzie made slow circles around one of his nipples with one finger,  loving the feeling of complete relaxation that filled her. Being nestled  in his arms was heaven after orgasms as incredible as the ones she'd  just had. She felt so good, she had to be glowing.

Nate was so different from the other guys she'd been out with. Maybe  Laura was right and she should give up on bad boys. Not that dating Nate  was an option, he'd already made that clear. Did he have some kind of  commitment issue, or was he just not into seeing anyone at the moment?

Not that she wanted to ruin the moment, but if he was feeling even a  fraction as relaxed as she was, maybe he'd give her some answers.

"How come you came to Laura's wedding by yourself?" she asked, her voice lazy. "You didn't want to bring a date?"

"I don't do relationships."

"What, never? Like, you've never had a girlfriend?"

"Nope."

She lifted her head so she could blink her amazement at him. "Why not?"

"I've had enough pain in my life. I don't want any more." He didn't sound sad about it, just matter-of-fact.

"Sounds like you've had your heart broken." She couldn't help a stab of  jealousy when she thought of the woman who'd captured his heart and  trampled on it. She was probably a genius like him. A tall, gorgeous  blonde with a PHD and legs that went all the way up to her eyebrows. Had  to be.

"No. Not a woman." His hand ran slowly up and down her arm. It felt good.

"Then … ?"

He hesitated a moment. Then he said, "If I can't protect the people I  care about, I'd rather not care about them in the first place."

"What do you mean you can't protect them?"

"I can't always keep bad things from happening."

"Seriously?" She frowned, trying to understand. "You don't want a relationship in case something bad happens?"

He grunted. It was a noise of agreement, but he obviously wasn't loving  the direction the conversation was taking. Still, she wasn't ready to  let it go. "But you must take risks when it comes to business? So why  not relationships?"

"Business is different. If something goes wrong, I can fix it. People  aren't like that. Things go wrong out of nowhere and there's not a thing  you can do about it. I can't fix someone who's sick, or depressed. Or  dead."

His voice went flat on the last word. That's right, his mother had died  in eleventh grade. There was never a good age to lose a parent, but that  had to have been hard on him.

Suzie put her head back on his shoulder and moved her hand to his waist  to squeeze him closer. She'd spent the next year upset about a rumor,  while he'd been dealing with the loss of his mother and moving away from  his home and friends. The realization made her regret having been angry  with him.

Still, she didn't get why that would turn him off relationships.

"Why are you single?" he asked.

Great. The truth was too embarrassing to share, but after asking him probing questions she could hardly object.

"Because I always fall for the worst kind of men. They aren't usually  content with just breaking my heart. One of them stole my purse on his  way out the door. Another wrecked my car."

That wasn't even the worst of it, but she'd never tell anyone about the  man who'd gotten so drunk his bowels had let go on her bathroom floor.  She'd found him asleep next to it with his pants around his ankles. If  anyone ever invented a memory-wipe machine, that memory would be the  first to go.

"You still go for guys like Troy then?"

"Not anymore," she said, only half joking. "It's strictly millionaires  from now on." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how they  sounded. "Oh. I mean …  I didn't mean you."

"It's okay." He brushed her damp hair away from her face and kissed her  forehead. "I've known you for a long time, remember. I knew what you  meant."         

     



 

She frowned. They'd barely known each other at school, and she hadn't  seen him since. Besides, she wasn't the same reckless teenaged girl she  used to be. Now she had bills to pay. Responsibilities. Come to think of  it, what was she doing lying in bed when she had a plane to catch?

"What time is it?" She pulled away from his warm body with an effort. "We should get up."

Instead of moving, he put his hands behind his head. "A squid isn't  exactly a fish, but fair is fair. You won our bet and you can collect  your prize, if you still want to."

Her prize? For a moment she couldn't think, then the terms of their  wager came flooding back. He'd promised to call the Coast Guard if she  won. "Yes, of course I do."

"By the time the Coast Guard turns up, I'll probably have fixed the electrics anyway."

Where was her bikini? Oh yes, on the floor in the saloon. Getting to her  feet, Suzie reached into the small bathroom and grabbed a towel to wrap  around herself. "You promised."

"I did." He sighed, then got up and pulled on a pair of shorts. She  followed him into the saloon. Taking a chart from beside the radio, he  unrolled it onto the table.

"We're here." He pointed to a tiny shape on the chart. A light blue shape indicated a reef around the tiny circle of land.

"Monuriki Island," she read.

"Shame it's too small to have a resort on it." Nate flipped a switch on  the electrical board, turned a dial on the radio and picked up the  handset. "Lantana Island, this is the Lady of Lantana. Over." They  listened to the radio crackle for a minute or two, then Nate said,  "Dalton, are you there? Over." He waited a moment longer, then shrugged.  "Maybe he's on his way to find us."

"Try the Coast Guard," she said.

He fiddled with the dial. "Coast Guard, this is the sailing vessel Lady of Lantana. Do you read me? Over."

There was nothing but static for a moment, then a woman's voice came  through the receiver, sounding surprisingly loud and clear. "Lady of  Lantana, this is the Coast Guard. Over."

"Coast Guard, we're having problems with our electronics and can't get  our engine started. We're currently anchored next to Monuriki Island."

"Roger. Are you in any danger? Over."

"No danger. Over."

"We're dealing with another emergency and have no boats available to  help. Are there other vessels in the area you can call on for  assistance? Over."

"None. But I'm trying to fix the electrical problem myself. Over."

"Roger. Will you call back in a few hours if you still need assistance? Over."

"Roger that. Over and out."

Suzie's heart sank. "If they can't come and get us, we could be stuck  here for another night." Which meant she'd miss another flight. And her  time to convince the bride to let her make a last-minute adjustment to  the menu for Friday's wedding was running out fast.

Nate flicked off the switch he'd turned on for the radio, then gave her a  deep kiss that made her tingle all over. "I know you're in a hurry to  get home, but I don't hate the idea of spending the night together."

So his one-time-only rule included a day and a night? It was tempting to  let herself melt against him and forget she had to be anywhere but in  his arms. Instead she forced herself to pull away.

"You should keep working on the electronics in case the Coast Guard can't rescue us."

"I'll get the engine going, run my test and drop you off before sunset."  His gaze grazed the front of her towel, where it rode low across her  breasts. "Although you're not making it easy for me to think of anything  but going back to bed."

An answering shiver passed over her body and her nipples hardened. But  if they spent any more time in bed, she may as well kiss her plans for  Friday goodbye. "Later," she said to both him and her body. "Once we're  at Denarau."

"If you still want to try cooking the calamari, you should be able to do it without using too much power."

"Okay." All that activity had made her hungry, and no doubt Nate was  starving. Suzie went to the cupboard and looked in, hitching up her  towel and tying it more tightly around her. "It's a pity we don't have  butter, but there's olive oil and dried garlic."

She opened the far cupboard and pulled out a bottle of lime juice  cordial. She'd always squeezed fresh juice when she cooked seafood, but  cordial might work instead as a marinade. At least she had plenty of  squid to experiment with. In fact, she was getting excited about the  possibilities. There were chili flakes and cayenne pepper to add some  spice. Some dried herbs to season the dishes with. And what if she made a  beer batter and deep fried some squid slices?