9781631054631ChoiceAffairsSalisbury (6 page)

“Not surprising, but
do you think we really need a spread like this? There’s far too much food here
for just the
two of us.”

“It won’t be wasted,
if that’s what you’re thinking. Trust me, the kitchen staff has first dibs on
whatever is left over. Nothing goes to waste.”

“Good, because I was
going to suggest perhaps just a plate for each of us, but if it gets eaten, t
hen we can continue with this setup.”

“Relax, darling. We’re
on our honeymoon. You don’t need to save the world. Everything here runs quite
efficiently, as you’ll see.”

“
Hmmmph
.
Did you just hear yourself, Apolo?
Honeymoon?”

“Okay, okay,” he
chuckled, putt
ing his hand up in a mock surrender.
“You’ve made your point. Now, let’s eat, and then perhaps you’ll get dressed?
I’d like to take you on a tour of the island.”

I replied through a
mouthful of egg, “Yes, I’d like that.”

* * * *

Apolo’s island was
beautiful, of course, as was any island in the Caribbean.
He had left a large portion of it unspoiled. The area served as a green space,
if you will. On the far side was where the people who worked for him lived.

They had everything
they could possibly wan
t. Apolo had it arranged for
his helicopter to be on standby and had supplies brought in by various means.
They worked a decent-sized plot of land that held sugarcane and pineapple.
Whatever they made off the fruit was theirs to keep. Thus, the people who
lived here were, for the most part, self-sufficient.

The section of island
where we were staying consisted of the main house, which was big enough to hold
a small party, but nothing larger. He had no intention of turning it into any
sort of resort. Apolo d
idn’t offer it to anyone, but
had the option to accommodate more people should he choose to share his
hideaway. Somehow, I didn’t see that happening. Several out buildings dotted
the landscape, including a boathouse on one of the two massive docks.

“What d
o you think?” he asked as we pulled up in front of it an
hour or so later.

“Wow! We need to come
here more often, Apolo. It’s truly impressive what you’ve done with it.”

“And we shall. Once we
move, and I get settled into my new position, we’ll be back.”

“
So, what else?”

“I thought we’d have a
lunch packed for us and take one of the boats out. I can show you everything
from the water. I know of a perfectly private cove where we could eat and relax
for a while.”

“Sounds
perfect.”
I leaned toward him for a ki
ss. He accommodated me
with one that was delicious, erotic, and very tempting. He smelled
intoxicatingly like the man I loved. And the kiss was a promise of what would
come later in the afternoon.

“Let’s head back to
the house and get ready. I’ll make sure
the boat and
lunch are readied.”

“Hurry up, Choice. I’m
three steps ahead of you,” I teased, punching him playfully on the shoulder.

“Eager, are we?”

“You’ll never know by
standing here flapping your jaws, senator. Now, get this thing in gear.”

Later, Apo
lo led me from the boat to a secluded section of beach in
the cove. It was hidden from above by trees and shrubs.

“It’s perfect,” I
blurted out.

I sat down on the edge
of a felled tree, which now looked more like driftwood, and removed my shoes
and socks.
I followed by unzipping my shorts and
letting them fall over my hips to the ground. I tugged the gauzy T-shirt I had
on over my head.

The next thing I knew,
Apolo was in front of me. I felt his hands on my body as he unfastened the hook
at the front of my
bra and tossed it aside, caressing
my breasts as they swelled into his palms. He had already stripped. I stared at
him, his wide shoulders, sculpte abs, and lean hips. He was already hard.

He planted a soft kiss
on my lips, his mouth gentle on mine, tastin
g,
exploring, then deepening, turning hot and wet.

“God, I want you.” I
moaned as he kissed me again, his tongue plunging into my mouth and tangling
with mine.

The kiss went on and
on, deep and hot and arousing. He nipped an earlobe, kissed the side of my
neck, trailed kisses over my shoulder, and took the
fullness of my breast into his mouth. He sucked and teased, and I trembled at
his touch. My legs felt weak, and my body was wet with the need to join with
him.

His hands slid lower,
one curving over my bo
ttom while the other slipped
inside my panties, sifting through the tight, dark curls between my legs. Then,
he began to stroke me. I arched my back to give him better access. He slid my
panties down, and I slipped out of them, tossing them onto the sand n
ext to my bra.

He kissed me deeply
one last time, before turning toward the petrified tree. I bent over,
flattening my palms on the warm wood as he moved in behind me.

His fingers found my
softness, sank in, and slid out before sinking in again. Ripples of
heat washed over me. It was sex, raw and hot, and yet, the
way he touched me, the way he made me feel, there was more to it than that.

I felt his erection at
my entrance as he positioned himself and drove deeply inside. He gripped my
hips, and I moaned at
the feel of his hard length,
the heavy thrust and drag as he moved in and out, driving deeper, faster,
making my stomach quiver. My head fell back as need, sweet and fierce, tore
through me.

“Caitlyn…” he
whispered, thrusting into me again, taking his ple
asure,
yet giving me pleasure, as well.

I whimpered his name
as I reached my peak and began to come, tightening around him like a hot, wet
glove. The pleasure went on and on, bright lights and sweetness expanding until
I could hardly breathe. I was beginni
ng to spiral
down when I felt him come hard, spilling his seed deep within me.

He pulled me back
against his chest, holding me gently, softly kissing the nape of my neck. “I
love you, Caitlyn. God, I love you.”

“I love you, too,
Apolo.”

“You ready to head
back? Or should we find another beach to christen?”

“Perv!”
I teased, reaching to pick up my
clothes. “However, we need to take advantage of our situation, and I don’t know
about you, but I’m hungry.”

“Oh, I intend to,
babe. You won’t be able to walk by th
e time we
leave.”

I leaned into him and
kissed him. “I think I’ll love every minute of it, too. Now, let’s get our
lunch, and enjoy this magnificent view.”

We dressed and slowly
began walking toward the boat. I linked my arm in his as we did, resting my
head against his shoulder. As we approached, he broke our
link and climbed up into the craft. Handing me the rather large basket, he
clambered back over the side to join me. Taking the basket from me again, he
pointed to a clearing just off the beach. With
a
clear view of everything around, it was the perfect place to enjoy our picnic.

Once there, Apolo
placed the basket on the ground, allowing me to ready things. I found a large
tablecloth on top of our lunch and handed it to him to spread out for us. As h
e did, I began to unpack our meal. An assortment of salami
and cheese, along with a selection of fruit, made for a
simple,
and easy picnic. I spied a bottle of
chilled, white wine to one side. I handed it, along with a cork screw, to Apolo
for his expert t
ouch.

I watched as he sat
down on the edge of cloth and opened the bottle effortlessly. Passing him two
glasses, I joined him. Accepting one back, I took a sip. “This was a nice idea.
In fact, this whole trip was genius.
I’m loving
the peace, aren’t you?”

I noted a naughty grin
on those luscious lips of his as he lowered his glass.
“Yes, very much so.
The appetizer in particular was
extremely delectable.”

“Pervert!”
I teased. “Seriously, how did you come
to own your own island?”

“The peace and quiet,
like y
ou mentioned. I don’t find the entire idea of
going to a resort, say, and staying in some sort of hotel with a gazillion
people waiting on you a vacation. No, the idea of this island appealed to me.
Plus I’m helping out a few dozen families. We help each o
ther.
That old,
weathered building on the edge of the cove?
Restored inside by some of my employees.
From the outside, you’d never know it
housed jet skis and that sort of thing.
Simplicity.”

“Sort of like the
cabin in Georgia.”

“Exactly.
Here, as well as
there, I can completely lose myself. If I want to
communicate with the outside world, it’s certainly at my disposal. I’m smart
enough to know I can’t hide forever, but the short times I can get away from it
all, I prefer to go to either place. And now, of
course,
you’re included in all this.”

“There’s not much way,
at least here, that the paparazzi or anyone can ruin things.”

“True. Oh, I’m sure
there are a few ingenious enough to figure out a way to get their tabloid
shots, but they’re going to have to rea
lly work for
them.”

“So, mister big shot,”
I said, passing him a plate I’d filled with food while he was talking, “Just
the sun and us for how long?”

“A
week.
I know that’s not long, Caitlyn. However, there is a method to the madness.
While everyone is exp
ecting us to be gone two weeks,
you and I will fly directly to Washington from here.”

“You mean we won’t go
back to Atlanta?”

“Not right away. We’re
going to go to Washington and spend the remaining time we have settling into
our new home, while still on o
ur honeymoon.
Just you and me, no staff.
Then, we’ll return to Atlanta for a
couple of days. I have a few things to wrap up before we begin our new life in
Washington.”

“What could you
possibly have left to wrap up in Atlanta? I thought you did all that be
fore the wedding?”

“For
the most part, yes.
I want to make sure a few things are going forward
according to my direction.”

“I see. Okay, we
have,
what, five, six days left, is that what
you’re telling me?”

“Hmmm, something
like
that. Why?”

“This is the dea
l, husband. No talk of business or the outside world while
we’re here. If you have to see to business, do it before I get up in the
morning, like we discussed earlier. Otherwise, it’s you and me. This, and
hopefully our remaining time in Washington, is the
last truly private time we’re going to have. I want to keep it that way and
savor every moment.
Any problems
with that?”

“None,
my love.
None at all.”
He raised wine to his lips, obviously
in an attempt to hide the smirk that I caught anyway.

“Good, now
let’s eat. Then, perhaps we can do some further exploring.”

* * * *

Apolo

The best investment I
have ever made by far has been this island. Caitlyn is
right,
we need to make more use of it. Problem is
,
when will I find the time with this new
senate seat
? No matter, the moments I have extended
periods of break will perhaps work.