Babymoon Read online

  To both my and Jax’s surprise, Austin is here, but of course, still behaving like his aloof and stoic self. Why did he even bother to show up if he’s so blasé about it? A strange knot forms in my stomach; it’s because he felt obligated to join us after our massage therapists teased him about my invitation. And now, it feels like I’ve been chasing him, which I have not.

  Impossibly, Austin seems even more distant than usual, but then again, his aviators hide a lot.

  Finally, I see what’s got him preoccupied. He’s watching the errant kid.

  The kid, whose name is Isaac from what I’ve gathered from his older sister’s scolding of him, is ignoring his sister’s admonishments. “Isaac! You’re missing it. The part about the island gods.”

  Isaac is far more interested in examining a giant tortoise that has ambled up the path. He mounts it like it’s a horse, and the tour guide stops talking.

  “In 1877—Please get off the tortoise before you injure him. Now, where was I?” Unlike a lot of the overly accommodating resort employees, I can tell Brooks pulls no punches when guests are misbehaving.

  The mom scoffs, “Well, you don’t have to be so sharp with him. He’s only seven.”

  Surprising me, Jax claps back in defense of our tour guide. “Well, if you won’t supervise your kid, someone has to.”

  I glance over at the mom, who looks like she’s about to take off her earrings. Jax looks back at her as if she’s daring her to make a move. Austin is smirking, apparently looking forward to a catfight.

  That’s when it happens.

  Isaac, the little shit, slides off the tortoise’s back and, with a loud “Whee!” goes tumbling down the wall of the crater.

  “Isaac!” the dad shouts while the mom screams.

  Then everyone in the group is panicking and rushing to the edge.

  When I look down, little Isaac has slid down the earthen slope on his stomach, slowed by the friction of soil and rocks and small plants. He is unhurt and indeed looks as if he’s having the time of his life.

  I watch as Austin curses, then climbs down after him. “Hang on,” he mutters as if this happens every day.

  We all watch as Austin grabs hold of a vining plant and lowers himself down, calmly talking to Isaac the entire time. Isaac’s feet slip around on a mossy rock, but he’s holding on to the base of a small tree.

  Austin is about three feet above the kid. “Isaac, buddy, how are you doing?”

  The kid responds, and for the first time, sounds a little worried. “I’m…I’m okay.”

  Austin is trying to hang on while holding onto the line and unwind it. He finally has enough slack let out that he can drop it down to Isaac. I’m sweating so much my whole body is soaked. Even though this is a tense moment, I can’t keep my eyes from traveling down to those mountain climber calves.

  Not the time, Sierra, I think to myself.

  The vine drops down to where Isaac is, but just as he’s about to grab for the vine, his feet slip in the mud three more feet. The entire group shrieks in fright. Austin gives up on the vine idea and then inches his way down. He’s just going to grab this kid, somehow.

  Thank god Isaac is now staying put. I look over at his mom, and I can’t help it; I feel a little sad for her. Sure, she should’ve been watching her kid, but no mother deserves to go through this. Finally, Austin has climbed down to where Isaac is, and carefully he loads the kid on his back.

  “Okay, buddy?”

  The kid’s voice is shaky, but he says he’s okay.

  With the kid on his back, Austin begins his slow, careful climb up the cliff. The tour guide has climbed down to meet them halfway, having lashed himself to a tree near the top of the cliff. He reaches down and grasps Austin’s hand, and the two big, masculine arms strain as they together work to pull themselves and the child to safety. When all three reach the trail at the cliffside, the tour guide passes the kid off to Isaac’s father as Austin slumps over in a heap.

  Everyone else rushes around Isaac and his family, making sure he’s okay. The tour guide is checking him over for injuries.

  Me? I’m checking on Austin.

  Chapter Seven

  Austin

  If I take Sierra’s offered hand, I’m just going to drag her down here with me. She’s a welcome sight after what just happened. I have the urge to tug her down here on the ground with me and kiss her until I stop trembling in abject terror.

  But studying her face, she’s just concerned for me, an old man who just did a thing he never thought he was capable of.

  She’s probably feeling sorry for me as I wince and wave off her help. I come to standing and try not to make it evident that my entire body hurts. Dammit. Forty is not the new twenty, that’s for sure.

  “That was incredible,” she says. Her lovely eyes are wide as they gaze up at me.

  “Anybody here would have done the same thing.”

  She shakes her head. “You were quicker on your feet and…very agile. You saved his life.”

  Not going to lie; that does puff up my ego a bit.

  “Well, thanks for saying that, I guess,” I say.

  She laughs. “No. Thank you for doing what you did. He would have died.”

  I shrug. “He probably wouldn’t have died. Most likely would have just slid all the way to the bottom and then fell into the hot spring. Provided he can swim, he would have lived.”

  She covers her mouth, but her eyes are laughing. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation three feet away from Isaac and his family.

  The Isaac family heads back up to the mountain top, where they will be cutting off their adventures for the day with a ride back to the hotel. Brooks looks pale and shaken.

  “Austin, do you mind escorting these ladies the rest of the way down to the spring while I take the family back up to the rim?”

  Sierra looks up at me and sees me hesitating. “Try not to squirm. I’m not the worst body to ever wear a swimsuit.”

  The truth is I’d rather have my teeth pulled than be forced to see her in a bikini.

  Not because she wouldn’t look good. But because she’s fucking gorgeous. And sweet. And too damn tempting.

  But, it’s evident to everyone that Brooks needs help, and I’m nothing if not a helper.

  “Yeah. Yeah, sure, buddy. No problem.” My voice is strangely dry and more raspy than usual. Grudgingly, I decide it’ll all be okay if her friend is with her. No funny business in the hot spring, then. I can be a disinterested lifeguard; that’s it. I’m a grown-ass man in charge of my urges and desires, after all.

  Brooks radios for the golf cart to meet him and Isaac’s family at the mountain top. “All right. I’ll take them back to the hotel. You just radio me when you’re done with your swim.”

  “I’ll join you,” Jax says to Brooks. My stomach falls into my feet.

  Sierra calls after her friend, “Wait, where are you going? I wanna finish the tour!”

  Jax turns around and says, “You and your new friend can finish the tour together. One on one.” She then curtsies and slips her arm through the tour guide’s arm, chattering away as they trek back up the trail.

  Sierra’s mouth gapes as she watches them go, then turns to me.

  “We can skip the swim if you want,” I say.

  She arches an eyebrow. “Listen, I didn’t spend half the day in a humid crater, only to pass up the chance to swim in a volcanic hot spring. I am already in my swimsuit under these shorts. Besides, you’re my tour guide, now. You have to be there to protect me from the island gods.”

  Fuck. It’s not the island gods she should be worried about.

  The bottom of the trail spills out into a wide landing at the edge of the cloudy blue pool. I’ve visited this spot many times before, but I’ve never seen the caverns through someone else’s eyes.

  “This might be the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Sierra says.

  I walk around the edge of the pool and look for a spot to lay ou
t the blanket to sit on for our lunch. Hopefully, she won’t want to swim first. Maybe I can convince her to eat and then wait for twenty minutes because of the whole stomach cramp thing. I know it’s a myth, but perhaps I can stall for as long as possible.

  Looking back, I see Sierra pulling off her top and dropping her shorts, revealing the same style of string bikini I saw on her that day we first met. Only, it’s a bright purple color, and she makes it look magnificent next to her hair and skin.

  All the important bits are covered, but only just. The thin layer of purple could disappear with a single tug of that string.

  And everything about Sierra conspires to tug away at the layers that have protected me from giving in to temptation.

  I’m not a religious man, but I’m praying to the island gods for help now.

  Even worse than silence, I picture their response to be nothing but knowing laughter.

  Fuckers.

  Chapter Eight

  Sierra

  “Come on in; the water’s fine.”

  The whole place is so perfect I might never leave. The rock sediment gives the water a magical, bluish-white look—the walls of the cavern sparkle with it. I feel as if I’m in some secret hidden dragon’s lair.

  Austin’s having trouble looking at me. “I didn’t bring my trunks. I’ve been down here so many times; I’m sort of over it.”

  I splash him playfully from where I tread water. “Jaded much?”

  “I’m probably not as charming as the kind of guys you’re used to. Sorry about that,” he says.

  His eyes dart everywhere except to me, and I have to work hard not to grab him and pull him into the water.

  “You could just skinny dip if you want. I won’t tell anyone.”

  I could be mistaken, but I think I see his lip twitch, and a flush of pink crawl across his neck. I wish he would look at me with those clear blue eyes. I also kind of want to rub that short-short crop of hair on his head. He’s all lean muscle, and despite him mocking himself for his aging body, there’s not an ounce of fat on him or any sign that he’s less a man than he used to be. Not that I knew the man before. I wish I had. I like talking to him.

  And I did promise Jax I would get good and reckless.

  I smile up at Austin mischievously and I dive underwater, swimming across to the other side and back again.

  “It’s okay if you don’t like my company. I don’t mind swimming alone,” I say. Okay, I admit; I’m laying it on pretty thick.

  But it works.

  Austin makes a strange noise from somewhere deep in his chest. “All right, turn around.”

  I’m thrilled and surprised, so of course, I do as he says. I swivel and face the far wall and listen.

  “No peeking,” he orders.

  “I would never,” I say, chuckling. Though in my mind, I’ve got a complete picture of those shorts sliding down his legs, and I feel a twinge of need between mine.

  I don’t turn to look until I hear the splash.

  “Told you it was nice!”

  If I thought he looked sexy and outdoorsy before, Austin soaking wet only enhances all of that by a thousand.

  I watch as he glides through the water, cutting through it smoothly like a sea lion. “Are you part merman?” I laugh. “You look like freaking Aquaman in the water. I look like Ursula.”

  He thinks for a second. “Ursula’s cool, though. She’s got her own thing going on.”

  I splash him playfully. “Wrong answer,” I shout, though I’m not offended. I know what he means. “But that’s about how I feel next to Jax in a bikini.”

  Austin looks confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Legs for days. Not to mention the boobs. It might make me feel better if I could remind myself that her boobs are fake, but they’re not.”

  Despite the already hot water, the temperature seems to rise the more I speak because the smoldering from Austin’s eyes is about ten degrees hotter than anything in this cavern.

  “Can I say something you’re not going to like?”

  I suck in a breath. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this. Lay it on me.”

  The look on his face is one of pure unadulterated sincerity. Where’s the stoic pilot who strolled into the middle of my massage session? Did he change, or am I getting to know him better? Or is he showing more of himself to me?

  “I think you’re brave deciding to have a baby on your own.”

  I cringe. “You’re right. I don’t like that word. There’s nothing brave about me. I’ve got the money and the time. I don’t have a real job, so it’s not like I’ll need child care.”

  Austin stares at me. “So? Who gives a shit. You’re making a huge decision by yourself, and that’s brave whether you like to hear it or not.”

  I sigh. “Brave or crazy?”

  The grunt from him feels like a warning that he wants me to stop putting myself down. “You need to feel both scared and crazy to have a kid either way. And the world needs more people like you to have kids—people who are aware of how huge that decision is. And, people who are nice and kind and can pass on more goodness into the world.”

  I have to inhale deeply because my brain needs more oxygen to absorb what he just said. Did he get hit on the head by a coconut when he was rescuing that kid earlier? “That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me—”

  “Well, I didn't say it to be nice—”

  “—and if you don’t kiss me this instant—”

  I don’t have to elaborate any further.

  And just like that, no more talking. The only sounds in this cavern are from our breathing and from the curious explorations of Austin’s lips on mine.

  Every inch of my skin seems to hum. My brain turns to mush, and I forget what we were talking about.

  It’s not easy to keep kissing when my feet don’t touch the bottom.

  As if reading my mind, he pulls away from the kiss and says, “Follow me.”

  We swim to the other side, where there’s a small rocky ledge beneath the surface of the water. I swim over to it and hoist myself up to sit next to him. Now I’m a little chilly because I’m exposed to the cool cave air.

  I let out a little involuntary shiver, and Austin sees it. His arms circle around me, closing me in, hemming me in from the lower temperatures. He further warms me with movement of his mouth against mine. Austin kisses my top lip, then my bottom, then both cheeks, which makes me grin stupidly. The next time he kisses my bottom lip, his tongue slides against it, and his teeth nip me there, just a touch.

  The wicked dipping of his tongue stokes the fire between my thighs. I let out a sigh and another shiver. Austin takes this as a sign that I’m still cold and flattens me against his chest, letting go of the kiss to wrap me up in a warm hug. “You cold?”

  “No.” My lashes flutter against his chest where he grips me, and I hear the strange growling noise again coming from his chest.

  “You’re lying,” he says. When his lips find mine again, he feels as if his body demands it. With my eyes closed, I feel his hands grip my face. My arms circle his torso; I don’t dare hug him any lower because he’s naked and I don’t want to brush up against anything I shouldn’t. Actually, yes, I do want to do that, but I’m not going to. Not yet anyway.

  I’m astounded that he can kiss me so passionately and not try to grope me anywhere else. I would like him to grope me, pet me, do all sorts of things. But he’s such a gentleman; I’m afraid to take the lead away from him.

  The next time his tongue touches my lip, I open my mouth and slip the tip of my tongue out to do the same to him. A slight groan escapes his throat, and our tongues tangle in a warm, sensual dance. Sparks of pleasure glide all over from the roots of my hair down to my toes, spiking my nipples into tight little nubs. I’m letting loose, and I’m happy.

  We pull away from the kiss, breathless.

  Austin’s mouth shines with my sheer lip gloss.

  I dab away some of the gloss with my thumb, and
my filthy mind conjures an image. No, don’t go there, horny brain. Don’t you start wondering if this is how he might look after going downtown. If his sheer commitment to kissing is any indication, then the other stuff. Oh lord…

  “What are you looking at me like that for?” he says.

  Just then, my stomach rolls and gurgles, and the sound is made worse by the echoing inside this cavernous space.

  “You’re hungry,” he says. “Lunchtime.”

  I am hungry. But not for food. I’m hungry for this man to put his hands on me and drop the gentlemanly act. I want him to be ruthless with me. Pull me on top of him and make me scream. Cause a cave-in. Bring this volcano back to life. Hold me down against the floor and look for buried treasure in my pussy.

  God, what’s wrong with you, Sierra?

  I nod dumbly.

  He kisses me one more time. I’m so hot all over that I hope it’s just a peck—the kiss of a dead fish. But of course, it’s not. It’s a deep, full, thorough, arousing tongue kiss. Oh god. It’s so good. And leaves me wanting so much more. I heard the groan from him; I know this is not enough. So why is he swimming away from me now? Who cares about lunch?

  Maybe I’m not a good enough kisser for him. Perhaps he was testing the waters, and he’s not that into me.

  I watch him swim to the other side of the underground spring, and I wait for him to hop out of the water first. Brazenly, I watch him. Austin’s round, mountain-climber’s backside and muscular thighs sear into my brain. He’s taking his time like he knows I’m watching.

  “You can use my towel,” I tell him. The idea of sharing a towel with a random man would gross me out under normal circumstances. It doesn’t seem to bother me now, not after swapping spit. I hop down from the ledge until I’m submerged once again from the neck down, and I tread water, rubbing my thighs together like a horny teenager. His back is still to me, shaking water off his legs. Watching this, I fight the urge to reach my hand down between my legs. Until I stop fighting. I just go ahead and do it. My hand slides down inside my bikini bottom, and with my eyes trained on him, I do the deed while watching him dress. The way he’s bent over, sliding his shorts back on, I’m in no doubt this floor show is for my benefit.