Unwanted Heat

My nervousness all but disappears once the plane is in the air, and we are able to take in the amazing views before us. We are flying much lower than we were when we first arrived on the island, allowing us to see so much more of the island. Our pilot takes his time going around Turtle Island, while describing things in detail to us. I’m surprised at just how large the island is, when the pilot points out all the undeveloped areas. There’s so much to do on the section of the island where we are staying, that it’s hard to think that there are parts that are purposely left undeveloped for the local wildlife. While flying over the other islands that make up Fiji, the pilot shares information about the culture.

As we circle back to Turtle Island, I spend a couple of minutes watching Nicholas. His face is practically glued to the window, watching as we fly over everything taking it all in.

“Wow… that was an amazing trip, Kenzie. Thank you for arranging it today,” Nicholas pulls me into his arms the moment I step off the plane and onto the dock.

“You really liked it?”

“It was really something. To be able to see everything so clearly… we were able to see so much that we couldn’t see on the flight in. I read about the air tours on their website, when I was researching the island, but I didn’t think we would fly as low as we did to be able to really see everything. And for some reason I had thought the tour was shorter-”

“It typically is only an hour; I had requested a longer tour so we could look at the other islands.”

“Thank you. It was… really something.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

We walk back to the golf cart hand in hand; I feel much more relaxed than we first arrived. I was more worried about this activity rather than the dinner I planned for later today.

“So, what’s next on our schedule?” Nicholas asks as we reach the villa.

“Let’s see,” I glance at the clock mentally reviewing our schedule. “We have about two hours before we have to be somewhere. I had thought we could swim or go down to the beach one last time? Unless you want to do something-”

“No, that sounds perfect,” he interrupts before I have a chance to finish my thought.

“Oh, dinner tonight is formal. I sent your suit out to be cleaned, so it should be back by now.”

“You did?”

“I didn’t see another suit in the closet, so I assumed you only brought the one that you wore for our wedding?”

“I didn’t think I would need one, but at the last minute I had Carter add the bag to the plane. I guess I needed it after all.”

“I hope you don’t mind-”

“Of course not. Although, I have to admit I’m intrigued as to what you have planned that requires me to wear a suit.”

“You’ll have to wait and see,” I smirk at him.

“You know, I normally don’t do well when I don’t have control over things like this. I’m not one for having my schedule changed at the last minute. Ask Melody, I have to know my schedule in advance, and be notified immediately of any changes that are made. Surprises for me are extremely rare, especially with Carter, Melody, Brian and Asher at PFS ensuring that surprises don’t occur.”

“I’m sorry-”

SHIT, I didn’t think of that. I should have realized he was like that, since he runs his own company where he has complete control over everything. Thinking about it now, I should have recognized he would be uncomfortable leaving today’s schedule unknown.

“Don’t tell Melody, but I’ve kind of enjoyed this week not having too much scheduled. And what’s more surprising, is that I’m okay with you having planned today without me knowing anything.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he looks out at the water for a few minutes without saying anything.

I’m not sure what he’s thinking right now, but something tells me not to ask him. I hadn’t thought about how difficult it would be for him to not have complete control over everything. The more I think about it, the more I see how he has been in complete control almost since the moment we met.

“Did you want to head down to the beach?” I ask.

“Yes, I’ll just go change.”

We don’t have much time, but I’m glad we were able to spend some time today on the private beach at the villa. Who expects to go on vacation and have a large section of a beach all to themselves? We both changed into swimsuits but didn’t actually end up going in the water. We walked in the water, stopping every so often so I could pick up a seashell, but neither of us made any attempt to actually go swimming. Before I knew it, we were heading back to the villa to get changed for dinner.

“Wow… Kenzie you look…”

“Thank you,” I find myself blushing at his reaction.

In a few steps he is in front of me, running his hands along the sides of the red halter style dress, before wrapping them around me so he can feel my bare back. I think I hear him groan, ever so quietly before he leans in and kisses me. Within moments of his lips finding mine, the kiss is deepened, the need from earlier this morning quickly returning for both of us. By the time he pulls away, we are both breathless and once again, I’m tempted to just cancel everything and suggest we spend our last evening on the island right here.

“We need to go, right?” Nicholas whispers.

“We do,” I reluctantly admit.

He kisses me one last time before pulling completely away; I lean up and wipe my lipstick from his lips which for some reason makes him blush. I laugh that something as simple as that made him blush, yet so many of the other things we’ve done haven’t. He leads me by the hand out to the golf cart, and since he doesn’t know where we are going, I drive us to another part of the island where we walk down yet another dock. A large boat is waiting for us at the end of the dock; this time we are not alone, but there are only a handful of guests on the cruise tonight. “The sunset dinner cruise?” Nicholas asks.

“I thought it might be nice to see the island one last time before we left. It’s supposed to be really beautiful at sunset,” I shrug.

“I’ve heard some great things about this cruise; the views of the island are supposed to be breathtaking.”

We board a few minutes later and head out to the large deck to watch as we pull away from the island. The cruise is scheduled to take us around Turtle Island, and around one of the neighboring islands. The deck of the ship is set up for an obviously very intimate dinner: several small tables outline the perimeter of the boat, ensuring that each couple has an unobscured view as we move through the water. We are immediately escorted to the table at the front of the deck before three other couples join us on the deck. Wine and appetizers are brought out just as we pull away from the dock. Everything is timed just perfectly, we’re about halfway around the island as the sun meets the horizon, which is the same time that the main course is served.

“Dance with me?” Nicholas asks once we finish our dinner.

“Sure.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the small dance floor where another couple is dancing. Instead of placing his hand on my hip, like he has done every other time we have danced, he wraps his arm around my back pulling me close to him. With how close we are to each other, the dance feels far more intimate than any of the other dances we’ve shared. He leads me around the dance floor, somehow ensuring we never get too close to the other couple, even though his eyes are always on mine.

“You look really beautiful tonight, Kenzie,” he whispers, before kissing me just as the song comes to an end.

“Thank you.”

We walk back to our table just as the boat approaches the smaller nearby island. We eat a delicious dessert, complemented by another glass of wine, before the ship begins to head back to Turtle Island. The sun has now set, leaving the water dark around us, but it still somehow looks just as amazing as it does during the daylight.

“You’re cold,” Nicholas rubs my arms as we wait to leave the boat.

“I hadn’t noticed but now that you mention it…”

“Here,” he shrugs off his suit jacket and places it over my shoulders.

“Are you sure? Won’t you be cold?”

“I’m wearing a little more clothing than you are,” he chuckles.

I slip my arms through the sleeves of his jacket and instantly feel warmed, although that could have something to do with Nicholas’s body being pressed against my back. We both gaze out at the water one last time, before disembarking from the ship, to head back to our villa for our last night in Fiji. Even though this week has flown by, it’s hard to believe that tomorrow we’ll be returning to New York.

“Thank you for arranging everything today; you… I’m glad we were able to really see the island before we left,” Nicholas says, once we are back at the villa.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it and didn’t mind that I surprised you.”

“You definitely surprised me by planning everything.”

“I think I’m going to go change into something a little more comfortable,” I say.NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.

“I’m going to take a glass of wine out on the patio, did you want one?”

“Sure, I’ll meet you out there in a few minutes.”

Entering our bedroom, I close the door and head over to the dresser to find something to wear for tonight. I only have a few pajamas left that I haven’t worn, and all are pretty… revealing which I think will work for the last part of the day that I have planned. This is the part of the day that I was most uncertain and nervous about.

I shrug off Nicholas’s jacket and lay it on the bed so I can change. I

quickly change out of my dress and into one of the more revealing nighties that had been packed for the trip. I take a deep breath, slowly letting it out, as my shaking hands reach for the doorknob. I think I’m officially more nervous than I’ve ever been. If he were to reject me right now I don’t know what I would do.

I shake my head and slowly open the door, stepping out cautiously, still wondering if this plan is going to completely backfire on me. I walk through the living room to the patio doors where Nicholas is standing just outside the doors, looking out at the ocean in the background. He must sense me, because he turns around as soon as I’m near him, his mouth is wide open and his eyes trail my body from head to toe.

“Make love to me, Nicholas…”