Fighting Destiny (26 page)

Taken by surprise
, Candasee fell back against the wall behind her and Darius pressed in close and cupped her round, firm bottom in his large hands and pulled her against him until she could not miss the degree of his arousal.

Her eyes fluttered open
and her body shuddered and trembled as though memories were being awakened out of every cell she had in her body. This connection, this sense of being magnetized to Darius was still as strong now as the day they’d first met and they could never get enough of each other.

“Candasee you taste so good,” said Darius groaned into her mouth. The desire in his voice triggered her memory of the night before, when she finally gave herself to Nathan and that thought brought her back to sanity quickly.

“Darius, I can’t do this! I can’t do this to Nathan!” she said with much difficulty. Being under Darius’ gaze was always akin to her sensing that her body was about to go up in flames. Between her thighs an incredible ache had once begun to spread its way up into her abdomen. She couldn’t have another orgasm with him, not like this. She wanted what he wanted, but her ethical nature was struggling to the surface.

Those were not the words Darius wanted to hear at all, especially now that more than anything he wanted to remind Candasee why they fit together and why no other man would be able to compare.

“Candasee, hearing you mention”, he took a deep breath, “that man’s name over and over is getting pretty hard to take even for a man like me!”

“But that is
the point Darius, I’m not your wife anymore and you have to stop calling me that in front of Nathan! I told him that he could trust me tonight and I want to honour that.”

“So what I said and the way we feel about each other still, means nothing to you?” asked Darius. “Do you love this man that much to walk away from me and from us again
knowing that we could have a clean slate in front of us?”

Candasee knew her words were hurting Darius but making love to him like this would be a mistake. She had to t
hink this all through carefully first. This time simply following her emotions without first clearing up the grey areas would be a colossal mistake.

“Darius, this isn’t fair, I need the time to think about what I am doing! This is all happening so fast!”

“Candee, we are divorced on paper but feel this energy between us and you know there are things not even ink can erase!” he replied tracing her bottom lip with his thumb.

There was no point denying what he said because even though the
ir bodies were slightly separated, a strong current was still pulsing between them making it hard to concentrate even then on making this decision. She’d never even felt this degree of connectedness with Nathan, not even close. But sexual attraction wasn’t enough to build a relationship. Both people needed to be able to be completely open and real with each other.  Trust, communication and compatibility were important too. Could she really open up to Darius as she did before? How did she know that something else she did wouldn’t trigger another problem between them in the future? Darius had the power like no other to reduce her to a quivering mess of tears and depression and she wasn’t prepared to accept that fate again. How could she, when it almost destroyed her the first time?

“
Give our marriage a second chance Candee,” said Darius insistently stroking a finger down her neck and between her luscious cleavage before running his thumb along the sides of her breasts.

“Candasee, I love you!” Darius whispered against her neck as he pulled her close against him and held her trembling frame. She felt so tongue-tied that she couldn’t even speak. Pulsating waves of pleasure were rolling throughout her body filling her with warmth and a desire to be closer to Darius.

She felt so good in his arms and now that the taste of her was firmly imprinted on his tongue, he never wanted to taste anyone else again. She was still his, whether or not she was willing to acknowledge that right now. He was so aroused that it hurt but he would restrain himself until later. Taking her against the wall in this room would have probably satisfied them both in the moment, but he did not want their first time together in two years to be like that. He’d prepared a romantic evening for both of them that he knew she would enjoy if she would let herself do so.

As Candasee’s eyes opened and to
help herself refocus her thoughts again, she glanced at the clock on the wall. Just how long had she been in this room with Darius? It was almost two in the morning. Marianne and Francis must be out there waiting for them to come out to go home at this incredibly late hour. Not to mention Nathan back at the hotel. He must be wondering where she was as well.

“Oh my God Darius look at the time,” Candasee exclaimed, stepping out of his embrace, holding her head in her hands. “Nathan must be back at the hotel going crazy. Who am I? I was never this loose before!”

“Candee
you aren’t being loose now and we haven’t done anything wrong here. Stop fighting against yourself! Both you and I can see that this is right for us and it’s real. The problem is that you are allowing your mind to get in the way! Stop hiding behind the excuse of Nathan and this relationship of yours!”

“
My mind isn’t getting in the way; it’s helping me to focus on what’s important. I can’t just go around following my heart or my body! Doing that is exactly what get’s people hurt.”

“L
istening to your heart is the only thing that makes sense here. I am not afraid to say that mine is telling me something very clearly and now that I know it; I won’t rest until you and I are one again!” swore Darius.

“I have a
fiancé, and that complicates everything!”

“You had a
fiancé Candee! How long have you known him in this way? A few months maybe? He’ll get over this! You have me, the man you married and chose to be with for the rest of your life, who wants to be that and more to you again. What we share goes deeper than anything Nathan has ever offered to you.”

“No, your mom was right; I need to think this through very carefully. I have been all over the place with my emotions ever since I landed here on Derrien Island. I came here hoping that I would never see you again and I was content being with Nathan. Now in three days everything I thought I knew has been turned upside down again. Let me sleep on all of this tonight. I need some time and some space to think all of this through. I can’t keep doing this to Nathan; I at least owe him my loyalty.”

“We aren’t returning to the hotel tonight! said Darius calmly.

“What do you mean?”

“All of the helicopters would be gone by now with the guests. The house should be empty by now.”

“So let’s drive back then!”

“Candasee, I know you are going to be mad at me but hear me out. We aren’t even on Derrien Island right now so we are stuck here for the night!”

C
andasee’s eyes widened as she considered what she was hearing carefully.

“We aren’t in the Northern range?
Where the hell are we Darius? Just call back one of the choppers then!” she shrieked with panic in her voice.

“
I guess you missed it all when you were flying with your eyes closed all the way here. We are on a private island called Krispin. It belongs to a business partner of mine by the name of Russell Thorne. It is about fifteen minutes to the west of Derrien Island! My mother thought it would be a unique way to celebrate her engagement seeing that it was travel that brought her and Francis together in the first instance.”

Candasee was speechless!

“So how are we going to get back? I have the intensive later today and the performance in the evening or have you forgotten the travel show is tonight! Nathan is going to be more than upset when I don’t come back tonight! I can’t stay here with you Darius! You have to take me back immediately.”

“Candasee, why are you even working for that guy? You don’t need to work for anyone. Does he even know how wealthy you really are? You should
have your own studio by now. I made sure that you had more than enough in the divorce settlement,” expressed Darius throwing his hands in the air and pacing now in front of her.

“And I probably would have
too if you hadn’t crushed my spirit so terribly Darius!” she said quietly.

After
hearing her pained words, Darius regarded her silently before walking away from her and sitting on the couch once again. Neither said anything for a few minutes and finally Darius spoke, with his voice now less enthusiastic than before.

“My yacht is moored in the bay
and my captain will fly out in the morning to sail us back. I just wanted us to have this time away with you without the possibility of any interference from anyone! ”

“You could have said something
to me!” challenged Candasee angrily. “You are still the same; always trying to manipulate me.”

“
I’m not manipulating you. I didn’t count on you having your eyes closed all the way here. I wanted to tell you about this much earlier in the evening, but the right moment never came,” he replied.

“I can’t believe I just
got on a helicopter with you without even asking where we were going. Who even does that? ” said Candasee shaking her head in disbelief at her reckless behaviour.

Darius stood up and walked toward her and held her shoulders in his hands.

“You did it because you trust me and you trust your family just as you did before and now that I know that you do I don’t want to ever do anything that will break that trust again,” said Darius.

“Darius
, I can’t let my students down. It was bad enough that I wasn’t there for them tonight at the grand rehearsals. I don’t want to let them down again. Is there a phone I can use to call the hotel? ”

“No, there isn’t and I left my mobile on Derrien
Island. It’s all arranged, my staff know what to do! I also asked the front desk to deliver a note to Nathan in room 510 about your absence so there is no need to be alarmed. He knows when you will be returning by now!”

“Oh no! Darius, Nathan is not staying in 510, he
’s ...”

Darius stepped back and gave Candasee a hard look as what she was saying sank in. He knew Nathan was always underfoot but he’d assumed he was merely visiting
Candasee’s room! Were they sleeping together right there in the hotel?

“
He is staying in my room. This is a huge mess Darius. I love working with the intensive! It’s going to be more than hard to explain when I don’t show up on time.”

Darius leaned forward and
held the bridge of his nose in his hand. He still hadn’t gotten past the revelation that Candasee was sleeping with Nathan right there in the hotel! He’d again pridefully assumed that she was still his. You know what they say, pride comes before a fall and he just hit the ground hard. Not even he had crossed that line in all the time they were apart with anyone else and his Candee was making love to someone else right there in the hotel? The thought filled him with incredible anger but not at her, but himself. She had every right to move on in her life and it was now becoming clear that he’d allowed himself to get stuck in a fantasy that probably would never be. Ramon had warned him about this and about taking too long to tell Candasee how he felt. He just wanted everything to be perfect when he did, and he hadn’t even shown her what he’d built for her as yet!

Candasee wished in the moment that she saw the hard facade close over Darius’ features that she could take back those words.

“Darius ...”

Darius
walked away from her not wanting to hear another word if it would have Nathan’s name in it again!

“
I arranged a change of clothes for you, so don’t worry and a room was prepared in case we would have been staying overnight!” he said quickly, his voice now hard and cold.

“In case
...?”

“We
ll if you’d turned me down for the dance or this conversation, I guess you would have already been on a flight back to Derrien Island tonight!”

“Darius,
there must be some way to make contact back at the hotel! Think!”

“We will have to spend the night here!” insisted Darius
continuing to watch his plans disintegrate. He would have to let her use another room besides the one he had prepared for them. Having a bed strewn with rose petals would surely be seen as an unwelcome gesture right now.  Even the thought of them spending the night here in this house in separate rooms while she shared one with Nathan was now like an acid burn in his heart. No he couldn’t stay here tonight, he realized with sudden clarity.

“I will take you back tonight myself!”
said Darius changing mind quickly.

“You will,
but how?” Candasee asked.

“I will sail the yacht back, I know how to do it! I asked my captain to assist
in the morning because I was hoping that we would’ve been together again by then and we would have been enjoying the sail back to the island!” he confessed feeling real pain which he knew was registering by now in his expression.

“Darius, I am sorry, I am not trying to hurt you,
please understand the position this is putting me in!”