Episode 190
THE END…AND THE BEGINNING
Brett
Sebastian leaves the harem of women on the deck and pulls me aside. “So you and Sienna...”
“Are a couple,” I say. “And damn, I never thought I’d feel this way again.”
“Again?” Seb shakes his head. “Since when have you ever been in love?”
“It was a long time ago, my friend.” I inhale slowly. Exhale. “I never talked about it, and there’s no need to now. But I’ve found that elusive feeling again. The feeling that consumes me, like a wildfire I can’t extinguish. It’s intoxicating, exhilarating, and a little terrifying.”
Seb studies my face for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing. “Since when do you get poetic? I’m the songwriter. Alex is the novelist. You’re a tech guy, Brett. An entrepreneur. You eat startups for lunch.”
“True,” I nod. “But then again, isn’t love the ultimate startup? Filled with risk, uncertainty, but also possibilities? And just like any successful tech venture, it needs dedication, passion, and a touch of madness. That’s exactly what I feel for Sienna.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it bad.” His tone changes slightly, from teasing to thoughtful. “Just don’t forget your roots. All this talk of love and emotions is great, but don’t forget who you are. You’re the guy who turned a couple hundred thou and a garage startup into a billion-dollar empire.”
Fuck.
Why’d he bring that up?
Seems all the four of us have done since we got to the island is think about the past—about what we did, and what we gave up, to get where we are today.
I don’t let myself think about it. I can’t.
I’m the master of compartmentalization.
But Sienna has brought a brightness to my life that I didn’t realize I was missing.
“I haven’t forgotten a damned thing,” I say.
God knows I wish I could.
“I know you haven’t.” Seb sighs. “Just remember, Brett. Everything comes with a price.”
Before I can respond, he walks into the house, leaving me alone.
June, Heather, and Evangeline are still talking to Darby, the new doctor.
Sienna went off with Emily somewhere.
Before I fell for Sienna, I’d have joined the women and flirted up a storm. Probably ended up taking the gorgeous new doc down to the beach for a stroll. Maybe for a little pussy licking on the sand.
Now? All I want to do is get back into Sienna’s mouth, Sienna’s cunt, Sienna’s ass.
Fuck me. She has the tightest ass ever .
But it’s not just the phenomenal sex with her. It’s everything about her. The way she smiles when she sees me, the laughter in her eyes, the way she loved Leroy, and the way she realized that her future was no longer with him.
Just the way I finally was able to let Jake go after all this time.
I want to see Sienna. I want to kiss her, to tell her how much I love her.
I leave the deck and walk inside the mansion. Sebastian is gone. He must have gone up to his suite. Something’s bugging him, but he’ll be okay. He always is. He’ll brood for a minute. Or for a day. Sometimes even a week. Then he’ll write a new number-one hit and he’ll be back to normal again.
I walk up two floors to Sienna’s suite and knock on the door.
“Who’s there?” she calls.
Just the sound of her voice makes my cock react.
“It’s me, baby.”
“Just a sec. Emily’s not decent.”
Say what?
A moment later, Sienna opens the door. “Sorry. We’re trying on dresses. Ariel asked us to be her bridesmaids at the wedding tomorrow.”
Both Sienna and Emily are clad in fluffy robes. I pull Sienna to me and give her a deep kiss.
“Get a bloody room,” Emily says dryly.
I break the kiss. “I think we have one.”
Emily brushes past. “Don’t let me keep you then.”
“Don’t go, Em,” Sienna says. “We have to decide which of these dresses we’re wearing so Evangeline can get the seamstress to alter them by tonight.”
“Whichever you want is fine with me. Ta.” Emily leaves .
Sienna lets out a huff. “Oh, well. I may as well decide. Any one of them will look lovely on her perfect figure.”
She’s not wrong. Emily has a gorgeous body. But it pales in comparison to Sienna’s.
Everything pales in comparison to Sienna.
I kiss her again, this time more deeply with a lot of tongue. She tastes of strawberries and champagne, the perfect combination of sweet and intoxicating. We kiss for a few minutes until I pull away.
She raises her eyebrows.
“Come with me,” I tell her. “I want to show you something.”
“What?”
“It’s a surprise.” Not a surprise so much as a real proposal out by the jasmine flowers in the front yard.
I’m going to drop to one knee and tell her how much she means to me. I don’t have a ring yet, but I’m going to promise her a giant diamond that’s nearly as beautiful as she is.
“All right,” she says. “Just let me put something on.” She slides the robe from her shoulders and smiles. “Or maybe I can tempt you to stay here.”
I groan. “God, you’re beautiful.” I reach forward and tweak a hard nipple. “But this is important.”
“All right,” she relents. “Give me a sec.”
A moment later she emerges from the bedroom in a denim miniskirt and a turquoise halter top, her feet in silver flip-flops.
I take her hand and lead her down the two stairwells to the main floor. Just as we walk toward the front door?—
“River!” Emily’s voice is a gasp.
“I’m back, Emily, and I’m glad to see you.” Riv’s voice.
He’s back .
“Who’s this?” Emily asks.
Sienna and I turn the corner where the door is in eyeshot.
And I freeze.
My heart stops.
Am I dead?
I must be.
Because the man standing next to River can only be one person.
And he’s dead.
Dead for twenty fucking years.
I gulp. “Riv?”
River comes forward, looks me in the eye. “I told you that you’d both love me and hate me for what I was going to do.”
I look at the stranger—at his unruly blond hair, his sculpted jaw, his piercing blue eyes, and the ghost of a smile that’s all too familiar.
Impossible.
Inconceivable.
The man who I loved so long ago.
The love I never felt again...until now.
Sienna touches my cheek. “Brett. Is everything okay?”
The world spins around me.
“Hi, Brett.”
The voice is deeper, raspier, but I know it.
I know it.
“Jake.” The word leaves my throat in a whisper.
“Yeah, buddy,” he says. “It’s me.”