: Part 3 – Chapter 15

I moan as the soft sea breeze hits my body.

My nipples peak and I rub my thighs together. That’s when I realise I have nothing on.

No clothes.

My eyes shoot open, wrenching me from sleep, and sure enough, I’m lying on the chaise longue under the sun, completely naked.

Cole.

No one other than that pervert would remove my clothes. I hate that the part I’m the most bothered about is that I wasn’t fully awake to witness it.

Groaning, I get up on my elbows to search for my husband.

I smile to myself.

Cole is my husband. It took us ten years since we got together and twenty years since we promised each other our firsts, but we’re finally here.

We’re married.

We’re spending our honeymoon in France, in that small town where we first kissed each other in public. The town where we got our tattoos together.

My fingers snake over my side to touch the butterfly I got that day. Although a bit impulsive, that was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

Aside from marrying the love of my life. The peace of my days and the absolute chaos in others.

But I wouldn’t change anything about him, even if I could.

We’re currently on a yacht, sailing through the Mediterranean Sea. And yes, Cole owns a yacht. I think I underestimated William Nash’s fortune, because apparently, even though he passed away a long time ago, he spent his life building a literal empire of gold.

It’s become even better ever since Cole struck a partnership with both Jonathan King, Aiden’s father, and Ethan Steel, Elsa’s father. He knows exactly which bigwigs to target. With his calculative personality, he was made for the business world.

And my competitive personality is also fit for it. I can’t wait for Cole and me to conquer the world, or as he says, to own it.

We’ll have a problem with Aiden, considering his own competitive streak, but he stands no chance if Cole and I come at him full force.

That arsehole is going down.

I don’t bother searching for clothes as I stand up. We’re alone on the yacht, and although it’s not currently moving, there are no people in sight. We’re literally in the middle of nowhere, where no one knows us and we can be ourselves.

Not that it would cause a problem if we were together in public. After all, we got married.

But, in a way, we yearn for our private time together, to do the freaky stuff only the two of us know. Cole still ties me up and wrenches one explosive orgasm after the other from me. We still go to La Débauche to watch other people have sex while we get each other off.

We still sneak to dark corners for quickies because my husband can’t keep his hands off me — just like I can’t keep my hands off him.

“Cole?” I call, but there’s no reply.

I search downstairs and in the rooms, but there’s no sign of him. I return upstairs, my fingers shaking the slightest bit.

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.”