Chapter 15
Dawn in Kingston was so unlike dawn on Rahjah
Mountain. There was no waterfall, no mist to burn off as the morning wore on, no breakfast with the entire village. It was just her and Saul in this hotel room. The sun wasn’t quite up yet, but she was awake. She turned to see bright brown eyes looking at her. She smiled.
“Good morning. Sleep well?”
“Like a baby.”
With the events of the night before permanently etched in his brain, he grinned and wondered how this docile, beautiful, woman could be such a tigress in bed. That was not the right thing to think about because he could feel his member become hot and pulsing.
It had been nine years since she’d had a man, but she had not forgotten a man’s needs. She grinned back at him and pulled herself into his waiting arms.
Her body was as hot and wanting as his and he didn’t hesitate to enjoy every inch of her as they made love.
All insecurities about her body had slipped through the open window and when he got out of bed and reached for her, she took his hand and followed him to the shower stall. She tried not to look at his naked body, but the temptation was too great. She grinned and bit into her lower lip as she took in every rippling muscle.
“Am I okay?”
Looking at him, she’d been in a world of her own and in that world she was once again touching him, setting off sparks as a hot ache grew in her throat, moving down to the surge of blood between her thighs. His low voice startled her. She screamed and covered her face with her hands. She’d had no idea he was watching her. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Why? I can tell you where your dimples are and how long your legs are.”
“I have short legs,” she said between her fingers.
He pulled her to him, turned on the shower and ran the liquid soap all over her body. “I love those short legs.” Her flawless body under his caressing hands almost made him go into overdrive again. Control yourself, boy, or she’ll think you’re an addict. Allowing the cool water to run over his body, he half turned away from her. She began rubbing the soap on his back. He laughed and shook his head. “Don’t do that. If you do we’ll never leave this room today.”
She returned his laugh. “Is that so bad?”
He looked at her and shook his head. “Not at all.” He pulled her to him, washed the soap from her body and buried his face between her breasts. Then he lifted her off the tiled floor. She wrapped her legs around him and once again allowed him to make delicious love to her.
After an hour, they ordered room service, made love, slept, awoke and made love some more.
James had reserved a villa for them in Bluefields. So after a morning of enjoying each other, they left Kingston for Bluefields. As a child, Saul and James had visited Bluefields with their fathers, but James had warned him that this was no longer the Bluefields he’d known way back when. The drive took roughly an hour and a half and when they got to the Cottonwood cottage, Saul understood what James had been talking about. The place was breathtaking. When they’d visited Bluefields as kids, there were no hotels at all, just the beach and private homes; now these splendid structures made him grin.
“Wow,” Pamela said. “This is beautiful.”
He had to grab her hand for her not to get out of the car before he could get a chance to open her door. She laughed. “Have I been that bad?”
“No, but you’re so enthusiastic that it’s hard to keep up with you.”
“I know, I’m a little like Gracie would be if she were here. And I know I said the same thing in Portland, but Jamaica is really beautiful.”
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say you’re childlike. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I just want to be able to keep up with you.” He opened his door. “Now don’t go away.”
He ran around to her side and opened the door for her. She took his outstretched hand and laughed. “More of a lady?”
“You’ve been nothing but.”
She kissed his lips. “No, I haven’t, but thanks for saying that.”
While the headman had someone take their suitcases to their villa, she pulled Saul to the overlook and laughed. She coughed. Although this place was far from the maddening crowd of Kingston, it wasn’t exactly Rahjah Mountain; there had to be a little pollution. “Jamaica is really so beautiful,” she said. “I don’t know what I was afraid of.”
He shrugged. “No matter where we go in the world, there’s going to be someone who gives the wrong impression. But there are some really nice people in this world away from Rahjah Mountain.”
She nodded, slipped her arm around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. “Or maybe I was just waiting for you to bring me here.”
He waited a moment, then walked her to their room. She stood at the door and smiled at the dark, richly polished floors and four-poster king-size canopy bed draped with soft white embroidered material. The headboard had very intricate carvings and she ran her fingers into each crevice, remembering her own mahogany bed at home that Peter had made for them. It just wasn’t this big or elaborate.
The heels of her sandals clicked on the floor as she walked out to the terrace where a sumptuous lunch awaited them. Saul had chosen everything for their lunch, even the freshly prepared banana bread.
Pamela slipped off her sandals, poured them black tea and sat back while Saul made a plate for her. “You did all this for me?”
“Yes, but I can’t take all the credit. James made all the necessary arrangements. I haven’t been to Bluefields in years. He warned me that it had changed but I never expected anything like this.”
“Better than before?” She ate a piece of the banana bread and shook her head. “This is almost as good as my mother’s. Don’t tell her I said that.” She laughed.
“I won’t, and yes, this is extremely different from the Bluefields I once knew. When I came here there were no hotels, just private houses.” He shook his head. “I can’t get over how beautiful this place is. The transformation is remarkable.”
“I love it, too. And thank you so much for bringing me here.”
He gazed into her eyes and smiled. He’d become conscious of her looking at his teeth every time he laughed, so he hardly showed them anymore.
“Why do you do that?” she asked.
“What?”
“Hide yourself from me.”
He knew what she meant. “Sorry, I won’t do it anymore. What would you like to do after lunch?”
“I would like to do that snorkeling thing you spoke of. I mean, with the plastic thing on my face. You did say the fish and coral appear much clearer with it on.”
He laughed, showing her what she wanted to see. She happily caught his laughter.
“Yes, you are truly a gem, extremely rare, extremely exotic.”
She didn’t say anything but averted her eyes from his and looked out at the crystal clear water. “Are you sure we can’t swim without our bathing suits?” She giggled.
“Yes.” He looked out at the dense tropical foliage. “This might be very private, but the beach is not. I promise when you go back home you can go back to swimming in the nude.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second as the alluring sight of her beautiful body swam before his eyes. “I have to learn to control myself,” he said, opening his eyes.
“Do I have anything to do with it?”
“You have everything to do with it.”
Her eyes glowed with enjoyment as they sat in silence and finished their lunch.
She picked up her glass of guava nectar and leaned against the white railing, looking out at the people boating, kayaking or just lying on the beach. She walked inside, got her book and came back out to just sit in the lounge chair and read for a while. He sat beside her. In only a few minutes her eyes closed. Try as she may, she couldn’t keep them open. She had not gotten much sleep the previous night and before long she fell into a peaceful slumber. The book slipped from her hand to the floor. Saul picked it up, gazed at her for a moment and then brushed a kiss on her lips. As the ever-present balmy breeze persisted and the fan overhead spun, they both slept.
He woke to find her in his arms, one foot flung wantonly across his leg. He inhaled the lavender perfume from her hair and caressed her cheek. Her eyes fluttered awake. “Hi,” he said.
“I guess we both needed the rest,” she said.
He nodded, but he knew the rest was not for long. She got to her feet, went inside and came back dressed in a black one-piece bathing suit. He sat there just gazing at her, taking her in frame by frame: her collar bone, her breasts, her flat belly, her hips, and her thighs. Oh, those thighs that had held him in place while she made love to him. He took a deep breath and thanked his lucky stars that she was his.
She attempted to cover herself with her hands. He laughed and shook his head. “You’re funny.”
“Get ready. The water awaits.”
He did as he was told and soon they were both walking on powder-white sand to the warm inviting ocean. It didn’t take him long to teach her how to snorkel. She was not only an excellent swimmer but a very strong one, used to looking at marine life without the help of goggles.
Pamela had told the very efficient staff exactly what she wanted for supper.
Sitting in lounge chairs under an umbrella, they welcomed the tropical drinks a member of the staff brought them.
“Do you miss home?” Saul asked.
“Not as much as I thought I would, but I do miss Gracie.”
“Next time we come back we’ll bring her.”
“Along with Ruth and David.” From her chair, she touched his outstretched hand.
He looked at her and smiled. “Yes.”
She kept looking at him. The scar on his cheek had begun taking on his complexion. She closed her eyes.
“Are you sleeping?” Saul asked.
She laughed and didn’t answer.
“Was that a stupid question?”
She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Who was it that once said there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers?”
“Water.”
“Then I will choose my words carefully. No.”
He brought the glass to his lips and almost spilled it on himself as he began laughing. “You are the light and dark of my life.” He wiped the drink from his belly.
“Why dark?”
“I don’t know. I guess I mean you are my entire life. Does that sound sappy?” He held her gaze.
“Sappy? Let me think about that for a while.” She shook her head. “You, sir, are a romantic.”
He kept looking at her. He hadn’t always been a romantic. She’d done this to him. In just a short while, she’d changed him for the better. With all his heart he hoped this feeling would never leave him. He nodded. “Yes, I think I am.”
“What keeps you safe when you’re all alone in the big, bad world, Saul?”
He thought that a strange question. “You’ve been thinking.”
“I’m always thinking of you. I mean, who protects you from, you know...”
He laughed. “The last time I went away, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. You kept me safe.”
“I mean all those years when you traveled, you must have met some very nice women?”
He studied her thoughtfully for a moment. “Believe it or not, I grew up a lot after my marriage failed. I kept seeing Raquel in every woman’s eyes until you.”
“Am I that different?”
“Yes,” he whispered. He got out of his chair, lifted her and carried her back into the water. They swam out to where his feet could still touch the sand without the water covering his head. He looked around and there was no one else to be seen.
Her feelings for him were intensifying as she became more and more a part of him.
He held her face and drank from the soft lips that awakened his senses and sent shock waves to his loins. His tongue traveled the fullness of her lips, sending waves of desires racing through her.
She hugged his neck, wrapped her legs around his waist and whispered in his ear. “Am I being bad?”
He laughed. “You’re everything I want and need.”
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as my feet are on the sand.” He couldn’t help himself. She got under his skin, welcomed him into her body and made love to him.
Slowly, hesitantly, they pulled apart, swam back to the place they’d snorkeled before then went back to the cottage to have supper.
After supper they walked on the beach barefoot. “What makes this different from walking on the beach on Rahjah Island?” she asked.
“You’re not running away. And, when I wake in the morning, you’ll be in my arms.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Under the moonlight, as the balmy breeze caressed their bodies, he lay her on the sand and once again took her in his arms. She laid on his chest and took a deep breath. “This is better than the big lovely bed.”
He nodded.