Chapter 29 Elliot
ELLIOT
Sitting in the passenger seat of my new convertible, I watched Daniel as he drove the car.
The wind ruffled through his dark hair while the Mediterranean Sea spread out behind him as we drove along the Amalfi Coast. Just like he promised, we arrived in this paradise yesterday.
The car he bought me waited for us at the airport, and from there, we drove along the shore, the same as we were now, to the most beautiful hotel I’d ever seen, built right on the edge of a cliff.
My work had taken me to many places over the past year, but something about this place felt different, almost like we were on another planet. Nostalgic warmth settled in my chest, and I hoped this moment would last forever.
Reaching forward, I caressed Daniel’s jaw. His lips stretched into a thin smile, yet he didn’t take his eyes off the road.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I was just thinking how I wish every day would be like this,” I admitted, unable to take my eyes away from him.
Grabbing my hand, he kissed the back of it.
“That’s the plan.”
There was something about the way he said those words, with such ease and peacefulness, that made me believe them with my whole heart. My smile grew until my cheeks hurt, and not knowing what to do with myself, I turned on the radio. Some Italian song came on, and I closed my eyes to the music.
With the sound of the waves crashing in the background, a cold drop of water landed on my skin a second before Daniel’s lips covered the spot.
Kissing along my spine, he slowly went up until he reached my nape.
Pleasure rushed through me when he cupped my jaw and turned my head to take my lips.
His larger body hovered above, dripping all over me as we kissed, unbothered that we were on the beach.
Unlike that time in the Hamptons, now, it didn’t look like Daniel was about to hide anything as he thrust his tongue into my willing mouth, groaning while he did.
“At this pace, we’re going to fuck here,” I chuckled over his lips as he moved to kiss along my neck, his breath warm on my skin.
“Would that be such a bad thing?”
A strangled laugh escaped me. “Who are you, and what did you do to my Daniel?” I asked in English, only because I knew my accent drove him insane.
Flipping me to my back so now I faced him, he smirked down at me while I was busy admiring his choice to skip shaving while we were here.
“It’s the sun.” He ducked down and kissed me. “Or maybe it’s just you, lying here in those little white trunks.” He traveled his hands down my body until they reached the waistband of my swim shorts. Yet before he could slip his fingers underneath the thin fabric, I tore my lips from his.
“You really don’t care we’re not alone?” I cocked my head in the direction of the couple who sat not too far from us.
He didn’t even bother to look at them. “But we are alone. On a coast, a thousand miles away from New York… A couple of foreign strangers we’ll never see again doesn’t make it any less isolated.”
Focusing on the two beauty spots on his right cheek, I smiled. “I used to be a foreign stranger, too.”
Daniel’s stare softened. “You were.” Leaning in, he planted a small kiss on my lips. “And now you’re all mine.”
His sweet words filled me with pure joy, the type to make you want to kick your legs, and not knowing what to do with myself, I kissed him back.
Daniel’s strong arms quickly grabbed my waist before he turned us so now he lay on his back while I was on top.
There, on the beach and out in the open, we kissed as if it were the most natural thing to do.
And when we were done kissing, he hugged me tight, like I truly belonged to him.
With my head now resting on his chest and my fingers tracing along the dusting of hair coating it, I closed my eyes and listened to his heart.
The strong pounding slowly merged with the sounds of the ocean and seagulls, creating a harmony that flowed through me like a river, filling every empty space in my body and soul.
Amour.
That was this nostalgic feeling that kept nipping at the back of my head since we’d gotten here.
No. Since long before that, because I fell for Daniel Williams the first time I laid my eyes on him.
But it wasn’t until he’d flown all the way to Italy just to see me that this thing between us felt real.
Drawing circles on my back, Daniel’s breath slowly lowered until I was sure he’d fallen asleep. If it weren’t for his fingers still tracing my sun-kissed skin, I would have assumed he had.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this free,” he confessed, breaking the comfortable silence that embraced us.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and climbed up so I’d get to look at him.
“How does freedom feel?”
He stayed quiet for a few moments, until a soft smile drew on his lips.
“Normal.”
His answer, almost too simple, was anything but. I knew what it took to truly feel it. To feel this sense of belonging that was almost impossible to experience. I was happy for him, but at the same time, my heart stung with a bit of jealousy.
“Life is funny sometimes,” I huffed, flipping off his body so my back sank into the warm sand.
Turning to his side, he propped himself on one elbow as I did the same.
“How come?”
“Back in France, I thought going to America would solve all my problems. That there I’d be able to be free, while for you, it’s the opposite.”
“Did it have anything to do with your past relationship?”
I’d figured he’d ask that after what I’d just said, so I nodded.
“Yes.”
“What was his name?”
A lump formed in my throat, and so I averted my stare to focus on the sand.
“Jacques.” It had been months since I’d last said his name, and just as I feared, it brought it all back.
“Jacques Bouvier.” His soft smile and bright eyes now filled my mind, along with all those moments we shared together, all those first times I once believed meant something.
“We were together for a few years until he met a girl and decided to get married and break my heart.” My throat dried at the memory of seeing that naive girl dressed in a white dress walking down the aisle with the man I loved.
I could still hear the crowd cheering alongside the chapel bells ringing, and could still feel the same pain that clenched my stomach like a disease.
“I’m so sorry you experienced that, Elliot.”
He reached out a hand to caress my cheek while I kept my head down so he wouldn’t catch my tears.
“It is a pathetic story, isn’t it?” Turmoil went through me, and holding back a cry, my lips trembled.
“But what was more pathetic was him coming to me that same night and begging me to fuck him one last time.” Now, staring at the blue ocean, that memory was clearer than ever: The tears in Jacques’s eyes when I told him to leave me alone, the grip of his hand as he tried to make me stay, and the empty love confession that kept coming out of his mouth.
But above all? I remembered what a fool I was to believe him, again.
“So I fucked him in his family’s barn.” Remembering his strong body bent as I thrust inside him made my lips curl into a painful smile. “He was on all fours, moaning like the pigs in that dirty shack, when his new bride walked in and saw it all.”
The screams, yelling, tears, they all came back at once, turning this beautiful sunny day into a dark night with no stars. But the blow of the breeze reminded me of where I was, and my eyes grew wider after I realized I’d shared too much. Worried I’d scared Daniel, I quickly looked up at him.
“I… I said too much—”
“Not at all.” He placed his hand on my nape, the touch giving me comfort.
“I’m glad you finally shared this with me.
” His lips formed a thin line before he took a deep breath.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Elliot.
And now I realize even more how unfair the situation I forced you into is. ”
Annoyed that this was what he understood, I smacked his chest and pushed him to his back.
He landed on the sand with a huff, and I climbed on top of him.
“The situation you forced me into,” I mimicked him while rolling my eyes.
“What—”
“Why do men always have to make everything about themselves?” I grunted, tired of the male species.
“May I remind you you’re a man yourself?” he complained, brows furrowed.
“Well, duh.” Forcing him down, I leaned close, eyes locked with his. “I’m not innocent. Okay? I knew you were married and still chose to chase you, so enough with the self-pity. It’s not sexy at all.”
His brows knitted close. “Chased me?”
A cocky smile spread on my lips because clearly, he was the innocent one between us. “Oh, Daniel… I couldn’t care less about learning English.”
His eyes grew big while his lips slightly parted.
“Then you lied?”
I pursed my lips, pretending to think it through. “Lie? No… I would say I played my cards right.”
He then tried moving up when I forced him down by pushing his shoulders. “What’s more—” I ducked down, my lips ghosting the shell of his ear. “—I would do the same all over again, Mr. Williams.”
I cocked my head so now we were face-to-face, and I could see the desire in his eyes.
“You are a dangerous man, Mr. Dufort,” he said with a crooked smile, a second before he kissed me.
Dangerous? Or just… in love?