Chapter Two

Trust and Love Are the Same Thing Sometimes.

Reuben would never change in Lily's memory, always seeing him through child's eyes – her Uncle Reuben. When he was seated at the small round table next to the pool, his smoking jacket only slightly open to reveal gold chains and chest hair, and those giant glasses of his that magnified his eyes six times their normal size, Lily's memory was confirmed. He stood, towering over her and stretching out his arms in the grandfather like fashion he had done so many other times.

"Lily, darling! I see you're still married to that shmuck of a husband."

Lily walked into his embrace and gave him a one-armed hug back, the other clutching her duffel. "I figure he has to be good for something, Reuben. I'm just keeping him around until I figure out what that is."

Rusty rolled his eyes as he gathered her duffel from her and threw it over his shoulder. He set his rolling suitcase down as Reuben parted from Lily and stuck his hand out. Rusty and Reuben shook hands, Reuben tilting his head up slightly so he was looking under the rims of his dark lenses. "Treating her better than you treat that hotel of yours, Robert?"

Rusty shook his head, laughing it off. Danny followed up behind him, Tess under his arm. Reuben followed suit, shaking Danny's hand and giving Tess a kiss on the cheek.

"I can't believe you're letting them do this, Reuben. You know it sounds ridiculous," Lily chided.

"Cut right through the pleasantries, don't you, darling?" Even though she was still annoyed at the thought, Lily couldn't help but smile. Reuben had called her "darling" from the moment he had met her. No matter the situation – whether he was praising her, reprimanding her, or telling her a "life lesson", moral-filled story – she was always his darling. It was just one of those old, familiar things that made her feel warm inside. Although they weren't blood related, Reuben considered Lily to really be like the granddaughter he never had. Even though they didn't have a common bloodline, they were related through that one little word.

Darling.

"Lily, darling, you worry too much! Oh, you're like you mother in that way…"

Lily went rigid, hearing the mention of her mother and her similarity to her. She tried her best to ignore it. "Reuben, you don't worry enough."

"Look, this is all on the up and up. I promise. It's legit."

Lily stopped, noticing Rusty had moved away from her and into the house. Danny and Tess were following behind him, rolling their own bags along behind them. She popped out her hip, resting her hand on it. "I'm just… I'm not sure. Who exactly told you about this place?"

"Oh, a friend of a friend." Reuben waved his hand in through the air.

"Well, yeah, I can see why you'd think that was legit."

"What can I say? He's a reliable friend!"

Lily shook her head, her curls bouncing around her face. She looked up as Reuben put his hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, darling, it's all gonna be worth it."

She looked past him, over his shoulder towards the house. Rusty had reappeared and was leaning against the open frame of some glass doors leading out the other side of the courtyard, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her. Reuben followed her gaze. "So this whole marriage thing… you like it?"

She shrugged. "We're still trying to make it work for both of us. Rusty's a planner, but it's kinda hard to plan for something like the rest of your life."

Reuben pulled a cigar out from the pocket of his smoking jacket, perching it in his mouth and lighting it with one practiced motion. "Planning is easy, darling. It's following through that's the hard part."

She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes locking with Rusty's. He was staring her down, calling her over to him. Enticing her. "Kind of like this Fantasy Island stuff."

"Oh, Lily. You need to have more faith."

"What I need," Lily started, moving around him towards Rusty, "is some more comforting evidence and more time to think about this."

"Some more time to think?" he smirked, watching as Lily backed away towards her husband. "Is that what you kids are calling it these day?"

She should have been grossed out that Reuben knew her intentions, but the look in Rusty's eyes was enough to make her pick up her step as she walked across the courtyard to where he was standing. She saw the room they were put up in as she neared, the red and gold décor resembling the Las Vegas casinos Reuben loved so much. Rusty backed into the room the closer she got.

Reuben had went back into the house, or so Lily assessed as she glanced over her shoulder one she slipped past the large, red curtain. Arms wrapped around her waist as the curtain fell closed over the sliding glass door, Rusty pulling her into his body as his lips moved to her neck. "Did I mention just how much I missed you," he whispered against her skin.

Lily giggled as his hot breathe brushed against her skin, giving her Goosebumps where he stroked her and an aching where he didn't. She twisted in his arms, planting her mouth firmly on top of his. She took in all of him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling him lift her slightly. To her, Rusty would always smell like the ocean breeze. The scent of sun and sand would always be implanted in every hair on his head, in every line on his face, and crevice of his body. His taste filled her, minty, powerful kisses that permeated through her.

Her feet touched the floor again as Rusty's hands were running through her hair, over her shoulders and down the length of her body. Her foot popped in one of those old time movie kind of ways, his hands hooking together after they ran over her bottom and he hoisted her back up himself. Lily cupped his face with her hand, feeling his muscles tightening around her body as he moved deeper into the room. He placed her at the foot of the round bed, helping her undo the buttons of his shirt.

With her palm firmly planted on his chest, she moved and he matched her. When the bed was behind him, she pushed him back on to the bedspread and stepped back, stripping away her clothing so she was standing before him in nothing more than her lacy blue bra and panties she had worn for specifically this occasion.

Rusty smiled, eyes widened. He reached for her hand, pulling her onto his lap as their lips met again. Lily felt the heat of his erection pressing against her center, and she arched against him as her hands groped for his belt buckle. He placed his hands on top of hers, steadying her eager fingers. She was exploding with anticipation, her breathing coming in short breaths the longer it took for him to remove his pants. Rusty, though, was a planner. He was calm, just following a blue print. A blue print he had mapped through years of experience. He knew just where to touch her, just where to kiss to get her juices flowing.

"Rusty," she whispered his name, wanted to convey something of what she was feeling for him. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, how much she had missed him, how much she secretly hated the arrangement they had worked out in hopes of keeping them both happy. The truth was that she was miserable without him. Yes, her life in New York was the one she wanted, but she wanted him there with her. Without his kisses or the way he stroked her hair, without him, New York just seemed so empty.

She pulled back from him as his tongue caressed the lobe of her ear, something that would have finished her before. He stared into her eyes, concerned. She ran a hand down the side of his face, her soft fingertips making his skin tingle. There just seemed to be no words.

"I'm with you," she finally told him, resting her forehead against his. "This whole Fantasy Island thing. I trust you." The way she said those latter three words made him moan. The blueprint had changed in that moment. Trust and love were synonymous, and she saw both in him.

Rusty pulled her down onto the bedspread, laying most of his body weight on top of her as he positioned himself between her legs. She grabbed at his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh as ran his hands all over her. He was aware of just how hot and wet she was, realizing that the only things standing between their love and trust was her thin pair of panties. He did away with them, the fabric nearly melting off of her body as he melted inside her. She moaned, her head falling back as her hands reached up towards the headrest. Rusty caught her lips just before she was about to get louder, stifling her pleasure with his mouth so no one she cared about would hear. This was their moment, and he was not about to share it with anyone other than her.

His hips pumped, rolled and swayed in sync with hers, her whole body writhing underneath him as he found her spot. She gasped for air, trying her best not to scream his name. Their minds were synced on the idea of keeping the moment as intimate as possible.

His hands clasped around her wrists as he moved harder, faster. Her hands balled into fists at the headboard. She planted her toes firmly in the fabric underneath her, using her legs to lift her pelvis up towards his.

His hands tightened around her wrists as he tried to hold back his release to make the moment last longer, feeling like his heart was going to explode in his chest. Lily let out a high pitched gasp as her legs gave way to her climax and she lowered back down to the bed. He grunted his own release moments later, still inside her.

He stayed there, on top of her as they both panted to catch their breath. He stared into her eyes for a while, then rolled off and pulled her into his side where she fit perfectly. Her fingertips ran along his chest, and he could see the red marks around her hands where he had gripped too tight.