Page 48 of Handsome
“Adventure. I normally avoided danger, but I remember staring into the eyes of a bull with a nose ring and realizing I was mortal.” His face reddened as he continued. “I ran with the bulls and decided to get close enough to let them run me over.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Why?”
“The running of the bulls in Spain was always a childhood dream that my parents had forbidden me to do. Until the moment I realized I’d be trampled, I believed they were being overprotective.” He laughed and then said, “I was young and obviously stupid. When the bull got close enough that I could see his muscles rippling and the blaring sound of his hooves on the cobblestones, I jumped as high as I could to get away from those horns.”
I clutched my necklace and asked, “Jumped?”
“To a wall, and I held on for dear life,” he said, “and I still remember how the old stones were rough, and I found finger holes probably made by people like me who’d been just as idiotic as I was. Only pure adrenaline held me together in that moment.”
I checked his arm and fingers for nonexistent scars and said, “I’m glad the bull didn’t do permanent damage.”
He kissed my forehead and said, “Me too. If I get to take you anywhere else in the future, I promise it will be pretty risk-free.”
“I’m sure Joshua will love wherever you take him.”
My heart thumped. I’d never lived in such danger ever. The idea that Cyrus put himself out there struck me.
I never wanted anything bad to happen to Joshua or Cyrus, and I’d do everything I could to prevent it. But his life sounded amazing, and Joshua would be lucky to learn from such an amazing man for a father.
25
Cyrus
I left Sarah to rock my son while I saw the staff on their way. We had snacks for the evening, enough breast milk in the refrigerator for my son, and now we’d have absolute silence ‘til seven in the morning, when they began preparing breakfast to be served around nine.
Today had been a great day. Long, but great.
I took a moment to watch it end. The sun would set soon, and I wanted to take this time to think about how, at this moment, everything I ever wanted was within reach.
Sarah made everything work.
She was brighter than the sun’s reflections on the water. I sprinted back to Sarah, who’d put Joshua down in his room next to hers.
Part of me wondered if she’d share my room, but she hadn’t mentioned it during the tour. As I neared her room, I saw her tiptoe out of the nursery and, when she spotted me, whispered, “Dinner was delicious.”
I took a deep breath. The air smelled like strawberries, which I now associated with Sarah. I licked my lips and gazed down at her. She pressed her hand on my arm, and my skin tingled from sparks. I then met her eyes and said, “We could dance now.”
She sucked on her bottom lip and shook her before pointing outside and saying, “I want to try out the pool. Do I have a bathing suit?”
Right. I brought her to my island so we could be alone. I ducked a little and whispered in her ear, “The island is mine. We can go skinny-dipping.”
She sucked on her bottom lip and blinked. Then she kept her voice almost in a whisper and asked, “Won’t the staff see us?”
“They went home for the night.” I said and stilled. If I went too far, I might push her away.
Earlier, I had the sense that she wanted to have more adventures in her life, and here, right now, we could dare. If she let herself. She was safe.
Her face reddened. Then she giggled, nodded, and said, “And you told me you were always the serious one.”
Not with her, I wasn’t. She took my hand and charged out to the pool with me.
The evening air still retained the heat of the day. Seeing her naked out in the open was a treat. I half wondered if maybe it would be best if we didn’t indulge in the physical. We walked to the counter where the staff stored the towels and took out a couple for each of us.
She grinned at me, and we walked over to the pillows that doubled as loungers, where she lowered her lashes which left me unable to read her.
My heart raced when she lifted her shirt. I didn’t dare move. Then she shimmied her pants off and reached behind her back to take off her bra.
For a second, she paused and glanced into my eyes, and my pulse zipped. Her face pinkened, but then she undid her bra.
