I try telling myself that he’s probably in the captain’s cabin, considering that he’s the one who personally sails the yacht, but my heart won’t stop beating loud and fast.
After everything that happened between us, I don’t like spending time apart from Cole. Not that he ever stays away from me. He’s my shadow most of the time and rarely gives me an opportunity to miss him.
Now, however, there’s no trace of him.
I stand at the railing and peek over. That’s when I see him. In the sea, floating with his head facing down.
My heart hammers when he doesn’t move. No, no…
Cole might have had that trauma in the pool of his old house, but he’s an excellent swimmer outside of that.
Why isn’t he moving?
I don’t think about it as I jump. Cold water shocks my skin and fills my nostrils, but I don’t pause as I reach for him. By the time I touch him, he’s surfaced, his wet hair sticking to his forehead and his deep green eyes glinting in the sun.
I hit his shoulder, breathing heavily. “You fucking arsehole! I thought something had happened to you.”
He holds me to his chest, causing my hits to die out. “And leave you? You think that would be possible?”
I breathe in his cinnamon scent, taking my fill of him. “Don’t ever do that again.”
“I was only observing under the sea. I didn’t think you’d wake up so soon from your nap.”
“Well, you took my clothes, you pervert.”
“It takes one to know one, Butterfly.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You think I don’t notice when you take pictures of me when I’m asleep?”
“I-I do not.”
“Do you stare at them when I’m not beside you? Do you have another kink I should know about? You know I’m always game for making all your kinky wishes come true.”
That he is. There hasn’t been any wish that he hasn’t made come true. He lights my body on fire in the best way possible, and he doesn’t stop until I’m so utterly spent and pleased.
“Ready whenever you are.” He thrusts his thigh between mine, making me feel his erection, and yup, he’s also naked.
“Is this why you removed my bikini?”
“No, I was merely being a good sport so you won’t have tan lines, not that anyone would see them.” He lowers his head and sucks on the tender flesh of my breast, leaving a hot red mark.
I arch my back, my eyes closing. This has always been our favourite parts; he loves marking me in places only he can see and I love staring at the marks he leaves on my body.
He lifts his head and his eyes hold mine hostage. I’m constantly in awe of the way he looks at me, the way he wants me, the way he never stares at anyone else but me.
It’s not just about the sex or the kinks, it’s about how he holds me to him for no reason other than to feel me near. It’s about how he reads to me every night with my head lying on his lap, and if I fall asleep, he hugs me close and sleeps with his lips sealed to my forehead.
It’s about him and me and the long journey we took so we could finally be together in front of the whole world.
I wind my arms around his neck and stroke the hairs at his nape. “You’re my world, Cole.”
“I know.”
“No, I mean it. You’re my entire world and I don’t know how I’d ever be able to live in it without you.”
“You won’t have to, because you won’t be able to get rid of me, Butterfly. You’re my chaos, remember?”
“And your calm?”
“And my calm.”
“And your love?”
He smiles, and I nearly faint here and now. “And my love.”
“I love you so much. Now and forever, husband.”
“And I love you, wife.”
IV
The Pregnancy
16
Levi
Age Twenty-three
I throw my bag on the sofa and head to the kitchen to grab some water.
The practice was fucking exhausting today. I satisfied my usual need for adrenaline and more.
Now, I just want to snuggle with my beautiful wife and watch one of those gory films she loves so much. Other women enjoy romcoms, but mine is obsessed with weird shit. I love her even more for her eclectic taste.
After taking a sip of water, I stop with the bottle halfway to my mouth. The door to the art studio is open.
Usually when I return home early, I have to mope in front of it like a fucking idiot until she comes out. I respect her need for alone time so that she can create masterpieces. Besides, Astrid always says I’m distracting, so I try to stay out of the way. The keyword being ‘try’.
The fact that the door is now open is wrong. I place the bottle on the counter and go inside. Did Daniel come by? But he’s in the States. He and Knox, Ronan’s brother-in-law, formed some sort of friendship that’s based on shagging their way through the American female population and decided to stay in the States even after they finished college. Astrid would’ve told me if Daniel was coming back, and even if she hadn’t, I would’ve sensed it, considering she spends the entire week out of her skin with excitement.
That means Daniel is out of the way.
I don’t think it’s Elsa or my uncle’s wife either since they’re with Aiden and Jonathan at the latter’s island. Astrid and I skipped because I had practice and Astrid was...unwell.
That’s what she told Aurora, my uncle’s wife, when she talked to her on the phone last night. I vaguely remember the word ‘unwell’ and I thought it was a dream.
My feet are heavy as I step into the art studio. The smell of paint and charcoal hits my nostrils, and I stop at the threshold to catch my breathing.
It’s nothing. It’ll be nothing.
My Astrid is stronger than the world and everything in it. There’s no way she’s that unwell.
I stop when I find her standing in front of the mirror. She has one here for when she sketches my nudes. She says it’s so she can get all possible angles. Usually, I end up fucking her in front of it because I want her to see us from all possible angles.
Right now, though, she doesn’t seem to be sketching or anything.
Her face is pale as she holds her tank top to underneath her breasts and gazes at the mirror with a blank stare.
“Astrid…” I murmur, my voice low and translating the turmoil that’s whirling inside me.
She startles before she releases her tank top and faces me, a faint smile on her face. It’s still pale, her cheeks missing all their colour.
I reach her in two steps and cup her chin, then look at her intently. Has she been getting sick and I didn’t notice it?
That shouldn’t happen. I watch her more than I watch anything in this world — myself included.
Her well-being comes before anything else.
“What’s wrong, Princess?”
“I didn’t hear you come in.” She’s still smiling.
“Don’t try to escape this. What’s wrong with you?”
“Why would you think there’s something wrong with me?”