Fighting Destiny

by Annalisa Simon

  “Are we going to Paris?” she asked trying to humour him knowing that Paris would be unlikely.

  “No, not Paris, guess again.”

  “What about Brazil?”

  “Definitely not,” he whispered. “You have one last try my love!”

  “Hmm, this is pretty hard; okay what about South Africa for a wildlife safari?”

  “You’d be willing to fly for more than a day to get to our honeymoon?”

  “I could make a tiny exception for the man I love,” she replied.

  Darius laughed aloud and it was the richest sound she had heard in a long time. She’d missed hearing him laugh and ever since they reconciled, he’d taken time off from work and they’d spent a lot of time getting reacquainted and having fun together. They quickly rediscovered the lighter, jovial side to their relationship which many people had no clue even existed. She liked the fact that not many other people knew about this other side to Darius’ persona. He was extremely playful, adventurous and open but he’d always reserved that just for her and for his family.

  “Okay, so I blew all of my chances. Where are we going?” she replied coyly.

  “Well, I know you don’t like flying so I decided to give that a rest this time around. I thought that perhaps you might enjoy a cruise, so I booked us on an extended cruise that will take us through the Mediterranean Sea. What do you think?”

  Candasee literally squealed in delight. She’d always dreamed of seeing the Greek Isles and she could do it now without feeling nervous about flying. But wait a minute, how long was this cruise? Would she get seasick instead? They were in the Caribbean and that was some distance away!

  “I know you said extended but exactly how long is extended Darius?” she asked now wondering if they would be better off flying there instead.

  “Does it really matter? We’ll be together all day and all night,” he added punctuating his words while tasting her lips. “I guarantee that you will lose track of time after I really get started on all I want to do to you on that trip! Day has a funny way of fading into night when you are fully occupied,” he growled seductively.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned as she enjoyed the sensations his lips were creating on hers. In the background she could hear the wedding guests cheering them on and tinkling their wine glasses as they watched them kiss.

  He was right! It didn’t matter how long the cruise was. She was even willing to fly if it meant spending this precious time with him. He was trying to be considerate to her feelings and that alone was more than enough.

  “Okay, now it’s your turn!” she said.

  “To do what?” he asked looking genuinely puzzled.

  “To guess what I got you as a wedding present,” she replied with a smile. What could she buy for a man who already had it all? She’d spent a long time thinking about this and then she’d come up with the perfect thing. She would be making sure that his days of being a workaholic were now officially over.

  “Golf clubs?” he asked, thinking about the invitations he kept turning down to join the country club’s golf team with excuses about having work commitments.

  “Nope, try again!” she replied with laughter.

  “A year’s free membership to your dance academy?” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Hmm, now you are giving me ideas to get you all signed up for beginner’s ballet, but sorry no that’s not it either!”

  “Okay, so you bought me a brand new collection of all kinds of sexy, lingerie modelled privately by you?”

  Candasee laughed at the hopefulness in his voice.

  “Well I must admit yes to that one, but that isn’t the gift I’m talking about!”

  “Okay, so tell me,” he said, with his interest piqued!”

  “It’s not at all what you are expecting, so let me warn you first.”

  “I’m starting to feel a little nervous now that you have that mischievous grin on your face,” he remarked touching the tip of her nose playfully.

  “It’s your fault for being so hard to shop for but at the same time being so wonderful to spend time with.” Her expression softened with the truth of what she was saying reflected in her eyes.

  “Okay, I admit to being guilty of both of those heinous crimes so stop with the suspense already, what is it?”

  Clearing her throat to suppress a peal of laughter she leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I bought us a set of bicycles,” she said covering her mouth to suppress her laughter at Darius’ bewildered expression.

  “A bicycle? Have you ever seen a billionaire on a bike?” he asked, trying to keep a straight face. Candasee was up to something as usual. She was practically cracking up as she told him her idea.

  She shook her head from side to side indicating that she hadn’t, and by that time was trembling with humour.

  “So what would make you think that I would want or need a bicycle then?”

  “You are going to need it for our trip,” she said.

  “What trip?”

  “Well I thought it would be nice to get you out of the office and also out of your luxury cars and limos for a while. We can take a ride around the island’s coastline for as long as it takes us to make it back to our starting point. We can stop anywhere, eat, sightsee, and get a room in a bed and breakfast, anything. It will be a kind of a ‘just flow and see where life leads us’ kind of trip.”

  Darius smiled at his wife as his heart warmed deep in his chest. He never needed to try to impress Candasee with his wealth, but it was the simple pleasures like this which she helped him to reconnect with. They would be alone and out of any expected roles they had to play and could just be together.

  “Have I told you since the last ten minutes, just how much I really love you Candee,” he said tenderly tilting her chin up with his finger.

  “No, you haven’t and I miss hearing you say it already!” she replied with a fake petulant pout.

  “Candasee, I love you and I love the idea of your gift already. Thank you for being you!”

  “You are welcome. We just need to decide when we’ll go after we return from our honeymoon.”

  “Or we can take them with us on the boat and have the bike trip wherever we are. It doesn’t matter to me where we are. I just want you to be there, wherever there happens to be. I just want to see your love for me shining in your eyes the way it’s shining now. I just want to kiss you, hold you and love you for the rest of our lives. I want to treasure every single moment we have together because I know what it means when you aren’t there and I never want to know what that feels like again.”

  His heartfelt words touched her deeply because she felt the same way. It was so liberating to be so completely open with him again. She closed the gap between their mouths sealing their vows to love each other for a lifetime once more. She no longer believed in omens or in running away from what she felt. But this feeling of hope was what she now willingly embraced because it meant that every day would be something new and something valuable for them to share with each other.

  “Hey you two, you are missing your own toast!” teased Marianne as she tried to get her son’s and daughter-in-law’s attention.

  Darius and Candasee looked up both startled to see Francis raising a glass of champagne toward them as he blessed their union. Their guests laughed knowingly having already seen how deeply wrapped up they were in each other.

  Picking up their glasses they received the toast and Darius returned the sentiment to his mother and her new husband as well.

  “Today, I have the honour not only of marrying the most beautiful woman in the world, Candasee Brogan, but to also celebrate the wedding of my mother Marianne. Without her, none of who I am would even exist in this form today. I know that Francis loves her and that she loves him and I wish them both a long and happy marriage together.”

  He raised his glass to them and so began a new chapter in their lives.

  After making a stop at the house to pick up their luggage they arrived a
t the dock to board the cruise vessel Darius reserved for their honeymoon. The lights were already on in the gangway and soft music could be heard playing on board.

  “Oh it’s so beautiful!” Candasee breathed as they walked hand in hand onto the ship. The captain and the crew were there all ready to greet them with warm smiles and two crew men took charge of their luggage.

  “This way to the stateroom,” said the head crewman with a sweeping gesture indicating that Darius and Candasee should follow him.

  Before she could register his intent, Darius swept her off her feet and kissed her softly on the lips. The crew member opened the door and nodded to them and left to allow them their privacy.

  “Welcome to our home for the next few weeks, Candasee!” he said as he lifted her and carried her over the threshold and into their room. It was breathtaking as she in its accents of turquoise yellow and white.

  “Darius, if you keep doing things like this I won’t be able to stop crying today,” said Candasee as a long tear slid out of her eye. She never expected to be this emotional about being on her honeymoon with Darius again but as she’d come to realize, this was all she’d wanted for the past two years.

  He released her legs to allow her to stand and she encircled her arms around his neck and tip-toed so that her lips could meet his again. He kicked the door closed behind him and took the time to taste her lips slowly as if he wanted to imprint the flavour of her upon his soul. Threading his fingers behind her neck he ran them along the sensitive skin there lightly making slow, soft strokes that matched the way his tongue swirled and mated hungrily with hers. Candasee was finally with him and they were married again and he wasn’t dreaming. He could taste her, feel her and smell her and it was intoxicating to all of his senses. Her tongue felt silky and smooth as she twined it longingly with his in this moment of reconnection.

  The double doors to the deck beyond were open and a light breeze blew in causing the wispy curtains to billow slightly. Tipping up her chin he studied how the lights caused her eyes to sparkle like diamonds. He loved this woman so much. She tip-toed a little to connect their lips in the slightest of brushes gasping as his hands traced the outline of her breasts through the thin material of the sundress she was wearing. She didn’t bother to put on a bra that evening and her nipples were hard and prominently displayed against the material.

  “I’m never letting you go again Candasee, you can believe that. This time we will end whenever life ends and even then I’ll love you from beyond,” he said rolling her nipples gently under the pads of his thumbs as he looked deeply into her eyes. She saw his need there and it matched all that she felt in her heart. Her entire being thrummed in response to his touch and she felt herself grow more and more aroused. He pushed her dress off her shoulders so that it pooled at her feet. In the moonlight, her dark skin looked radiant and smooth and the cool breeze caused her nipples to pebble even more.

  “Are you cold?” he asked noticing her shiver.

  “No! I am far from feeling cold right now Darius,” she said and it was true. Candasee felt as though her body was being subjected to a slow burn of the most intense kind. The kind where the flames started at her lips and spread throughout her body awakening and exciting every single cell one by one in rapid succession. This wasn’t just a feeling of desire but she wanted to be possessed, to be taken captive by Darius’ love for her. She wasn’t satisfied with just knowing they were together, she wanted to feel it deep inside as he filled her and stretched her to capacity. His gaze, as he just stood there looking at her body, was filled with blatant desire and a passion that was uniquely him.

  “Candee, you fill my heart till I find it hard to find the words to say how beautiful you are,” he said raggedly. He pulled her toward him and took one of her straining nipples into his mouth and sucked deeply on it. Hearing her cry out with pleasure he repeated the same on the other one. In the breeze, the wetness on her nipple felt cold and she shuddered with the exquisite contrast of having his hot mouth on her.

  Candasee groaned with pleasure as she ran her hands along Darius’ chest and began to unbutton his shirt quickly. As she did, she kissed the new area of exposed skin above each button going lower and lower until she had undone them all. She gasped when she saw the scar left by the bullet wound and she felt even more love fill her heart as she acknowledged once again how courageous he was. She darted her tongue into his navel quickly and was rewarded by a rumbling growl elicited from deep within his chest.

  She did not realize how starved she really felt for him until he’d carried her across the threshold just now. They had crossed a barrier that had existed for far too long in their relationship and now they had no secrets between them, nothing to keep them apart any longer.

  “Darius, I want you to see how much I need you!” she said as she ran her tongue along his abdomen and chest before kissing his neck. “I love you so much Darius,” she confessed against his neck as he nuzzled him gently there.

  She unbuckled his belt buckle and slid his zipper down carefully over his engorged erection. He was already fully aroused and she wanted to taste him again, right here and right now.

  “Candasee,” he whispered raggedly noting her intent. He tried to pull her back up to him and to regain control but she insisted on freeing him and gently massaging his straining masculinity. He was always such beautiful perfection down there and she drew him into her mouth and licked and suckled him until he couldn’t take it anymore.

  Candasee had driven him to the brink of ecstasy in such a short space of time and if he didn’t stop her now round one would be over right now. It might be irrational but he wanted to be deep inside of her the first time he came after their wedding.

  “Candasee,” he repeated again gently disengaging her from his throbbing manhood, “Come,” he said.

  He had to have her now and neither he nor Candasee had the patience right then to climb the staircase leading to the bedroom on the second floor. Grasping her hand he tugged her to follow him and he made his way to the living room. This would have to do for now until they’d quenched this initial flame. He finished removing his clothes and then he sat on the sofa and pulled her down on top of him so that her legs straddled his thighs.

  As he kissed her deeply, he could feel the hot, moisture from her leaking onto his shaft as she undulated against him desperate for him to unite their bodies. That was a feeling so erotic that he nearly became undone as he realized just how ready she was for him already. He raised her over him and drew her down over him so that she enveloped him and he filled her completely. She was achingly tight as she squeezed her muscles around him. So achingly sweet and tight, he thought trying to control his breathing. God he never wanted this moment to end. He drove upwards and into her as she pushed down on him and the scent of their joining filled the air around them.

  She had her head thrown back and her neck was bared to him and her eyes were closed as she cried out with every deep insistent thrust he made into her welcoming heat. She was driving him crazy as she undulated her hips against him fiercely matching him and joining him in a rhythmic pulsing cadence that locked them in an ecstasy so mind-blowing that it was divine.

  He suckled on her breasts as they continued to move together. Crying out she began to gyrate in slow insistent circles against him.

  “Darius, I want to see you!” she cried leaning forward and resting her forehead against his. Darius opened his eyes and the love he saw there in hers for him was almost his undoing.

  “I love you! I love you!” they both spoke to each other over and over never detaching their gaze from each other as their breaths came in shallow pants. Their hearts connected in that moment as they saw each other as if for the first time again. The slate was wiped clean; it was a fresh new beginning.

  Darius couldn’t hold out any longer as his passion crested and he released an uninhibited cry of satisfaction as a jarring climax shook his body filling her with his seed. He could feel Candasee’s tightening spas
ms around him as she too found release shuddering uncontrollably against him. The orgasm they just shared was phenomenal but it couldn’t compare to the connection that had fused them in the moment.

  Once again she was undeniably his, and he was irrevocably hers.

  Note to the Reader

  I really enjoyed writing this story even though the roles got a little messy at times. Good decisions, bad decisions and even a bit of manipulation thrown in here and there are a part of the journey couples walk through at some point in time. The important thing is, that after the lessons are learned, we face our fears, offer forgiveness where necessary and choose to love extravagantly.

  If you loved this story, I want to invite you to connect with me on my website for book discussions, articles, exclusive offers, information on new eBook releases and much more.

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  About the Author

  Annalisa Simon is a hopeless romantic who melts like butter at the very idea of love, desire and passion, and can often be found curled up with a bowl of popcorn watching the latest romantic comedy.

  Throughout her teenage years and adult life her favourite pastime was reading romance novels and thus she is quite enamored with the typical romance story and the 'happily ever after' fairy tale wedding.

  But the love story doesn't stop there, does it?

  It's now her mission as an author to explore what rekindles and keeps the fires of romance burning after the wedding and even after a divorce. To help her readers discover what keeps lovers together in the face of the most challenging of circumstances.

  Love stories are 'messy' and in life there are no perfect characters, so don't look for them in her books! Good decisions and bad decisions are all a part of truly learning how to love.

  Annalisa Simon has been married for eight years and resides on the tropical island of Barbados with her husband and daughter.