Page 26 of Forbidden Fiancé

“Okay.”

“Hector should be at your cabin shortly to give you the dry bag. I’ll come and get you when I am packed and get us set up on the jet-ski.”

“Okay.”

I moved closer to her and took her hands in mine. “Are you okay with this? Do you understand what is going on?”

“Everyone is sick. If we don’t get off this boat now, we are never going to. At least not for a few weeks. I do want to get to know your family, but I don’t think this is the time or the place. The captain can get us close enough to land that you can get us to your house by jet-ski. I need to pack up some stuff to fit under the seat and be ready to go as soon as possible.”

Natalie said everything very matter-of-factly. She wasn’t upset or worried about what was going to happen. It was as if she had complete and total faith in me. She could see the situation was dire but instead of freaking out or causing more drama she saw what needed to be done and was willing to do it.

“Fuck. I love you,” I said.

Natalie laughed. “That is a strange reaction, but I’ll take it. I love you too. See you in about twenty minutes?”

“Yes,” I said.

She turned and walked away but I pulled her back to me. She turned back around and I brought her into my arms and wrapped them around her. The kiss was quick, deep, and passionate. Her mouth opened for me and my tongue danced with hers. Her hands went to my biceps and squeezed them. I felt her legs give way slightly underneath her.

I broke the kiss and sucked on her ear before whispering, “This is a fortunate turn of events. While I do not wish my son, ex-wife, and her husband any ill will. I am very much looking forward to having you.” I pushed her up against me so she could feel my erection. She let out a shocked cry but I could feel her smiling. “All to myself. It’s going to be a very memorable couple of days or weeks. I can’t think of a better way for us to start our lives together.”

“Me either,” Natalie said breathlessly.

I playfully slapped her ass and she cried out with surprise. “Now, go get packed. I’ll come and get you shortly.”

She leaned back, gave me a quick kiss, and then walked away. I watched her go and took a deep sigh. I felt bad for Ethan and the rest of them. I should check on him but if it was contagious; I didn’t want to get it or risk spreading it to Natalie. This was the best option for us. That it would allow me to spend more time alone with Natalie, something that I was desperate to do, was not lost on me.

We would have as much as a week if not more alone. It would give us the perfect opportunity to get to know each other. The house was spacious and I was already thinking of all the places I would take her. With that time, I would convince her that I did indeed want to get married to her and that we would be doing it as soon as we got back to the states. Hopefully, we could even start planning it while we were on the island together. Nothing was going to stop me from having the life I wanted to have with her. Nothing.

Chapter 15

Natalie

The sun was setting as Luke got onto the jet-ski and then reached over to help me on. Our luggage, what little there was of it, was already safely stowed underneath us. As promised, Hector had come knocking on my door almost as soon as I got back to my cabin. I had quickly thrown some clothes into the bag, finding it roomier than I expected. I had no idea how big the WaveRunner was going to be, so I only brought my favorite clothes. If Luke was true to his word, we weren’t going to need much clothing and I didn’t want to look like a clothes whore.

When I arrived at the bottom deck with Hector, it was to find Luke and Marci waiting for us. They all looked calm but I could sense the bit of urgency in their movements that told us we needed to hurry.

Hector put our bags inside the WaveRunner as Luke gave me a wetsuit to put on. It would keep me somewhat warm on our ride out to his house. When we were both ready, Hector helped Luke on the WaveRunner and then me.

I felt bad about leaving them. I wondered if they could come with us. But I wasn’t sure they could. They probably needed to stay on the boat and take care of everyone else. I worried about the risk they were taking by letting us get on the island without the authorities knowing. I had to trust that Luke and the crew knew what they were doing and weren’t going to get into trouble.

“Thank you,” I said to Hector as he helped me onto the WaveRunner.

“It is my pleasure, miss.”

I held fast to his hand. “Hector, thank you,” I said again and held his gaze.

He knew about me and Luke and yet he hadn’t said anything. He was giving us a chance to get off the boat while we still could. I got the impression that while Marci was the captain, Hector was the one who truly ran the boat and made sure it ran efficiently. He was the reason I was getting this chance to be with Luke.

“It is my pleasure, miss,” he said again, but he gave me a soft smile.

I held his gaze as Luke got situated. I hoped I conveyed to him how much what he was doing meant to me and that I wouldn’t forget it. It was wonderful to see such kindness. I didn’t think anyone would understand what I was feeling towards Luke, but I felt like Hector did. It gave me hope that his family and others would, too.

“You ready?” Luke called over his shoulder.

“Ready,” I called and wrapped my arms tightly around him.

He twisted the steering wheel, pushed on the throttle, and we were off. I tightened my hold on him as the WaveRunner picked up speed. The wind blew through my hair and I had to squint to see where we were going. Luke didn’t seem to have a problem and took off towards the islands I could see off in the distance.

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