Chapter 3
Josie examined herselfin the mirror. She wore an orange two-piece, the tight top hugging her torso and leaving her midriff bare above the floor-length swing skirt that swirled as she walked. Her hair hung loose and long, draped down her back. She looked beachy and casual, but as if she wasn’t trying too hard.
When she imagined Raf’s gaze this morning, she tingled inside. She’d gotten the sense that he liked a girl who didn’t try too hard, so she had left her formal dresses in the closet. She skipped into the lift and through the foyer.
She arrived at the bar and saw him through the front windows. He was at the billiard table with other men, leaning on the cue loosely as he talked to a friend. She entered and walked toward him. He looked up, his gaze narrowing in appreciation.
‘You scrub up good,’ he said, putting down the cue and walking toward her.
‘Thank you. So do you.’ He wore jeans and a white shirt, his tanned skin looking even darker, the top buttons undone, and his hair peeking out of his chest. The men she’d dated were all very into manscaping, their chests hairless. She felt a thrill as she saw it and realized that she was attracted to men who looked like men.
A hostess came over, knowing Raf by name, and led them to a table beside the large windows framing the bay. She took their drink order, noting Raf’s usual order, and left them.
‘You’re a regular, then?’ Josie asked.
‘Local, born and bred.’ He tipped the beer bottle to his lips. ‘How long are you in town?’
‘The weekend,’ Josie said, knowing he was gauging how long their holiday romance would last.
A wry smile tilted his lips as he met her gaze. She sipped her drink and licked her bottom lip. He glanced at her lips, his sparkling green eyes narrowing, and she knew what he was thinking. They didn’t have long and would get this whirlwind romance on its legs.
‘So, you’re a fisherman?’ Josie asked.
Raf nodded.
‘What do you fish?’
‘Abalone,’ he said.
‘Ah, and if I order it, is it your catch I’ll be getting?’ she asked.
‘My family supplies to this restaurant,’ Raf said. ‘Have you been to see the sights?’
Josie shook her head. ‘I didn’t book the sightseeing tour tomorrow at the hotel.’
‘You’re not missing out on anything. That hotel is a travesty. I can give you the real tour of Regal Bay on my boat tomorrow morning.’
‘You’re assuming we’ll be together in the morning,’ Josie chastised.
‘Am I? Or am I just stating the facts?’
He met her gaze, direct and forward. His bedroom eyes said, I want you, and you want me. She wasn’t used to men who didn’t play the flirtation game. Raf was surprisingly upfront. He found her attractive and he wanted her to know it.
She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. His hand touched her knee below the table, and she gasped as his fingers delicately brushed her inner thigh, making her shiver with anticipation.
The hostess came to take their order. Raf conferred with Josie and placed their order for them. ‘We’ll have dessert at your hotel,’ he said huskily.
She ate in a daze, her whole body tingling as Raf’s gaze warmed her from the inside out, his hands making daring incursions under the table to titillate her with his magical fingers. By the time they finished dinner, she was a puddle of desire.
They stepped out of the restaurant, and he led her down to the beach, his hand curving around her waist, brushing the underside of her breast. When they reached some large rock formations, Raf stopped, turning her toward him. They were away from the boardwalk and could no longer hear anything but the roar of the surf. The moon hung large and low over the ocean, its beams bathing her and making her feel wild and free.
Raf tugged her toward him and kissed her, and she grasped him tight against her, loving the press of his chest against hers, his hands grasping her bottom and lifting her up against him. He pulled away, and she panted. Suddenly, she was in the air, and he lifted her effortlessly by the waist to sit in a depression in the rock. Now they were face to face. He stepped in between her legs and rubbed his hardness against her softness, and she gasped. He cupped her breasts and lowered her top, nudging it out of the bra, his lips laving her nipples, making her head spin as she leaned against the rock.
He lifted her skirt slowly, raising her anticipation, and nudged her panties out of the way, his finger working its magic inside her while he nuzzled her throat.
‘Are you ready?’ he asked.
‘Now?’ she whispered, peering around worriedly. There was no one on the beach, but they were still out in public. She was worried about someone seeing, but as his fingers continued teasing her, gently sliding in and out, she could no longer work up the emotion to care.
She quickly nodded, and he lifted her, taking her panties off and returned, tugging down his jeans. His member rose, and he rubbed the tip of it against her clit, and she moaned, her fingers digging into his arms as she whimpered in desire. He searched his jeans pocket and found a condom, quickly put it on, and then inserted himself deep inside her in one hard thrust.
She held tightly onto him, her eyes glancing at the moon and the ocean behind him, roaring wild and free, her nails scraping against his back as he thrust in and out, the rhythm in time to the roaring ocean, her desire climbing higher and higher, and suddenly shattering as she came in a deep shuddering spasm. He kept thrusting, teasing out every shudder of pleasure from her, before orgasming himself.
He held her, his hands gently caressing her, while she clung to his shoulders, feeling limp and weak. He kissed her deeply, tenderly tucking her hair behind her ear, his gaze on hers soft and tender. They were so close their breaths, panting. The moment felt unbearably intimate, and she felt a tearing in her chest as she sunk into his gaze. He kissed her on the tip of her nose and tucked himself back in, zipping up his jeans. He lifted her down from the rock, collecting her undies and putting them in this pocket and they walked to the hotel. She felt like she was floating, and he had to hold her down to earth.
When they got to the hotel, he used her keycard and took them to her penthouse. He seated her on the bed, and she heard water flowing. She realized he was running a bath. He returned and gently undressed her and carried her to the bath, helping her inside before undressing and lying inside with her in front of him, cradling her in his arms.
‘This is unexpected,’ Josie said as he lathed the rose-scented soap over her body.
‘It is, isn’t it?’ he murmured against her ear. He was holding up her hand, her paler hand so much smaller against his rough-skinned palm.
‘You feel it too?’ she asked, the words spilling from her lips before she had a chance to think them through. She’d never felt such a connection with someone she desired. It was as if their hearts had entwined while making love on the beach.
‘Yes,’ he whispered.
She tilted her head and looked at him. He was gazing at her, his eyes vulnerable and open. There was a tearing in her chest. She suspected he was a King, and she was a Heron. She wanted to tell him but was too scared to. Once he knew, this magical moment would be done, and the way he looked at her would change. So, she pressed her lips against his and tried to mesh their bodies together, pushing the real world away as she lost herself in his touch again.
They glided against each other in the bath, their hands caressing and squeezing as desire built. He helped her get out of the bath, and they giggled as the foamy water clung to their skin. He got a towel and wiped her, and she did the same, loving the feel of his hard flesh before they ran to the bed. She threw herself onto the bed, and he lay on top of her, entwining their hands together as he continued kissing her.
‘I don’t have another condom,’ he whispered against her lips. ‘So, we’ll have to get inventive.’ He kissed his way down her body before kneeling between her legs, placing his tongue on her clit, as his fingers thrust into her. She gasped and moaned, writhing with desire as he teased and tongued her, her muscles tensing as he brought her closer and closer to the edge. When her orgasm surged through her, she screamed, digging her nails into his shoulders as he continued tonguing her until all the spasms were done. He wiped his mouth with a sheet and glided back to her.
They kissed, and then she went down on him, taking him into her mouth, her hand stroking him up and down as his hands entwined in her hair. She loved hearing him moan and gasp as she teased and licked him from root to tip. Josie met his gaze as she rubbed the tip of his head against her lips. He bit his lips, his hands clenching on the bed. She could feel him tensing as his desire built.
‘I’m going to cum,’ he said gutturally, giving her warning.
She took him deeper into her throat, swallowing his saltiness as he came.
They lay together afterward, replete and relaxed. Raf sat up with his back against the bed and reached for the glass of water on the stand. There was a hardcover folio next to it, and he picked it up, opening it.
‘Don’t look at that.’ She quickly took it, holding it against her chest.
‘Why?’ he asked. ‘They’re beautiful.’
She gauged his sincerity.
‘Please?’ he reached out his hand, and she reluctantly handed him back the portfolio. She tugged the sheet over herself and watched his face as he examined the underwater photographs she’d taken in various coves of the world.
‘These are amazing. Are they yours?’ he asked, not looking up from the photos, sounding awed.
She nodded shyly.
‘You’re an amazing photographer. Do you exhibit them?’
She shook her head, lying down and hiding her face in the pillow.
He put the folio back on the bedside table and lay next to her, hugging her. ‘Why don’t you exhibit them? The world should see them.’
‘It’s just something I do for myself,’ she said. ‘No one expects a social media influencer to be a serious photographer. They’d tear me apart.’
‘So? Fuck them. You need to put your art into the world, let everyone see how amazing you are.’ He turned her back to face him. ‘You have real talent.’
‘I know,’ she admitted. It was a source of pride and pain that she loved photography so much, and she knew objectively she was good at it. But to put it on display meant inviting others to scrutinize the Heron Heiress and open herself up to ridicule. She’d carefully curated her media personality, taking back the power from the paparazzi who used to follow her and portray her with ridicule as she undertook regular social events for a girl her age. Yet, every headline was always about the men she was supposedly dating, with her clothing choices dissected, and the published photographs were always of her looking in some way risqué. But she couldn’t tell Raf any of that because he didn’t know who she really was.
‘What about you?’ she asked, wanting to turn the conversation away from herself. ‘Did you always want to be a fisherman?’
‘No, never.’ He kissed her fingers as she lay on his shoulder. ‘I wasn’t really into the family business. I finished my four-year law degree and just came back from Sydney after doing my Masters.’
‘Really?’ Her eyes narrowed. She’d formed a picture of him as a fisherman in this bay, rough-hewn and honest, and now had to re-process this image of him as a corporate man. ‘I didn’t picture you as a Legal Eagle. It seems so, so...tame,’ she was trying to pick the least offensive way of saying he was better than that.
‘I want to be a maritime lawyer. Work for organizations that will help protect this habitat. The ocean doesn’t just belong to one family or one corporation, it’s a legacy for all of us, and I want to make sure it’s taken care of for my children and grandchildren.’
Goose pimples broke out on her skin at his passion and his honesty.
‘So, you want children?’ she asked, not usually finding men her age who were thinking about a family or domestic life.
He nodded. ‘I come from a large family, so I want at least two, maybe three. What about you?’
‘We’re so young. I’m only 22. And you’re...’
‘Twenty-five,’ he said.
‘There’s so much time to think about that,’ she lied, knowing this was what she should be saying.
‘Not for me. I know I want to have a family one day...’ Raf’s gaze didn’t waver, and she was once again in awe of his honesty and directness.
‘Me too,’ she admitted. ‘I definitely want kids. But I want to be married first,’ she quickly added.
‘Me too.’ He held her hand in his, and there was a promise in his eyes. He was a man who knew what he wanted in his life.
Tell him, tell him. Her subconscious nagged. She needed to tell him she was a Heron before this went too deep and ask him if he was a King, but she didn’t want to know. Once they had that conversation, the fantasy was done, and reality was well and truly arriving. She yawned, and he smiled, holding her tighter against him.
‘I want to take you to my favorite cove tomorrow, and you can photograph it.’
‘I’d love that,’ she murmured sleepily and fell asleep in his arms.