A Taste of Paradise

Disclaimer; New tricks belongs to the BBC. I've just snuck in and let it out of it's cage, Run! Old Dogs, Run!

Rated M for adult content. Adult situations and gratuitous fluffiness beyond this point. This story is promising to be as hot as my car bonnet this last week.

Pairing: You should know by now, I specialise in Sandra/Strickland. Go on, give it a try ;-D

This came to me while I was eating a bounty at work. I blame it on sunstroke.

/

'This is what it's all about.'

That was the thought running through Sandra's mind as she walked through the clear blue surf, her bare feet sinking into the white sand, the sun warmed her back and the soft breeze rustled the fronds of the palm trees. The soft swooshing of the sea as it broke over the white rocks created the perfect musical background for this postcard moment.

She had only stepped off the plane an hour before, but after checking into her hotel, which had turned out to be fairly basic, she had instantly changed into the outfit she had bought specially for this holiday, a light summer dress, white with red poppies with an elasticated bodice and spaghetti straps, and the large white sun hat, the outfit topped off by the red sandles she was now carrying. She looked up at the luxury apartments lined up looking out over the beach, she had originally planned to splash out and spoil herself by booking herself into one of those, but she had left it too late and the only room she could get was at the quite frankly out-dated royale hotel. She wasn't too bothered, yes the balcony with hot tub would have been nice, and the luxury en-suite bathroom with jacuzzi bath would'nt have been bad, not to mention the air conditioned living space with open plan kitchenette, mezzanine bedroom with king size bed and forty inch flat screen television with satelite receiver. She actually would have been happy just to have the direct access to the beach.

She had picked up the brochure for this little known carribean island in the station canteen. One of the clerical admin assistants had honeymooned here and had told everybody how incredible it was. Pricey though, but Sandra hadn't had a proper holiday since her Italian jaunt, the first year she had joined UCOS so she had decided to spoil herself.

She had nearly not made this one. Due to an admin error, the Commissioner had tried to cancel her week off as it had collided with the second week of DAC Robert Strickland's annual two week holiday, and the Commissioner hadn't wanted UCOS to be left without a serving officer. It had been Robert who had saved her holiday by pointing out to the Commissioner that it didn't matter which two weeks he took, there would always be some-one in one of his departments away at the same time, and that to penalise Sandra because she happens to single handedly run the smallest, yet most productive unit under his command was unfair and that the other members of the UCOS team had managed to reach retirement age without the need of a chaperone and were completely capable of looking after themselves for seven days.

So she had managed to get away from it all for a whole week, she could relax, enjoy the food and drink, and maybe find a little holiday romance. She bent down and picked up a beautiful conicle shell which was just lying on the sand. She jumped slightly as a small pair of claws and eyes looked back at her, she laughed.

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was at home." She told the little hermit crab as it sat in her hand, she set it down in the surf and watched as it ran back into the sea, to be carried away by a wave. She looked around the beach, it was really very peaceful, a few couples dotted around, lying on towels and loungers, some swimming in the sea. Some families, creating sandcastle monuments and searching amongst the rocks for shells. Dotted about were the occasional single sunbather, enjoying the peace and quiet. Sandra had checked out a few of the male ones, and in turn had been checked out by them. There were a few potentials but none had really caught her eye as yet.

Until now. She slowed slightly as she approached a man lying on a sun bed at the foot of the stairs from one of the appartments. He was lying in the shade of a coconut palm, his chest was bare, muscled and trim with a light covering of hair. His stomach was flat, and toned. He was wearing a worn pair of cargo shorts, his bare legs were also finely muscled, with the same fine hairs. She looked at his feet, she hated manky feet, and so many men let themselves down in that department. Not this guy though, his feet were perfect. Sandra smiled, she couldn't see his face, it was hidden under a castaway style straw hat, but if it was as good as the rest of him, she would have to try to strike up a conversation some time during the next few days.

She walked past the sunbather, trying to be as relaxed as possible, she stopped to pick up another shell, checking this time to make sure there was no creature in residence.

"You should come down here first thing, as the tide starts to go out you can find hundreds of different types of shells." The male voice behind her made her freeze. 'Surely not!' She thought to herself 'of all the places in the world.' She turned slowly, sure enough, the face attached to the eye candy body was that of her boss. He looked equally surprised as she turned to face him. "Sandra?"

"Hi, I suppose you picked up one of Caroline's brochures as well." She smiled shyly.

"Yes, It looked too good to pass up. I havn't been away since my divorce, so I decided to treat myself." He sat up. "Are you staying here?" He indecated the apartments behind him.

"No, I was too late, they were all booked up. I'm in the Royale up the road. I think the name's ironic." She grinned. "Are you here?"

"This one's mine. I thought 'what the hell' I've nothing else to spend my money on. It's not like I have a string of women queing up to help me spend it." He laughed softly. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the lounger. He couldn't believe she was here in front of him, he decided to take the bull by the horns. "Have you eaten yet?" He enquired.

"No, I checked in then came out for a walk, I couldn't resist the beach." She answered, at that moment her stomach decided to gurgle in protest. Robert stood and stretched.

"Let me grab a shirt and some shoes, then will you allow me to introduce you to the most amazing barbeque grill I have ever encoutered. They do this incredible rack of ribs, and the beer is cold." He smiled shyly. He had asked her out for dinner before, but she had always turned him down, except for the few pub lunches he had taken her for when he had first arrived at UCOS. So much had happened since then, so much water under the bridge. She smiled, they were thousands of miles away, on a paradise island, if she couldn't let her hair down now, when could she.

"I'd really like that. Thank you." She gave him a dazzling smile. He looked slightly startled.

"Really! I mean.. Well..." He started to stutter, he had never imagined that she would say yes, she never had before. "Umm... Come on up, I won't be a moment." He started up the stairs, she followed behind, she hadn't seen him thrown like that since her mother had embarrassed her by suggesting they looked good together. He had been rendered speechless then, and had almost sprinted from the office. It had been quite cute really, his flustered escape from her mother, she knew how he had felt, she had felt the urge to run from her mother on many occassions.

He slid the large glass patio door open and indecated that she should go in first. As she stepped into the apartment she was greeted by a swirl of cool air.

"Oh that is gorgeous." She stopped, taking off her hat letting the cooled air from the ceiling fan fall across her face. Robert gulped as he watched, her blonde hair moving softly in the breeze, the floaty summer dress picking out her curves. He was sure that right now she had absolutely no idea what she was doing to him, of course, she could be wearing a potato sack and he'd still find her beautiful, she wouldn't notice his discomfort though, she never did. He put his hat on the table and ran his hands through his hair. He had hoped to maybe find a little companionship on this holiday, to forget all his responsibillities and stress, to spend a few weeks in charming company, to leave behind his loneliness, just for a while. But he'd been here for a week, and although he'd rejected a couple of tempting proposals, he just hadn't found what he needed.

Of course, he knew what he wanted. He wanted Sandra, but he knew that would never happen. She just didn't see him. He was a ghost to her, an annoyance, some-one who periodically got in her way and made her life a little bit more difficult. He had watched her with her boys, had seen her and Gerry flirting. Gerry Standing, cheeky chappie, ladies man, confident, warm, charming, likable - no, lovable. Everything he wasn't basically. She was obviously more into the Gerry type, what chance did he stand with a woman as incredible as her.

This was to be his escape, two weeks of being somebody else. Yet here she was, sent across the ocean to torment him. And even then he couldn't help himself, he had begged to take her out, like the pathetic sop that he was. He wandered up to the sleeping area, an open balconied area above the kitchen and bathroom. He stripped out of the old shorts and reached for his more decent ones, unaware that he was giving Sandra a full show of his bare behind. She gulped as she watched, unable to avert her eyes. 'Who'd have thought he was hiding that under those proper suits' she thought

finally managing to look away. She waited a few minutes until he came back down the stairs, wearing a pair of dark blue cargo shorts and a pale blue polo shirt. He pulled on a pair of running trainers and picked up his wallet.

"Oh God, I didn't bring any money with me!" Sandra exclaimed. "I left it in my room." He smiled warmly.

"Tonights my treat. If you insist, you can buy later in the week." He told her. 'Well at least I'll get one more dinner with her' he thought to himself.

"That's a date then." Sandra smiled, the prospect of at least one other evening with him filling her with an unexpected feeling of excitement.

"Then allow me." He smiled and offered her his arm, she linked her arm through his and they wandered out into the carribean sun.

/

It was early evening by the time they returned from the grill. Sandra had never felt so full, he had been right, the ribs had been to die for, and the beer had been ice cold. She had found herself really enjoying his company, the stiff in the suit had vanished and had been replaced by a funny and charming man, she had found herself being drawn towards him, he had had a shyness about him that she had found endearing and extremely appealing. The confident, professional officer she knew from London had gone completely, here he was quiet, and kind, even his voice was softer, and his face seemed less severe, she had spent the afternoon with the man which she had only glimpsed a handful of times since they had started to work together five or so years before. She had enjoyed it.

They were walking together along the beach towards the hotel she had checked into earlier in the afternoon, as they approached she frowned at the pool area, she had walked through earlier as she had headed to the beach, and one of the attendants had been really quite pushy, she had had to tell him where to go in no uncertain terms, unfortunately, this man seemed to think that any phrase ending in off constituted as a 'maybe later'. She flinched as he swaggered towards her. He wasn't one of the local workers, he was european, maybe spanish or portugese, his accent was heavy, yeah he was goog looking, if you liked the smarmy Ronaldo type, she didn't.

"My beautiful English rose has returned to me." He called out to her as she walked through the gate from the beach, all the heads turning towards her, some looking relieved that the lothario had a new target for his attentions, others looking at her with humour.

"Oh puhleese." She said out loud, drawing a few snickers from the bathers sitting closest who could hear." One of them, a woman in her thirties whispered.

"I have a tazer in my bag if you want to borrow it." She smiled at the woman.

"I may take you up on that." She replied, drawing a laugh from the woman. Robert had followed her through the gate and closed it behind him. The pool plonker noticed him and drew himself up to his full height, which was still a head shorter than Robert.

"Sir, the pool is only for the use of hotel residents, I'm afraid I must ask you to leave."

"It's ok, he's my guest, I just need to get something from my room. Then we'll leave you in peace." Sandra smiled as she linked her arm through Robert's.

"Oh, My rose, why you do this to me? You break-a my heart." He sighed, allowing his voice to carry, making Sandra cringe. Robert smiled, he put his arm around her back. and replied with his voice dangerously low,

"You keep this up, I'll break-a your neck." Sandra allowed a small smile to grace her lips, but really she wanted to high five and punch the air. She had recognised that voice, that had been the DAC, the one who even her and the boys knew not to mess with. She heard several snickers from near by bathers, as she left the pool parasite behind, pale and speechless. Robert still had his arm around her, he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Let's leave him in no doubt." She turned her face to him and he gave her a soft kiss, meanwhile his hand wandered lower and caressed her ass. As they rounded the corner, he pulled his hand away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep. I just wanted to make sure he got the message and left you alone." He looked down, slightly embarrassed. She smiled warmly at him as she took his hand.

"You didn't overstep, in fact I rather enjoyed it. You can be my white knight any time you want." She re-assured him, he looked back up at her, surprised by her reaction. "Just because I can look out for myself, doesn't mean I want to all the time." They went up to her room, she had wanted to retreive her handbag, so she could buy him a drink. She unlocked the door, her case still sat by the bed, unopened. She looked around the room.

"It's not as nice as yours, but it'll do." She shrugged. The room was nice enough, but it was hot. There was no air conditioning here.

"Do you have a bath?" Robert asked, peering around, she shook her head.

"Just a shower. All the best rooms were already taken. I think this is their budget room. It's fine, I don't plan on being here much anyway. Just a place to sleep and wash." She tried to look as though it didn't matter at all. She wasn't fooling him. He took a breath and made a leap of faith.

"Sandra, let's get your case, and go and tell reception you're not staying. My apartment is set up for four, the sofa pulls out to another bed. The bathroom is huge and there's plenty of room for two. You'll never be able to relax with that slimeball out there giving you the eye. And if it hadn't been for me taking the same week off, you'd have been able to book earlier and probably have got one of the beach apartments anyway." He was babbling he knew, but he couldn't let her stay, the man at the pool had set all his alarm bells ringing. She smiled softly.

"That is an extremely tempting offer, there is just one problem though. I had been open to the possiblilty of a little holiday romance, that could be a little awkward, don't you think?" He lowered his eyes.

"Probably." He sighed. "The presence of another bloke in the room could hamper things. So how about a swap. You take the apartment, I'll stay here." He looked at her earnestly. "I don't like him, something was very off about the way he fixated on you." She had no doubt he was talking about the pool prick. She nodded.

"He set off every bad vibe I have." She confirmed. She wandered over to the window, looking out at the sea. Her insides were in turmoil, she had come with the idea of finding some peace and quiet, and some male company. Well here he was, if he had been a stranger she had only met today, he'd have been exactly the type of man she would have been attracted to. 'am I insane?' she thought to herself, 'is it worth the risk?' She imagined a small version of herself perched on her left shoulder, clad in a red stocking and suspender set, with a red corset, a little pair of horns and a tail. This was the devilish side of her telling her to go for it, to make good use of that king sized bed, and the box of twelve condoms she had in her bag. There was another version of her perched on her right shoulder, dressed all in white, with a little pair of feathered wings and a halo. This angelic side was telling her that it was a mistake, that he was her boss and she should know better. She made her decision, mentally batting the annoyingly good version away and high fiving the bad. She turned back to him, she realised she had been quiet for too long, he had a neutral expression plastered onto his face, but she could see the hurt in his eyes. He obviously thought she was going to kick him into touch again. She wandered up to him and ran her hands around the collar of his polo shirt. He gulped, his adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"I would love to move into that king size bed you've been warming all week, but I have one condition." She purred.

"What's that?" He almost sqeaked, he couldn't believe she was looking at him the way she was. He hoped the sun hadn't got to him and he wasn't seeing things that wern't there. He could hardly string two thoughts together, the main reason being all the blood had rushed from his brain, straight to his groin. She leaned in close, her lips brushed his ear.

"I want you in it with me." She whispered, so low he almost believed he had heard wrong. Until she slipped her arms around his neck and started to play with the soft hair on his neck. "If you want to, that is." She added, a nervous edge creeping into her voice. He slid his arms around her back and pulled her gently against him, not wanting to scare her off, but needing to demonstrate what effect she had on him.

"Look what you do to me. I have wanted to be with you for so long, but I had given up. I didn't think you would ever see me, let alone want me." He paused, needing to tell her what this meant to him. "I don't do well with women, I thought I could have a bit of fun on this holiday, but I suddenly realised earlier why I just can't find a woman I'm attracted enough to, to want to sleep with."

"Why?" She asked, appreciating his honesty.

"They're not you." He replied simply. "You're the only woman I want. And if I only get these seven days with you, then at least I'll have known something of heaven. If we part at the end of the week, as friends and colleages, I'll be happy to have been lucky enough to have been the one to share a taste of paradise with you." He stopped and took a breath. "Just don't end up hating me. I don't think I could cope with that."

She suddenly realised that what the boys had been teasing her about for years wasn't quite true. Robert Strickland didn't just fancy her, he was in love with her. She touched her lips to his, starting the kiss softly, before using her tongue to tantalise him into deepening the contact. Before she knew it, their tongues were duelling and their lips were fused together. She could feel his erection pressing against her stomach and she lowered one hand between them, running her hand along his length, feeling him through his shorts. He gasped, his eyes locking with hers as she unfastened his shorts and pushed them down past his thighs, releasing him. He ran his hands down her back, caressing her buttocks and lower, he found the hem of her dress and hitched it up, pushing his hand inside her briefs, he squeezed her ass cheek before pushing her underwear down. He moved his hand around her front and slid first one finger, then two inside her, he slid his fingers in and out a few times, realising how hot and wet she was, she was running her hand along his length, rubbing her thumb over the end, wiping away the moisture there.

"Oh God Robert, I need you now!" She gasped as he moved his fingers inside her, his thumb pushing against her sweet spot.

"I don't have anything." He whispered, she knew what he meant and reached for her handbag. She quickly found the box and tore away the cellophane with her teeth, she pulled out one of the little square packets and handed it to him. He pushed her back gently, untill her legs bumped the edge of the bed, he withdrew his hand only long enough to peel the dress up over her head, she kicked her sandles off before laying back on the bed, watching as he pulled off the polo shirt and discarded his trainers and shorts, he stood there naked for a few moments, hardly able to believe the woman on the bed was waiting for him. His erection stood out proudly, 'God, he's amazing!' she thought, as she wriggled her underwear down off her legs. He crawled onto the bed with her, claiming her lips with his, he entered her with his fingers again, and used his thumb to drive her towards the edge of reason, she arched up, a thousand little shooting stars going off behind her eyes as she climaxed. She opened her eye as she came down, he was watching her intently, his dark blue eyes almost black with passion, he used his teeth to tear open the little foil packet and rolled the condom onto his length. He braced himself over her for a second before entering her, slowly sheathing himself inside her. He fought to keep his breathing steady as he let out a moan. She pulled him closer, taking more of his weight on her.

"I won't break." She whispered in his ear. He closed his eyes and started to thrust in and out, slowly at first, trying to prolong things, then as he couldn't hold back any more, his thrusts got quicker, more powerful. "Yes, oh god yes!" She cried as she threw her head back a second climax overtaking her as he pounded into her, beyond control now, until she felt his pace falter. He gave a few more thrusts before he let go, whispering her name over and over. She held him tight as he shuddered against her, whispering in his ear. He stilled, before rolling to the side, taking her with him, he cradled her against his chest as they both fought to bring their breathing back to normal. Eventually she was able to prop herself up on one arm, she looked down on him, light blue eyes met dark blue, she smiled.

"That was incredible." She told him, he smiled up at her.

"You're incredible." He replied. He looked as though he was about to say something else, but he changed his mind at the last moment. She didn't miss it though.

"What is it?" She asked. He shook his head.

"I don't want to spoil the moment." He whispered. She caressed his face.

"You won't, please tell me." She pleaded. He closed his eyes for a second before opening them again, they were glistening with unshed tears.

"I love you, Sandra Pullman. I always have, from the moment we first met, and no matter what happens, I always will." The tears fell down his cheeks, she wiped them away with her thumbs, suddenly aware that she was also crying. A sudden realisation hit her, the reason she hadn't been able to find a date for the past few years, the reason why she couldn't chat to a man without feeling disappointed.

"I didn't realise this until a few moments ago, I love you, I think I may have for a long time. His eyes widened slightly, he couldn't find any words to respond. She loved him. He had spent years dreaming of a moment like this, he never thought he would actually hear the words coming from her mouth. She could sense his turmoil, she kissed him lightly. "Talk to me please." She almost begged him. He looked at her with such an intense look and looked as though he was about to answer, before he grimaced. He smiled shyly.

"I'll just get rid of that." He pointed at the used condom, still wrapped around his now relaxed member. She giggled softly as he stood, making his way to the bathroom. "Bloody hell!" She heard him exclaim. She followed him to the door.

"Are you ok?" She asked, slightly worried.

"I was going to shower off quickly, but I don't think I'd fit all of me into this cubicle at once. You'd have to do one side then the other. She peeped in and started to laugh as she saw the worlds smallest shower cubicle.

"It reminds me of when I was at Hendon, me and a couple of girlfriends went to a caravan park for a weekend, the bathroom was so small that when you bent over the sink to clean your teeth, you had to have your bum up against the window." He started to laugh with her. He flushed away the offending object and wiped himself clean with some paper towel.

"There, that will have to do for now, lets get out of here and I'll introduce you to the hot tub sunset." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. They dressed quickly and Sandra gathered up her stuff. Robert picked up her case and they made her way to the foyet. Sandra approached the desk and rang the bell. It was nearly eight o/clock and she didn't even know if there would be a receptionist on duty. Eventually a middle aged carribean man appeared and gave her a wide smile. His smile faltered slightly as he saw Robert and the case.

"Good evening madame. I hope everything is well." He asked pleasantly. She smiled warmly.

"The hotel is fine, and my room is lovely." She lied, but she didn't want to completely ruin his evening. "But I'm afraid I have to leave. I have found alternative accommodation. I'm not going to make a fuss, and I don't mind paying for today."

"I'm sorry you are unhappy, madame, please help me to put things right."

"Sack that horrible, offensive, and downright creepy pool attendant who will not leave women alone, and you may be able to keep your guests."

The man sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Miquelle." He said, as though it was a swear word. "I am sorry madame. You are not the first guest who has been driven to leave by him. Unfortunately he is the son of one of the owners investors, unlike you, I unhappily am stuck with him. My sincere apollogies, I will authorise a full refund of your deposit immediately. And I am glad you will still be able to enjoy your holiday. Please leave your bag, if you let me know where you are staying, I will have my son, Dennis bring it to you in his car." Sandra smiled.

"That's very kind of you." She turned to Robert.

"Ocean Horizon apartments, number eleven." He told the manager. The man smiled.

"That is a beautiful place. I will have Dennis bring your bag straight away." He set about sorting the refund for her and wished them a pleasant evening. They left the hotel and walked back to Robert's apartment, as they arrived, a young man in a battered old maestro pulled up and hopped out. he opened the back and lifted the case out.

"That's good timing." Sandra laughed, the young man beamed at her.

"Papa told me that if I was quick, I would be able to catch up with you. He told me what you looked like, but if you could please confirm your name, I wouldn't want to give your bag to the wrong person."

"Of course. Cassandra Ruth Pullman." She answered. The young man smiled, then looked down at his feet.

"I'm sorry you have had to leave because of Miquelle. Papa has tried to get the owner to get rid of him, but he always seems to wriggle out of trouble, please don't let him spoil your holiday. But in the past, if he has really taken a liking to one of the guests, he has followed them around. Look out for him, and if you see him following you, call this number. It is a local policeman, he has dealt with Miquelle before." He handed Sandra a card before smiling at them, giving a cheery wave and jumping back into the car. He drove away back towards the hotel. Sandra put the card in her bag before looking at Robert, she caught his grin.

"What?" She asked.

"Cassandra?" He questioned, raising one eyebrow. "That's not on your file." She rolled her eyes.

"No, It's not. It's the name I was christened with, after my Grandmother, everyone called me Sandra right from the start, so I don't know why they bothered. It's the name on my passport though. Don't tell the boys!"

"Course not." He smirked. She laughed.

"Show me that sunset of yours."

/

Half an hour later they were both relaxing in the private hot tub, Sandra had never felt so at ease, here she was, watching the tropical sky turning shades of red, orange and pink, the yellow disc of the sun, disappearing past the horizon, casting a rainbow of colours across the sea, the soft waves highlighted by the fading light. She had a glass of white wine in her hand, and was resting against the warm chest of a man she had been dancing around for years. She smiled to herself, and couldn't keep a snort of laughter from escaping.

"Hmmm." He enquired, sipping from his own glass of wine.

"Just thinking, what would the boys do if they knew I was skinny dipping with the boss. I had a vision of me standing over them with a defibrilator, wondering which one to do first." She smiled at him. He snorted on his wine.

"It probably would give them a collective coronary. Which is why I plan on enjoying every moment of this holiday with you. I know things will be different when we get home."

"Are you regretting earlier?" She asked quietly, she didn't want to think he may be having second thoughts. He shifted slightly, moving behind her so that she was sitting between his legs, her back against his chest, he brushed her hair to one side and kissed her neck softly.

"I could never regret one second I spend with you. I even value the times we argue. As I was telling you earlier, I have loved you from the moment we met. That's probably why I was such a prat, I regressed to a fifteen year old."

"Robert, you were still married when we first met." She didn't feel comfortable that she may have been the catalyst behind another relationship breakup. He heard the question in her voice.

"Barely. We hardly spent a minute in each others company without a slanging match breaking out. No matter what I did for her, it was never good enough, I chased promotions I didn't want so that she could go to the officers balls, I joined golf clubs and country clubs so she could mix in the circles she wanted. I joined the sailing club so that she could rub shoulders with the fashionable set, I gave her everything she wanted so that she wouldn't have to play away from home, working every hour God sent to pay for it. Nothing was ever good enough. I was never good enough." He drank down the last of his wine and put his glass on the side. He slid his hands around her body, pulling her gently against him. "You opened my eyes. I realised how shallow she was, image was everything, everything about her was fake. And she pulled me into that. I was a fake, the person you met at that reception didn't really exist, it was an act, a charade I had been practising for years, trying to fit into her world. You were real, alive in a way she never was, you have passion, a drive. The only thing that drove her was getting tickets for London fasion week." He smiled at her, a true smile which lit up his eyes. "Watching you stand up for yourself, fighting for what you believe in, gave me the confidence to stand up for myself."

"What do you mean."

"You remember, It was during the time you were relocated due to asbestos in the office, I got a call at work from my wife."

"I remember. 'Darling', Gerry found that amusing."

"I'm sure he did. I was in polite company, I couldn't use the name I wanted. She had been nagging me about buying into a race horse. That was the first time I said no to her. She told me that if I loved her I'd buy into the race horse so she could get access to the owners paddock. I told her that if she loved me she'd stop asking me to buy her things I couldn't afford."

"What happened?" Sandra couldn't believe he was talking so frankly to her, it was as if he had been bottling all of this up and now that he had started, he couldn't stop.

"She told me that if I couldn't afford a race horse, I couldn't afford her." He smiled sadly. Sandra turned slightly and gave him a soft kiss, caressing his jawline.

"I'm sorry but she sounds like a complete bitch." She told him. He nodded.

"It just took me eleven years and two children to figure it out." He replied. "That's what I feel the most guilt about. My children, they didn't deserve to be caugh up in the middle of that. Kaye was determined to use them as a weapon against me, I refused to be a part of that, as a result, they now think I didn't care enough to fight for them. I don't get to see them anymore... I mean, they don't want to see me." He stopped and looked out at the sunset, the golden light illuminating his features. She could see he was fighting to hold back his emotions, she took his hands.

"How old are they?"

"Mione's fifteen, Russ is eleven. Russ won't speak to me at all. Mione at least remembers me as her Daddy. She sends me a birthday card." Sandra realised how much pain he must have been hiding, the past few years, she felt tears on her cheek, he saw them and wiped them away with his thumb.

"I've gone and ruined the moment again havn't I. Here we are, watching a beautiful tropical sunset, and I'm talking about my marriage breakup."

"I asked, remember." She smiled, "How come you've never mentioned any of this before? The pain you must have been hiding, you know you could have come to us, we wouldn't have judged you." He smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"I was hiding, pretending everything was fine. It's what I do, It's what I've always done."

"I don't understand."

"The Tim Nice-but-dim act. Upper class clown. If you're irritating enough, people don't hang around long enough to realise anything is wrong. It's a great defense, stop's people getting close enough to hurt you."

"Christy Berlin hurt you." Sandra needed him to know that she was aware how he had been used by that cow. He smiled ironically.

"I let my defenses down, let her into my life. She saw how weak I was and took advantage."

"You're not weak, you were lonely, and she was a bitch too. Anyway, now you've let your defenses down for me?" She pointed out. He shook his head.

"No, you battered your way through them. I Couldn't have said no to you, even if I'd wanted to. Besides, your not a bitch."

"Oh, I can be." She smiled seductively. He laughed.

"You can do what you want to me. I'm all yours." She sat astride him, kissing him passionately.

"Make love to me again." She purred in his ear. He smiled,

"I'd love to, but I've left the box of durex inside."

"All except this one." She reached over the side and produced one of the little foil packets. "I hoped we might need one." She leaned in and captured his lips, he slipped his hands lower down her back and pulled her closer, returning the kiss with interest. She could feel him hard against her stomach. She pulled back slightly, tearing the packet open with her teeth, he held still as she rolled the protection down his hard length, as she did this, he occupied himself with her breasts, licking and sucking first one then the other, she sighed, the sensation of his mouth on her nipples driving her to the edge, she took his face in her hands and kissed him hard, the warm water, bubbling and frothing around her, she pulled back, looking into his dark blue eyes, she lifted herself up and lowered herself onto his shaft, watching as his pupils expanded, darkening his eyes with passion, her pale blue orbs locked with his. She started to ride him, setting the pace, he gripped her buttocks, helping to support her, she bit her bottom lip, feeling him start to thrust back. She felt her climax wash over her, gripping his shoulders, she shouted his name. He held onto her, watching her come back to earth, he pulled out of her, she looked at him puzzled.

"You have to see what I can see." He told her, turning her around. She braced herself on the side of the tub and felt him slide back into her from behind, he started to thrust into her, a slow and steady pace, she could tell he was holding back. She looked out at the sea, the sun had disappeared, and the most beautiful full moon hung in the sky, the stars twinkling brighly illuminating the sea with silver light, the silver waves breaking on the white sand, the sound of the sea matching the timing of his movements, she gasped at the beauty of it.

"Oh my god! This has to be the most perfect moment." She whispered into the breeze, as he ran his hands around her front, one hand kneading her breasts, the other snaking lower, caressing her sweet spot. He kissed her neck and shoulders, all the time keeping up the steady rhythm. She could feel her climax building again, she cried out as her vision exploded. "Oh fuck yes! Come with me." She felt him let go, he gave three, hard thrusts before he shuddered, holding himself inside her.

"Oh, Sandra.." He whispered. He slid out of her and she turned in his arms, holding on to him for dear life as they both came back down to earth. Robert stood, holding his hand out to her. He reached over and turned off the hot tub. "Let's continue this in more comfortable surroundings." He smiled. He helped her step out of the tub first, then followed her, removing the used rubber as he stepped down from the tub. She giggled,

"The rate we're running through those, we're in danger of running out." She laughed as she helped him pull the cover over the now calm pool. He laughed with her.

"I've got a box of twelve upstairs. Havn't even opened them." She looped her arms around his neck and stole another kiss before giving him a golden smile.

"Well that's twenty two in total, should last us a few days."

"Mmmm, maybe." He grinned, as he slid the door open and they made their way inside, kissing their way to the bed. The air conditioning was cooling their skin, but they were generating their own heat. As they tumbled onto the king sized bed, their arms and legs still twined together, Robert leaned in and whispered into her ear.

"I've never felt so alive."

Sandra smiled as his lips found hers again.

"Show me."

/

On the beach, a pair of eyes looked up at the balcony. He stood motionless, his hands fisted at his sides, his face burned with fury. Even though his view was obstructed by the vegetation, he had heard everything.

"Oh, my rose. You will regret being unfaithful to me."

/

Author's note. Ok, this was supposed to be a light, smutty one shot inspired by the weather. It's turned into a monster, so I've had to split it into two. Pleeeaaase review.