Lush Curves 5: Undertow by Delilah Fawkes Read Free Book Online

Lush Curves 5: Undertow (A BBW Erotic Romance)
     
    By Delilah Fawkes
     
     
    Gavin
     
     
    The next two weeks with Aolani on board the yacht were some of the happiest days of my life.
    In the morning , I’d meet with the investors via teleconference, showing them the shoots, emailing proofs back and forth, and getting preparations completed for the Live Beautifully Gala coming up in Edinburgh. It was this moment we’d been preparing for, building up to—the moment where I’d know if I’d hit on the right thing to rocket the company to the stellar quarter we so desperately needed. The moment to know whether or not I’d made my father proud.
    Thomas the photographer and I huddled up in my cabin, but I usually invited Aolani to these meetings as well, getting her take on the proof s--her eye was truly something exceptional. I’d come to realize she was an invaluable member of the team, and despite the joy of just being near her, I knew hiring her was one of the best managerial decisions I’d ever made.
    The nights passed in a intoxicating blur of deck parties with the crew, wine, hot tubbing, and sensual evenings of holding Aolani close, of making love in my stateroom, each time more exciting than the last.
    She was like a drug I couldn’t get enough of . Her body never ceased to mesmerize me, but it was the way she submitted to me, the way she gave herself over to me so fully in the bedroom, despite the insecurities I knew she still carried, the way she let herself be free with me, to be the beautiful, sexy woman I knew she was, made me love her all the more.
    And that was the thing. The more time I spent with Aolani, whether it was critiquing an ad spread, or burying myself in the delicious warmth between her legs, I felt like I was at home. It was a feeling that, as much as I loathed to think about the consequences, could not be denied.
    I loved her. And that was that.
    But the last couple of days, as the shores of Scotland grew closer and the air grew colder, the memories came flooding back, unwanted, but still a constant companion. While Aolani slept next to me, all I could think about was the night Fiona was taken from this world.
    If I allowed myself to love again, if I broke the promise I’d whispered over the waves that took the only other woman to ever capture my heart, what would it mean for me? Would I curse what I had? Would Aolani be taken away from me, just like Fi?
    And could I really stand to lose another, even if it meant bliss while I was with her?
    I’d always thought it was too painful to ever risk my heart again, and in those dark moments, watching the way the moonlight from the port hole played over Aolani’s smooth skin, feeling the softness of her breasts grazing my arm as we lay together, I wondered if I was brave enough for this. If I was brave enough to risk being in love.
     
     
    ***
     
    I stood at the bow, waiting for the first sighting of the grey harbor that would welcome me home, my thoughts heavy on me like a fog, when a familiar voice startled me.
    “A re you excited to be coming home?”
    Aolani moved next to me, her easy smile a ray of sunshine dragging me out of my reverie.
    “Aye. It’s been too long. I haven’t seen my brothers in months.”
    I thought of Malcolm ’s laugh, and the way Graham always clapped me on the shoulder like he wanted a fight, by way of a friendly greeting. The thought of sharing a pint with those two bastards again after such a stressful few weeks was like a balm for the soul.
    “Are you close to your family?”
    “I am. Well, to my brothers and mother at least. My father passed away years ago, leaving his business to me. My brother Malcolm is the eldest, but he is a bit of a wild man. He ran off to pursue his dreams of being a musician, if you can believe it.” I laughed, and Aolani smiled back. “But Graham is the youngest. Always getting into trouble.”
    “It sounds like you miss them,” she said, looking at me with understanding