Melody Anne - Scorched

“I can’t imagine that he’s a man who’s easily swayed. Maybe he’s just trying to appease you for now. We could always sneak you out of here at a moment’s notice. All you have to do is ask,” said Lia.

“I know. You have no idea how much I appreciate that,” Rachel replied. “I love you both so much.”

“Well, Mom will be here in a couple of days and I dare the king to tell her no. If you want to leave, nothing in this universe will stop her from bringing you home,” Lia said.

“True. I may just have to keep her here until I’m ready to go. She’s quite protective,” Rachel said. She felt better just sitting there with her sister and friend and knowing her mom would be there soon. There was so much she needed to talk to all of them about.

“Yes, but be prepared for the lecture of a lifetime for not telling her about the pregnancy sooner. She was devastated to find out secondhand that you were carrying her first grandchild,” Lia warned.

“I feel so bad about that — like a terrible daughter. I should have trusted Mom.”

“She is pretty excited about it, even if she had hoped you’d be married to a wonderful man and settled down first. When she finds out you’re having twins, she’s going to be over the moon. I want to be there when you tell her. It’s taken every ounce of control I have not to spill the beans over the phone,” Lia said.

“Thanks for waiting, sis. I want to see her reaction. I do have to admit that I was grateful to miss the initial reaction, though. She must have turned white as a ghost.”

“That about describes it,” Ari said.

“I am really sorry about the wedding, Ari.”

“You have apologized ten thousand times now for something that was beyond your control. Please stop, because you’re making me feel bad about it. Everything worked out perfectly anyway. Now, I get to marry in a royal cathedral, just like a princess,” Ari said.

“Everything happens for a reason. This will be the best wedding day ever,” Rachel promised.

“I have no doubt about it.”

Just then, all three men stepped from the water, walking up the beach together.

All conversation stopped as the girls watched the show almost in slow motion: water dripping down toned stomachs, hair practically sparkling in the hot sun, and strides, long and muscled, as the men made their way on the sand.

It was a calendar photo shoot come to life, and it was one hell of a picture. The three girls stared, their breathing becoming a bit more shallow as the oxygen seemed to be sucked from the air.

“Do you ladies mind sharing?” Rafe asked as they reached them.

Ari forgot to speak as she looked at Rafe, relaxed, tanned and sexy as hell. Oh, this man is about to declare to the world and God that he’s mine forever, she thought, dancing with glee inside.

“Of course not,” she replied, wanting nothing more than for him to join her on her chaise longue. She could forget there was anyone else on the beach as long as she was looking into the rich purple-blue eyes of her lover.

“You look good enough to eat,” Rafe said as he sat down at her feet, lifting her legs up and placing them in his lap.

“I was thinking the same thing about you,” she said, leaning forward for a kiss. She just couldn’t resist tasting his mouth.

“Why don’t I take you back to the palace so we can get cleaned up?” he asked, and her stomach clenched.

“Yes, I really should get out of this sun,” she agreed, leaping from the chair and bounding forward with Rafe right on her heels.

“Go for a walk with me, Lia,” Shane suggested while he grabbed a crystal glass full of ice-cold water from a table and guzzled it before sitting down on her chair.

“I’m fine right here,” she told him, knowing that if she went anywhere with him, talking would be the last thing on her mind.

“Yes, you are,” he replied with a deep rumble in his voice as he scanned her from head to toe, making her feel as if she’d just been thoroughly loved without the happy ending.

“Shane…” she began, still not knowing what she was going to say.

“These two need to be alone,” Adriane said as he held out a hand to Rachel.

Lia was horrified when her sister took his offered fingers and then walked away without another word to Lia.

Then it was just the two of them — she and Shane, all alone — because the guards followed Adriane, and this was his private beach.

“Alone at last and we didn’t even have to go anywhere,” Shane said as he leaned forward.

“I don’t want to do this, Shane,” Lia said, holding out her hand.

“Oh, yes, you do, baby. Just as much as I do,” he countered.

Closing the small distance between them, he kissed her the way she’d been imagining him doing all day.

Her will went from strong to gone in a heartbeat as his tongue slipped across her closed mouth.

What was one more mistake? she thought as she caved in to her body’s demands.

“I have never wanted so badly to pound someone into a bloody pulp!”

Ari walked beside Rafe as they strolled down the beach, watching as the sun slowly lowered, and its beautiful rays cast colors on the calm ocean water. She smiled as he ranted about Adriane and what a terrible man he was.

“He just thinks he can do whatever he wants — take her away and not suffer any consequences from it!”

Now it was time for her to speak. She’d been waiting. “And you have never done anything like that?” Her voice was quiet as she waited for her words to sink in.

“I wouldn’t…” he began to say as he stopped and turned toward her. She simply raised an eyebrow in response.

“Why are you with me?” he asked as he saw his past actions in a new and thoroughly unpleasant light which left him amazed to see her still standing before him.

“Is that an honest question? Do you want the real answer?”

He looked at her, his mind spinning while the muscles in his jaw tensed in apprehension of what she might say.

“Yes,” he finally said, taking her hand and leading her to a small hill looking over the picturesque beach.

“I’m with you because you saw the errors of your ways. I’m with you because before you, I was merely going through the motions of life, doing what I was supposed to be doing, being the perfect daughter, the honor student, the person I thought everyone wanted me to be. And then I met you.” She stopped for a minute. “You certainly weren’t part of what I was supposed to be doing. You terrified me, Rafe. You were a monster in my eyes.”

Rafe winced as she spoke, until she lifted her hand and caressed his cheek.

“I was afraid of you, but not for long. Then, something changed. I was angry that you were forcing me into the situation you did, but the bottom line is that I wouldn’t have stayed had I not also felt some excitement about it. Yes, I was mad, and, yes, there were times I wanted to throttle you, but you also made me feel things I never imagined feeling. You may have been a barbarian in your methods, but — I am almost ashamed to admit this — you stirred excitement in me that I had never felt before.”

“The entire time?” he asked, as if completely awed.

“Yes,” she admitted. “When you pushed me to do those things in the bedroom, I thought I would be filled with terror and maybe even disgust, but I was aroused. When you tied me to that toy, that circular apparatus, my entire body was turned on. I was afraid of you for all of two seconds. I’ve been turned on by you since the moment we met. Yes, you were a very sexy monster. I didn’t want to be only your plaything, only someone you thought you owned; I wanted your love, too. But the way you make me feel has never changed. I feel desired, and sexy, and the sex …well, it’s out of this world.” Ari’s face flushed.

“Out of this world, huh?” he asked, his eyes darkening as the sun sank, and its tangerine hue started to evaporate into the gentle wind.

“Oh, Rafe, the sex is indescribable!” she said as his hand trailed up her leg and slid beneath the hem of her shorts, making her breath rush from her mouth.

“So my sweet little Ari likes a bit of excitement in the bedroom?” he pushed.

“Oh, yes,” she gasped as his fingers reached the edge of her panties. Thank goodness for loose shorts. Ari leaned back to give him easier access.

“I have been so afraid of chasing you away that I’ve been a complete gentleman for the last few weeks. I figured that was what you wanted.”

“I love the man you are, Rafe. I can’t wait to be your wife. I do like my control-freak lover, too, though,” she said shyly. Would he think less of her for admitting this?

“Oh, Ari. You have made me one very, very a happy man,” he said as he removed his hand, making her whimper in frustration before he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her onto his lap.

“Then show me how happy you are,” she demanded, grabbing his head and pulling him closer so she could taste the sweetness of his lips.

“Are you trying to take control, my darling Ari?” he asked as he grabbed her arms and tugged them behind her back, holding them together with one hand.

“Would I try to do that?” she asked, pushing her hips against his, glorying at the friction as her tingling core met his arousal.

“I think you might. What should I do about that?”

The excitement in his voice made her blood heat as it all rushed to one very sensitive area of her body. This was a game she’d missed playing with him — it was a game she could play well. A game of who would be in charge. It was also a game they both got to win.