"Glad to surprise you-holy Hera! What did you do?" His eyes rolled back into his head when she jerked down his shorts, and his hips bucked when she kissed the hardest part of his body.

"Now, boy, calm down." Cara giggled as she stroked him. She leaned in closer and took him in her mouth before he could protest.

Well, not that he'd protest, exactly, but the physical control that he'd thought he'd mastered over the years suddenly started to wane. And it seemed she was trying very hard to make him finish right where he was.

"Oh stars, Cara, please..." He pulled her off. He was ready to erupt, and he wasn't doing it in her mouth. At least not today.

The future, however, he wouldn't be against said idea.

"Taking away my lollipop?" She pouted at him, a twinkle glimmering in her eyes as she caressed his hardness again.

"This lolly has a much better place to be." He slid his suit off the rest of the way and climbed in between her legs. It was his turn to play.

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh." He pinned her arms over her head as he slid down her body. He shimmied up the dress, he savored every in it revealed. Legs, thighs, hips- "You're not wearing underwear." His cock suddenly went painfully hard. He'd glanced at her ass a time or two when they'd walked back to her cottage, but he hadn't thought anything about what was underneath.

"Oh darn, those underwear. They just slipped my mind." She winked at him.

He shook his head. "You are incorrigible."

"You like me like this."

Duncan grinned. "I'm not complaining." And he was quite thankful he hadn't known that at the beach, or he might have taken her right there, in plain sight of his family.

He kissed her all over her thighs, in the aV' where her hip met her torso, just skimming over the spot she wanted him to touch the most.

And he knew it too.

He could hear her mentally screaming for him to touch her there. She didn't say a word, just moaned and panted, but in her head, she begged. Hard.

She sighed when his palm grazed over her mound. "More."

"More of this?" he asked, caressing her again.

"More...."

He increased his pressure.

More pressure, more moaning from Cara. As she delved deeper and deeper into the sensations, less of her thoughts were words-just sensations, how each of his touches stimulated her more. He slipped his fingers inside her, stroking and pumping into her.

In his mind, he could feel the orgasm under her skin burning, and how it begged to be released. It was a bizarre sensation-while he'd been with women in the past, he'd never had this kind of connection. This kind of understanding.

It turned him on even more, truly knowing exactly where she was, and when that orgasm was going to hit. He kept going, wanting to bring her to that pinnacle, and he added his tongue to his ministrations. She moaned and bucked against him.

"Come for me. Come, Cara..."

She let out a scream and he felt the orgasmic waves crash over her, like a tide blasting forth, and retreating. She panted as he climbed back to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"That was amazing," Cara whispered, a tiny glint of sweat on her brow.

"Yes, it was," Duncan said. They lay there like that for a few moments, and he savored her against him. He kissed her on her cheek, and she turned to him, and their kiss deepened.

She rolled on her side, threw a leg over his, and broke away from the kiss for a moment. "But we're not done here, mister."

"Don't you want to rest a minute?" Just feeling it secondary had exhausted him, and he wasn't even the one who had had the orgasm.

She shook her head. "Oh no, buddy. I'm ready for round two."

"You recover fast."

She arched her eyebrow and ground her hip into his. "We women have to be ready for you men."

"Because we're all gruff and grumbly?" He rolled on top of her and stroked her hair.

"Something like that," she said, grinning.

And there was that dimple.

She was going to get him into all kinds of trouble with that grin and that dimple.

He adjusted his hips and slid inside her.

"I love you, Cara," Duncan whispered.

"I love you too," she replied.

Their eyes stayed locked as he began thrusting, building a rhythm between them. Cara matched him pump for pump and they slid along the waves again, this time, the tide was going to carry them to shore together.

It didn't take him long to bring her back up and follow a few seconds later. Her squeezing him as she climaxed probably helped.

This time, though, no storm tried to take her away. The air was still in her little room, though Duncan held on to her, half-expecting another sandstorm to steal her again.

It was stupid, because it was over. Cara wouldn't be taken away by another sandstorm. Yet he just needed to hold on to her.

If only for a few minutes more.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Cara didn't think she'd ever spent the night feeling so much like she belonged anywhere as she did in Duncan's arms. Not that they'd slept much.

In the morning, she woke finally feeling better, and while Duncan was sleeping, she left to go get breakfast from a nearby coffee shop. She'd just walked in when Duncan walked out of the shower.

And the cuts were there.

She winced when she saw them. He might have said they weren't a big deal, but it was obvious he'd gone through hell while he looked for her. A pang of guilt stabbed her heart. She should have let everyone know she was okay. Not to worry, that she'd be home soon.

But she hadn't done it.

She felt so stupid.

Why had she trusted Malik? After all, she'd only just met him, and djinn were not to be trusted. How many times had she heard that before? She should have never believed Malik when he told her no one was looking for her.

Jerk probably cast some kind of magic to hide her. And she'd been so out of it from the scream, she didn't have a clue.

Oh, she would just punch that djinn if given the chance.

Duncan turned and glanced at her as she sat the coffee and donuts on the table.

"Hey there," Cara said, trying not to let her guilt come through in her voice.

"Hey yourself." Duncan pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his damp body, savoring the feel of his flesh against her fingers. Yet she skimmed over the slashes on his skin. If she couldn't feel them, they weren't there, right?

That was what she told herself anyway. At least in the moment.

The towel between them barely hid his growing desire underneath, Duncan clueless about her internal mental war. She pressed her hips into his, just in that right spot, to feel him in all his grown glory. Their bodies started to meld together, and Cara shut off her errant thoughts-worrying and stressing over everything now was foolish, when it was all done.

Well, mostly done, anyway.

Stop it! Not now!

Their kiss deepened, and Duncan had her against the wall, his hips rocking into hers, the towel tumbling to the floor.

"This is what matters, not the babbling around."

"That is right, this matters." Duncan's thoughts answered her.

Their kiss broke for a second and she gazed into his eyes. And like an epiphany, it just didn't matter anymore. All her worries, guilt, anxiety, it was gone.

She was here with Duncan.

Now was all that mattered. Her worry and guilt would linger-that she knew, but she'd spend the rest of her life making up for her stupid decisions.

She would never let him doubt her faith in him again.

Duncan captured her lips in another kiss, and this one, Cara dove into with her whole heart-and her mind-reveling in the taste of him, the feel of his soft, slightly damp body pressed against her little maxi dress. He found the edge of her skirt and slid it up. Cara wrapped her leg around him and off they went.

Every time they touched, she wanted more of him, and he of her-their telepathic connection getting stronger by the minute, it seemed. It was the most beautiful and intoxicating thing she'd ever experienced. If this was what she'd been waiting for all these years, it was certainly worth the wait.

When they finally came up for air, Cara pushed away from him and straightened her dress.

Duncan kissed her as he retrieved his towel from the floor.

"I brought coffee." She stepped over to the cups, wishing she'd gotten herself iced coffee instead of regular. He heated her up so easily. "Might not be very warm now," she said, blushing.

"I don't mind," Duncan said as he carried the towel back into the bedroom. She couldn't help watching his muscled ass as he walked away.

Stars, that was lovely...

A flash of green and Duncan came back out, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, his wand in hand.

"That must be nice," she said, gesturing to the wand.

"It is helpful." He picked up the coffee and took a deep drink. "Ahh, just how I like it. Tepid."

She rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Microwave's over there." She handed him a bagel. "Eat up. I'm sure we both have busy days ahead."

"Yes," he said as he waved his wand over his cup, and the coffee steamed again. "I have reports to write and other things to take care of."

"Nice," she said, gesturing to the wand. "Seriously. I want one of those."

He grinned. "Here." He did the same to her cup, and her coffee was suddenly fresh and perfect.

They drank their coffee for a moment, and she just stared at him-the slightly mussed hair, the twinkle in his eye that she'd seen so many times before. She'd never realized what that twinkle meant.

And now she did.

Because his contentment radiated off him. In fact, she didn't think she'd ever seen Duncan so relaxed. The only reason she recognized it was because she felt the same way. She reached over and caressed his hand.

He squeezed her fingers back.

They both smirked, and Cara pulled back to drink more coffee. "I'm sure I have a mountain of work at the Magistrate's. I emailed him this morning and explained." She looked down. "I mostly explained, anyway. But I still have a job, so I am sure there's plenty for me to do." She glanced out the window across from the kitchen table. "The island may be magical, but it doesn't take care of itself."

He reached across the table and took her hand again. "There is one thing I have to ask."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" She glanced at Duncan, and realized his hand was twitching. What happened to the relaxed demeanor of just a moment before? Now he couldn't seem to hold his hands steady.

Like he noticed her watching, he let go of her and put his hands in his lap.

"What is it, Duncan?" Cara asked. She leaned forward. Was he okay? Had that breakfast sat wrong with him? If she wasn't mistaken, there was a slight glint on his brow. Had he just broken out in sweat? "Are you okay, Duncan? You're sweating."

"Cara, I have to ask you something." He rubbed his hands on his jeans.

"You said that already."

He shook his head and didn't quite look at her. "I'm not good at this stuff. I never really was. It's part of the reason I quit being a Fairy Godfather. I couldn't quite do the romantic stuff. Not like the others could."

What in the world was he babbling on about? "What are you trying to do?"

He brought his gaze to hers. "Ask you to marry me."