RJ HAD NO IDEA how to deal with what she’d just told him. After a few minutes of silence he finally decided on leading her to the table and telling the chef on board to serve their dinner. A flurry of emotions filled him—anger, hurt, confusion, longing—and he couldn’t focus on just one. He didn’t want to focus on any of them. What he really wanted, and what seemed like the most important thing right now, was to just be with Grace.
“You even told them to fix my favorite, spaghetti and meatballs,” she said when he sat across from her.
“With extra meat sauce of course.” He liked doing things for her. Recalling all the things she liked and what made her smile had come naturally from the moment he saw her on the island.
“I told you, I remember things about you, too,” she said, and removed the silver ring from her napkin. “Like, you prefer a mixed drink with dinner over wine and that you hog the TV remote.”
RJ tossed his head back and chuckled, he couldn’t help it. The TV remote had been an ongoing debate in the penthouse. “You don’t even watch television in bed. You usually have something to read.”
“I like the background noise.”
“Right, so it shouldn’t matter if I change the channel or not.”
“It matters when you change it to that sports channel. It’s noisy and distracting.”
He shook his head slowly. “Isn’t that considered background noise?”
She paused and then frowned. “You’re not funny.”
RJ laughed again, this time feeling the joy deep down in his soul. Why couldn’t it always be like this? The carefree ease that was between them right now. Why couldn’t they have this forever? Probably because she hadn’t trusted him with her truth ten years ago, and now he wasn’t certain he could trust her to not choose something over them again. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to stay away from her.
“This is delicious,” she said after she’d tasted her first bite.
It was, but he enjoyed watching her much more than he did the taste of the food.
They were halfway through the meal when she said, “Riley mentioned you’d be taking over the company in a few months. I know you’re excited about that.”
“I wouldn’t say excited,” he told her before taking a gulp of his rum and Coke. “It’s like I’ve been anticipating this for so long, now that it’s getting closer I’m a little numb.”
“You’re going to be great as CEO. You were born for this job.”
“More than that,” he said. “I really want this job. My grandfather and my father have done a phenomenal job carving out a space for us, but I’m ready to take it to the next level. I’m looking forward to working with our designers on creating new and exciting pieces that tell our full story. We have such a diverse and rich history and I want to see it flourish into everything we touch from clothes to handbags, jewelry and even as far as the philanthropy efforts we take on. Even though that’s creeping into my mom’s domain.”
“That sounds amazing,” she said with a look of admiration on her face, and his chest swelled with pride. “Your family is so rooted in this company. I was shocked when I read about Major and Nina starting their own. Not just because he was stepping away from RGF but also because he was taking a partner. It just seemed so out of character from the Major I knew,” she told him.
The reminder that she’d had a relationship with everyone in his family warmed him.
“I think that decision surprised him, too. But Nina’s a great developer. Her app was amazing before Major ever came along and since he’d already been planning his own business, I guess it made sense for them to be partners. Especially since they’d fallen in love and decided to get married.”
That word brought down a veil of silence and they finished dinner before having their drinks refilled. Grace picked up her glass of wine and stood. He took a gulp from his own glass and left it on the table before following her to the railing once more.
“This is an amazing place to have a wedding,” she said.
“Riley wanted it private and my mom suggested someplace tropical. Dad said he’s just signing the checks.” They both laughed at that.
“Hope wants a fall wedding. Fifty guests, outside venue and candy corn instead of wedding cake for dessert.” She shook her head and sipped her wine while RJ grinned.
“Sounds like Hope.” She was her most eccentric sister. But none of the Hopkins sisters were like Grace. He could see that from the first time he’d been to Westchester to meet her family. It was no wonder she’d always felt like she was different.
“We would’ve had a nice wedding,” she said quietly, and finished the wine.
RJ had no doubt that was true, and while his goal tonight had been to talk about their past, he was through with the regret and sadness now.
“Dance with me.” He took the glass from her and put it on the table.
When he turned back, she had a hand on one hip and a quizzical look on her face. “There’s no music.”
He shrugged and took her hand, pulling her to him. “We’ll make our own music.” With that he wrapped his other arm around her waist and started singing the lyrics to Bruno Mars’s “Just the Way You Are.” It was her favorite song and even though he was singing horribly off-key, he moved his body to the melody.
Grace laughed at his efforts but joined in with him until they were dancing around the deck, singing as loud as they could. In the distance the sunlight faded, dropping down into the water, and a deep magenta and blue color filled the sky. Their movements slowed as they came to the end of the song until they were both still staring into each other’s eyes as they’d done so many times before. Only this was different, and they both knew it.
It seemed as natural as breathing to lean in and touch his lips to hers, and when she tilted her head and joined in the kiss everything that happened in the past, every obstacle, every worry, disappeared. There was only him and Grace now, the sweet tenderness of their kiss, the powerful yearning in their embrace.
Breaking the kiss was difficult, but when he twined his fingers in hers and began walking them toward the stairs that would take them below deck, she followed. He led her down to the master bedroom and closed the door behind them. Earlier he’d been in awe of this space himself. He’d rented the yacht so it’d been his first time touring it, but this bedroom had been amazing. The king-size bed was against one wall facing windows that brought the ocean inside with unfettered panoramic views.
She walked to the bed and sat, patting the space beside her.
“I’ve got something for you,” he said.
“I know. That’s why I’m telling you to come here.” Her smile was sexy and alluring and his heart thumped wildly in his chest.
The dress she wore was sexy as hell, that slit up the side a dangerous threat to his senses. But he could restrain himself, at least for a little while longer. He went to the nightstand and pulled out the top drawer. In it was a black velvet box, too big to be another engagement ring, so her smile remained in place when he carried it toward her.
“You know I love presents,” she said, her expression changing from teasing to giddy with excitement. She even lifted her hands to do a quick clap.
He couldn’t help it; he chuckled. “You’re such a kid when it comes to gifts.”
“I know. My mom used to say I acted like it was Christmas whenever somebody gave me a gift.”
“She’s right,” he told her, and walked closer, still holding the box just out of her reach.
She was practically bouncing on the edge of the bed and when that became too much for her she just reached out and grabbed it. RJ laughed, enjoying the authentically happy look on her face more than she would ever know.
She opened the box quickly and then stopped to stare up at him. “When did you get this?”
His words almost faltered when she reached her hand into the box. “I ordered it when I went back to my room the first night I saw you here. I requested express delivery.” Because he’d needed to see her with it.
She lifted the new vibrator out of the box, her fingers wrapped securely around the apparatus in a way that made his dick jump.
“I want to watch you this time,” he said, and began unbuttoning his shirt.
“You sure you’re just gonna watch?” she asked as she rubbed the tip of the vibrator over her cleavage.
He struggled to breathe but managed to keep his fingers on the buttons instead of reaching to pull the straps of her dress down so he could see her breasts completely. “Absolutely. I’m going to enjoy the show.”
With a smirk, she set the vibrator down and stood to remove her clothes. When she was done, she leaned over to pull some of the pillows together and set them up at the head of the bed. It was an elaborate act, giving him an unfettered view of her delectable ass.
True to his word, RJ removed the rest of his clothing and pulled one of the cushioned chairs from the corner closer to the bed. He sat and waited for the performance to begin.
“Show me what you planned to do with the one that got away from you the other night.”
“You mean the one you broke,” she said as she lay back on the bed.
He figured it had broken after he stepped on it, even though she hadn’t given him an update. “This replacement’s better.”
She adjusted herself on the bed and switched the vibrator on. “We’ll see.”
RJ swore he’d died and gone to heaven. The sight of Grace lying gorgeously naked on that bed, legs lifted so that her feet were planted on the mattress, knees spread, was more than he’d ever imagined. When he expected her to slide the apparatus between her legs, she lifted it to her lips instead, licking it up and down until his fingers gripped the arms of the chair.
He recalled her tongue moving over his dick just like that in the past, and he dropped one hand down to soothe his aching erection. She took the toy deep into her mouth and he began jerking his dick, wanting to be inside her mouth the same way that vibrator was. She removed it from her mouth with a plopping sound that had him moaning. Then she rubbed it over her breasts, circling her nipples and going down her torso to her stomach. He licked his lips when he knew what would happen next.
Grace glanced at him before switching the vibrator on, the low buzzing sound much louder in the otherwise quiet room.
“Now,” he whispered, his throat hoarse with need. It was possible he hadn’t quite thought this through, because now watching her seemed like torture.
She obliged, slipping the vibrator down until it eased inside her. On a long deep moan, she arched her back from the bed, her head sinking into the pillows. With one hand she moved the vibrator in and out of her pussy, while the other hand toyed with her breasts. RJ jerked his dick like he was ready to come at any moment—which he probably was.
He was entranced by her moaning, the thrusting of her hips that matched the motion of her hand, the sound of that vibrator and the jiggle of her breasts. And then he was done. Done with the watching part.
He stood from the chair, grabbed a condom from his wallet and hurriedly rolled it on. Climbing onto the bed, he grabbed her wrist and eased the vibrator out of her. He took it from her hand and turned it off. Then he was between those long legs, lifting them onto his shoulders and glancing up at her once more.
“Do you trust me?” When she only blinked at the question, he hurried to make himself clear. “Trust me to make you feel good,” he whispered. He saw her nod just before he lowered his head.
His mouth touched her warm folds and he moaned. On a deep inhale he let her scent permeate every part of his body, and as she shook with the intensity of the pleasure ripping through him, he licked her. Tender strokes over her pussy, a quick, clever flick to tease her hardened clit. She bucked beneath him and he gripped her bare ass in his hands, lifting her lower half off the bed so she was closer to his face, feeding him.
“Dammit.” The one clipped word from her spurred him on.
“So sweet. Just like I remember.” It was the truth—she tasted heavenly. With each caress of his tongue over her soft flesh, he could think of nothing in his life that had ever tasted better. And it was just like he remembered. The feel of her thighs against his cheeks, the throbbing of his dick each time his tongue stroked along her damp skin. It was all as good as before, a part of the memories he’d cherished and secretly longed for again.
“I want more,” he groaned. “More of you.”
She was pumping into his mouth now, trying to give him what he wanted so he’d provide the release he knew she so desperately needed. He planned to give it to her. Easing two fingers between the crease of her ass, he let one linger momentarily over her anus before continuing on to sink inside her entrance. She bucked again, a mixture of curses and moans softly filling the air.
He slid another finger inside her, feeling the contraction of her body around him. This was it right here. The silken honey that seeped onto his fingers and eventually his tongue as he continued to lick her pussy was addictive. So much so he had no idea what he was going to do from this moment on. The need for her was going to be too great to watch her walk away again. Not this time. Even if all he got from her was this physical gratification, that’s what he wanted. What he’d needed for far too long.
Pumping his fingers in and out of her while flicking his tongue over her clit had her body jerking wildly beneath him. She whispered his name.
“Ronald,” she said again and again and he thrust his hips, wishing it was his dick buried to the hilt inside her instead.
“Gracie.” He said her name softly when he let his mouth leave her, his fingers still moving. “My sweet Gracie.”
Her body tensed the second her climax hit and he hungrily put his mouth over her once more to catch every drop of her release. Moments later he was easing away from her, lifting his body so he could drop a tender kiss on her mouth. She clapped her hands to the back of his neck and dragged him down for a deeper kiss, one that fused them together in a thick haze of longing, need and something more, something he wasn’t sure either of them was ready to name.
Instead of thinking too much on that, RJ positioned himself between her legs, sliding easily into her. She gasped when he entered her, bowing up off the bed. He massaged her breasts and began moving inside her, losing himself in the glorious warmth that always welcomed him. This is where he belonged, there was no longer any doubt in his mind. It was only Grace for him, now and forever.
He couldn’t get enough, and he totally lost himself in the feel of her muscles holding him tight, the sound of her voice whispering his name. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he leaned forward, putting his arms around her back before changing their position. He sat on the edge of the bed while she straddled him, bouncing up and down over his dick until her name ripped from his throat. “Grace. My sweet Gracie.”
“Yes.” It was the smallest whisper from her that played over and over again as she moved her hips to match his upward thrusts. “Yes, Ronald. Yes.”
And that’s what RJ continued to hear in the next seconds when she arched in his arms, her second climax causing her body to tremble around him. He came right behind her, shuddering not only with the pleasure tearing through him, but with the love that followed that brilliant explosion. That was it, that was the name of the emotion he’d felt earlier. Love. It was what had been pulling him toward her from the moment he’d first seen her on this island. The love that hadn’t died in the ten years they’d been apart. The love he prayed she wanted to accept this time around.