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“I like the sound of that.” I crack one eye open, looking up at him. “Seems like he knew that we defiled every surface inside the house.” I giggle.
Spending two weeks in Mads’ Hawaii home in Kauai really has been a dream and for as much as I know he means it when he says we can stay, I know we can’t. He has businesses to run back home, and I want to dive in headfirst into my new position as the head of Philanthropy and Corporate Giving at my father’s company, Wagner Communications. I’m also working with Ashford Financial as Mads is helping me broker a deal with a company that wants to purchase the company and rebrand it, Tokyo Industries, the large company that Dane had previously tried to buy.
Mads eventually confided in me that he was the reason that the previous deal with Ashford fell through and he, in turn, made an offer to Tokyo and his company purchased them. Now, it comes full circle and I know that Mads takes a lot of pleasure in knowing that not only will Tokyo Industries own Ashford, since Bishop Enterprises owns Tokyo, he essentially owns Dane’s company, hisbrain childas he liked to call it.
“Oh, don’t worry, we have many more surfaces to defile.” He winks at me. “You ready for me to draw you a bath and pour some champagne?”
I stretch my arms overhead, stifling a yawn as I nod my head. We’ve created a little routine here. Each night before the sun sets, Mads draws me a bath in the large primary bathroom that has a retractable wall. The tub is then completely open to the outside, overlooking the scenic mountains that touch the ocean. Then we sit and talk, while I soak and enjoy my champagne and he brushes my hair or rubs my feet. It’s intimate in a way I never knew existed.
“Lavender, tea tree, or jasmine tonight?” He holds up the bottle of essential oils.
“Jasmine.”
He pours a generous amount into the tub as the water begins to fill it. I strip out of my bikini, wrapping myself in the luxurious silk robe he had embroidered with my name on it. He lights the candles strewn throughout the bathroom, putting on some easy listening jazz on his phone as he pulls the stool he sits on next to the tub.
I step toward him, sliding the robe down my body so it falls in a puddle at my feet. “I love you.” I whisper the words against his lips as I lean down to kiss him. He looks up at me, my hands in his hair as we stare at one another. We’ve had several of these moments during our honeymoon. Words don’t do justice to how we feel in these moments so we don’t speak at all. We simply exist in each other’s presence.
Finally, I sink beneath the warm water, letting it relax my muscles. Mads’ hands work on my shoulders, rubbing additional oil over my neck. He leans forward every so often, his lips tickling my skin before he plants a warm kiss against me.
“I have a surprise for you when we get home.” He kneads my head, his hands in my hair as he works shampoo over my scalp.
“Surprise? What kind of surprise?”
“Something I am hoping will be enough to keep you satisfied.”
“Hmmm, that’s interesting. I thought I was already satisfied with you.”
His movements stop and he leans down, his mouth at my ear. “Are you satisfied, Mrs. Bishop?”
“Very.” I reach my hands back and grab his forearms for a moment. “Are you, Mr. Bishop? Can you handle only one woman for the rest of your life?”
“Can I handle only one woman? Yes. Can Ihandleyou?” He chuckles. “I’m up for the challenge.”
I spin around to face him, my hair piled high on my head with suds. I hold the edge of the tub, looking up at him. “Who else have you loved, Mads?”
He stares at me for a second. “Only you, kitten.”
“Seriously, you had to have been in love before I came along. You didn’t have a high school or college sweetheart?”
He doesn’t hesitate this time. “I liked other women, but I didn’t love them. I don’t think I could even if I had tried at the time. Subconsciously, I think I always knew you were out there somewhere, waiting for me.”
I feel a tinge of guilt that I didn’t wait for him. I fell head over heels for someone else right in front of his eyes. He must know what I’m thinking because he reaches out to touch my face gently. “Don’t,” he whispers. “We have each other now and that’s all that matters.”
“Okay, so maybe you didn’t love them but”—I bite my bottom lip—“have you been with over a hundred women?”
“You really think I’ve been with that many women?”
I nod. “Apart from your looks, which are obviously otherworldly, you’re Mads Bishop. Every woman in this city knows who you are. I can remember being in a stall and hearing other women gush about you at different events and parties we were both at. I would laugh to myself when I would hear them talk about how they were going to approach you or get your attention.”
He laughs. “Well, it never worked, I can promise you that.”
“So less than one hundred?”
He leans forward on the stool, placing his elbows on his knees so that he’s closer to me. “Let me put it this way. Since I’ve known you, there’s only been one woman in my bed.” I stare at him in disbelief, expecting him to laugh but he doesn’t.
“One?”
“One.”
