Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
A dam’s arms shook from the aftermath of climax and the effort of keeping his weight off Mattie so she could catch her breath. He started to roll away to give her air, but she kept her feet clamped tightly around his ass, so he stayed right where he was. He flexed a muscle, which made him wiggle inside her.
She sucked in a breath. “You’re not ready so soon, are you?”
The tiki lights turned her gold hair into a halo belonging to a not-so-innocent angel, and her body glowed from all the activity. She wasn’t a fantasy anymore. She was breathtakingly real and so much more than any dream he ever conjured.
“My God…you have no idea how perfect you are, do you.”
She rested her hands on his biceps and squeezed gently. “I’m not perfect. Not even close.”
He smiled at her. “You are to me.”
He down to his elbows so that he could kiss her. He couldn’t get enough of her .
Mattie squeezed her thighs, hugging him with her legs. “This trip was exactly what I needed. Thanks for suggesting it.”
There was something in her tone that made him pause. She sounded a little far away, as if her thoughts were focused somewhere else. He pressed a light kiss to the corner of her mouth then slowly disentangled himself.
He rolled to the side and lay next to her with one arm holding his head up so he could look at her. The other gently rested on her stomach.
Her smile seemed a little wistful, or sad, or maybe just distracted. He had no idea which, and wished for the hundredth, maybe the thousandth, time that he could read her mind.
Mattie absentmindedly traced her fingers over the back of his hand. “How long can we stay here?”
He started to say forever. He’d buy the island just so they never had to leave if that was what she wanted. He reined in that thought before it had a chance to slip out.
“Until morning, I think.”
“Mmm.” She turned until her back was pressed up against his stomach and her head was cradled on a pillow. “Good.”
They lay like that for a while in silence, just listening to the rush of the waves as they licked the shore and tasted the rocks. He’d never felt so relaxed in his entire life. As long as he could remember, he’d felt pushed to do the next thing, always afraid if he didn’t seize every single opportunity that he’d miss something vital, something so important that his life would never be the same without it.
He rarely took the time to just sit and listen, like this. He drank in the dark night, the woosh of the waves, and the easy presence of the woman in his arms.
“He was right,” Mattie whispered .
It had been so long since she’d said anything, it startled him out of his thoughts. “Who?”
“Abayomi. He said we’d see more stars than we’d ever seen before. Look at them. It looks like we’re on another planet.”
Adam squeezed her gently and looked out at the black water, the night, and the pinpricks of light above. “No moon, though.”
“I think it’s behind us.” Mattie sucked in a breath. “Oh…yes. Yes! The moon is behind us…the stars set to guide us…that could fit in the bridge, don’t you think?”
He frowned. “For the second song?”
She craned her neck to look at him. “Yes. Or it could be part of the chorus. Not sure we have that nailed yet, though I like where it’s headed. I loved that little run you put in. It could work with this phrase, I think.”
He stilled his expression. The last thing he wanted to do while he had Mattie Bellamy naked in his arms was work on the damn song. “Maybe. We can check it out—” He was going to say later, but he didn’t get the chance.
Mattie slipped away from him toward the edge of the bed. “I have to write that down.”
She couldn’t quite reach her bag from the bed, so she stood up to get it. She was so focused on getting her notebook and pens and writing down the snippet of a phrase that she didn’t even seem to notice she was naked.
Her process fascinated him, and when they were in a work session he loved watching the way her mind worked. She made connections he never saw, then easily shifted when he added melody that didn’t quite work with the words. She took suggestions from the band well and made the whole process easy.
Writing a song with her was like playing a game or putting together a puzzle, and she experienced every emotion they were trying to convey in the song. He could tell by the look on her face as she sang. Now that he’d worked with her, he could see how her partnership with Devon Morales had gone wrong. Devon clearly wasn’t smart enough to realize that it was her love for music he saw in her eyes, not her love for him.
“Mattie?”
“Mhmm.” She stood with the notebook balanced on one hand and scribbled something. “Just have to get this down before I forget.”
He lay back on the pillows with a frustrated sigh. The moment had slipped away, just like that. She was exactly like the waves, always in motion and impossible to capture for more than a second. Most of the time he found her dreamy approach to life completely captivating.
This was not one of those times.
“Do you ever go a day without writing in a notebook?”
“Hmm?” Mattie sat on the edge of the daybed and murmured under her breath, but she wasn’t talking to him. He caught words here or there as she worked out the lyric. She made frantic marks on a page already filled with them, held up a finger, and bobbed it up and down to her own internal rhythm. Then she shook her head, scratched something out, and wrote something else.
She was a world away. He wanted her back.
How could he make that happen? If he stole the notebook, she’d probably scream. Not the reaction he really wanted, unless he was causing it in a more intimate, body-rocking kind of way.
He scooted over to her and massaged her shoulders while peered over her shoulder at the notebook. She’d written the phrase the moon is behind us…the stars set to guide us below two more lines .
It’s not over, life’s not done.
When one thing ends, another’s begun.
“I like that line.”
“Hmm?” Mattie put the pen in her mouth. “You like what?”
“You.” He squeezed her shoulders. “And that phrase. ‘When one thing ends, another’s begun.’ That’s what I wanted to tell my dad.”
She nodded. “I remember. I wrote it down, see?”
Mattie flipped back a couple of pages and there it was: It’s not over, life’s not done . She’d drawn circles and a star around it.
He hummed a few bars of the melody that kept haunting his mind.
Mattie nodded her head in time to the beat. “That works. That really works. What if we added a bit here”—she tapped her pen on a blank spot— “then we’d have a solid hook, I think. It should be right up top.”
Adam traced his fingers down her arm. “Sounds good.”
Mattie shivered. “Focus, please. I think we’re almost there.”
Adam kissed her shoulder, then he shifted her hair aside to kiss the back of her neck.
She stopped writing and sat very still. The pen hovered over the paper, but she didn’t tell him to stop.
He worked his way around to the other side of her neck, while his hands wandered down her back, then around to her stomach and back up to her breasts.
Mattie dropped the pen. “Adam…”
“Yes?” he whispered. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“You are…very…distracting.” Mattie groaned and half turned toward him. “We… ”
Adam swallowed whatever she was about to say by covering her mouth with his own. They lingered in it for a long time before Mattie moved away.
She stood up, the notebook held in front of her like a shield, but it wasn’t big enough to cover anything. A slow smile lit her eyes with a mischievous glint. “You really don’t want to work on this song right now, do you.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I want to work on you.”
“Adam,” she said in the patient tone, “we only have two weeks left, and we have another song after this one.”
“They’ll get done. We only have one night on this beach, under these stars.”
He didn’t mention he would book exclusive access to this beach as soon as they got back. Now that Tina was gone, Coop would have no need to come here, and the rest of the guys could find their own hideaways. As far as he was concerned, this place belonged to Mattie.
She laughed and pointed the pen at him. “I see what you’re doing.”
“Oh really?” He grabbed the pen out of her hand.
“Hey, give me that.”
Adam threw it out of the cabana. It landed somewhere in the sand.
Mattie gaped at him. “I can’t believe you just did that. That’s littering.”
“We’ll find it in the morning.” He pulled her closer to him. She resisted at first, a pretend frown on her face, but then the frown melted in a rueful smile. “You know I have more pens, right?”
She climbed onto his lap, the notebook pressed between them. He tugged at it, but she tightened her grip.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You throw this notebook and you’ll never see me naked again. ”
“Oh really?” He raised his eyes at her use of the word “again.” It implied she already saw a next time in their future. He smirked at her. “It’s a deal.”
She looked confused. “What’s a deal?”
“I get to see you naked again if I don’t throw the notebook. Seems fair. How about tomorrow night?”
“We’ll see.”
The way she sat on his lap, her legs spread wide to straddle him, left her open to all sorts of things his body was interested in pursuing. He squeezed her ass and grunted. “Damn you feel good.”
She kissed him, her soft lips barely brushing his, then leaned away. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“Oh yeah.” He nodded and moved in for another kiss.
Mattie put a finger on his lips to stop him. “Let’s eat first, okay? I’m starving.”
“Hmm.” He pretended to think about it, but his stomach chose that moment to growl.
They both laughed.
“Okay, yes, I need food.”
Mattie gently pulled away from him. “Can we rinse off first? I’m all oily and sweaty.”
She put the notebook on the bed and took his hand to lead him out of the cabana.
They stopped by the hut to pick up towels, then walked naked across the sand to the waterfall. Solar-powered lights lined the edges of the rocks, transforming the simple cascade of water into a glowing, otherworldly realm filled with magic.
They splashed, laughed, and kissed under the cold, never-ending stream. She appeared as reluctant to leave it as he was, but eventually she started to shiver, so they stepped out to towel off.
He tucked the towel around his waist, then kissed her shoulder. “Ready for dinner?”
She smiled. “Yes, please.”
They dove into the picnic basket that had been left for them.
Mattie pulled two LED candles out of the hamper and flicked them on while she continued to hum.
“No work, remember?” he teased. He was half afraid she’d dart off to snatch up the notebook again.
Maybe he should hide it.
“It’s not work. Music is my happy place.” Her smile lifted her eyes. “And it’s not my fault the tune is catchy. You did that all by yourself.”
He had to change the subject, or they’d both be hovered over that damn notebook. He picked up a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries, the cheese and fruit plate, and the wine.
“Let’s take this back to bed. I’ll feed you.”
“Will you peel the grapes?”
“No need. They’re already peeled. This place is posh like that.”
She followed him with two glasses. “Something tells me you aren’t all that interested in the food.”
“I’m very, very interested in eating.” He set the food down on one side of the bed, then took the glasses from her and gestured to the pile of pillows. “My lady, please make yourself comfortable. Mr. Adam will see to your every need.”
She crawled on hands and knees to the spot he’d indicated. “My every need?”
“Oh yes. Every. Single. Need.” He punctuated each word with a kiss placed strategically along her collarbone.
Then he kissed her until she made the low moan that let him know he had her full attention .
Then he fed her.
It wasn’t long before the food lay abandoned, and the towels came off. This time, he didn’t mess around with massage oil.