“It feels like we’re floating in the clouds!” exclaimed Sally. She smiled at Dominick, who winked at her. Little tufts of white clouds floated by, almost as if they could reach out and touch them. The air calm and still cool, they sighted giraffes drinking from a large pool of water. Some scattered buildings and a ravine stretched across the land.
Other hot air balloons floated nearby, and Sally looked at Dominick with complete happiness. “Was it worth getting up so early now, ladies?” asked Dominick.
Sally and Poppy nodded their heads in pure joy and said, “Yes!” simultaneously.
Dominick then asked Poppy to stand with Sally and took a picture of them. Sally snapped a picture of Dominick and Poppy together as the balloon continued to be powered along by sporadic flares. They drifted along slowly over the land as they got almost low enough to jump out of the wicker basket and watch elephants flap their ears and stroll along.
Sally loved the suspended animation. She wished they could stay stuck in the moment forever. As Poppy took pictures of the animals and waved at a nearby hot air balloon, Dominick gave Sally a quick, tender kiss. “I love you,” he whispered.
Sally felt her heart fill with happiness but before she could return the sentiment, Poppy yelled, “Look!” Sally and Dominick turned to see Poppy pointing to a couple of lions playing below. Dominick gave Poppy the binoculars for a closer look, and birds squawked as they soared by their balloon.
The captain offered Sally and Dominick champagne, which they sipped delightedly while they drifted above the beautiful Magalies River Valley. “Oh, I wish we could stay up here.” Poppy sighed before they returned to their starting point.
They disembarked the basket along with their guide. Sally and Dominick drank some wine as Poppy drank some fruit juice. The guide also provided them with some biscuits to complete their refreshment.
Afterward, they went to the clubhouse pavilion and walked along the wraparound porch. The gazebo offered a fine point from which to take pictures of the other arriving hot air balloons. “What a spectacular sea of colors,” Sally said to Dominick. “That was amazing. Thank you so much, Dominick.”
”My pleasure, darling. I’m glad you and Poppy have hit it off so well, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride myself, I dare say,” admitted Dominick.
A scrumptious and colorful dinner of fish and vegetables was served under the pavilion. They enjoyed little potatoes and fresh greens along with white wine. Poppy drank more juice and delighted in the personalized certificate she received for completing her first hot air ballooning adventure ever.
After they dropped Poppy back off at her parents’ house, Dominick and Sally drove back to Dominick’s apartment followed by the moonlight. Dominick and Sally watched Invictus about Nelson Mandela’s rise.
Before going to sleep, Dominick surprised Sally with some Cadbury drinking chocolate. Sally sipped on the thick, creamy drink as she lay in Dominick’s arms on his couch and felt truly loved.
Chapter Thirty-Five
As his mother had suggested, Dominick took Sally in his Jeep to Kruger National Park the next morning for some safari fun. They took their wanderlust to the Sirheni in the northernmost part of the park. An oasis surrounded the Mapane Plains and the Sirheni Dam. Elephants drank from the bank of the Mphongolo River and little monkeys climbed huge jackalberry and leadwood trees.
Far off in the distance, Sally saw a lion scatter a pack of gazelles that had been grazing.
“Those gazelle better pasop!” yelled Dominick as he drove away.
“What does pasop mean?” asked Sally, glad Dominick did not drive too close to the lion, for they had no armed guide.
“It means watch out,” explained Dominick with a grin. He drove them to a guest cottage with a nice balcony overlooking the bush. The cottage, decorated with elephant-themed upholstery, offered two bedrooms and bathrooms.
Dominick presented a picnic basket for their meal. They shared a bottle of wine and an Afrikaner sweet, a koeksister, made of fried and twisted yeast dough that they dipped in syrup. Dominick also spread creamy avocado on toasted garlic bread chips, which he fed to Sally.
After their picnic, Dominick and Sally rode to where hippos sprayed muddy water all over themselves. Both drenched, Dominick helped Sally take off her blouse. He washed the orange sand off her shirt in the river. While letting it dry hanging off his Jeep in the hot wind and sun, Sally enjoyed the freedom of being topless in Mother Nature as Dominick beamed at her with admiration.
They watched the native men hunt with their spears and start fires by hand as they drove past their huts. Women carried water in empty ostrich eggs and cooked yams as little children played together. Sally considered how natural and beautiful their lives were.
Sally and Dominick sat in the Jeep and used their binoculars to watch lions hunt gazelles that jumped over a stream to get away. An amazing wild chase ensued and the animals made zigzags across the expansive terrain. Three giraffes galloped about, led by their long necks as zebras trotted nearby. White birds encircled rhinos that kicked up dust from mother Earth. A mother cheetah lovingly bathed her baby with her tongue, and two little lions chewed on each other’s tails while in play.
When they finally arrived at the art hut, Dominick showed Sally a picture he had commissioned one of the local artists to paint of Sally from a photograph. The vibrant colors, her hair more orange and her lips more red, instantly made it her favorite picture of herself.
Dominick stopped under a shade tree. The sun shone like a bright, big red poppy. As Sally looked at the sun, he reached over and pulled out a little black box he had in his glove compartment.
Sally turned around, and the envelope containing his return tickets fell out of the compartment and onto the floor by Sally’s feet. Instinctually, Sally reached down to pick up the fallen envelope but noticed a phone number with the name Janet and the words Call Me Anytime XOXO.
“What is this? Who is Janet?” asked Sally in disbelief. She shoved the envelope in Dominick’s lap.
“Wait. I can explain. I was at the airport and the ticket agent slipped this to me. I didn’t even realize it until later but forgot to scratch out her number.”
“Just take me back,” said Sally. She didn’t know what to believe, but seeing the message on the envelope really upset her.
Dominick was speechless. He put the box under his seat and kept driving until they got back to Joberg.
They quietly ate dinner in Gauteng at Le Canard restaurant in Sandton. Sally missed the friendly waiters of Boston but savored the Le Canard Signature, a duck breast crisped with pepper and honey.
“I never meant to tune grief with you, Sally. You know I love you. I won’t ever hurt you,” explained Dominick. “You can trust me.”
Sally nodded. She knew she needed to stop sulking, but she had trouble trusting people right away. “I’m sorry. I guess I have trouble trusting people sometimes. I do need to trust you.”
“The diamond business makes it hard to trust people, Sally. People know you make a lot of Tom, or money, and kill over it. We try to be conflict-free, though, so our business is in more demand.”
“I understand,” replied Sally. “The diamonds and gold here, the entire land, everything is amazing. And your family, Poppy, they are all wonderful. You should be proud of her. She is so happy. You did such an unselfish and generous thing for her.”
“I am the lucky one.” Dominick smiled.
Dominick noticed Sally look down at her feet. “What’s the matter?”
“As much as I love it here, I can’t imagine living so far away from Boston, Dominick. And I don’t want to lead you on,” Sally sadly admitted.
“Oh. I see,” said Dominick, obviously downtrodden by the news. “Maybe we could just keep making a go of it?” asked Dominick. “I don’t want to give up on you.”
Sally felt torn. She wanted to be with Dominick but realized she could never ask him to leave his country to be with her. “I still want to be with you,” said
Sally. “But I don’t want you to feel tied down.”
“Tied down? No, I don’t feel that way at all with you, Sally. All I want is to be close to you. Whenever you’re not here, I’m constantly thinking of you and wishing you were with me, wherever we can be together.”
“I’m happy with you, Dominick. But what about Poppy? I wouldn’t ever ask you to live so far away from her.”
“Fortunately, Poppy has wonderful parents of her own now. And I can afford to visit her or have her travel to see me. Besides, Poppy will be ready to go to university in a few years. She’s a big girl now.”
Sally thought about it for a moment. Poppy did have her own life, parents, and would be away at university for at least several years anyways. “Okay,” agreed Sally. She would try to forget about the envelope and focus on her last few days with Dominick.
“Okay? Come here.” Dominick beamed and kissed Sally tenderly.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Although they had gone to sleep quite tired from their safari adventure, Dominick woke up in the middle of the night and slowly climbed on top of Sally and slid down her black lace panties. Sally woke up in a daze and realized it was still nighttime. “What are you doing?” she asked as he kissed her neck and ran his fingers through her hair.
“I’m going to remind you of how much I love you,” said Dominick. He went under the covers, spread her legs apart, and put his mouth over her sweet spot. He kissed her clit and wet her with his mouth and tongue until she moaned with pleasure.
Dominick slowly circled the tip of his tongue around her nub. Sally felt herself quiver. “Yes,” she encouraged him.
Dominick replied with steady licks until Sally’s spread knees started shaking. He embraced them to steady her and continued his feast on her pussy. “You taste so fucking sweet,” Dominick told her. “I could eat you all night long.”
Sally became delirious from his wicked mouth. Dominick licked the bottom edge of her vagina and elicited her essence. Then, he darted his tongue in and out of her pussy a few times before he simultaneously sucked and licked her clit. The vacuum created by his mouth with the swiveling tip of his tongue made Sally moan and arch her back in euphoria. She grabbed the sheets while Dominic expertly maneuvered his mouth on her mound. She begged Dominick, “Please, I need you inside me now.”
“Not yet, darling,” said Dominick. He prodded his finger inside of her and stroked her G-spot as he continued his oral fixation on her pussy. He already knew her limits, how to bring her to the brink for a more intense orgasm later. Dominick continued his steady strumming until Sally thought she would surely orgasm into his mouth. She grabbed his head and lifted her hips as her pussy began to pulsate.
Then, Dominick swiftly climbed atop her and brought his cock to the entrance of her silky slit. He prodded there, too, until she begged for more.
“Please, Dominick. Fuck me!” Sally demanded. Her urgent need for Dominick’s cock surprised even herself.
Dominick’s eyes twinkled with delight as Sally grabbed his hips and led his thrusts into her welcoming cunt. “You feel so good, Sally,” moaned Dominic.
“Yes,” Sally moaned back. Dominick’s hard cock filled her to the brim.
“You’re perfect.” Dominick moved slowly and methodically until she yearned for him to move harder and faster.
More, please,” Sally begged.
“More what?” he teased and smiled as he looked into her eyes. He pumped faster within her. Then he slowed down and squeezed her breasts. He bent his head and lovingly sucked on her nipples.
“Are you ready, darling?” teased Dominick.
“Yes,” pleaded Sally, and Dominick rocked his cock inside of her and gyrated his hips in circles.
“Is this what you want?”
“Yes,” hissed Sally. She loved how he felt, and she didn’t ever want to know any different.
He lifted her legs up over his shoulders and thrust over and over. His balls slammed against her dripping cunt until they both cried out from the euphoric, clenching climax. Then Dominick held Sally until she fell back into a blissful sleep.
* * * *
Dominick couldn’t sleep thinking about how he didn’t want to be parted from Sally again. He looked at his clock that read 14:00 a.m. He called Gabriel, since it was only 8:00 p.m. in Boston. Gabriel picked up after the first ring.
“Bra, it’s me, Dominick.”
“Hey. What’s up?” asked Gabriel. His tone was distant and revealed his lingering disappointment.
“How’s it going?” asked Dominick.
“I’m great. I’m getting some action again,” bragged Gabriel.
“Some action? That’s swell. Hey, bra. I should have told you about how I felt for Sally before I went for it,” admitted Dominick.
“It’s all right now. At least you can give Sally what she needs. But you better treat her right if you don’t want a repeat of what happened at the bar, understood?” warned Gabriel.
“Understood,” replied Dominick. A bit of awkward silence ensued. “I miss you, bra.”
“I miss you, too,” admitted Gabriel. “So how is Sally?” Gabriel couldn’t help but wonder if her injury had healed.
“She’s walking around and only has a slight limp in the mornings. It’s crazy how she doesn’t even realize how strong she is. I never met Sally’s parents but mine adore her, of course. Even Poppy likes her.”
“That’s great. Yeah, I never met Sally’s parents either. They’re just distant and live their own lives. After you told me about you two, I knew your family would accept Sally,” admitted Gabriel. “So how is Poppy?”
“Poppy is great. She’s going through this teenage phase where she needs to have her alone time, but she came out with us ballooning. We had a jolly good time.”
“I want to go hunting with you down there sometime,” suggested Gabriel.
“Sounds good,” agreed Dominick. “So since I have no one else to really ask, I wanted to ask you for your blessing to marry Sally,” Dominick stated nervously.
“What? My blessing?” asked Gabriel. He had resigned himself and felt if he couldn’t have Sally, then at least his cousin should. “That was fast.”
“Yes, but it just feels right. You’re my cousin, and I don’t want any regrets, bra,” Dominick explained the best he could.
“Of course, man. You love her?”
“Ja, I love her,” confirmed Dominick.
“Fantastic,” replied Gabriel. “I wish you both all the best, man.”
“Thanks. But there’s one problem. She doesn’t want to live here. She loves Boston,” explained Dominick.
“Yeah, it gets in your blood. I wouldn’t leave the Hill for anywhere,” agreed Gabriel.
“I guess we are going to have to be neighbors, then,” said Dominick. “But I talk about some business, as in diamonds.”
“Really?” Gabriel could see his future looking brighter. “I was wondering when you were going to ask.”
“I was wondering if you wanted to partner up with me. I could coordinate my work around your schedule, of course.”
“Actually, that sounds fantastic,” replied Gabriel. “I need a change. Come to think of it, I have an idea. How about you and Sally swap places with me? I could live in South Africa at your place. Then, you two could go back to South Africa during the winters.
Dominick thought about it for a moment. “Sounds brilliant.”
“Do you think Sally will go for it?” asked Gabriel.
“I think it is a perfect compromise,” replied Dominic. “I will be sure to let her know.”
After hanging up the phone, Dominick climbed back into bed and tried not to wake Sally up. She tossed a bit and asked, “Who was that?”
Damn. She was awake. “My cousin.”
“Gabe?” asked Sally.
“Yes. Things are settled between us now.”
“Oh. Good,” Sally dreamily replied. Then they both slept soundly in each other’s arms until the sun rose.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The last day before Sally had to leave, Dominick picked up a picnic basket from the Secret Kitchen full of gourmet goodies and took Sally to the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Little Falls.
First, they examined the sugarbush and the colorful wildflowers in the Witwatersrand area. “The Giftbol flower is so beautiful. It looks like a pink pompom,” observed Sally.
“You are beautiful,” clarified Dominick. He kissed Sally and squeezed her to him. Then, they walked past a huge collection of Cycad to an indigenous nursery. Sally bought a fresh aloe plant. “I want to have this on hand, just in case,” she said.
“Aloe is an excellent remedy,” noted Dominick as he examined the aloe plants. “Even though I’ve been here several times, the rare fauna and flora never cease to amaze.”
The wildflower walk led them over the Crocodile River where Sally was glad they saw no crocodiles. Jackals, scorpions, and snakes, however, made their home in the garden’s sanctuary.
A large tortoise made his way up the brick walkway and allowed Sally and Dominick to pet his bumpy shell. “This tortoise is adorable,” said Sally. She had never pet a turtle so large before.
“Look at this creature,” Dominick pointed to an insect that looked like a black-and-red grasshopper.
“What is that?” asked Sally.
“A red locust. It’s a real bugger,” joked Dominick. Sally laughed at his quirky pun.
They took the Waterfall View trail to the Witpoortjie Waterfall, which cascaded down several terraced layers of the mountain’s side. Then, they walked the Mountain View trail and looked through a telescope to spy on a pair of black Verreaux’s eagles from the Roodekran’s Ridge. The eagles spread their massive wings and declared themselves rulers of the area. They protected their nest of snow-white chicks that chirped for insects.
Sally enjoyed the butterfly garden the most. Many different colors of butterfly fluttered by them. She favored the ones with black wings and a ribbon of hot pink or bright green or electric blue. Dominick and she tried their best to catch a butterfly. “I can’t for the life of me catch one,” Dominick declared defeat and threw his hands up in the air after trying to catch a beautiful blue butterfly with orange spots.
Beacon Hill Beauties (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 11