Page 54 of Betrayed

“Are you thinking of staying longer if your business pans out?”

“My options are definitely open, particularly if things keep going as well with a pretty submissive who has caught my eye.”

“Oh? What will she say about you taking off on a romantic beach weekend with me?”

He stopped and trapped her against the rail, his hips pressing into hers until she felt the hard evidence of his interest.

“I’m glad you could get away, Mari,” he intoned, his face as serious as his deep, honey-smooth voice. The teasing had clearly come to an end. “Let’s say we leave talk of work and future plans for a later date and enjoy the company, the atmosphere, and best of all, quiet, uninterrupted time with each other.”

“Okay,” she replied, barely getting the word out before his mouth claimed hers hungrily.

“Hey,” Jonas’ amused voice called down to them, “I’d say get a room, but you’d miss the phenomenal job I did with these steaks and sea scallops. Lexie will tell you I’m a master at grilling, too, but my fragile ego needs stroking.”

Lexie giggled, leaning over the rail beside her grinning husband as they looked down at them. “It’s true. He requires extensive stroking.”

Jonas and Arturo looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Wait, that isn’t what I meant to say!” Lexie protested, her face turning red.

“We have guests, sunshine,” he said to his blushing bride. “Surf and turf now, stroking, extensive or otherwise, later.”

“Jonas!”

“I knew what you meant, Lex,” Mari said, coming to the aid of her new friend, as they made it up to their level.

“See. You’ve got your mind in the gutter,” she complained as she elbowed a still-laughing Jonas playfully in the ribs. “Behave. I want them to like us.”

“No worries there,” Mari assured her as Arturo pulled out a chair for her then took the seat next to hers.

Jonas turned the conversation as he gave his wife an affectionate squeeze. “Beer, red wine—sorry, sport, it’s not French—or, Lexie made fresh lemonade.”

They passed around drinks then enjoyed a leisurely laugh-filled dinner. Afterward, Mari helped Lexie clear and get the dessert. After she pulled an enormous bowl of sliced strawberries out of the fridge and a can of whipped cream, she passed them to Mari while she grabbed a plate of pre-sliced pound cake, dessert plates, napkins, and silverware.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Anything,” Mari replied, balancing the bowl of berries in one hand as she tucked the cold can under her arm.

“Why have you never stayed after at the club? I think you’d fit in great with the other girls. You always seem—”

“In a hurry?”

“No...lonely.”

Caught off guard by her perceptiveness, Mari stared back at her.

Lexie promptly apologized. “I shouldn’t have asked. But I’ve been where you are, sort of. My parents died when I was young, and I got bounced around from place to place. I felt lost and alone. Then, before Jonas, I had a failed marriage. It’s not the same as your loss, but I grieved, and the loneliness took its toll. And I know how hard it is getting back to living again.”

“How did you do it?”

“I fell in love with Jonas, but first, my friends dragged me to the club. That’s where he and I met. It helped that I knew some of the girls already, but it took courage to take that first step and even more to say yes when he asked me out on day one. If I hadn’t taken the chance, I think I’d still be stuck.”

“That’s where I’ve been, stuck in limbo. Now I think I’m ready to take that chance with Arturo, but...”

“What?”

“I’m afraid. My heart shattered when Derek died; he was my world. As were my kids, now they’re gone, too.”

“But you’re young, and there are a lot of lonely years ahead if you don’t try living again.”

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