"And I adore you, Arcadia," came the reply. "Now and forever."

"Now and forever," the blonde confirmed.

They were content to lie sleepily entangled in the sand for several minutes, just listening to the rush and retreat of the small waves against the beach.

"There are a lot of loose ends, baby," Jo murmured finally against Cadie's neck.

"Mhmm, that there are," the blonde agreed. "Not the least of which is figuring out what we have to do so that I can stay here permanently."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Jo asked, shifting so she was resting on one elbow. "We could go live back in the States."

Cadie smiled and shook her head. "Sweetheart, you just inherited your dream business. Don't try and tell me you want to give that up, because I know better." Jo grinned down at her, recognizing it for the truth. "My business is the mobile one," Cadie continued. "All I need is a phone and a laptop and I've already got those."

"What about your family, and all your stuff back in Chicago?"

"Well, Mom and Dad will understand. They've already heard a lot about you," the blonde said, brushing a stray lock of ebony hair off Jo's face as she thought about the phone calls she'd had with her mother over the past several days. "By the way, Mom called this morning while you were getting Paul organized."

"Yeah?" Jo kissed the corner of her mouth softly.

"Mhmm," Cadie replied languidly, happily noting the wave of tingles spreading through her as Jo's hands explored. "A van full of my stuff arrived on her doorstep yesterday."

Jo paused and met the blonde's eyes steadily. "Wow," she said grimly. "Fast work."

"Mhmm. The senator doesn't waste much time when she's p.i.s.sed."

Jo sighed, a frown creasing her brow. Cadie reached up and smoothed it away with a gentle fingertip.

"Darling, don't worry about it. We have two months before my visa runs out. That's plenty of time to work out all these details. After all, look what we've done in just one month." They both laughed softly, and she slid a hand around the back of Jo's neck, tugging her down for another long kiss. "Right now, all I want is you."

Jo groaned. "Your wish is my command, princess," she murmured.

Several heated minutes later, it was Cadie who came up for air first. "Jo-Jo," she gasped.

"Mmm?"

"This beach is very romantic, but if you're going to continue to touch me there..." She caressed the back of Jo's intrepid hand gently and felt her lover grin against her neck. "Then take me back to the Sea wolf first. Sand in that particular spot doesn't really appeal."

A low rumbling chuckle close to her ear sent s.e.xy chills down the American's spine but before she could make the most of it, Jo was on her feet and offering her a hand up. They walked hand-in-hand back along the beach towards the Hayman Island marina.

"Would you like to go sailing tomorrow?" Jo asked.

"Mmm, yes please," Cadie replied. "I wish we could take Mephisto with us, Jo. He hasn't seen much of us this week."

"We can," Jo said matter-of-factly.

Cadie stopped in her tracks. "Really? On the boat?"

Jo nodded, grinning at the blonde's surprised expression. "Sure. I take him sailing with me a lot. He comes from a long line of ship's cats. The only reason he doesn't come on every cruise on the Seawolf is because there's always one guest who's allergic." She kissed Cadie quickly and pulled her along the beach again. "He's an old hand."

"Cool. So we could pick him up in the morning?"

"Yup."

Silence reigned again for a few more seconds.

"Hey," Cadie said suddenly. "First one back to the boat gets to be on top." She raised a playful eyebrow.

"Oooo, you're on," Jo purred, with a lopsided, s.e.xy grin.

Cadie crouched into a starting position.

"On your mark," she said. "Get set..." The blonde set off at a sprint, pounding along the damp, hard sand near the waterline. "Go," she yelled over her shoulder at the stationery skipper left in her wake.

Jo chuckled. "I don't know what the future's going to bring, Cadie Jones, but with you I know it's never going to be dull," she muttered, grinning as she pushed herself off, long legs chasing after the woman of her dreams.

end.