Just One Taste (Kimani Romance) (11 page)

Chapter 12

T
he next six days flew by quickly. It was business as usual. Nikita focused on working at the café during the day, and then fulfilling her contract and preparing Chase’s meals in the evening. They were usually something simple since he typically entertained business associates. They ate, she cleaned up, they talked business and she left. Her life was back to normal, but in the back of her mind there was a nagging thought that stayed with her. Chase Buchanan was a temptation she couldn’t afford to satisfy again. One night with him had to be enough.

Nikita slept hard and long. She didn’t have to go to work in the morning, so she didn’t set her alarm and it felt good to just sleep in. She awoke around six-thirty, relaxed and energized. She opened her eyes and looked over at the morning’s bright sunshine beaming through the sheer curtains. She already knew it was going to be a great day. She didn’t have anything in particular planned. She relaxed back and closed her eyes again.

She didn’t remember her dreams as she usually did, but she had a feeling Chase was there. He was always there. She dreamed about him almost nightly. Shaking the stray thoughts away, she got up, showered, dressed and then headed downstairs to her kitchen. As soon as she turned on the lights her passions surged.

She pulled out the recipe she wanted to update and began gathering the ingredients. She mixed her first recipe, put it in the oven, then began fixing something for breakfast. As soon as she placed that in the convection oven the doorbell rang. She walked back through the living room and answered the door. Chase stood in the hallway not smiling. “Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning. Are you okay?” he asked, looking at her face carefully.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry for the intrusion. I stopped by the café this morning. They told me you weren’t coming in today. I thought maybe you were sick or something.”

“And I suppose they gave you my Key West home address, too.”

“Actually, no, that information I got from my assistant.”

She half smiled at the lame excuse. “And where did he get it?” she asked, knowing he wouldn’t tell her.

She was right, he just smiled. “I’m fine. Today’s my day off.”

“Are you going to invite me in?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah, sure, come on in,” she said, holding the door open for him. He walked in past her. The spicy-sweet scent of his cologne was heavenly and sent her insides tingling. He paused in the living room, looking around the small space.

“This is nice—small and comfortable. I like it.”

She smiled. “It works for me. It’s all about location, location, location. I spend long hours at the café, so this is my place to crash close by.” She looked around. “It’s perfect,” she said proudly.

He walked over to the large plate-glass window. The top-floor condominium of the six-story building afforded her the perfect view of the quiet street coming to life below. “Wow, you have a great view from here.”

“Yes, it is. I really love it here, but unfortunately I rarely have the opportunity to enjoy it,” she said, walking over to stand beside him.

“May I?” he asked. She nodded. He unlocked the latch, opened the door and then stepped out onto the balcony. She followed. A warm breeze twisted and spun around them. “Yes, I like this a lot.”

“Would you like something to eat or drink? I was just about to…” Just then a timer in the kitchen sounded. “I’ll be right back,” she said, then hurried to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of oven gloves, reached in and pulled her breakfast out of the convection oven. She inhaled the sweet, delicious flavors of the casserole. It was perfectly done.

“So, this is what you do on your day off,” he said, following her into the kitchen and seeing that she had been baking.

“Yep, I cook,” she said matter-of-factly while peeking in and checking what she was baking in the oven.

“That doesn’t sound like a day off to me.”

“I enjoy cooking and creating new recipes.” She poured maple syrup into a glass dish over a double boiler, then added pecans.

Chase leaned down over the baked casserole. “I don’t know what this is, but it smells like heaven.”

“Trust me, it tastes like heaven, too. It’s a baked French toast casserole. Are you hungry?” she asked.

“I’m starved,” he said, walking over to stand at the counter across from her.

She pulled two plates from the cabinet. She sliced and plated the casserole, adding a sprinkling of powdered sugar and the warm pecan syrup, and then placed them on the counter for breakfast with her unexpected guest.

After finishing his second helping and helping to clean up, Chase sat back down and watched Nikita move around the kitchen in easy elegance. “You’re an incredible woman.”

“Thank you.”

“So, on your day off you cook,” he began. “And that’s it?” he added. She knew he was getting at something.

“I was thinking, since you’re off, perhaps you’d like to join me today.”

“Join you doing what?”

“Seeing the sights,” he said.

“What sights?”

“Key West. Would you like to join me?”

She thought about it a few moments, then smiled and nodded. “Yeah, sure, okay, I’d love to.”

“Great, so where do we start?” he asked.

“How about the Key West Aquarium? I have a friend there.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go.”

She changed clothes, made a phone call and a few minutes later they were out the door headed to her car. In the next six hours they jammed in myriad island activities.

Their first stop was to the waterfront and the Key West Aquarium. They were met by Nikita’s good friend, Leon Everett, the aquarium’s consulting veterinarian. He gave them a private personal tour of the facility including up-close in the touch tank and shark tank. Afterward they took a glass-bottom boat tour along the living sponge and coral gardens. They enjoyed the spectacular underwater sights surrounding Key West in a motorized catamaran.

They took a skipjack around the uninhabited Mangrove Islands witnessing Key West’s unique ecological system. They continued through the backcountry marine sanctuaries.

“This is stunning,” Chase said. “Really, I thought we have incredible sights in Alaska, but these waters are unbelievable. You can see down through to the coral reef. It’s amazing.”

Nikita nodded. “It is. I love coming out here to snorkel and scuba dive.”

“You’re gonna have to show me one day.”

“Yeah, one day,” she said quietly.

Chase must have seen the pensiveness on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said easily enough.

“You got sad for a moment,” he continued.

“It’s just that I’d hate for all this beauty to disappear.”

“Why would it?”

She looked at him. “When oil companies come into an area, things are bound to change.”

“Oil companies like Titan,” he confirmed. She nodded.

“Nikita, Titan isn’t the enemy here. We’re not going to come here and destroy all this.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Actually, I do.”

She shook her head. “I remembered hearing those exact same words before.”

“From…?” he questioned. She didn’t answer and just looked down into the crystal-clear emerald-and-aqua waters. A school of colorful tropical fish swam through the coral. Chase moved closer to her. “Tell me about him,” he spoke softly.

“Who?” she asked, looking back at him.

“Reed Blackwell.”

Her heart jumped at the mention of his name. She looked away again, wrapping her arms around her body. “What about him?”

“You broke up a few years ago. Do you still—”

“Correction, we didn’t break up. He walked out, left me at the altar and married someone else. There’s a big difference.”

At the sharpness in her voice, Chase gave her an assessing look. “Do you still have feelings for him, love him? Do you want him back?”

“No, no, and hell, no.”

He chuckled. “Good answers.”

Excited chatter continued around them as other passengers on the boat enjoyed the visual spendor of nature’s beauty both below and above the water. Chase and Nikita watched the school of fish dart and dance just beneath the water’s surface.

“So do you have one?” she asked cautiously.

“One what?”

“Relationship disaster. You know, the one who broke your heart or the one who got away. Any regrets?”

“No, I don’t have one, yet.”

She looked at him questioningly. “No? Come on. Everybody has some deep dark secret past hurt.”

“That’s everyone who opens their heart and lets others in. I don’t. I won’t.”

The answer was so definitive that it stopped her a moment. She knew she was steadily falling for him and he just admitted to feeling nothing for her. But this was how she started it. They knew it was just a casual physical thing between them. She was the one who changed the guidelines and started falling in love. “But how can you hope to find love if you don’t open your heart to the possibility?”

“You’re starting to sound like a romantic.”

She laughed. “No, that’s not me. But it doesn’t mean I don’t want others to live happily ever after.”

“What about you living happily ever after?”

“I am happy.”

“You know what I mean—family, children, the white picket fence.”

“I have family—my nephews—and in case you hadn’t noticed, I have a white picket fence at my cottage.”

“What about a man in your life, someone who will love and cherish you, someone to come home to on long cold nights, someone to rub your back, touch and taste you in the middle of the night?” he whispered for her ears only.

She could hear the soft need in his voice. Her heart raced and her insides quivered, meeting his need exactly. He was right, she did want all of that and more. The problem was she wanted all of that with him. She turned to him and smiled. “Chase Buchanan, are you offering yourself to me?” she asked.

“Let’s see how the rest of the evening goes.”

“Sounds good,” she said, smiling through her feelings. It was the perfect noncommittal answer.

Chase hugged her close then, and the rest of their conversation was mostly about the islands and the wildlife. When the boat docked, they walked along the beachfront and up along the boardwalk. As usual there were thousands of tourists mingling around the stores and oceanfront.

“There are so many people here,” Chase remarked.

“Actually, this is a pretty tame group. There’s probably only one small cruise ship here right now. Sometimes there are two big ones at port. Then it’s really crowded.”

“Wouldn’t it be great to go to an island where there’s no one around—completely deserted, total seclusion?”

She smiled. “I know just the place. Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“To a place with nobody around,” she said.

“Where’s that, the cottage?”

“Nope, we’re going to Cutter Island. My parents are away so I know there’s no one there right now.”

They headed to Mikhail’s private dock. Nikita climbed aboard a small motorboat and started it up. She navigated the narrow waters until they came to the Atlantic Ocean. She drove along the coast then headed out to sea. Twenty minutes later they came to a small island. She maneuvered through an interior basin then moored the boat as Chase jumped down onto the small dock and secured it. After tying the ropes off Nikita joined him on the dock.

Chapter 13

“W
elcome to Cutter Island,” Nikita said. “It’s what you asked for—six and a half miles of total seclusion. There’s not another soul around.”

Chase looked around. The scenery was visually stunning. “It’s like paradise,” he said softly. “How far are we from Key West?” he asked, turning to the east and seeing no land mass on the horizon.

“You can’t see it from here. You can’t see any land mass from here. We’re closer to the Marquesas Keys. That’s a small circular chain of islands with a central lagoon. It’s also called Mooney Harbor. And we’re still about forty-five miles east of Fort Jefferson and Dry Tortugas National Park. Cutter is so small it doesn’t show up on a lot of maps, but you’ll see it on maritime GPS locators. That’s the only way I know to get here. Surprisingly, there are quite a few dots of land around here. Most are reserved and protected national parks, but some are privately owned like Cutter.”

She smiled. “Come on let’s go up to the house. I’ll show you around.” She started down the dock toward the narrow pathway up ahead.

Chase lagged behind, distracted by the sheer beauty of the lush tropical landscape around him. But by the time he got to the stone pathway he noticed she had taken her top off and he caught up quickly. Her skimpy halter bikini top drew his immediate attention. It was held in precarious place solely by a thin tie at the nape of her neck that could be very easily released.

“It’s kinda nice not having anyone around,” she said.

“Oh, I most definitely agree,” he said, licking his lips.

She smiled and bit her lower lip playfully, then turned to him. She began walking backward as she pulled his top from his shorts. Then she unsnapped and unzipped her shorts and let them drop. His breath halted instantly. She was wearing thonglike bikini bottoms secured by the same thin ties on either side of her hips.

“Cutter is remote but it’s still totally self-sufficient,” she began explaining, as if she weren’t standing there nearly naked and making him pant. “There’s a rainwater storage system that produces over a thousand gallons of water daily and it has two twenty-four-volt hydrogen battery strings charging photovoltaic solar panels with backup generators for continuous power.”

They rounded a bend and a few feet ahead was a small elevated bungalow rivaling the surrounding treetops.

It was a single-story wooden structure with a wooden deck that wrapped around the entire building. They went up the outside stairs and stood on the deck looking around. The panoramic view was breathtaking. “This is amazing,” he said.

“This is Cutter Place, the only residence on the island.” Nikita unlocked the door. “Come on in,” she said. She led Chase into a bungalow with an open floor plan and a seaside view from every room.

“Wow, this is incredible,” he said. “Who takes care of it? I’m sure members of your family can’t always be here.”

“There’s a caretaker service. They do the upkeep for a lot of the private islands around here. There’s also a security company that patrols the waters and the general area and sends daily email reports. Lately, there have been a lot of trespassers, but we usually get that this time of year. People think they can just come, party and hang out since there’s no one around. But it’s just like any other private home.”

“What happens when they’re caught?”

“They’re often surprised when the security company comes along and arrests them for trespassing and breaking and entering.”

“I imagine they are. So, why is it called Cutter Island?”

“I don’t really know. I was once told that it got its name because this is where a lot of pirates would bury their treasure and if anyone should happen to stumble across it they would be cut to pieces. I guess we could change it if we want to, but it doesn’t really matter. Come on, I want to show you something.”

She got up and pulled his hand until he stood. They walked around the side of the house then down and narrow path. The sound of rushing water made her walk faster. “This way,” she said excitedly. A few minutes later they came to a small man-made waterfall and pond. The water was crystal clear. She knelt down and reached into the cool water. “Isn’t it breathtaking?”

“Yes.”

She grabbed a handful of water and tossed it up at him. He jumped back but it was too late. She’d got him. She laughed and he shook his head slowly with a menacing glint in his eyes. She knew she was in trouble, so she took the coward’s way out and just dived into the water. He followed right behind her.

Trying to outswim him was impossible. His upper body strength was too overpowering, so she dived underwater, trying to outmaneuver him. When she popped up and looked around he was nowhere in sight. Then she saw him and squealed just as he came up beside her. She tried to swim away, but he had her. They laughed as she surrendered to him. He kissed her gently, and then with an explosion of passion that nearly turned the cool water into a heated sauna.

He held her tight as she wrapped her legs around his body. Purposefully, he reached around and released the tie at the nape of her neck. Her bikini top sagged, then floated on the surface of the water, revealing her breasts, with the hardened nipples pointed right at him. He leaned down and licked her, playing with each nipple.

She pushed back, grabbed her top and swam to the side and got out. He stayed in. Seeing his shorts on the grass she turned to him and, smiling, slowly untied one, and then the other string holding her thong in place. A second later she stood completely naked.

He swam to the side and got out. He was already naked, hard, long and ready.

“I don’t have any condoms here,” she said.

He walked over and scooped up his shorts and pulled a condom out of his pocket. “I was a member of the Scouts Unitaires de France, the Boy Scouts. I’m always prepared.”

She smiled as he approached her. “Only one?” she queried, reminding him of the statement he made the first time they were together.

They laughed as he took her in his arms and held her tight. He kissed her cheek and neck, and then her shoulders. Her mind hazed with the sheer delight of his mouth on her again. Then he dropped to his knees, pulled her close and took her nipple into his mouth.

She moaned as he kissed, licked and suckled her breasts. She arched her back and he nearly devoured her. Her legs wobbled but he held her too tight for her to fall. When his hand slipped between her legs she went limp and dropped to her knees.

She took the condom from him, opened it and slowly rolled it in place. He watched her steady hands touch and caress his penis, fitting the condom with ease.

“Perfect,” she said, admiring her handiwork. “Now show me what you’ve got,” she taunted.

“Nikita.”

“Show me,” she repeated.

His hands shook as he wrapped them around her small waist and pulled her close. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

She squeezed his penis playfully. “Show me,” she teased again, knowing exactly what it would do to him.

“Nikita.” He grabbed her.

This time his kisses were ferocious, one right after the other in an insatiable progression of passion with unrestrained arousal. His tongue delved deep into the warm recesses of her mouth and she took all of him.

The intensity of his hunger and desire was beyond fierce and she wanted to experience all of it. Without knowing how or when it happened she suddenly felt the grass beneath her body and Chase between her legs.

A split second later he pressed into her, and then forged all the way. They were intimately connected. She wrapped her legs around his body and raised her hips to meet him. His perfect surge met her sublime thrust. With breathless desire, they made heavenly love until the swell of rapture took them.

Over and over again he thrust, and she accepted all of him until she climaxed hard and long, calling his name. Then she came again in gasps and shrieks. Her body relaxed, and he thrust into her again and this time she screamed as he kept the steady pace pressing in again and again. Each orgasm was an explosion beyond the last. Then she felt him tense and she thrust her hips upward, sending a quake of shivers through his body. They came together, one last surge toppling them both.

The next few hours they lay together as naked, free and unrestrained as the clouds in the sky above. Nikita learned too quickly that making love to Chase only once was impossible. It was abundantly obvious that she would never get enough of him.

They talked and joked and enjoyed the freedom afforded by the island’s complete isolation. But without a second condom, she knew their kissing and playfully touching could only be cooled by a quick dip in the pond.

Soon the sky began to change. She cuddled close, nearly lying on top of him as he wrapped her up in his strong arms. She heard the deep groan of relaxed pleasure in his throat and closed her eyes. This was the perfect moment. She could stay here in his arms forever.

“It’s getting late. We need to go pretty soon,” Chase said.

“Or we can stay,” she suggested as she sat up to look at him. “Sleeping here at night is like being the only two people left on the planet. It’s so quiet—no cars, no cell phones and no drama. The only sounds are the waves in the ocean and the night birds and crickets. And it’s completely dark. The only thing you’ll see is a blanket of a billion stars twinkling above.”

“It sounds amazing,” he said, smiling at her.

“It is.”

He shook his head slowly. “I wish I could stay, but unfortunately I can’t, not tonight. I have to fly out to a meeting first thing in the morning. I’ll be gone for the next few days,” he said. Then, seeing the disappointment in her face as she stood up and gathered her bikini, he added, “But I’d love to be invited back again.”

“Yes, of course, anytime,” she said acceptingly. “I guess we’d better go.”

After they dressed, they walked back down the path in silence, then after a quick stop at the bungalow, headed back to the boat dock. Chase released the lines and Nikita steered the boat back to Key West. The trip this time, she realized, was less exuberant as she marinated in her thoughts. As sunset fell around them, the water’s gentle motion eased the boat back into the same slip as if it had never gone.

Once on land, Nikita drove back to her condo. Chase followed her back up to her front door. “I’d ask you in but…” she began.

He smiled. “No, I’d better not or I won’t be able to leave.” He kissed her tenderly. “Good night, Nikita.” He turned to walk away, but she called out to him. He turned back to her.

“Chase, I have to know. What do you want from me?”

He knew exactly what she meant. “I don’t know yet.”

“Yes, you do,” she pressed. “What do you want?”

He turned. “Everything,” he said softly, “I want everything.”

Their eyes met and held. “Chase, I love hard and I love completely. This thing between us can’t go there.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“A million reasons, but first and foremost, you’re leaving and I’m staying. For that alone we need to keep this between us as just business.”

He shook his head slowly. “It’s too late for that.”

“No, it’s not. We just can’t get more involved than—”

He half smiled and said, “Than we already are. Baby, we’re already there.”

“You know, maybe it’s a good thing that you’re leaving right now. It will give us time to regroup and make a new start. So if you come back…”

“I’m coming back,” he said definitively.

She nodded accepting his correction. “When you do, we’ll conclude our business. Have a good trip.”

They stood staring at each other for a few seconds.

He walked back to her purposefully, his eyes intent and blazing with passion, and they kissed again. Then he turned and walked away.

That was all it took, one kiss, one taste. She knew with all her heart that she was in love with Chase Buchanan.