Page 12 of Changing Tides

When he finally looks up, he asks, “Are you okay?”

I nod.

He brings his hand to the side of my face and cups my cheek.

Then, he leans down and kisses me gently.

“That was incredible,” he whispers against my lips.

Then, he falls to the side, tugs me into his chest, and pulls the covers over us.

Before I can even wrap my head around what just happened, I hear the rhythmic panting of his breath in my ear, and I know he has fallen asleep.

Carefully, I untangle myself from his arms and climb quietly from the bed.

I gather my suit and tiptoe out into the hallway of the boat and shut the door gently.

Then, I make my way back to the beach to gather my dress and sandals and head back to my bungalow.

Iawaken to the sound of the covers rustling and the feel of Amiya climbing in bed beside me.

I peek over at her. “What time is it?” I ask.

“Six in the morning,” she mumbles.

I blink against the sunlight bathing the deck and sit up.

“Are you just coming in?” I ask.

“Yeah, I ran into the hunky crewman from theCoral Kingat the bar, and the two of us took a bottle of rum and a couple of beach towels to the shore and made good use of it all. I woke up with a pounding head and sand in all the wrong places,” she grumbles.

“That’s going to cause some uncomfortable chafing,” I say as I plop back and pull the duvet up to my chin.

“Worth it,” she says.

“We’re not going to make it to the waterfall today, are we?” I ask.

She opens an eye and looks at me. “Nope.”

I shrug. “I’m good with that.”

The truth is, I’m exhausted. Deliciously so.

We snuggle in and drift off to the sound of the light rain that has begun to fall on the deck.

And I dream of sailing the open seas on a yacht with a beautiful stranger.

I awaken to ringing coming from somewhere in the bungalow.

I roll over to see Amiya is still dead to the world.

The ringing stops, and I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed.

Standing, I make my way to the bathroom.

The ringing starts again, and I follow the sound to the coat closet in the foyer beside the door.

I open it as the ringing stops and then starts once again.

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