Page 17 of Room 810

We finally managed to get his robe untied, and together, we slid under the covers naked. We didn’t talk—not about the storm and not about the future, because there wasn’t one for us. Instead, we communicated with our bodies, soft touches, deep kisses, and unspoken words.

At some point in the night, the storm began to let up, but it was the furthest thing from our minds, focused as we were on each other. Sometime before dawn, we collapsed in a tangle of limbs, my head on his chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulling me to the most peaceful sleep I’d ever had.

I was really going to miss Toby…

10

Toby

Todaywasnotlikeany other day, for so many reasons. Most mornings, I opened my eyes, a smile already on my face, and I breathed in the fresh island breeze drifting through my window, my heart filled with love and hope. This morning, however, the air was stifled by the heavy storm shutters. Instead of my usual smile, my lips tugged down in a scowl, my heart heavy with regret and dread.

I was about to pay the price for my poor decisions. Again.

I listened, and instead of the gusting wind, I heard only the usual chatter from birds and wildlife celebrating the new day, and my old friend the crashing surf. When I tried to roll out of bed, however, an arm tightened around my waist, dragging me across the mattress until I was pressed up against a warm, hard body. “Stay,” Gabriel mumbled against the back of my neck, his lips brushing over my skin and the rumble in his chest sending a flutter through me.

There was something stiff pressed against my ass cheek, growing harder by the second, and I was tempted to grind back into him for round four—or was it five? I stopped myself, though. While I would’ve loved nothing more than to shut out the disaster that awaited me, staying here in bed with Gabe for a day of pleasure instead, I knew it was time to face the music.

I sighed, peeling his arm from around my body. “Sorry, no can do. I have a lot of work to do this morning.” I slid out of bed and padded over to the closet, the cool air over my bare skin helping to drag me into reality. There would be no light robe for me today. I had to dig deep in my closet for some jeans and a t-shirt, more appropriate for clean-up duty. I would also need some real shoes. I wondered if I still had any socks.

“Work?” Gabriel asked, lifting his head off the pillow to blink around blearily. “The storm?”

“It’s passed.”

“Oh.” He looked almost disappointed as he watched my ass with longing as it disappeared behind a thick layer of denim. “I expected it to last longer.”

“That’s both the joy and the danger of island weather; it’s unpredictable and can change quickly.” I could imagine this kind of weather would drive Gabriel crazy, throwing a daily wrench in his perfectly laid plans. Good thing he wasn’t here to stay… I swallowed thickly and tugged my shirt on.

Gabriel tossed off the blanket, and I averted my eyes quickly, or there was a chance we wouldn’t be leaving this house. “Hey, if you give me a few minutes, I can come with you,” he said, hunting around for his clothes, before remembering they’d been shucked in the living room.

“Here,” I offered, tossing him a pair of sweats over my shoulder without looking.

“Thanks.” I only looked at him after I heard the rustling of fabric to indicate he was no longer naked.

He plonked down on the edge of the bed, looking a little lost. “You know, you don’t have to come with me. Why don’t I track down Luna, our masseuse, and you can get a little pampering at the spa,” I suggested. “I mean, it’s part of the whole experience, right? Important for the review?” As long as the spa hadn’t been blown out to sea.

“The review… right,” he mumbled, frowning.

I hoped he didn’t think that was what the sex had been about, me trying to get a good rating, buttering him up after I’d lied to him about the storm and left him stranded. I debated telling him that, but what was the point? He would be leaving soon, and it didn’t matter what he thought of me. It wasn’t like this could become something more.

I cleared my throat, backing away. “Right, well… I’m gonna… go.” I hiked my thumb in the general direction of the door. “I’m sure I’ll see you before you leave for the mainland.”

“Hey, hang on,” he said, hopping up off the bed, his eyes bright. “I want to help.”

I halted and stared at him for a second. “Y-you want to help clean up instead of getting pampered?”

“Well, yeah. There’s no way I can relax, not when I know you’re working. It’s better when I have a specific task, you know? Somewhere I can focus my energy.”

It would be best if I distanced myself from him sooner rather than later, but when he looked at me with those hazel eyes, I couldn’t say no. “Thanks… I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure.” He smiled at me, and it was like the sun coming out. He was so damn gorgeous when he let his guard down, and it made all the work to get there worth it. I could easily spend the rest of my life earning those smiles—which was why I turned and walked away without a backward glance. “Right. Let’s get to it.”

Gabriel found his shirt right where he left it last night, crumpled up in a damp pile on the floor. “Oh…” Things only got worse when he crammed his feet into his ruined loafers. He did his best to hide his discomfort, but I knew this was like nails on a chalkboard to him, setting him on edge. He was going to hate every minute of this clean-up. We would get dirty and sweaty, and it would be hard work. If he was going to fall apart, this was what would drive him to it. He grabbed his glasses from the coffee table where I’d left them and tried to clean the lenses on his shirt.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob, holding my breath as I prepared myself for the worst. Then in a rush, I opened my door and swung it wide. The pale morning sunlight was glaring after hiding in my cabin with the shutters down. I squinted and brought a hand up to shade my eyes. The delicate hibiscus flowers had been absolutely destroyed, their mangled petals spread across the ground, but I saw at lease one bromeliad still tucked in along the side of my house. The boardwalks were nearly buried under a layer of wet sand, but it was nothing we couldn’t recover from. I blew out a sigh of relief.

I headed toward the main building, not waiting to see if Gabriel followed, but he soon jogged to catch up, his shoulder brushing against mine. For a second, I thought he was going to take my hand, but then he moved away, putting space between us. Space, yes. That was exactly what we needed now.

As we walked the short distance, I felt my brows drawing down in a scowl. The relief I felt now was only more evidence that I hadn’t made the right decisions about this storm. Someone could’ve been hurt, and it would’ve been all my fault. Being carefree didn’t mean careless. I made a vow to myself that this wouldn’t happen again. Next time, I would take precautions.

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