He chuckles and shakes his head before he answers, “Owen, after my grandfather. My turn. Have you ever thought about living somewhere other than the island?”
Okay then, I guess he’s skipping the easy questions and going straight for the big ones.
“Not really, I love it here. It’s my home. I lived on the mainland for college and hated how busy it was.” I don’t miss his wince when I say this and suddenly it dawns on me. He lives on the mainland. If I’m over here, and he’s over there, what kind of future can we possibly have? My heart drops into my feet, and we are both silent for a moment.
Eventually, I try to bring things back to a happier frame of mind. “Are you a dog person or a cat person?”
“Dog, definitely dog. But only if it’s a big one. Small dogs don’t count.”
I smile at that; I’ve always felt the same way. “Agreed. Someday I really want a Great Dane.”
He squeezes my hand gently, and I see his lips quirk up.
“What’s your favorite color?”
I giggle, “Couldn’t you tell from my bedroom? Yellow.”
He stops and turns to me, and there’s a hunger in his eyes. “I wasn’t paying attention to your bedroom décor when we were in there. I only saw you.”
Wowza. Suddenly I’m hot, like burning hot on the inside. And it’s not from the hike. Marcus turns to face forward and starts to walk again, and I stumble to catch up. He’s muttering under his breath, but I can just make out what he’s saying.
“…too goddamn sexy.”
He’s talking about me. He thinks the kindergarten teacher who replaces curse words with food names, and is addicted to reading, is sexy. Holy shiitake. I mean, he’s made that fact abundantly clear with his actions, but it still blows my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever been called sexy before and I certainly have never felt that way. Until Marcus.
“Favorite sexual position,” I blurt out.
But instead of answering, Marcus growls and turns, pulling me into his body so I can feel the rigid length of his cock pressing against me.
“Woman, you’re making this hike very uncomfortable.”
Then he kisses me. No, he devours me. I’m lost to the desire pulsating between us and it’s a real struggle to remember we’re in the middle of a hiking trail where other people or wildlife could come across us at any moment. It’s not the time or place to strip him down and have my way with him, no matter how much I want to.
We break apart, both breathing heavily. Marcus leans his forehead to rest against mine and says, “My favorite position is any that involves touching you.”
I’ve got no sassy comeback to that; I’m too busy blushing and trying to tamp down my arousal. Thankfully, during the rest of the hike we both manage to keep the questions light and easy, not sexual or serious. But I know this is my chance to find out why he’s here and what his plans are.
Once we’re at the lookout, we drop down on the bench someone built there years ago. The view is spectacular; you can see the north side of the island all the way to the coastline and simply vast ocean beyond that. I love this view, it’s so different from what you see down at the wharf in town.
After we’ve both had some water, I decide to take the plunge and ask the questions I’ve been holding inside all day.
“Why did you want to see this part of the island, Marcus? Why are you on Westmount Island?”
He stills, staring straight ahead to the ocean. I try not to fidget nervously as I wait for him to answer, but the suspense is killing me.
Eventually, he takes a deep breath and turns on the bench to face me.
“I own a venture capital firm. I invest in small companies or go into a financial partnership with other people on large projects. One of my partners, Robert, is a property developer, and he wants to build a community of luxury cottages on the island. He was meant to come this weekend and check it out, but couldn’t, so I agreed to come instead.”
I digest this information, trying to figure out what it is about what he said that doesn’t feel right in my gut. I should be ecstatic about this; a property developer interested in the island is exactly what we want.
“So, you’re super rich and you partner with people on their projects? And your partner wants to build on the island?” I realize how simplistic my questions sound as soon as I say them, but I’m struggling to understand why it was such a big deal to tell me this.
Marcus chuckles, but it sounds hollow to my ears, not like the warm laugh he normally gives me.
“Yeah, I’m super rich. And yes, I help other people. But, Ella, this project…” he trails off and turns to the ocean for a moment. “I’m not so sure it’s going to make the locals happy. At least, not if it’s done the way Robert wants to.”
“Okay…” I say, my mind still spinning. “You’re worried we won’t want new people to move here and invest in our economy and build our community? Because I can tell you, that’s exactly what wedowant.” I’m still missing something, I can tell. How is it a bad thing that his friend wants to invest in our island?
