10
Brooks
We spentthe better part of the day doing the most relaxing things I could dream up, and to my surprise, Darcy hadn’t mentioned the Courtesan once. By the time afternoon came around, his body was languid when he pressed against me, and he yawned more than usual, loud and abrupt, before apologizing. I only laughed, though. This was exactly what I’d wanted—for him to forget about the hotel for a couple of weeks while he got the rest he deserved.
Gary was silent as he drove us back to the cabin, and when he got us there, he called out a cheery goodbye. The buzzing sound of the golf cart disappeared.
“Naptime?” Darcy asked, but I shook my head in answer to him.
“Get your swim trunks on. We’re going to the lake.” I reached out for his hand and he met me halfway, linking our fingers together, an obvious automatic reaction I enjoyed far too much. It had only been a few days since I’d won Darcy at that auction, and I was already addicted to his touch and kisses, and everything else that came with him.
Lemonade led us into the cabin, and when we got inside, I took the harness off her. “Good girl. Relax, sweetheart. Darcy will take care of me this afternoon.” I petted her on the head, and she whined, but then slumped on the hardwood floor at my feet. Careful to step over her, I tapped my cane on the floor to discern where I was. Darcy was at my side, though, touching my elbow and leading me to the bedroom.
At my request, Darcy dug through my bag of clothes—we’d never bothered to unpack—and pulled out a pair of swimming trunks. Leaning my cane against the wardrobe, I yanked down the yoga shorts I had on and replaced them with my trunks. There was no missing the hitch in Darcy’s breath, as though he hadn’t seen me naked already.
“Like what you see?” I teased over my shoulder, glancing in his general direction.
He snorted. “I work with professionals. I’ve seen it all.”
I slid off my shirt and let it drop to the floor as I rolled my shoulders, my muscles loose from the yoga session and massages we’d had. Darcy huffed, and based on the soft sounds I heard, I thought he’d snagged the shirt to put it somewhere else, which had me chuckling. My skin was warm, the perfect feeling to end the day. Turning to face him, I smiled.
“You get to touch this one,” I said and stepped closer to him. I reached out, finding his shoulder. He was still while I slid my fingers down his arm to grasp his hand. His breath sped faster when I pressed his palm to my chest. “This belongs to you, sweet prince.”
His fingers curled, nails scraping against my skin. “It’s nice, I suppose.”
I laughed and raised his hand to my lips, kissing the heel of his palm. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, I’m dressed. Let’s go.” He hooked his arm into my elbow, and I grabbed my cane before we left the bedroom. He stopped for some towels on the way downstairs, and then he led me out of the cabin toward the lake. We took our time, breathing in the fresh mountain air. Laughter came somewhere from our right, farther down near what I thought might be the other cabins.
“Tell me what it looks like,” I whispered, wishing I could see the lake in all its beauty. When I was a kid, I’d always dreamed about vacationing in spots like this. I’d watch ads on TV that showed this kind of scenery—big, bold mountains, log cabins, and sparkling lakes—and I’d asked Mom if she could take me there one day. She’d sighed, patted me on the head, and said we couldn’t afford it. I never knew it back then, but medical bills from my epilepsy were stacking up, with my parents working two jobs each just to keep me alive. Now they were living in a beautiful house against Lake Ontario—a gift from me after I’d started making money from the company.
“The lake is massive,” Darcy said, his voice melodic. “The afternoon sun is reflecting on it, and it’s shimmering. There are tall pine trees surrounding the other side, and farther away there are the mountains. They’re tall and green the whole way up.”
I inhaled and closed my eyes, imagining I could see exactly what he was describing. Child me would have loved it here. “It sounds amazing.”
“There’s a small wooden jetty, too. Come on.” He tugged on my hand, and I followed like the sheep I was when it came to Darcy. He could lead me into fire and I wouldn’t complain. I knew the moment we reached the jetty by the rough texture of the wooden planks beneath my feet. “You shouldn’t get a splinter. It looks like it’s well taken care of.”
“They expect people to walk barefoot on it,” I said.
He stopped me with a hand to my chest. “We’re at the end. Do you want to sit down on the edge?”
“Yes.” I kneeled, and Darcy came with me. I reached out to touch the sun-warmed wood, feeling for where it stopped. My fingers curved around the edge, and I moved to sit with my legs dangling over and into the water that reached midway up my calf. The lake was colder than I’d expected, and I shivered. Darcy sat beside me, the warmth of his knee touching mine.
“It feels nice,” he said, and the sound of splashing met my ears, like he’d either kicked his legs in the water or reached down to swipe at it with his hand. “Do you… swim?”
The question made me laugh. He was so hesitant, as though he didn’t want to insult me. “I do know how, yes.”
“I meant….” I didn’t have to see him to imagine the way he blanched in embarrassment. “Isn’t it dangerous because you can’t see?”
I smiled and leaned back on my hands, tilting my face upward so I could stare at the sky; bright blue with white fluffy clouds, that was what I envisioned it looked like on this sunny day. My sunglasses protected my eyes from the harsh light, but the heat on my face warned me to shut them anyway. Blind or not, I could get some serious damage from staring directly into the sun. “Everything is dangerous, Darcy. Swimming can be dangerous for someone who can see. Why should I stop doing what I’ve always done because I’m afraid of dying?”
“And your epilepsy?” he asked. “We didn’t even bring Lemonade. Should we have left her?”
I leaned forward again and nodded. “She needed the break. Yeah, the epilepsy is an issue. A lot of the time I have auras, warnings, but there are seizures that I don’t.”
“So, then, wouldn’t swimming be dangerous?” The concern in his voice made my chest squeeze. I reached out for him and ran my fingers through his hair, which was soft under my touch.
“Yes, but I’m willing to take the chance.”
