I’d thought the next morning might be uncomfortable. It wasn’t. Isaac shook me awake, had another condom on and was inside me before I could pry my eyes open. My muscles protested the vigorous awakening and my pussy was a little tender, but a few kisses and seductive pulls on my nipples, a little stimulation of my clitoris, and I was his for the taking.
Later, after a shower, we sat out on the balcony, enjoying the mid-morning sun. I’d borrowed one of Isaac’s shirts while he wore a pair of shorts and nothing else. We lingered over coffee, scrambled eggs and toast, and shared the paper. The best way to spend a lazy Sunday morning.
“Move in with me,” Isaac said without warning. “I need to check in at work every morning, but we can spend the afternoons and most nights together before you have to go home. What do you say?”
My head shot up, his question distracting me from the feature story about a drugs case being tried in Indonesia. “Yes.” Joy burst through me. Easy decision. Why wouldn’t I want to spend the rest of my holiday getting laid and having fun with Isaac?
“Great.” Isaac reached across the balcony table to take my hand, his broad smile holding something that looked like relief. “Want to come to the restaurant with me this morning, then we can drive into the Hinterland or down the coast to Byron Bay?”
“I’m in your hands.” I squeezed the hand that held mine and waggled my brows in a flirtatious manner. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“Saucy minx.” Isaac checked his watch and stood.
My gaze wandered his chest, halting on a faint red mark on a pectoral muscle. My mark, I thought with a trace of smugness.
My man.
A breath stalled halfway up my throat, and the blockage caused an ache in my chest. I wondered where the possessiveness had come from. We’d slept together, and he’d asked me to stay with him until it was time to go home. I tried to dismiss our relationship as a holiday romance, but my heart told me it was more.
I wanted it to be more.
I scanned his gorgeous visage while he collected the dirty dishes. How could I feel so strongly about Isaac when we’d only spent one night together? I glanced down at my bunched hands, my heart knocking against my ribs. It was a wonder Isaac didn’t hear the racket. I thought about him and puzzled about my feelings before I finally admitted the truth. To myself at any rate.
I’d started falling for Isaac when he’d been going out with Susan. That’s why I’d been so angry and snappy with my daughter after they’d broken off their relationship. It had been a combination of jealousy and irritation because Susan had Isaac, and I hadn’t.
Falling in love implied the possibility of a future. That couldn’t happen. For a start, we lived in different countries. Isaac had his restaurant here on the Gold Coast while I lived in Auckland, New Zealand. We had the Tasman Sea between us, which was about the best contraception a relationship could have.
“Hey, why the glum face?” Isaac dropped into the chair opposite me, concern in his brown eyes. “You’re not regretting last night?”
“No way,” I said with easy conviction. To my relief, the worry faded from his expression. “I was wondering what to tell Pop and Uncle James. I think I’ll go with the truth.”
“And what would that be?”
A grin bloomed. “That I’m moving in with you for some hot sex.”
* * * * *
Isaac offered to drop me off on the way to his restaurant so I could pack my bag and talk to Pop and Uncle James, but in the end I grabbed a cab. I let myself into our holiday apartment and found Pop making a cup of tea.
“There you are,” Pop said. “Have a good night?”
“Of course she had a good night,” Uncle James said, popping from the bedroom like the proverbial jack-in-the-box. “She’s only just arrived home.”
They both eyed me up and down as if looking for clues. Exhibit one. Luckily, the love bites on my breasts were covered under the layer of clothes I’d borrowed from Isaac.
“I…um…I’m going to move in with Isaac for the rest of our holiday,” I blurted. I shifted from foot to foot, feeling unaccountably nervous about their reactions. A definite regression in age.
Pop grinned. “Good for you. About time you joined the land of the living.”
“Looks like young Isaac has grabbed himself a granny,” Uncle James said.
His words were a kick to my gut. They hurt, dammit.
“James,” my father growled.
My feel-good mood seeped away. I sighed at the intrusion of reality. “It’s all right. He’s only saying what other people will be thinking.”
“I’m teasing,” Uncle James said, abashed. “Sorry, Sophie. Bad joke. I meant what I said last night. You don’t look your age. Isaac is damned lucky to have you. Go and enjoy the rest of your holiday.”
