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“You have one week.”
“What?” Sierra mumbled as she woke up and stretched her sore muscles. She felt aches in places she didn’t know possible to feel pain. She’d lost track of the number of times Damien had woken her during the night with his hands sliding over her body.
They made love once more in the night, though after that he’d continued to use his hands and mouth to do things to her she hadn’t known were possible.
A shudder racked her as she remembered her last orgasm. She’d literally blacked out afterward. The man knew his way around the female anatomy.
“I called the board and told them everything’s on hold for one week so I can take you exploring,” Damien said.
Sierra looked at him in awe. Was this the same man she’d arrived on the jet with? He was actually smiling at her. She’d never seen him looking so carefree and happy.
“You called who?” she asked, her brain still foggy from lack of sleep. She glanced at the clock, noticing it was almost ten. She never slept that late. Of course, she hadn’t slept much at all last night, so it didn’t really count.
“I called my board of directors, here. I told them to put everything on hold that something important came up.”
“Really?” She grinned, starting to feel excitement.
“Really. Now, I have a hot bath ready for you to ease your aches, and room service will be here in forty minutes. I told them to send up double of whatever they’ve been sending all week.”
At the thought of feeling so completely taken care of, Sierra couldn’t help but pull his head close to her, kissing him good-morning. His arms quickly wrapped around her as he deepened the kiss. She forgot all about the bath and food.
“No,” he said with a chuckle as he untangled them and jumped from the bed. She was disappointed to see he was already dressed.
“We could stay in bed a while longer,” she offered shyly.
“You’re going to be the death of me, woman,” he groaned as he took another step back.
Sierra felt instantly self-conscious. Maybe she’d been horrible at sex and he was taking her on a tour of the island to avoid sleeping with her again. Her good mood instantly vanished.
“Hey,” he said as he quickly bent down and lifted her naked body into his arms. “What’s with the face?”
“I…guess it wasn’t that great for you,” she mumbled, feeling her face flush her humiliation was complete.
“Are you kidding me? It was fantastic!” he exclaimed, his eyes rounding in shock.
“Then…uh…why don’t you…” she trailed off, too embarrassed to finish the sentence.
“Oh, I want to, I really, really want to, but the reality is that last night was your first time, Sierra. You’re sorer than you realize which is why I drew a bath for you. I had some special salts sent up to help with the soreness. You’ll feel it soon, believe me,” he said as he started walking to the bathroom.
They entered the steam filled room and he carefully lowered her into the almost scalding tub.
“Too hot,” she screeched, trying to scamper back out.
“Give it a minute and you’ll adjust. The heat will work on your sore muscles. When we get back tonight, we’ll take a bath together and I’ll rub the aches out of you,” he said, his eyes dilating.
She was still unsure if he was humoring her or not, but he did seem to be uncomfortable. As if he could read her mind, he reached out and grabbed her hand, quickly placing it on the stiffness straining against his pants.
“You turn me on so much that this is killing me not to take you. You’re something to behold, surrounded in bubbles, your breasts skimming the water’s surface…It’s going to cause me to have a stroke,” he growled before giving her back her hand.
Sierra felt elation fill her as she took in his pinched features. She felt a surge of power unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Testing her newfound boldness she pushed her breasts up, exposing them to his view.
His gaze snapped to her curves bobbing on top of the water before finally moving back to her face. She smiled at him in what she hoped was a seductive manner.
He glared for a moment before turning around and practically running from the room. Sierra felt so good, laughter spilled out as she lay back in the comfortable tub and let the heat start working her sore muscles.
When she started washing her body, she realized he was right. As she came in contact with the sensitive area between her thighs, she grimaced. It was incredibly tender down there. She gritted her teeth and finished washing, then climbed out and found the fluffy white robe hanging behind the door.
She wrapped it around her before brushing her teeth and putting her hair up in a bun. She placed a minimal amount of makeup on, and went to find Damien. Her day was starting out great.
She found him in the dining area, a table with covered dishes already waiting.
“Sit down. We have a lot of ground to cover today, so you’ll want to fill yourself,” Damien said as soon as she entered the room.
“Where are we going?”
She sat and he lifted the lid, exposing the French toast and extra crispy bacon she loved. She picked up a piece and started nibbling as she waited for him to speak.
“It’s a surprise.”
She’d never been surprised before and found herself even more excited. She hurriedly ate her meal so she could get dressed and leave the room. It was large and beautiful, but after a week, the enormous space felt claustrophobic.
Sierra was surprised when the bellhop came to start packing their luggage. Where were they going?
“We have a short flight so we can do this right. Make sure you have your swim suit,” Damien told her, but he wouldn’t say anything further.
As they made their way downstairs Sierra was giddy with excitement. She couldn’t imagine what they’d possibly be doing, but she’d wanted to go swimming since she’d arrived, and not just in the hotel pool.
They got into the car and drove straight to the airport where they boarded the jet. She sat back, her eyes glued to the windows as the jet took off and climbed into the air. Before long they began making their decent.
“First stop is Cairns,” Damien said as the removed their seatbelts.
“Isn’t this where the Great Barrier Reef is?” Sierra asked, wishing she had her dozens of pamphlets she’d collected back at the hotel.
“Yes, and that’s our first stop. I’ve hired a boat. We’re going to tour the reef, then do some snorkeling.”
Sierra wanted to reach over and kiss him she was so happy, but she held back, not sure if he’d welcome that or not. She wasn’t letting doubts ruin her day, though.
They arrived at a large boat, and one of the crew members handed them each a glass of wine as the boat set out. Another of the staff started speaking and Sierra was mesmerized. She loved the rich deep timber of his accent, and to make it even better, he was a humorous and knowledgeable guide.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
“The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, and the biggest single structure made up entirely by living organisms. It’s composed of over twenty-nine-hundred individual reefs, and nine-hundred islands. The total area is over a hundred-and-thirty thousand square miles. Several years back the cable news network named it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.”
“I’m actually seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World?” Sierra asked, elated at the thought.
“I can take you to see them all,” Damien said, his eyes intense as he looked at her. Sierra smiled, knowing it wasn’t a promise, but that he was caught up in the heat of the moment. Still, the thought of traveling the world excited her.
“I’ve never gotten to travel. My father didn’t see it as necessary, so I plan on making up for lost time. This is amazing.”
“You haven’t traveled anywhere?” he asked, his voice radiating disbelief.
“No. I’ve never left the country,” she said, understanding his shock. Bree had been around the world and back a few times, and Sierra had been stuck at home. Come to think of it, she had no clue how Damien had managed to secure her visa so quickly for her trip to Australia. Before she had time to ask him about it, the guide continued speaking.
“The reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. There are a limited amount of people allowed on it, so it’s protected from human consumption. Only a small amount of tourism and fishing is allowed. Recent studies have shown that the reef has already lost more than half its coral cover and we’re trying to prevent more disaster to this natural wonder.”
“Is there a possibility of it being completely destroyed?” Sierra asked.
“I guess the best answer to that would be, anything’s possible,” the man said. It was outlandish for Sierra to imagine something so incredible being destroyed.
“If you both want to go downstairs now, you can view the reef from our protected observatory.”
Sierra didn’t need any more prompting than that. She followed the man down a set of stairs, and then stopped, causing Damien to bump into her. It was amazing. There were seats lined up, and she had a clear view of the underwater reefs. Sea animals were swimming past, the colors of the reef, the animals, the plants all of it was remarkable.
She sat down with Damien quickly joining her and just took it all in. They chatted as the boat slowly toured the area and Sierra was sure this was the best day she’d ever experienced. When the guide came down and told them they were stopping, she wanted to refuse to leave.
“Don’t worry, there’s plenty more,” Damien reassured her. She reluctantly got up and followed him up top.
“Are we leaving already?”
“No, we’re going snorkeling,” he said with a smile.
Sierra didn’t hold back this time as she threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss. It took him only half a second to return it with enthusiasm. The guide, loudly clearing his throat, was the only thing that stopped Sierra from dragging Damien back downstairs to make love below the surface of the water. She put that on her to-do list.
They spent the rest of the beautiful afternoon swimming in the warm water, Sierra seeing marine life she didn’t even know existed. By the time Damien took her back to the hotel, she was barely able to stand on her feet, but the exhaustion was well worth it.
“Are you ready for your bath?”
Sierra turned, her weariness evaporating at the hungry look in his eyes. She couldn’t believe she’d waited so many years to experience love-making. Her body hummed with anticipation of what was to come.
“More than ready,” she answered. After spending the entire day flirting with him, sneaking kisses when they came up for air, and having him touch her body in every intimate spot, she had no worries.
She pulled her shirt over her head, encouraged by the fire lighting in his eyes. She started backing up toward the bathroom as she reached her arms behind her back and unhooked her bra, letting it hang on a moment as his eyes devoured her nearly naked breasts.
When she let it drop to the floor, Damien quickly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, his lips capturing hers in a kiss of hunger. Her nipples ached as her breasts pressed boldly against the material of his polo shirt.
“I’ve wanted you all day. How do you feel?” he asked as his lips trailed down her jaw.
“I feel like I need you inside me,” she said, shocked by her brashness. One night of love-making and she was turning into a nympho. She’d much rather be that than the locked up prude she’d been for the first twenty-five years of her life.
Damien lifted her and carried her the rest of the way to the bathroom. He set her down long enough to start the tub, then finished undressing her, his hands sliding along each inch of skin he exposed.
By the time he stripped and set a row of three condoms on the side of the tub, Sierra was practically dripping wet without having set foot in the tub.
They didn’t climb out until the water was almost cold.