The Billionaire's Island Romance (The Romero Brothers, Book 3.5) by Shadonna Richards Page A

I thought about Uncle Everton and had nightmares
that I was turning into him. God, that was the last thing I wanted.”
    Arianna wrapped her arm around his waist as
she sat beside him.
    He held her closer to him. “I love you,
Arianna. I don’t ever want us to be apart again. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
for you,” he said, looking into her beautiful large brown eyes. She had the
loveliest eyes he’d ever seen on a woman. So filled with love, energy and
genuine care.
    “I love you, too, Christian.”
    For a moment, they held each other. Just
treasuring their time together. Their moment. He loved
the saying that life was not about the number of breaths that one took, but the
number of moments that took one’s breath away. This…was clearly one of those
moments. He was never going to lose Arianna again. Not if he could help it.

 
 
    “Woohoo!” Arianna shouted excitedly. “We
did it!” They had finally reached the top of the Dunn’s River Falls in all its
glory and breathtaking scenery. It was amazing. She didn’t think she could do
it, but she did. Oh, God! She made it to the top. It had taken them an hour to
climb up and it was the best thing she had done in the longest time that she
could remember. She made it. She didn’t cave in to her fear of rivers or
waters. She was okay. She was not a prisoner of her fear.
    “Yes!” Christian grinned, hugging her from
behind. “You did it, baby. I’m so proud of you.” He pressed a soft kiss to the
sensitive skin on the side of her neck and she shivered with a surge of
pleasure. She had accomplished more than she could have ever imagined today.
    She drew in a deep breath. She was actually
looking over the glorious Dunn’s River Falls. “Oh, God! This is so beautiful.”
    “Just like you,” he said, grinning. He
still had his arms wrapped around her waist, swaying with her to the beat of
the music playing over some speaker nearby. He kissed the top of her head.
“Honey, I’m so proud of you. You have no idea.”
    “Thanks, baby. Thanks for putting up with
me. I’m sure you would have made it to the top in half the time if I wasn’t
with you.”
    “And what fun would that be?” he murmured,
kissing her again.
    “Hmm. Come on, I’m famished.”
    He laughed. “After climbing the most
magnificent falls on the island, you’re famished?”
    “Yeah, so what?” she toyed with him,
winking.
    “I’m hungry as hell, too but not for food.”
Christian looked at her seductively. His dark, sexy eyes locked with hers and
she smiled sheepishly.
    “Yeah, we can eat again over at the hotel.”

 
    Later, after they had dried off, they
strolled through the shopping area that was situated at the top of the falls.
They purchased a refreshing bottle of water for each of them and chugged it
down in no time. Arianna felt so alive, as a tourist, for the first time since
she’d arrived on the island to help out at the hotel. She felt as if she didn’t
have a care in the world when she was with Christian.  
    Christian and Arianna took a five minute drive to Dolphin Cove where they watched the
dolphins at play. Dolphin Cove was the next best activity to experience out in
Ocho Rios, next to the famous Dunn’s River Falls hiking. The interactive dolphin
show was a fun aqua activity that provided crazy entertainment. Seeing the
dolphins do their thing totally brought her into a whole new world. She’d even
forgotten for a fleeting moment that she was in charge at the Duponte Hotel and
that she had the massive Romero wedding to oversee this coming weekend.
    They also took a walk along the jungle
trail and later soaked up the sun on the white stretch of sandy beach. Ocho
Rios had one of the best beaches on the island; miles of white sand and
glorious views of the sea. Hugging and kissing like young lovers without a care
in the world on the beach, while their eyes drank in
the crystal blue water was a magnificent way to end their day.
    Why hadn’t Ari taken time