Full Disclosure Ch. 18

Number 18: A Déjà Vu

Just after 8am, Elijah opened the door to his hotel room, finding it empty. Which had been expected, of course. He couldn't decide if he'd hoped Natalie was there or not. If she had been, it would obviously mean she wasn't elsewhere and he wouldn't feel the jealousy. That said, he felt he needed some time. Time to think, time to take a nap.

Setting some things down on the table, he walked over to the bed and flung his t-shirt off before crashing down upon it. He stared at his cell phone, which had no service, but had been used to snap photos occasionally and--in this instance this morning--Leah had put her phone number and email into his contacts.

They had stayed up most of the night, only taking a brief accidental nap in the wee hours. It had been hot as fuck, everything he'd hoped for. Even though he was exhausted and sexed out, he probably could still masturbate to the memory of it right now if so inclined. He'd helped her with her bags down to the tram to take the ferry off the island and said goodbye to the crew of girls, including Beth whom he whispered both a thanks and apology to for never reconnecting.

Leah had teared up. He hadn't felt the same, though he'd enjoyed being with her. That said, he did feel their time together had culminated last night in a wild ride that he would forever remember, but he was ready to let her go. They had nothing left to do, and he didn't want to give her false hope, as in the end, they had nothing really in common.

He had input his information into her phone as well, however, mostly to not be rude. He did not anticipate her reaching out. And staring at her contact card now, he clicked the edit button, scrolled down and deleted it.

He did not need her information in his phone.

There was a brief moment of wishing he could curl up with Natalie, if only just to know she was here asleep and not asleep in someone else's bed. Or worse, not asleep in someone else's bed. He hated that part of him, how it always affected him more than it did her. Never in the moment with someone else--though he could admit his jealousy drove him while with someone else--but always after.

Still, he was too physically exhausted and gave into sleep within only a few minutes, unable to dwell in it even if he wanted to.

***

Natalie had awareness before actually waking: a rhythmic thumping sound in the back recesses of her consciousness, but not startling her. With her eyes closed, the awareness trickled in of how content she felt. Her entire backside was playing little spoon to Etienne, her neck on his arm, his hand on her sternum. She was warm, but not too warm in the way she often found herself when sleeping entwined with another person.

The thumping either grew louder or she was becoming more aware of it. She shifted the tiniest bit, which was met with a small shift from Etienne. Thump, thump, thump.

Etienne's thumb brushed the undercurve of her breast. Twice, then a third time. Natalie exhaled. Shifted her hip.

Thump, thump, thump.

His hand brushed over to her side and ran down to her hip. The most delicate of touch, then flat on her stomach to pull her just a bit closer before gliding back upwards to grope her breast.

Was it her heart thumping? It was quickening, as was her breathing, although hardly noticeable. She had yet to even open her eyes, blissfully content in his arms. And getting turned on as he teased her. The slowest of burns.

It hit her as she clasped his hand, the one on the bed that steadied her neck: it was sex noises. So rhythmic. She realized as wild as this place was, she had never heard neighbors going at it in any capacity. The headboards, while wooden with posts (no doubt for kinks) were bolted to the walls; they did not shake.

The sound was surprisingly turning her on, and judging by how Etienne was responding in the half-asleep twilight they both resided in. His hand brushed down her and slid between her legs and without consciously knowing she was doing so, she began a languid gyrating of her hips.

Natalie felt his lips gently kiss her shoulder, and she wrapped her arm back over his head, swiveling to kiss his lips while his fingers gently explored.

Thump, thump, thump.

The rhythm had barely changed and hadn't paused. The thought struck her that it must be very boring sex; nothing like this slow build up she was experiencing now, but something about hearing their neighbors having sex had amped them both up in their sleepy state.

Etienne's fingers left her without ever entering, and he pushed on her left hip as he rose, straddling her right leg that was straight down on the bed. Her left leg was hooked upward, knee on the mattress. Without any sort of preamble, he slowly... so slowly sunk into her depths, Natalie still languishing in her hypnotic half-awake state--she still had yet to open her eyes--however she had a sharp intake of air as she craned her neck up towards the headboard and gripped the pillow, this particular position offering a uniquely intense angle.

They were slow with it initially, Natalie at one point curving her upper body around to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him deeply. She loved morning sex more than anything, hovering in the nether between wakefulness and sleep. It felt like a unique type of pampering, like a massage. Eventually though, Etienne pulled at her left leg and raised it up to his shoulder and, holding it close to his body, he sunk into an impossible depth--a depth that sent Natalie into another gasp of air, and she finally opened her eyes to look down the length of her body to watch him.

He kissed her ankle as he slowly pumped, the rhythm for a moment matching the thump thump thump next door, though he was not one to mindlessly thrust, and Natalie moaned with the changes in both tempo and angle.

Her orgasm was nearing the surface and he no doubt detected the change in sounds as they morphed from short vowels to long consonants. With a particularly perfect thrust, Natalie raised a hand up to the wall and pushed between the bedframe slats against him, while simultaneously adding stimulation between her legs. Three more and she was done for, the trickle of light from the blackout curtains blurring at the edges and a cry echoing that she knew was her, but still felt unrecognizable.

Etienne held as long as he could, she noted, waiting for all the flutters of her muscles to subside. She'd always wondered what it must feel like to be inside while her pussy quaked. Given the look on his face--his gaze as though she were the most beautiful creature on earth--the way he bit his lower lip--it had to feel good. There was nothing else she felt could earn that orgasmic gaze, and she felt him tense as he came, filling her.

Softened, he collapsed on top of her and kissed her forehead before rolling to the side. "I believe we are better at it than they are," he noted with the raise of an eyebrow, nodding his chin towards the wall above their heads.

Natalie laughed, agreeing entirely. The thumping had stopped at some point, she couldn't pinpoint when, but there was no way anyone could compete with them. "I'd put us up against anyone. We would always be envied."

After cuddling up for another hour, falling in and out of light sleep, they climbed in the shower, adding one more hour until Natalie finally left his room at a little before eleven.

Once she had rounded a bend in the hallway, she leaned against a wall, overcome with the weight of it all. Not just the intensity of a truly impeccable night with Etienne--a night that had exceeded any expectation, regardless of the interruption from Jessica--but also the acute sorrow in having to leave. Her and Etienne were not a couple. She had fallen in love with him after all, despite all efforts.

Natalie had always had a unique ability to compartmentalize, but the lines had blurred after last night. She'd never had issue returning to Elijah; not in the distant past and certainly not in the last ten days. The idea of returning to him now felt devastating.

She had to take a moment to analyze why her brain had formed the thought. Devastating. If she didn't listen to her emotions, what good was any of this? The point was to reconcile with truths, no matter how hard they were to acknowledge. And so the first question was: did this diminish her love for Elijah?

It did not. At least she didn't think so. She loved him so much. They had an unshakable history of loyalty to their love. But that in itself begged the question: was the loyalty more of a priority than the love itself?

And she arrived at the answer of: Maybe.

Maybe she loved him so deeply out of a loyalty to the commitment of it, not necessarily because it was impenetrably strong. And this was the first moment she accepted a shift in the wind. But could it still fill the sail?

She determined that yes, it could. Unequivocally yes. But it was taking a lot more effort to change gears than it had before when she'd spent any time with Etienne. So much that she felt paralyzed in the hallway.

It was a long time before she gathered herself enough to finish the walk to the elevator and take it to her floor. But she finally arrived at her room and slid the keycard in.

Elijah was on the bed in his room, the blackout curtains drawn, the shallow and steady breathing of sleep. She set her bag down at the foot of the bed and stared at him for a moment, uncovered with a bare chest and the hint of his gym shorts beneath a single sheet.

He was beautiful in a very different way. He had an enviable body; lean and toned but with more of a muscular build than the svelte Etienne. His hair was blond and wavy and he still looked like the quarterback at college. He had been hers the moment she'd met him; she had been the hold out, and that holding out hadn't lasted long. He was so put together and still was.

Of course she loved him.

Climbing onto the bed after removing her shorts, she laid down beside him and twisted one of his waves. He didn't stir. She wondered when he'd come back to the room, or maybe he'd stayed here, although the bed was too tidy for anything to have happened in it. She was certain he'd been with Leah, and she knew that crew of girls had left on the ferry this morning, so he must have returned early. She couldn't help but look over his body, although it was pretty dark; only the slivers at the edges of the blackout curtains to see by. Nothing bore evidence of a wild night, at least no new scratches, but she was not in any place to judge whatever he had been up to, given she had been falling deep in love with each hour that had passed last night.

She did wonder if he'd felt the same, but determined it impossible. Elijah had always only strayed for the physical, and as he'd correctly noted; with her encouragement. She was the one actually breaking promises by falling for someone. Though it had only ever been Philippe eight years ago and now Etienne. There had been no one else she'd cared for; all her escapades either purely physical out of need due to his absence, or taking place with him because they wished to have threesomes together.

And to give credit where credit is due; the sex she'd shared with Elijah had always been unrivaled until now. Etienne was the first to shock her system physically in a way that remotely touched what she felt with Elijah. And not dissimilar to Etienne, it had been since the beginning with Elijah. From the first time they slept together, he had been able to satisfy her in a way nobody ever had, and no one had since.

Until last night.

She had to stop. For now. More sleep might bring clarity, and so she curled up next to him, careful not to wake him and fell asleep within the next few minutes.

***

Elijah awoke to a noise, and it took him mere seconds to realize what he was hearing. He glanced at the clock. 2pm, which felt shocking.

But more shocking was his neighbors in the other room were fucking. Like really fucking. Loud cries from a woman, and was it creaking? He didn't know, but in the four beds he'd been in here, none of them made a sound so he couldn't know what would make the noise of a swi--

It was a swing. Unmistakably so: metal on metal, just like a playground, and he gazed up where the hooks were in his bedroom, imagining the fun of it. Maybe Natalie would give it a try while they were here.

His eyes caught the reflection of the mirror above the bed and he noticed Natalie was here, asleep beside him, and he quickly looked over wondering if it was just a trick of the eyes in the dark, but there she was, a foot away and curled up in that weird fetal position she always slept in: her wrists bent at an angle that looked painful beneath her chin, her long blond hair surrounding her head on the pillow like a halo.

That fucking noise was giving him a hard on. He stroked it over his shorts, wondering if he should just rub it out real quick, either here or in the bathroom.

But his beautiful wife was right here. Leah was long gone and Natalie had returned to him. She could have left whoever she was with--obviously Etienne, though he was determined to stay in denial over it and continue to leave the door open that maybe she'd had something meaningless with someone else. She could have gone to the beach, or the pool. If she was this tired, she could have gone to the bed in the other bedroom. But she had come to their room while he was asleep and chosen to curl up next to him.

He loved her, and she loved him.

And all the blood was being sent to his dick. Shocking really, given he'd considered himself spent. Out of commission after how many times he'd cum last night. But the cries of whoever was being fucked in a swing next door--imagining what it must look like or feel like--no. There was no beating this without literally beating it.

Besides, Natalie absolutely loved waking up to sex. He knew her in a way no one else did, and he ran his fingers through her hair, tucking it behind her ear as he laid down close to her, admiring just how beautiful she was. No one--not even Leah's sexed up body--compared to Natalie's natural beauty. It was honestly ridiculous how gorgeous she was.

Tugging at the sheet, he brought it down to her thighs, then rubbed his hand along her sides. Over her shorts, up her tank top, then circled to her back and ran circles, trying to wake her gently before taking any sexual action.

She stirred, shrugging her shoulders as his hand ran up her back and toyed with the strap of her tank. "That feels nice," she murmured, wetting her lips, though didn't open her eyes. Elijah let his hand trail down her side once more, and this time he slid his hand to her butt over her panties.

The creaking of the swing and the moans were ramping up. Elijah planted little kisses on her shoulder and arm, propped up on his elbow and trying to rouse her enough for more without doing anything he shouldn't before she was ready. But he was aching, turned on by the noise but, not to be minimized, always--always--turned on by Natalie.

Natalie fluttered her eyes and stretched her arms out, Elijah rubbing her lower back and rear. It felt good and she smiled at him, blissfully serene. She heard background noise, wondered if he'd turned the tv on, but at a glance there was nothing. "What is that?" she asked.

Elijah chuckled, gripped her cheek and pulled her groin closer to his. "I think our neighbors are fucking in a swing," he stated, surprise written all over her features.

"Oh my god!" Natalie cried, then a loud giggle escaped as she craned her neck. Her chin tucked as her features tightened in genuine shock and awe. "Wow. But like... wouldn't it be faster squeaking?"

Elijah considered it for a moment. "I'd think so... like if someone was thrusting... unless--" he was running through all the possible positions he might consider if a swing was ever rigged, "--unless they're both on it? And it's like fully swinging back and forth?"

Natalie snorted, placed her hand on Elijah's chest. "Oh my god I think you're right," she said, her eyes wide and excited by the scandalous, naughtiness of it. It was silly. "Like how does that even work?"

"I have no idea," Elijah sang, laughing harder.

"I wanna google it," Natalie decided and started to prop herself up to grab her laptop.

"No, no no," Elijah said, his voice a low whisper as he gently held her in place with his hand on her hip. "I mean, absolutely yes, but later. I need you right now."

As he said the latter, he took her hand and pulled it over his shorts to demonstrate how hard he was.

Natalie couldn't help but chuckle for an entirely different reason. Reached down into his shorts and took him in her hand, running her thumb delicately over the tip of him. "I thought these walls were way more soundproof than this," she noted, this a déjà vu of her early morning. "I seriously hadn't ever heard any neighbor until today."

"Yeah," Elijah agreed, thinking back. She was right, he'd never heard boo in a sexually charged resort other than things happening in the outdoors. His hand toyed with the hem of her panties. "Should we give them a run for their money?"

The laugh that exited Natalie was filled with far more than Elijah knew. It was a turn on hearing sex happening, or at least waking up to it. And it was hilarious that it was happening again back to back. Her body was exhausted, but for Elijah? For him she'd push through.

"Absolutely I do," she told him, grinning wickedly.

Within half a minute, Elijah worked her panties from her feet and tossed them across the room, parted her legs, lined up and pushed his cock inside of her. He met a ton of resistance; she was not warmed up yet, and he had a moment of wishing he'd stimulated her first as he saw how she braced herself and cried out. Lowering himself down upon her, he said "Fuck, I'm sorry," then pecked her lips, though his need was finally being met.

"No, we're good," Natalie assured him, lacing her fingers into his hair as she focused on relaxing. While his girth usually took some warming up, there had been plenty of times in their relationship they'd fucked hard with no preamble, the pain acute, and she loved it even then, so this was nothing. With another minute or so, the stretch would subside, she knew it. "Oh god, Elijah," she breathed, feeling his first pump. "We are so, so good."

"Yeah we fucking are," Elijah agreed, hooking an elbow under an arm, his other over her shoulder to hold her against him. He kissed her chin, her cheek, her lips as he pumped her depths. Nobody compared to the feel of her. There was fun to be had--and he'd had it for certain last night, among other things here--but this was home. "Nobody compares to the feel of you."

Not fully knowing what was coming over her, Natalie decided to push a bit. They enjoyed their naughty play and if they were ever going to compete with a swing next door, they'd have to amp it up. "Not even Leah?" she baited him.

His hips circled. "And what makes you even ask," he prompted, surprised, but not unpleasantly so. Natalie was showing up to play.

She grinned at him and bit her lip in the naughtiest way. "Hmmm," she moaned. "I know that's who you were with last night." Brushing her hand down his cheek, she rubbed his lower lip with her thumb. "Tell me," she prompted him, putting on her pouty face that was far more roleplay than any ounce of seriousness. She knew the truth and, at least right now, it didn't bother her. Leah and crew were gone, and Elijah's cock was inside of her.

After a particularly loud grunt, Elijah said, "Yeah, it was."

"Mmm," Natalie moaned, sinking her thumb into his mouth. "Did you fuck her like this?" she prompted.

Elijah laughed and bit the tip of her thumb, then shook his head free of her grasp. "Just like this," he groaned, so fucking turned on he had to focus on how to rein himself in. But flashes of fucking Leah as Natalie asked him questions like this were only making it worse. He gripped her wrists and pinned them over her head. "Like this and so much more."

For a moment Natalie closed her eyes, bracing herself against his thrusts while soaking in what he was saying. They'd never done this before. She didn't necessarily dislike it, either. Baring her teeth, she glared at him, overexaggerating to really live in it, see where it led. "Did you enjoy it?"

"I did," Elijah responded, circling his hips again. He shifted his grip on her wrists to one hand and hiked up her thigh. "I fucked her through the night while you were fucked by someone else," he said, picking up his pace. "I can't even say his name."

"Because you can't say it in French?" Natalie responded. Couldn't fucking believe she had said it, the 'game' of it all certainly having crossed a line, and she knew it the second his thrust halted in her depths and he'd backed up a few inches peering into her eyes. She swallowed, fully pulled from the moment and said, "fuuuuuck, I'm sorry--"

Elijah grinned. Cruelly. It had pulled them both from the moment, but only while he redirected. Back to circling. "You are something else," he breathed with sincere admiration. Releasing her hip, he gripped both her wrists again and pulled them up to the top of the bed with his elbows on either side of her head. "So while I fucked Leah, you fucked Etienne."

Natalie exhaled. He was back in. Not only that, he was into it. So was she, she noted. This was happening and it was shockingly hot. "Ah, so you can say it," she said, raising a brow before a particularly forceful thrust sent her into a loud cry. She opened her mouth to speak but another one came, then another, and then he was fucking her so hard there was no way she could speak again until he relented.

"He could never fuck you like I can," Elijah grunted, focusing deeply on his actions. Exiting her, he sat back on his knees and flipped her over, pulling her hips back and reentered, this one slower. "Did you like it?" he asked, bringing his head as close to her ear as he could get while holding a fistful of her hair.

Multiple moments with Etienne flashed behind her eyes as she moaned along with his slower pumps. "Yessss," she whined, which applied to the way Elijah was moving, as well; both an admission and a moan. She felt a spanking land and she yelped.

Elijah enjoyed hearing her in pain during sex. It wasn't out of some sadistic jealousy, although the jealousy was driving it now. But they both enjoyed taking advantage of a power dynamic, one that primarily centered on her submitting--though they'd reversed it a handful of times. But right now he wanted to punish her. He could visualize her with Etienne so clearly, moaning while taking the Frenchman's dick. He did not like that motherfucker; knew the reason why, and needed to remind Natalie who she was with as he clasped her hips and pulled her against his thrusts.

In a moment of daring--after all, the last had paid off--Natalie looked over her shoulder at Elijah. "J'adore la façon dont tu me baises--" she told him. His eyes narrowed and he spanked her ass again, not knowing she had said I love how you fuck me to him, nothing relating to Etienne, and she shouted "merde!" before catching another breath to say what she wanted to say. "Je suis à toi," she finally declared, meaning I am yours. Another spanking, this one harder and she cried out, gasping for breath, her orgasm so close. Her own cries and moans were nonstop, completely out of control, so overpowering that she found it hard to speak actual words. Still, she turned to him once more. "Mais je suis aussi à lui."

But I also belong to him.

Elijah saw Natalie orgasm as she shouted a phrase in French, and in that moment, he imagined she shouted similarly with Etienne. With her body pulsing, he thrust three more times in rapid succession and then unloaded into her depths, his orgasm more powerful than any he'd had in the last twenty-four hours. Which was saying something.

He collapsed on the bed beside her. Looked up at the mirror on the ceiling to stare at her body beside him; she was on her stomach and still trying to catch her breath. He placed his hand on her ass and watched himself caress it. If they ever made it out of this alive, a mirror was going on their ceiling, he was sure of it.

Natalie's arms were folded under her head, and she turned to look at Elijah without moving her body. "No more swing sounds," she noted. "Did we conquer them?"

"I'd say so," Elijah said between his own heavy breaths. Gave her ass a few pats. It was too dark to see if he'd left a mark, but he had swatted her pretty hard. Because he wanted to know, he reached over and turned on the lamp, but still couldn't make it out. "Are you okay?"

"Mmmhmm," Natalie responded. Reaching a hand out, she felt the one on her butt leave and take hers between them, lacing fingers together. "Are you?"

"I'm great," Elijah stated, which felt partly like a surprise. They had always enjoyed rougher sex. Always enjoyed a bit of roleplay. But this roleplay had been an amped up truth. And he had enjoyed it. The prodding. "What did you say to me in French?"

"I told you I loved how you fuck me," she said simply with a little shrug.

There was a long pause, then Elijah burst out in a laugh. He'd thought she'd been saying things about Etienne, not him. Which he supposed had been the point. Natalie was good. She had played the game incredibly well.

He rose from the bed without saying anything. Natalie didn't want to tell him what had actually sent her over the edge into the powerful orgasm. Because it had been him; she wouldn't have had an orgasm simply stating she also belonged to Etienne. The way he had fucked her just now was unrivaled. But it was the briefest second of remembering Etienne in her and saying it aloud that had rocked her body; that was still sending tiny aftershocks through her.

Elijah threw the curtains open. It was a little after 2pm and he felt the day gone. Though for a worthy cause, he decided as he walked back to the bed. Saw Natalie's bright red ass cheek. Sleep and fucking her were more than enough reason to waste a sunny day at a resort in bed, but aftercare was definitely needed now.

Climbing onto the bed beside her, he pulled a blanket over them both and gently pulled her against him. "Did I hurt you too bad?" he asked, swallowing heavily.

Natalie took stock. She was very worn out, and the spankings had left a tingle, but it was nothing she hadn't experienced before. "I don't think so."

"You're very red," he noted, gently touching her right cheek. "I'm sorry."

His fingers gently touching her did alert her that yes, perhaps there was pain to be had there. "I wanted it," she told him. Kissed his chest, then his lips, then laid her head back down on his shoulder. "I was practically begging for it, or I wouldn't have started it."

Elijah chuckled. "You did start it," he said, running his fingers over her sides, pulling the tank top up with them to reach bare skin, though not to start anything up again. He just wanted to touch her. He always wanted to touch her. "Are you okay with all that, too? Do we need to talk about any of it?"

"I am," Natalie stated calmly. She meant it. "We can talk about it if you want, but I wouldn't have kept it up if it bothered me. It was fun goading you." She propped herself up so she could look him in the eyes. She wanted to be able to read his reactions. "I wanted to outcompete our neighbors. I wanted to be fucked hard. So as long as you weren't hurt--"

"Oh, I was not hurt," Elijah declared. "If anything, you were the one hurt." He punctuated it with a little tap on her ass, saw her blink the tiniest wince and gave her an empathetic smile. "Sorry. Won't touch there again."

Natalie shrugged. "I've always loved it when you spank me," she told him. "I like feeling like I'm your bad girl."

"You are my bad girl," Elijah agreed, giving her a kiss. "But seriously, let's just get it out. I was with Leah last night, I helped her to the ferry and I came back here to sleep." Eyeing her levelly, he slowly overenunciated his next question, "Do you want to tell me? You don't have to."

Natalie sat up beside him and swiveled to face him, drew circles on his chest. "I was with Etienne." She watched his reaction to see how she should proceed, but he gave her nothing. She took a deep breath, stating an obvious so Elijah would clearly understand the subtext: "He is still on this island."

I will be with him again before we leave.

While Elijah was pretty much over it with Leah--only to say he hadn't minded that she had left this morning--there was that horrible truth: the woman he'd been hooking up with was gone while the Frenchman was still here, departing on the same day they were. He stared at her, focused on giving her no reaction before finally raising a brow. "Okay. I can handle it."

A quick exhale, and Natalie shook her head. "I am so fucking sexed out," she admitted. "It's nonstop here and like... yeah, it's fun, and it was the point when we chose this place, and I love it... but I'm wiped."

"Me too," Elijah admitted. He was also ready for something else. Physically and mentally he was awake, but if Natalie tried to initiate right now again he'd probably decline. Everything had revolved around sex, which was obviously thrilling, but he felt no need for anymore.

At least for the moment anyways. Who knew what could change.

"Look," Natalie began. "Today's half gone. We should definitely go down to the pool, but let's not count today: we have two full days left here."

Elijah sat up and scooted his butt back so they were still side by side, but able to face each other. "So... what does that look like for you?" he asked, knowing he might hate the answer, but was determined to go with whatever she wanted. Saturday was close. With Leah gone, his needs had been satisfied, but he wouldn't have wanted to look back wishing something had happened. And he knew, fair or not, Natalie's need was still on the island. He would not rob her of seeing it through, despite his own having departed.

"Well, it doesn't look like sex right now, I'll tell you that much," Natalie sighed, hugging her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them with a laugh. "What if tomorrow we go snorkeling. Just you and me. Ooh!" she said, sitting upright and playfully whacked Elijah's knee. "You promised me when we booked this we'd do dinner at their fancy place... the one with the twelve courses, what was it called?"

Elijah laughed endearingly. "I don't remember the name, but yes. That's perfect," he agreed. She was choosing him. He'd been prepared to hear she wanted the next forty-eight hours with Etienne, but here she was--his perfect wife--choosing him. "So snorkeling and fancy dinner date tomorrow."

"Yes, oh! And let's do a movie night tonight!" Natalie cried, almost childlike with her enthusiasm. They both laughed. "I'm serious, let's just eat and cuddle."

"I'm totally sold," Elijah chuckled. Couldn't help himself but lean in to kiss her. As he backed up, he loved how she smiled at him. She smiled at him with contentment and love. He bathed in it for a moment before knowing what he would have to give up. Steeling himself, he finally prompted, "That leaves Friday."

Natalie sobered. Nodded. She felt a pit in her stomach as the truth shook her core once more, just as it had when she'd left his room this morning. At a minimum, she needed time to say goodbye. To bring it all to a close with a ribbon she felt she could safely walk away from.

"You don't have to say it," Elijah told her after a moment. Afterall, it was written all over her face just now. Her grin had faltered and a strange terror had seeped into her eyes. He swallowed. "I gift you the day and night free of me. You don't even have to pack." He held her hand. Could see in her eyes what his words--what his offering--was doing for her. "Just come back to me Saturday morning--" this holding a double meaning, "--and we can pop on the ferry and go home."

Natalie nodded. Sunk her chin against her hand that was propped on her knee. Elijah climbed off the bed and she instantly looked away, then brushed her eyes, tears threatening to spill without her permission. She felt a heavy mix of guilt and relief. She hadn't ever known what to expect when he'd proposed this, but nothing could have prepared her for how she might feel in these final days.

If she were being honest, she felt as though she'd given Elijah the lead from the beginning, from the planning of this trip to the first day they set foot here. He was always the jealous party in their arrangements and she was careful of boundaries because of that. Yet she felt the guilt none the less.

Because she needed one last day without him. With Etienne. And she knew Elijah didn't have anyone he felt the same way about. Any way he spent Friday would not change anything that hadn't already changed from his perspective, yet carried the possibility that her perspective might. And here he was offering it to her anyways. And she was greedy enough to take it.

Because if she didn't take it, she would regret not closing the chapter for the rest of her life. It would cause more harm to their marriage than good.

Elijah peered at his wife for a moment. The way she was curled, her back to him with her knees tucked to her chest and hadn't moved. He was glad she was thinking hard about things. She looked small. He wondered if he'd caused more pain than just the fun physical roleplay scenario they'd just played out.

He wondered if he had destroyed them. Things had been bad, a distance between them festering for years. At least this trip had them reconnecting in ways that had been truly missed, sexually and spiritually. They were communicating. They were feeling. Finally appreciating what they had while determining if it was worth sacrificing potential happiness with someone else.

All good things. But there was bad to be had. A cost. He'd proposed this initially and wanted to stand by it, and he had arrived at his destination--certain he and Natalie could stand the test of time--feeling rejuvenated and rekindled. But looking at her now; she was in a turmoil he'd never witnessed. It scared him.

Still, she had chosen him. For now. In two days he'd know the full extent of it, but she could have said she wanted to spend the last two days with that man, and she hadn't. He turned to prepare for the day with a bit of optimism. They would be okay.