Chapter Ten
“Are you ready, baby?”Hudson asks me as he strolls onto the decking wearing a pair of Bermuda shorts slung low on his hips. The sun has already darkened his tanned skin, offsetting the bright green of his eyes and making them even more startling thanusual.
“Yes, I’m ready. Where are we going exactly?” I ask, taking a last sip of my pineapplejuice.
Hudson leans over and snatches a slice of apple from my plate. He chews on itthoughtfully.
“It’s a surprise. Come on, you’ll love it,” he says, holding his hand out for me totake.
“Do I need to bring anything? Should I change?” I ask, looking down at the navy-blue bikini with turquoise gems scattered across thematerial.
“Nope. We have everything we need on theboat.”
“Boat?”
“Yep, I think it’s about time we explored this beautiful coast a littlemore.”
Hand in hand, we leave our bungalow and step down onto our private beach. Even though it’s still early, the sun has already warmed the sand to an almost unbearable temperature and we hurry to the shoreline and the relative coolness of thewater.
Hudson points to a jetty further along the shore and the sleek white of a speedboat floating alongside it. “That, Louisa, will be our ride for the day,” hegrins.
“Who’s driving us?” I ask, kind of bummed that someone we don’t know will be a part of ourexcursion.
“Me, of course.” Hudson untwines his fingers and pulls me against his side. “This day is just about you andme.”
“Bryce and Max are cool with taking themeeting?”
“Yup, they’ve got this, and today I get you,” Hudson says,grinning.
Even though they had all agreed that starting a rota on this holiday wasn’t what they wanted, one has begun to form naturally and for now it seems towork.
“Well, that’s perfect then,” I say, matching Hudson’s grin with myown.
A couple of minutes later, we’re on board the speedboat with Hudson at the helm. I relax on the plush seats and watch him as he turns on the ignition and flicks a few buttons. The engine purrs to life beneath us and I feel the vibration of it through myseat.
“Ready?” Hudson asks over hisshoulder.
“Ready.”
Putting the gear into drive we move forward, gently at first, then picking up speed as the boat heads out of the bay and into deeper water. Feeling the air rush by my ears, the sun on my face, and seeing Hudson control something so powerful and sleek, is thrilling. Once Hudson decides we are far enough out to sea, he spins the wheel to the right, turning the boat parallel to the coastline. For the next ten minutes we speed along like that, Hudson the captain of our boat, and me his adoring passenger. Eventually, he turns the wheel ninety degrees, the muscles in his back flexing, and we head towards the shore once more. As we get nearer to our destination, a beautiful cove opens up. High rocks curve around a pristine, white, sandy beach. The water is so clear I can see a shoal of colourful fish swim beneath the surface and the shape of the coral spread across the oceanfloor.
About thirty feet from the shore, Hudson drops the anchor and switches the engine off. Turning to face me, he leans back against the dash. “So, what do you think?” he askssoftly.
“What do I think? I think this is probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. Thank you for bringing me here.” I get up and, holding my arms out for balance, walk towardsHudson.
“What are you doing?” he laughs, watching me withamusement.
“Trying not to fall over. You might have been a pirate in a former life, but I most definitely don’t have sealegs.”
“A pirate,eh?”
Before I can reach him, Hudson strides forward and pulls me into his arms. “I like the sound of that,” he says, burying his head into the curve of my neck and nipping the skin there. “Ooh arr, matey,” he jokes, before slapping me playfully on thearse.
Giggling, I pull out of his arms as he steps away and opens a low white box fitted into the side of theboat.
“What’s in there?” Iask.
“I brought you here for a reason,” he says, holding up a snorkellingmask.