“First stop is Cairns,” Damien said as the removed their seatbelts.

“Isn’t this where the Great Barrier Reef is?” Sierra asked, wishing she had her dozens of pamphlets she’d collected back at the hotel.

“Yes, and that’s our first stop. I’ve hired a boat. We’re going to tour the reef, then do some snorkeling.”

Sierra wanted to reach over and kiss him she was so happy, but she held back, not sure if he’d welcome that or not. She wasn’t letting doubts ruin her day, though.

They arrived at a large boat, and one of the crew members handed them each a glass of wine as the boat set out. Another of the staff started speaking and Sierra was mesmerized. She loved the rich deep timber of his accent, and to make it even better, he was a humorous and knowledgeable guide.

“The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, and the biggest single structure made up entirely by living organisms. It’s composed of over twenty-nine-hundred individual reefs, and nine-hundred islands. The total area is over a hundred-and-thirty thousand square miles. Several years back the cable news network named it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.”

“I’m actually seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World?” Sierra asked, elated at the thought.

“I can take you to see them all,” Damien said, his eyes intense as he looked at her. Sierra smiled, knowing it wasn’t a promise, but that he was caught up in the heat of the moment. Still, the thought of traveling the world excited her.

“I’ve never gotten to travel. My father didn’t see it as necessary, so I plan on making up for lost time. This is amazing.”

“You haven’t traveled anywhere?” he asked, his voice radiating disbelief.

“No. I’ve never left the country,” she said, understanding his shock. Bree had been around the world and back a few times, and Sierra had been stuck at home. Come to think of it, she had no clue how Damien had managed to secure her visa so quickly for her trip to Australia. Before she had time to ask him about it, the guide continued speaking.

“The reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. There are a limited amount of people allowed on it, so it’s protected from human consumption. Only a small amount of tourism and fishing is allowed. Recent studies have shown that the reef has already lost more than half its coral cover and we’re trying to prevent more disaster to this natural wonder.”

“Is there a possibility of it being completely destroyed?” Sierra asked.

“I guess the best answer to that would be, anything’s possible,” the man said. It was outlandish for Sierra to imagine something so incredible being destroyed.

“If you both want to go downstairs now, you can view the reef from our protected observatory.”

Sierra didn’t need any more prompting than that. She followed the man down a set of stairs, and then stopped, causing Damien to bump into her. It was amazing. There were seats lined up, and she had a clear view of the underwater reefs. Sea animals were swimming past, the colors of the reef, the animals, the plants – all of it was remarkable.

She sat down with Damien quickly joining her and just took it all in. They chatted as the boat slowly toured the area and Sierra was sure this was the best day she’d ever experienced. When the guide came down and told them they were stopping, she wanted to refuse to leave.

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty more,” Damien reassured her. She reluctantly got up and followed him up top.

“Are we leaving already?”

“No, we’re going snorkeling,” he said with a smile.

Sierra didn’t hold back this time as she threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss. It took him only half a second to return it with enthusiasm. The guide, loudly clearing his throat, was the only thing that stopped Sierra from dragging Damien back downstairs to make love below the surface of the water. She put that on her to-do list.

They spent the rest of the beautiful afternoon swimming in the warm water, Sierra seeing marine life she didn’t even know existed. By the time Damien took her back to the hotel, she was barely able to stand on her feet, but the exhaustion was well worth it.

“Are you ready for your bath?”

Sierra turned, her weariness evaporating at the hungry look in his eyes. She couldn’t believe she’d waited so many years to experience love-making. Her body hummed with anticipation of what was to come.

“More than ready,” she answered. After spending the entire day flirting with him, sneaking kisses when they came up for air, and having him touch her body in every intimate spot, she had no worries.

She pulled her shirt over her head, encouraged by the fire lighting in his eyes. She started backing up toward the bathroom as she reached her arms behind her back and unhooked her bra, letting it hang on a moment as his eyes devoured her nearly naked breasts.

When she let it drop to the floor, Damien quickly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, his lips capturing hers in a kiss of hunger. Her nipples ached as her breasts pressed boldly against the material of his polo shirt.

“I’ve wanted you all day. How do you feel?” he asked as his lips trailed down her jaw.

“I feel like I need you inside me,” she said, shocked by her brashness. One night of love-making and she was turning into a nympho. She’d much rather be that than the locked up prude she’d been for the first twenty-five years of her life.

Damien lifted her and carried her the rest of the way to the bathroom. He set her down long enough to start the tub, then finished undressing her, his hands sliding along each inch of skin he exposed.

By the time he stripped and set a row of three condoms on the side of the tub, Sierra was practically dripping wet without having set foot in the tub.

They didn’t climb out until the water was almost cold.

Chapter Fourteen

Damien lay there and watched the sunlight sneak through the mostly closed blinds. It was too early for Sierra to wake considering they hadn’t fallen asleep until the early hours of the morning for the second day in a row.

He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. She was stunning, and he found himself enjoying their time together. The need to let her tour the island had started out of guilt for taking her virginity, especially so roughly, but as he’d spent the day with her, his guilt had ended and he found himself enjoying her company.

She had such childlike wonder over everything she saw, causing him to see it for the first time through her eyes. He’d had this image in his mind of her, and she was smashing that visual to pieces. She wasn’t at all who he’d expected her to be.

She mumbled something and he stilled his hand that was brushing a piece of her hair from her eyes. She turned, her arms stretching out as if seeking something, then she settled back down into the pillows with a frown marring her features, before finally she relaxed and her deep breathing started again.

Was she reaching for him? He found himself hoping she was. With reluctance, he rose from the bed and took a hot shower. He was used to strenuous activity as he made sure to get some form of exercise in daily, so he wasn’t dealing with the soreness that Sierra was, but the steaming water still felt good washing the last of his sleep away.

He spent a couple hours getting work done, and confirming reservations before he ordered room service then went in to wake her.

Their second day had to start a little earlier to get everything in. Sierra didn’t fight him at all when he woke her. She jumped from bed and rushed to the bathroom to begin getting ready. He couldn’t resist joining her in the shower, causing them to be a little bit late.

“We have to leave now or we’ll miss our train,” Damien said with a laugh as Sierra kissed him again, both of them standing in the bedroom with nothing but towels on.

“Oh, a train!” she exclaimed as her arms fell from his shoulders and she rushed to the closet to grab her clothes.

He didn’t know whether to be happy she was listening or upset that she was choosing a train over him. He decided to go with being happy.

“We’re going to tour the Kuranda Rainforest, and stop in the village.”

“I don’t remember seeing that pamphlet. It sounds fun,” Sierra said, her voice muffled by the shirt she was pulling over her head.

Damien took a moment to appreciate the slightly tanned skin of her stomach as she struggled to pull her shirt down. Amazingly, he felt himself growing hard as his eyes traveled up and took in the ripe mounds of her breasts before she got the shirt to cooperate and his view was blocked.

“Don’t look at me like that or we’ll never get out of here,” Sierra begged him. His eyes lifted and he was surprised to see the desire shining in her eyes. It seemed neither of them could get enough of the other.

“I’m trying not to hurt you, Sierra. You may like sex, but I’m going to do some damage if we don’t take breaks. Your body has to have time to heal,” he warned, his voice deep with desire.

“Then we’d better leave,” she purred.

Damien took a menacing step toward her and she giggled before grabbing her pants and running from the room. He took a step after her before stopping himself. If he pursued her, it would end with them on the bed, or a table, for all he cared. He had to remind himself of her inexperience.

He quickly dressed, happy when he found her in the living room holding her purse and waiting. He had to get her out of the room.

As they stepped into the hall and made their way to the elevator, he reached down and took her hand. He’d never before felt the need to hold a woman’s hand, but suddenly he had to touch her, had to feel her warm skin against his own. He swore he heard a sigh from her as his fingers tightened around her palm, but she didn’t say anything. He tried acting like it was no big deal, though his emotions toward her were growing – making it a very big deal.

They boarded the train and went deep into the heart of the tropical rainforest of Kuranda.

“I just can’t believe something so beautiful exists. It almost looks untouched,” Sierra said as they looked out the large windows. Various animals were playing in the trees, and the scenery was stunning.

The train stopped in the village and they had a nice meal with the other tourists, Sierra instantly making new friends. Damien just sat back and watched as she conversed with various people.

He did find himself constantly reaching for her – his hand either gripping hers, or resting against the small of her back, sometimes brushing the hair from her shoulders, or resting on her thigh. She’d turn often and smile at him, making his stomach tighten with desire and…more.

He was having a good time with her, not thinking about the work being left undone, revenge, or his mother. He was simply enjoying a few moments of uninterrupted time with a beautiful woman. He was discovering he liked her – really liked her. She was the first woman he’d enjoyed being around since college when he’d fallen in love, or what he’d thought was love.

It had turned out to be simply infatuation and the relationship had never had a chance. He’d already been through so much in his life that the experience had turned him off of the happily-ever-after kind of love. He wasn’t falling in love with Sierra, just infatuated, he assured himself.