Chapter Three #2
There was no sign of the boat kids, but our bags had already been dropped off and a small table with two dining chairs was set up beside the water.
A white styrofoam esky was next to the table and Nick made himself busy pulling out drinks.
He handed me a small bottle of water, and we both drank thirstily, before he popped the cork on the champagne bottle and poured two cold glasses.
I was already fluttery in the stomach from the boat ride and, honestly, just being near him, but when our fingers grazed as he handed me a glass, heat surged through me somewhere very low and I downed the champagne with complete disregard for the quality of the wine, which again tasted expensive and delicious.
I just needed to take the edge off. My nerves and my desire were combining to make me feel increasingly strange.
I held up my empty glass, and he chuckled at me.
‘Bloody Aussies,’ he said under his breath.
‘Oh, excuse me, sir, from the mother country,’ I said poshly, before switching back to the common little Australian I was. ‘Just fucking top me up.’
He smirked, downed the rest of his glass, and refilled them both, his eyes crinkling as he laughed.
‘My hero,’ I said softly, batting my eyelashes at him.
He shook his head, smiling at the sarcasm.
‘Wow, it is really beautiful here,’ I said, finally dragging my eyes from the beauty in front of me and acknowledging the surrounds. I had never been in a lagoon before, or under a waterfall. ‘Are there any crocodiles or anything?’
‘No. It is completely safe. Unlike holidaying in Australia, which – as the rest of the world knows – is fraught with danger.’
‘A little danger is good for the soul.’
‘Pfft. You are full of shit.’
‘Fine. I’m told danger is good for the soul.’ I snorted and finished my second glass. ‘You coming in? I mean, I have had two glasses of wine, so anything could happen to me unless a man is on hand.’
He flashed a sardonic smile. I waited while he finished his drink and then we walked to the edge together and dived in.
‘Let’s go under the waterfall,’ I said with the excitement of an eight-year-old. ‘I’ve never done that before.’
I swam until I got to the edge of the waterfall, which was violently loud up close, and I reached out, feeling the force of it pound against my hand, before swimming behind it.
I found a rock ledge, conveniently made by nature, for us to sit on.
I did a quick risk assessment of my ability to get on and off it, and then, using my hands, feet and knees, I climbed up out of the water.
It was breathtaking and louder than a nightclub in there.
I felt my spirit soar, a sense of adventure coursing through my veins.
Nick swam straight under the waterfall and, in a move that can only be described as incredibly hot, used his chiselled arms to effortlessly leverage himself out of the water in one fluid motion to sit down next to me on the ledge.
He pushed back his hair, scrunching his fingers in it to get the water out and give it a tousled perfection he seemed unaware of.
His body was lean and strong. There were abs, but they weren’t made with protein shakes or twice-daily gym sessions.
Everything about him was natural, quiet, elegant and strong. He was beautiful.
I sat on my hands to stop myself from reaching out inappropriately.
I looked up into his eyes, only to find them already locked on me.
He moved his focus down to my lips and leaned tentatively towards me, giving me ample time to pull away before pressing the sweetest, gentlest kiss on me.
Both of his hands reached for my jaw, keeping me where I was, and he grazed my lips in short kisses, his lips persistent, sometimes lingering for a second longer to tug at one of mine.
Those micro kisses were driving me wild.
I reached for his angular jaw to gain some control.
He opened his mouth to me, letting me explore him, deepening the kiss.
His tongue tasted like a heady combination of champagne and salt water.
I sighed into the kiss and felt his mouth move into a smile against mine. My mouth responded to mirror him.
I don’t know when I stopped enjoying kissing in my relationship, but I had not felt like this since Peter and I had first met and, even then, I’m not certain it had felt like this. I could have kissed Nick all day.
But my body was not listening to that thought, at all.
It wanted more from him, and I fought the urge to straddle him on the rock after his hand started exploring my exposed skin.
First, I was a little overwhelmed that our flirty heat had turned into heat-heat so fast. Second, I was not prepared to have sex on this rock.
Sex in nature was always much better in theory than reality.
I also wasn’t one-hundred-per-cent confident there weren’t snakes around, of the animal variety.
I kissed his mouth again, then reluctantly withdrew. ‘I need to eat,’ I said, diving under the water before he could talk me into staying. I swam back to the beach.
I was dried off, unpacking lunch supplies, before he left the lagoon. His desire under the waterfall had been evident, and the time he had taken to collect himself was flattering.
I flicked my circular towel down on the sand and topped up our glasses, using the lid of the esky to balance them on.
Lunch was a delicious cold lobster salad, packed into dry ice to keep cool.
It was perfect in the heat of the day, and we were silent as we took our first few bites, sitting cross-legged, knee to knee, like children.
‘I love holidays,’ I said, waving my fork around at our surrounds. ‘They are freeing. You can literally be whoever you want to be.’ Though weirdly, I felt more myself than I had in years. ‘Or you can convince yourself that you can do anything.’
‘What can you do on holidays that you can’t do normally?’ he said, sitting forward, interested in my philosophy. ‘What personality traits change for you?’
I started a list, counting them off on my fingers.
‘Well, I’m starting to relax. I can feel it in my shoulders and neck.
Even after the boat! On holidays I eat with reckless abandon.
’ I pointed to the demolished salad and licked the finger I held out, which was covered in dressing.
‘I drink with reckless abandon.’ I finished my glass of bubbles and held it up.
Then I met his eyes. ‘On holidays, I swim topless under the moonlight and get rescued by gorgeous men.’
He grinned at that.
‘On holidays I have a personal valet, who’s a little overfamiliar and really, very bossy.’
He snorted, and I watched delighted as his proper smile emerged and lit up his face. He shook his gorgeous head, his hair doing miraculous things.
Moving onto my other hand, I continued. ‘On holidays I’m not a mum whose husband of thirteen years left her after meeting the love of his life at work.’
He looked at me with that searching, piercing look.
‘And maybe I’m someone who can sleep with someone without having feelings attached, because it’s all going to end anyway,’ I finished softly, looking into his eyes. I took another bite of my salad as he refilled my glass. ‘So, what about Nick Northby? Does he change on holidays?’
He started a list of his own. ‘On holidays I’m someone who eats and drinks with reckless abandon,’ he said.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
‘Okay, okay. On holidays I worry less about the people I’m responsible for.’
This insight felt as if it was a gift for how honest I had been so far. I smiled in gratitude.
Warming to it, he kept going. ‘On holidays, I can forget that I have chosen a career over so many other things in life. I can kiss a beautiful woman under a waterfall.’
Our eyes met and the look he gave me made me feel exposed.
‘On holidays, I can pretend I’m the kind of man who could fall in love.’
Ha! Oh, here we go. Typical men. This is what I had to look forward to as a single woman. I put down my salad and fork. ‘You can’t fall in love in real life, or you choose not to?’
He shook his head. ‘Both.’
‘Wow. I feel like if we spend more time together, I am definitely going to want to unpack that.’
He reached across and kissed me again, in a delicious lobstery, champagney kiss. ‘Say you’ll have dinner with me tonight?’
‘I don’t want to be around couples.’
‘Christ, me neither. Come to my room. We’ll get room service.’
My heart thumped a little at this proposition.
The inevitability of what having ‘dinner’ in his room would mean.
What the hell, Abs. You’re forty-two, single, bangable, distinctly not feeble and – fuck – you are on holiday and a gorgeous man wants to have sex with you.
I steeled myself. ‘Okay,’ I said, as casually as I could.
***
I showered and dressed carefully, my floral dress tied at the shoulder, which I suspected was as close to sexy an outfit I had here. I put on my black bikini underneath, just in case we swam. Also, I did not own lingerie as such. I had bras and knickers, but my underwear was serviceable, not sexy.
I stood outside his door, debating on knocking or running for a full minute. My arm decided for me, giving a sharp double knock, and then my hand flew to my necklace to fidget with. I took a deep breath to combat my weird, nervous giddiness.
Nick opened the door, and I had the briefest acknowledgement that he looked incredible in a plain black T-shirt before he launched his lips at mine, his hand finding its spot on my jaw, guiding me safely to his mouth.
Once I was kissing him back with the same enthusiasm, unsurprisingly straight away, he dropped his hands to my hips, attaching them to his and then walked backwards, allowing the heavy door to close. He used the same method to guide me back against the closed door.