Chapter 37
Iturn onto my back on the lounge chair, flipping sides so my front can get those last rays of sun before it completely disappears behind the horizon in about half an hour. The sunsets here are truly incredible, and the sky seems on fire, hues of red and orange stretching above us.
As I look toward the sea, I spot my sexy merman, back from his swim. Oh, how I’ll miss watching him walk around barely clothed. Once home, I’ll crank up the thermostat to its maximum settings, and we’ll keep strolling around like this.
Being topless all day was quite the challenge at first, because Lex would not let me have a moment of rest. But I think he’s gotten used to it now, and while his eyes never fail to linger on my exposed breasts for a little too long, he doesn’t pin me down and fuck me in the sand as much.
He reaches me quickly, his skin even more tanned than mine, glistening with droplets of water.
He throws his goggles onto the lounge chair near me and comes to sit against me instead, pressing his sea-cooled body onto my sun-warmed one.
When he leans in for a kiss, I gladly give it to him.
This trip made me love the taste of salt, our bodies always salty from our constant swimming in the sea.
He pulls away as I lick my lips, and a lazy smile stretches the corner of his mouth. “Hi, Mrs. Wilson,” he says with a pinch of humor in his tone.
“Hi, Mr. Wilson.”
“Is this for me?” he asks, pointing at a second margarita next to my half-empty one. I nod, and he grabs it, sipping a few long mouthfuls of the cocktail.
Then he puts the glass down and stares at the sunset.
“Canada was nice, but you have to admit my way of hiding out is way better,” I say with pride.
“It gets a little repetitive, but I’m all for a sustainable routine,” he humors.
We finally made it to that private island off the coast of Belize.
But first, we spent a couple of weeks in Seattle, monitoring the situation in Becker’s penthouse.
When Special Agent Lewis called to tell us Horvat was in custody, we celebrated with a bottle of champagne, and I convinced Lex we needed a trip somewhere warm, sunny, and sandy.
So, armed with the Wilsons’ credit card and the fake passports, I booked us a change of scenery.
It’s hard to believe almost two weeks have already passed.
Two weeks in paradise, completely isolated from the rest of the world.
Well, almost completely, since Lex needs a few hours every day to work, and I sent pictures and news to a selected few.
I don’t mind him working, since I know he’d go mad from all this idleness otherwise.
The island is small—a tiny patch of white sand lost in the middle of the purest azure water stretching endlessly to the horizon. Equipped with snorkeling masks and fins, we spent hours admiring colorful fishes. On land, we only have a few coconut trees and bushes, so nothing as interesting.
The house, however, is magnificent, with wide openings to the outside on every wall, white curtains dancing freely in the Caribbean wind.
It was built to be enjoyed leisurely, with beautiful interiors, a rooftop to sunbathe and admire the sea, stunning views all around …
We barely used the small swimming pool, but we soaked in the Jacuzzi every evening, gazing at the stars and cuddling in the middle of the heated bubbles.
We declined the 24/7 assistance, but a boat resupplied us with food and beverages every three days, along with a couple of maids to clean up everything in the most discreet fashion.
Yes, the Wilsons know how to live. Hopefully, the Walkers will, too, when the time comes.
“Still no news?” Lex asks.
“No, nothing online or from Lewis. I imagine it takes a while to prepare such a big operation. Thirty-seven influential people and seven associates … Can you imagine?”
“Hardly.”
We’re quiet for a while, watching the sun lower slowly as the sound of rolling waves fills our ears. When I break the silence, the sun is halfway gone, red and glowing.
“With everything that happened, do you regret going after Becker all those years ago?”
A few beats pass, then he answers, “No. I regret not looking into him harder. I might have stopped him from harming more women if I had.”
Jesus, why does he always blame himself for things out of his control?
I shimmy to my side, dismissing the sunset to look at him instead. “You didn’t know, baby. You couldn’t have known. What Becker and his clan did to those women isn’t on you. But all the ones who’ll be spared once he’s arrested? That’s on us. We did that.”
He lets it sink in, long enough for the sun to be completely gone by the time he says, “I’ve been thinking of opening a fund to help those women.”
“Really?”
“Yes. When it all blows up, some of them will come forward, some will be subpoenaed for the trials, some will want their voices heard … I want to help them.”
“That’s amazing of you, baby.”
“It’s the least I can do. Rehab, therapy, housing, food, money, education … Anything they need to overcome what happened to them, I’ll pay for it.”
How can I love this man even more than I already do?
“I don’t have your resources, but I’d love to help you organize it or something,” I say.
“I’d love that.”
Plastering myself onto him, I lay a hand on his chest and then my chin on it, and look up at his beautiful face. My man, my love, my protector, my fake husband … The best person I’ve ever met, future father of my children … How did I ever get so lucky …
“Will you marry me?” I ask, as I’ve done at least twenty times before.
“No.” As always, he softens the refusal with a tender peck on my lips. “But we’re almost there, my love.”
Ugh, what’s Lewis doing?!
“What do you want to do tonight?” I ask, eager to please him and give him everything he wants in this world and the next.
“Hmm … I want to make love to you on the beach, with the waves lapping at our legs. After that, some of those fish tacos we cooked yesterday. Then, we take that last bottle of champagne with us in the Jacuzzi and empty it straight from the neck. And to finish the night with a bang, I take you to bed for more sex.”
“It sounds like every evening we’ve had since we got here,” I giggle.
“I told you, I like a routine.”
I smile and kiss the underside of his jaw and then endeavor to climb over him. “You’re the boss. You decide.” A lopsided smile bends his lips, and I press myself closer to him, plastering my naked chest on his.
“I haven’t been your boss in a long time, freckles.”
“In a way, you’ll always be that infuriatingly attractive boss I couldn’t stand but wanted to fuck so badly …”
“Hmm … Good thing you can stand me now.”
“Of course, husband.”
Maneuvering me with ease, he turns us around, trapping me on the lounge chair.
“Would you be open to a little change in our routine?” I ask, really close to letting him fuck me right here despite my plans.
“Go on, make your offer.”
“Have you noticed the bed in our room?”
He frowns, taken aback by my question. “Of course …?”
“So, you noticed like me how perfect those posts are to tie me up to it.”
His whole face lights up, then arousal darkens his eyes. “You want that?” he asks.
“Of course I do.”
His carnivorous smirk has something flipping low in my stomach. We’ve been fucking a lot since we got here, and I’d say my stamina is better than it’s ever been before. Even though I’ll be the one tied up and at his mercy, I might wear him out. After all, he’ll be doing all the work, won’t he?
I knew Lex would be excited by my idea, but I still misjudged just how much.
After a long and insistent kiss, he jumps to his feet and then picks me up from the chair to throw me over his shoulder, carrying me like a sack of potatoes inside the house.
I giggle the whole time and only stop when he sets me down in the huge shower of our bedroom.
Excitedly, we wash one another, removing every trace of salt and sand from our skin. Then, without even taking the time to dry off, he lifts me bridal style to bring me to the bed and drops me in the middle of it.
“Impatient much?” I ask with an entertained smile.
“I’ve waited over a year for this,” he explains, looking through the drawers like a maniac to find something he can tie me up with.
“Didn’t you pack a tie in case we were having a date night on land?” I ask.
“Right.”
He finds it in ten seconds and returns to me.
When he gets on the bed, the mattress shifts under his weight.
I help as he gets rid of all the pillows, throwing them on the floor.
Once it’s done, he grabs both my hands and brings them over my head.
That’s when I realize this is really happening. He’s finally tying me up.
I’m forced to press my knees together as he works on a knot that secures my hands to the bed frame. “Have you done this before?” I ask.
“You’re the only one who’s ever tied me, but I’ve tied women on a handful of occasions, yes. And I’ve done this to you in my dreams at least a hundred times.”
The last part of his admission makes me entirely dismiss those other women, and a delighted grin stretches my lips. “That’s why you’re so good at it, Mr. Grey …” I tease.
He sends me a curious glance. “As in morally gray?”
“No,” I chuckle.
Now that my wrists are tied together, he tugs at them to check his handiwork.
“Was that a movie reference?” he then asks.
“Yes. And books.”
“Should we watch it, like we did the others?”
“Oh God, no. Never.”
The topic is promptly dropped as he decides he’s done with the restraint and jumps out of the bed. Too horny to think straight, I watch as he takes out the Hemsworth plug and the lube from the nightstand. Since I got to pack this time, I took the whole arsenal with us.
He flips me around with ease. Docile, I arch my back and push my ass up, allowing him to proceed with his endeavor.
Soon after, his lube-coated finger dances across the puckered hole. “Do you remember what I told you about tying you up?” he asks.