Flirting with Revenge
Page 20
Laughter filled the room.
“Yes, of course, I agree to be your wife,” she whispered, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks, as he slid the ring on her finger. “It’s beautiful,” she said, throwing her arms around Michael’s neck. “I love you.”
“And I love you, darling.”
He was going to kiss her, but Rachel backed away. Michael frowned.
“You were so sure that I would say yes, that I would forgive you?”
Michael smiled and rubbed his nose against Rachel’s. The kiss that followed was gentle and deep and left her wanting more.
“Actually, I’ve learned that with you, I can never take anything for granted, and I can’t stop working on our relationship, so you’ll never doubt my love. And second, darling, you’re marrying a lawyer. If I did not prepare my defense and my evidence, how do you think I’d make a living?”
She laughed.
“Perhaps you should show your future wife how much you missed her,” she murmured sensually, while Michael started kissing her neck, her cheeks, and she felt his skillful hands start to undress her slowly.
“That’s exactly what I plan on doing,” he replied. He peeled her clothes off slowly, taking in every change. “Your breasts are larger,” he leaned down to kiss them reverently, sucking the pert nipples that were waiting for his deft tongue to caress them, “and they taste heavenly.” Rachel dug her fingers into Michael’s hair and moaned as he stroked her with his hands, his mouth, his tongue. “Here’s our baby,” he whispered, covering every inch of her belly with a flurry of light kisses, “I want the baby to always know that its father and mother conceived it with love,” he whispered looking up at Rachel, who returned his excited gaze.
“I’m very weepy...” she muttered.
“I hope that the myth that pregnant women are often more interested in sex than usual is true.”
Rachel’s laughter became a moan when Michael slid both her panties and her jeans off her body, leaving her completely exposed to him.
“My word, you’re incredibly sexy.”
“Michael... I’m going to look like a whale very soon,” she murmured when a mischievous smile appeared on his manly lips.
“You’re going to look like a loved, sexually satisfied woman,” he said with a laugh before he made his way down Rachel’s body, kissing it all over. When he reached her sex, lightly covered in fine reddish hair, he winked, and then he took her in his mouth. “Mmm... you don’t know how much I missed your taste,” he commented before he plunged her into a vortex of sensations.
Michael’s mouth worked its magic on her aching crevice. She felt his tongue pleasure her, and his large, warm hands on her nipples, squeezing them with intensity. It was at once painful and pleasurable. She was sensitive, and in a few minutes, a scream of satisfaction flew out of her throat, wailing Michael’s name. She arched her back and closed her eyes, letting it consume her, while he brought her back to reality with gentle caresses.
Rachel sighed and smiled.
“Hello, you sneaky...” she whispered as he leaned in for a kiss.
“Hello, princess. Do you think I should do something about it?”
She laughed.
“You could start by taking your clothes off and letting me return the favor.”
“Always so proactive when it comes to equal rights,” he said, letting an enthusiastic Rachel take his shirt off. Her blue eyes shimmered with love and desire.
Michael was naked and holding her in his arms. The skin on skin. Letting her know with his kisses how much he wanted her, with his hands how much he adored her, and with his words everything he held in his heart.
***
Hours later, when the night sky was high above them, she looked at him. He looked fast asleep, bus she was sure he wasn’t. Not when Michael’s thumb was stroking her knuckles.
“Do you still want revenge...” she asked, bending down to kiss Michael’s shoulder. She gave it a little nibble.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, with a smile on his lips. She’d never tire of it.
“Of course, darling, I told you, revenge is very sweet,” he answered before surprising her with a kiss, and then losing himself inside her with tenderness and passion.
EPILOGUE
Five years later...
Ever since they got married in an elegant ceremony in Chicago, Rachel and Michael Whitmore spent their summer vacations at their house in Maine. They’d added more rooms, and it was cozier now and, of course, had central heating. Though Rachel insisted on using the old-fashioned fireplace. Michael only went along because it was his favorite place to make love to her when their children were spending a few nights with aunt Ariel. It was the only way they could enjoy time as a couple.
The Whitmores’ jobs in Chicago were still demanding. Rachel was promoted to Vice-President of Business, and when she heard that Paul was getting married, she offered to pay for his bachelor party as a gift, planned by Delaney, of course.
Before their wedding ceremony, Michael told Ariel about the situation with the deed to her property. He fixed the paperwork for her, so there would be no more problems in the future. Rachel’s aunt apologized for what had happened with her niece, but he assured her that every setback had a reward, and in this case, it was Rachel’s love.
Delaney had the pleasure of organizing her best friend’s bachelorette party. At least she knew she could trust Michael to keep his word since he did not run off to Las Vegas with her friend as he’d threatened. It was fun to be the maid of honor, but she spent most of the evening making sure the alcohol did not go to waste. In other words, she took advantage of the large amount of alcohol they served. Her partner in crime? Fabrizzio. They were getting married next summer! She could not believe life had given her a second chance at love.
Piper could not be happier for her sister. Her life has changed, and her name was cleared in relation to the murder charge. The drug trafficking conviction would stay on her record, but it was no longer a part of her. Michael was a great brother-in-law, and when a few snobs refused to go to her sister’s engagement party because she was related to an ex-convict, he returned the wedding presents they had sent and disinvited them from the wedding. He assured her that, as long as she and Rachel were part of his family, he would never allow anyone to snub them. Who would not consider him a dream of a brother-in-law?
Rachel had a painful conversation with her sister. She was saddened to know that Piper was in charge of distributing small amounts of drugs at some universities. She’d argued that she did it because she felt it was the only way to financially compensate for the void left by the sudden loss of her parents, and prevent social services from taking Rachel if she could not provide for her. She’d never thought of her aunt Ariel and, in the end, her actions had been what separated them. About the murder charge, Piper confessed to Rachel that she could never take a life, no matter how desperate she was for money, and that what actually happened was that she tried to stop her friend’s bleeding. Unfortunately, that was when the police found her. It was a confusing, distressing, and painful incident.
Emilio Gordov’s trial lasted several weeks. Little by little, the police had found everything they needed to put him in prison. He was sentenced to forty years. In the end, it wasn’t just extorsion and falsification of documents; the police had found enough to charge him with murder, torture, and drug trafficking. He’d rot in prison.
Rachel met Vannia. The girl, now a teenager, was vibrant and healthy. The transplant had been a success. Vannia’s parents soon became part of the Whitmores’ group of friends.
The Bronsons accepted her into their circle of friends, and the whole incident that separated her from Michael for three months was forgotten. The same thing happened with the Whitmore family, who wrapped her in the kind of affection that a blood relative would receive. And not only her, but Piper too.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Michael, hugging his wife as they both looked out at th
e waves on the beaches of Ogunquit from the sand.
Their children, five-year-old Camille and two-year-old Andrew ran along the sand under the watchful eyes of their aunts: Ariel, Piper, and Delaney. Those three were constantly tripping over themselves in their competition to please the little rascals.
Rachel rested her head on her husband’s shoulder.
“I’m happy. I feel lucky.”
“Not as lucky as I am, having convinced you to marry me.”
She laughed, stepped back, and looked at him playfully.
“Are you being competitive, Mr. Whitmore?”
“If every day at your side weren’t a challenge, my life would be boring. I love growing by your side, Rachel.”
“That’s because I want you to be a better man,” she answered with a smile.
“I try to be the best version of myself for you,” he said, looking in her eyes.
The faraway laughter of their children fused with the roar of the ocean.
“You always say the right things...” she whispered, letting him kiss her.
It was an intense kiss, full of promises for the moment the sky filled with stars, and silence invaded their beach house.
“That’s only because I married the right woman for my heart.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An Ecuadorian romance novelist, and avid reader of the genre, Kristel Ralston is passionate about stories set in the palaces and castles of Europe. Though she liked her profession as a journalist, she decided to put her career on a different path, and travelled to the old continent to study a Master’s in Public Relations. During her stay in Europe, she read several romance novels that enthralled her, and inspired her to write her first manuscript. Since then, books of this literary genre can always be found in both her varied library and her weekly schedule.
Her novel, Lazos de Cristal, was one of the five manuscripts shortlisted for the II Literary Contest of Indie Authors (2015), sponsored by Amazon, Diario El Mundo, Audible and Esfera de Libros. The contest received over 1,200 submissions in different literary genres from 37 Spanish-speaking countries. Kristel was the only Latin American among the finalists.
The author was also on the shortlist for the romance novel contest Leer y Leer 2013, organized by Argentine publishing house Editorial Vestales, and is co-administrator of the literary blog Escribe Romántica. Kristel Ralston has published several novels, including El placer del engaño, La última princesa del desierto, Oscura Redención, Reckless, Votos de traición, Un hombre de familia, Un acuerdo inconveniente, El precio del pasado, Brillo de luna, Lazos de Cristal, Bajo tus condiciones, El último riesgo, Regresar a ti, Un Capricho del Destino, Desafiando al Corazón, Más allá del ocaso and Un orgullo tonto, among others. A prestigious Ecuadorian magazine nominated her as one of their Women of the Year 2015 in the Arts category for her literary work.
Kristel currently lives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and firmly believes that dreams can come true. In her free time, she enjoys writing novels that invite her readers to keep dreaming of happy endings.
Say “Hi” to Kristel, she loves to hear from her readers.
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