Page 81 of Have To Be Mine

I slipped out of bed and went to my cabin to get dressed, brush my teeth, and do a little something with my hair. Then I headed up to find the crew already preparing for our beach excursion. The captain informed me we’d be arriving at the private cove within the hour. Everything was on schedule.

By the time I got back to the cabin, Krista was awake, sitting up in bed with the sheet pulled up around her chest, hair gloriously messy. I couldn’t believe she always wore it in a ponytail or bun. That mane needed to be free.

“Morning,” she said, her voice still rough with sleep.

“Morning. We’ll be at the beach soon. Crew’s making breakfast.”

“Beach?”

“Another surprise.”

I wanted to climb back into that bed with her. I wanted to peel that sheet away and pick up where we’d left off. But I also wanted to get her to that beach and give her another perfect day before we dug into the last big challenges of this campaign.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s eat and then go play.”

“Play?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. You know that thing normal people do when they’re not working themselves into the ground?”

She smiled and threw a pillow at me.

An hour later, the yacht anchored in a secluded cove with crystal-clear turquoise water and white sand. It was postcard perfect. The crew lowered a smaller boat to take us ashore along with a cooler full of food and drinks. The beach was completely private. Not another soul in sight. Just us, the sand, and the endless blue water.

“This is unreal,” Krista said, turning in a slow circle to take it all in.

She was wearing the swimsuit I’d taken off her last night. Getting to see it in daylight was an experience. This was who should be in our product launch. She wasn’t model perfect, with her womanly curves, but she would look jaw dropping.

“Stop staring,” she said.

“Stop being so gorgeous.”

The crew had set up a small table with an umbrella and chairs, along with everything we’d need for the day.

“They’re really just leaving us here?” Krista asked.

“They’ll come back in a few hours. Or when I call them. Whichever comes first.”

“What if something happens?”

“Like what? A shark attack? Pirates?”

“Uh, stingray attack. I don’t know.”

I pulled out my phone and held it up. “Satellite phone. We’re covered. And they won’t be so far away they can’t get back to us in an emergency.”

She nodded, but I could see her trying to relax into the idea of being completely alone with me on a deserted beach. The control freak in her was probably cataloguing all the potential disasters.

“Relax. Please. Just for today.” I took her hand. “Try it for me.”

She took a breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. You’re right. I’m being ridiculous.”

“You’re not ridiculous. You’re just not used to letting yourself loosen up. Come on. Let’s go swimming. That’ll work off some of that tension.”

I stripped off my shirt and headed for the water, knowing she’d follow. She wasn’t one of those women who was afraid to get her hair wet or have her makeup melt away. Probably because she was beautiful either way.

The water was perfect. Cool enough to be refreshing, warm enough that I didn’t want to immediately get out. I dove under and came up, pushing my hair back from my face. Krista was standing at the water’s edge, testing it with her toes.

“It’s not cold,” I said.