Someone Else's Ocean(40)

I stood stunned as he walked away. I expected him to head back to the house, instead, he walked down the beach.





I WAS SO CLOSE TO tasting her, but I knew I’d be forced to spit that taste out. And that was the part that made me walk away. I had restraint. I could give myself credit for that, but not much. I’d been so close to taking her into my bed and losing myself, that I practically had to run from her.

An entanglement couldn’t happen. As beautiful as she was, as much as I loved the sound of her voice and the sight of her smile, my heart was completely out of the equation. I didn’t think it had even made an appearance in the time I’d been on the island. Friendship… I was fine with that. And the wine hadn’t helped the fact that I was dangerously attracted to her. My cock grew rock hard at the sight of her frolicking in the water. She was pure temptation, an itch I was growing desperate to scratch and unknowingly receptive to me. Tonight, I made her aware of it and I could see the same need in her eyes. We were in hazardous territory and in no way was there any outcome other than hurting her.

Beautiful, smart, intoxicating, and exhausting. Koti came with a string of issues I had no intention of helping with.

Selfish.

That was the point of my new crusade. I’d played my part for two other women and had no intention of auditioning for the role of lead in anyone else’s life.

It was finally time for me to check off a few things on my own list.

Koti was right in the sense that the time was now. I had no obligation to anyone other than Ella. I needed to get back to my daughter, but I still felt the irrational burn every time I thought of her mother. I wasn’t ready. And I wasn’t sure when I would be but touching Koti would be a mistake.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I cursed when I saw Tara’s name. Thankfully, the wine hadn’t worn off yet.

“Yeah.”

“Ian?”

“Is my daughter okay?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Again, is Ella all right?”

“She’s fine.”

“Then we have no reason to be speaking.”

“I feel terrible.”

“Fuck you.”

“Please don’t say that to me.” She was crying, and I couldn’t muster a single ounce of pity.

“What do you want, Tara? Forgiveness would be laughable.”

She sniffed, and I had the urge to snap my phone in half. “A chance to explain.”

“Explain? Here’s an explanation. When I was deployed, you fucked your ex-boyfriend and you had a fight or better yet, let me guess, he dumped you. So instead of telling him he’s a father knowing he would be a dead-beat dad, you decided to tell your devoted soldier you were pregnant two days before he was set to re-enlist because he would do the honorable thing. Did I miss anything?”

“It was a mistake, one I regret every day.”

“A mistake that you decided to let me pay for. And now that we’re clearing the air, maybe it’s time I told you something.”

“Whatever it is,” she said her voice hoarse, “I deserve it.”

“I never loved you. Not the way I should have. After a few years, your charms wore off and I realized then I was stuck in a marriage I didn’t want. In fact, I grew to despise you as the years passed. You were annoying and needy and didn’t have a selfless bone in your body. You weren’t the kind of woman I could respect, let alone truly and deeply love. I spent years suffering at your hand because of my love for a daughter that wasn’t mine. But here’s the thing, you conniving bitch, you can’t change her love for me. You can’t twist it or turn it or direct it toward Daniel, no matter what you do. If you want to tell Ella, be my guest; but if you do, you’ll get exactly what you deserve, her hatred. And she won’t love Daniel more. He has to earn her love and affection the way I had to for the whole of her life. I dare you to try to piss away at the years I’ve built being a father, but let me repeat myself so we’re clear. You will never, ever ruin what’s between us. Ella and I are what true love is supposed to be. She and I were the best thing to come out of our marriage and it had nothing to do with you.”

I was being vile, but it was the truth for the most part that she hadn’t been kind enough to spare me.

“You never loved me?”

“No.”

I ended the call and walked the beach until sunrise.





“Disco,” I called out, rousing from sleep. I stood and stretched stepping into a fresh puddle of her piss. “Get over here, you little rat, it’s time for our jog. Disco!”

I heard a muffled squeal of delight and made my way to my porch. Staring out of the screen, I finally spotted my dog and her kidnapper. Koti was running the beach with the tiny beast in tow, her timid bark sounding rapidly as she chased at Koti’s heels.

Disco’s ears flew back as she tried to keep up with her captor’s sporadic movements. She dodged the puppy left and right as the storm winds blew in and thunder sounded in the distance. The only rays of sun left shone through the clouds on our beach and lit them both up as they pranced around on the sand. Koti’s smile and delighted laughter took my breath away.

She had on a pair of barely-there shorts that showcased the insane length of her toned legs. A thin top covered her gorgeous tits and tight stomach. The woman was radiant, so fucking beautiful, that it hurt to look at her. I couldn’t imagine the life she explained to me where she wasn’t in control. She seemed so at ease in both life, and in her skin, but apparently, that had taken her back-breaking, life-changing effort and I admired her for it.