After the Rain (The Twisted Fate Series Book 1)

by Unknown

  The guy who didn’t believe in miracles really needed one right now, or else they were just going to walk back to their separate rooms in silence and call it a night. That would be it. For some reason, it felt like now or never. There was a sense of intense urgency in the air around them, like an invisible pressure was building up and was about to explode. Tonight was the night: it had to be done and be said out loud. Tomorrow they would be in Prague, surrounded by friends and family, and this little private bubble of theirs would be burst. This was their last night alone. Now or never!

  They walked back to their rooms in total silence; things were not looking good. Every now and then, they would bump shoulders and smile at each other coyly, but neither one of them spoke. The opportunity was slipping away…

  But as they got closer to their rooms, Marcus heard and saw the chaos that had broken out since they’d left for dinner. The hotel was buzzing with activity: wet men with tools ran around shouting to each other frantically, their voices rushed and panicked.

  “What’s going on?” Marcus asked as someone exited his room looking drenched.

  “Are these your rooms?” a very worried looking man in a soggy black suit asked.

  “Yes.”

  “We’re so, so sorry, but it seems there’s been a bit of an accident – a water pipe has burst and both these rooms and a few others have been completely flooded,” the man explained nervously. He looked terrified, as if he was about to lose his job. “But don’t worry, we’re relocating everyone to other rooms. It’s just that….” he trailed off and hung his head, seemingly reluctant to deliver more bad news.

  “Just what?” Marcus asked anxiously.

  “We only have one room left…” He looked from Stormy to Marcus and back again. “The honeymoon suite?” It sounded like a question.

  Marcus felt a sudden, sharp bolt of excitement rush though him, and in his head he gave a quick, Thank God. He tried not to smile; he didn’t want Stormy to know how much this news excited him. Of course, the answer to the man’s implied question – as far as Marcus was concerned, anyway – was Yes, yes, yes thanks. He’d never had such good ‘bad’ luck before; this couldn’t have been more perfectly orchestratedif he’d planned it himself.

  And he was even more excited when he saw the room. The poor staff members were all so apologetic for the mishap that they’d laid out a complimentary bottle of champagne and chocolates in the room, not to mention lit candles and placed flowers on the bed; the room practically screamed romance. You could almost hear the slow, sultry sound of a saxophone. Kenny G was in the house tonight!

  He loved burst water pipes right now, especially when he laid eyes on the giant Jacuzzi on the deck overlooking the moonlit sea and sparkling sands. The moon was full and low in the sky, and it looked so close he could almost touch it. He turned to look at Stormy, who was gazing out the window at the moon. The silvery light hitting her was making her skin even paler, and she was more beautiful than ever – if that was even possible.

  “Do you want a glass of champagne?” he asked, gesturing towards it. “I guess they feel pretty bad about the pipe thing, there are chocolates too. You want?”

  Stormy smiled and nodded at him, and then walked out onto the deck. Marcus was giving himself another internal manly pep talk; he’d given himself about a hundred already this evening, but this was going to be it. The glass of champagne would loosen him up a bit, and he’d just tell her…

  Stormy, I think I’m falling in love with you…

  God, it sounded so much easier in his head. His hands felt a bit shaky as he tried to open the champagne. He finally managed, grabbed two glasses and the chocolates, and turned around join her on the deck, but then…

  Her clothes lay in a puddle on the deck and she was in the Jacuzzi. She had her back to him and was looking out over the beach. And that was it… no explicit invitation necessary. He strode out onto the deck and started taking off his shoes. Stormy turned and looked at him with eyes that confirmed everything he was thinking, and her expression urged him to carry on taking his clothes off…

  Stormy watched as Marcus kicked his shoes across the deck. He suddenly looked very determined; she’d been waiting for that all night. For some reason, he’d gone all shy on her, which in turn had made her feel strange and shy, which probably made him feel worse and so on, until the whole thing was skin crawl-ish awkward. So when they’d been shown to the honeymoon suite and she’d laid eyes on that Jacuzzi, she saw the opportunity and decided to take this bull by its bloody antlers. If he wasn’t going to do it, she would!

  She couldn’t help but bite her bottom lip as Marcus picked up his pace and frantically pulled his shirt off, tossing it aside so exuberantly that it actually fell off the deck and into some bushes below. He momentarily looked in its direction, but obviously decided to leave it as he started tugging on his shorts, almost losing his balance as he struggled out of them. He would make a terrible stripper! But he was so cute.

  Maybe cute wasn’t the right word, actually, because there was absolutely nothing cute about him right now. He was all hard and muscly and chiseled and breathtakingly beautiful.Finally, he stood there in nothing but his underwear, and looked at her almost as if to ask a question. She knew exactly what he was asking.

  “Well…” She couldn’t hide the feelings in her voice, the whispery huskiness of it was a dead giveaway. “I took mine off…” She let the implications hang in the air before Marcus jumped into action and went to work on that last little bit of fabric that separated them.

  Stormy couldn’t tear her eyes away as Marcus climbed out of the final item of clothing and into the hot, bubbling water.

  As soon as he was in, he made his way over to her. She was expecting a kiss, but he didn’t. Instead, he stopped a few inches from her face and simply stared…

  Awe.

  Absolute awe. That was the only word Marcus could think of, just inches away from a totally naked Stormy under the moonlight. He knew what was about to happen – there was absolutely no doubt any longer – so he decided to savor the moment and take it all in. Take her all in. She looked up and smiled at him, that unique Stormy smile that made him feel positively stupid.

  They’d already had sex a few times, but this felt nothing like those other times: this felt like a first between them. Marcus reached out and cupped her face, pulling her closer until her naked body was pressed against his. The air around them was warm and so was the water, but she shivered.

  “You’re so beautiful…” Marcus slipped one arm around her and rested his hand in the small of her back. He let his fingers run up and down the length of her spine as he stared into her eyes, trying to convey everything that he was feeling. Finally, he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers – gently, softly, slowly. He licked his lips; she tasted sweet and salty. He felt her body go slightly limp in his arms as she let out a long sigh – it was the sexiest sound he’d ever heard. He looked down at her as she closed her eyes and parted her lips for him. He couldn’t hold back anymore.

  “Fuck, Stormy,” he breathed. He took her under the arms and lifted her until they were both at eye level. The sudden move made her open her eyes momentarily and look at him. She was so light that he held her up against him with one arm while the other came up and grabbed the hair at the base of her neck. His next kiss was deep and full of need and desire. And he decided right there and then, that he could do this for the rest of his life.

  “I thought you said you weren’t going to be the guy that fucked me against a car on the side of the road,” she said it in breathy jest as they broke apart momentarily.

  Marcus pulled away from her abruptly. She looked at him, a little shocked, as if she’d said the wrong thing.

  He scanned the features of her face. Her large green eyes, her tiny nose and pink wet lips. He wanted to make sure he remembered this moment for the rest of his life, the moment when he
told her – and then showed her – how he felt…

  “Stormy, who said anything about fucking…”

  29

  Fate had set the stage

  It was the perfect night, as if Fate had set the stage just for them. The full moon cast an ethereal white glow over everything outside. Marcus noticed how Stormy’s porcelain skin was almost luminescent in the cool light, transforming her usually bright emerald eyes into a pale, watery green. There was something almost supernatural looking about her. She was extraordinary.

  Marcus picked her up out of the warm water and lifted her into his arms, climbing out of the Jacuzzi. Stormy wrapped her arms around his neck as he effortlessly carried her inside. The warm glow of the flickering candles lit the room, and Stormy changed with the light. The orange glow made her look like she was coated in gold and her eyes turned an even darker green. He was in awe. Transfixed.

  She was perfect in everyway. And she was perfect for him.

  Marcus placed her gently on the bed and sat beside her for a while, gazing at her in silence. He was trying to recall the speech that he’d written in his head and had rehearsed several times over. Stormy was looking at him hopefully, as if she expected him to say something, to qualify his previous statement. He opened his mouth and just hoped that the words would come out correctly.

  “I’m completely starting to… NO, I have… yes, I have… Fuck, I’m in love with you, Stormy-Rain. Big time.” Her eyes lit up at his words. Spurred on by the relief of his confession, the floodgates opened. “You are the strangest little person I’ve ever met, and I think you might be perfect for me.” He laughed now. “I’ll take you and all of you, aliens and mixed idioms and terrible, I mean terrible, knitted scarves and all. And you would make me the happiest man in the world if you agreed to try and date me for more than six weeks. Promise me six weeks and one day, and we’ll take it from there. Just give me the chance.”

  “Six weeks and one day?” Stormy asked, smiling up at him. And in that moment, he promised himself he would never let her go.

  “I just want to make you happy. Tell me what you want, and I’ll do whatever I can to make it come true. I want to give you everything you deserve.” Marcus took her hand in his and looked at it intently, running his fingers through hers until he brought it up to rest on the side of his face. He needed to feel her soft touch. He looked at her, completely naked and sitting on the edge of the bed, looking utterly ethereal as the candlelight flickered against her luminescent skin. “You’re beautiful.”

  Stormy smiled and shifted closer to him. Marcus’s hands traced their way down her body and rested on her tiny waist. She was so small, he could pick her up and lift her onto his lap in one movement. He wanted her as close as possible, face-to-face, nose-to-nose.

  Stormy wrapped her arms around him and embraced him. Marcus reciprocated, burying his face into her neck and inhaling her.

  “Marcus,” she whispered, her lips close to his ear. “I love you, too.”

  Surely, surely in that moment, she could feel his heart pounding against her ribcage – it seemed to want to burst right out of his chest. They both tightened their grip on each other.

  “You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” he breathed into her hair.

  Stormy wanted him so badly, and all she had to do was lift her hips up and slide back down on him; then she would have all of him. He had all of her right now, all of her heart.

  “Stormy,” his voice trembled, “do what you want with me.” He was relinquishing control to her this time; he’d given her every part of him.

  Marcus’s breathing slowed as she moved closer. She took his face between her hands and kissed him, slow, sensual and deep. She relished the feel of his hot tongue, his wet lips, his warm breathe on her as it escaped from his mouth in tiny whimpers. Finally breaking apart, she stood up, took him by the hand and lead him back outside. The moment she’d seen that Jacuzzi, she’d known that she wanted to make love in it. The way the hot bubbles felt against her skin was amazing. She led him in and gently pushed him deeper into the water.

  Neither of them spoke as they continued to stare into each other’s eyes – no words were necessary. She placed her hand on his shoulders and lifted herself up, pausing for a moment to look deeply into his eyes. She stared in absolute wonder, and she slowly lowered herself onto him. The hot bubbles hit her body as she moved on top of him.

  A moan escaped his lips as he pulled her even closer, deeper. She felt like it wasn’t just her body that needed him, but also her heart and even her very soul. She obeyed and wrapped her legs around his waist, which brought them together in the most intimate of ways.

  Every one of her senses was alive now with every slow roll of her hips. Every movement together brought them closer and closer to each other. The end result didn’t seem to matter anymore; it was the journey they were taking together.

  She would give him more than six weeks; she would give him everything she had to give. Herself, her body, her love. Everything.

  “I adore you,” Marcus moaned against her lips.

  Stormy smiled and let out a small chuckle. “I love you.”

  30

  Are you a mermaid?

  “FUCK!” Marcus screamed when he saw the time on his phone. “We’re late. We’re going to be late.”

  “Huh,” Stormy blinked against the bright morning sunshine streaming through the windows, and untangled herself from Marcus. They’d slept intertwined in each other the whole night. It had been the best sleep of her life; but even wrapped in his arms, she’d dreamed about him non-stop.

  Stormy stretched luxuriously against the white cotton sheets, sleepily noticing that Marcus had started to speak like Yoda. “Airport… must go…. Plane… so late…. miss flight… Prague!”

  “Mmmmm,” Stormy mumbled, still not fully awake. Marcus climbed on top of her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and looked her square in the eyes. She blinked up at him and smiled, arching her body under his invitingly.

  “Beautiful…” He smiled down at her. “Beautiful, sleepy creature… your sister’s wedding? My cousin’s wedding? Today!”

  “What!” Stormy wrenched herself out from under Marcus and flung herself out of bed, running around in panicked circles. She’d actually forgotten all about the wedding. She hadn’t thought about it since arriving in Mombasa, to be perfectly honest. Instead, she’d disappeared into a Marcus world, where only they existed.

  “We have to go, now,” Marcus said. “The plane takes off in less than an hour. I bet they’ve even started boarding!”

  “Nuts, nuts, nuts,” Stormy felt panic grip her. “My clothes are in the other room.”

  “No time to fetch them, wear what you have here, leave the rest.”

  “But I’ll have nothing to wear when we get there!”

  Marcus grabbed her shoulders again and kissed her this time. “Stormy,” – kiss – “Just get over it,” – kiss – “I’m going to take you clothes shopping,” – kiss – “In,” – kiss – “Prague.”

  Before she could protest, he slapped his hand across her mouth, looked her in the eye and said, “Run!”

  Marcus took her hand and they sprinted out together. The hotel transfer Marcus had organized the night before to drive them to the airport was ready and waiting, and when they got there, they jumped out and sprinted some more. The airport was busy, teeming with passengers catching flights that had been rescheduled and re-directed and re-everythinged. People were thick on the ground and they maneuvered urgently through the crowds.

  But Stormy didn’t do exercise, and sprinting was not a good look for her. She felt like she was going to faint from the exertion. “Wait!” she called after Marcus, bent over and gasping for air. “I taste blood!”

  Marcus turned and ran back to her. “You and I are going to have to go jogging together sometime,” he said
, picking her up in his arms as if it was no effort for him at all. “I also think I need to start feeding you more. I better buy a vegan cookbook to fatten you up a bit.”

  Stormy’s stomach was churning with butterflies. Everything he’d said to her today had been so caring and sweet, and he was talking as if they were a real couple with a real future together, six weeks and many more days. Maybe they were a real couple, boyfriend and girlfriend – the thought made her heart beat so fast that it almost shot out of her chest and took off like a plane. Stormy-Rain, official girlfriend of Marcus! She liked the sound of that.

  Finally, they skidded up to the boarding gate just as it was about to close, and Marcus set her on her feet again. And that’s when Stormy suddenly realized the reality of what they were about to do. Again, her mind had been occupied with other thoughts…

  PLANE!

  “No, no Marcus, I can’t do this, remember what happened last time we flew…” She started backing away from the boarding gate as if it was a man-eating monster, feeling the tears start welling again.

  But in a move that totally surprised her and made her instantly forget about everything else, Marcus kissed her. With the airport staff staring, he dragged her towards the plane, kissing her the whole time. His plan worked, because before she knew it, he was sitting her down and buckling her in.

  But more panic ensued when Stormy realized that she and Marcus were not seated anywhere near each other. The tickets had been booked at the last minute, and they only realized now that they hadn’t managed to get seats together. Marcus also didn’t look terribly thrilled by the idea of sitting in economy class. Stormy felt the uncomfortably tight grip of panic again.

  “You’ll be fine,” Marcus reassured her, planting a loving kiss on her forehead. “I’m just down there,” he pointed towards the back of the plane. “Remember, cylinder, you can’t get lost,” He smiled at her – they already had little couple-y in-jokes. They were so cute!