Entangled Pt. 06

"You'll see," he answered with a wink. When they got to his room he opened the door and ushered her inside. She walked into the bedroom and stopped near the dresser, in almost the exact same spot that she had occupied the night Francois had brought her to him. "There's some t shirts in the second drawer. Throw one on while I—" He nodded toward the washroom. She tilted her head but he didn't answer her questioning look, just gave her another wink, then turned away. As soon as the washroom door closed she pulled the red sundress she'd put on for dinner over her head. She folded it, laid it on the dresser, then removed her red bra. She grabbed the first t shirt she saw when she opened the drawer and pulled it on. It was artificially faded blue with a grey abstract palm tree design on the front. Her hands smoothed it over her hips as Blake came out of the washroom. He walked over to the dresser and started taking off his shirt. "I think I tweaked my back when I was throwing you around today."

"You were pretty enthusiastic," she said with a laugh. "Are you okay?"

"Ya," he said with a little wave. "A back rub might help though." He glanced at her with a sly smile then pulled his pants off and stood there in his black boxer briefs.

"Sure, I can do that." She moved to the bed and waited till he'd pulled the blanket back. He flopped onto his stomach and stuffed a pillow under his cheek. She crawled onto the bed and straddled his upper thighs. Her eyes ran over his bronzed skin as she chose where to start. Blake shifted his hips slightly while he waited. Tentatively she ran a finger across the small of his back. "Here?"

"A little higher," he mumbled. She changed the direction of her fingertips to reach for the lat on his right side. "Mmm hmm." She leaned forward and pressed her fingers into those big muscles. He sighed as the tension started to ease from his body under her hands. She smiled slightly as she worked, her mind was lost in memories.

She and Eric had traded massages several times during their relationship. As much as she'd loved to feel his strong hands on her body having the opportunity to touch his was almost as wonderful. She stayed in those memories as, once she was finished with his lats, she moved up to Blake's shoulders. He took a big breath and let it out in a low hum. She grinned. Eric reacted the same way when she rubbed his shoulders. The difference was she wouldn't finish the rub down the same way as with Eric. She blinked back tears as her thoughts turned to that part of the ritual. How she would press herself against his back and cover his warm neck in kisses. She sniffed softly as pain flared to life in her chest. Her day with Blake had been a good distraction but that pain was never far from the surface.

"Jess?"

She blinked a couple of times. "I'm okay," she whispered.

"I think I'm good, thanks." He lifted his head away from the pillow. "But I am really tired, damn bourbon. Can you get the light?"

"You don't want to—"

"Not tonight." He flopped onto the pillow. "We can make up for it tomorrow."

"Okay," she said as she slid off the bed then padded over to the dresser to flip off the light. Blake rolled onto his back while she came back to the bed and crawled in next to him. She pulled the blanket over them and settled into the pillow. As she closed her eyes Blake reached over, took her hand, and gave her a little squeeze. She smiled into the darkness.

At least one good thing came out of this mess. She thought as she patted the back of his hand with her free hand. There's hope for you yet kid.

***

The boat trip gave Blake an opportunity to get pictures of the island outside of the compound. In between snapping pictures he had a pleasant afternoon with Jess cruising around the island and farther out on the ocean before heading back to the dock.

As they approached the island he texted the images to Malcolm then deleted most of them. Any that had Jess in them he kept for himself. He chose not to examine that decision too closely. Instead he watched Jess turn her face to the wind and toyed with the idea of offering the captain a sizable tip to swing the boat away from the resort island and drop them off at another. But after considering what could happen to him and the two crew members once they were gone he pushed that thought from his mind.

That night's dinner was another long and lingering event. Blake made a point to knock back more drinks than he had the night before. Not enough that he was actually drunk but enough that a casual observer would believe he could be. Once again Jess helped him stumble up the stairs and into his room. While she excused herself to go to the washroom he flopped onto the bed and pretended to pass out. Jess swallowed her laughter as she got him under the blanket, turned out the light, and settled herself next to him.

The following morning they had breakfast together then Jess took him to the weekly yoga class. She and the other four women in the room had to fight back giggles as Blake attempted to move through the poses next to them. He took the restrained mirth directly at him with a good natured smile. He was well aware, in spite of the instructor's encouragement, that he was not a natural when it came to twisting himself into a pretzel.

After the class ended they were headed up to their rooms to change into swimsuits when Francois pulled Jess aside. Blake moved to follow her but she shook her head. "I'll meet you in the lobby," she said with a little smile.

Blake's gaze slid from her face to Francois'. The big man smiled widely. "Sure," Blake said. "I'll be down in ten." He turned away and went up the stairs. As he walked down the hallway to his room he tried to shake off the tendrils of unease that had wound themselves around his gut as he took in the look in Francois' eyes. But the feeling didn't leave him as he changed into board shorts, grabbed his shades and a towel, then headed back down to the lobby.

Jess came down the stairs five minutes later. Blake's mouth went dry as he stared at her. She'd changed into a red bikini and tied a gauzy red sarong around her hips. Her hair flowed down her back in loose waves that were held back from her face by the sunglasses perched on the top of her head.

Blake quickly shoved his shades on then held out his hand for her. She laced her fingers with his and smiled up at him. "Should we order a basket on our way?"

"Uh ya," Blake said with a smile he forced into place.

"I grabbed a couple of blankets," Jess said then patted the net bag hanging from her shoulder. Blake just nodded and let her pull him toward the hallway. He managed to collect his thoughts by the time they got to the bar and the bubbly blonde server in a bright blue t shirt and tan shorts turned her thousand watt smile on them.

"Another picnic lunch?" she asked.

"Yes," Jess answered. "Can you bring it to the south wall?"

"Sure thing," the server said with a wink. "Have fun," she said to Blake then turned away to go to the kitchen.

"Why the south wall?" Blake asked as Jess led him from the dining room.

"You'll see," she said then reached up and pulled her sunglasses down.

"What did—"

"I'll tell you when we get there," she said. The smile she gave him was a thin tight version of her usual smile. He fell silent as they walked across the sand.

They passed the spot she'd taken him to the morning after their first night together. Not far from there was a grouping of large rocks that Blake hadn't noticed while they'd been talking. The rocks formed somewhat of a low wall that offered a bit of privacy from the main part of the beach.

Jess dropped Blake's hand and went to a spot near one of the two palm trees in the area. She shifted her bag around to her front and pulled out a beach blanket. Blake took one side of it and helped her lay it out.

"Now will you tell me?" he asked as he kicked off his flip flops and threw his towel down on the blanket. She turned away and dropped her bag on the edge of the brightly coloured fabric. "You got in trouble—" He moved around the blanket to catch her shoulders in a gentle grip. "I got you in trouble—"

"He's disappointed in my performance." She took a breath then peeked up at him. "Because I didn't do anything to encourage you."

He rubbed her shoulders slowly. "Is he going to do something to you if we don't?

"Maybe." Her fingers plucked at his shirt. "I don't want you to unless—" She looked down and took a breath. "Not unless you want to."

"Jess—"

"You've already helped me enough," she whispered.

He released one of her shoulders so he could tilt her chin up. "I knew what I was offering." She frowned. "We can just play our parts." She nodded. He glanced over her head as the server came marching across the sand. Jess' breath caught as he dipped his head and kissed her softly. As the server got closer he deepened the kiss and slid his arms around her. The server set the basket down in the shade of the palm tree, looked at the couple for a moment, then turned and went back to the building. Blake lifted his head and smiled. "We have the rest of the day to figure it out."

"You're right," she said with a relieved smile.

"Besides, I think yoga wore me out."

Jess laughed. "Poor thing. You should rest for a while." She stepped back and knelt down. "If you like—" She reached for her bag and pulled out a tube of sunblock. "I can do your back?" Blake turned and sat down in front of her. He pulled his shirt off, tossed it toward her bag, then leaned forward, and rested his forearms on his knees. She squirted lotion into her hands. His eyes closed as she smeared it down the center of his back then started to work it outward. "Can I ask you something?"

"Depends on what you want to ask," he said with a chuckle.

"I was wondering..." Her hands slid up to his neck. "I've seen you with Ryan and Row's kids..."

Blake's shoulders lifted as he took a breath. "You want to know why I haven't settled down yet," he said softly.

"You're great with them," she said. "And they adore you."

"True but who doesn't," he said with a grin.

"You know what I mean." She poked his back playfully.

"They love me because I'm uncle Blake," he said as he looked over his shoulder. "I take them to fun places, let them eat junk, buy them toys—"

"You can do that as a dad too."

"But I'd also have to make them do their homework and go to bed at a decent time." He shrugged. "I doubt I'd be very good at it."

"I think you'd get the hang of it with some practice."

"Maybe." He sighed. "I have to find someone who wants to keep me first."

She leaned against his back, reached around his shoulder, and splayed her hand on his chest. "That would be easier if you let people see this side of you."

He reached up and took her hand. "What brought this on?" She rested her cheek on the back of his head and pressed her lips together. "Jess?"

"This morning..." She started then stopped.

"During yoga?" he asked with a laugh. "You were supposed to be concentrating on yourself not staring at me."

"Before that," she murmured. After a second she took a breath. "When I woke up this morning—"

"You were cuddling me," he said with a nod.

"I'm pretty sure you were cuddling me," she said with a soft laugh. She eased herself away from his back to sit on her hip next to him. "Almost everyday since I left I've woken up feeling so alone and then—" Her lips curved up on one side. "Today was different."

Blake grinned at her. "In my defense I couldn't get away with you draped all over me."

Her cheeks flushed and she pushed at his knee with a laugh. "I'm just trying to say that it was nice to feel like someone cared." She looked at him with a sad smile. "It just made me wonder." She shrugged.

"About whether I want to get married and have kids? Kind of an odd connection."

"Whether you want more that what you've allowed yourself," she said softly.

"That doesn't seem to work well for the men in my family," he said as he looked out at the water.

"You don't want to try?" Blake drew a breath but didn't respond right away. She leaned closer to his thigh and bumped him with her shoulder. "I guess I'm hoping that this hasn't changed your mind about it."

His gaze shifted to her face. He reached up and pulled his shades off. "It already has." Her eyebrows went up. "I came here thinking I could be like my dad, that it would be better than—" He stopped as she looked away. "But when Francois brought you to my room—" Jess shook her head to try to stop him from continuing. "I don't think I've ever felt the way I did when I looked in your eyes." He reached over and cupped her cheek. "When we— when I—"

"You don't have to explain," she whispered.

He rubbed his thumb along her cheekbone. "I was afraid for you." He smiled gently. "If I thought we would have made it I would have thrown you over my shoulder and ran." She smiled back at him. "I've never imagined myself as the hero type and I definitely wasn't that night."

"Blake—"

"I raped—"

As soon as he said the word her hand shot up and covered his mouth. "You did not."

He pulled her hand away. "But you didn't want it—"

"Neither did you," she said in an urgent tone. She pushed her sunglasses onto the top of her head. "You didn't do anything wrong." She reached up and caught his hand. "I put you in that position."

"My father did this." He pulled her closer. "He did all of this. Remember that."

"I wish I would have went to you and demanded some answers instead of going with him," she whispered as he leaned close and tucker her head against his chest.

"Me too," he murmured and pressed his lips to her hair. He swallowed a satisfied sigh as her arms wrapped around him, a habit he'd picked up soon after making his request for her.

Having Jess find comfort in his arms was his new guilty pleasure.