Page 54 of Anders and the Girl Worth Fighting For
She just laughed. “We were already somewhere private.”
I smiled. She was right. I got my idiot self into this and I had to live with the consequences.
We passed under one of the few street lights in the area while I smiled at her and it lit her whole face up with golden hues. I’m not sure street lights are supposed to be romantic, but the light danced along her hair in just the right way. She was perfect and I couldn’t believe my luck that she sat here with me.
I had given up. I thought the military and war would be all I had. I’d willingly accepted my inevitable solitude. Yet, here I sat with the most beautiful woman in the world, driving me insane with the slow trail of her fingers on my leg. I didn’t know what I did to deserve someone like her, but I would do whatever it took to keep her.
The small, intimate, and most importantly, private clearing came into view, shielded by tall tress draped with Spanish Moss. The cover added another layer of privacy to the remoteness of this place. I wanted Grace to feel free and comfortable.
I parked the car to block the only road in and out of the grove to ensure we would be left alone, and then led us over to the stream of moonlight that shot down into the clearing. I had just enough sense to grab a thick blanket before we left and spread that out over a soft patch of earth.
“Oh, wow. I see why you brought me here.” Grace said, delicate and sweet, like she didn’t want to disturb the peace and serenity of the place. The wonder and awe I could hear when she spoke further enforced that I chose correctly.
Maybe not such an idiot after all.
She stepped into the moonlight, and I lost all sense of time and place, consumed body and soul with Grace. Without preamble, she stripped from the dress she had donned before we left and slipped off her shoes. She stood in that shaft of moonlight. A goddess grown from the earth itself.
She lifted her head to the sky and spread her arms wide, greeting the moon as an old friend. A smile stretched across her lips and I knew I had to have her. I knew that nothing I had experienced before would compare to what was to come. I just stood there watching her. God, she was beautiful. The moonlight graced her delicate skin, her hair cascaded down her back, and that damn skimpy lingerie brushed against her in places my palms itched to trace.
I gave her a moment longer to bask in the moonlight, just watching as it played along her skin, before I gruffly said, “come here.”
She didn’t hesitate and a warm glow spread through me at her trust and confidence in me. I pulled her in the second she got to me, unable to wait any longer once she was within reach.
The smooth expanse of her skin met the rough callous’ on my hands and a low groan escaped me as I ran my hand along her belly and around to her back. I pulled her in tight. My other hand still grasped as if I meant to lead her in a dance. Maybe later. For now, I just brought that hand up to my neck before leaning down to capture her lips with mine.
This wasn’t a soft exploration. Neither was it a barely contained explosion. This was passion, pure and simple. A spark turned to a flame and then a blaze. I traced her lips with my tongue. Grace arched into me and moaned as she tangled her hands in my hair. I led us down to the blanket I had spread out. Her hair fanned around her as I leaned over her and traced my lips down her jaw.
“Anders,” she whispered in a voice just for me. She opened her arms, and I gladly sank into her soft embrace. The heat of her surrounded me and burned away the last vestiges of the lonely and lost man I had been, leaving someone whole and new and so in love with the woman below me it hurt in the best possible way.
Chapter Twenty-Six
the day I got the news, the sun shone bright and happy. Little puffs of clouds danced in the sky, and a cool breeze blew off the ocean, a perfect contrast to the warmth of the sun above. We lounged on a large pink towel after a dip in the ocean and I traced Anders’s newest tattoo, a perfect little unicorn, when my phone rang.
“Miss Sheppard?” An ancient voice said over the phone. One I knew well by this point. “I have excellent news for you. The judge granted your divorce. We should receive the orders in the next day or so. Enjoy the freedom.”
I hung up the phone, a smile spread across my face. Freedom. I’d been free for a while now despite Bill stubbornly refusing to sign the papers. Even in prison, he was an ass.
He had the balls to send a letter to me gloating about how, since we were married, I couldn’t testify against him. The idiot didn’t even realize I had a choice in the whole thing. He also didn’t realize that I didn’t need him to sign the papers for a divorce. Signing just made everything easier and kept things out of court. Since he refused, court it was. After the incident, my lawyer pulled some strings and got a quick court hearing. I think he was fond of my grandma and extended that to me.
Anders grabbed me around the waist and pulled me in close. “Finally,” he said before kissing me. I melted into the kiss like I always do. I simply couldn’t resist him.
“Oh god. Get a room!” Duke shouted from the walkway to the beach. He was late in meeting us here and had a woman in tow. So the usual for Duke.
“No,” Anders called back, but let me go anyway.
“Guys, this is Lily,” Duke introduced us to the tall, curvy woman with him. Her red hair glinted like a penny in the sunlight. “Lily, this is the guys.”
“Well, one is a girl, but good on you for trying.” Lily patted Duke on the shoulder and walked over to us, a large hat shading her pale skin.
“You aren’t his usual type,” Anders said warmly, reaching out to shake her hand. At least, I hope she heard the warmth in his statement and didn’t get offended.
“I’m Grace,” I said.
“Hi Grace. I’m definitely not his type,” Lily said, sounding uncomfortable. “Duke and I have been friends for,” she cocked her head, “our whole lives, I guess.”
“Duke’s got a friend that’s a woman?” Anders asked.
Lily laughed as Duke finally made it to us, a large bag thrown over his shoulder and a cooler in one hand. A frown marring his too handsome face.
