True Colours:The You Don't Know Me Trilogy Book 2(48)

'The past is the past. That's your mantra, isn't it? Draw a line under everything, block it all out.'         

     



 

'It's seen me through.'

'But at what cost?' I pause, already knowing the answer. 'You didn't  confront the past. You just buried it  …  and you ended up lonely.'

He frowns, disbelieving, as if I've just told him he's grown an extra leg.

'I've always had people around me.'

'But you never let anyone get close. You've already admitted that.'

He's still not convinced. And maybe I should provide a little first-hand evidence of my own.

'I saw you, Dan. That first time I ever stayed over, I saw you in the  morning, out on the terrace. You didn't know I was there but I was  watching you, and I've never seen anyone look so lonely in my life.'

'I'm not lonely any more.'

'Maybe not. But you still need a new mantra. You've got to deal with the  past, not hide from it. You've got to face your demons just like I've  got to face mine. We're the king and queen of brushing the crap under  the carpet, you and me, and because we've never really faced it, we've  never really lived.'

His lips curl up into a smile.

'So, we're both fucked up then?'

'Maybe,' I smile back at him. 'But we can both undo the damage. Together.'

Taking my hand in his, he begins to stroke his thumb across my palm, over and over, watching its slow progress against my skin.

'You've already told me what I need to do. I need to talk to Sara.' I  hold my breath for a moment. We're both fully aware of what's coming  next. 'And you know what you need to do. You need to get back in touch  with your sisters.'

Still stroking my hand, he looks out to sea.

'Whatever you did to hurt them, they'll forgive you for it.'

He turns back to me and gazes into my eyes for an age.

'Does this mean I'm forgiven?' he asks at last.

'For getting married? There's nothing to forgive. For lying to me? I  suppose so.' Prising my hand out of his, I take another sip of tea.  'But, just for the record, I'm still bloody angry with you, and I can't  deal with any more secrets, and I definitely don't want any more lies.'

With a sigh, he picks up a teaspoon and taps the table.

'There won't be any.'

'You'd better make sure of it, Mr Foster.'

'I certainly will, Miss Scotton.'

I finish off the tea.

'Anyway.' Putting down my cup, I sit back in my chair. 'I've actually  had a gutful of big talk. Are we going to get on with the business of  relaxing now, or what?'

His face melts into a broad smile and my heart rate accelerates. I'm  lost again in the blue of those irises, as bright and complex as the sea  in front of me. I'm about to suggest that we go straight back to bed  for a good old session when his attention wanders to something behind  me.

'Here comes Kathy.'

An older woman approaches the table, maybe in her sixties, dark-skinned, almost as rotund as Betty.

'Danny boy!' she screeches. 'Come here and give your aunty Kathy a big hug!'

With another wince, he gets to his feet and wraps his arms around Kathy.  She laughs loudly, her eyes bright with pleasure. 'Oh Lord, you've  grown into a big, strapping man. And this is Maya?'

'Hi Kathy. It's good to meet you.'

I stand up and let myself be squeezed half to death.

'You two getting married, eh?'

I shoot a look of almost certain death at Dan. He grins back at me, and I  really could give him his comeuppance. But Kathy's appearance seems to  have completely banished the serious mood, and I want it to stay that  way. After we put in our orders for swimwear and two pairs of  sunglasses, Kathy collects up the remnants of the breakfast.

'A couple of hours.' She smiles. 'Hamilton's only down the road, but  we're on island time. I'll leave you two love birds alone now. Hey!' She  touches Dan on the arm. 'You'd better have your honeymoon right here.'





Chapter Twenty-One


'So  … ' He stands up and holds out a hand. 'How about that swim?'

It's an automatic reaction: I slip my fingers into his. And then I  glance up the hill at Kathy's receding figure. 'But I need a bikini.'

'Bollocks to that.'

Urging me to my feet, he tightens his grip on my hand and leads me  across the lawn. In silence, we thread our way down a path where the  trees overhang the walkway, forming a canopy of welcome shade, further  down a set of steps, encroached by bushes that seem to be overflowing  with flowers in every possible colour. Eventually, the bushes and trees  give way to a small, secluded cove. Walking out over the sand, he  releases my hand and I come to a halt, turning slowly to take in the  view. Joining up with the woodland behind, two banks of grey, volcanic  cliffs curl around us like a pair of arms hiding their secret from the  world. In front of me, a bed of untouched pink sand glistens in the  sunlight, burying itself into a turquoise sea. In between the fingertips  of rock, wave after wave rolls gently against the shore and further  out, shimmering in the late morning sun, I spot a tiny island, topped  with a clump of strange, jagged trees. It's incredible. Just perfect.         

     



 

I'm about to tell him as much when I realise he's taking off his T-shirt  and ruffling his hair. Suddenly, instead of gawping at the scene, I'm  gawping at his muscles, wishing that he'd drag me back to the bedroom  for another slice of sexual paradise.

'Come on, Maya,' he grins. 'Get your clothes off.'

'We're skinny dipping?'

'Oh yes.' He scans the cove, homing in on a patch of shade beneath a  cliff, and a pair of huge sunbeds. 'Actually  … ' Obviously having second  thoughts about the swim, he leaves his shorts in place. 'We should stay  out of the sun for a while. Don't want you to burn up.' Raising an  eyebrow, he saunters over to the cliff, settles onto a sunbed, puts up  his feet and leans back, making himself completely comfortable.

'You want to lie in the shade?' I ask, coming to stand by his side.

'Of course not.' He smiles lazily. 'I want to fuck in the shade.'

And that does it. A rising heat in my groin, a flutter in my clitoris. I look back at the pathway.

'What? Here?'

'It's the only shade on the beach, Maya.' He snakes an arm behind his head. 'Strip for me.'

'But  … '

'Chill out. This place is completely private.'

'But what about Bill?'

'He never comes down here. Now get on with it. Strip.' Lips parted, eyes  hooded, he waves a hand. 'And do it slowly. You know what I like.'

Feeling distinctly nervous, I lift the strappy top over my head and drop  it onto the sand. He smiles, taking in my body as if he's savouring a  work of art, and I know exactly what he wants next: a good view of my  breasts. But he's not getting it, not just yet. I'm going to make him  wait. Deciding to leave the bra in place for now, I unfasten my shorts  instead and edge them down my legs, taking my time, stepping out of them  in slow motion before I straighten up. When I finally take off my bra, I  throw it at his face, but he's far too quick. With a grin, he catches  it, swirls it round a finger and flings it off towards the second  sunbed.

Before I can even make a start on my knickers, he signals for me to get  closer. Tucking an index finger into the waistband, he runs it from side  to side, smiling to himself in a reverie that doesn't last for long. He  tugs at the knickers, forcing me onto the sunbed, his big hands  manoeuvring me into position and I'm kneeling now, straddling his  crotch, his hard-on totally evident. I feel a hand at the back of my  head, and I'm pulled in for a kiss.

'What now?' I breathe.

'This.'

In an instant, he reaches down and tears away the knickers.

'Oh, bloody hell.'

Ignoring my complaint, he takes hold of my thighs and grinds against me.  Already pulsating deep inside, I swallow back a groan. He reaches up,  eases the band out of my up-do and tosses it away, leaving my hair to  tumble onto his bare chest. I get a few seconds to run my hands across  his muscles, loving their tautness, before he issues the next order.

'Get these shorts off me.'

Quickly, I raise myself onto my knees and pull at his shorts, realising  that he's gone commando today. His cock springs free: hard and ready to  go. I draw the shorts down over his feet, discarding them on the sand  with the rest of our clothes. Holding out an arm, he motions for me to  return to my previous position, and I shuffle back into place,  straddling him again. Only this time, skin on skin, I get the full  effect of his erection.

'Are you wet?' he asks.

'I believe so.'

He smiles mischievously. 'What am I going to do with you, Miss Scotton?'

Without waiting for the obvious answer, he clasps one hand around my  upper arm, urging me upwards, while he guides himself into me with the  other.

'Slowly,' he warns me.

Resting my hands on the sunbed, I begin to work, up and down, as slowly  as I can, but it isn't easy. Almost as soon as I begin, ripples of  warmth flood through my abdomen, causing the walls of my vagina to  quiver.

'God, Maya. I fucking love you.'

'And I fucking love you too.'

He lets go of my arm, clamps a palm around my buttocks and begins to  thrust. Steadying himself against the sunbed with his free hand, he  matches my action with his own and before long, we fall into a perfect,  steady rhythm.