We made it to the airport with time to spare, our carry-on suitcases in tow with our personal items.

“You ready?” Nathan asked when they called for our flight. He brought our entwined hands up and kissed my fingers.

My stomach did a flip, then a flop, but I managed to nod and follow him down the passageway to the plane.

It wasn’t a long flight, and I freaked out a tiny bit during some turbulence we encountered. By ten in the evening on Friday night, we were checking into a bed and breakfast on the beach in Florida.

“What do you think?” Nathan asked as he opened the windows, letting in the soothing sound of the waves against the shore. A sound machine could never match the real sound of the waves. It was something I found so calming, so freeing.

“Perfect. Nothing but perfect.”

It was, and having him next to me meant it would be impossible to ever forget.

CHAPTER 17

I awoke the next morning to hot kisses and breath on my neck, a hand on my breast, fingers in my pu**y, and Nathan’s c**k rocking against the swell of my ass. The second he realized I was awake, I was on my back and he was between my thighs, slipping his c**k deep inside me.

Best morning wake-up call ever.

Later that morning I discovered how much Nathan liked the swimsuit Caroline found.

So much he had the ties undone with me sitting on the edge of the dresser, f**king me senseless, within minutes of having put it on.

I’d have to buy Caroline a massage or a nice dinner for her find.

When we made it down to the beach, he couldn’t take his eyes off me, and I couldn’t even describe the feeling that evoked in me. Though it turned out there were others who also liked the swimsuit.

I tried to brush off the looks I was getting. “They’re just staring at my scars.”

“Fuck that, they’re looking at your sweet little body, baby.” He tugged me closer to his side, muttering under his breath.

There were two surfers in particular with ripped abs that kept watching me and smiling whenever I walked along the beach.

Nathan didn’t like that very much.

His possessive side took over, his hands never leaving my body. He kissed me, hard and long, more than once to show the male beachgoers who I belonged to.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Why don’t you come all over me again? That worked last time.”

He smirked, squeezing my ass. “Don’t tempt me, baby. I will f**k you on this beach if that’s what it takes.”

He calmed down a bit when I made sure to switch my attention from the ocean and beach to him. My focus was on him, and I made it obvious I saw only him and no one else. Didn’t matter how many dicks were around.

The beach was wonderful. Words couldn’t describe how much I loved it. I’d never been, and I loved the feel of the sand beneath my feet, the waves as they chased me up the dune, the push and pull of the tide. However, I did not like the taste of a mouthful of salt water.

Nathan held on to me tight whenever we were in the water, knowing I wasn’t a strong swimmer. At one point he pulled me out to a shallower section that met right above my navel.

He wrapped his arms around my waist. “How do you like the beach, baby?”

“I love it. Thank you so much.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him.

When we released, I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

I shook my head. “Nothing, it’s just…it reminds me of a dream I once had.”

“A dream? Of what?”

“The future. Our future. It was when I was in the hospital after the accident, right before I went into surgery. It was on a beach much like this one.”

“And what did our future on the beach look like?”

I smiled as I leaned into him. “It was beautiful, so beautiful. Light, carefree, and full of love and children.”

Nathan hummed. “I like the sound of all that.”

He gave me a warm smile, and the rest of the day continued to be light and carefree.

Our entire stay was like living in that dream I’d had, minus the children.

I didn’t want to leave on Sunday afternoon; the trip was heaven. I loved the beach and hoped we could return in the near future for a full vacation. Maybe in that time I could take some more swim classes and become a better swimmer, then I could keep up with Nathan a bit better.

“Baby, everything all right?” Nathan took my hand and moved it up to his lips as we drove to work the following Monday.

“Yeah, I hate that we’re back to pretending we loathe each other. It’s difficult sometimes, you know? I’m getting tired of it.”

“I know, Honeybear, I know. I hate that the best I can do is send you flowers under another name on the card to mislead people. I want everyone to know you’re mine – not solely when we’re on vacation, but the people we see and talk to every day.”

I nodded and ignored the way my chest clenched and almost dropped at the thought of the Boob Squad throwing their tits and innuendos his way again. I hated I was helpless, forced to watch, unable to rip them off him by their hair.

I wanted it to be like he’d been with me at the beach. I wanted to shove it in their faces, make them watch me as I accepted his tongue and other body parts inside me. I wanted them to understand that no matter how many tits were around, he only wanted me and mine.

It was disheartening to know we couldn’t do that without risking our jobs.

Fuck. I was missing that Florida beach already more than he’d ever know.

Masks firmly in place, we exited the car and walked in to another busy day.

We decided to stay close to home the weekend after our trip to the beach and drove north to Noblesville. I let Nathan know I wasn’t entirely comfortable because of its proximity to where I grew up, but he assured me he would protect me. Chances were low I’d see any of my former family, because they still lived about twenty miles north, but it was also the closest I’d been since I’d left years before.

It was a beautiful fall day, the sun was shining, and it was on the warmer side for the season. Needless to say, the streets were crowded with all the people who were also out enjoying the weather.

We stopped into a little shop that caught my eye. In the window was a large stained glass tree. The stores tag line was: Gifts Inspired by Nature. Inside the store it was full to the brim with fountains, artwork, lawn adornments, clocks, unique soaps, and gifts. This place was different, and I found myself wanting to buy half the items.