Page 16

Seeing Emerson in the shower with her clothes clinging to her lithe body was bad enough. Walking in to find her naked with steam misting the bathroom and water droplets sluicing down her creamy skin was nearly the end of me. Certainly, it was a strain on my tightly wound self-control. It was either strip down and climb in with her, risking another explosion of her temper, or get the hell out of there.

Back in the living area of our bungalow, I looked around ruefully. It seemed like hours, but it couldn’t have been twenty minutes since we were wrapped up in the rumpled bed. Some honeymoon.

To distract myself from the tempting sound of the shower still running in the bathroom, I made the coffee I promised Emerson, and kept an eye on my phone. Updates were streaming in from Mila, and while I was glad she had something to keep her occupied from the heartbreak of losing her first business, nothing really new was happening.

You can chill out until something big comes up. I finally texted in frustration after her messages had devolved into speculation that one of our sisters-in-law might be expecting. Her texts abruptly stopped, and I hoped I hadn’t hurt her feelings, but I had other, more pressing issues to deal with.

Namely, Emerson, who had emerged from the bathroom wrapped in the resort’s signature robe, her long red hair combed neatly back from her face. She looked like a rabbit who’d wandered into a tiger’s den, and it pissed me off, so I pretended to ignore her. Childish? Maybe. I didn’t give a single fuck. She could speak to me or not.

She didn’t; she only poured herself a cup of freshly brewed coffee and sat about as far away as she could, still inside the suite. Okay, fine. Maybe I’d have to be the one to make the first move. Most of all, I wanted peace. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. I wanted us back in bed together, where I could wring out some more of those adorable noises she made while I was kissing every inch of her.

Surprisingly, she started to warm up to me, going so far as to actually speak to me again when I magnanimously started a conversation. Things were looking up until she started acting pissed off again for no reason. At the same time, Mila called, and since I told her to knock it off unless something big came up, I decided I better check in.

Swiping away the call, I moved away so I could message her. What’s going on? This better be important.

Her reply was swift. Dima wants to meet again. What should I do?

I held back a sigh. Do you think it’s about Emerson and me?

No idea.

Now, the sigh wouldn’t be held back. Then it’s not important. Don’t text me again until after you know something.

When I put down my phone and looked up, Emerson was gently snoring under the covers. A grin split my face, and I carefully crawled in beside her, falling asleep almost instantly to the soothing sound of her breathing.

I woke up several hours later with my arm tucked under her head, and somehow, she was snuggled up against me, completely forgetting she hated me in her sleep. The sun blazed through the glass, since I had forgotten to draw the curtains. It had to be midafternoon and as much as I wanted to keep Emerson close, with her fragrant hair tickling my chin, it felt like a clock was ticking down on our time here.

I couldn’t keep the secret of our marriage for long, not with Arkadi on the verge of a rampage. It was wishful thinking to believe he’d just let everything go, especially now that he’d believe Dima pulling out of the deal they were about to make might have something to do with me.

Shit was very close to hitting the fan, and as much as I’d have loved to keep Emerson all to myself for the next few months, or even a lifetime, I wasn’t one to leave others to clean up my messes.

“Up you get,” I said, smoothing my hand down the length of her hair, slipping lower to rest on her hip.

Her eyes shot open, and I waited to see if she’d fly off the bed like it was made of hot coals. She scowled for a brief moment, then stayed relaxed in my arms.

“Why?” she asked. “What time is it?”

“I have no idea since you’re on my arm, and I can’t reach my phone. But it’s daylight, and I thought you’d want to see some of the island before we leave. We can fly home through the night.” After she said nothing but only narrowed her eyes at me, I quickly clarified. “And by that, I mean Los Angeles.”

“Your home, then,” she sniffed, pulling away to sit up.

She had fallen asleep wearing the oversized bathrobe, which had fallen open to reveal far too much of her for my comfort. My eyes betrayed me, shooting to take every beautiful inch of her in as she sucked in a breath and sadly dragged the robe closed.

“ Our home,” I said, reaching to swipe a stray lock of hair that had fallen across her cheek. “If you don’t like it, we can look for a different place. But trust and believe that we’re in this together now.”

She only glared at me for all of ten seconds, the sun and vibrant blue sky just outside the glass doors too much of a draw for her to stay in a bad mood. I’d seen her bounce back from near calamities in the kitchen at Khoroshiy a dozen times or more and was pleased to see the same resilience out in the real world. Nothing could get my girl down for long.

“I’m not a great swimmer,” she said, staring wistfully out at the ocean surrounding us. “I guess you want to go snorkeling?”

“Do you like boats? We could rent one and explore,” I suggested, watching her face for signs of interest. “Oh, wait a second. There’s a cocoa plantation on this island.”

Telling a chef she could see where one of the most delicious foods in the world was grown and harvested lit her up like a Roman candle.

“Do you think we could buy some to take back with us? Not just the finished chocolate, but the raw cocoa so I can experiment?”

My chest constricted at her eager expression. Didn’t she know I’d buy her the finest jewels if she wanted that? “I think we can swing it,” I said, heading to the shower.

By the time I got out, she was dressed in a swingy short skirt and a flimsy, airy top that I longed to push the straps down her arms to kiss each shoulder. Her hair was tied up tight in a knot on top of her head, only making me count the seconds until I could free it and run my fingers through her luscious mane. In short, she took my damn breath away.

We easily found someone to take us to KokoMana, where we toured the farm and chocolate factory. There was a chocolate-making demonstration that held Emerson in rapt fascination as she hung on to every word the expert spoke. I’m sure it was interesting and informative, but I couldn’t take my eyes off my radiant wife, who was clearly loving every second. We tasted everything they had to offer, from the darkest cocoa to smooth milk chocolate, and were both groaning as we left, loaded down with everything Emerson wanted to take home.

“I’m not hungry, but I also feel like if I don’t get some protein in me, I’ll slip into a coma,” she said as we headed back to the resort.

“Then let’s find a restaurant. The plane is on standby,” I said. “We’re in no hurry.” Not much, anyway. I leaned forward to ask our driver the best place to eat nearby.

As he rattled off a list of local cuisines, Emerson kept agreeing that each one sounded like exactly what she wanted to eat. The cook in her was obviously champing at the bit to sample something new to her palate.

While she pushed me aside so she could grill the driver about his favorites and enquiring about different ingredients, I leaned back, content to just watch her acting so happy and carefree.

I would have kept her that way and silently cursed Arkadi for making me end this idyll early. Things couldn’t possibly stay this blissful once we were back. It was more likely that everything would quickly devolve into chaos. Would I ever see her smiling so brightly again? I wasn’t so certain.

One thing was certain, though, and that was keeping Emerson safe. It was my top— no, only priority. That probably meant she wasn’t going to be this happy again for a good long while.