“It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”
I quirk one eye open, watching as my gorgeous wife climbs over me in her green bikini, her sweet cream skin along with her full tits and round belly making my mouth water. “You Americans and your idioms.” I take her by the hips and help her along. “Come here.”
She lies on her side, her body tucked in between the lounge cushion and me. My hand lands on her lower belly, cupping my babies, and I swear, I’m the happiest man on the planet.
Especially when she plants a kiss on my chest and says, “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
“One-upper.”
I smile, lifting my aviator glasses up and peering down at her. “You’re fucking stunning. Have I told you that today?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, you are. I’m the luckiest bastard on the planet.”
Her smile curves her lips and her hand glides up my chest until it cups my cheek. “You are, truly, the most amazing man. Never in my wildest fantasies could I have conjured up anyone better.”
I do a half-crunch and kiss her full lips.
Tonight, I’m going to fuck my queen wild. Something I haven’t done since her father died. Something she hasn’t been up for, and I respected. But I see it coming back. All of it. Her spirit. Her tenacity. Her fire.
This woman is the beat of my heart and the thrum of my pulse. She is my lifeblood.
And I won’t let anything tear us apart. Not ever.
19
BELLAMY
The sun’s reflection dances on the water’s surface, casting a glow over us as I stand next to Sebastian on the open deck of the yacht. The wind tousles my hair, and my heart races with a mixture of excitement and nerves.
“Are you all right?” Sebastian’s deep voice cuts through the sound of the waves below us.
“I’m just a little nervous,” I admit, clutching the railing. “I’ve never been on a boat before.”
Sebastian wraps his arm around me, pulling me close. “Do you feel sick?”
I shake my head. “No. But it’s a new sensation all the same.”
“Keep your feet spread and allow your body to move along with the boat. If you fight it, that’s when your body rebels. Almost like anything else.”
“We’re floating in the same water we set him into.”
Sebastian turns his gaze down at me, lifting his reflective sunglasses. He’s only wearing swim trunks and I swear, the view never gets old. Tall with broad shoulders and muscles for days, the king of Messalina is a seriously sexy beast. Andall mine.
“Yes. That was sort of my thinking. I wanted you to feel close to him and yet experience some independence and freedom. You can be close to him and yet still live your life without him.”
His words hit me, almost knocking me sideways, and I feel a small weight lift from my chest. “You’re right. I can do that. And it’s what he’d want. I know I keep saying that and I think part of me is trying to force that notion down my throat, but in my heart, in my soul, I know it to be true. He said it to me the night I got my tattoo.”
Sebastian’s lips meld with mine, his tongue seeking entrance I’m only too happy to give him. “Come on,” he rasps, leading me to the back of the yacht where the children splash in the pool.
I loved our honeymoon. It was magical, albeit short, but there is something extra about this. About all of us being together. But it’s more than this. It’s the clouds parting.
The ache in my chest isn’t gone. The pain that rattles every piece of my insides is still there. And sometimes, I won’t lie, I’m not sure I can take a breath without it hurting. But right now, I feel like I’ll be able to find my way through this. That there is dawn after the darkest of nights and that even when I have bad moments and bad days and bad weeks, I won’t be left to fight alone.
“Look at Arthur!” Sabrina shouts, pointing at our ferret, who dips his paws into the water before darting away, leaving a trail of wet paw prints on the deck.
