by Tina Martin
I can feel the rain slacking off as my kisses grow deeper. As I suck her tongue into my mouth, holding her body close to mine.
She moans.
I love to hear it as much as I love her. I end the kiss. I don’t want to but I’m on a mission – searching for a place I can have her.
I scoop her into my arms and carry her to one of the boulders decorating the water’s edge. The water pounds against these boulders – splashes on us. I lay her on one of the flat ones and position myself between her legs. After one smooth stroke, I’m where I want to be – at home deep inside my wife’s body. I stare down at her and take in the delicate beauty of this woman who’s changed my life so much. Soft precipitation falls to her face. I lean down to lick the drops away – her cheeks, nose, lips – oh she’s so beautiful – a kind of beauty that’s unmatched on so many levels.
I push forward to give her all of me, but I’m careful not to push too hard. I don’t want to bruise her back on these rocks. So, I go slow. Pace myself. Making love to her is all about her. What I want is irrelevant, but I’m always thoroughly satisfied.
She moans and blinks water from her eyes. Her hands slip – she can’t get a good grip on my shoulders but I got a good hold her of her as I propel my body into her. Pleasure rolls through me like rumbles of thunder as I give her the storm that’s been brewing in my mind, heart and soul.
Her body steadily quivers. She sings my name between gasps of air. I watch as she comes undone, the pleasant torture on her face urges me to increase my strokes until we establish a perfect rhythm.
The waves crash and hiss, singing a song to celebrate our love.
The rain ends.
She’s panting.
I’m groaning.
We unravel together beneath a heavy bed of clouds. Her screams blend with my growls and are lost in the mysterious air. This is a magical moment we share – making love on an exotic beach – and I don’t want to stop. I can’t get enough of her.
She’s panting, her body still writhing and yet I want more – but not on this rock. She’s so weak, so drunk with love, she can’t stand up. Her body slumps against mine.
We leave our clothes on the beach. I carry her back to the house. By the time we get up to the bedroom, I’m thinking she’ll want nothing other than to shower and fall sleep across the bed, but she’s found a second wind, thrusts her tongue into my mouth and pulls me on the bed with her. I guide myself in place, join our bodies for a second time today, feeling her wiggle beneath me, bringing her hips up from the bed to meet mine with urgency. The sounds emitting from between her lips are loud and labored. She’s gone – free with her emotions and desires. She arches her back.
I lose it.
My rhythm increases, spurred on by her moans, whimpers and the way she’s dipped her back, in essence, begging me for more. So I give her more. Give and give until she shudders beneath me. Until she screams.
It’s when powerful spasms hit me and I fill her all over again.
After that, we shower together and then with the windows open, we relax on the bed. Naked. When she drifts off to sleep, I pull up a sheet to cover her and stare into the face of the woman who means so much to me. Even with all I have, I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
Chapter 7
Cherish
It’s a little after ten. Breakfast has been prepared for us by the chef and I’m sitting on the veranda, listening to the water crest, enjoying the breeze and watching Monty on his cell phone. He has on a pair of white slacks – the flimsy kind of pants that clings to everything male about him. Dark Versace sunglasses hide his eyes. These days in paradise have him rocking a golden bronze tan. Has him looking like Egyptian royalty. The black hair on his chest provides a contrast that instantly makes me lick my lips. My husband is the ish and he knows it. It should be unlawful to be so freakin’ good-looking. He’s drippin’ with swagger. Drippin’ with an abundance of it.
An appreciative smile grows on my face, but my poor baby…
He’s a little perturbed right now and by perturbed, I mean pissed – the vintage Montgomery-style of frustration. He’s fire-hot mad that he had to take an emergency phone call from Hannah – his secretary – this morning. I knew he was heated but when he snapped and answered the phone with, “What part of DO NOT DISTURB don’t you understand!” it revealed how angry he really was. I instantly felt sorry for Hannah. Somehow she must’ve calmed him down because he’s been talking to her in a more reasonable and rational tone for the last five minutes. He runs a billion-dollar company – this was bound to happen. He’s more bothered by it than I am.
When he’s done with the call, he looks back at me. I can see him struggling, trying to get back into a good mood after being interrupted.
“Sorry about that,” he says.
“It’s fine, Monty,” I say taking a strawberry from a container full of fresh fruit.
“No, it’s not fine. I told them not to bother me.”
“Some things can’t be helped, and the call is over now, so relax, baby.” I bite the strawberry.
He slides his sunglasses from his eyes and places them on the table, hitting me with his green lasers. He narrows his eyes and asks, “Why are you always eating strawberries?”
I giggle and offer a half shrug. “Because they’re good.”
“I think you’re trying to entice me.”
He thinks I’m trying to entice him when he’s walking around in see-through, clingy white pants with no shirt…
“I wasn’t trying to seduce you, but since you brought it up, is it working?”
His fingers twitch.
My mouth quirks up in the corner. Yeah, it’s working…
He takes a breath, still relieving himself from the stress of the call and says, “I have a surprise for you after breakfast.”
“A surprise?”
“Yes.” He takes a plate and places a sample of all the food on it – waffles, fruit, bacon, sausage – and hands it to me.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“So, tell me more about this surprise.”
“If I did that, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?”
“I guess not.”
“When we’re done, you’ll need to pack an overnight bag. The plane leaves at noon.”
“Plane? Where are we going, Monty?”
“To one of the other islands.”
“We’re going on an adventure. Yes!” I don’t know why I’m so giddy all of a sudden. Flying here to Seychelles is an adventure all in itself. Now, we’re heading somewhere else and I’m ready to go.
* * *
We’re on the plane. Monty tells me the flight will be about thirty-five minutes. He presses his lips against the back of my hand then interlock my fingers with his as I marvel at the beauty of this place. Lush green trees, palms, shrubs and low-lying clouds decorate the mountains. The beaches are like postcards – the water close to the shore is crystal clear, then light teal, then dark teal until it gradually becomes a dark blue farther away from the shore.
I squeeze Monty’s hand and say, “Monty, look at that beautiful rock formation over there. It’s so beautiful.”
“It is. We’ll take pictures when we land,” he tells me. He leans closer to me and says, “Let me borrow your lips for a minute.”
“Borrow?” I ask, amused.
“Yes. Borrow.”
I lean close to him and he takes it from there. The moment our lips connect, I feel that instant spark, one that I always feel as his tongue explores and fills my mouth, awakening desire in me. I instantly regret that we’re in the air, almost about to land.
He withdraws from my mouth, then smiles. His smile is dazzling. He rarely shows his teeth when he smiles probably because he’s so used to not smiling. Or maybe it’s because he’s made some women pass out by doing that. That smile of his is incredible. It’s both beautiful and devious all at once.
He points and says, “You see tha
t island over there?”
“Yes?”
“That’s where we’re headed? Curieuse Island.”
I return my attention to the view. It blows my mind how much world there is out here in this universe. There’s so much I haven’t seen. These beautiful islands are just the tip of the iceberg.
After we land, we’re greeted by a private tour guide who tells us all about Curieuse Island. He gives us some history about this place – says a fire destroyed a lot of the vegetation here in 1967 but after that devastating event, the government took measures to conserve this precious land. Looking around, I can’t imagine a place so beautiful being destroyed.
He tells us about the parrotfish, lemon sharks and giant tortoises. And speaking of tortoises, the hike hasn’t begun and there are about fifteen giant land tortoises walking about. It’s mind-blowing.
“Oh my goodness! Do you see this, Monty?”
“Yeah, baby. I see them.”
“They’re beautiful creatures, aren’t they?” the tour guide asks.
“They’re amazing! Come on, Monty. Let’s go greet them,” I say pulling him along.
He laughs at my enthusiasm. “Wait, baby. You don’t know what you’re walking into.”
“No worries, Sir,” the tour guide says. “They’re harmless.”
“See—they’re harmless,” I tell him. “Now, come on.”
We walk right up to a big tortoise. Its shell is huge. His head is bigger than Monty’s hand.
“You can feed them,” the tour guide informs us.
“Seriously?” I ask.
“Yes. Grab a handful of leaves and go for it. They’ll instantly become your new best friends.”
“Monty, go get me some leaves,” I say, excitement filling my request.
“Cherish, settle down, baby.”
“I can’t settle down. I’m too turned up. I’m shaking.”
“See what you’ve done,” Monty tells the tour guide.
Monty walks over to a tree and plucks a helping of leaves. I take one and hold it in front of this beautiful creature’s mouth and he grabs it! I give his rough skin a touch and pat him gently on the head.
“I knew my flower girl would enjoy this,” Monty says. “But I didn’t think you’d fall in love with tortoises.”
“I can’t help it. They’re so beautiful, Monty.” I’m still feeding my new tortoise friend when two others approach me. “Aw…they want some, too. Monty, get me some more leaves.”
Monty grins and takes out his phone. Snaps some pictures of me. “You can’t feed them all, superwoman.”
“But they’re so cute,” I say throwing a hand on my heart. “This is insane. I’ve never seen so many tortoises in my life and definitely never seen any this big.”
“Cherry, baby.”
“Yes?” I say, not even looking at Monty. I’m obsessed with these tortoises. To be so big, they’re gentle, docile creatures.
“Baby, we have a hike to go on. We’ll see more tortoises along the way.”
“I know, but not one this cuuute. Look at him, Monty,” I pout. “We should adopt him.”
He chuckles. “Baby, we’re not adopting a tortoise. Now, bring your pretty lil’ behind on here. We have to go.”
“Okay, okay…give me a few more minutes.”
I feed one of the tortoises the last leaf, then I feel myself being lifted from the earth. Monty throws me over his shoulder like a burlap sack and tells the tour guide to proceed.
“Monty,” I say laughing. “Put me down.”
“No. You might fall in love with another tortoise.”
“Are you jealous?”
“I am. I want all your attention.”
“Whatever. You’re funny, babe.” My giggles echo through the dense mangrove tree forest that’s interestingly beautiful. I’ve never seen trees like this with spikey branches and roots growing up out of the white sand. It looks kinda creepy and magnificent at the same time.
Monty lowers me to my feet when we come upon more tortoises. We feed them leaves, then continue to a beach that’s so magnificent, so spectacular it rivals the one by our vacation home. The water is crystal clear and undisturbed. You can see straight to the bottom. It looks unreal. Who would think water this clear could exist anywhere?
The tour guide tells us we’re at Baie Laraie and we get another thrilling surprise – an up-close look at some hump-head parrotfish. I take pictures with my cell, then I get the tour guide to take pictures of me and Monty together.
We end the tour with a dip in this ocean. The water’s so perfect, I don’t want to get in, but Monty ain’t having that. He coaxes me in when he pulls his shirt over his head and trust me – that’s enough to make me follow him right on in.
“This is the best day ever,” I tell him.
He smiles. Doesn’t say a word. The water does weird things to his eye color – exciting things, like makes a prism of colors illuminate from them. He walks further away from the shore until he’s knee-deep. I follow and wrap my arms around him from behind. He turns to look at me.
My heart does cartwheels.
My, my, my…
I don’t think I will ever get used to this. The shape of his nose, his beard, his lips, his eyes – he’s everything. He bites his lip then splashes water on me. The playful side of him appears. I love this side even though I’ve come to appreciate all sides of him, even the side that houses the grenade in him.
I chase him through the water. He runs further away from me then leaps into a dive. So freakin’ sexy. Monty’s an expert swimmer. He swims further away then just as quickly, he’s back, all wet and standing in front of me. He tilts my chin upward and sucks my lips like he wants to eat them, then parts my lips with his tongue. One of his hands settles at the nape of my neck. The other grips my butt cheek. He plunges his tongue inside of my mouth something fierce.
“Mmm,” he hums. “So good.”
For a brief second, I think about how we’re not the only ones out here but Monty doesn’t care about that. I’m learning not to as well, but I’m not as comfortable as him. Still, I latch on to his tongue and kiss him with as much passion as he’s kissing me. He releases me just slightly, our nose touching when he whispers, “I could take you out here right now.”
“Montgomery St. Claire, behave yourself.”
“I am behaved. If I wasn’t, you’d be naked and screaming right now.”
“Okay, you got a point.”
“You will be naked tonight, though.”
“Is that right?”
“It is.”
“Where are we staying?”
“At the Acajou Beach Resort on the island of Praslin. We’ll have dinner and then I’ll have you.”
He kisses me again and then we relax on the beach for a while before a jet boat whisks us off to Praslin where we visit a museum there to get some insight on the culture and traditions of the Seychelles. We see more tortoises. There’s a display of traditional artifacts, photographs and caged fruit bats. We try our hand at husking coconuts. Monty proves to be a lot better at this than me. One of the locals hacks the coconut to reveal its milk. Monty’s holding it and tells me to open my mouth. I’m hesitant to try it at first so he drinks from it – sells the taste and the experience. I open my mouth while he pours. I catch the flavor – it’s different – doesn’t quite taste like water but it’s still a refreshing treat from the tropical heat.
After we leave the museum, we hit the shops. We stop at a place called Black Pearl where Monty buys me a pair of earrings. Then we visit an art shop and purchase multiple pieces from a local artist – souvenirs for us to put around the house to remind ourselves of the fantastic time we had on our honeymoon when we’re home.
Chapter 8
Monty
Before dinner, we check into our room at the resort to leave our bags and freshen up. We both order a Creole fish and rice dinner and sip wine. I’m looking at her. She’s looking at me. My baby. The woman who’s changed my life. I’
m in complete awe of her.
She’s wearing a champagne-pink dress that falls to her feet. It dips at her breasts, exposing just enough to tease me. She’s wearing the necklace I gave her on the jet – the one with the heart. She hasn’t taken it off since I gave it to her.
Her collarbone is dominant and tempting. I can imagine tracing it with the tip of my tongue. Imagination will become reality as soon as dinner’s over.
“Monty,” she says, then waves her hand. “You okay?”
I turn up the glass of wine I’ve been nursing and gulp it all down. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
Her eyes narrow.
I eat more fish, taking my eyes off her finally. I can’t help but think about how much she means to me. How, back when I first knew she was working at the estate, I ignored her and refused to talk to her unless I absolutely had to. I think back to when I’d watch her leave for work. Somehow, I knew whenever she was around even when I wasn’t spying on her. She was something special. I didn’t realize how special she’d be to me.
Now she’s my wife.
All those years I went without a relationship. Without love. All the women I’ve dismissed. Some who wanted me, some who only wanted what I possessed. For years I told myself I didn’t need love. That love would shift my focus. Make me weak. Take my mind away from the business. All the years I struggled to connect with my own emotions. To find myself. To realize that people matter. That people want to be treated like people. That everyone I meet is fighting some kind of battle and everything is not all about me.
All those years weren’t a waste. I truly feel like I was supposed to go through it all since it enabled my path to cross with Cherish’s. Some people are meant to meet. That’s why I’m certain Cherish Stevens was meant to be mine.
I glance up at her. She has a smile on her face, still looking at me in the most adoring way. I trace her lips with my eyes and hold her gaze, taking in the innocent beauty of her face. Her black hair is hanging loose. She had it pulled back earlier when we were on the trail. Now, those loose curls of hers frame her face. I’m still getting used to her new look after seeing her wear braids for two years.