Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Daphne
Iinstantly liked Portia’s friend, who was also Travis’s friend.
What was it with the island and its residents?
Except for Dr. Eisenhorn the Third and that jerk in Nightmare Alley, though technically that guy didn’t live here, they were all so nice.
It felt as if I’d found my people even though I wasn’t actually one of them.
Travis took a sip from his wineglass and set it down next to mine, brushing my pinkie finger in the process. “I have a confession to make.”
“Do I look like a priest to you?”
He lifted a dark brow. “Very funny. But first I want to talk about Date-A-Wolf.”
His face was all hard lines and angles, and I steeled myself for what he was about to say.
Was tonight all about gently breaking the news that I wouldn’t be getting a charm at the next ceremony?
It was against the rules of the contest for him to share his intentions, so was that why he didn’t let the cameras film any of this?
He hadn’t told Sarah ahead of time, but maybe because of what happened in the cabin, he felt he owed me something more?
Despite telling myself not to, I had developed real feelings for this man.
I was actually falling for him. Not only was he incredibly patient, even when people didn’t deserve it, he was sweet and thoughtful.
He made me laugh, and he gave me strength without taking away my agency to handle things on my own terms.
“Okay,” I said slowly.
He took my hands in his, and my body stiffened. It was better to find out now than to be blindsided at the very public charm ceremony, I told myself, recalling a similar unpleasant memory when Gavin left me high and dry in Hawaii. Having had that happen once in my life was one time too many.
His expression darkened. “Daphne, you look like you’re about to get an enema.”
I’d rather get an enema than this, I thought, biting back the stupid tears that were threatening to fall. I warned myself not to get attached to this man and what did I do? I stupidly got attached to him!
Fine. I’m just going to say it. “Aren’t you about to tell me this is the end of the line for me?”
He lifted my chin with a finger, forcing me to look him straight in the eye. The hurt I saw in them mirrored what I was feeling, like he couldn’t believe I’d just said that. “Quite the opposite, my little skeptic.”
I frowned, not sure what he meant.
“This contest was my sister’s idea,” he continued. “And I thought it was a ridiculous waste of time.” His broad hand came down to possessively cover my throat, and he caressed the side of my neck with his thumb. “Until I met you.”
I blinked a few times, not trusting myself to hope. “So, you’re not sending me packing?”
His hand slid to my nape, pulling me close to him, and he kissed the tiny, sensitive spot under my ear, making my entire body quiver. “Not unless you want me to.”
A tidal wave of relief rushed over me that he wasn’t letting me down gently, that things weren’t ending tonight. “Heaven’s, no.”
“Good. Because I’m choosing you at the end.”
His words slid through me, spearing the center of my pounding heart.
I pulled away from him and looked him square in the eye to see if he was shitting me.
The man was really breaking all the rules now.
Normally I wasn’t a rule-breaker, but not all rules were meant to be followed.
“You mean I’m going all the way?” When a naughty smile tugged at the corner of his lips, I realized I could’ve phrased that differently.
“Yes.” He twirled a lock of my hair around his finger. “With me. But only if you want to. After all, someone once told me I’m bad boyfriend material.”
I had the sudden urge to climb this man like a tree and kiss the hell out of him, but the sound of someone clearing their throat next to our little booth stopped me from making a fool of myself in public. What was with this man that made me want to do naughty things?
“Would you like me to come back later?” Cassie asked, brows raised, sleek black hair skimming her shoulders.
Travis’s eyes were more wolfish yellow than brown as he stared at me, not bothering to look over at her. “No.”
My gaze bounced between them. “What’s going on?”
Travis inclined his head to Cassie, and she set a small wooden box on the table. I couldn’t help but notice that it had an ornate clasp not unlike the one on the evil spell book back in my hotel room.
His hand slid from my neck to rest on my knee, shooting warmth straight to my core. “My confession is that I took something from you, Daphne. And I want to give it back—with a few modifications, thanks to Cassie.”
He reached for the box, but Cassie reprimanded him. “No, Travis! Keep your mitts off. She must be the one to touch it first.”
He pulled back, folded his hands and waited.
With a nod of encouragement from her, I took the small box and opened it. Inside, on a bed of black silk, was an iridescent pink moonstone with delicate veins of purple and blue in a simple bezel setting. I took it out and held it in my hand. “Oh my God, it’s beautiful.”
“Do you recognize it?” Travis asked, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.
“Wait! Is this one of the ones I found? But how—?”
“When your clothes were drying in the cabin, the stone fell from your pocket. I took it and gave it to Cassie for her to work her magic.”
Cassie was a witch, so I knew what this meant, but I wanted to hear her say it. “Magic?” I asked, holding my breath. “What kind of magic?”
“You found the moonstone, so I was able to imbue it with your memories.” She gave a little shrug, like it was no big deal. But it was a very big deal! A huge fucking deal!
With his warm hand on my knee, Travis looked at me as if I were the only one in the room. “If you give her your bracelet, she’ll solder it on while we wait. That way, you’ll be able to cross the island’s charmed barrier without losing your memories of your time here.”
I tried to undo the clasp myself, but my fingers were shaking so hard my hands wouldn’t cooperate. Travis had to do it for me and handed the bracelet to Cassie.
Of your time here, he’d said. Not of me. Did that mean when the contest was over I’d be leaving the island…alone?
Travis and I enjoyed a candlelight dinner on the rooftop terrace of Cucina Vincenzo overlooking Darkaway Bay.
Soft Italian music played on hidden speakers while boats bobbed out in the harbor, their lights flickering on the dark water.
It would’ve been romantic if not for the camera crew and several tables of gawkers, but we did our best to ignore them.
He had the spaghetti bolognaise, and I had the chicken piccata, both of which were delicious.
Before tonight, I’d have thought that when he fed me a bite from his plate, it was simply for the cameras.
After all, the romantic gesture by a talented actor played right into the dating show theme.
But given what he’d had to orchestrate to get me a memory stone, and the possessive way he’d touched me at Baubles and Barrels with no cameras around, I didn’t think it was just for show anymore.
I cut him a piece of my chicken piccata, making sure to get plenty of capers.
With a hand underneath to catch any sauce, it was my turn to feed him.
His lips closed over the tines of my fork, and I slowly pulled it out.
He groaned softly as he chewed, and I couldn’t help but think of that night in the cabin when he’d made a similar sound.
When I reached for the bottle of Chianti to refill our glasses, I heard his phone vibrating with an incoming call. It wasn’t the first time either, but he was choosing to ignore it.
“Do you need to get that?” I asked, filling our glasses back up.
“It’s fine,” he said. “It’s not an emergency.”
How did he know? He hadn’t even looked at it. His phone buzzed again. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” He leaned in close and cupped a hand to my ear.
“I can’t let the cameras hear this,” he whispered.
“It’s one of my little nieces. Matthew, my brother-in-law, sometimes lets the little one play games on his phone in the evening.
Jada would lose her shit if she knew because she has a strict no-screens policy at night.
I was there this morning, and my niece asked if she could call me tonight.
I told her no, but—” He gave a little shrug. “She’s four.”
It was my turn to cup his ear. I tried to ignore how amazing he smelled. “We could video-call her.”
He pulled back from me slightly. “Really?”
“Sure. I’d love to meet her.”
He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read, and over a shared dessert of tiramisu, we concocted an elaborate lie so as not to get Matthew in trouble. He sent the camera crew away, saying we needed a few minutes alone, and then he video-called his niece.
“Uncle, I’ve been trying to call you. I want to show you a picture I colored.
” His niece was utterly adorable with her big brown eyes, space buns and dimple.
A family trait, I wondered? I was pretty sure Jada had a dimple too, but honestly, I had paid little attention to hers.
The girl held up a page with random scribbles that were vaguely wolf-shaped.
You could tell her father was holding the phone because it was very steady.
“Wow, Ginnea, that’s really good.”
Ginnea frowned. “Is that your gull-fend?”
Travis bit his lip to keep from laughing and glanced over at me, his gaze searching my face. “Yes, this is my girlfriend, Daphne.”
Why did an introduction to a four-year-old make me all melty inside? My ovaries were obviously very much in charge here.
“Hi, Ginnea, it’s really nice to meet you. You’re such a talented artist. Is that a mama wolf and her puppies?”
“No,” the girl said, sighing dramatically. “It’s a daddy wolf and his puppies. The mama is over there, telling those people what to do.”
Travis and I exchanged amused glances. Sounded just like his sister.
“She’s really pretty, Uncle,” Ginnea whispered, as if she didn’t think I could hear her. “I like her hair.”
“I know, right? I like her hair too.” A little smirk turned up one corner of his mouth.
When I was on top of him at the cabin, my damp hair had fallen in curtains around his face. A flicker of heat curled low in my belly at the memory, my breath hitching a little. The way he was looking at me now made me wonder if he was remembering the same thing.
Later, after a horse-drawn carriage ride past a bunch of beautiful old mansions, Travis walked me back to my villa.
He stopped on the walkway to speak to the camera crew, telling them they didn’t need to follow us to my door, and instructed them to film us walking down the path and disappearing around the corner. But unlike last time, they pushed back.
“No, I’m not staying with her,” I heard Travis argue. Which made me a little disappointed, to be honest. “But if you film that footage and leave it a mystery, the audience will wonder whether I stayed or not. It’ll be good for ratings. Trust me.”
So that was how it came to be just Travis and me at the arched door of my villa, as I fished the key from my small handbag. “Thank you for tonight. I had—”
He pushed my back to the door, pinned my wrists above my head, and kissed me so hard that my soul left my body for a moment.
Then he thrust a thigh between mine, and I felt the hard ridge of him through the fabric of my dress.
His free hand cupped my breast, and he gave a soft growl.
Need rushed through me—unstoppable, all-consuming—wiping out every thought except him and more.
“Would you...like to...come inside?” I somehow managed to say against his lips. Although my little villa was tucked into a quiet part of the resort, we were still out in public here. Anyone could walk by.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
He released his hold on me just long enough so I could shove the key into the lock and open the door, and then he was on me again.
We didn’t even make it through the alcove.
My heart pounded, and molten heat pooled between my legs as he reached under my dress and shoved my thong aside.
I was thankful I hadn’t worn the flowy pants I’d been considering; otherwise, I was certain he’d have torn them off.
Easy access did have its benefits. My hands speared through his hair, and I rose on my toes to kiss him again.
He tasted of herbs, red wine and something this side of feral.
But just as he slid two fingers inside me and his thumb pressed against my clit, he stilled, his whole body going rigid.
“What’s wrong?” I said, panting against his lips as my inner muscles clenched around him.
“Shhh. Something isn’t right.”