She’d thought the view from the lookout was spectacular, but it wasnothingcompared to this – the vast greenery of the mountains lay spread out beneath them, the sky above an unbroken, incomparably beautiful blue. As Rhys beat his wings gently, turning them in a wide circle, Maisie could see the white ring of sand that circled the whole island, lapped by the waves of the crystal blue of the ocean.
It’s so beautiful.
Maisie knew she should shut her mouth, but she really couldn’t help but gape at the scene before her. Wind whipped through her hair, and she knew that this high up she should be feeling the cold, but instead, all she felt was the warmth and strength of Rhys’s body as he carried her higher, his wings beating slowly but steadily.
Maisie had been worried about the height, but now, she wondered why – she felt so safe and secure here on Rhys’s back that her fears now seemed silly. She leaned forward, resting her chest against the back of Rhys’s neck, wanting to watch where they were headed – after doing one or two long, lazy circles over the pristine mountain, Rhys turned slightly, and headed out over the ocean.
One of the activities the brochure for the Burr Island Resort had boasted about was helicopter rides over the reef to view the coral formations from above, but Maisie didn’t think they could possibly compare tothis.
And, sure enough, after flying what seemed like only a short distance, she looked down to see the reef below, curving darkly beneath the surface of the shimmering waters.
“Oh my God, look!” she cried, pointing, knowing that she was being inane and Rhys had undoubtedly already seen it for himself, but she was so filled with excitement she couldn’t help herself.
The ribbons of the coral wound their way between the tiny islands that were dotted here and there, each of them with the same snow-white sand and rocky cliffs. Each of them looked like a tiny slice of paradise, left here to be discovered.
Of course, Maisie knew that people must visit them – but right now, they seemed like they were here for her and Rhys’s eyes only, a little secret just for them.
This must be what Rhys meant when he said we’d go swimming,Maisie thought, as she snuggled up tighter to the soft feathers of his neck.He wanted to take me out to one of these islands.
It was the single most romantic thing anyone had ever done for her…
…And I don’t even know if we’re in a relationship or not!!
Maisie grimaced, before forcefully pushing the thought out of her mind. She knew they’d have totalkat some point about what this,anyof this, meant, but right now, she just wanted to snuggle up to Rhys’s feathers and enjoy the view.
Even from up here she could smell the salty tang of the water, and she could see schools of silvery fishes swimming amongst the reefs and shoals. Slowly, Rhys’s wings began to beat more frequently, and she realized that he was guiding them down, descending toward one particularly secluded little island.
It had the same white sand as the others, but it had sandy hills rather than rocky ones, topped with only a few trees. It was so small and separate from the other islands that Maisie couldn’t really believe that anyone would come out to it.
There was only the lightest of bumps as Rhys folded his wings and came in to land, his eagle’s talons and lion’s pawssinking into the sand as he trotted along with the momentum of his flight.
Sitting up, Maisie gazed around them, awed by the beauty of their own tiny private island.
“Wow,” she murmured, as Rhys carried her on his back up to where the greenery merged with the sand. “This is really amazing.”
Shereallydidn’t want to, but still, she slid down off his back and onto the sand as soon as he came to a stop. She had to force herself not to give his neck feathers a few last strokes before he gently placed their food hamper down on the sand, and then shifted back into his human form.
“You weren’t too scared, were you?” he asked, once he was fully human again, concern in his eyes.
“Not at all,” Maisie assured him. “You were right – I knew you’d keep me safe.”
Rhys looked pleased at that, blinking, his face flushing slightly. “You know I always will.”
Surprise rippled through her.
He’ll always keep me safe?
Of course, she liked the sound of that – but when did this become analwaysthing? Hadn’t she just been wondering what they even were to each other?
Maybe Rhys could sense the sudden awkwardness in the air, because he followed that up quickly with, “So – eat first, or swim first?”
“Oh,” Maisie said, feeling a little disappointed. She’d hoped he might have been about to expand on thatkeeping her safe foreverthought. “Um. Well, my mother always did say not to swim for an hour after eating, and that ocean lookswaytoo tempting for me to wait.”
“Sure thing. Youdidbring your swimmers, didn’t you?”
“Of course I… did… uh…” Maisie trailed off as she looked inside the bag she’d brought with her, fully expecting to find the bright blue bikini she’d bought at the shop for some obscene amount of money that she’d decided not to care about, even though shedid, if only because it seemed ridiculous that so little material could cost so much money.
But inside the bag there was only the bottle of champagne, and nothing else.
