Page 83 of Champagne & Handcuffs
Cat and her mom were in the kitchen preparing dinner while Carroll and I sat under a fan outside. “There’s something I need to ask you, Carroll.”
His gaze flicked to mine. “Okay?”
“I’ve known your daughter almost my entire life. I’ve loved her since I was fifteen. Since I first laid eyes on her. And I know I screwed up letting her get away, but this time, I’m not. I want to marry her. I want to make her my wife and spend the next eighty years making up for the past eleven. I want to give her the world, and I was wondering if I have your blessing to ask for her hand?”
He stared at me for a beat, and I thought he was going to say no, but then he surprised me by saying, “It’s about fucking time.”
22
Cat
Fiji.
We’ve all seen it in magazines or on a TV show or in movies, and when I joked to Seth that I wanted to go there—to escape—I thought my dream was far-fetched. Then he shocked me and actually did it. But I couldn’t let him pay for the entire thing, even if he insisted, so I paid for the flights, and he was going to pay for everything else.
Once we made it to the resort on the Malolo Island, we were escorted to one of the ten private huts or what the locals referred to as bures. Words could not describe the pristine, turquoise lagoon and marine sanctuary. It was awe-inspiring. Once inside, I was breathless as I took in the plush king-sized bed and wood accents throughout. What amazed me the most was the Plexiglas section of the floor that allowed us to see all the fish swimming below. It was pure heaven, and I was in it with Seth. We had our own deck and were told we would have a canape plate from the chef and a glass of champagne daily. When the gentleman mentioned the glass of champagne, Seth turned to me and smirked. Clearly, Seth didn’t need a glass to drink champagne.
“What do you want to do first?” Seth asked as we both fell backward onto the bed.
I was exhausted from the twenty plus hours it took to get here, so my first thought was that I wanted to sleep, but it was still the afternoon, and I didn’t want to miss our first sunset in paradise.
“We could swim and then eat dinner while the sun goes down,” I suggested.
“I like your thinkin’, Kitty Cat.”
“I can’t believethis is our backyard right now,” I beamed as we changed into our suits.
“It really is paradise.” Seth looked out the opened wall. The entire wall was rolled up and revealed the crystal blue water. There were no neighbors to look at, no people walking by. The only thing you could see was a small island in the distance.
We walked out onto our wooden deck and straight into the warm water. It came to the top of my shoulders and to Seth’s pecs. As we swam a few feet, tropical fish swarmed below, and I felt as though I was in an aquarium. I couldn’t get over the reality of where we were, and honestly, who I was with.
A month ago I never dreamed I would be in Fiji with Seth. For so long I had questioned why. Why did Seth take my virginity and not care? Why did I have to fall in love with my best friend? And why did it still hurt after years of trying to find a replacement for him? But, of course, life has a way of working out, and in the end, the pieces fell into place.
If we hadn’t gotten together when I was eighteen, maybe that Tony guy would still be stealing women. Joss finding Bryce had nothing to do with Seth and me, but would things have gone differently if I hadn’t been kidnapped? And what if Seth and I had stayed together when I was eighteen? That didn’t mean we would still be together. Maybe teenage Cat and rookie cop Seth would have never worked out. Now we were older, smarter, wiser, and I was willing to accept that maybe our good thing back in the day fell apart so better things could come together now.
After a long time of soaking in the water, me in Seth’s arms as we talked, we decided to shower and call for room service. As we waited for our food to be delivered, we lounged in bed, staring out at the sun as it set into orange, pink, yellow and red hues.
I wasn’t sure if it was the location or the view or just everything together, but suddenly my mouth found Seth’s and I forgot all our worries. It was slow at first, tasting, teasing, and I realized that I’d never get enough of this man. For so long I yearned for him, and now I could kiss him whenever I wanted.
Seth was kissing me harder, leaning over me as his tongue thrust deeper into my mouth. Shivers raced down my spine, and I moaned, wanting more—needing more. My body missed his touch, the way he felt pressed against me, his hard to my soft. Seth groaned in response, not doing anything except working his mouth against mine as though he was trying to memorize the feel of my lips on his. My mind started to think, overpowering my body that wanted to only feel. Was Seth trying to memorize the way I felt against him? Did he think that, at any moment, I could be ripped out of his life again? That I’d run? If he thought that, he was wrong. But I couldn’t give him more right now because I felt broken, like a piece of me was missing.
Finally, my brain caught up to my body, telling it that my missing puzzle piece was Seth all along. And he was here, now, kissing me with such emotion that I was melting beneath him. I wrapped my fingers in his short brown hair, trying to bring him closer to me—needing to bring him closer to me. If I could, I would crawl into him and never leave because this man was the one who wanted to protect me. My heart exploded in my chest at the thought that I was finally going to get my happily ever after. The one I’d read about in so many love stories. The one I’d longed for since I was twelve years old. The one that was almost stolen from me.
Seth’s hand ran over my breast, and I willed my brain to continue to listen to my body and heart. But as his hand skimmed lower, the memory of the faceless man invaded my thoughts. I cringed. If I couldn’t stand Seth’s hands on me, how was I going to get my HEA?
Seth pulled his lips from mine and looked down at me. “You okay?”
I wanted to tell him yes, but before I could utter a word, a single tear slipped from my eye. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
His thumb brushed my cheek collecting the salty drop. “Don’t be sorry, baby. We’ll go as slow as you need to.”
“How do they do it?”
“Who?” he asked.
“Women who were raped. How do they get past it and have sex again?”
“I don’t really know.”
