Throb

She nods. “Are you going to join me?”

“Maybe later. I have some work to do.”

A few minutes later the plane hits its cruising altitude and the captain makes an announcement that we are free to move about. I encourage Kate to go. “First door on the right. There are extra pillows in the cabinet below the bed. Just push the button over the end table if you need anything.”

She offers me a weak, forced smile and a nod before retiring. I take out my laptop to read the weekly summary of pitch recommendations. The first pitch is for a film that already has a huge buzz. It’s one of the most successful indie books being pitched for a highly anticipated film. I read the first page and lose interest, although it has nothing to do with the story. My eyes wander to the closed cabin door in the back. I open a new pitch, hoping it will focus my attention. It doesn’t.

Five minutes later, I guzzle a glass of juice and unbuckle with frustration, my body bringing me to where my mind already is.

The door creaks as I slip inside. It’s pitch black and quiet, the only sound the rhythmic deep inhales and exhales of Kate’s breath. I remove my shoes and make my way to the bed in the darkness, lifting the covers and easing in beside her.

“Took you long enough,” she whispers, catching me off guard with the sound of her voice. I thought she was sleeping.

“Sometimes I just can’t get out of my own way.” I reach out for her, hand falling on her hip in the absolute darkness. My hand meets skin, not shirt or pants. So I slide my hand gently up until I reach her ribs, then back down to her thigh. Skin.

“You’re naked.”

“I am.”

“You knew I’d come in after you.”

“Maybe. Maybe I always sleep naked.”

“Do you?”

“Not usually.”

I chuckle, feeling a bit of relief. “I’m sorry for being an ass. I just find myself feeling … frustrated by things between us sometimes.”

“I know,” she whispers softly. Then her hand reaches up to my face, her fingers feeling the ridges of my jaw, my nose, my eyes. “That’s why I’m naked. Thought maybe it would help you alleviate some of that frustration I saw in your face.”

“It might take a while.” I take her hand on my face and pull it down to my mouth to kiss each finger. “I’m really frustrated.” I add and surprise her by hauling her from next to me to on top of me. She giggles and my frustration starts to ebb already.

“I’m dedicated to the cause. I’m willing to work hard.” Hard pretty much describes me just from having her naked body near mine.

The captain announces we have twenty minutes until landing. I hate to wake her. She looks so peaceful and I took an hour and a half of her nap for other things before she fell asleep. I clean up and brush my teeth in the small en suite bathroom and she wakes when I climb back into bed.

“Good nap?” I say before gently kissing her lips.

“You smell good.” She snuggles up against me, pressing her warm sexy body to my already clothed one.

“It’s time to get up. We’re going to land soon.”

She stretches and pouts. “But I’m so comfy.”

I swat her ass. “You can be comfy for almost a week in my bed. In fact, I intend to spend an inordinate amount of time in my bed, making you comfy. But right now you need to get up and get dressed so we can land.”

Begrudgingly she gets up. She walks her naked self to the bathroom. “Ummm. Cooper.”

“Yes.”

“Is this a, a… . hickey?”

“Where?” I pretend not to know what she’s talking about as I walk up behind her in the bathroom and our gaze meets in the mirror.

“Right here.” She points to her right breast, where there’s an unmistakable bright red mark.

“Hmmm.” I cup her breast from behind. “It might be. I guess I didn’t realize how much frustration I had to let go of.”

“Hmm … mmm.” She eyes me suspiciously.

“I’m glad it’s there though. Because this week, you’re all mine and we don’t have to worry about any cameras catching you since no one knows where we are.”

Chapter twenty-nine

Kate

I’m not sure if it was the sex or the nap, or maybe even the Caribbean sunshine warming us as we step onto the tarmac in Barbados, but Cooper’s a different man than the one I boarded the plane with.

“What do you want to do first?” he asks as he laces our fingers together. It feels odd to walk in public with him like this. We’ve basically been in hiding since we met.

“Hmmm … what are my choices?”

“We could have sex in the yard, by the pool. Or at the beach. The master bedroom has a Jacuzzi if you prefer that.”

“Do all my choices include sex?”

“They all begin and end with sex. How you’d like to fill the hours in between, I’m happy to oblige whatever suits your fancy.”

“How very generous of you, Mr. Montgomery.”

“I thought so.” He kisses my lips and gives me a carefree smile that makes him look younger than his years. His face is relaxed. It’s a look I haven’t seen in a while and he wears it well.

A uniformed officer comes to meet us as we reach the building and does a quick check and stamps our passports. “What about our bags?” I ask as we enter the airport terminal.

“They’ll be brought to the car that we’ll meet out front of baggage claim. It’s a small airport, so there isn’t a special area for private planes. We’ve already cleared customs, so we can just walk through the airport and exit where everyone else does.”