Then Comes Marriage (20 page)

I’m hit with the same lust as before. My muscles twitch as I restrain myself from jumping his bones right here and right now. Derek, however, can’t demonstrate such control.
 

He cups my face, tipping my chin up, and brings my lips to his. The kiss is tender yet powerful. I feel it everywhere, from the tips of my toes all the way to my lips that are connected with him. It effects every part of me. Goosebumps break out along my arms. My heart skips a beat. All thoughts exit my mind. I forget everything. Where we are. What my name is. How to kiss him back.

“Sorry,” he says, pulling away. “I just had to do that.”
 

I blink, trying to stop being so nonverbal and fail. “No,” I finally pant. “Don’t be sorry. In fact, I’d like if you do it again.”
 

“I can handle that.”
 

We kiss again, falling back on the ground. I move over top of Derek, sand falling from my arms onto his chest. His hands are in my hair and his tongue is in my mouth. Everything about this so damn hot.
 

Hot. Intense. And totally insane.
 

The kiss is awakening the obvious parts in me, but it makes another type of lightbulb turn on. I’m on vacation. I won’t ever see Derek again after this. Whatever sort of rebound this is won’t last much longer.
 

So I’m going to enjoy it while I can. I’m going to savor every inch of him, taking advantage of our lack of responsibilities. I take fistfuls of his hair, ready to surrender to desires in a way I never have bef—

“Hey lovebirds!” someone shouts. Seriously? Derek’s bottom lip is between my teeth. I freeze, heart pounding. Derek and I break apart and I spot Kelly waving like mad from the sidewalk several yards away.
 

“Can’t get enough of each other, can ya?” she giggles. I shake my head, trying to find my voice, and straighten up. Derek brushes sand from his shirt and sits. “Now I don’t feel so bad groping my hubby in the hall the other day. And this morning. There’s nothing quite like the honeymoon, am I right?” She laughs loudly at herself.

“Yeah,” I say, amused enough by this to laugh along with her.
 

“Oh! That’s a cute top!” she squeals and I have to look down to remember what I’m wearing. “I don’t have the boobs for it though. You do. I bet he likes them, eh?”
 

“Make her leave,” Derek mumbles through closed teeth, and I laugh again.
 

Kelly’s husband—crap, I can’t remember his name—comes up behind her and slaps her ass. Hard.
 

“Hey!” he says with a wave. “Who would have thought we’d run into you twice! Such a big island and here we are again!”
 

“If you think that’s a coincidence,” Derek says so only I can hear. “Hey David. How are you?”
 

At least one of us remembered his name. Derek stands and helps me to my feet.
 

“You got plans today?” Kelly asks. “I mean other than each other?” She winks and snickers to herself.
 

“We’re going to the lavender farm,” I tell her. “We should probably head to the shuttle now, actually.”
 

“Ohhh, that sounds lovely!”
 

Dammit. Please don’t join us. Please don’t join us. Please don’t—

“We’re having couples massages,” she says and I let out a breath of relief. “Four hands.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “At the same time.”
 

“That sounds intense,” I say. “And enjoyable. But I have to say my husband’s two hands are plenty for me.” I put one arm around Derek and pat his chest. He tenses, shaking his head ever so slightly. “You two have fun now!”

“I’m sure we will! See you Rachel! Hey, will you guys be around tonight? Want to grab drinks at the swim-up bar?”
 

“There’s a swim-up bar?” Derek asks. “How did I not know about this?”
 

“It’s at the pool,
honey
. And, uh, maybe. If we can stand to separate from each other long enough.”
 

Kelly lets out a hoot of laughter. “I hear ya! Though I’m almost needing a break from Mr. Love Machine here.”
 

“Hey now!” David leans back and puts his hands in the air. They both burst into laughter. “Well, we won’t keep ya. Have fun tonight!”
 

Derek and I are left staring as they walk away. My arms are still around him. He feels good in my arms. His torso is thick with muscles, but not obnoxiously. Yes, I like a well-balanced man. I want to see the ink beneath his clothes again, and ask him about each and every scar. Do they have something to do with his painful past?
 

“We should go,” Derek tells me.
 

“With them? No!”
 

“Yeah. You have to admit it would be fun.”

I let my hand fall away from him. “You just like being my fake husband.”
 

He flashes a guilty smile. “I do. And we need to consummate this fake marriage or I’m filing for an annulment in the morning.”
 

“Spare the romance.”
 

“Who needs romance when you have a face like this?”
 

And now I’m laughing, shaking my head. I take his hand. “Come on, we better get going for real.”

~*~

Misty rain falls from dark clouds when we get back to the resort. The lavender farm was amazing. So beautiful and so fragrant. I bought enough lavender products to last me a lifetime and still want more.
 

The ranch the winery is on was just as amazing, as well as the wine. I’m a little tipsy right now, truth be told. So is everyone else. I think. And hope. I hate being the only one who can’t hold my liquor. Though, judging by the way Derek slipped his arm around me on the dark ride back to the hotel, he’s feeling the wine just as much as I am.
 

DeeDee hugs me goodbye in the lobby, then goes up to her room with the others. Derek stands close to me, and I run my finger over the little raindrops that accumulated on his muscular arm.
 

“I have a cabana rental,” I tell him. “By the pool. Want to go?”

“Yeah.” He looks down at his wrist. “Dammit. I forgot I didn’t put my watch on.”

I laugh like that’s hilarious, because pretty much everything is hilarious after several glasses of sweet red wine.
 

“Is it still open?”
 

I shrug. “No idea. I think the pool is still open.” I grab his hand. “Let’s go check!” We jog through the lobby, and the bottle of wine I bought at the winery clangs around in my oversized purse.
 

A few people hang around the pool, but most have retreated from the rain. The air is warm and thick, making the cool raindrops welcome. The pool area is dimly lit and we slow in the dark to find cabana number twenty-three.
 

“I can see why you came,” Derek says and undoes the rope that reserves the cabana. “You put way too much money into this honeymoon.”
 

“I can’t really afford it,” I confess. “Even more now that I don’t have a job. But I have no house to pay for anymore since I’m at my parents’ for now. God, I’m pathetic.”
 

Derek grabs me around the waist. “You’re anything but pathetic, Rachel. Don’t even think that.”
 

“Easy for you to say.” I melt into his embrace. “You have a cool job and I assume a house, right?”

“I do have a house,” he says. We step back and fall onto an oversized lounge chair. Lightning flashes over the ocean followed by a low rumble of thunder. The wind picks up slightly, blowing rain into our shelter. Derek releases me and gets up, untying the canvas sides of the cabana. He pulls them closed on three sides, leaving the one that gives sight of the ocean open.
 

I know we’re not alone. In fact, there was a couple in the cabana two down from us, but with the sides closed off, it feels like Derek and I are the only ones left in the world. I stretch out my legs and pull the bottle of wine from my purse.

“It’s a cork,” I huff. “And I don’t have a wine opening-thingy.”

Derek laughs and comes back to me. “Want me to find one?”
 

“Nah. It’s okay. I think there’s one in my room.”

He nods and lays next to me. I twist on my side and bend my leg up, knee resting on him. He slides his hand behind me, gently pulling me in. My head goes on his chest and everything feels absolutely perfect.

So perfect it weirds me out, because this shouldn’t be. Derek is like that old friend I haven’t seen in years yet things pick up right where they left off. Only we have no past history, and he’s a friend I’d very much like to have benefits with.
 

Another flash lights up the sky, and I snuggle closer to Derek. I run my hand up and down his chest, my mind full of questions.
 

“What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” he asks.
 

It takes me a second to remember what the date is today. “Road to Hana?” I ask hopefully. “If you’re up for it.”
 

He picks his head up and looks right into my eyes. “I am. I’m not sure what you’re used to, but when I say something, I keep my word.”
 

I just nuzzle my head against him, hiding my grin. “We should leave early. And, uh, actually I’m not even sure where to go to get the car.”
 

Derek laughs. “I’ll figure it out for you.”
 

“Thanks. I’m not very organized, as you’re finding out. There are worse things though, right?”

“A lot worse things. I’m not organized with anything but work,” he tells me to make me feel better. “And I’m a shitty housekeeper.”
 

“I’m a bad cook.”
 

“That makes two of us.” He puts his hand on the back of my thigh, bringing me closer.
 
“So, this whole road trip thing,” he starts. “What exactly are we doing?”
 

“Oh!” I spring forward, almost falling off the chair. Derek catches my arm and keeps me from toppling off while I reach for my purse and dig out my phone. “There are stops along the way. The Twin Falls is the first, but since we already saw that, we don’t have to go again. And then these are the rest of the stops.” I show Derek the list.

“We can do all that in a day?”
 

“Theoretically. I mean, it’s been done before. I spent a long time looking at this stuff on Pinterest.”
 

“What’s Pinterest?”
 

Laughter escapes my lips. “A website, I’ll leave it at that. And there are some we can skip if we run out of time. The two main things I want to see are the Garden of Eden Arboretum and the Wailua Falls. Oh! And the Seven Scared Pools. And go to the Halfway to Hana Stand. And walk through the Hana Lava Tube.”
 

“That’s more than two things,” he teases. “The Lava Tube sounds dirty. I don’t know why, but it does.”
 

I giggle and shake my head. “It does kind of sound like you’re talking about an asshole.”
 

We both laugh, and I fall back into Derek. A gust of wind rattles the cabana and more thunder rolls overhead.
 

“Maybe we should head in,” I say, watching the canvas flip back and forth in the wind. “Before we get blown away or struck down by lightning.”
 

Derek shakes his head. “Nah, that’s not going to happen. We’ll get washed away in a monster wave instead.”
 

My eyes widen. “Why would you say that?”
 

“It’s going to happen. Though I’ll be prepared so it’ll turn out to be a perfect cover for your murder.”
 

“I thought it was a disappearance.”
 

“Dammit, you’re right. See what happens when I drink? I get sloppy.”
 

“Well,” I counter. “Good think I bought a bottle of wine at that ranch. I’ll have to keep you drunk for my own safety.” The cabana rattles, struggling to stand while the wind presses into it. An announcement is made that the pool is closing early due to the weather. I shove my phone and the wine back into my purse and take Derek’s outstretched hand.
 

Out of the shelter of the cabana, the wind hits us full force. My hair whips around my face and rain pelts my cheeks. Hand still in Derek’s, we make a mad dash for the resort, getting in moments before the downpour begins. I shiver from the cold air and push my wet hair back.
 

“Well, since my safety is at stake here, we should probably go up to my room and drink that wine.”
 

Derek’s green eyes go wide for a second before he blinks and looks away. Going up to my room to drink wine will lead to sex, we both know that.
 

We both want that.
 

But do we both need that?

Who the fuck cares?
Vacation, remember? Rebound. Fling. Fun. This is my chance to let loose and be me with no worries or repercussions.

“Yes. Safety first.” His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard, almost like he’s nervous. And for some reason that is so fucking hot. Being nervous about getting with me is a turn on. I have no doubts in my mind that a man like Derek knows his way around a woman’s body. Being nervous only means one thing, and it’s something I’m not quite ready to think about.

Because I might be feeling the same about him.
 

“At it again, are ya?” Kelly asks way too loudly. She’s wearing a sheer white beach cover-up over her black swimsuit and is toweling her hair. Right. The swim-up bar. “Get a room, right?” She laughs and comes near. “Storm force ya in, too? Davy is out in the rain getting our stuff. I’ll have to show him some extra love later if you know what I mean.”
 

Derek is staring daggers at her for being a cock-blocker—again—and I want to poke him in the ribs. He’s so obvious.
 

So yes, he is feeling the wine just as much as I am.
 

“We’re gonna head to the bar inside. Want to join? It’s karaoke night!”