Ike
I was never one to buy into fairytale endings. Most guys aren’t romance junkies like women can be. But…I had to admit…I felt like maybe I was living in a fairytale. I had the woman I loved by my side, and it wasn’t always perfect, but the more we were together, either alone or with others, the lighter she became, and the moments of despair were happening less frequently. The grief never really goes away, but eventually we all find peace in the absolute—it’s one thing to have faith that you will see your loved ones again when it’s your time, but it’s something else entirely to know you will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, because you’re the one waiting from them to arrive.
We were walking along a cliff overlooking the ocean when Charlotte took my hand and laced our fingers together. It was warm out with a light breeze that caught locks of her hair and sent them floating. The view was spectacular. She’d certainly gotten the hang of creating her environment and rarely held back; though, she didn’t go all out on her wardrobe, preferring to stick with what she liked when she was alive. I had no complaints about that. I liked her in jean shorts and a flannel top, unbuttoned just enough to reveal the perfect amount of cleavage without being obscene.
“Ike.” Her voice had a tinge of reproach in it.
I jerked my gaze from her cleavage to meet her eyes. “Yes?” I asked innocently.
She grinned and shook her head. “Here we are,” she extended her arm out before us, “in front of this beautiful ocean view that could only exist here, and what are you looking at?” She gave me a pointed look. “My boobs.”
“Hey, that’s your vision of heaven,” I motioned to the ocean as I returned my gaze to her chest, “and this is mine.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “You always were a perv, Ike McDermott.”
“Only for you, baby girl.” She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, her eyes moving from me to something behind me. “What is it?” When I turned to follow her line of sight, there was a little boy standing twenty feet away from us. It was the kid who had come up to her in the field with the yellow butterfly. He was a handsome little fellow with dark hair and eyes, and he watched us as we stared at him, but didn’t move an inch. Where in the heck had he come from? “That’s odd,” I said.
Charlotte looked around. “He’s by himself. Where are the other children? Or the guides?”
“Maybe he wandered off.”
Charlotte narrowed her gaze as she studied the little guy. Taking a few steps toward him, she called out, “Hey there, little man.” When she was halfway to him, he disappeared. She spun around to face me. “You think he’s okay. Maybe he’s lost, or scared?”
I shrugged. “They will find him. Don’t worry. It’s not unheard of for random souls to appear out of nowhere.”
“Really?”
“It happens.”
She shook her head. “This place is…confusing.”
“Aww, do not fret, little one,” I said in a deep narrator’s voice, “I will continue to show you the ways of this exotic place. I will be your tour guide and mentor.”
She lifted her eyebrows in question. “Is that so?”
“For a small, minuscule—really nothing at the end of the day—fee,” I added quickly.
Tilting her head, she narrowed her gaze at me, her mouth lifted in a half smile. “And what fee is that?”
“Well, Charlotte,” I began as I put my hands behind my back and paced toward her, my shoulders back to reflect a regal posture. “Money means nothing here, and I really have everything I need.”
“Then how shall I compensate you for your most coveted mentoring and guidance, good sir?” she asked, playing along.
I bobbed my head obnoxiously, “That is a very good question, my dear. Well, as we have history with each other, I’m going to cut you a deal.”
She arched a brow, waiting.
“I’ll provide these services at the low fee of…” I paused for effect before continuing, “it’s really nothing what I’m asking, if you think about the services provided…”
“Ike...” she warned.
“Let me stare at your boobs as much as I want.” I blurted.
She chortled as she smacked my arm. “You’re impossible.” She was so beautiful when she laughed.
I gripped her forearms gently, waiting for her laughter to subside before turning sincere, “This place you’ve created here is nothing short of amazing, but you, Charlotte. You are heaven to me.” She stared up at me, her chest rising as she ran her tongue along her lips. Cupping her face in my hands, I elaborated, “The tips of my fingers in your hair, your soft skin against the palms of my hands, the way you’re looking at me right now…heaven.”
“Ike,” she breathed dreamily, her eyes hooded with desire.
I brushed my lips against hers, every nerve in my body firing off, screaming for more. Raising my head from hers, I studied her face, searching for the answer to the question rolling through my mind. Should I stop? Taking my face in her hands, she pulled me to her again.
“Please, Ike,” she whispered against my mouth. “More.”
Groaning, I pressed my forehead to hers, sucking in a deep breath. I was torn. For so long I’d wanted her in every way a man can have the woman he loves, but circumstances hadn’t allowed for it—until now. Did I take what I wanted, or should I stop?
“Are you sure, Charlotte?” In the time since she’d arrived, we’d only kissed once. Our other physical contact had been limited to hugging and holding hands. Our situation had always been complicated, and I knew she loved me and wanted me as badly as I wanted her, but I needed to be sure she wouldn’t regret it. That it wasn’t too soon for her.
“I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore,” she admitted, her voice cracking slightly. “I’d be lying if I told you a part of me doesn’t feel guilty because of George, but I also swore if I ever had the chance to be with you, Ike McDermott, I would take it.” Her lip trembled. “Maybe it makes me a terrible person, but I don’t want to fight it anymore.”
She began unbuttoning her shirt, her dark gaze fixed on me. Lust ran through me as she slipped the shirt over her shoulders and let it fall. The setting sun behind her illuminated her figure and the breeze whispered through her hair. She was angelic. I was quiet as I let my eyes feast on every inch of her. A lock of her hair lay over her chest and I reached out, relishing the feel of it between my fingers before moving it aside. I lightly traced her collarbone with the tips of my fingers, realizing again how surreal it was to be touching this woman. Her hand found mine and she pressed my palm against her chest over her heart.
Heat thrummed through me at her gesture. We’d ridden the grief roller coaster so many times since she’d arrived, and now, finally, we were moving on to the next. One that offered only the thrills of what could be, and none of the pain of what had been. And I had waited a small portion of eternity to have her, for this moment. To discover everything there was to know about my Charlotte.
Fisting my hand in her hair, I gently guided her head back to provide me with ample access as I pressed my mouth to hers. She surrendered her weight against me, wrapping her arms around me and digging her fingers into my back as we explored each other’s mouths. Her lips were so soft I could barely stand it. She tasted like mint and smelled like clean linen that had been dried by the sun. My heart pounded in my chest as her mouth moved against mine, the tiny moans escaping her only adding to my already increasing desire for her. I felt the sun dip below the horizon as night fell and our surroundings changed, but I refused to stop kissing her to take note of where we ended up. Releasing her hair, I lifted her off the ground, supporting her weight as she wrapped her legs around my waist.
“Please,” she begged between kisses, her desire matching my own.
Blindly, I moved toward the bed I hadn’t seen, but knew would be there. I climbed on, one knee at a time, before laying her down gently. Balancing on my forearms, I pulled away from her, needing to finally see her under me like this, to confirm it was better than I’d imagined. And oh, how it was. Her dark hair was fanned out around her head, and her gray eyes glimmered as she stared up at me. My dog tags fell free and rested perfectly atop the swells of her breasts. When her hand found them, she pressed them to her and my heart nearly burst.
“Here, there, forever,” I whispered to her.
“Here, there, forever,” she whispered as she took my face in her hands, pulling me to her, and together…we found a little bit of our heaven.