Page 12 of His Bride

“The sooner we do this, the sooner we get to do other things.” Like installing anchor points in our bedroom ceiling and exploring the rest of that clever first aid kit he brought. We only have four full days here, and I want to squeeze in as much unfettered kink asIcan.

But kayaking is fun. Maybe. Intheory.

He holds up a slim life jacket, which covers up the bikini top, but not before he gives me an appreciative once over. Bikini, job well done. “Personal floatation device,” he says as he helps meintoit.

“It’s lighter than I’musedto.”

“This one is for kayaking—less bulky. We’re not going far from shore, but you’d inflate it here if you needed to.” He flashes me areassuringgrin.

Well, I’m an excellent swimmer, even if I’ve never kayakedbefore.

Moments later, Gavin is wearing a matching one inblack.

“Ready, Sprite?” he asks as pulls me in for a toe-curlingkiss.

“To go back to bed?” I ask with enthusiasm and just a little touch of brattiness. “Youbet.”

“Don’t worry, I have plans for a nap later. If you’re not good with this, we can skip it,” he says, nodding towards thekayak.

“No, I’ll be fine. Really. Let’s go.” I am a little nervous, but I know if Gavin thought there was any risk, we wouldn’t begoing.

He steps into the water and straddles the kayak. “Climb in while I hold it steady, then we’llbeoff.”

Easier said than done…but then I climb in, and it’s not as difficult as I thought. Once I’m in, I turn to watch him, but the boat wobbles a bit, so I immediately face the front again. Then before I expect it, we’re off, gliding along the smooth water like a skateacrossice.

And it’s lovely. I think that might be my word for the morning. Lovely cabin, lovely husband, lovely excursion in a kayak I didn’t know was missing frommylife.

We stick fairly close to the coastline. Gavin points out a few things as we go, including where the RCMP is quietly watching us from hidden points acrosstheway.

“See those caves?” I turn to see him pointing at a small cliff on the island. “They’re made of limestone, and carved out by centuries of tidal movement and waves crashing against cliffs. Pia and I spent a huge portion of our childhoods playinginthem.”

My lower belly flutters at the idea of our children spending a carefree childhood playing in these same caves. “I bet you played pirates,didn’tyou?”

He chuckles behind me. “Of course I did.” We continue around to the other side of the island, then Gavin brings us to a complete stop. “Look up into the trees. See that really tall tree? Look at theverytop.”

I look to where he’s pointing, and I can see something kind of bushy that doesn’t seem to be part of the actual tree. “Whatisit?”

“Baldeaglenest.”

Oh, wow. I squint, trying to see it. “Seriously? There are eagles on yourisland?”

“Yup. And this time of year, there should even be babies in it. Maybe we’ll come back out with the binoculars before we have to leave in case we can catch a glimpse of feeding time. There’s all kinds of wildlife here on and around the island. Maybe we’ll even see some sea otters. They like to come and sun themselves onthedock.”

“That’ssocute.”

“Yeah, they really are. But, I think the cutest is when the baby racoons come onto the deck and have a peek in the windows. Curious littlecritters.”

It’s nearly lunch time by the time we’ve completed our circumnavigation of the island and Gavin sends me inside while he deals with the kayak andstuff.

After I strip, leaving an all too short trail of bikini bits for Gavin to follow, I root through the fridge. I am amused to see a number of containers labelled with the day and which meal they are for. Once I find the ones markedSunday lunch—which turns out to be red skin potato salad, grilled sausages, and watermelon—I serve it up and wait for Gavin tojoinme.

One benefitof being naked is that I get to watch from a safe distance while Gavin uses powertools.

By Tuesday evening, he’s installed anchor points in all sorts of subtle places around the cabin, and tied me up and spanked me to test themallout.

My favourite might be the ones on the inside of the legs on my favourite chair in the living room. The metal loops are hidden by the slipcovers, which Gavin has already thought ahead and brought another set in ourluggage.

I’d wondered why so many suitcases arrived ahead of us, especially when I’d been told to pack verylittle.

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