by Lisa Shelby
She lifts my hand to her mouth and kisses the inside of my palm, while her big chocolate eyes look into mine, as if she can see straight into my soul. Letting go of my hand, she slides both of her hands under my suit jacket to slowly slip it off my shoulders and lets it fall to the floor. She removes my tie just as slowly as she did my jacket. As if we have all the time in the world. I guess she's right; we do. There is no need to rush a thing.
She takes her time undoing the buttons of my shirt, and when I would normally want her to rip it off of me, buttons be damned, tonight I want her to take her time. Each moment we spend here in our moonlit room, with our music playing and her deft fingers touching me, is bringing me back to life.
Once my shirt is off, she places a kiss over my heart while her hands are opening my belt and unzipping my pants. She pushes me back a couple of steps until my legs hit the bed, and she gently pushes me so I sit in front of her. She gives me another sweet kiss and then bends down to remove my shoes and socks. She stands me back up and pulls my pants down, and then I stand before her in just my boxer briefs.
Her fingers slide into my underwear, and as she slides them down my legs she pushes me back down onto the bed. Once she has me fully exposed, she saunters over to the bedroom chair and grabs the throw pillow and puts it on the hardwood floor in front of where I sit on the bed.
"Oliv..."
She shakes her head but doesn't say a word, and her gaze locks on mine and never leaves until she is on her knees before me. Lightly dragging her fingertips up and down my shaft, she looks away from me to look at what she now holds firmly in her grasp as her hand tightens around me.
"Beautiful." She says the words, and even though I didn't think it was possible, I get harder. But when the tip of her tongue comes out to lick the pre-cum off the tip and circle around the head, I nearly come right there. "Tastes good too."
"Olivia..."
"Shh...I said no talking, Mr. McKinley."
She licks up and down my length a couple more times before taking me fully into her mouth. Her rhythm is slow and steady, and her hand follows her mouth as she moves up and down. When she hums a sound that says she finds me all too delicious, I have to gently push on her shoulder to get her attention.
"Baby, I'm not sure how long I can last if you keep doing that."
She heeds my warning and stands up, still in her heels and back at that perfect height that had me wanting to reach under her dress earlier. This time I do. My hands slowly feel their way up her thighs, and I swear her skin is made of silk, because it is the softest thing I have ever touched. She feels perfect, and when I reach the lace stretched across her perfect round ass, she turns around. When she looks back over her shoulder, I know she's asking me to unzip her.
I slowly pull down the zipper, and she pushes her dress off her shoulders and lets the black material land on the floor. She turns around in her black lace, and once again her unwavering eyes watch me as she undoes her bra and lets it fall to the ground with her dress. I know I've seen her naked a hundred times or more, but I swear I am awestruck at how radiant she is tonight.
When she bends over ever so slowly to lower the last bit of lace, she makes a point of holding her panties up high with one finger before letting them float to the ground. She stands in front of me in her black sky-high stilettos and nothing more.
She's pushing me to my back and encouraging me to scoot back on the bed all the while she crawls over me like a feral cat. In the dark of the room, my senses are on high alert, and the feel of her long hair as it brushes over my chest is one of the most intense feelings I have ever felt. The smell of her shampoo fills my head, and I'm reminded of all the times we've made love in the shower just a few feet away.
As my hands glide up and down her thighs and eventually find their way back to that perfect ass of hers, my mind flashes pictures of us right here in this bed as I took her from behind, and she watched me from over her shoulder.
Her lips leave a scorching hot path up to my neck while she rubs herself on me, and the friction is making us both hot. She licks, bites, and sucks every inch of my neck, and when her tongue reaches my earlobe, she takes a little nibble and whispers, "I love you, Ronan."
When I taste her tongue in my mouth, I'm flooded with the memories of our love making while at the same time, she wipes out all of those memories with the magnitude of this moment. She reaches down between us and lifts just enough so she can slide back down, and she takes me inside her.
"I love you, Ronan," she says again with her lips never leaving mine as if she is repeating a sacred vow. She's taking what she needs and giving me what I had no idea I needed.
This woman, who has never needed to be rescued, is rescuing me. She's reaching into my soul and taking all the pieces of me that felt shattered and broken, worthless and guilt-ridden, and she's putting them all back together and making me whole again.
She knows what's been troubling me and why I haven't been able to touch her like this. She knows that right now, I need the rest of the world to go black while I feel her touch, and she brings the color back to my life.
She pushes herself up so she's sitting above me, and with the slivers of moonlight falling over her, she is more captivating than any piece of art I own. She's the kind of art that you look at and can't pull your eyes away from. She captivates you and pulls you in.
She is overwhelming.
My hands are on her hips, helping her keep our soul-shaking rhythm, but she puts her hands on mine and pulls them up her torso and to her breasts. She needs more, she's telling me it's okay to touch her, that I won't hurt her. She needs me to touch her as badly as I need her to touch me.
For a brief moment, the guilt comes back when it hits me I haven't been there for her fully since she fought so hard to find her way back to me, and now she feels like she has to fight her way back to my heart. I didn't realize that although I was over the moon to have her back, I hadn't fully let myself enjoy being with her because my head couldn't get the awful vision of watching her being taken from me on the video surveillance and then seeing her again on my computer screen. My head has been in the way of my heart.
My heart, which is currently overflowing to the point of pain, and in this act of love, she is putting my head back together, while making my heart beat again. My love for her never went anywhere, but seeing the violence that bruised her body was too much to take.
Right now, here in this dark room, she's making everything else but the two of us fade away. She's showing me that she is okay. She made it through to the other side, and she wants me to meet her there. She wants us to live the life we talked about. The life we dreamed up and brought to fruition right here at Eclipse.
She's the moon in my sky, the light of my life, and all the colors of the rainbow. She loves me, and as I watch her body move above me, I feel everything click together, and I know I’m back. She has brought me back.
My mind and body are on such different paths that it takes me a moment to register the fact that she has put my thumb in her mouth and is sucking on it to leave it wet. Once she's ready, she puts it where she wants it to go, and when I begin to rub her where she needs it the most, I can feel her tighten around me.
Her back arches, and she moans my name, and the feel of the rush of her body about to find its climax takes me to the edge right along with her. We fall together, and I realize how right she was. How badly I needed her to show me she was okay, and it was time to come back to her.
The outside world has nothing to do with our love for one another.
She needs me, and I need her, and that's all that matters.
We are all that matters.
Epilogue
"Baby, can you put some sun block on my back?" She puts her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head while she sits down on her knees in the sand in front of me, assuming the position that says put sun block on my back, instead of waiting for my reply.
I'm not sure why she even bothered to ask me if I woul
d spread lotion all over her body when she knows any excuse to touch her is going to get her a yes.
"Of course. You sure you don't need any on your front too?"
"I'm sure, but nice try."
"Hey, I'm here to serve your needs, whatever they may be."
She looks over her shoulder, and her freckles on her makeup-free face make me smile as do her words. "I love you, Mr. McKinley."
"I love you, Mrs. McKinley."
She's shared my name for two years as of today, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing it said out loud.
"Thank you for the wonderful anniversary getaway."
"You know how happy it makes me to see you with your toes in the sand," I say while I rub the sun block across her shoulders and down her back, maneuvering under the tiny white string holding the top piece of her bikini together.
When Olivia first came to work for me, we spent a long weekend on Catalina Island, at my former resort, Haven. Our first day there, I had a packed schedule of meetings while she had the day to herself. The smile she came back beaming with after her day of bike riding and exploring left its mark. I never forgot her telling me about how she stopped for lunch and how she loved eating with her feet in the sand while she had her Mexican food and drank her Mexican beer. She told me it was as close to Mexico as she had ever gotten, and I told myself that day I would bring her to Cabo so she could live out her little fantasy.
We've been here many times now, but this was the first time we’ve taken The Jupiter, the boat where she taught me less is so much more, all the way down the coastline to the Baja peninsula. She loves this little spot in front of The Office, her favorite beachside restaurant in Cabo.
One of the reasons she loves this spot is because it has one of the only swimmable beaches in the area, and the two of us have spent many a day letting the tide bring us up to the shoreline only to pull us back to the deeper water.
Besides Eclipse, this sandy little spot is our favorite place to be.
Her back is well-covered in sun block, so I throw the bottle on the chair next to me, and I wrap my arms around her, resting my chin on the top of her head. I take in the moment, and as I always do, I try to burn the moment into my memory. The tranquil blue sea in front of us, the hot sand beneath us, and the feel of my heart beating against her back. After almost losing her those years back, I have made it a point to always stop and enjoy the little moments. Yes, the journey here on our luxury yacht was nice, but it really is the little moments that have the most impact.
Less is always more.
Even though I know she's right about less being more, I still love to give her a hard time about how she has adapted to some of the finer things in life.
"I knew you wouldn't hate spending time on The Jupiter. Admit it, you kind of love yacht life, don't you?"
"I wouldn't say it's the yacht I love, but I can't deny how much I love being alone with you, away from the real world. I will give you that." She turns her head so she can kiss my arm that is holding her tight, and I can hear the smile in her voice when she confesses, "The boat's okay, too."
"I thought so," I say, releasing her and giving her a kiss to the top of the head.
She stands and when she bends over to brush the sand off her shins, she stays right in front of me so that fine ass of hers is right there and just a couple small inches from my face.
She knows what she's doing, and I'm not in the mood to let her get away with it, so I lean forward and grab her by the hips so she can't escape when I take a gentle little bite of her cheek.
She squeals in shock. "Ronan! We're in public! Save it for our cabin back on the boat! Geesh!"
I love that about her. She isn't saying I can't take a little nibble, but she is saying, there is a time and place for it. She truly is a lady in the streets and a freak in the sheets. Okay, she's freakish in the sheets, but her freak level matches mine, and I have no complaints.
When she turns to face me and I get the full view of her perfect little body, I have never seen anything so magnificent. Nobody can pull off a little white bikini like Olivia can. Her tan skin is glowing, and her long slender legs are as toned as ever from her daily runs, but it's her round belly carrying our baby girl that is what takes my breath away.
My hands are back on her hips, only this time, I pepper her stomach with kisses while her fingers glide through my hair. "How's my baby girl doing? You aren't too hot in there, are you?"
"She'll be much cooler if her mommy can get in the water. Come on, Daddy. Let's go," she says, trying to pull me off my chair.
"Hey, I'm talking to my daughter here. Just hold your horses, lady."
She huffs with her hands on her hips, but she amuses me. I take her belly in my hands and continue my conversation.
"Sorry about that, baby girl. Your mommy can be so very rude sometimes. You'll get used to it, though."
"Whatever."
I can hear her eyes roll without even looking at her. It’s a given, and I love that I know my wife so well, and I love that she couldn't keep her hands on her hips, and they’re back in my hair again like they always are when I have conversations with our little bun in the oven.
"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that your daddy loves you very much. I can't wait to meet you and to hold you in my arms, but please take your time and keep baking for these next three months. Then when you're ready, your mom and I will be here waiting for you." I kiss her belly, and then while still talking to my daughter, I look up at my wife. "You are going to love your mommy so much. Not only is she beautiful, but she's smart, kind, and sassy too. If I'm lucky, you'll come out just like her, because she's the best there is."
One last kiss to her belly and then I surprise the mommy-to-be by sweeping her off her feet and carrying her into the water. When we reach the warm water, I carry her in until we're deep enough that the water is up to my chest. I release her legs so she can wrap them around my waist, and we stare into each other's eyes, letting the water take over. It gently sways back and forth, moving us in its tranquil rhythm.
"You know, she's gonna be pretty lucky to have you for a daddy too."
"I hope so, baby. You know I'll do anything for both of you."
"I do. I also know that no matter what I say, you're worried you're not going to know what to do once she gets here."
She's right. I am scared shitless. I have no idea how to be a father, especially to a little girl, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to do things better than my parents did. I may not have learned how to love from them, but from their example, I have learned all the things we're not going to do. As long as I get to raise our daughter with Olivia, I know she's going to turn out okay.
"You know what?"
"What's that?"
"You're right, I have had a few sleepless nights, but I have come to the conclusion that as long as we have each other to lean on, we're gonna be just fine, and so is our little girl."
"That's what I like to hear. What about all your baby books? You gonna take a break?"
"Well, let's not go crazy. I didn't say all that. You know I like to be armed with all the research at my disposal."
"I know but, Ronan, there are billions of parents out there that haven't read any books, and they did just fine. You don't need to spend the next three months reading and researching, and you know why, right?"
"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me."
"Baby, this. Right here. Us floating out here in the Sea of Cortez is about to come to an end. We won't be able to bring a baby out here with us. We aren't going to get to sleep through the night. Our lifestyle is about to dramatically change."
"Nah, there'll just be three of us here instead of two. I'm sure they make some floaty device that we can tether to us so she doesn't float away. We'll just have to be creative."
I know she's right about this too. And I do know our travel will slow down, and our lifestyle is about to change, but it's all for the better. Not that there is anything bet
ween the two of us that needs improving, but I think adding another Olivia to our duo sounds pretty great.
At first, we were both in shock when we found out the news. There was always so much going on with starting our new business and traveling the world for events that we never really sat down and talked about starting a family. The year before and the year after we were married were far from easy, and we had even more hard times to deal with than we expected, but we made it through stronger than ever.
Neither of us had the greatest family to model after when it came to raising children, but we weren't upset at the news. We were shocked but happy. And I have to say Olivia has never looked more beautiful.
She has had a great pregnancy and hasn't had any real bouts of morning sickness. It's been a dream so far, and I hope and pray every day that the delivery goes just as well. "You are crazy, you know that?"
My reply is a chaste kiss. She tastes like the salt of the sea and smells like a tropical coconut. We're pressed so close together that when the baby moves, I can feel it against my stomach, and our kiss turns into two big smiles pressed against each other as we revel in the joy of impending parenthood and everything we're experiencing together.
"Will you be sad not to travel as much?"
"Baby, as long as I'm with you, I don't care where I am. I've been traveling my entire life. Staying home will do me some good. That does bring up a good question."
"Yes?"
"What about Eclipse, gorgeous? It's only a one bedroom."
"I know."
"Did you want to sell it, expand the space and maybe get a different place in Laguna?"
I feel her body stiffen in my arms, and the look of panic that covers her sun-kissed face is all the answer I needed.
"Ronan, never! That's our place, baby. Maybe it will only get to be our weekend escape, and we may not be there as often as we are now, but I need to know it will always be there. And I don't want to remodel. I want to leave it just the way it is."