Til Debt Do Us Part (Married At Midnight #4)

Chapter 24

Twenty-Four

Dare

A s Aunt Minnie recuperates back home, I take Talia out to the coast. The ocean is a vast expanse of blue, stretching on for miles out towards the horizon. The wind blows waves upon waves of crashing white foam, which leaves the surf smelling fresh and salty. The sun shines brightly over us as we spend hours walking along the shoreline. The light glistens off the horizon and illuminates everything around me. The wind blows in our hair and causes it to fly about in the breeze. The sun burns into the back of my neck and warms my skin, my eyes squint from the light and I stare up into the sky.

The sweat on my skin brings a salty taste to my tongue. The sand is coarse and sharp when it rubs against my bare feet, a stinging feeling that feels like walking on shards of slate.

We spend the rest of the day walking along the shore, taking in the sights and sounds of nature. We talk about our childhoods and things that make us laugh. The sun eventually starts to dip low in the sky, bringing with it a deep orange hue that casts its warmth over us.

Talia takes my hand in hers and smiles up at me. "Thank you for bringing me out here," she says. "I feel so much better when I am away from the noise and the bustle of the city."

I groan, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. “It's for the health of the baby," I grumble in protest.

She giggles and squeezes my hand harder, her thumb caressing my knuckles in a comforting motion.

"I know," she says softly. "It's still nice."

The two of us walk until we find a secluded spot where we can watch the sunset over the horizon. We sit down together, watching as evening slowly creeps in on us and engulfs everything around us in long shadows. Talia leans closer to me and rests her head against my shoulder as we both gaze up at the first few stars and planets over our heads.

It's such a pure moment. All my worries seem to melt away. I'm content with just being here with Talia, enjoying each other's company without any distractions or expectations from either of us.

As we sit there together, I realize that no matter what happens between us in the future, this moment will stay with me forever. This moment of quiet calm is so stark when I consider that the only other people I ever brought to this beach were my brother and Daisy.

Like two little black holes, Burn and Daisy were each consumed by need and complaint, sucking everything around them in, crushing it without thought. But Talia?

Talia just enjoys the sunset without comment. Talia’s skin is a warm, creamy ivory, like a pearl kissed by firelight. Her hair is a rich, fiery copper, more red than orange, like the sky itself is on fire.

Talia is as beautiful as the sunset we are watching. She wears a pair of black shorts and a simple white t-shirt that outlines her curves perfectly. She cradles her baby bump with one hand. Her expression is at once both thoughtful and unreadable.

The light of sunset and the clear blue of the sky is perfect, the sun a ball of pure light against the pure blue of the sky. She keeps her hand in mine, seeming to prefer some kind of skin contact with me. But her eyes are turned toward the horizon and her thoughts seem far away.

The sun is setting, painting the sky in a spectrum of fiery red and orange. It’s the perfect backdrop for our adventure.

We wander around, hand-in-hand, exploring all that this hidden gem has to offer. At one end of the beach stands an old abandoned lighthouse - we climb up to the top and watch as the sun continues its descent into night.

As twilight fades away, Talia turns to me and smiles softly before saying, “This was worth it just for this moment alone.”

We stand there for a few moments more before continuing our exploration around the island under starry skies above us.

The night sky is alive with stars. Sparkling diamonds against a velvety black canvas, they are like a million tiny beacons of hope and possibility.

We sit together at the beach, watching as the stars twinkle above us in the night sky. Talia marvels at the beauty of it all and I can't help but feel a sense of peace.

I take out my sextant and show Talia how to use it to sight stars and calculate our position on the sea. We laugh as we try to identify constellations and guess where we are.

Afterwards, I lay out a blanket for us to share and spread out some finger food that I had brought with me - dates, olives, cheese, cured ham - as we talk about our lives, our dreams and hopes for our future together. The moonlight illuminates our faces as we gaze into each other's eyes under the starry sky above us.

"If we see a falling star, you have to make a wish." Talia gives me a lopsided grin. "I wonder what your wish would be?"

I make a face. "Nothing, probably. I don't really believe in making wishes. Or maybe it's just that nothing I've ever really wished for has come true."

She gives me a surprised look.

That night, we fuck very slowly, forgetting everything else in the world. I slide my hands up her back, exploring her curves as our bodies glide together. We kiss deeply, our tongues tangling as we forget everything else in the world. I can't believe how perfect it feels to be here with her like this.

My hands wander lower and I grip her hips tightly, guiding them against me in a slow rhythm. Talia gasps into my mouth and arches her back, pressing herself against me intimately.

The sensation is exquisite; I can feel every inch of her body making contact with mine. Our movements become more urgent, faster, and soon we're both trembling with need. As the tension builds, I drop my head and bury my face in the crook of her neck for a moment, breathing in her scent and savoring this perfect moment between us. Nothing but bare skin and heated sighs, the press of hot mouths and exultant shouts when we finally come like a cascading avalanche down a mountain.

The next day, we spend most of the day sailing around the island. The gentle rocking of the boat and the salty breeze in our hair lulls us into a peaceful trance-like state. After a few hours, we stop for a swim and then make our way to an isolated beach for lunch.

We spread out the blanket and enjoy a simple meal of cheese, bread, fresh fruit, and cold drinks. The warm sun beats down on us as we sit in comfortable silence.

After a few minutes, I tentatively break the silence by telling Talia stories from my childhood growing up near the sea. I talk about how my mother loved sailing and taught me all of her tricks for navigating these waters. I tell her about our old sailboat that she named after me, and how she'd take us out every weekend if she could get away with it.

Talia laughs at some of my embarrassing moments, but there are also sad parts, too.

“You know, I’ve never actually been here. My mother was interred here a year after she died.”

She gives me a startled glance. "Really?"

"Yes. I've never been, but I've sailed by the island countless times. It makes me feel... closer to my mother, I guess."

"We should go visit the grave while we are here. Or we can walk to it and you can go alone. Either way."

I shoot her a scornful glare. "Why would I want to do something like that?"

Talia raises her hands. "It was just a suggestion, Dare. No one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do. I just thought it might be nice, since we are on the island."

Heat rises to my face. "Just drop it, Talia."

She looks disappointed at my reaction but doesn't push me any further on it.

As I am helping Talia back on the boat, she passes by an open foot locker that is bolted to the deck. She almost walks right by it, then stops and backs up. I look over her shoulder to see what she's noticed.

She's looking at the two dozen unused children's life vests, still wrapped in sheets of plastic.

"Are you planning on fathering a lot more children than I anticipated?" she jokes. "If so, we need to have a serious talk."

"No." I give her an amused glance. "The vests are for Outbound Outriggers."

Talia throws up her hands.

"You're saying words that I recognize as English. But I have no idea what they mean and the order that you're saying them in has me stumped."

"It's a project that has been on the back burner for a couple of years. I want to bring a bunch of kids out to the boat."

She looks skeptical. "Where are you going to get these kids from? And what are they going to do once you've got them here?"

"I haven't really figured out the details. But sailing at a young age helped me gain confidence. It wasn't just about learning technical skills. It was also about building character, learning to trust and believe in myself, and connecting with nature."

Her jaw drops. For a moment, Talia is genuinely speechless.

"Are you saying that you would bring at-risk kids onto the boat and teach them life skills?"

My neck heats. "Yeah, sort of."

"You've been thinking about helping others, for no reason other than that you have the resources to do it?"

I scrub a hand through my hair. Her awe makes it seem like she didn't know I ever thought about anything other than how I can make more money. That isn't exactly flattering and I find her astonishment embarrassing.

"Yes."

Talia's face lights up with delight. She tackles me, hugging me so hard that the breath is knocked from my lungs. I pat her back awkwardly, my face heating.

"Chill out. It's just a vague thought," I say.

Her arms loosen and she straightens.

"You named the organization. You also have started getting the gear you'll need. I would say it's definitely more than a stray thought."

My gaze slides away from her excited face and finds the horizon over her shoulder. I shrug noncommittally.

"Maybe."

Talia presses herself against me and uses two fingers to turn my cheek so that I am looking into her eyes. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me passionately. I respond to her as I always do, by putting my arms around her waist and kissing her back like she's the only woman in the whole fucking world.

She does this to me every damn time.

When she pulls away, she cups my cheek.

"Remember when I got upset and called you selfish? This is what I needed to hear from you. I wanted to know that you had thoughts about anything other than money."

"Jesus, Talia. I'm as human as you are."

She pushes her fingers through my hair. "I didn't know that. Not for sure."

I press my lips into a tight line. Her words rip at my soft underbelly. Maybe I made a mistake telling her all of this.

"Hey." Talia runs her nails against my scalp. The gentle touch is meant to soothe me. "I'm glad you told me. We're still getting to know each other. I guess I didn't realize that there is still stuff about you left to surprise me."

"I hate that you just assumed that I only care about money."

She cocks her head to the side but continues to speak gently. "Prove me wrong. You claim to be multifaceted, so show me the other sides you have been hiding." She brushes her fingers over my cheek and traces my cheekbone. "I want to know you, Dare."

Sucking in a breath, I put my hand over hers and kiss her palm.

"I'll try, little wife."

Talia steps back and looks around the boat, her expression thoughtful. I feel like I'm a boat that has sailed through the eye of a hurricane, battered and wind damaged.

"We should invite some of the kids from Hope House out for a sailing trip. It would be a really good way to test out your ideas for Outbound Outriggers." She wiggles her eyebrows, her eyes alight with excitement. "They would be so excited."

The image of Talia helping children navigate the steps of the boat blows away the remnants of our earlier conversation and my mood lifts.

"You think Solana would like it?"

Talia's brow furrows. "It will take a month or so to plan out activities and schedule an actual field trip. I can only hope that Solana isn't still at Hope House by the time we organize this event."

"Oh." My mouth twists. "Yeah, of course."

"But we can visit her!" Talia suggests. "Before her case is settled by the court and she moves on to a more permanent situation."

I bob my head and change the subject. But something about Solana's case sticks in the back of my brain, following me around like a shadow. I can't shake the feeling that something is off about it. Maybe it's just my distrust of the process. Maybe it's something else entirely. Either way, I will make a mental note to check it out later.