by Jaid Black
And yet I also hope you will think back on our week from time to time and remember it kindly. And whenever the nights grow cold and lonely, remember that there is a man in Sweden who carries you in his heart always.
Thank-you, min ängel. Thank-you for everything you’ve given to me. I will hold it close to my heart and cherish it always.
Now go paint pretty pictures and sing happy songs and never again let any fool tell you that your love of doing so isn’t worthwhile.
You said to me once that I am worthy. Well Marie, ängel, so too are you. Never doubt it.
All of my love,
Fredrik
Chapter 13
Fredrik studied the portrait Marie had painted of him standing amongst his gardens as he sipped from his morning cup of coffee. The gardens in question were full of life today, vibrant blooms of color contrasted against an equally alive sky.
He ran a callused finger over one painted flower, a bud Marie had painted into the picture that had yet to bloom.
“Sort of like me, ängel, before I’d met you.”
Smiling at his own musings, he removed his finger from the portrait and stared absently out into the gardens as he continued to sip from his coffee.
He wondered what Marie was doing this very moment, wondered if she thought about him from time to time, or even at all.
For her, he realized, more than a month had passed by, wherein her memories of him had perhaps faded somewhat.
But for him, for Fredrik, he still felt caught up in the middle of their week in paradise, replaying each moment over and over again in his mind until he became too grief stricken to continue.
He missed her. Christ how he—
“Hello, Fredrik.”
Shocked, and not altogether uncertain that he wasn’t imagining things, he drew his head up slowly and looked around, visually scanning the garden.
Nobody.
Jesus, he truly was losing it.
Sighing, Fredrik set down his coffee cup and stood up to leave. The gardens…there were simply too many memories of her here. He needed to leave this place, and preferably before he lost his mind altogether.
“I said hello Fredrik.”
Fredrik’s head shot up as he scanned the gardens once more. That time he was certain he’d heard a woman’s voice…and that just maybe he’d heard her voice.
And then she emerged from one of the paths and his heart rate increased by tenfold. She was naked, completely naked, just as she’d been during their entire week in the sun.
“Marie,” he murmured.
She smiled slowly, coming to a halt before him when she reached his side. She nodded. “I’m here,” she whispered.
Stunned and overwhelmed, he could only scan her features, memorizing every line, every curve, and committing them to memory.
At last, after many moments had been spent in silence, he shook his head slightly and met her gaze. “But why?” he asked somewhat shakily. “Why did you come back?”
Marie smiled up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I came to take you home,” she said softly.
Those words. The very same words Fredrik had said to her all those weeks past...
Closing his eyes, he sucked in his breath to steady himself, not wanting to appear weak before Marie.
“I love you, Fredrik,” she whispered, her hand reaching out to unzip his trousers. “I love you and I’ve come to take you home.”
And then he no longer cared whether a stray tear or two ran unchecked, for he had Marie in his arms and her flesh was welcoming his as they took to the grass and made love in the sun.
He impaled her over and over, again and again, never wanting the moment to stop, never wanting the feeling to end. She clung to him with all of her body, all of her emotions, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, her throat bared to his mouth as he thrust deeply inside of her.
And some minutes later when they lay spent and replete in each other’s arms, Fredrik gathered her as tightly against him as possible and squeezed her affectionately.
“You said you were going to take me home,” he whispered in low tones, his voice husky from their lovemaking.
“I am.”
“For how long will you keep me?” he asked seriously.
Marie searched his clear blue gaze and smiled contently. “Forever and a day,” she murmured. “Forever and a day.”
PART IV
Epilogue
Marie laughed as she wrapped her arms around Fredrik’s waist and held on tightly. “I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle naked before!” she yelled in order to be heard over the noise of the engine.
“Neither have I!” he shouted back, laughing as the wind whipped about them. “It’s pretty cool.”
Marie giggled, loving how he picked up American phrases of hers and threw them into sentences unthinkingly. “I wonder if we’ll be able to find any roads to do this on when we get to the Highlands next week!”
Fredrik shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. “We’ll make a new road together if one doesn’t already exist.” He glanced back at her long enough to wink.
Marie squeezed him around the middle and placed a kiss on the back of his neck. He was speaking in double entendres again, only this time she knew precisely what he’d meant. “Fredrik?”
“Hm?”
“Jag älskar dig.”
He smiled fully, displaying a line of neat white teeth. “Ja baby. I love you too.”
If you have not yet purchased this title and would like to support this author’s work, please visit http://ellorascave.com/honorbox.htm to contribute to our Honor Box. We thank-you for your support.
Other Novellas by Jaid Black:
www.ellorascave.com