Just get there as quickly as you can, he told himself.
The sooner they were there, the sooner they could begin the healing process. He didn’t expect any kind of sex on this holiday, or at all for that matter, and as long as she was happy and – at the very least smiling – he wouldn’t dare take that from her.
She had been checked out by Wordy, who was also their medic, and he said that aside from bruising and a swollen throat from inhaling too much dust, Chelsea didn’t seem to be suffering from any other injuries. He sighed in relief at this, thanking whatever power above, if any, for that small miracle. It wouldn’t have made him love her any less, but he was glad that she didn’t have to go through that.
Still, what he had seen Sewell about to do to Chelsea when he rescued her was enough to tear a hole in his heart with no hope of being able to mend it. Knowing that the son-of-a-bitch was about to take advantage of her killed him. His sweet, lovely woman had been through something so awful become of him. What she suffered at this moment in her stoic silence was his fault and he didn’t know what to do to make it better.
Tiaan drove without stopping. Thanks to Hannah, they had enough food to last almost twelve full days, and when he asked Chelsea if she needed to stop and use the facilities, she didn’t respond. In that respect, it helped to cut down their travel time immensely.
Pulling up to the small, rustic cabin, Tiaan instinctively examined his surroundings. There was nothing to search for though. Reynolds would have to be insane to come after him again, and no one could possibly know where he was at the moment.
“Shall we?” He risked an extended glance at her and was relieved to see that the tears had run dry.
A slow breath later and she nodded, reaching blindly for her seatbelt.
Space. She needed it and he gave it, making himself useful by carrying their belongings inside the cabin. He did it all in just two trips.
No sooner had he shut the door behind him when Chelsea launched herself at him, arms clinging to his neck and legs thrown around his waist. Stumbling back into the wall, he steadied himself and held her by that gorgeous backside she possessed, too stunned by her actions to consider the possibility that she might not want him touching her there.
Amber eyes glistening, she searched his face for something he didn’t understand. “You have to tell me now – if I’m…if you don’t…o-or can’t…”
Her pain obvious, Tiaan stepped in, speaking as he turned their bodies until she had her back to the wall. “My darling Chelsea, nothing has changed. I still love you. I still want you. Those two things will never change. I want you forever.”
“Then take me. Right here. Right now.”
There was no other option.
No other choice for him.
And even if he did want to hold off, his body had other intentions.
In an awesome move he never could have even imagined, Tiaan somehow hoisted Chelsea up as he knelt down, until her thighs were draped over his shoulders and his face was in line with the barely-there lace panties she had on beneath her skirt. That scent engulfed him, took him back to every time before that he had tasted her.
Rather unceremoniously, he tore the fabric that covered where he wanted his mouth and tongue the most, leaving the garment in tatters around her waist. A sharp gasp drew his gaze upwards and into her angel’s face, astonishment etched in her features.
“You still want this? Want me?” If she said no, Tiaan thought he’d die.
~~~
Of course she wanted him. Each time Christiaan touched her, he somehow managed to obliterate the memory of that horrible man. It wasn’t the same – with Tiaan, she felt loved, treasured. That’s what she wanted, what she needed to feel now. And forever.
He had spoken that word just moments ago.
I want you forever.
He had asked her to marry him, but that was before. Now, Chelsea wondered if he’d only do so out of some form of pity. So she put forth this test and planned to watch his eyes. If they held her gaze often, as he usually tried to do during their lovemaking, she’d know this was for real.
“Yes, God, yes, Tiaan. Just…touch me. Do something. Please.” This begging tone unfamiliar, Chelsea merely watched his whiskey eyes on their downward appraisal of her body, hidden only beneath the thin cotton blouse and skirt.
When his blazing scrutiny settled at the apex of her thighs she swore she felt it.
“Don’t worry, my darling,” his heated breath tickled her desire, causing Chelsea to clench with need. “I’ll do lots of ‘somethings.’ First…”
Tiaan broke off just as he caressed the entire length of her folds with his talented tongue. A crazy, half-witted thought entered her mind and Chelsea wondered, for a second, if a person could die of pleasure. This one doesn’t count, she lied to herself. In this position, Chelsea couldn’t see his eyes. She’d have to wait until he was inside of her to make that judgement.
With each scorching kiss he gave her, gently sucking on the bud crowning her sex, her legs shuddered, breath caught in her throat. He knew her body so well that soon her eyes were rolling back in her head and swirling heat began low in her belly.
“Jesus, Christiaan,” she spoke between panted breaths as the last wave of release shuddered through her. “I love you!”
~~~
She loves me, his brain cried out. She still cares, even after what she’s been through!
When he finished lapping up her juices, Tiaan rose to stand again while keeping Chelsea in place, holding her firmly against the wall. He swapped his body for the freedom of one hand to release the button and fly of his trousers, and yank them down.
Jeans and boxer shorts pooling at his ankles, Tiaan examined her face as he pushed into her, slowly. He marveled at the magnificence in her eyes alone; twin pools of gold, filled with more than the value of currency could ever hope to know – love.
Those cinnamon waves framed her face, pastel pink lips open in invitation. But he wouldn’t accept that invitation, not just yet. Tiaan especially enjoyed watching her eyes as he entered her, pushing deeper until they were fully connected. Though her body expressed much, it was in the depths of her eyes that Chelsea bared her soul to him.
Christ, she felt so good, inner muscles surrounding him perfectly. One final thrust and he reached the hilt. His own body tensed with the need to go hard and fast, while his brain reminded him to take things slow. In this inner war, he found the perfect solution and rocked against her, hitting all the spots she needed him to. She shifted frantically, hips swaying seductively to get more friction.
“You are mine, sweet Chelsea,” he murmured as he swooped in to take the offering of her lips. The hunger he felt for her was evident, he knew, in the possessive kiss they shared. “And I am yours.”
“Yes!” her answering cry was sibilant as she came apart in his arms.
Tiaan gripped her tightly, keeping her with him. Only once she had finished shaking did he begin the dance his body wished him to perform. Her second orgasm brought him to the brink of his control and flung him off the edge of a cliff, crashing into her with the force of the ocean attacking the dangerous and craggy rocks at the end of the Cape of Good Hope.
It wasn’t just his release spilling inside her, but his hopes and his dreams too. A life with Chelsea and Ruan, perhaps even more children. It didn’t matter much to him though, not when she had given him her heart, and he had done the same.
He knew then, holding this sweet woman in his arms, that love was enough to conquer all.
After he set her feet on the ground, Chelsea placed her head on his chest, slid her arms around his torso, and proceeded to fall asleep in his arms. She needed it, he knew, and he didn’t disturb her. He carried his sleeping love to a massive and very soft-looking rug in front of the fireplace, removed the last of her clothes, and wrapped her in a plush blanket.
Before lying down next to her, Tiaan placed the food in the refrigerator and on the shelves in the pantry, then he lit
a small fire to keep them warm up here in the mountains. It didn’t take long and by then, exhaustion had taken its toll on him as well, so Tiaan locked the door, stripped down to bare, and rested behind her, moulding her body to his. Sleep came swiftly.
A sexy moan roused him from slumber. It took a moment for Tiaan to remember where he was. Blinking a few times, everything came into focus and his memory hit him in the heart like an arrow from cupid.
Mountains.
Chelsea.
Cabin.
Chelsea.
Making love against the wall.
Chelsea.
Lounging next to his woman on the rug, wrapped in a heavy, soft wool blanket, Tiaan uncovered her and observed how the light from the fire waltzed over the bare curve of her thigh, down to her slender calves, and finally flicked off the edge of her toes.
She took a much deeper breath than most people do while asleep and Tiaan assumed that she’d finally woken up. It was with a heavy sigh that he finally began a much needed apology to her. “I’m so sorry, Chelsea. What happened to you – it was my fault. I’ll never forgive mysel–”
Rolling to face him, she stopped his speech by pushing a finger to his lips. “I wouldn’t change a single thing that has happened to me, because if I did, we might not be here right now. I might not have you, or Ruan, and I don’t want to consider life without you two. Every choice I made, every path I took, they were all leading me to you, to this moment, right here and now.”
There was still one little matter that needed attending to.
“Marry me,” he asked the question again, eyes glued to her face. “Soon. I don’t want to wait any longer for our life to begin. Together.”
She claimed his mouth again, clasping her fingers at the base of his neck. Tiaan used this opportunity to continue erasing the horrifying memories and kissed Chelsea as he was – a man who needed this woman, his woman, to survive.
When she finally came up for air, Chelsea whispered one word while touching her lips to his jaw.
“Yes.”
Epilogue
This fabric might be rather costly but damn, did it ever itch. Tiaan wished he’d agreed to Chelsea’s pleas for a small, private ceremony on a beach. He could be wearing jeans and a lose-fitting shirt in place of the suit he currently had on.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts on clothing. “Come in!” he called, struggling once again with the tie. When the hell was the last time he’d worn one?
Ah, he remembered. Court. With Reynolds.
His nostrils flared, temper heated at the memory of that loathsome man. However, the man had been caught with a fourteen year old Mexican girl and was going away for a very long time. To hammer that final nail into the Senator’s coffin, Tiaan allowed Mac to ‘anonymously’ send in the copy of the tape where one of Reynold’s hired goons admitted to the plot against Tiaan and Chelsea. He didn’t have to worry about that bastard any longer.
“Well, would you look at this?” Mac spoke through deep, grumbling laughter. “Never thought I’d see the day when Carstens got hitched!”
Tiaan scowled, shaking the bastard from his head. “Shut up and help me with this.”
Thick fingers somehow expertly twisted the silk fabric into a perfect Windsor knot. He moved his hands to Tiaan’s shoulders and squeezed. “I’m proud of you, Christiaan,” Mac’s voice, heavy with emotion, cracked slightly. “I couldn’t ask for a better friend. I’m only sorry–”
“Ah.” Tiaan waved him off. This wasn’t the time to get into a deep conversation with his oldest friend. “Don’t make me cry or I’ll ruin my make-up.”
The pair burst out laughing.
Once he had regained his composure, Mac straightened his jacket and steeled his expression. “Let’s get you in place.”
The hardest part, in his mind, was already over. His fears were unfounded in the face of the amount of joy Chelsea and Ruan brought to him. Now, he only had the rest of his life to live, to laugh, to love, and be loved.
“Right.” Taking one last glance in the mirror, Tiaan preceded Mac out the door and began the short trek to eternal bliss.
~~~
In the midst of Hannah’s fussing over hair, makeup, clothing, and the so-called necessary wedding day items, Chelsea’s eyes and full attention were glued to Ruan. His cherub’s face rested against her chest, one ear pressed to her heart. When she first said that she was going to wear Ruan in a sling on this day, everyone present at the time had been shocked. Slowly though, they had come to see it her way. This day might be about two people who cared deeply for one another, joining forever, but it was also about family.
Together the three of them made a family.
Eyes drifting shut and a smile playing on her lips, Chelsea inhaled deeply from the top of her son’s head. She loved Tiaan, she knew this now. Some unknown and utterly irrefutable force had brought them together, a pair of intimate strangers, but fate had bonded them for life, sowing the seeds of affection. In every experience they shared, Chelsea and Tiaan learned patience for each other. In the heat of their passion, they learned to let themselves and their fears go. In the face of disaster, they grew stronger, closer.
The days, weeks, months, and indeed years to come would be filled with trials, tests of their devotion to one another. She felt it deep within, the universe daring her to fight it. As long as she had Tiaan by her side and was willing to work with him, she knew there wasn’t anything or anyone who could possibly stand in their way of the ultimate goal.
Lifelong happiness and love.
Yes, they may have been intimate strangers when they met that night, but now Chelsea, Christiaan, and Ruan were a family. Thrown together by passion and desire, kept together by love as deep and boundless as the oceans themselves.
“Are you almost ready?” Kayla asked. “Dad and Tiaan are waiting.”
Chelsea rose from the velvet settee that Hannah had parked her on earlier, cradling Ruan’s sleeping form through the sling. “Never been more ready for anything in my life,” she admitted through a broad grin as she was led out of the room and down a long hallway.
Knowing the next moments would bind the three of them together forever calmed her nerves. Knowing what Tiaan had planned for their honeymoon sent fluttering through her tummy and heat sizzling down to her toes.
“Two months,” he had told her. “You, Ruan, and I in a tropical setting. Every time he goes to sleep, I am going to taste you, Chelsea. I am going to make you scream my name until everyone on the island knows who makes your toes curl.”
She shivered in anticipation at the memory of him holding her firm against his hard body, the attraction he felt for her evident through his jeans.
“I love you, Chelsea. I will always love you. There is no until, my feelings have no time limit. My love for you is as infinite as the universe itself.”
Those last words rang inside her mind as she caught Christiaan’s stare. Completely involuntarily, her mouth parted wide, her happiness worn for all to see. He smiled in return, bronze flesh glistening in the sunlight, dark hair shimmering, and his deep whiskey eyes filled with joy and yearning.
As she began her trek down the aisle to meet the love of her life, her father took her right elbow and linked their arms. Chelsea fought the onslaught of tears when he stopped her to plant a loving kiss to the top of Ruan’s head.
“We love you, Chells-Bells,” he whispered, touching his lips to her cheek. “And we couldn’t be more proud.”
To verify her father’s words, Chelsea found her mother’s face in the crowd. She was smiling and even offered a quick but enthusiastic wave. How had they known about today? She certainly hadn’t called them.
“Your soon-to-be husband made the arrangements,” her father announced softly. “Christiaan called us about a week ago and said this was our chance to make amends, and to meet our grandson. He said if he were, and I quote, ‘too bloody stubborn and foolish’ to realise what a wonderful woman you are, then we didn’t de
serve to know Ruan.” He smoothed a nervous hand over his silvery locks. “We’re so sorry. Can you forgive us for being the daft old fools that we are?”
Chelsea responded by hugging him, reveling in the feel of her father’s arms around her once again.
Yes, all the pieces were falling into place. She returned her smile and focused her eyes on Tiaan. His lips tugged back at one corner and he quirked a brow.
She responded by pushing back her shoulders and heading down the aisle.
To the future.
To happiness.
To everlasting love.
To Christiaan.
The End
About the Author
Danielle Taylor has lived in and travelled to many countries. She enjoys many different genres – both writing and reading – and always seems to have a project on the go. Feel free to like her page on Facebook and don’t be afraid to drop her a line.
Also, find Danielle on the following:
Twitter @DTaylor_Author
Website http://authordtaylor.wordpress.com/
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/Danielle_Taylor
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