Never Giving Up (Never #3) (2 page)

His white swimming shorts matched the lingerie I was wearing and as I straddled his waist, our centers melded into one another. I ran my hands up along his chest, my fingers grazing through the soft smattering of hair and my eyes caught his.

“Hello, Wife,” he said with the most loving smile upon his face, his eyes sparkling up at me.

“Hello, my husband,” I whispered back. His hands came to my hips, fingering the single string that held on the triangle of lace. I felt the roughness of his hands continue down my thighs and circle back to grab my ass. His grip forced me forward and I pressed my chest to his, resting atop him, his hands still running over my sensitive skin, my hands finding their way to run through his dark hair. “I love you, you know.” Our faces were just inches from each other, my voice a quiet whisper caught in the breeze that feathered over us, gently moving the curtains of the cabana. His response was simply to lift his head and softly bump the tip of his nose against mine . . .

“Ella?”

I snapped out of my daydream to see the same sparkling eyes still staring back at me. I smiled and tipped up to kiss him.

“Sorry. I was thinking about Bora Bora.” I smiled knowingly at him. His eyes widened in recognition.

“I miss Bora Bora,” he said quietly.

“Well, I could have recreated the experience for you, but you ripped off my pretty bridal lingerie,” I said with mock irritation. I loved it when he ripped things off my body. It was an expensive habit, but I wouldn’t make him change it for anything.

“I’ll have plenty of chances to ruin more pretty things as long as we’re making babies.”

“And even if we’re not, I hope.”

He smiled and nodded. “But since we
are
, no lifting. Honestly Ella, you’ve got to take care of yourself.”

I chose to remain quiet and not argue. Instead, I kissed him gently and moved on to hang garments on hangers, a task he couldn’t possibly find fault in. After a few minutes of working quietly together, I heard the door to the shop open and looked up. Kalli walked in, smiling broadly, looking fantastic.

“Kal! What are you doing here? I thought you were in Seattle for a few weeks.” I walked quickly over to her and wrapped her in a hug, thankful to have my friend back unexpectedly.

“Megan wanted me to come and try on bridesmaid dresses, so I decided to make a weekend of it. Aren’t you coming?”

“She hasn’t said anything to me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going. It’s probably on my calendar and I didn’t pay attention. I’m so excited to see you!” I hugged her again. Besides Porter, Kalli was one of the things brought into my life in the last year that I was so thankful for. In the most tumultuous time of my life, Kalli offered an instant friendship that grounded me when I couldn’t remember a part of my life. She listened to my worries and concerns and
believed
me. She was the one person in my life who I knew was being completely honest with me and didn’t have any ulterior motives.

“Hello, Porter,” Kalli said, walking towards him. He gave her a hug and smiled at her.

“Hey, Kalli. So what do you think of the new place?” He asked. Kalli’s eyes floated around the store, taking everything in.

“This place looks awesome, you guys. You’ve been working hard. How long until you think you can open up?” She looked at me expectantly.

“I am hoping to open up next month. I still have to put out all the merchandise and work on hiring. Megan is putting together interviews for early next week.”

“You’re still planning on spending the majority of your time here and not at Poppy, right?”

“Yes, Megan and Brittany are doing a fantastic job running Poppy so I am going to focus on this store until it is up and running one hundred percent.”

“Have you decided on a name yet?”

“Yes! I’m going with Dahlia. You like?”

“I love! So pretty.”

Porter walked over to us and placed his hand on my waist. “I’m going to head out, Babe. I’ve got to go check on the worksite over on Miller Street.” He pressed a kiss against my temple and I felt his breath on my ear sending chills throughout my body. “Remember what we spoke about,” he whispered. “Be safe.” My eyes closed involuntarily and I leaned into him.

“Always,” I sighed. He kissed my cheek and patted my bottom then walked towards the door.

“It was good to see you, Kalli. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again before you head back to Seattle?” He asked, pausing at the door.

“It’ll be hard to get rid of me,” she said with a smile.

“Good,” he said, then he winked at her before walking out.

“Your husband is so ridiculously attractive,” Kalli said wistfully. I noticed the blush on her face and smiled to myself.

“Yes, I’m aware and so is he. I think he tries to make you blush.”

“Mission accomplished,” she says quietly, making me laugh. “Can I help you with anything?”

“No, you cannot. In fact, I was about to break for lunch. Want to join me?”

“Definitely.”

Thirty minutes later, we were seated at one of my favorite lunch spots, a little delicatessen in downtown Salem.

“So, I haven’t heard much from you since the honeymoon. How was it?” Kalli asked, raising her eyebrows at me, a sly grin on her face.

“Oh my goodness, Kal, it was wonderful. You
have
to go to Bora Bora sometime. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.” Kalli took a stab at her salad.

“I don’t think it’s a place for single people, Ella. Bora Bora is a place for couples.”

I looked at my friend and knew what she was thinking. I reached out and placed a hand over hers. “You’ll find someone, Kalli. You’re a great girl and any guy would be lucky to have you.” She inhaled deeply and nodded.

“I know, I know.” She shook her head, seemingly trying to erase the thoughts she harbored there. “I’ve just never had a good track record with guys, and the whole thing with Kyle just really put a nail in that coffin.”

I grimaced at her words. I knew she felt guilty about Kyle and I didn’t know how to help her let those feelings go. I had explained, time and time again, that she couldn’t be responsible for his vile and ultimately psychotic behavior, but she harbored those feelings of guilt deep and I couldn’t reach them. Honestly, we’d all been affected by Kyle and what transpired, but Kalli seemed to be the only one who didn’t have someone to help her move past it.

“Don’t let Kyle and what he did make you miserable, Kalli. Don’t give him that kind of control. He doesn’t deserve it,” I stated, wishing she’d do more than listen, wishing she’d
hear
me. She nodded her head and let out a sigh. Then I watched as she plastered on a fake smile for my benefit.

“How’s Megan holding up? Only four months until the wedding. Has she become a bridezilla yet?”

“No, I think she is starting to see the appeal of doing it the way Porter and I did though.”

“You mean eloping?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I think she’s getting bogged down by details and just wants to be married.” I shrugged. “It’ll be beautiful and over before she knows it.”

“Why
did
you and Porter elope?”

I thought about the question, trying to put together a good answer for her. “I guess, after everything that happened, we just wanted to be together. After a few months of trying to plan a traditional wedding, thinking about guest lists and table settings, all stuff that didn’t really matter to either of us, we just wanted to skip the planning and start the marriage.”

“Well, that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she said with a grin. “Married life suits you.”

“Porter suits me.” I couldn’t help but smile. I remember what life was like without him and I never wanted to be that person again. The idea that I could have gone my whole life without experiencing the way he made me feel was depressing. Everyone deserved to have someone love them the way Porter loved me. His love was transcendent. It lifted me up in so many ways. I would gladly spend the rest of my life trying to make him feel even a small semblance of how he made me feel. It was the least I could do.

“So, you’ll be there tomorrow to try on dresses?” Kalli asked hopefully.

“I’ll be there. It’ll be fantastic.”

That evening when I walked into our rental house in Salem, I didn’t see Porter in the living room so I called out to him, “Babe, you home?”

“I’m in the bedroom,” he responded. I set my purse and bags down on the kitchen table and walked back to the bedroom.

The house was small. Much smaller than I would have ever wanted, but it was only a rental while our house was being completed, so I knew I could deal with it in the meantime. It had been a struggle to find another house that was available so quickly. I never could return to the first house we rented in Salem, never could bring myself to walk back into the house where Kyle abducted me. No one blamed me and Porter didn’t want to go in that house either. We found another house to rent, albeit smaller, until ours was built and move-in ready.

“Hey, you,” I said as I leaned up against the doorframe of the bedroom. I wanted to take a picture of him as he was sprawled out on the bed in my most favorite of Porter pastimes: lying in bed, in his pajamas, reading. Nothing sexier than a relaxed Porter reading a book. Well, there were a few sexier sides of Porter.

“Hey, Babe. How was the rest of your day?” He asked as he laid the book down on his chest, pages opened up against him, saving his place.

“It was good. I had lunch with Kalli and then just worked on the merchandise at the store for a little while. By the way,” I said as I walked to the dresser in the corner of the room, unbuttoning my jeans as I walked. “I’ll probably be a little late tomorrow evening. I am going to Portland to do some dress shopping.” I watched his eyes follow my movements as I pushed the pants down my legs, taking care to bend at the waist, carefully aiming my bottom at him, knowing he’d enjoy it.

“I was planning on working in Lincoln City tomorrow, so maybe I’ll stay a little later and have dinner with my mom.”

I smiled at him. Not only did I love his mother, Tilly, but the idea that he thought of her and went out of his way to spend time with her made my heart melt a little. I grabbed the hem of my shirt and slowly pulled it over my head. I watched as he swallowed hard, his eyes raking me over as I stood at the foot of our bed in just my bra and panties. He picked his book up and closed it, laying it on his bedside table.

“Good book?” I asked him innocently.

“Huh?” He asked, confused.

“The book you just put down, is it a good book?”

He looked over at the nightstand and then back to me. “I don’t want to talk about books right now,” he said, his voice becoming low and sexy. He crawled forward on the bed towards me, making me giggle. When he reached the edge of the bed, he sat up on his knees and I reached forward, pulling his tee shirt up. He had to help me by pulling it over his head, but that gave me the opportunity to place my hands on his fantastic body.

“I should have held out for a sexier husband,” I said, trying to keep a straight face as I splayed my hands over his pectoral muscles, sliding them up and over his glorious shoulders and biceps.

“Oh, you’ve got jokes, Mrs. Masters?” Hearing him use my married name did more for me sexually than I thought he could ever comprehend. I loved that our name bound us together, that he gave me something so sacred to him—the name his father gave him. I took his name willingly and thankfully. I loved being Mrs. Masters. “Jokes on you, I think. I got the better end of this deal,” he said as he grabbed my ass. He pulled my body into his as he peered into my eyes, our foreheads gently meeting. I felt his erection pressing into my belly, his obvious need for me making my own insides burn intensely.

“Do you ever think we’ll tire of each other? I can’t imagine keeping up with this level of sexual appetite forever,” I said as his mouth came down to nibble on my collar bone. I felt his tongue flash over my skin and the goose bumps raised all over my body.

“I’ll never get tired of being with you, Ella. But eventually, at some point,” he said placing more kisses up my neck, “there will come a time when we’ll have to remember our passion, and bring it back to life.” I knew he was right. All marriages went through troubles and dry spells. I wasn’t living in a fantasy and I was well aware that marriages took work.

“Promise you’ll remind me?” I whispered. His face appeared in front of mine and his eyes looked lovingly at me.

“I’ve done a pretty good job so far, haven’t I?” He said with a grin.

“Yes, my love, you have.”