Chapter 42
JETT
I left Cari and Brooke having breakfast on the terrace this morning and retreat to the study.
It’s not how I want to spend the day, but I need to double-check the Pinewood acquisition. Everything appears to be humming along, according to the flood of emails from our legal team. Still, I’ve learned to trust, but verify.
My gaze drops to the calendar on my desk, and I sigh in frustration. I’ve burned four days of our vacation putting out fires and now I have such little time left with Cari. I wonder if she’s still planning to leave when we return. The uncertainty of that answer makes me uneasy. It’s something I don’t even want to contemplate—a life without her, when I’ve seen how life can be with her in it. Our days in Bermuda are dwindling down fast enough as it is. I feel like there’s an hourglass somewhere running out of sand, counting down the minutes until she’s gone from my life. And I don’t like it.
I deserve this time away, on account of having worked the weekend on the Pinewood deal.
I pull up my schedule and see something that makes my stomach drop. The polo match. Of course. The annual summer gala. The Knight family doesn’t skip it if we’re on the island—it’s practically a commandment.
But we’re leaving soon for our private island retreat— something I need to talk to Cari about when Brooke’s not around, as it’s a surprise for her. Three nights of bliss. Just me, Cari, Brooke, and the bodyguard.
The small, private island is perfection. A remote strip of white sand fringed by turquoise waters, with a modest villa nestled among palm trees. No infinity pool, no ostentatious trappings of wealth—just raw, untouched beauty. The villa is all smooth wood, glass walls, and salt-kissed breezes. Out there, it feels like the rest of the world melts away.
An alert pings on my phone, snapping me out of my daydream. The polo match looms large. Do I even care?
Before I can dwell, Brooke bursts into the study, running full tilt. “Daddy! Why are you working? You said today was a fun day!” She scrambles onto my lap, her small hands already hammering at my keyboard.
I absently kiss the top of her head, my arms going around her tiny frame. “I’m just finishing up, sprout.”
She leans back, squinting at the screen like she’s deciphering something important. “Well, hurry up!”
Cari appears, looking devastatingly gorgeous in a strappy summer top and shorts. Her hair is loose, catching the sunlight streaming through the windows. She’s the definition of summer, and I have to close my eyes for a moment to stop myself from staring too long.
Focus, Jett. Focus.
“Are you okay?” Her voice is soft but probing.
“Yeah.” I shake off the haze. “The Pinewood deal’s looking good. Everything’s under control.”
“And no reason for he-who-shall-not-be-named to blame you for anything?” she teases.
“Oh, he’ll find something,” I mutter, the thought of my father souring my mood. No doubt he’ll want to talk about the Brazilian heiress soon. Like I have the bandwidth—or interest—for that.
“What’s the plan for today?” Cari asks.
“Blue Hole Park. Brooke’s been begging to go. Haven’t you, sprout?” I gently set her on the floor.
“I like that idea,” Cari says, as Brooke crouches on the floor playing with her beloved Elephant.
“There’s also the polo match,” I add, reluctantly. “It’s a society gala. The whole island shows up for it.”
She arches a brow, clearly unimpressed. “You don’t strike me as a polo guy.”
“I’m not. It’s more about appearances. The Knights always go if we’re here.”
“Well, I’m sure Bryce and Abigail will be there.” Her acid tone drips with sarcasm.
“Probably. They love being seen.” I lean back, studying her. “Do you want to go?”
“Hell no.”
“Good. Because I don’t either.”
She winces. “But won’t your father be angry if you skip it?”
“My father doesn’t dictate my life, not anymore.” I pause, lowering my voice. “The Vanhelm deal was the first time I trusted my gut with a contract. I did what I believed, knowing the old man would hate it. He was waiting for me to fail, and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. I haven’t felt the urge to run anything by him since then.”
She cups my face gently, her eyes burning into mine. “Jett,” she whispers. “I knew it was such a big deal for you.”
I take her hands in mine. It’s in this moment that I know I’m falling in love with her. I can’t imagine going a day without her. “What I want is ...” The island , I mouth, not wanting Brooke to hear. I hold up three fingers then motion to each of us. “Three and three. Perfect.”
“It sounds like paradise.” I see longing in her eyes.
“It will be.” The thought of it anchors me. We’ve gone days without being together, with the Florida trip, and tonight I intend to fuck her and feast on her the way she needs me to.
“Let’s start with Blue Hole Park Bay. Brooke’s been waiting, haven’t you, sport?”
***
My heart is full again. Spending the day with my girls has rejuvenated me. I feel alive, with a buzz of energy that's been missing for a while.
We have dinner together, then get Brooke ready for bed.
I'm already hard when I reach for Cari's hand and tug her into my bedroom.
We kiss long and deep, our hands and mouths a tangle as our tongues duel with need and our desperate hands relieve us of our clothes.
I reach between her legs, my fingers frantic for the feel of her, and when my fingers slide in, I sigh. She's soaking wet. Ready and ripe for me.
“I have something for you,” I say, my mouth already starting to water as I retrieve my shorts from the floor and get out my wallet. I pull out a slip of paper which I hand to her.
“What's this?”
I got myself checked and what she's reading is a copy of my test results. Proof that I’m clean, and I won’t put her at risk. We can have sex without a condom, but only if she wants.
I move to the bed and lie on my side, waiting. “Only if you want to,” I say, when she looks at me with mischief in her eyes.
“Oh, yes,” she whispers, coming for me and reaching for my hardness again, and doing all the things she knows I like.
I savor the intense emotions she elicits in me, but impatient for her, when I can’t take it any longer, I push her onto the bed, then flip her over onto her stomach.
“Hey, I was having fun!” she protests, playfully.
“Shortcake, if you continue like that, I’ll come in your hands.” I adjust her gently so that she’s on her knees. Then I pull her from the hips, so her bottom is in the air, face and arms resting on the bed. The sight of her takes my breath away. I glide my hands all over her bottom, parting her cheeks and getting a better look.
She gasps. “Jett!”
“I just want to look.” I lick my finger and touch her there.
“Jett.”
“Tell me to stop and I will. I won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. I just want to look.” I wait for her answer.
“Okay.” She sounds a little breathless.
“Open for me.”
“Wh-what?”
“Widen your legs.”
She does. I peer closer, almost salivating at the sight of her dripping. I bend down and kiss her rosette bud. She flinches, clearly not ready for me to kiss her there. I rain tiny kisses along her lower back, my hand skating over her soft silky skin. She seems to relax. I move her hair over to one shoulder, marveling that I have her all to myself for the rest of the night. My cock can hardly contain itself.
My fingers slide to her front where I find her soaked and slippery, enough to make me lose my mind. I bite out a groan as I explore her silky folds. She sits back a little, giving me better access, and I dip my fingers inside her, making her moan louder this time. Her head rolls back and she gyrates her hips as my fingers pump her.
“Like it?” I rasp, bracketing her hips between my thighs.
“Fuck me,” she begs.
Oh, I intend to. She sounds so unlike the Cari I know. I angle her hips higher, then bend down and bury my tongue into her. Just like I knew she would, she flinches at first, then relaxes as I tunnel my tongue inside her. Her scent, her wetness, her readiness for me— hardens my cock. When she jerks and jolts like a woman possessed, I taste her as she comes over my tongue.
“You taste so good,” I murmur, lifting back up and kneeling behind her. I need to be inside her.
“Jett.” She continues to writhe, but I lift her hips and slam into her, my cock gliding in easily to the hilt.
Throaty, dirty, sensual moans fall from her mouth and she comes apart, jerking as her climax tears through her. She whimpers as her body stills. I try to stroke her clit, but I'm too far gone, and thinking of myself now. Pulling out, I flip her onto her back before slamming inside her again.
I want to see her face when I empty into her. Her eyes close, and she is lost in her own bliss. “Look at me, Cari.” I need to see her. Her eyelids flutter open and I go hard, slamming in and out of her. Her muscles tighten around me and she milks me. It feels so good.
I stay like that for a while, buried inside her and she watches me watching her. Damn if this isn’t the most intimate we’ve ever been. I want to fall asleep like this. We’re lost in a haze of sensual fog, until finally, I lay beside her. We catch our breaths, and lie sated in the sultry heat of the night.