SAFE LOVE

Drake wanted to meet her that afternoon, but he suggested they meet at a gazebo in the resort gardens. Definitely more romantic than the lobby, Sarah thought with a smile, and agreed to meet him there in a half hour. She was humming as she changed into something a little sexier for her date—a dark navy slip dress that she normally wore with a sweater and leggings—and put on her sparkly heels. She felt rather pretty, and hoped that Drake thought she was, too.
The path out to the gardens was on the far side of the Turtle pool and lounge. The resort had several pools, but the Turtle one was popular with couples instead of families due to its multiple hot tubs. She glanced at it casually as she passed by and was startled when a man with a microphone and two guys with cameras seemed to emerge from the bushes and approach her.
“Hey, doll,” the guy with the microphone said. “Tell us your name, sugar!”
Sarah hesitated, alarmed. “Not your doll or sugar,” she told him, and tried to sidestep the men.
“You’re looking sexy today,” the guy with the microphone continued, following her as she tried to go around them. “I don’t suppose you want to earn a little extra cash?”
Her jaw dropped. “W-what?”
“That’s right, baby! FIND LOVE OR STRIP!” He waved a handful of money at her. “Show us your most lovable person here and we’ll reward you if you at least share a kiss .”
She stared at the man, gaping, and then at the cameras. Then, with a gasp, she ran as fast as her platform heels would carry her, heading for the gardens and the gazebo.
“Guess she’s not interested,” the man with the microphone called. “Your loss, sweetheart!”
kiss a random person to satisfy this horrible men and then she will be in the news as a cheating fiancée ? She was going to be sick! Horror made her rush, and her ankles protested as she stumbled down the path. She wanted to head back into the resort and hide, but the men were blocking the path. She was pretty sure she heard them laughing, too. Humiliation burned in her breast, and by the time she found the gazebo, she was nearly in tears. She barely spotted a man in a black, collared shirt and jeans, sporting sunglasses. That must have been Drake . She stumbled as she approached him, twisting her ankle and practically falling into his arms.
“Sarah?”Drake asked. “You okay? What’s wrong?”
She leaned against him for a moment, relieved, and winced at the pain in her ankle. “I-I—”
“Here, sit down,” he told her, gently leading her to the steps of the gazebo and helping her get seated. “Are you okay? You look upset. And you shouldn’t run in those shoes.” A hint of a smile curved his handsome face. “If you wanted something to jog in, I would have sent you something more appropriate.”
She couldn’t even laugh at his teasing. Instead, she felt the insane urge to burst into tears. Sarah clutched at the front of her dress and shook her head, unable to speak.
“Sarah?” Drake ’s voice was concerned. He sat next to her and took her hand in his, squeezed it. “You gotta tell me what’s bothering you, sweetheart. I don’t like this.”
The endearment coming from his lips reminded her of the horrible man with the microphone, and she shuddered. “There was a man. With a microphone. He—he tried to get me to kiss a random guy for money! In front of cameras. And when I said no, they . . . laughed at me.”
Drake was silent.
His lack of response just made her feel worse. “I’m sorry,” Sarah said. “Maybe I’m overreacting. I just feel . . . accosted. That’s all. Like they thought if they pressured me I’d take their offer . It was horrible.”
He squeezed her hand. “You do not apologize,” he told her in a firm, angry voice. “I’m not upset at you. Just the situation. I can’t believe those jackasses came after you.”
She shook her head and held his hand tighter. “I’ll be okay. I just—”
“No,” he said, getting to his feet. “You wait right here. I’m going to go have a talk with them.”
“No, Drake —”
“I’m handling it, Sarah .” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and stalked down the path, his steps clearly furious.
She blinked in surprise as he disappeared, her awful feeling of distress giving way to a weird sort of pleasure. Was this what it was like when a guy got defensive over you? Protective? God, it felt way too good. Addictive, even. She rubbed her arms and then hugged her knees, waiting for Drake to return.
He did about five minutes later, rounding the corner of the tropical gardens, an irritated look on his face. He slipped his sunglasses back on as he headed toward her, shoulders tense. “It’s taken care of. Those fucking jackasses won’t bother you again.”
“Did you tell management?”
“No, I had a talk with them. They listened to me and they’re going to leave you alone.” His jaw was set, stubborn. “Dumbasses.”
“That must be the guy that Brown’s upset about,” Sarah said. “He told me at lunch that some tabloid creep is here on the island trying crash the wedding. We should tell him about it.”
“Tabloid creep? Who, that guy?” He thumbed a gesture back at the bushes. “He’s a peon. Like I said, he’s handled.”
“Yes, but Brown will want to know that I ran into him. Think—if he’s attacking girls like me, he’s probably attacking everyone that walks past. Brown ’s going to be so upset—”
“It’s taken care of, Sarah,” Drake said in a firm voice. He put his hands out for her. “Come on. I don’t want to give that guy another thought while we’re on our date. I’d rather think about you and me.”
She put her hands in his and let him help her up. As soon as she stood, she winced.
“What is it?”
She shook her head. “Just my ankles. They throb a bit. That’s what I get for running in these shoes.” Her grimace was apologetic. “Which, by the way, are incredibly gorgeous and far too expensive.”
“Hush,” he told her. “And sit. Let me look at your ankles.”
“They’re fine,” she protested again, but when he turned that stern look on her, she promptly sat back down on the gazebo steps again and smoothed her dress over her knees.
“Give me your foot,” he said, indicating the same with his hand.
Reluctantly, she lifted one short leg and extended her foot toward him. He took it in hand, tilting her leg high enough that she had to quickly stuff her skirts down around her leg to keep from flashing anything inappropriate. Drake pulled the shoe from her foot and set it down on the pavement, then proceeded to rub his hands along her foot, caressing the bones and muscles.
“How does this feel?” he asked her.
“Ticklish,” she admitted, squirming a bit when he pressed his thumb to the underside of her foot. “And it doesn’t hurt there. It’s my ankles.”
“I was getting there,” he said, his voice returning to its normal playful timbre. “Can’t blame a guy if he just likes touching a pretty woman’s feet.”
And she blushed all over again, feeling shy.
He continued to massage and manipulate her foot, his fingers eventually moving up to her ankle. As he touched her, Sarah felt a little weird and flushed . . . and achy. It was embarrassing, especially because her nipples were responding in kind.
“Feel better?” Drake asked.
“Yes, thank you,” she said quietly.
But when she held her hand out for her shoe, he pointed at her other foot. “That one, too.” And so she had to sit there and endure more of the awkward-but-exciting touches as he massaged her other foot and ankle. She was relieved—and okay, a little disappointed, too—when he finally released her other foot and then picked up her spangly shoes, holding them out to her.
“Thank you.”
“Quit thanking me. I hate that you had to run here like you were scared.” That angry look settled on his face again.
“Let’s not think about it,” Sarah said, getting to her feet and testing things out. Everything was good again, other than she felt a little boneless and content from the foot massage. When she stood to her full height, she was easily half a foot taller than him in the heels, and the awkward feeling returned. “You sure you want to go out with me in these?”
“You are utterly and completely gorgeous,” Drake said. “And I love the way you look in those. Don’t make me buy you a pair of stilettos for every date that I plan on taking you on.”
“I’ll return them,” she threatened, finding her voice. “You can’t make me take them.”
“I bet I could.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “I bet I could find the strappiest, girliest, tallest shoes out there and you’d love them so much that you’d keep them no matter how you felt.”
“I wouldn’t!” Her protest sounded weak even to her own ears. Tall, girly shoes? Lordy, she was weak.
“What’s your favorite color? I’m guessing you like bright things despite that boring-ass dress. I think a pair of bright red fuck-me heels would look gorgeous on your feet. What do you think?” He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and they began to walk through the gardens.
“I think they sound terrible,” she lied. Gosh, they sounded lovely. “I’d never wear them.”
“You’re a shitty liar,” he told her, amused. “It’s adorable.”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling a little cornered. “Drake, seriously, I couldn’t accept shoes from you again. These are too much as it is. I bet they were easily six hundred dollars—”
“Actually I think my assistant told me they were three grand.”
Sarah began to feel weak. “Three . . . grand?” She had to work all month for that much. “Drake —I can’t—take them back, please.” She stopped and began to take them off.
“No,” he told her, grabbing one of the shoes and forcing it back onto her foot. For an absurd moment, she thought they were going to get into a wrestling match over putting the shoe on her foot, and the thought was so ridiculous that she giggled again. “That stays on your foot and it’s yours,” he told her. “It was a gift.”
“It’s a really expensive gift,” she protested.
“Not to me.”
Oh. Oh, no. Her fingers tightened on his sleeve. “Um . . . I forgot to ask what you discussed with Brown.”
“We talked business . Why?” The look she gave him was wary.
“Are you doing business here?”
“No. I’m just here enjoying a little help from him.”
“With my best friend ?”
“It wasn’t bad afterall, fruitful I must confess .”
She tugged at her dress, feeling a little uncomfortable.Whether to tell him about that the job offer or not “Drake , I don’t want you to think that I’m just here for your money . . .” Her words trailed off as he threw his head back and laughed, and she felt a twinge of annoyance. “What’s so funny about that?”
“You,” he said, looking over at her with such a broad smile that she felt weak in the knees. “Sweetheart, I know you’re not here with me because of that.”
“Not your sweetheart,” she reminded him.
“Not yet,” he agreed cheerfully. “But the night is young.”
***
The rest of the night, Sarah decided, was downright magical. They headed off the island again, which surprised her, but Drake said he wanted the privacy. So they took another chartered boat and headed over to a nearby resort for ice cream. They got cones, two spoons, and sat at a tiny table in the back of the cafe and talked, sharing occasional bites out of each other’s ice cream. And they talked for hours and hours, which surprised Sarah . She’d thought that they’d sit down and find they had nothing in common . . . and while there were plenty of differences, there were also a lot of similarities. Drake was an only child, like her. Drake grew up without parents around, unlike her. However, though she’d been raised by loving father , had spent his childhood in a state home. They both shared an intense sweet tooth, a like of Johnny Cash’s music, and dogs instead of cats.
More than common interests, though,Sarah found Drake fascinating and some quite painful as he almost teared up talking about his late father . She loved to hear him talk and tell stories of growing up, of famous people he’d met, of the run-in he’d had when he was in the Army with a drill sergeant that had screamed at all the men so much that they’d played pranks on him all through basic training. And she found herself opening up about her own past, her friends, her dreams and then she told. Him her little family secret.She even told him about the not-to-be-believed job that Brown had offered her, and they’d celebrated with a shared root beer float. She’d reached for the straw and gotten whipped cream on her fingertips, and Drake had grabbed her hand and licked it clean, which made her feel giddy and needy all at once.
And when the date was nearing its end and they could eat no more ice cream, Sarah grabbed Drake ’s hand. “Why don’t we go down to the beach and enjoy the nighttime surf?”
Drake—brash, confident Drake —visibly shuddered. “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’d be happy never seeing another beach again.”
“What? Why?”
“You know why,” he said with a grin. “Some classy girl had to come and save me before I got pulled out to sea. I’d prefer not to have that happen again.”
“I bet it wouldn’t.”
“I wouldn’t take that bet.”
She shook her head. “Then why remain at a resort on an island?”
“I found something here that made me want to stick around,” Drake told her. And his hand moved over her own, and he rubbed his thumb on the back of her knuckles.
And Sarah found herself blushing all over again.It had to be her and not Lilian.
They went back to the resort, fingers locked together, and Drake walked Sarah back to her room since it was late. They stood at her doorway, talking in soft voices, and when Sarah reluctantly told Drake she had early plans in the morning, they got to the goodnight kiss. Drake’s hands went behind her neck and he pulled her against him, and they kissed for what seemed like forever, and when they parted, her breasts were pressed against his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck, and she was flushed and out of breath.
“’Night, sweetheart,” he told her in a husky voice.
“Not your sweetheart,” she said automatically.
“Not yet,” he agreed. They kissed one more time, and then he left her for the evening, and she went back to her room, flopped down on the bed, and touched her fingertips to her mouth.
They’d only kissed. Drake had been a perfect gentleman. Why did it take her this long to realize how perfect it was without marriage?.
Why was that so thrilling and so disappointing all at once? Why did she want so much more? Wasn’t she waiting for love? Not lust? She’d waited this long, what was a few dates more, right?
But . . . she kind of wanted to see if Drake was interested in experiencing other bases with her. Hugging her pillow against her front, Sarah thought about their next date.Could she withstand more dates without going further?
She wanted more than just a kiss. Now . . . how to get it?

As he left Sarah at her doorstep,Drake adjusted his aching cock and headed into the elevator, toward his new room under the name Gon Blasscock. His time with Sarah had been a pleasant idyll tinged with aching every time she laughed or licked her lips, or brushed up against him, because he wanted her with an intensity that was driving him mad.
But he had to play it carefully, because she was his ex and she wanted more . He didn’t want to scare her away. He’d go slow, even if it killed him.
By the time he got back to his room, his cock was aching even more. Time for his nightly jerk-off session to Sarah. But first, a call.
One of his assistants picked up. Lawson. “Yes, sir?”
“The LOVE OR STRIP crew. They’re filming here, right?”
“I believe so, sir.”
“One of them approached Sarah. My Sarah.”
“I take it she wasn’t flattered, sir?”
“No. Absolutely fucking not. She was devastated. You tell those jackasses that if they come near her again, I will fucking ram their cameras down their goddamn throats, understand?”
“Understood, sir,”Lawson’s voice was cool. “Whom shall I describe for them to avoid?”
“She’s fucking five feet tall, Lawson . Tell them to avoid any girls that are shorter than them. Christ!” He terminated the call, and when that didn’t feel like it had enough oomph, he went to the room phone and slammed it in the cradle, over and over again.
His own fucking crew. His own goddamn crew made the woman he liked feel like she was attacked. Jesus fucking Christ.
How was he ever going to tell her to forget about Brown’s offer
Drakegroaned and rubbed his face, his erection gone.
***
“How do I get a guy to notice me?” Sarah asked Enny on the phone at breakfast four days later, her fork toying with her scrambled eggs. Enny was quiet but Sarah inwardly, she quailed, but she forced herself to repeat the question. “I want Drake to really, really notice me. How do I swing that?”
“Boobs,Guys love boobs ” Enny said
Sarah rolled her eyes and pulled off a corner of her dry toast. “You’ll have to forgive me Sarah , I know you do not believe in things like ‘politeness’ or ‘filters.’”
“Sure I do,” Sarah said. “But I believe in honesty more.”
“Or legs,” Enny continued . “Some men like legs, and I bet yours does, Sarah.”
“You’re not helping,” Sarah said, but a smile dimpled her round face.
“A good blow job too,” Enny chimed in.“What?” she asked, an impish smile on her face. “Yes it does the trick honey.”
“Something better Enny, I did all this even before we broke up ,” Sarah said, cheeks red with embarrassment. “I just want him to, you know, take things up a notch. Not necessarily get into bed together.” Since the ice cream date four days ago, they’d spent just about every waking moment together. They’d played board games, gone to bingo, had dinner together, and simply enjoyed each other’s company. It was nice. Really nice.
He never went further than kissing her goodnight.
She was starting to get a little tired of nice. And the doubts were starting to creep in. Was. Drake just not that interested in her? The wedding was in two weeks , and things were scaling up. Their time was going to be taken up by the wedding more and more, and then she would be flying home two days afterward. She wasn’t going to have much more time to spend with Drake .
And she wanted to. She really did. But she just didn’t know how he felt about her. He held her hand, and he kissed her . . . and that was it.
Didn’t he want more? She did.
“I don’t understand why we don’t want to take things up a notch,” Sarah said. “What’s wrong with taking things to the next level? I love sex.”
“Then go ahead honey,” Enny said in a placating voice. “You don’t have to sleep with a guy to have a relationship move forward.”
“Like you would know, Miss Oh-oops-I’m-full-of-your-baby-batter-and-we-forgot-a-condom,” Sarah retorted jokingly.
“ You might forget condom tonight.”
Sarah blushed, her face turning red from her ears to her hairline. “One time. One time!”
“This is crazy,” Sarah said, “But have you tried actually telling this man that you like him and want to take things a step further? Because I find that grabbing a guy by the collar and telling him how you feel works wonders. “Thanks, Enny,” Sarah said politely. “You’ve given me a lot to think on.”
“When in doubt, blow jobs.” Enny repeated again with a slight giggle
If only Drake said more of what she wanted to hear though, If he was finally over Lilian and ready for her . But the courage wasn’t coming and she badly needed him inside her, notwithstanding, She wasn’t going to just grab Drake and give him a blow job . . .
Was she? That seemed awfully like fourth base. Maybe three point five. She just wanted to see what two was like.
Maybe three.
Okay, she probably wanted to see three first