nine | 2
It sure as hell did. And the tender motion lulled both of us to sleep.
The next three days I at least had company, but I was going out of my mind, spending most of my time lying there. However, mercifully, I was encouraged to take short walks down the hallway to get me up and moving, which I jumped at – although not literally. And on a positive note, my doctor found me a therapist and I met with her the day before I was released. I asked that Teak be permitted to sit in the session with me because first, I had nothing to hide from him and second, he needed to be well aware of my mental state, to help him fully understand the tormented thoughts, so he was better equipped to help me.
Also, as more things leaked out about my abduction and almost murder, social media continued to blow up, causing some eager people to try to sneak into my hospital room to get details or an exclusive story. Some were fans who had been following the story and some were even reporters. I was in complete bafflement. They weren’t seeking a feature article with Teak. They wanted my story. Teak hired guards to stand at my door for my duration at the hospital. He didn’t bother Jasper or even Ryker since he wasn’t looking for protection for me; he was only looking for someone to deny entrance to my room. However, he did ask both of his usual guys to help escort me from the hospital to Teak’s SUV on the day I was finally released.
During the first two weeks at home, I was in the process of officially moving in with Teak and things were a bit chaotic. Well, not for me so much since I was only permitted to watch the chaos unravel. Well, in all fairness, I guess it was more organized chaos. He paid for movers so Ivy and Ascher only had to pack up our personal things – since we didn’t want strangers touching some of our belongings.
And yes, I said ours because Ivy moved in with Ascher. As I had suspected, their relationship was serious too and she figured since I was moving, it was the best next step for her as well. Most of my furniture went to Goodwill, but I did keep my book case and had them install it in the bedroom and I kept my small dresser, which with a little bit of rearranging fit perfectly. His house was starting to look like our house now, with some of my additions. Although I had felt like I had belonged from the very first day, I now had some of my throw pillows on the couch, my dishes mixed in with his, and my pictures and artwork on the walls.
Even though I wasn’t permitted to lift a finger for anything, Teak arranged and rearranged furniture and items until we were satisfied. It took a bit longer because I insisted he still made time to work on his music each day. And during this time, because of concussion symptoms – for the second time recently – I was even more limited on what I was permitted to do, provoking me to really want to crawl out of my skin. I couldn’t work, watch television, or lift anything. I spent my time lying on the couch taking a nap or reading a book – but I could only do that for short periods of time – or at the bar sketching. That part I loved, as I always found drawing therapeutic and it was so easy to get lost in my artwork, more so when I was sketching it by hand. Or I lounged out on the deck watching the vacationers at the beach.
And it was nice when my parents drove up for the day to visit. They arrived around lunchtime. We hung out on the deck, relieved my parents were fine with my new living arrangement. When Teak mentioned that he wanted to be able to take care of me while I was healing both physically and mentally and that we had been talking a little about doing this before, my parents agreed with only a little hesitation. We counted that as a win. At sunset, we took a short stroll along the beach behind our place, figuring waiting until then would make it more difficult for people to recognize me. My parents headed back home that night with the promise that when I was able to travel long distances, we would visit them.
Teak had called his father to tell him about me. And when he tried to glaze over about my surgery and why we would have to wait a while before we could travel to visit him, Teak ended up reluctantly spilling the entire horrifying story over the phone. When there was a knock on our door the next day, we shouldn’t have been surprised. His dad came to visit, bringing me ‘get well’ balloons, flowers, and a card. Teak’s dad was an older version of him – dark hair, although he wore his trimmed short, and the same ocean blue eyes. He was handsome, kind, friendly – all qualities he had passed on to his son – but even with his outgoing nature, he had an underlying melancholy to his aura. It hurt my heart that his father still mourned the loss of his wife.
As for the house Ivy and I had shared; even though I felt a little bit bad about preying on our landlord’s sympathies – using my recent attack – we got out of our rental lease.
Once my symptoms subsided, I resumed my work on line. And since I wasn’t permitted to drive yet, Teak offered to drive me in to work for my weekly meetings. But Corinne insisted that meeting through FaceTime was fine until I was released. At this point, even though I still hadn’t been outside of the house, I was back to my normal routine inside – work, television, and the internet – minus being allowed to lift anything yet. Which meant laundry and cleaning were still out. However, with the occasional glimpses of reporters lurking at Teak’s property lines, I could wait a little while longer for things to die down.
Almost six weeks after I was released from the hospital, I was finally getting to go somewhere. I was released to drive, but since it was a double date, Teak drove. He had planned a whale watching trip for the two of us and Ascher and Ivy. Since we weren’t sure of the frenzy still following my story, Teak reserved the entire boat for the four of us.
“Should I wear a dress or shorts?” I was digging through our shared closet while Teak stood in the doorway to the bathroom, grinning at me. He was in a nice pair of khaki shorts and a light blue polo shirt.
“Whatever you are going to be more comfortable in. You would think you had been caged up since birth and this was your first outing ever. Please tell me you aren’t going to go all Rapunzel out there.” His grin grew wider.
“The fact that I’ve never been whale watching; I have been cooped up for way too long; and I’m going with Ivy; it’s a really good thing the only witnesses will be the crew for the boat. Because I can’t make any promises.” I tossed my hand onto my hip and scowled at him, before my own lips curled into a smile. “Thank you so much for this. I’m so excited. And not just because I need to get out.” My therapy sessions had been going well, but I needed to get back to my complete normal. And that also meant being intimate with Teak again. Snuggled up every night in bed with him was fantastic, but my entire body, heart, and soul needed that complete connection. I had been released to return to normal activities and planned to do just that.
The door bell ringing shifted our attention to the front of the house.
“Whatever you wear will be perfect. Although you might be more comfortable in shorts because I’m sure it gets a bit windy out there. I’ll go let our guests in.” Teak shot me a wink before strolling out into the hall.
It was a date, but it was an adventure type one so I decided on a pair of light blue shorts and a pale yellow halter top. I had just pulled off my pajamas when Ivy stepped inside.
“Geez. Can’t a girl get dressed in private ‘round here?” I shot her a fake frown as I tugged on my shorts. Then I slipped the top over my head.
“If you don’t know by now I have no respect for boundaries, then apparently you aren’t the bestie I thought you were.” Heading over toward the bed, she flopped down onto it on her back. She was wearing a pair of black shorts and a hot pink tank top so I was satisfied with my wardrobe choice. “I hope we catch a glimpse of a whale today. Our boyfriends are so cool.”
When I glanced down at her, she wore a goofy grin. I had no doubt she and Ascher were a forever thing too.
“Me too. But I’m just itching to get to do something. And if not, I’m sure we’ll get to see other animals being that far out on the water.” On my way from the closet, I paused to glance in the mirror over the big dresser. Satisfied with my light makeup and hair falling in gentle waves down my back, I walked over to Ivy and stretched out my hand. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be late.”
When she grabbed my hand, I pulled her up and we headed out to join the guys.
After the four of us climbed into Teak’s SUV, he drove down through the gate and out onto the road.
“You two make sure you behave back there.” Twisting, I smirked at Ivy.
“Keep your eyes facing forward and you don’t have to worry about seeing something you don’t want to.” Waggling her eyebrows, Ivy shot me a mischievous grin.
“You need a car with dividers.”
Reaching for my hand, Teak entwined our fingers. “We just won’t look.” I caught the hint of his smirk.
About a half an hour later, Teak pulled into the lot and the four of us crawled out of the car and walked up to the dock to our awaiting boat. The captain greeted us and got us settled on board. With my hand tightly grasped in Teak’s, we walked across the deck and over to the rail to stare out into the open ocean. Even though we were the only passengers, Ivy and Ascher stood right beside us.
While we casually cruised along the ocean, our eyes searched the waters for sea life. Crew members pointed out areas where we could spot sea lions, otters, seals, sea turtles, or jelly fish. As we coasted along, the critters seemed to hop out of the water to say ‘hi.’ Yes, I was excited to be able to do anything, but being out on the open ocean, taking in the sights of these amazing animals, was a balm to my soul.
I tucked my head into Teak’s chest. “I know I already thanked you a bunch of times for this. But out here is so beautiful and serene. You have no idea how much I needed this.”
“Yeah. Actually, I think I did.” He kissed the top of my head. “I scheduled it when I saw your deflated look when you found out you had to stay so long in the hospital and learned what you were looking at for recovery time.”
Leaning back, I stared up at the most perfect guy I had ever known. “I love you so much, Teak.”
“I love you too. Always and forever.” His lips met mine for a brief kiss.
“I wonder if they would let us catch one of those otters to take home for a pet.” Ivy nudged my shoulder with hers.
I twisted to laugh at her. “I’m thinking that’s a big fat no.”
She pouted.
Over an hour into our trip and we still hadn’t spotted a whale.
“Well at least we got to see so many other animals. And it is just so mesmerizing and calming out here. Although I have to admit; I am a bit bummed we haven’t seen a whale.”
“Look out toward the right.” One of the crew members drew our attention out on the water in time to spot the nose of a humpback whale coming out of the water as he twisted and flopped back in on his side, his huge tail connecting with the water with a huge smack, sending splashes of water up and out.
“Oh my God. That was so amazing. Like wow.” I wrapped my arm around Teak’s waist and hugged him closer.
“I’m glad you got to see that. But I have something even better.” Untangling himself from my arms, he got down on one knee and pulled a black box out of his pocket.
My eyes grew wide and I slapped my palm to my mouth to keep my jaw from dropping. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t expected this; we had talked about making the commitment official. But no matter, he still took me by surprise and I was elated.
After he popped open the lid and held it out to me, he shot me a dazzling grin, so full of love and devotion. “Serenity, I love you more than anything. You captured my heart the first time I saw you and I can’t imagine my life without you. Would you truly be mine and marry me?”
My heart swelled and tears rolled down my cheeks as I stared at the sexy guy before me whose love I felt in every little thing. The ring was a simple princess cut diamond, but he knew I wouldn’t want anything flashy. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
Ivy squealed beside me a moment before she tugged me into a tight hug. “I’m so excited for you and I can squeeze you now without worrying about hurting you. And I better be your Maid of Honor.”
“Yes. Who else would I ask?” After I was able to extricate myself from her anaconda arms, I turned into Teak’s awaiting embrace and snuggled into his chest.
Ascher came over and shook his hand. “Congratulations, Man.”
“Thanks. And of course I would like you to be my Best Man. But we’ll hash out those details later. Let’s enjoy the rest of our little trip.”
Snaking my arms around his neck, I tilted my head up to meet Teak’s pleased gaze. “And how long have you been planning this? You didn’t have the ring when we went to The Hole in the Wall, did you? I will feel so horrible – ”
He cut me off with a kiss to my lips. “No. I wasn’t planning it that day. I meant what I had said that I was going to ask you soon, but I knew you had too many things going on and it wouldn’t have been fair. And when I brought you to the hospital and told the staff you were my fiancée, I decided I wasn’t going to wait any longer. I almost lost you and time is too precious to waste putting off important things. On one of the days when Ivy was hanging out with you, I headed out to the jewelry store to buy your ring and I planned on proposing here.”
“You are so amazing. Thank you for tricking me into meeting you for coffee. I couldn’t imagine my life without you either.” Despite the horrors I had recently gone through; it all brought me to this place. Besides, those gruesome thoughts had no place here, so I shoved them aside and embraced the present and my future. I was engaged to Teak Pierce. Holy crap!
Although we didn’t spot anymore whales, there was still plenty of other marine life to capture our attention. Then after our ocean excursion was over, the four of us headed to dinner and then down to hang out at the beach behind our place.
After Ivy and Ascher headed home, I led Teak back to our bedroom, more than ready to spend some naked time with my fiancé.
When we stepped inside, I padded over to our bed, removing my shirt on my way. “I think we need to celebrate our engagement. Don’t you?” Unbuttoning my shorts, I slid them down my legs.
His hungry eyes collided with mine, but I caught a glimpse of hesitancy there.
“Remember what you said about putting off important things.” I raised my eyebrow at him, as I unhooked my bra and slipped it off and onto the floor. “Well, it is very important that we consummate our engagement tonight.”
“I believe I have heard something about that.” Stalking toward me, his lips curled into a wolfish grin. Stopping in front of me, he took my face in his hands and brought his lips to mine in a tender kiss. When he pulled back, he fixed me with a pointed stare. “As long as you are sure your body is ready and you let me know immediately if anything changes.”
“I’m more than ready and I promise.” My lady parts cheered in victory as I pulled him down onto the bed with me. “And this is going to be perfect.”
When his lips touched my skin, and we got lost in one another; it was several hours before we came back up for air. Never in a million years would I have ever believed I’d catch the eye of a mega rock star and then find myself the future Mrs. Teak Pierce.