AllFreeNovel
Share Us
27
Rescue Me
Gwen
I’m Cinderella—only without the gown, the glass slippers, and the carriage that’s about to turn back into a pumpkin at midnight. I’m completely nude, we have no mode of transportation, and there’s no orchestra playing. There are, however, the sounds of the river rushing by and the birds singing, and a very naked, delicious man that I’m snuggled up against. And, like Cinderella, there’s a ticking clock that is steadily getting closer to the end of the best night of my freaking life. (So, I guess I’m not really like Cinderella at all, other than that desperate sense of urgency she must have felt when she was dancing in Prince Charming’s arms all evening.)
Anyway, the point is, I want to drink in every millisecond of this night together. I want to inhale him, memorize every ridge of his abdomen, every eyelash, every sound he makes, every sigh. I want the scent of him bottled up forever so I can bring myself right back here to this moment of being adored, accepted, personality warts and all, and well … loved, I guess. Isn’t that what it is when someone sees you—like really sees you—and understands you and wants the very best things for you? I think it might be. And I’m not saying he loves me, because I know he doesn’t. He can’t. It’s not in his nature, and even if it were, someone as guarded as Ty Sterling certainly isn’t about to fall in love with someone like me in a matter of a few days. That won’t happen. It’s not happening. But it certainly feels like it’s happening.
We just made love again. It all got started when he kissed me after I said that thing about being the wrong girl. It was like he wanted to prove to me I’m the right one, even though he can’t say it out loud. It felt exactly like he needed me to know. The way he gazed at me and moved his body over mine and held me in a way that was both gentle and intense at the same time. The way he’s holding me right now, still buried inside me even though we’re both completely spent. The way he’s kissing my temples and caressing my hair, as though he can’t get enough of me, which is precisely how I feel about him.
It’s magic.
It’s every girl’s fantasy.
It’s going to end as soon as I wake up tomorrow morning.
So, I’ve decided I’m not going to sleep. I’m going to stay awake all night, fighting to keep my eyes open so I can make this last as long as possible.
“You must be exhausted,” he murmurs. “It must be almost light out.”
“I’m not. I just…” Never want this night to end. “… am really enjoying myself.”
“Good.” He kisses me again. “But if you’re not careful, you’re going to turn into a night owl like me.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad,” I tell him. “If being a night owl comes with all those orgasms.”
“It rarely does,” he says, closing his eyes.
His breathing becomes steady and I watch his beautiful face while I trace my finger over his cheeks and nose and jaw and forehead. His lips part and soon, he’s fast asleep, still holding me close.
I give him the gentlest of all gentle kisses on his forehead, and smile to myself, a sense of pride coming over me for managing to do the impossible—get him to sleep when he’s not in his own bed.
My mind wanders lazily through everything that has happened since we got stranded here on the beach. Working together to set up a camp and gather firewood, laying in the sun to dry off, building a fire and sharing a meal, and then … all the incredible sexy sex. My first thought is I can’t wait to tell Allie, but then I realize the last thing I can do is tell Allie. I’m going to have to keep this secret to myself, which is not something I’ve done since we started working together.
My gut churns a little and I push the thought of betraying my team away. I know it’ll come crashing down on me soon enough. For tonight, I’m going to allow myself to just be right here in this moment with this man. I deserve to have one night like this in my life. Just one.
I think about everything he told me, about his family, and his father. I can see him as a little kid, sitting on the couch with his huge brown eyes and long lashes, staring up at a man who didn’t care about him in the slightest. My heart aches for him and for his brother and mom, even though I’ve never met them. How any man could love a football team more than his own children is beyond comprehension.
And that’s when it hits me. Football club. He’s not just fantasizing about buying the Dallas Destroyers. He is buying it. That Muffy person he’s having followed is the person who owns it, and he must need to make sure she’s not meeting with other buyers or the entire thing could go up in smoke.
I freeze in place, my heart stopping for a second while I take it all in. I have what I need to get what I want. All I have to do is threaten to go public with it. He’d have to give our team the funding to avoid a bidding war. A paltry one hundred million would be a bargain compared to what the team would cost if there were other bidders.
But I can’t do that, can I? Not with everything we’ve just done. Not with the way he’s opened himself up to me and told me things he’s never told anyone. For a man like him—someone so cynical and unable to trust—allowing himself to be this vulnerable is huge. I can’t just betray him to get what I want.
But if I don’t, I’ll screw over not only myself, but my work family. And I can’t do that either. I’ll lose my job, the house I haven’t even moved into yet, and my people, all in one fell swoop.
I close my eyes to shut out the thoughts I don’t want rolling around in my brain. I’m not going to think about that tonight. That’s future Gwen’s problem. Today’s Gwen is going to let herself lay here in the safe, strong arms of a man she has most definitely fallen for. Tonight, I’m going to let myself feel loved and adored and special. I’m going to lay here listening to him sleep, feeling his skin against mine, feeling the love flow back and forth between us—two people, as close as can be.
I’m going to stay awake so I can remember every second of this moment, because when tomorrow comes, it’s all going to come to a crashing end. And there’s no part of me that wants that to happen. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get really lucky and we’ll never get rescued and we can live here in the jungle forever, foraging for food and having sex all day.
Yes, that’s totally possible. I’m going to hope for that. Although I would miss Starbucks. And my friends. Oh, and Christmas—all the songs and the lights. And sitting on my couch instead of on the ground. We would eventually fashion furniture out of trees or something, but it’s not like we’re going to find memory foam out here.
I snuggle in and take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his skin. Honestly, at this moment, I think I’d be willing to trade it all for him. But that’s not going to happen. We’re going to be rescued, and when we are, this is going to be over. This smell will be a distant memory that eventually will be so tucked away in the back of my brain, I’ll completely forget it. So, I’m going to stay awake all night so I can be conscious for every second of this…
I wake to the sound of a man’s voice. “There’s the tent. And … those look to be their clothes strewn all over the ground.”
That’s Rohan.
