Fire - Betrayal (38 page)

T
ears fell from his face.

I
held Nic’s face in my hands.

Nic
, whom I loved.  My heart broke for him.

He was shattered and down in the
depths of darkness.  I knew how it felt. I had been there many times before.

“Nic, look at me,”
I insisted.

He
lifted his eyes to mine.

“I am not the only woman on the planet.  Look around you.  Look at all of those girls who scream after you.  Look at all of the women here tonight that are drooling over you.  You will find another to love, and to love deeply.  And you will find someone who deeply and passionately loves you, and worships the ground that you walk on.”

Then I wrapped my arms around him and held him.

“I will always love you Nic, and I’ll never, ever forget you.”

“Ah Cate, it hurts so much, saying goodbye to you.  I don’t want to say goodbye to you.  I don’t ever want to let you go,” Nic said with deep pain in his voice.

Then he pulled away slightly from
me, and kissed me one more time.

“I love you,” Nic whispered.  Then he walked away from
me, a broken man.

Ben was standing at the french doors. 
He had been watching our interaction.

Nic walked over to him and shook his hand.

“You are a better man than me Ben.  I could never give her up if she loved someone more, like you just did. She has chosen you -  and , I wish I was you,” I heard Nic say.

Ben held Nic’s hand tightly and then pulled him to to hug him. I knew why he did that. It was out of respect for him, but also to briefly lay his hand behind his heart to help take away some of the pain that he would feel, and to speed up his grief and recovery process.  He was such a good man.  Ben was willing to give up his happiness for my happiness.  He didn’t hate the man that I had fallen in love with, but tried to help him.

He slowly released Nic, his eyes looking down, and then Ben
slowly walked back out to me.

He brought his lips to
mine again.  He kissed me with a new depth of love and with such emotion that it took my breath away.

Again, Ben
gently knelt down on one knee, and held my hand.

“Marry me
Cate …tonight,” Ben said tenderly, uncertain what my answer would be.

I
looked at him, and started shaking my head.

“How can I Ben?  Our love is forbidden.  You’ll never be able to enter Une Autre Terre again, and I won’t be able to live with myself if you can’t return to your own world,”
I said crying.

“
Cate, I love you.  Nothing else matters except that we are together,” Ben said emotionally and intensely.  And he looked into my eyes for an immeasurable time.

And I looked into his cerulean eyes.  He was too beautiful.  No-one would ever make me feel the way that he did.

“Yes…..yes, I will marry you,” I whispered.

He
stood up and wrapped his arms around me, lifting me up off the floor, swinging me around, crying tears of joy.  Then he slowed the spin and placed me gently back down and then kissed me tenderly again.

He
led me back into the ballroom, to the applause of all who had watched him propose to me.  He led me to the ballroom dance floor where he held me closely, slowly swaying to the music, kissing me numerous times.

“On the stroke of midnight,” Ben whispered into
my ear, “Under the great fairy tree in the Botanical Gardens, you will become my wife.”  He kissed me slowly again. I could not wait until he would seal his love with me.

He
held my hand as he led me to the bar, and ordered champagne for us.

“To us
Cate. To becoming my wife. To the only woman I will ever love.”

We
clinked our glasses and sipped the champagne, left the Grand Ballroom, heading to the park of the Botanical Gardens.

It was
exactly like a fairytale. The path lit by the fairy lights in the trees.  I held the hand of the man that I was so deeply in love with, that I truly believed I would never see again.  He was in tails, and I was dressed like a princess.  It couldn’t be more perfect.

We
stopped at the Great Fairy tree.  I looked around to see all of my family there, and Ben’s, and then, over under the great fairy tree was the minister, ready and waiting to marry us.

Ben watched
my face, full of emotion. He smiled at my joy. I loved him so deeply.

We
facing each other in front of the minister as our marriage vows were exchanged, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes, tears in mine.

That night, as the bells of the town hall began to chime at midnight, I became Ben’s wife, to the cheers, applause and congratulations of our families.  Then Ben whisked me off to a waiting limousine, where we drove for an hour, arriving at a small beach- side house.

A short distance away
we could hear the rumble of the thunder of the storm approaching.

Ben opened the door of the beach house, and picked
me up to carry me over the threshold.  I felt so safe and protected. I looked deeply into his eyes feeling an absolute and complete happiness.

He
gently placed me down on the floor, watching my face as I saw the pink rose petals that had been scattered on the floor leading to the bedroom.

I
looked up at Ben with tears in my eyes and whispered his name.  Then he picked me up again, and carried me off to the bedroom.

H
e gently put me down, and started to kiss me.  My heart was beating erratically, and my knees were incredibly weak.

“Ben,” I
whispered.  I had been waiting for this moment all of my life.

Our
kissing was deep and passionate.  Then it became urgent and hungry.

Ben pulled away from
me.  He was very emotional as he burned his cerulean eyes into mine.

I
began unbuttoning his shirt, running my fingers over his bare chest and stomach, and then I slipped his coat and shirt off, and began on his trousers.  He started kissing my neck, slipping the straps off my shoulders, kissing my bare skin, running his lips over my shoulders.  He turned me around to de-gown me, coming across 1001 buttons. So in his nakedness, he sat on the bed and one by one, undid the buttons on my dress, kissing my bare back as he went, leaving a trail of fire on my skin.

Finally
, I stepped out of the ball gown, and turned to face him, naked.

He
slowly rose off the bed, and stood, and pulled me to him, our bare skin touching, our senses on fire.  He lowered his head to my shoulder and breathed in my scent, then brought his lips to mine.  My head started to spin as he kissed me sensuously. I couldn’t contain the moan from deep within.  Ever so gently, Ben lowered me to the bed, kissing me deeply, and whispering my name.

I
ran my fingers up his back slowly, and over his neck and through his hair, then to his face, tracing his lips and his jaw.  I closed my eyes enjoying the feeling of his warm naked skin against mine, and our closeness, feeling his heart beating against mine.

“
Ben, I love you so deeply. I’m so madly in love with you,” I said with tears in my eyes.

He
kissed me and groaned.  I was well and truly ready to seal my love with him.

“Ben…”
I whispered as I felt him become one with me.

Outside, the lightning flashed
, the thunder rumbled, and the rain poured down as we sealed our love for the very first time.

Our
hearts and souls connected in a way that they could not connect before, and our bodies were totally in sync. We were one.

As Ben slept peacefully with his arms around
me, I looked up at him.  I loved him even more deeply, although I thought that I couldn’t love him anymore than I already did.

Finally,
our destinies were sealed, and we would be together forever – a bond that could
not
be broken.

The end.

Please enjoy the first 3 chapters of Book 3 in the Katie’s Gate Quadrilogy ~

Water – Shattered

By Amelia Grace

Prologue

The candle was shining brightly in the darkness.

It never stopped shining.  It was there for all to see. 

It was a constant in an ever unpredictable world.

But then, a handcrafted wooden arrow whistled through the air space, piercing the candle in the wick, splitting it in two, temporarily sending embers of fire into the darkness.Then the flame diminished, and then vanished, and the darkness took over.  The world was in chaos. 

The people were lost.

But then, another flaming handcrafted wooden arrow whistled through the air space, striking the two candle wicks, lighting them both with a vengeance, and the candle burned brighter than ever. 

The darkness diminished, and was destined to be conquered.

Troubled

Fresh salty sea air
gently flowed in through the large open window of the romantic bedroom where Cate lay asleep beside me, our soft, warm, naked flesh touching.

The melodic crashing of waves upon the sandy shore resonated peacefulness throughout the entire beach house that I had brought Cate to, for our first night as husband and wife.  Our journey to this point in time in our lives had been tumultuous to say the very least.

But now, we were together, finally.

I woke first, my eyes immediately focusing on her.

My beautiful, beautiful Cate
.

Her eyes were closed and relaxed, and her face radiated happiness. Her long curly blond hair was strewn over the white pillow, and a white cotton bed sheet was loosely draped over her body.  Scattered over the bed were the fresh soft light pink rose petals from the night before.

My eyes wandered over her. Her flawless soft pale skin, her long slender arms and shapely legs that were exposed outside of the white bed sheet.  I wondered if I was in a dream after being away for her for so long, and after nearly losing her to another man.

But our love
was
a bond that could not be broken.

I moved my head closer to hers, closed my eyes and deeply inhaled her scent. I was so in love with her.

I brushed my lips over Cate’s bare shoulder and then gave her a warm and gentle kiss. I watched as she smiled and then slowly opened her eyes.

‘Ben,’ she whispered, and then moved her hand to touch the side of my face.

As we gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, a tear fell from hers. I gently wiped it away with my finger, and then slowly brought my lips closer to hers, barely touching.

She moved her hand to the back of my head and pulled my lips closer, teasingly.
I moaned and kissed her deeply and urgently, desire filling my entire body. Our naked bodies molded together perfectly as we wrapped ourselves around each other and became one again, our bodies moving in perfect synchronization.

*~*~*~*~*

We lay peacefully in each other’s arms for sometime afterwards, gazing out the enormous window at the beautiful sea, I kissed Cate’s head before I got out of bed.  I pulled on my black Masquerade trousers and set off to find some food in the kitchen.

It was in the refrigerator that I found the colourful and delicious fruit platter that I had pre - ordered for breakfast.

I took it to the beachside deck of the house, and prepared the table for us to share as our first meal together as husband and wife, and then stood at the edge of the deck and looked out over the ocean.

I was well aware of her presence even though she had silently approached the doorway.  I could always feel when she was near. It was one of my Terrean gifts. I turned around and faced her.  She was wearing my white cotton long sleeve shirt. I smiled crookedly at her and heard her heart skip a beat. She continued to lean at the doorway, gazing at me. I smirked at her.

She walked over to me and kissed me lightly on the lips before wrapping her arms around me. Her body felt amazing against mine. We had only been back together for nine hours, but an amazing nine hours it was.

‘Cate, I love you,’ I said emotionally, ‘I love you….’