Chasing Paradise (Chasing 3)

Goodness, he was so arrestingly beautiful. My body and soul ached to be connected to his in an unconditional sense. The gnawing need to experience that immaculate, sublime collision of primitive mating was the ultimate transcendent completion of life’s purpose; like two broken, lost pieces were being put back together, forever to be bound.

Blake Knightly wanted me, in that alone I should have been secure. I wore his ring. I should’ve been confident. The sexy, god-like man was in love with me, that prime fact should have given me the power to flip off whoever wanted to come in between us, but I did none of that because I let other people’s poison seep into my head, letting it run amuck for far too long. Now, I ached to fill the void that used to be marred with countless compounding doubts and endless insecurities.

I had so much to make up for and I was going to apologize one by one, piece by piece, until he finally knew the depth of my love for him.

“Ti amo.” He pressed his forehead against my own, breathing heavily as he slowly entered me, our hearts beating rhythmically.

Each passing emotion could be read in my eyes as I could easily read his. There were no more veils, no more masks and no more prideful pieces being held back. I had become undone, loving him unconditionally as I opened everything in me—to be viewed through my scared eyes—braving it all for him. What was contained in my frayed heart, obligingly thumped through it for him. The tortured soul within, willingly stepped out of its shadows so the man could fully see me. That I had continued to be merely a little girl marred by life’s neglect, scarred by the cowards who’d chosen to hurt a helpless child. The abandoned kid—the orphan—who had been unloved, only truly needing a hug to erase her guarded walls.

My life completely shifted the moment my father died. In some ways, I died with him, too, because I had confined myself in a space where it was hard for people to break through to me.

Now my guards were down. I had finally—fully and unconditionally—let him inside. There was no going back. I simply had to keep pushing forward.

It didn’t matter what the future was about because, for the first time, I wasn’t letting my past hold me back any longer; I was willing to let the sunshine into my life, letting the breeze bring crisp air to wipe all the webs away.

I was free.

I was open. To love and let love in.

No more chasing shadows. I was now ready to chase my paradise.

Blake Knightly, you better be ready for me because I am ready to rock your world. Heaven and Hell got nothing on me.

Twenty-four

Blake

It had been a week since we got back from Marbella and we were scheduled to head back out there tonight because the casino, Ricco Regale, would be opening in two day’s time. There would be a celebration party tomorrow night for the people who had helped make this project happen; invited guests and friends.

So here I was, at a fashion brand launch party, waiting until her internship clock time was over.

I watched her from afar as she bounced from one place to the other; talking to waiters and other organizers. I waited until the moment she was finally going to be off; which would be in the next five minutes, I noted by the watch my fiancée had gifted me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to do, really. I was merely curious how my fiancée handled doing a PR event and, at the same time, I needed to see if it was really a safe job. Everything was fine, until I noticed the same guy—who I had assumed she worked with because they seemed familiar to each other—kept going over to her, checking up on things then he would touch her back or brush a strand of her hair.

My jaw was hurting from the constant grinding of teeth I was doing, but I had to congratulate myself because I hadn’t acted upon it and yanked Sienna away so that this sappy bloke couldn’t touch her any longer.

A guttural growl vibrated through me when the bloody wanker had the audacity to wrap his arms around my woman as she said goodbye to the other people, knowing quite well she had a tremendous diamond on her finger, screaming blatantly that she was off the market.

I knew men didn’t care much for those, though. Hell, even married women could be lured away from their husbands. In this day and age, everything and everyone was available to someone who was unscrupulous. It was all up to the person to decide whether they were willing to take the plunge and commit adultery or not.

I trusted Sienna with my life. I could very well learn how to become less of an ogre when it came to men hovering around her to praise her beauty. Some might think that I only wanted her due to her incredible body and luscious curves that could tempt a Pope to sin. Others would probably assume I thought of her as a trophy next to me because her looks were combined with a phenomenal mind. I did see all of that, however nothing compared with what I felt when I was with her.

She had the capacity to turn my organized world into hell with a mere bat of her eyelashes. She could easily turn me into a sentimental fool without even trying. I was a borderline stalker, a jealous possessive fool who couldn’t contain anything whenever she was near. Most of all, though, Sienna had the power to turn the ugly into a beautiful bliss by a smile, a whisper of my name, a simple touch. By just existing, she simply took my breath away.

Sienna had me on my knees, forever beholden and enslaved by merely one look she bestowed upon me—a simple look that told me that I was hers. For eternity. Per sempre. She owned me.

My gaze never wavered as I possessively admired the stunning woman who strutted towards me, smiling so big while she eyed me like a meal, ready to be licked and savored—a look that told the surrounding people that I was her property and one shouldn’t even dare mess with her prized possession. That look never failed to make me catch my breath.

Sappy. Bloody. Fool. And I was proud to be one. I didn’t care if I made it on The Most Eligible Billionaire list or that I had successfully negotiated my way out of complex contracts and business deals. Nothing, truly topped the heady high I got from Sienna, who was now a few inches away.

“You saw that?” She made a face, not sure what to do.

“I did.” I was sure she probably was waiting for me to lash out, maybe dart a barbed comment here and there.

Her golden green eyes sparkled, eyes flickering on my locked jaws before gazing at me through her lashes. “You’re not going caveman on me. Why’s that?” She giggled and kissed me playfully. “Should I be worried?” she whispered against my lips, teasing.

She was being cute and I wanted to ravish her on the spot for it. With my hand behind her back, I ushered her out and to the awaiting car so we could head towards the airport.