Always

by Sophie Lark

  “You don’t need that,” he said. “There’s no one around.”

  He was right. The privacy of the pool was complete. She couldn’t even hear birdsong down in this grotto. After a moment, Anika pulled off her bikini bottoms and threw them out after the top. Marco laughed and did the same with his own trunks.

  Anika had never swum naked before. Though a bathing suit comprised so little fabric to begin with, the sensation was quite different. She could feel the cool water lapping at her absolutely everywhere. The feeling was freeing, and also arousing.

  This time it was she who turned to Marco to kiss him. Their bare legs entwined as they tread water, their arms wrapped around each other. Marco ducked to kiss and suck her bare breasts beneath the water. The contrast between the cold and the warmth of his mouth made her gasp.

  Memories tried to intrude once more – memories of stolen kisses, laughing and talking, of being wrapped in another man’s arms…

  They streamed through her head in a torrent of color and sound and emotion.

  But this time, Anika wouldn’t indulge her thoughts.

  She firmly closed off that part of her mind.

  She focused on the cool water, the gorgeous green jungle, the brilliant beads of water in Marco’s dark hair.

  She kissed him again, wrapping her legs tight around his waist.

  She could feel his cock pressing against her, seeking the warmth of her body. He slipped inside of her, his hands gripping her waist. He was treading water, holding her up, and she was gently bobbing up and down, riding him, allowing the movement of the water to dictate the pace.

  They sunk beneath the water, still locked together. Marco kissed her, the water blocking out all sight and sound, except for the feeling of his lips on hers, his arms holding her close, their legs entwined.

  They popped back up to the surface, gasping for air. Then they

  swam to the far side of the pool where it was easier to climb out. Marco helped boost her up the slippery rocks.

  There, in a sun-warmed spot, Anika lay back and Marco mounted her, water still streaming down his taught, tanned body while he rode her.

  She wouldn’t close her eyes. She focused on the brilliant sun on his skin, on the feeling of his strong, eager body thrusting against hers again and again. When she felt the orgasm building inside of her, she would only allow herself to look at Marco.

  His green eyes were full of arousal at the sight of her bare, wet breasts, the nipples pebble-hard from swimming. He cupped her breasts in his warm hands as he continued to thrust into her, harder and harder.

  Anika thought, This man wants you. He wants to be here with you.

  When the surge of pleasure rushed through her, it was only from Marco. It was his hungry expression, and the feeling of his body taking possession of hers.

  After they had finished, they lay in the sun until they were almost dry—they had forgotten to bring towels—and then they walked round the pool to retrieve their clothing and shoes from off the rocks. Anika couldn’t find her swimsuit top, so she just pulled on her top again with nothing underneath.

  Anika was feeling happy and peaceful, buoyed up by the endorphins surging through her body, and the singular beauty of the remote and private spot.

  She was pleased with herself for not falling into bad habits again.

  She wanted to make a new start with Marco – not repeat the mistakes of her last few relationships, where she’d allowed herself to become…distracted.

  When they were ready to walk back to the car, Marco stopped her with a hand on her arm.

  “You know,” he said, “I’ve never brought anyone here before.”

  “It’s unbelievable,” Anika said. “Like its own little world. It’s lucky no one else has found it yet—or not many people, anyway.”

  “I wanted to see how it would feel to have you here with me,” Marco said, “in my favorite place. And it felt exactly as I imagined. It felt right.”

  Anika smiled back at him, but she found herself at a loss as to what she should say in return. She wished she could be as effusive as Marco. His compliments were so kind, they made her heart flutter in her chest.

  Yet, for some reason, she couldn’t quite match his level of emotion. There was a part of her that seemed determined to hold back. Because she still didn’t know him enough to trust him completely, or because she had made too many mistakes in love. Or because, despite her best efforts, a tiny part of her was still longing for someone else.

  Marco didn’t seem to mind her silence. He was patient, and persistent.

  “I do love you, Anika,” he said again, looking at her seriously. “It wasn’t something I said impulsively last night. I brought you here on purpose to say it. I love you.”

  His dark green eyes were just the color of the water in the pool. They were holding her fast in his gaze, pleading with her to say those words back to him. But she couldn’t.

  Why not, why on earth not?

  They were in paradise together, every moment of the trip had been perfect. She liked his company, and she had thoroughly enjoyed what had happened between them the previous night, and again just now.

  But she wasn’t in love, not quite yet. Marco was handsome, and charming, and highly determined. Yet she still had that sense that what she was seeing was what Marco wanted her to see. She had never caught him in an unguarded moment where he hesitated, or misspoke, or made a fool of himself in some way.

  Seeing her reluctance to respond, Marco said, “You don’t have to say anything now. I know it’s fast. Just know that you make me very happy.”

  “I’m happy too,” Anika said, taking his hand and kissing him softly on the mouth. “I’m very happy.”

  It was true, in that moment. She did indeed feel happy.

  They flew back to New York that afternoon. Marco would have liked to persuade her to stay longer, but Anika insisted that she couldn’t miss any more work. As he kissed her goodbye outside her building, Anika thanked him for a perfect trip.

  “I hope it will be the first of many,” Marco said, kissing her hand once more before releasing her.

  Anika’s reception at home wasn’t nearly as pleasant. When Stella found out she had been to Aruba with Marco Moretti, she threw an actual tantrum.

  “How could you be so selfish?” she shrieked. “You knew I was interested in him! You did this deliberately to get back at me! You didn’t even know who he was before he came here. You’re just a sneaky, treacherous, deceitful, duplicitous BITCH!”

  “Deceitful and duplicitous are the same thing,” Anika said quietly.

  Bennet had come out to the kitchen at the sound of Stella’s shouting.

  “Stella, don’t be a fool,” he said flatly. “Anika connecting herself to Marco is the best thing that could happen to all of us. It may be the only thing that can save us at this point.”

  Anika noticed that her father looked exhausted. He usually kept up a diligent regimen of juicing, tanning, Botox, facials, scalp massage, and hot yoga. Now his hair hardly looked combed.

  “I’m doing what Burton suggested, I’m falling in line at work,” Bennet said with great distaste. “But that may not be enough.”

  He reached out to take Anika’s hand, holding it between both of his own. Anika couldn’t remember the last time her father had actually touched her.

  “We’re counting on you, Anika,” Bennet said. “Stella and I, we depend on you now. The company I built, it’s everything to me. If I were to be cut out…I’m too old to rebuild again.”

  Anika had never once heard her father admit to age or weakness before. He was frightening her.

  “Please,” he begged her, “please don’t let us down.”

  Stella was too proud to say the same. But looking at her pale face, Anika could see that she was equally shocked to see their father like this. It seemed to impress upon Stella the full vulnerability of their position in a way that no warnings from Mr. Burton had done.

  Long years of submi
ssion to her father and sister made Anika want to assure them that she would do everything she could to help the family. But when it came to Marco Moretti, she wasn’t ready to make any promises.

  So she didn’t answer them at all.

  Instead, she pulled her hand free from her father’s grasp and walked silently to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

  15

  When Anika went back to work Thursday morning, she found the office a mess and Gwen in a state of panic.

  “What’s going on?” Anika asked.

  “Margaret Givens, the woman from the Charities Bureau, she just emailed me. They’ve rejected our submission. They said we haven’t met the requirements for our board of directors.”

  “What did she say?” Anika cried. “Show me the email.”

  “I’m sorry,” Gwen moaned, as Anika read through it, “I must have screwed up the meeting somehow. She had a lot of questions for me, more than what was on the forms. And honestly, she just seemed to be in a horrible mood.”

  “She’s always like that,” Anika said, distractedly. “I know her, I’ve met with her before. I should have been here yesterday.”

  “I’m sorry,” Gwen said again. “You haven’t taken a day off in forever and I completely screwed this up.”

  “No you didn’t,” Anika assured her. “It’s not your fault. We just need to go over the application again with a fine-tooth comb, get the CPA involved, and Aunt Molly. She’s head of the board of directors. She can restructure the membership, if need be. She’ll be back in town this weekend—I’ll take her the forms, get it sorted out.”

  Anika could have kicked herself for agreeing to the trip with Marco. It had been incredible, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. It was completely unlike her to do something so irresponsible.

  “I’m sorry,” Gwen said again. “That lawyer was here too, and he wasn’t helpful at all, he kept asking me—”

  “Wait, what lawyer?” Anika asked.

  “The one Marco sent. I thought he was going to help me with Margaret Givens, but he didn’t answer any of her questions or help with any of the paperwork, he just sat there listening the whole time, and then afterwards he wanted me to give him all the documentation as well—”

  “Gwen,” Anika interrupted, “what are you talking about? There was a lawyer here? From Bennet Knight?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Marco sent him?”

  “That’s right.”

  “And he wanted copies of what?”

  “Everything. Not just the application, but a bunch of other stuff too—sales reports, employee records…I gave him some of the stuff, but for the rest of it I said he needed to talk to you. Did he talk to you?”

  Anika shook her head, utterly confused.

  “Nobody talked to me,” she said.

  She didn’t know why Marco had sent a lawyer over without telling her. Maybe he thought it would be helpful, since she wouldn’t be there with Gwen? But it sounded like he hadn’t been helpful at all.

  She shook her head. She didn’t have time to stress over it at the moment. She had to catch up on what she’d missed and get hold of Aunt Molly.

  Anika called her aunt repeatedly while answering emails, until Molly finally picked up.

  “Yes?” Aunt Molly said sleepily.

  Anika had forgotten it was five hours later in Portugal, and Aunt Molly went to bed early.

  “I’m sorry Aunt Molly,” she said. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

  “It’s fine, I wasn’t even sleeping,” Molly lied kindly.

  “I need to bring some paperwork over this weekend. Will you be back by then?”

  “I fly home tomorrow. Why don’t you come Saturday, to Liam’s place? Your place I mean,” she amended hastily. “We’re having lunch together. If you come early, you can go for a ride first.”

  “Sure,” Anika agreed. She was more concerned with the paperwork than the horses at the moment, but she remembered guiltily that it had been a long while since she’d been out to see them.

  Anika took the train out early Saturday morning.

  As she summoned an Uber at the station, she looked up at the sky, which was gray and heavily clouded. The air was warm but thick with humidity. She didn’t mind if it rained a little while she was riding, but she hoped it wouldn’t pour.

  As the Uber pulled up the long drive to the estate, she was pleased to see Aunt Molly already out by the stables in riding kit. Molly looked very tan from the Portuguese sun. She waved happily when saw Anika drive up.

  “Do you want company?” she asked. “I brought my boots.”

  She lifted one foot to show Anika that she was wearing her favorite riding boots which, in contrast to her crisp, clean blouse and breeches, were old and worn beneath layers of polish. Anika knew they had been made to measure by Jock, the stable master before Tom. Anika’s mother had owned an identical pair.

  “Of course I’d love company,” Anika said. “I want to hear all about your trip.”

  Tom brought out two of the horses, Domino and Goliath. He didn’t have to be told their preferences. Aunt Molly always liked Domino, who was gentle and responsive, while Goliath had been Anika’s favorite from the time he was their strongest and brightest—though very ill-behaved—foal.

  “Where’s Liam?” Anika asked, as she helped Tom to saddle the horses.

  “In the house,” Aunt Molly said. “He has a visitor.”

  Hearing the queer tone in her aunt’s voice, Anika turned to look at her suspiciously.

  At that moment, Liam came out of the house with James at his side. Anika could tell James was equally surprised to see her, though he didn’t seem unhappy about it. In fact, he came striding toward them across the grass, smiling a little.

  “What are you doing here?” Anika asked. She hadn’t meant to ask the question so rudely, but James didn’t seem offended. He might have perceived the happy little swell that had risen inside of her, unbidden, at the sight of him.

  “Just scheming with Liam,” he said, patting Goliath’s neck. “We’re thinking of starting a hedge fund together, with a group out of Hong Kong. I’m getting fat and lazy—I’ve got to get back to work.”

  “Yes you do,” Liam said, catching up with James. “One success is nothing but luck, my boy, it’s on the second and third and fourth venture that you prove yourself. Look at Elon. PayPal was brilliant, but it was with Tesla and SpaceX that he built a legacy.”

  “Is that the standard now?” James laughed. “Three completely innovative companies instead of just one?”

  “It is for someone as young as you,” Liam said. “You’ve got too much time ahead of you to be complacent.”

  “I guess you’re right,” James said, giving Goliath one final pat. “Well, back to the house then. No rest for the wicked.”

  “Are you staying for lunch?” Anika asked quickly.

  “Should I?” James asked her. He was looking up at her where she sat astride the horse, standing so close that she could feel his breath on the back of her hand holding the reins.

  “Of course,” Anika said, dropping her eyes. “If you want to. If you don’t have any place else to be.”

  Goliath pulled impatiently at the bit. He didn’t like to stand once he had a rider on his back.

  “Come on!” Aunt Molly called. Domino was waiting patiently, cropping at the clover, but Aunt Molly looked toward the fields with anticipation.

  “See you soon, then,” Anika said, turning Goliath toward the field.

  As soon as they were clear of the yard, she gave him his head and he immediately began to gallop across the field.

  “Slow down!” Aunt Molly called after her. “Let me warm up a little!”

  Anika brought Goliath around in a large circle, encouraging him to slow to a trot next to Domino. She could tell he was still bursting with energy, but he did his best to comply, with only occasional reminders to stay in step.

  “Tell me about Portugal!” Anika said to Aunt
Molly.

  Molly obliged, telling Anika about the pretty stone castles in Sintra, the Chapel Of Bones In Évora, and the sea cliffs outside Lagos.

  “I wish you would have come with me!” Molly said. “I hate traveling alone.”

  “Why didn’t you take Liam?” Anika asked mischievously.

  “Actually, he’s coming with me to Panama next month,” Molly said. “He said he likes bridges and canals.”

  “Really?” Anika said. “That’s fantastic!”

  “It is,” Aunt Molly agreed. “It’s not good to be alone. You should think about that Anika—you don’t want to be like me, tramping around empty old castles by yourself at fifty.”

  “Why didn’t you ever get married, Aunt Molly?” Anika asked curiously. She knew her aunt could have easily enough—she was just as clever and pretty as Eleanor had been, or close to it anyway.

  “At first it was just selfishness,” Aunt Molly said. “I liked running around doing whatever I pleased. You know your grandfather was conservative, and strict too. Once my money came clear—” (she meant the trust fund, which had vested for each of the sisters at age twenty-five)—“then I was free to do whatever I wanted.

  “Later I had some relationships, but when I thought about committing to someone, permanently…well, Mom and Dad hadn’t been very happy together, and it was looking like things between Bennet and Eleanor were even worse. No offense to your father.”

  Anika simply nodded.

  “Then your mother passed away, and I felt like the only thing I could do for her was to help take care of you girls. You were my children, I didn’t need any more. Or at least, I didn’t then. Later I thought it might have been nice...but time passes so quickly, Anika. It’s so pointless to say that to someone who’s young, like you. Old ladies used to say it to me, and it meant nothing to me then. Because every day we wake up feeling that we’re the same as we’ve ever been. But bit by bit, and then quicker and quicker, the face in the mirror starts changing, and by the time you notice it, you’ve become old, and certain things have passed you by.”

  “Aunt Molly that’s horrible!” Anika said. “You’re not old at all!”