Rage (33 page)

cracked with emotion, and Steph stole several pictures of their

reunion, wiping away tears of her own. After two full minutes of ignoring the crowd around them, Bret took Sarah by the hand

and led her away from the wedding. Steph wanted to applaud

him, but looked up the aisle nervously at Yara. She waited for

the meltdown, but Yara had her hand to her mouth as if stunned

with emotion.

“Oh my God, that was so beautiful,” The bride cried, turn-

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ing to her groom. She reached up and pulled him in for a deep

kiss, “That is true love, David!”

The priest cleared his throat and without any further delay,

he proceeded to marry them just before the first raindrops began again.

Several hours later, after a whirlwind of photos, cake,

toasts, and dancing, Steph was completely spent. If Phillip ex-

pected to get laid (by her, at least), he was probably out of luck.

Every muscle in her body screamed, and she ducked away from

the reception, curling up in a hammock around the corner. She

told herself she was only going to rest her eyes for a minute, but soon drifted into a light sleep.

She nearly had a heart attack when she felt the hammock

swing wildly, nearly hurling her off the side. Phillip’s hands

grasped her shoulders, and he uttered a hearty chuckle.

“Arrrrr, Wench. I’m here to claim my booty.” His awful

cockney pirate snarl would have made him a shoe in for any

made for basic cable feature film. He grasped the ropes on both

sides of her head as his mouth passionately claimed hers.

After a long and fiery kiss, Steph reluctantly pushed on his

chest. His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Make me walk the plank if you must, but this booty’s been plundered enough for one day.”

He tried to situate himself, and she nearly fell off into the

sand again.

“Don’t move,” she ordered, and he held has hands up in

mock surrender as she positioned herself next to him. She sighed as she cuddled in close and breathed in his divine scent. She

stroked the hair of his chest which his cheesy seventies style

neckline exposed. The storm clouds had rapidly moved on, and

the clear night sky glittered with a million stars.

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“I could just stay with you in this moment for the rest of my

days.” He sounded matter-of-fact, and Stephanie held her breath.

It was time for “the talk.” She’d known it was coming; it was

their last night before everyone flew back to their real lives. She took several slow breaths and began.

“Phillip…listen…” Steph began, nervous but excited at the

road she saw before them.

“No, you listen to me. Before you open that talented mouth

and say something we’ll both regret, I have a few counterpoints

I’d like to present.” Using only his thumb, he tilted her face up to meet his. He refused to let her eyes wander, and Steph bit the

inside of her lip to keep from snickering. “Steph, I love you. I don’t say that word flippantly. I mean
love
. Like “bleed to death on a battlefield” love. My worst day with you was a billion times better than my best day without you. I find spending another day away from you unthinkable, and refuse to go on waking up without you by my side. I know you don’t believe in marriage—and

after this week, I can see why—but I’m done being away from

you, so we’d better figure something out quick.”

Steph giggled, and Phillip looked like she’d stabbed him

with a butcher knife.

“You find that funny?” His bewilderment was darling.

She struggled to compose herself, but several additional

chuckles escaped. “Oh, Pip. Don’t be so dramatic. You had me

at ‘arrrrr.’”

She watched a myriad of emotions flicker across his face as

he realized she was in. For whatever lay ahead of them, Steph

was on board and ready for the journey. His eyes shone like glittering sapphires in the moonlight, overflowing with adoration.

But Phillip’s lips twisted in a wicked and naughty sneer.

“Dramatic? I’ll show you dramatic.” He was on his feet,

hoisting her over his shoulder in true conqueror fashion.

“Phillip, put me down.” She squealed with laughter. “Bad

pirate!”

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He slapped her on the ass as he lumbered toward the path

leading to the bungalows.

“Naughty prisoners are taught their lessons in the captain’s

cabin. I think maybe I’ll tie you to the bed for a sound lashing.”

He flipped her off of his shoulder and held her in his arms like a princess.

“A tongue lashing?” she asked breathlessly, her lips curling

wryly.

When he spoke, it sounded like an animalistic growl. “Is

there any other kind?”

Saffron and Nathan watched as Phillip carried Stephanie to

the trail, and he vanished with her into the encroaching trees.

“Isn’t it romantic?” Saffron cooed ironically. Nathan smiled

at his beautiful lady as he lit a cigarette.

“I just
love
happy endings;
really
I do.” His tone was sardonic, but Nathan’s relief was genuine. He’d always felt Stepha-

nie and Phillip belonged together, and he had always been one of their biggest supporters. He glanced at Bret and Sarah on the

dance floor. They moved in slow circles, their foreheads touch-

ing as they gazed at one another.

David and Yara had left the party moments before, presum-

ably to consummate their union. Yara’s mood had greatly im-

proved the minute the ceremony ended. Though it was their par-

ty, the pair seemed oblivious to the world around them.

Cheyenne and Scot took turns twirling Liam around on the

dance floor. The toddler giggled hysterically and chanted

“again…again!” It seemed like everything was falling into place

for all the members of Fury, himself included.

“Don’t you mean ‘happy finishes’?” Saffron purred, her

hand sliding up dangerously high on his inner thigh.

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Nathan felt his eyebrow twitch as she pressed herself

against him. He slid his palm down the bare skin exposed by

Saffron’s backless dress. “Is there a difference?”

She leaned in close, her face an inch from his. He could

barely see her dark-lined eyes through her veil of blonde bangs.

‘Take me back to our room, and you’ll find out.”

Luck had been on Nathan Clayton’s side since the day his

was born, but he felt like the luckiest move he ever made was

walking into the burlesque club where Saffron tended bar. She

was his perfect playmate, and though he was afraid he was fall-

ing in love with her, he smiled like a fool.

“As you wish, Mistress. Lead the way.”

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Stephanie snapped a photograph of a little girl in a red pea

coat through her telescopic lens and then erupted in a tired huff.

It was a crisp but clear September morning, and she was at the

very least grateful to be able to sit outside on the balcony.

Though she undoubtedly had the best view of any invalid in

London, she’d had it up to her eyeballs with bed-rest and wanted this baby out now. She stared out at the River Thames over the

plate of crackers and fruit she balanced on her swollen belly. She wondered how long Phillip would be in the studio today. After

sending him out at midnight on a hunt for Funyuns, a green ap-

ple and Strawberry Quick, she figured he’d knock off early and

come home for a nap. Steph smirked at the thought. If he knew

what was good for him, he’d just catch a quick one on a couch at Abbey Road Studios; if he came home, she’d put him to work on

the crib again.

She assumed the guys wouldn’t be working long today an-

yway. Nathan’s wedding had been the day before, and he was on

his honeymoon. Steph pictured Saffron and Nathan hiding their

Anglo-Saxon flesh under goth-black umbrellas as they cruised

down the Nile, and she laughed so heartily that her plate nearly toppled off her gut. All at once the baby seemed to do a 360 inside her. Steph screeched loudly as her uterus seemed to twist

inside out. A sudden sheen of sweat coated her skin, and she

sucked in air. She heard footsteps thumping along the floor-

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boards toward her, and her dear friend and former assistant, Gerald, appeared. He knelt at her side, his black skin sweaty in his cobalt blue skin tight exercising ensemble. She guessed he’d just returned from trolling for men at the gym.

“Are you okay?” he gasped, his brown eyes bugging out.

Steph nodded unhappily, holding her side and Gerald heaved a

sigh of relief, fanning himself.

“Whew. I thought someone was sacrificing a wild boar up

in here.” He grinned at her slightly, and she tossed one of her

crackers at his face.

“I’m losing my mind from boredom. I’ve taken the same

picture of the same boat three times. And it’s not even a cool

boat. Entertain me, Gerald!”

“I’m all over it. Cheyenne’s on her way.” He glanced at his

cell phone. “She made me promise to wait so she could narrate

the slide show.” When the doctor explained that her blood pres-

sure was too high and ordered her to convalesce for the last

month of her pregnancy, Steph was relieved. Her agent, Debz

had done an awesome job booking her exclusively in France and

the U.K, but the baby had sapped all of her energy, and she was

more than ready to quit working. With Steph unable to attend

Nathan’s wedding, they were suddenly without a photographer.

She recommended Gerald to take her place. He’d flown in from