A Twist of Fate (25 page)

An unnerving silence washed over the crowd for that
breath-holding moment, as Ashley clutched onto her brothers leg with a crushing
grip of death.  Then the moment passed, the vows were shared, and Abigail was
pronounced Edwin’s wife.

The priest stood at the head of the couple, his small eyes
widening behind his small reading glasses, when the couple’s ceremonial lip
lock continued a little longer and a little more heated than he preferred.

The company cheered and rose out of respect, focusing on the
bride and groom, as the happy couple hustled down the aisle and out of the
church.

Ashley squeezed her brother’s leg, remaining seated with
him.  “You did the right thing.”

He slumped in his seat, knowing that he had.  She had chosen
Edwin.  He had always known they would find a way to be together in the end.

***

JENNY'S EYES SPARKLED RED as she
gazed over the canopy waiting for the news.  But the news never came.  Abigail
was supposed to terminate the deal.  She was supposed to tell Edwin it wasn’t
going to work.  Cameron was supposed to put an end to this madness.  But no one
stepped up to the plate.

“No!” Jenny cried out, as the jovial couple made their exit.

Unfortunately, for Jenny, it was too late.  She had her
chance, and that chance had been blown.  Abigail won.  With that knowledge,
Jenny’s eyes slowly stewed until they turned a soft green, much like her
sisters.  Then her skin tingled and grew warmer, until she vanished in a cloud
of misty, black smoke.

A couple of the choir members had heard the beautiful woman
in the balcony, who looked strikingly similar to the bride, and were looking
around to see where she had gone.  They both looked at each other recognizing
that the woman had just disappeared.  Poof.  Gone.

And that was the last Edwin and Abigail Santora would ever
see of Jenny Jenkins.

EPILOGUE

2 years later.

AFTER A LONG DAY at work, I peeled
off my shoes and hobbled through the house.  “Honey, I’m home!” I shouted. 
Where
was everyone?

I figured Maya must have been asleep but, as I approached
the couch, I heard lots of sweet, girly giggles. 
Maya was definitely not
sleeping.

“Where’s your dad?” I asked her, wondering why he would
leave a toddler unattended.  Then I peered over the sofa.  There was Maya,
sitting on her father’s perfectly firm abs and pointing at his sleeping face,
wearing the biggest and happiest of smiles.

I gasped and covered my mouth, unable to hide my smirk. 
“Oh, Maya.  What did you do?”

Edwin began to stir when he heard his baby girl’s fresh
round of giggles.

“Edwin, honey,” I said, in an attempt to wake him.  “Long
day?”

His dark lashes fluttered open, confusion marring his
handsome features.  “I must have fallen asleep.”  His lips were covered in a
beautiful coat of red lipstick and his eyelids were stained a dark shade of
blue.

“You think?” I said, snickering now.

“Hey.  What are you girls laughing at?” he asked, tickling
his baby doll’s belly.

I scooped her into my arms and kissed her cheek repeatedly. 
I had only been gone for a few hours, but I had missed her so very much.  Her
pudgy cheeks were so soft and edible.  “Maybe we should go get your father a mirror
to show him how beautiful he looks,” I said to Maya, smirking with her.

Edwin combed his fingers through his hair, his hand getting
caught on a handful of clips that Maya had not-so-carefully arranged there. 
“Girls!” he growled, as if somehow I was involved in his beautification.  “Uh,
oh,” he said.

“What?” I asked, crouching down to put my squirming toddler
on the floor.

He started to growl and Maya squealed.  “You’re in trouble
now.”  Edwin let her have a head start and then chased after her.  He lifted
her into his arms, growling like a beast, and then kissed her repeatedly, until
the lipstick was smeared all over her face.

Edwin lowered a giggling Maya to the floor and she came
running right to me.  Edwin followed her and casually laced his fingers in
mine.  “That’ll teach me to fall asleep on the job,” he admitted, with a
generous smile.

Maya cupped her tiny hand on her father’s face.  “Uh oh,”
she said, her adorable lips puckered into a beautiful o shape, as she stared at
the red stains that had spread across his mouth.

Edwin kissed his beautiful baby on the cheek and then shared
a gentle kiss with me, all while rubbing his hand over my full, rounded tummy. 
“
You
have made me the happiest man alive,” he said, his eyes warm and
dreamy.

Hiking our little bundle of sweetness higher on my hip, I
drew his attention to Maya.  “I think I may have had some help.”

A smile tugged at Edwin’s lips, as they closed over mine
again.  Then he withdrew from our kiss to share his promise, with me and our
growing family.  “I will love you and my girls for the rest of my days.”

THE END.

Copyright ©
2013 Christa Simpson.  All rights
reserved.

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Working Title: 
Those Summer Nights

(Subject
to change.)

Kellan went on his nightly walk, stalking the sand like he
was on a mission.  He hadn’t seen Amberly since she had escaped from his arms
days ago, and he was getting rather impatient.  He even considered demanding
that the park ranger tell him where he could find her.  But that would only
make him sound desperate.  But damn if he didn’t feel desperate.

As he plowed down the beach, he couldn’t help but hear the
sound of spraying water coming from the men’s public washroom.  Had some kids
left the water running?  He figured he’d better check it out.  He crept toward
the room, wondering whether the rugrats had taken off yet and quietly slipped
inside the room of cement, hoping to spook them.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw the source of the
noise.  It was coming from the one person he wasn’t expecting to find and the
one thing he was glad he did.

Amberly stood there, beneath the spray of a shower, her
delicate arms stretched above her head, her hands laced into that long,
striking red hair.  He knew he should say something, but other parts of him
wouldn’t allow it, as he watched the water dip between her perfectly perky
breasts and cover over the rest of her flawless, porcelain skin.  But mostly,
he couldn’t take his eyes from those soft, shapely curves, appreciating the way
the wet, see-through fabric clung to her petite body.

She tousled her hair, her eyes closed in a fantasy like
state, as the soap streamed down her, over places he wanted his tongue to
discover.  The way the water trickled down her skin, caused her to shudder, and
only induced thoughts of what he could do to her with his mouth all over that
taught, little body.  Then he growled, before he could even stop himself, and
it echoed through the room like it was a cavernous chamber.

Amber froze in place and her eyes grew wide, when she
realized she was not alone.  He knew it was wrong for him to intrude and gawk
shamelessly at her, but his eyes betrayed his honour.

The night was growing dark and he couldn’t leave her there,
so he only stared, waiting for her to respond to him.  His attraction was
evident from the stiffness of his erection and the lust in his gaze, but she
refused to acknowledge he was there, even though he knew that she knew.

The sharp peak of her nipples pressed against the wet, white
fabric, calling his name.  He wanted to close his mouth around her and grind
those glorious hips against him.  But he didn’t dare make a move.  She looked
so innocent and petrified, he couldn’t fathom the thought of her rejection, and
yet that challenge only turned him on more, making him painfully hard in the shorts
and in need of a soft escape that only she could provide.

***

Amberly didn’t dare open her eyes when she heard the man
enter the room.  She hoped he would turn around and leave when he realized that
the room was otherwise occupied, but she didn’t hear the door reopen and he
didn’t make another noise as she fingered her wet hair under the spray.

She vigorously scrubbed her hair, ready to make a mad dash
for her things and bolt back to the safety of her family trailer, until she
heard the most exotic growl that sent a shiver to her core.  Taking a step
back, she finally acknowledged that he existed.  When she opened her eyes,
ready to make a run for it, her limbs lost all sense.

Kellan stood before her, with the most glorious naked chest
she had ever seen.  Sweat glistened all over his body and his shirt was tucked
into a loop at his waist, which only drew her eyes to the large bulge stabbing
at his shorts.  Her mouth grew dry at a sight so masculine, a sight she had
never witnessed not once before now.  And now, she stood shy and very alone
with this visceral man prowling the night.

“I’m so sorry,” she choked out, suddenly very aware of her
nakedness.

She covered her breasts with one arm to block the nipples
now protruding through the wet, white fabric, but that only seemed to intrigue
him more.  She hurried for her towel and yanked it up to her chest with one
hand, to cover herself, sending her glasses falling to the floor.

She instantly dropped to her knees, surprised by the way her
body was responding to this man.  She retrieved the frames from the damp
cement, only to find that a lens had popped free.  She searched for it,
frantically, all but ignoring the magnificent creature standing next to her,
until his voice growled again.

“Looking for this,” he asked, flashing the small rectangular
glass between his fingers.

She looked up at him from the floor and a spark flared in
his eyes when they connected with hers.  She reached out her hand to collect
her lens, but instead she found him lifting her from the floor in a single,
swift swoop that sent her heart into a gallop.

“You really have to stop doing that,” he growled, not
releasing her from his grip.

She gripped her towel so tight that she thought it might crumble
in her fingers.  “My glasses,” she sputtered.  Then she chewed on her lower lip
to reign in her own attraction, which now had her shocked and appalled by the
force of it.

Kellan growled again and she couldn’t control the shiver of
awareness that spread warmth across her body, as her tongue darted out to wet
her lips.  He stole the frames from her hand, popped the lens back in place and
slowly, carefully slid them onto her nose, staring her right in her innocent
eyes.

His hands were no longer on her, but she was still pressed
against his solid lower body, the only things separating her from that
beautifully masculine chest, being her dry towel.  She couldn’t remember the
last time she had been this close to a man, and she didn’t think she had ever
been this close to a shirtless slab of sex before.

When Kellan’s hand brushed across her cheek, she closed her
eyes, unable to reign in the mess of sensations swirling around her.  She
didn’t know what the hell was going on, but she sure as hell wasn’t about to
stop him.  She had never felt anything quite like it and didn’t want the
experience to end.  Especially since she had still believed, after all these
years, that Andy was the only man who could bring her to this place on cloud
nine.

“You’re beautiful,” Kellan said, his voice vibrating through
every inch of her body.  He stared at her mouth and she parted her lips for a
breath to satisfy her hurried heartbeat.

She knew the proper thing to do would be to forget about her
things, bolt out of there and not stop until she was as far away from this man
as humanly possible.  But as he slowly leaned into her, he pierced her with a
want she didn’t know could exist.  Instead of screaming and running for help,
she found herself softening against him.

***

Kellan was sure she was near ready to run, but he’d do
anything to keep her there.  He saw the way her eyes had darted to his shorts. 
She liked it.  And that defied his resolve.  There was no way now that either
of them was leaving this room unsatisfied.  He wanted her in his arms, in his
mouth and in his bed.

When her gaze darted back to his eyes, she seemed to be in a
state of breathlessness.  He could make her breathless for other reasons, but
he knew he would have to take it slow with this one.  She was like a delicate
flower.  She needed special attention and he would pay extra care, despite the
urge coursing through him to have her hard and fast.

He cautiously leaned into her, testing her desire.  He could
see that she was attracted to him, but something inside of him wanted her to
feel more than that.  “Look at me,” he demanded, softly.

Then he hooked his fingers onto the string of her bikini
bottoms.  One pull and she would be as good as naked.  The thought struck him
right in his manhood, only increasing his need and sticking her with the
proof.  She shuddered at his bold touch and it made him growl again.

Responding to his sexy command, her long, thick lashes
fluttered open and shattered the last of his control.  He clenched his teeth,
like a rabid animal, in an attempt to reign in his desire, but it coursed
through his veins like lava.  What was wrong with him?  He couldn’t control
himself around this woman.  And he was ready to find out if she tasted as
edible as she looked.

He tilted his head down toward her, easing closer to those
soft, pink lips.  There was so much he wanted to do to her, but she looked so
very anxious, which kept him on high alert.  He did not want to blow this.

Needing to claim this woman as his own, he yanked on those
petite bikini bottoms, that left nothing to the imagination, and only wished
that they had fallen apart when he tugged her flat against him.  Unfortunately,
they appeared to be double-knotted.  She was going to make him work for it.

Copyright © 2013
Christa Simpson.  All rights reserved.

There’s a lot more to come for
Kellan and Amberly.  Check out my author pages for progress on this and my
other works in progress.