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Dammit, somewhere along the way to a heated affair Will had developed stronger feelings, a deeper bond with Cat than he’d anticipated. And now that he knew he wanted more from her, he was close to losing it all.
“And what do we have, Will?” Her words came out on a choked sob.
“What do you want?”
* * *
What do you want?
Catalina couldn’t hold in the tension another second. There was only so much one person could handle and Will’s simple question absolutely deflated her. Melting back against his body once more, she swallowed the emotion burning her throat.
“I want...” Catalina shut her eyes, trying to figure out all the thoughts fighting for head space. “I don’t know now. Yesterday I knew exactly what I wanted. I was ready to leave Alma to get it.”
Will’s fingertips slid up and down her bare arms, causing her body to tremble beneath his delicate touch. “And now? What do you want now, Cat?”
Everything.
“I don’t want to make things harder for you,” he went on. “But I’m not backing down. Not this time.”
And there was a portion of her heart that didn’t want him to. How could she be so torn? How could two dreams be pulling her in completely different directions?
Because the harder she’d tried to distance herself from him, the more she was being pulled back in.
“I’m afraid,” she whispered. “I can’t make promises and I’m not ready to accept them from you, either.”
His hands stilled for the briefest of moments before he kissed the top of her head. Catalina turned her cheek to rest against his chest, relishing the warmth of his body, the strong steady heartbeat beneath her. Part of her wanted to hate him for his actions years ago, the other part of her wanted to cry for the injustice of it all.
But a good portion of her wanted to forgive him, to believe him when he said that he’d sacrificed himself to keep her safe. Why did he have to be so damn noble and why hadn’t he told her to begin with? He didn’t have to fight that battle all on his own. Maybe she could have saved him, too.
Catalina closed her eyes as the yacht rocked steadily to the soothing rhythm of the waves. She wanted to lock this moment in time and live here forever. Where there were no outside forces trying to throw obstacles in their way and the raw honesty...
No. She still carried a secret that he didn’t know and how could she ever tell him? How could she ever reveal the fact that his father had had an affair with her mother? Would he hate her for knowing?
“Will, I need—”
“We’re done talking. I just want to hold you. Nothing else matters right now.”
Turning a bit more in his arms, Catalina looked up into those vibrant eyes that had haunted her dreams for years. “Make love to me, Will. I don’t care about anything else. Not when I can be with you.”
In one swift, powerful move, he had her straddling his lap. Catalina hissed a breath when her ankle bumped his thigh.
“Dammit. Sorry, Cat.”
She offered him a smile, stroking the pad of her thumb along the worry lines between his brows. “I’m fine,” she assured him as she slid the ties at the side of her dress free. “I don’t want to think about my injury, why we’re stuck here or what’s waiting for us when we get back. All I want is to feel you against me.”
Will took in the sight of her as she continued to work out of her clothing. When his hands spanned her waist, she arched against his touch.
He leaned forward, resting his forehead against her chest as he whispered, “You’re more than I deserve and everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Framing his face with her hands, Catalina lifted his head until she could look him in the eyes. “No more talking,” she reminded him with a soft kiss to his lips. “No more talking tonight.”
Tomorrow, or whenever they were able to get off this island, she’d tell him about his father. But for now, she’d take this gift she’d been given and worry about the ugly truth, and how they would handle it, later.
Fifteen
By the second day, Catalina still hadn’t told Will the truth. How could she reveal such a harsh reality when they’d been living in passionate bliss on a beautiful island in some fantasy?
They’d both fiddled with the radio and tried their cell phones from various spots on the island, but nothing was going through. She wasn’t going to panic quite yet. They had plenty of food and for a bit, she could pretend this was a dream vacation with the man she’d fallen in love with.
