“My thoughts exactly,” he said softly, taking her
into his arms. “But I don’t think I can wait until then,” and he bent his head
and kissed her. She slid her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer
until all he could feel was her warm, pliable body dissolving against his. He
wrapped his arms around her waist and when she sighed and leaned into him,
slipped his hands under her jersey, feeling her warm back.
Her skin was so soft and smooth, he found he
couldn’t get enough of her. His hands slid round her waist and down to her
hips, holding her tightly as he gave in to his own emotions and kissed her so
deeply that she would have no doubt as to the intensity of his feelings. He
felt her shiver in response and kiss him back with a passion that matched his
own. Her kiss was innocent, tentatively exploring with a desire that left him
breathless.
When they finally came up for air he stared in
wonder at the woman he wanted more than life itself. Her hair was mussed and
sexy, her eyes feverish with passion and the way she was looking at him nearly
sent him over the edge. He knew then, in that moment, that he was falling for
her in a way that would normally have scared him if he’d had any time to think
about it. But he was so lost in the moment that he couldn’t string a coherent
thought together. Did she have any idea at all what she was making him
feel?
“You’re driving me wild,” he whispered erotically
into her ear, then proceeded to cover her face with kisses. She smiled but
didn’t answer because he moved on to her neck, and soon she was moaning with
ecstasy instead.
“You’re giving me goose bumps,” she whispered to
which he replied, “I haven’t even started.”
“I think I’m going to fall down if you don’t get me
to that bed,” she told him weakly. “You’ve made my legs go wobbly.”
“That makes two of us,” he murmured as he picked her
up and lay her gently on the hard, single bed, which like all ship beds was nailed
to the floor. His heart was thundering so loudly in his chest he was convinced
she could hear it. He stood next to the bed drinking in the sight of her. She
sat up and silently, not taking her eyes off him, lifted her sweater over her
head, taking with it her thin T-shirt, so she was left only in her bra.
He drew a sharp intake of breath. “You’re so
beautiful, I’m almost afraid to touch you,” he whispered in awe, kneeling down
next to her on the bed. He stared at her, feeling like a schoolboy again, nervous
and uncertain. She raised her hand and placed it tenderly on his cheek.
“Now who’s driving who crazy?” she smiled softly,
her eyes filled with an unspoken invitation. Then she reached under his top and
tugged it gently upwards, a gentle reminder that she was ready. Suddenly his
nervousness disappeared. If he was honest with himself, he’d craved this moment
since he’d opened his eyes and found her straddling him on the plane. Even
though she’d annoyed the hell out of him then, there was no denying his
attraction.
With her help he pulled off his sweatshirt and
groaned out loud as her hands stroked his chest. He looked into her eyes and
saw a mixture of desire and fascination. “I never thought this moment would
come,” she told him sincerely. “I hoped, but…” her voice trailed off.
“You need to learn to be more optimistic,” he said,
gathering her in his arms and feeling her unbelievably soft skin against his
chest. She snuggled into him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. With an
innocent smile that spoke volumes, she pulled him down on top of her.
“How’s this?” she teased.
“Mm…” he found her sweet lips again and in between
hot, languishing kisses, murmured, “now you’re getting the idea.”
Georgina woke up to find Taj lying next to her, his
legs still intertwined with hers, leafing through the documents Max had given
her. She instinctively moved closer to him and rested her head on his
beautiful, strong shoulder. She wondered if this was how Juliet felt when she
woke up the morning after with Romeo in her bed. Relaxed, happy, sensual. She
stretched luxuriously then realised that Max had told her not to show anyone
the documents. “That’s confidential, by the way,” she hurriedly pointed out. “I
forgot to tell you last night because, well, I was a bit distracted.”
“Don’t worry.” He threw the papers on the floor and
bent forward to kiss her naked shoulder. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. All I
can say is Pacific North Productions must have one hell of a budget. I would
give my eye teeth to visit even half of those places.” Now there was an
interesting point to note.
Even more interesting, however, was the sight of
Taj’s naked body as he slid out of the bed and stalked across her room to the
en suite. She was amazed at
His total lack of self-consciousness, but then she
supposed with a body like that he had nothing to be self-
concious
about.
“You relax,” he told her. “I think I’ll take a
shower.”
“Last night was incredible,” she called out after
him. “I had no idea making love could be like that.” She heard the shower come
on and said more softly, “Once again you’ve opened my eyes to something
wonderful and new.”
The shower suddenly stopped and Taj reappeared, a
towel around his waist. Georgina found she couldn’t keep her eyes away from his
tanned torso, complete with toned abs and a sexy scattering of golden hair on
his chest. She vividly remembered exploring his glorious body last night when
it was dark and they had to rely on touch and feel, but it was quite something
to see it in full daylight. She couldn’t actually believe this gorgeous man who
had taught her so much without even trying, was standing in her bedroom wrapped
only in a towel, looking at her as if she was the most desired creature in the
world.
“Do you think anyone will notice if we’re late for
breakfast?” he asked rather gruffly. Speechless, she shook her head.
“Good,” he said, “Because I’ve got a sudden desire
to worship you with my body until the sun can’t get any higher in the sky and
the rest of the gang send out a search party to look for us.
Taj
was
true to his word, it was about midday when a loud knocking at the door roused
them both from an exhausted slumber.
“Hey George? Are you okay?” a voice called out
worriedly.
“It’s Don,” she whispered in horror. “I don’t think we
locked the door last night.”
“I’ll handle it,” said Taj, hopping over her and
pulling on his jeans which lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. He went to the
door and instead of opening it, locked it firmly.
“Glad to see you’re
as
concerned about me,” complained Taj loudly to his friend. There
was a low chuckle.
“I’m guessing George is just fine then,” called Don.
“She’s fine.” Taj’s tone implied no more questions.
“Okay, I get the message,” laughed Don, “Just wanted
to let you know we’re six hours ahead of schedule and currently waiting for the
harbour pilot to guide us into Ushuaia.”
Georgina felt like she’d been hit by a bolt of
lightening. What? They were already only an hour from docking? She glanced at
Taj in a panic, his face was equally pale but he kept his emotions in check.
After the intensity of this morning’s love-making, Georgina knew she was
completely and utterly head over heals in love with Taj. She’d given herself to
him over and over again and he in turn had been gentle and playful, and
passionate to the point where they had both been completely overwhelmed. Now
faced with the cold reality that they would soon be docking, she didn’t know
how to handle the situation.
“I’d better jump in the shower,” she stammered,
pulling the sheet around her and shuffling to the bathroom. She couldn’t look
Taj in the eye for fear she might give in to the abject misery she was feeling
and cling to him in desperation. That would certainly not go down well. She’d
never been clingy and she wasn’t about to start now. She turned on the shower.
“I’ll see you later,” Taj called from the bedroom.
“I’ve got to get ready and pack up my equipment.”
She poked her head around the door and somehow
managed a weak smile, “Okay, see you later then.”
They gazed at each other helplessly, knowing that
time had run out and the real world was waiting to be faced. Taj, his arms
filled with clothes, strode over and kissed her hard on the lips. Then he
turned and left the room. He was gone so fast he didn’t see Georgina’s eyes fill
with tears. Steam was billowing out of the shower. Georgina undressed and
climbed in, letting it engulf her in its hot, misty folds. Perhaps I’ll
disappear in a puff like a character in a magic show, she thought irrationally,
then I won’t have to say goodbye to Taj. Despite the mind-blowing last eighteen
hours, Georgina was under no illusion about the difficulty of their situation.
She was well aware of Taj’s take on relationships – he’d made that abundantly
clear. With the life he led and her based in London, they didn’t stand even the
slightest chance.
If, and it was a gargantuan ‘if’, she decided to
move to California and take Max up on his offer, there was still be no
guarantee that a relationship between them would work out. Admittedly the odds
were higher with her being in the same state, at least. Did she love him enough
to take that chance? She knew she did. Perhaps the Pacific North job was a
sign, she thought hopefully, rubbing shampoo viciously into her hair. Maybe it
was the Universe trying to tell her something, like:
Move to America,
take a chance with Taj, you may never see him and it may all fade away, but
you’ll never know unless you try.
What had
Taj
said that
night in the bar? ‘Here’s to a life less ordinary’ and she had raised her glass
and drunk, so now she was obligated to uphold her end of the deal. She knew
what she was doing. She was psyching herself up to accept the offer, and it was
working. Quite honestly, could she really go back to her life in London now, to
interview celebs with glamorous, exciting lives, knowing she could have had one
too, if only she hadn’t passed up the opportunity?
She could almost hear Taj whispering, ‘You have to
learn to be more optimistic,’ well, now she would be. She owed it to herself to
do this.
Feeling somewhat calmer she smoothed conditioner
onto her hair, only to discover it was actually ‘foaming face wash’ and she
wasn’t calm at all. Did that mean she’d decided to accept Max’s offer? She
stood under the now lukewarm water staring at the wall in front of her. After
about five minutes a voice inside her head yelled,
you have to get out now, you can’t stay hiding in here forever!
She
knew the voice was right and still feeling bewildered at her sudden decision
she forced herself to step out of the shower and get dressed.
Just breath, she told herself firmly. Everything
will be all right. You’ll go back to London, resign, work out the month and
then pack up and move to California. At least the weather was better there.
Immediately after packing she went searching for Max
Copeland. She found him lounging in a deck chair on the upper deck, watching as
the harbour pilot guided them into the historical sea port.
“Max, I’ve decided to accept your offer,” said
Georgina immediately, before she had a chance to change her mind.
He jumped up with the all the speed and aptitude of
a gazelle and engulfed her in an bone-crushing bear hug.
“Fantastic news!” he cried. “You won’t regret it,
darlin’, I promise you.”
Georgina smiled at his enthusiasm. “I still have to go
back and talk to my editor,” she told him, “So I can only start in April.”
“Absolutely! No problem,” gushed Max delightedly.
“I’m over the moon at having you on board. I must go and call my partner to
tell him the good news. Oh, and I need to ring the lawyers to draw up the
contract. Don’t think I’m letting you go back to that rainy
ol
’
island without signing on the dotted line, girly!”
Georgina laughed, she couldn’t help it. “Okay Max,
whatever you say. You’re the boss.”
“Damn right I am, honey,” he chuckled. “Didn’t I
tell you Max always gets his way?”
“Yes you did, Max. Yes you did.”
Leaving him to sort out the paperwork, Georgina set
off in search of Amy and Claude. She wanted to say goodbye and exchange
numbers. Now that she was moving, she’d be able to see them more regularly too.
The thought cheered her immensely.
Taj
finally appeared on deck just before the ship docked. He was surrounded by
camera equipment and epitomised cool in a grey sweatshirt, worn under a trendy
black jacket, with the hood hanging over the top. His thick ‘David’ curls were
still damp from his shower and dark Ray-bans covered his eyes. He looked like a
cross between a fighter pilot and a Michelangelo. Remembering how she’d had him
all to herself only hours before, Georgina went weak with longing. The frenetic
activity on board prevented her from talking to him privately, and all too soon
it was time to disembark. Everyone was hugging each other and shaking hands.
Don kissed her on the cheek and said, “I have a funny feeling I’m going to be
seeing a lot more of you.”