“And now?” I linked my arms around his neck.
“Now I want you fully focused on other tasks.” Lifting one hand, he slipped his fingers under my shoulder strap and kissed the small, puckered scar.
I nudged him gently and motioned to our rapt audience. Sierra was watching us as if we were her favorite movie.
“Sierra—”
“I know, I know.” She cut Damian off. “Go read a book. Do you know how many books I’ve read this week? You guys are always kissing.” She made a face, but I caught her grin before she left.
“This bedroom is way too crowded for the three of us.” Damian went back to nuzzling my neck. “I’m thinking we could use an extension. Maybe a second storey.”
“Or you could sleep in the shack.” I trailed my nails down his back.
“Keep doing that and I’ll carry you off there right now.” One large hand tightened around my midriff.
“Not now,” I said, extracting myself from his grip. “When she’s napping.”
“She never naps,” Damian growled.
“Unless she’s tired.”
“Right.” He grinned and grabbed my hand. “Let’s go tire her out.”
Damian came out of the ocean, skin glistening in the sun, and walked towards me. I wished there was a longer stretch of beach between us because I could watch him forever. He was molded bronze in motion, hair wet and wild from his swim, sand sticking to his feet. He plunked down on the towel beside me and leaned over to kiss me. Salty drops on warm lips.
“She’s a bundle of energy,” he said.
I put my head on his chest and we watched Sierra jump the waves.
“I can’t see,” I said, after a while.
“I can’t help it,” he replied. His erection was blocking my view.
I laughed and handed him a bottle of sunblock. “Another twenty minutes and she’ll be all worn out.”
“Flip.” Damian straddled my back and started working the lotion in. “I have a wedding gift for you. I was going to surprise you with it, but I need your input. I bought some property in Paza del Mar. The site of the old warehouse.”
“The one you blew up? Where El Charro and his men died?”
“That’s the one. I want to build something good there, something worthwhile.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“How would you like to expand the work you do in Valdemoros? A permanent facility where you can employ some of the women you work with, when they get out. They can help you fulfill your orders and you can focus on training and education. You can still hold your workshops in Valdemoros, but you’d have a bigger base. There’s nothing to stop you from going international. I already have a shipping network in place. You can put some of the profits towards the charity you had Nick set up and use the rest to your discretion. Fair wages, women’s shelters, clinics, education programs—” He stopped rubbing lotion on my back and froze. “Skye?”
“I wish MaMaLu had those options back then,” I said, as I wiped the tears. “I wish you did, too.”
“Hey.” He rolled on to his back and stretched out beside me. “Sometimes everything gets dismantled so something better can be pieced together.”
I nodded, and traced his jaw. He was the perfect example. “Let’s do it,” I said. “Let’s build something that Sierra can be proud of.”
She came bounding out of the ocean, spraying us with seawater and enthusiasm. “Look!” She held up a seashell. “This one?”
I had been showing her how to pick the right ones for a necklace. She’d seen the one Damian had made for me and wanted one for herself.
“This one’s perfect.” I opened up the picnic basket and added it to the collection she was raking up. “When you have enough, Dad will make you a necklace.”
Damian and Sierra exchanged a strange look.
“What’s that about?” I asked.
“I’m hungry!” she said. “I want the ceviche.”
Damian had packed it for us in three separate containers.
“This one for me. This one for Dad. This one for you.” She handed them out, looking at Damian for confirmation.
He winked.
She smiled.
“Hey, all I get is a clam?” I asked, staring into mine. “What’s going on?” My eyes slid from her to Damian.
“Open it!” Sierra was so excited, Damian had to hold her down.
I pried the creamy, brown shell open. The inside was filled with sand. Lodged in the center was a ring with three sparkling alexandrites.
“You like it? You like it?” Sierra was prancing around me.
“It’s beautiful.” I smiled at Damian.
My mother’s necklace lay somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, where he’d thrown it. I’d never get it back, but I had something of my own now.
“Thank you.” I leaned over and kissed him.
He deepened the kiss, burying his hands in my hair. “Sierra—”
“But I didn’t bring any books!”
“You said twenty minutes.” Damian groaned into my ear.
“Maybe twenty more?” I laughed. “Where are you going?”
“For a swim,” he answered. “In the cold, deep end of the ocean.”