Page 55

Serena's hands came up to frame her face, fingers threading through her hair with reverent attention. The tenderness in her touch was almost startling, so different from the commanding CEO the world knew.

When they finally separated, both slightly breathless, Lila found herself studying the small details on Serena's face—the subtle flush across her cheekbones, the unusual softness in her typically sharp eyes, the slight tremor in her hand as she tucked a strand of hair behind Lila's ear.

"I've been wanting to do that since you showed up at my door," Serena admitted.

"What stopped you?"

"I wasn't sure I had the right anymore. After this morning."

The admission—humble and honest—touched Lila deeply. This wasn't Sophie's entitled assumptions or casual disregard for boundaries. This was something else entirely.

"You have the right," Lila confirmed, pressing a quick kiss to Serena's palm. "Though I appreciate you making sure."

Lightning cracked directly overhead, momentarily flooding the villa with harsh white light before plunging them back into the warm glow of table lamps. The power flickered briefly, then stabilized.

"Island storms can get intense," Lila said, glancing toward the rain-lashed windows. "The resort has generators, but blackouts aren't uncommon."

As if summoned by her words, the lights flickered again, longer this time, before steadying. Serena rose, moving to a cabinet where she extracted several candles and matches.

"Better to be prepared," she said, arranging them strategically around the room. The methodical preparation was so characteristic that Lila couldn't help smiling. Even in romance, Serena approached contingencies with strategic planning.

With candles positioned but not yet lit, Serena returned to the sofa, her movement carrying a new purpose. She sat closer this time, her knee brushing against Lila's in a contact that felt deliberately casual yet charged with meaning.

"There's something I've been wanting to ask you," she said, her usual confidence tempered with something more vulnerable.

"Ask away."

"Why did you request reassignment this morning?"

The question wasn't what Lila had expected. She took a moment to consider her answer, wanting to be honest without reopening barely-healed wounds.

"Because boundaries matter," she said finally. "After Sophie, I promised myself I'd never again pour myself into someone who couldn't reciprocate. When you pulled away so completely this morning, I needed to protect myself."

Serena nodded slowly, accepting this without defensiveness. "And now? Are you protecting yourself now?"

"Not exactly," Lila admitted, finding Serena's hand and intertwining their fingers. "I'm choosing to be present while knowing the risks."

The distinction seemed to resonate with Serena, whose thumb traced gentle patterns across Lila's palm.

"I can't promise I won't mess up again," she said quietly. "I've spent decades building walls. They don't come down overnight."

"I'm not asking for perfection," Lila replied. "Just honest. When you're scared, tell me. When you need space, say so. Don't just... vanish."

"I can do that." Serena brought their joined hands to her lips, pressing a kiss to Lila's fingers that sent warmth cascading through her body. "And maybe you could tell me when I'm being an emotionally stunted workaholic?"

Lila laughed, the sound bright against the storm's backdrop. "I think I can manage that."

Outside, rain continued its relentless percussion against the villa, creating a cocoon of white noise that wrapped around their private bubble. Inside, something was shifting between them—understanding deeper than mere attraction, connection beyond physical chemistry.

The lights flickered again, longer this time, before plunging the villa into darkness.

Serena moved with surprising efficiency in the blackout, locating matches and lighting the prepared candles.

Within moments, the space was transformed as dancing flames created shadows that moved across walls like living things, soft golden light warming everything it touched.

"Better?" Serena asked, settling back beside Lila on the sofa.

In the candlelight, her silver-streaked hair gleamed like burnished metal and her features softened from their usual precise angles.

"Much better," Lila replied, though she wasn't just talking about the lighting.

Their eyes met in the flickering glow, understanding passing between them without words. Whatever remained unspoken could wait. For now, there was only this—candlelight and storm sounds, the warmth of shared space, and five precious days stretching before them.

Lila leaned forward, erasing the distance between them once more. As their lips met, the storm outside faded to background noise, irrelevant to the moment unfolding within these walls.

Morning arrived with gentle persistence, sunlight filtering through curtains never fully closed after the storm. Lila woke slowly, her body curved against Serena's in a natural fit that felt both new and somehow familiar, as if they'd been sleeping together for years rather than nights.

The power had returned sometime during the night, though they hadn't needed it. They'd made their way to the bedroom in candlelight, touches and whispers creating a map through darkness.

Now, in the soft clarity of morning, Lila watched Serena sleep, a rare vulnerability etched across features that’s usually guarded.

Her shoulder-length hair spilled across the pillow, one arm flung above her head in unconscious abandon.

The blanket had slipped down, revealing the elegant curve of her shoulder and the faint mark Lila had left there in a moment of passion.

Something tightened in Lila's chest at the sight—not just desire, though that remained a constant current between them, but tenderness. Dangerous territory for a relationship with an expiration date.

As if sensing her thoughts, Serena stirred, eyes opening to find Lila watching her. For one unguarded moment, her face held nothing but simple joy at waking beside her. No worrying about what it might mean or how it might end—just presence in the moment, exactly what Lila had asked of her.

"Morning," Serena said, voice husky with sleep. "How long have you been watching me?"

"Not long." Lila brushed a strand of hair from Serena's face, allowing her fingers to linger against warm skin. "You look younger when you sleep. Less..."

"Terrifying?" Serena offered with a small smile.

"I was going to say 'guarded,' but sure, let's go with terrifying."

Serena laughed, the sound still rare enough to feel like a gift. She stretched beneath the sheets.

"What time is it?" she asked, the habitual question of someone whose life ran on precise schedules.

"Does it matter?" Lila countered, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

Serena looked momentarily startled, then thoughtful. "I suppose not. Not today."

The small victory—Serena choosing presence over scheduling—warmed Lila more than the sunlight streaming through the windows. She settled back against the pillows, content to simply exist in this bubble of morning peace.

"I need to teach a class at eleven," she said eventually. "It’s a resort commitment I can't reschedule."

Serena nodded, accepting this without the flicker of annoyance that would have appeared days ago at any disruption to her plans. "Of course. Would you like breakfast before then? I could order something."

"Mmm, that would be nice."

Neither moved to make it happen, the warm cocoon of tangled sheets and shared body heat too perfect to disturb. Outside, birds called from flowering trees, and the distant sound of waves provided a gentle rhythm to their morning sanctuary.

"Four days left," Serena said quietly, acknowledging the countdown that ticked between them.

"Four days," Lila agreed, refusing to let it dim the perfect moment. "What should we do with them?"

Serena turned on her side, propping herself on one elbow to look at Lila properly. Morning light caught the blue of her eyes, transforming them from their usual ice to something closer to tropical waters.

"I have some ideas," she said, a hint of mischief in her expression that Lila had rarely seen. "If you're willing to trust me with the planning."

"The CEO wants to take control? I'm shocked," Lila teased, trailing her fingers along Serena's collarbone. "What did you have in mind?"

"A few experiences I think you might enjoy. Places on the island you haven't shown me yet." Her fingers traced patterns on Lila's skin, raising goosebumps despite the morning warmth. "That is, if you haven't already planned how to spend our remaining time together."

The thoughtfulness behind the offer—Serena wanting to create memories for them both—touched Lila deeply. This wasn't the woman who had dismissed their connection as a temporary distraction just days ago. This was someone trying to be present and engaged.

"I'm intrigued," Lila said, watching emotions play across Serena's face—hope, excitement, the shadow of their future goodbye. "Though I reserve the right to veto anything involving spreadsheets or quarterly projections."

"Deal." Serena sealed the agreement with a kiss that started as playful and quickly deepened into something more heated, her hand sliding beneath the sheets to map the familiar contours of Lila's body.

Breakfast, it seemed, would wait a little longer.

Later, wrapped in Serena's robe that smelled faintly of her expensive perfume, Lila sat on the terrace watching resort staff cleaning debris left by the night's storm.

The island looked freshly washed, colors more vibrant against rain-darkened sand, flowers holding crystalline droplets that caught the morning light.

Serena emerged from the bedroom dressed in simple pants and a sleeveless blouse, looking more casual than Lila had seen her outside of yoga sessions. She carried two mugs of coffee, handing one to Lila before settling in the adjacent chair.

"I called room service," she said. "Breakfast is coming in fifteen minutes."

"Perfect."

They sipped in comfortable silence, the simple domesticity of sharing morning coffee striking Lila with its unexpected sweetness. Such an ordinary thing in most relationships—this quiet togetherness before the day properly began—yet it felt profound between them.

"Four days," Lila said softly, echoing Serena.

"I plan to make them count."

Lila believed her. Four days of borrowed time, to be spent not in fear of the ending, but in celebration of the unexpected gift they'd found between beginning and goodbye.