Chapter 57

Eric.

Sun filtered through the sheer curtains and the light danced across my eyelids, forcing me awake. But I didn't mind. Next to me slept the most beautiful woman. She was perfect from her silky brunette hair down to her dainty toes.

I couldn't see them now, but her amber eyes were my favorite - they always seemed to burn like a fire, flickering and always changing. I brushed a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her delicate ear. She mumbled something in her sleep and stirred a bit. I gently shushed her, running my hand through her hair to calm her.

She stilled and I smiled as I watched her sleep. I wished every day could be like this - no worrying about work, just a peaceful day with my beautiful and wonderful wife. I would do anything to give her the life she deserved and the attention she deserved too.

After another minute, I quietly got up, easing myself off the bed gently so as not to wake her. I grabbed my robe and tied it on as I walked down the stairs into the kitchen to start breakfast. I had made sure to get the fridge and pantry stocked before we made our way here.

I cracked a few eggs into a frying pan, added salt and pepper and onions, and let it sit for a minute while I grabbed the skillet and placed the bacon inside, setting the lid on top and letting it cook. When the eggs were done, I added cheese to the top, letting it melt from the heat. I plopped four pieces of bread into the toaster and turned the bacon.

I wondered if the smell had woken Emily because the next thing I knew, I could hear her coming down the stairs. I smiled.

“Good morning, beautiful,” I greeted.

She stretched and smiled. “Good morning, handsome. Did you wake up early just to make me breakfast?”

“I naturally wake up with the sun. Since you were still asleep, I figured it was a good time to start on breakfast.”

The toast popped up and I quickly buttered each piece before it had time to cool.

“Is that bacon I smell?” Emily asked, eyes closed and nose in the air.

“It sure is,” I replied, placing three strips onto her plate with the toast and eggs. “And there's even more if you're still hungry.”

I handed it to her, giving her a kiss as she took the plate. I followed her into the dining room with my own plate and we sat down together.

“Oh, what am I thinking?” I mumbled. “I forgot the orange juice. Can't have breakfast without juice!”

That made Emily giggle and I grinned.

“I shall be back.”

I got up and quickly grabbed the freshly squeezed juice from the fridge along with two cups.

“Viola. Juice a la orange,” I said with a wink and a flourish as I filled her cup with the orange liquid.

“Thank you,” she said sweetly, grabbing the cup and raising it. “To unbreakable love.”

I stared deeply into her eyes as I raised my own glass. “To our love.” I tapped my cup to hers and we both took a sip.

We both dug into our food and the room fell silent besides the scraping of forks on our plates and our chewing of the food.

“So, what's on the agenda today?” Emily asked as she finished her plate with a swig of orange juice.

“Who says I have an agenda?” I asked innocently.

She raised her eyebrow, tilting her head. “You don't?” She asked, not fooled at all.

I grinned sheepishly. “Fine. I do. But we can change anything if you don't want to do it.”

“Tell me what you have planned,” she requested, leaning toward me.

“Well, I thought we could start with a walk on the beach, maybe make sand castles or search for seashells, and when it gets a little warmer, hop in the water and have some fun.”

“Mmm sounds dreamy,” she said, tilting her head to look up into my eyes.

We drew closer and our lips touched, softly at first, almost as if we were kissing again for the first time. Passion pulled us closer until we were no longer in our chairs but I had lifted Emily up onto the tabletop and my body rested between her legs.

“Mmmm,” Emily moaned softly. “I don’t think this was on the agenda.”

I chuckled. “No, but I think it’s an amazing addition, don’t you?” I picked her up and spun her in a circle, planting a passionate kiss on her lips.

She shrieked with laughter, and her giggles continued as I set her back on the floor.

“Now let’s go get changed so we can enjoy the beach,” I said before one last kiss.

We both ran up the steps and grabbed our beach gear. My plain blue trunks were nothing compared to Emily’s outfit. I whistled softly when I saw her in the swimsuit I bought her.

Her cheeks lit up bright red as she caught me staring. I took two steps toward her. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. You make every outfit a 10.”

She chuckled nervously, tucking some hair behind her ear. I used my pointer finger and thumb to tilt her chin up so her eyes met my unwavering ones. “I mean it. You’re gorgeous. And every bit of clothing you wear should be honored to be worn by you.”

She blushed hard again and tried to look away, but I swooped in to capture her lips, holding her close.

“Now, shall we grace the beach with your presence?” I asked, pulling away and offering my hand for her to hold.

She nodded and laced her fingers between mine. We walked through the house and out the back door onto the porch.

“Hold on, I need to grab something,” I said as I let go of her hand. I walked over to the table in the corner and grabbed a bag from underneath it. Inside was sunscreen, some castle molds, shovels, and a surprise seashell necklace I had gotten just for her.

I walked back over and grabbed her hand, kissing her softly on the cheek, and led her down to the shore where the waves lapped our feet. The water was slightly chilly, but I knew from experience that it would warm up soon enough.

“I can’t believe you have your own private beach!” Emily declared in awe as we walked side-by-side down the beach.

“It’s yours now too,” I said, squeezing her hand softly.

A half-covered pink shell caught my attention. *Please be whole under all that sand.* I knelt down and gently started digging around it to loosen it. Sure enough, it was whole, and inhabited. The little hermit crab inside surprised me and I jumped, throwing the shell into the air.

“Oh no!” I heard Emily whisper as she held out her hand to catch the poor thing. She talked soothingly to it, slowly lowering it back to the sand where it scuttled away.

I laughed in embarrassment.

“The mighty Eric Savelli, defeated by a simple hermit crab,” Emily laughed.

I pulled on her arm, causing her to crash down on top of me. “Careful, missy. Them be fighting words,” I said with a wink before rolling on top of her, pinning her underneath me. My fingers trailed the side of her abdomen and I could feel goosebumps climbing her skin. She tried not to wiggle as I continued to softly tickle her, but it soon became too much, and she started to laugh, kicking and begging me to stop.

“Only for a kiss,” I told her.

“Okay, okay,” she responded breathlessly, leaning up as far as she could to give me a kiss.

“Ooh, so close,” I teased, lightly tickling her some more.

“C’mon, Eric. This is as far as I can go!” she laughed, her hands uselessly trying to pull me closer.

I sighed dramatically. “I suppose I can have mercy.” I bent lower, just enough so our lips brushed together.

I rolled off of her and immediately began burying her legs in the sand.

“Hey!” she laughed, trying to free herself.

But I was too strong and too fast. I kept her down as I sculpted a tail from the sand on top of her bottom half.

“I’ve always wanted to date a mermaid,” I purred as I finished, sidling up next to her. “And what a pretty mermaid you are.” I caressed her cheek. I took out the seashell necklace. “May I?” She shifted her hair away, exposing her neck so I could clasp it around. *Beautiful.*

She looked down at the necklace with a grin. “Thank you. I love it.” And then she turned back to me. “Well, this mermaid only dates mermen,” she countered, trying to wiggle free as her hands scooped sand toward my legs so she could bury me. But I had trapped her well enough I had time to roll just out of reach.

She cursed under her breath and worked the sand off her own legs, finally breaking free. I ran toward the ocean, and she chased after me, the two of us laughing. I splashed her with a handful of water as soon as she was within reach.

Surprising to me, she leaped out of the water, higher than I would have expected, and came down, curled in a ball, back into the water next to me, sending a large splash crashing into me. I sputtered as salt water engulfed me, and I could hear her giggle as she resurfaced.

“That’s how we’re going to play, is it?” I asked mischievously, moving toward her like a shark after prey.

We spent much longer on the beach than I had anticipated, but it didn’t matter to me. I was so happy the entire time, I didn’t even notice how late it was getting. My stomach was the one that reminded me about food. When I finally looked at the time, it was well past lunch.

“Perhaps we should get back to the house and clean up. I’ve got a special dinner planned for the two of us.”

Emily’s giant grin told me she had had just as much fun as I had. “Okay. Race you!” And she bolted off toward the house, leaving me to clean up the rest of the mess and chase after her.

I finally caught up to her just before the stairs to the back porch. I snatched her up, spinning her around with a mighty “Ah-ha!” and proceeded to gobble her up, planting kisses down her neck and to her breasts.

“Wouldn’t want to spoil your special dinner,” Emily said, wiggling out of my hold.

“Perhaps for dessert then,” I said with a grin.

The corner of Emily’s mouth turned up in a half-grin. “We shall see.” She winked and climbed up the stairs and into the bathroom to wash off. I wondered which outfit she’d choose for dinner.

“Mind if I join you in there?” I asked Emily who was already in the shower.

“Why not?”

I shed my trunks and walked into the shower.

“My god, you’re hot,” I breathed, shutting the shower door behind me.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she said, staring at me over her shoulder with her fiery eyes.

The shower went a bit longer than one might expect, but when we were done, we were clean as could be, and toweled off.

“I’ll go start on dinner,” I said. “Feel free to do whatever you want. I shouldn’t be long.”

I got dressed and went down the stairs, grabbed the marinating steaks from the fridge, and got to work.

Soon enough, I had our entire meal finished. Delicious and juicy ribeye steaks with a side of roadhouse mashed potatoes, asparagus, and fluffy rolls. I also grabbed the best bottle of Cabernet I had.

“Dinner is re–” I started to call just as Emily’s face appeared around the corner.

*How could she get sexier each time I saw her?*

I blushed, but continued, “Dinner is ready if you want to take a seat.” I lit the candlestick in the middle of the table before bringing over two plates with food already on them.

“Bon appetit,” I said, sitting down and pouring the wine.

“This is amazing, Eric.”