Chapter 11
eleven
. . .
HONOR
“Honor, you’re up,” April said, coming to stand next to my spot on the beach.
I cracked my eyes open, squinting in the bright sun. I’d been half dozing, laid out on the beach on a towel, soaking up every blissful minute of being on an island vacation, even if I was working.
“What do you mean I’m up? Up where?” I asked, looking at her through one squinted eye.
She nodded down the beach to the right. “Parasailing. Everyone is trying it.”
I pulled a face. “I’m going to pass on flying high above the ocean and potentially falling to my death, thank you very much.”
It wasn’t that I was specifically afraid of heights, I just wasn’t a fan of them. So floating with a parachute on a string over endless ocean really didn’t appeal to me.
“Suit yourself.” April toweled herself off. “I’m sure Reyna would be happy to go in your place.”
Hell no.
I'd had enough of her damsel routine as she tried to weasel back into Blake's good graces. Or heart. Or bed.
Who knew what her end game was. But I was done making it easy for her.
I scrambled to sit up in a way that was less than graceful, pulling a small laugh from April.
“Where do I need to go?”
She pointed down the beach to a small hut, with a speedboat backed up in the water. Blake was easy to spot, his tall and muscular frame on full display in his green swim shorts. Sunglasses covered his eyes, and mixed with his dark hair and strong jaw, the overall look was like some kind of fragrance model who’d just stepped out of an advertisement.
He was with Spencer, Jeremy and Reyna. Hudson and Kelly walked down the beach from the hut, all of them talking animatedly.
I made my way down the beach towards them. My heart did a little skip when Blake shifted, as if on auto-pilot, in my direction as I approached. I slipped my hand into his, pressing my body to his arm, doing my best to appear coupley and claim my territory in front of his pernicious ex.
“You ready to go up, Honor?” Jeremy asked with a grin.
“Umm… sure?”
The group started talking about the time Spencer almost brought down a parasailing setup with his substantial bulk.
“You don’t have to go up there if you don’t want to,” Blake said, voice low and just for me.
“Are you going up?”
He nodded, staring down at me, and I sucked in a deep breath.
“Then I’m going, too.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Okay, then.”
The staff came over, and we waded through the shallow water to the side of the speedboat. I reached out to pull myself up, but strong hands gripped my waist, boosting me from the water and onto the edge of the boat.
“Thank you,” I said, suddenly bashful at the display of chivalry from Blake.
Since when was I shy around him? I wasn’t the embodiment of confidence or anything, but in my line of work you learned how to fake it well.
He hauled himself into the boat after me, and I pressed my lips together, my eyes widening at the way his muscles rippled.
Put the drool back in your mouth. You can’t have him.
The others stayed on the beach, cheering us on as the staff climbed aboard, fitting us in harnesses and starting up the boat to head for open ocean.
There was a young guy standing in front of me telling me things about safety, but it was going in one ear and out the other, because all I could focus on were the nerves creating a small tornado in my stomach at the thought of floating high above the vast ocean.
Why had I agreed to this?
Keeping Reyna away from Blake didn’t seem like enough of a reason now that I was here. And if Blake wanted to be around Reyna, I should let him. All this angst and stress, this competition, wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t going to stop Blake from doing whatever it was he wanted to do.
And if that was doing Reyna, I shouldn’t care. I couldn’t care.
“You ready?” Blake said, offering me a hand to help me up on the platform on the back of the boat where he stood.
I took it, relishing the feel of his warm fingers wrapped around mine.
“No. I’ll never be ready. I hate heights,” I snapped, trying to take deep breaths through my nose and out of my mouth.
Blake fought a smile. “Scared of heights? That’s an interesting revelation.”
I clenched my jaw. “I’m not scared, I just don’t like them. There’s a difference.”
He nodded like he didn’t believe me. “Whatever you say.”
We stood on the platform together, me in front and Blake behind. The instructor clipped our harnesses together on each side, then attached us to the rope that was connected to the motorized pulley on the back of the boat.
“Wouldn’t you rather go hit the bar? We could be sipping cocktails on the beach right now,” I called back to Blake, my voice shaking with the nerves I felt inside.
“We can do that as soon as we come down. I want to see this view with you.”
His words would almost be sweet if I wasn’t concentrating so hard on not peeing myself in front of a sexy billionaire.
The parasailing instructor strapped the parachute to Blake and then additional connectors to me, the semi-inflated material filling with air and tugging us backwards slightly in our harnesses.
“At least we know the harnesses work,” Blake murmured in my ear.
“There’s nothing I love more than a safety joke.” I tried my best to hide how badly I was freaking out, but I failed. “Truly. Your comedic timing is phenomenal,” I rambled. Anything to distract myself from the fact that the instructor had tossed the parachute out behind us.
It instantly caught the wind, and my feet lifted off the platform. The rope was still reeled in close, so there wasn’t much room to move, but the jolt was enough to send my heart into my throat.
“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this,” I muttered to myself.
The instructor gave a wave to the guy driving the boat, he pushed a lever, and the motorized pulley slowly let the rope out.
Blake and I walked backwards on the platform, and the second we reached the edge, I jammed my eyes shut. The parachute filled with air, lifting us off the edge.
“Oh my god, I’m going to die,” I whispered, praying that me naming the beast tormenting my thoughts didn’t bring it to fruition. “Please don’t let me die. That rope won’t snap. I won’t fall to my death. Even though I always chose ‘the ability to fly’ whenever we played ‘what superpower would you want’ when we were kids, I don’t actually want to test it and see if I can.”
I felt Blake’s chuckle rumble against my back. “Who are you talking to?”
“Myself. God. The universe. Whichever deity they like best on Antigua. Whoever will listen!”
My eyes were squeezed shut so tightly they were starting to hurt, the wind whipping over us as we continued to climb.
“Oh my god, are we high up already?” I asked, my voice shrill now.
Blake shifted behind me. “Are your eyes closed?”
“Of course they fucking are!” I covered my face with my hands for good measure.
This was all working out so well. Shrill, terrified harpy was exactly the kind of woman I wanted to be in front of Blake. Forget your stunning, super model of an ex, you got lumped with me, the shaking sack of nerves currently strapped to your front.
As far as ideas went, this had been one of my worst.
I startled when Blake’s fingers wrapped around my wrists, his touch soothing me.
“Honor, open your eyes.” His voice was calm and solid.
I shook my head. “No way. I’m fine like this.”
His chuckle vibrated against my back again. “Honor, you’re safe. I’ve got you. This view is amazing, and you don’t want to miss it.”
I shook my head again, my whole body joining in this time. “Unless the view is of you, shirtless and dripping wet as you emerge from the ocean, I’m not interested.”
Silence hung between us for a beat.
Did I really need to say that out loud? I may as well have told him I’d had daydreams about him going down on me in the little beach hut that holds the sporting equipment.
My nerves had sent my better judgment out the window. And my ability to bite my tongue, evidently.
Blake’s mouth dropped to my ear, his lips brushing my cheek in a gentle caress. “Good to know what motivates you.” There was a smile in his voice. “But I promise you this view is better. I want you to see it.” His hands slid from mine to wrap his arms around my waist. “Nothing is going to happen to you, I won’t let it. I’ve got you, Honor.”
His voice was deep and confident, his touch reassuring. I found my hands sliding from my face.
“Good girl,” Blake murmured in my ear, and I swallowed hard. Whether it was from fear or the praise he’d just offered that had my insides firing, I couldn’t tell.
His arms tightened at my waist, and I cracked my eyes open, taking a moment to adjust to the light.
We were up high. Really damn high. Kelly, Hudson, and the group were specs on the sand. But the view was truly incredible.
White sand beaches and blissful turquoise water stretched for miles. We could see the entire resort from up here, as well as the jungle surrounding it and all the other resorts.
“Wow,” I breathed, awed.
“See why I didn’t want you to miss this?”
I turned my head to look back at him, his face still next to mine. I nodded, words evading me now that our mouths were so close. His warm breath brushed over my lips, his comforting body at my back a solid cocoon of support, and my heart tripped in my chest.
“Blake…” I said softly, gaze dropping to his lips.
“Honor,” he said back, not moving away.
He leaned his mouth the smallest amount towards me and this time I wanted to close my eyes for an entirely different reason. So I could appreciate the feel of his mouth on mine the moment we connected.
Instead, a gust of wind slammed into us, sending us sideways, and I screamed so loud my throat burned.
Blake’s arms tensed, holding me tightly against him. “We’re okay. You’re safe, I’ve got you.”
I shook my head, panic taking over. “No, no, no, we’re going to die up here. I want to get down. Oh my god, I’m too pretty to plummet to my death like this.”
Blake went to move his arm from around me, but I dug my nails into him, holding him in place. “Don’t let me go. Please, don’t let me go.”
He pressed his lips to my hair, murmuring against it. “I’m just going to motion to the guy to get us down. I need my arm to do that. The second it’s done, I’ll go right back to holding you, okay?”
I nodded wordlessly, aware that I was borderline hysterical.
“Wait.”
He stilled, and I closed my eyes again, taking several deep breaths in and out to compose myself. Then I opened my eyes.
“It’s okay, we don’t need to go down. I can do this.”
“Are you sure?” Blake’s tone was filled with concern.
“I’m sure. So long as the wind behaves itself, I think I can finish the ride.”
There was another smile in his voice. “I can command a lot of things, but the wind isn’t one of them.”
I mulled it over. “Weird. You’re so bossy and pedantic, you would think you’d be able to.”
“Bossy and pedantic can be a good thing. In certain situations.”
We fell silent, my mind instantly going to him being commanding in the bedroom.
Get a grip, you horndog. Weren’t you just panicking because you thought you were about to die?
Another ten minutes passed while we floated high above the island, Blake’s arms stayed wrapped firmly around me, his warm body at my back. The view really was incredible when I wasn’t worried about peeing down my own leg from nerves or falling to my death because I don’t possess the ability to fly as I so desperately wanted as a child.
It was actually kind of nice being up here with him. Alone in the silence, save for the wind.
That didn’t stop me from letting out a sigh of relief when we finally started to descend towards the boat.
“You got through it,” Blake said as our feet touched down on the platform.
I shuddered. “Cheated death once again. Maybe I’m invincible.”
I tilted my head to the side like I was mulling it over, and Blake shook his head at me with a smile. We stepped out of our harnesses, the boat stopping near the beach hut and backing up towards the sand where Jeremy and Reyna were waiting for their turn.
“How was it?” Kelly asked, walking up to the boat.
“Incredible,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral while I lied. “Best experience of my life.”
Blake made a sound that I think was a laugh as he jumped down from the boat, turning back to help me down. He gripped my hips, and my hands landed on his shoulders as he lowered me to the water. Hudson helped Kelly up into the boat.
“Have a good time, lovers!” I called with a wave and a forced smile like I wasn’t shitting myself at the idea of ever going up there again.
When the boat had pulled away, I headed for the beach. When Blake didn’t follow, I turned back. “What are you doing?”
He’d moved further into the ocean, submerging himself in the water.
When he stood tall, he was dripping wet, and he smirked. “Making all your dreams come true.”
He walked towards me, water running down his body, trailing his hands through his hair to slick it back. He looked like a fucking sex dream emerging from the ocean, and my body heated instantly.
There was no way I was ever going to let him know how much he was affecting me. It was bad enough those words had slipped out of my mouth when I very over-dramatically thought I was about to die. I wasn’t about to feed his ego even more by telling him the whole thing was really working for me.
In a big way.
“It’s cute that you think I dream only of seeing you soaking wet and walking from the ocean. Forget a successful career, a family, and the ability to perfect the messy bun. My only hope in life is to see you soaked.” I gave him my sweetest fake smile like I was humoring him. When in reality I was trying to hide the way my whole body was reacting to the sight of him like this.
He stopped in front of me, closer than was realistically necessary. The waves lapped at my calves.
“I know you have other aspirations, but I can’t give them to you. Getting to eye-fuck me for a few minutes was one I could deliver.”
He leaned in closer, his wet body brushing mine, his lips at my ear.
“And seeing you soaked is my only dream right now.”
Oh my god, he isn't talking about the water.
He pulled back, eyes dropping down my body in appreciation.
Then he strolled up the beach leaving me slack-jawed and staring after him for the second time this trip.