Forgotten Love (Derrien Island Trilogy) (6 page)

Natasha felt as though she could cry because despite the differences she had with her own parents the thought of losing either of them was simply unimaginable.

“When my father realized that he was not going to make it he and my mother made arrangements to ensure that I would inherit what belonged to them and one of those things was this plot of land.”

“
So, do you see this land as a way to honour their memory?”

“Yes, I do and I plan to bui
ld my home here someday as well, someday very soon.”

“Marcus, why did you bring me up here? This seems like something that is so important
, private and dear to you, to share with a stranger you barely know.”

“Natasha, I don’t even know why either, but I know this, that I really like you and I want to spend some more time with you getting to know you. I don’t think we are strangers any more do you?” he said taking a few steps toward her.

Taking a deep breath, Natasha realized that she agreed with him. They were past being strangers in just a few short hours and that thought terrified and calmed her at the same time.

“Marcus, I like
you too, but I don’t want to lead you on. I have to return to SCAD in a month’s time and I have some other goals that I am working on that will take me outside of Derrien for a number of years,” said Natasha thinking about her recording contract opportunity.

“I am not asking for anything permanent right now, just a chance to
talk to you some more, to see where things might go. If it’s bad timing we could be pen pals or something,” bargained Marcus suddenly desperate for her to agree to lengthen their association.

“I want to get to know you too, but
I just want to make sure you know where I stand,” said Natasha firmly. She had so much at stake and she could be the next big recording star in the R and B genre if she played her cards just right.

“And, I want you to know where I stand as well
too,” echoed Marcus.

They stood there and looked at each other, a silent understanding passing between them like a current linking their hearts into the beginnings of a deep friendship.

Marcus suddenly turned around and went back to the jeep and retrieved the two paper bags Lucinda gave them and a blanket from the trunk. As he walked back toward her he tucked the blanket under one arm and held both bags in that same hand before holding her hand with the other and tugging on it gently.

“Come, and sit
with me. I think Lucinda means to woo you with her food at all cost!” he said smiling at her warmly. Silently he thought that he was willing to do the same as well.

Natasha
was puzzled that despite their last tension filled moment, Marcus was not in any way deterred by what she had to say and frankly she was having a hard time believing herself at that moment too. Who was she to talk about her stand when her knees were feeling so wobbly and her mouth was so dry that she could barely think straight?

He led them over to a mahogany tree and spread out the blanket so that they could sit on it.  From this vantage point she could see how
about twenty feet away the land ended in a cliff that sloped downward to the surrounding countryside.

Once he was sure that she was comfortable he sat beside her and opened the bags.

“Ah Lucinda, Lucinda you slay me!” said Marcus looking inside one of the bags with a hungry sigh.

“What’s in the bag?” asked Natasha with her curiosity piqu
ed by his interest.

“I wonder if I should tell you”, said Marcus drawing out the suspense.
“Maybe I should keep it all for myself!” he joked.

“
No way, tell me what’s in those bags right now! I have a major sweet tooth and if those desserts taste anything like her entrees, I just might fight you for them,” challenged Natasha playfully.

“Ok
ay, I’ll let you have some but only if you play a game with me first.”

“What is it with you and games, Marcus Nicholls?” she said playfully trying to take the bag from his hands.

“No, no snatching! We will play the dessert game first.”

“Ok
ay, tell me the rules of this dessert game,” said Natasha rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner.

“It is a guessing game! You will close your eyes and I will place a piece of the dessert in your mouth and you must tell me what it is.”

“Marcus, that is hardly fair, why should I be the only one with my mouth open like a fish?” she argued.

“Hmm, ok
ay you have a point. There are two bags here with two different desserts. I will let you feed one to me first if it helps you to feel more confident. I will look like the fish first,” he said trying not to smirk at the way her eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“Ok
ay, give me the bags,” said Natasha finally.

Marcus complied and Natasha rotated them in her hands until she was sure that Marcus had no idea which bag contained what.

“Okay, pick your bag!” said Natasha.

Marcus selected the bag that was in her right hand and placed it beside him an
d dutifully closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

“Aren’t you afraid I might put a stone in your mouth or something?”
asked Natasha in an attempt to scare Marcus.

“No. I’m
not. I’m waiting for my dessert,” came his calm reply.

“Ok
ay then, if you say so!”

Natasha opened the bag and looked inside and saw that it contained
a transparent square plastic container with a thick slice of cheesecake inside covered in juicy blueberries.

“Oh Marcus, this looks so good, you have to let me taste this
when we are done with this game,” she breathed.

Marcus laughed
and pointed to his mouth to remind Natasha that it was still open and that he was still waiting. Natasha put a piece on the accompanying fork fed it to Marcus. He ate it slowly, never opening his eyes and then said, French vanilla cheesecake with Bourbon Blueberry Sauce.

“Hey
, you sound as if you have had this already. Isn’t that cheating, you got to look in the bags before?”

“
You have a point there but it all depends on how you look at it. This is actually my second favourite dessert at Lucinda’s. It’s your turn!”

Natasha deciding to play along with the game
, quietly sat and opened her mouth wondering what sweet delight Marcus was going to share with her from the other bag. When he placed the dessert in her mouth with the fork, she first noticed that it had the texture of cake and tasted like dark chocolate. She could also taste the smoothness of a rum and chocolate cream with some kind fruit blended into it. It was sinfully decadent!

“Marcus, this is the best chocolate cake I have ever had. Maybe it tastes better because my eyes are close
d and my sense of taste is heightened. What do you think?” she asked savouring the flavour as it exploded on her tongue.

Natasha opened her eyes
then to see that Marcus’ face was less than a foot away from hers.

“I think that this one is my favourite!” he said simply.

The smouldering expression in his eyes was her undoing as wordlessly, he traced his thumb over her top lip as though he was wiping away the remaining crumbs. Then tangling his fingers into her silken tresses he leaned forward, closing the space that separated their mouths and kissed her softly and lingeringly. The electric sensations at that slight contact spread out across her face and she could feel the sensations in her palms and even below the soles of her feet. Her eyes widened in amazement and he paused and looked into her eyes as if asking her permission to continue without moving an inch. Her whimper of pleasure was enough for him and before she could take her next breath he claimed her mouth once again, this time sweeping past her open lips to sample and taste her in a way she could never have imagined possible. Over and over Marcus twirled his tongue around hers groaning as he licked away the remaining chocolate and finding out that he wanted more, so much more.

He was in trouble!

Steeling himself within, he gently nipped her lower lip before pulling away reluctantly and allowed his hands to fall to the blanket never breaking his gaze from hers. Natasha was surprised and overwhelmed by the rush of sensations that moved from her lips across her cheeks and ears and the all emotions that one kiss evoked. It seemed like time had stopped and neither of them said anything for a few moments. All that was audible was the sound of the wind and the sound of them both trying to get their breathing under control. Finally, Marcus broke the silence.

“I wish that I could tell you that I was so
rry for doing that, but I’m not,” he said matter of factly. “I’m going to say this again, and I don’t want you to respond right now, but I want to see you again before you leave, and even when you do leave, I want to stay in contact with you. I want to know who you are and why you are causing me to act so irrationally. I want to know why I just met you but brought you somewhere that I have never even brought my other friends or even the guys you met down at the beach.  I want to know why when I look at you I just want to discover everything there is to know about you,” he admitted.

Natasha’s eyes grew wide as she absorbed what Marcus was saying because she felt exactly the same way about him. No one had ever even said words like that to her, nor had a
nyone ever kissed her like that. In fact, no one had ever kissed her period! He was her first and that kiss surpassed all of her wildest expectations.

“Don’t say
anything; I just want to enjoy the moment! We can finish up the dessert and just enjoy the view. Then I promise I will take you home. Okay?” said Marcus.

Natasha managed to mumble an okay in response and they divided up the dessert and leaned back against the trunk of the tree to enjoy them quietly. After that,
they talked and joked with each other lightly and neither brought up the topic of their kiss again, at least not that day.

March 17
th
, Azure Lodge, 9:47 p.m.

T
he incessant ringing of a cell-phone drew Marcus back to the present from his thoughts. Looking at the time, he could not believe that he was still sitting in his car and an entire hour had passed since he began thinking about how he and Natasha first met. That day was one of the best days of his life and he was not surprised that he could remember the details so vividly.

Hurriedly he retrieved his phone from the comp
artment near the steering wheel before the caller hung up.

“Hello
?” he answered sharply.

“Hey
, Marcus, Sheldon here, I’m just checking to see if you are coming down to Kirton’s Bay tomorrow for the volleyball tournament?”

“I am not sure yet, there
are some things that I need to deal with here so if I am coming, I’ll call and let you know early.”

“Hey Marcus, is everything ok
ay with you? You don’t sound like your usual self,” asked Sheldon with concern picking up on a note of sadness in Marcus’ tone.

“Truth be told no, but I am working on it as we speak
. Listen I got to go, talk to you later.”

“Alright bro, later!
You know how to reach me.”

After disconnecting the call Marcus stepped out into the cool
, crisp night air and locked the vehicle. Taking in a deep lungful of fresh air first, he then strode toward the house with serious intent. The hour he just spent in the car reminded him of what was true and important to him. He was still deeply in love with his wife and he had been ever since the day he had first met her. Everything about her excited him and since then he had stolen more kisses and had explored and tasted every delectable inch of her sensuous body and then some. He loved her like he never loved another soul and that would never change. He missed his wife desperately like a man needing one more breath, a man who was trapped in a vacuum.

Once he was inside
, he climbed the staircase to the second floor and walked straight toward their bedroom. Seeing that the light was still on, he called out to Natasha while he was still in the hallway. “Natasha? Are you there, we need to talk.”

Before he could ge
t the rest of his words out, he was met with a scene that despite all that had transpired between them he did not expect.

Natasha was packing her
travel cases and by the look of it she was almost finished. The irony could not be more devastating at that moment. There he was outside reminiscing about the love they had for each other and how much he still wanted to be with his wife and here she was packing her bags!

“Natasha, what are you doing?”

“Marcus, I’m sorry but I can’t do this anymore.”

“Can’t do what anymore”, he said through gritted teeth feeling as though somehow Natasha had
once again placed his heart in a vice and was now squeezing it painfully.

“Marcus!” she wailed with exasperation,
throwing the last of her clothes into the suitcase, zipping it up quickly.