The Arrangement

Chapter 13: Tess POV

We were on the third from last day of our honeymoon. Fortunately, my head wound had begun to heal nicely. I sometimes got dizzy or had a headache, but the doctor assured me that should go away with time. Declan and I haven't spoken much since the incident. We went site seeing and to some shops, but things haven't been the same. We held each other at an icy distance. When we were back at the house, we hardly spoke. We didn't eat meals together. We essentially just hung out together during the day for the sake of our honeymoon, trying to preserve what semblance of a honeymoon we had left. The whole thing shouldn't be spoiled.

But it wasn't just the incident that caused the aloof tensions to rise between us. Declan knew I was starting to feel something more for him, and vice versa. I had to keep reminding myself why I chose to marry him, and that it wasn't for love.

I pushed myself up from the bed and went to the balcony. The night was cooler than usual. I watched as the waves swept up onto the sand, taking whatever was trapped in the sand with them when they retreated. The stars littered the night sky and looked like diamonds scattered along a big, black screen. Something in the distance in the shallow part of the water caught my eye. I narrowed my eyes to make out a man standing knee deep in the water. Declan.

My heart sank. Sooner or later I would have to confront him. I would have to tell him we can't do this anymore. We can't let ourselves get too close. But perhaps tonight isn't the night for that, I thought to myself. After all, we were on a magical, private island in Rio De Janeiro.

I decided to go join him in the water. I mustered up the courage and left the house.

I walked barefoot across the sand, which was crisp against my feet. I let my toes sink in and the sand bury itself around my feet. I felt the grains brush against my heels with each step I took. Just like my wedding day, I dreaded every step I took. I glanced up at the moon. It was a full moon tonight.

Eventually, I made my way to the water's edge. It lapped around my ankles and washed the sand away as it retreated. Declan must have heard me because he slowly turned around. I was only a few yards away, but in the night sky it was hard to make him out. I noticed, however, he only had a pair of swimming trunks on, yet again leaving his gorgeous chest exposed. My cheeks turned red at the thought but at least it was too dark for him to notice.

"Hey, Angel," he called out softly.

"Declan," I began, shifting my body uncomfortably, "I think we need to talk."

"I've always got time to talk to you," he beckoned me forward. I waded into the water and stopped just short of knee deep. I only had on a pair of shorts and white T-shirt, so I wasn't prepared to go in all the way.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Declan," I began again. "This has all just been too much for me. It all happened so fast. The wedding. What happened when we were here. I think we should just slow things down a bit."

"You mean like, keep our distance from each other when we get back?" I nodded. He made his way closer to me in the water and I could just make out the hurt expression on his face.

"I didn't mean it like that. It's not-"

He cut me off. "It's not you, it's me, right? Classic excuse."

I shook my head. I hadn't wanted to hurt him. The irrational part of me indeed did want him in every way possible, all of him, but the rational part of me kept reminding me of our arrangement...

"You don't have to put up so many walls, Tess. We may have gotten married for other reasons, but it's okay to fall in love with me... for real."

And that did it. I don't know if it was what he said or how he said it, or maybe a combination of both, but it was as if he snapped his fingers and my walls came crumbling down. No, not just crumbling. But crumbling and burning. There was nothing standing in the way of us. If I wanted him tonight, I could have him. All of him.

The water rolled off his bare chest as he studied me. His jaw clenched. "If the universe really didn't want us together, the stars wouldn't have aligned and you wouldn't be in front of me right now, Angel. But you are," he said.

That's all I needed to hear. I threw my arms around his neck. He bent his head and without hesitation, pressed his mouth against mine. Goosebumps erupted over my body as his mouth met mine. He kissed me softly at first, but as the passion ignited he kissed me roughly. And damn, if I didn't kiss him back.

His fiery lips thawed my cold ones. I let his mouth lead the way, as I ran my fingers through the back of his hair. His hands ran up and down my hips and it felt so good. We were glued together, bound by the forces of the universe. His hands slowly worked their way down from my hips to lower waist. With one strong motion of his hands, he pushed my shorts off me. They dropped into the water, which caused the water to splash me. We pulled away for a brief second to share a small laugh, then we were back together. Next came my shirt. He unhooked my bra. Then, my underwear went. A shiver ran up my spine as the cool night air swept over my now exposed body. I pressed myself against him for warmth.

I looked at him and hesitated. "It's your turn now," I whispered into his neck.

He clasped my hand in his and set it on his waist where his shorts met his skin. He slid my fingertips inside his swim trunks. He slowly began to push down my hand, effectively dragging his shorts to the ground. We kissed as we backed out of the water. His strong arms held me as he gently laid me onto the sand. He was careful to nestle me safely on the soft sand. His body came on top of mine. As his chest pressed against me, I noticed our hearts beat in the same rhythm. It was my first time. When he came inside of me, a rush of pleasure and warmth raced through me.

He pushed my thighs up bringing me closer to him. My hands ran along his back and gripped his shoulder blades; the tips of my fingernails digging in to his smooth skin. His hips thrust into mine. I clenched the sand with my hand and moaned as he didn't let up. My hands fastened around his butt cheeks, clenching them hard. He broke away from my mouth and kissed under my chin before dragging his lips down my throat. He kept moving them down all the way to my abdomen where he kissed me several times. Eventually, his lips made the round trip back to my mouth.

I knew two things in that moment. One, I was falling irrevocably in love with him. And two, I didn't want tonight to end.