Nicole’s mouth watered, and she swallowed. His muscles were on full display. Those washboard abs almost always made her weak in the knees.
The week had been good to him too. The South Pacific sun had bronzed his skin. Davis pulled his shirt over his head, covering up the masterpiece that was his body. She tsked. “Such a shame to cover all that up.”
“Behave.” Davis was telling Nicole to do something that he wasn’t sure he had the strength to do himself.
She couldn’t hide her smirk. “I will—for now. Anyway, I would like to invite you to dinner.”
Davis knew Nicole was pulling out all the stops. She was drop dead gorgeous in that dress and all he wondered was how fast he could take it off. His thoughts changed, and Davis could only hope that he would have the right to take her clothes off again.
Nicole saw it. The moment the heat in his eyes cooled. It was disappointing, but she was determined to reach him. He was pulling away because of that crazy need to protect her. She wouldn’t have it. She didn’t need protecting. She needed him. PERIOD. “Since we missed lunch, I wanted to invite you to dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“You don’t have any excuses not to dine with me tonight, Mr. Chatham.” She wagged her finger. “No hiding for you.”
Davis was tired of hearing her say that. He scoffed at the idea. “I’m a grown ass man. I don’t hide. I’m just trying to protect you.”
“Then dinner with me, tonight, alone should be no problem.”
“We’re never really alone here.” That was actually a good thing.
“We are tonight. I was able to arrange for the entire Serenity team to leave a day early. They are already gone. The only people left on the island are Akela, Raphael, and island security.”
The buffer he’d come to depend on had left, and Nicole was dressed like a woman on a mission. It was going to be a long night. It was possible that after they talked that she wouldn’t want to have anything else to do with him. Given that tonight was the last night they would be spending on the island, Davis had run out of time. He had to tell her everything, including the decisions he had made. “Honestly, dinner would be great. We have a lot to talk about.”
The seriousness in his tone was a little unnerving. Nicole’s voice was soft, her confidence slipped just a little, but she forged on. “Okay. I thought it would be fun to eat on the beach.”
“That sounds good.” She was doing her best to make this a romantic evening. Davis had to keep her at bay until they discussed their future.
Nicole widened her smile. “Then, if you’re hungry, everything is ready.”
*****
“Nicole . . .” Davis couldn’t believe it.
The butterflies in her stomach grew more intense, and she couldn’t contain her excitement. “Does it remind you of anything?”
The tarp had been replaced by a tent, but, otherwise, the beach had been transformed into an exact replica of when they were stranded, and the night that they had made love for the very first time. It was the night their daughter had been conceived.
He swallowed. “You never cease to amaze me.”
Nervously, Nicole nibbled on her bottom lip. “I hope to have a chance to do that forever.”
Davis ran his hands through his hair. “Nicole—”
There it was again—that tone. She didn’t like it. “Maybe we should sit down and have dinner before we talk. That’s another thing that’s a little different than before. Akela made an excellent meal.” The food was hidden underneath three large silver containers. Nicole dropped to her knees and stared up into Davis’s eyes. She reached her hand out to him, and he took it. He sat down on the blanket next to her.
She lifted the covers off the food. Akela had outdone herself. They marveled over the meal she had prepared and laughed about the things they’d eaten to stay alive when they were stranded. They fell into a familiar comfortableness and kept the conversation easy.
Nicole was wistful. “DJ has changed so much in the last three months. God, I miss the kids and can’t wait to get home.”
Davis had been enjoying himself, and then her words home instantly soured the taste of the food in his mouth.
She hadn’t noticed his easy demeanor had changed. “The beds here are great, but I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own.”
The easy smile from moments before vanished. Davis cleared his throat. “A lot has happened over the past few months.”
“I’m sure. But, whatever happens, we can get through it. I know you’re terrified of going to prison, and I’m terrified too, but I’m strong enough to support you.”
“I’m not going to prison. That’s been resolved.”
Her eyes widened. “What!?” Nicole threw her arms around him. Automatically, Davis wrapped his around her. Nicole’s smile covered her entire face. “You’ve been here a week and didn’t tell me that! Why? What happened?”
He blew out a breath. It was as if he didn’t want to say the words, and Nicole looked confused. Davis had no choice. He had to bring up the elephant in the room. “Roman. Roman happened.”
Chapter 26
Nicole’s face froze. “Roman? W-why would he have anything to do with your case?”
“The night we found you, Harlan and his team went through the entire apartment to remove any trace that you had ever been there—including the Clarks Tower video—where you
