Something Wicked This Way Comes Read online

  We’d been at a karaoke night at one of the local clubs and some of my friends from work had forced me to go to with them. She was there with some people from her job, and she had absolutely been the star of the night singing song after song. Everyone in the club gravitated toward her, cheering her on to sing another one. I did too. I couldn’t help myself. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and I was determined to get to know her better come hell or high water. She was slender with dark brown wavy hair, flawless tan skin and the most beautiful coffee-colored eyes I had ever seen.

  I’d bought her a drink and asked the waiter to tell her it was from me. When she turned my way, she smiled and raised the glass in recognition. When I started to move toward her, she turned her back and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the drink untouched at her table. This made me even more determined to get her to go out with me, at least for one date. Finally, toward the end of the evening I cornered her as she came off the stage, and I saw the urge to bolt in her eyes. “Hey, I just want to talk a moment.”

  “I’m heading home, I have to work tomorrow.” She tried to scoot by me.

  “Please. I’d like to talk, even if it isn’t tonight. How about I get your number and I can call you. Maybe have a drink or dinner?”

  That line had always worked on other women in the past. Hell, I knew I wasn’t a bad-looking man, and I was thankful that she relented and gave me her phone number.

  Okay, truth be told, I’d left with a phone number. She’d given me a false name and number. When I tried to call her the next day, the person answering the phone had never heard of her. Damn, I had been crushed and, kind of pissed off, too. I never told my friends, but I’d returned every week for karaoke night for months, and sadly she had never shown up.

  The last night I went, I promised myself if I didn’t find her that I would give up. After all, how do you find one person in a city of eight million people if they don’t want to be found? I waited by the door until an hour before the club was closing. Of course, she hadn’t shown. I left feeling rather frustrated and made my way to the Starbucks around the corner. I’d grab myself a cup of coffee and lick my wounds, maybe figure out how to put images of her in the past. I’d never had a woman show no interest in me whatsoever. After placing my order, I turned to find her coming in the door.

  In shock, I almost dropped my coffee. I knew I probably only had one chance with her, so I walked straight to her and said hello with a smile so large that it probably made me look insane. I felt practically giddy finally finding her again. She’d stepped away from me, and from the look on her face I knew she had no idea who I was. I remaindered her that we‘d met months ago at karaoke night at the club around the corner. That look of sudden departure filled her gaze again and my heart sunk. All I wanted was a chance, and damn—it didn’t appear she would give me one.

  Just when I thought she would turn and flee, she seemed to regain her composure and said to me, “I’m sorry, I’m going through a nasty divorce, and I’m really not ready to date anyone.”

  Her voice filled my ears, and I did what any red-blooded American man did, I lied. Yep, I told her I wasn’t looking to date, and I respected her for that. I told her I found her interesting and wanted friendship, not romance. I couldn’t believe how easily the lie had rolled off my tongue, but when she relaxed and flashed that smile that I’d seen on her the first night, joy filled my heart.

  She’d agreed to chat for a bit, and we ended up talking for over an hour. Finally, she said it was getting late and, she picked up a napkin and wrote her name and phone number down before handing it to me. I must have looked at her funny because she laughed and assured me it was correct this time. She also apologized for not given me the real information the first night. It seemed she wanted a friend after all, and I would take. Getting to know her slowly meant I had time to chip away at her resistance while she got to know me better.

  Two months later, when I’d finally worked up the nerve to kiss her, she was onto me. And that’s when she did everything that she could to scare me off. She started with little things like not wearing makeup, but I shook my head and told her I liked the natural look. Next she tried dressing frumpy. I’d laughed at the look on her face when I told her she looked comfortable and held her even closer. The night that really cinched it though was when she tried canceling a date with me, claiming she was sick. By then, I knew where she lived, and I’d shown up with chicken soup and a handful of movies.

  I will never forget the way she had sighed and asked, “Elijah, what the hell am I going to do with you?”

  I’d smiled but didn’t answer because I already had a plan in place since I’d made up my mind that this was the woman that I would marry one day. I knew it. I’d known it from the moment I first saw her.

  She kissed my cheek, drawing me out of my memories. This beautiful, spirited woman was trying so hard to keep my spirits up today even though something was bothering her. “Sorry, Winter.”

  “They asked if we’re ready to cut the cake. Where were you just now?” She let me help her up.

  “Just thinking about when I first met you, and you gave me a fake name and phone number.” I got the look she always gave me when I reminded her about it. She told me all the time she was glad I had been so relentless in searching her out.

  We made our way to the cake table holding what I think had to be one of the largest wedding cakes in history. My sister and mother had helped her pick it out, four tiers of cake that matched the flowers in her bouquet. It looked way too beautiful to cut.

  I glanced at the photographer my family had hired making sure he’d gotten pictures of it. He gave me a thumbs-up then moved in place to get the cake-cutting pictures.

  Winter picked up the cake knife, I placed my hand over hers, and together we made the first cut through the masterpiece of confectionary delight. Of course, we were going to have to stop and pose as the photographer captured each moment for our photo album that we would be putting together once we returned from our honeymoon.

  I picked up a little piece to feed Winter. I was going to go for it and smear frosting on her nose, but the look she gave me stopped me from doing it. She placed a small piece carefully into my mouth, and I cocked my head wondering where the spunk was that I was so used to seeing. I expected to be wearing half the piece she had left on the plate. It was practically boring, but then I saw it in her eyes, the glimmer of hope. And at that moment I knew that after two terrible marriages, I was the one who had put that glimmer there. I had sparked hope in her for a better future, and I was so freaking glad, honored in fact that I’d been able to do it. And, for the first time, I felt nervous.

  This was a lot of responsibility and my mouth suddenly dried up. What the hell was I thinking? I’d never had any type of serious relationship before, and now I’d married this woman. Sure, I’m a hedge fund manager, overseeing the growth of billions of dollars, but I suddenly had a realization. The thing that scared me most in the world was disappointing my beautiful wife. I couldn’t wait for this reception to be over so I can whisk her out of here and to the special honeymoon I’d planned.

  Once we finished our part with the cake, the hostess took over cutting pieces as the wait staff handed them out. The DJ resumed playing, and someone yelled for us to dance. I took her hand and led her onto the dance floor, pulling her close. The DJ started playing ‘At Last’ by Etta James, for our first dance as husband and wife. “I love you, Mrs. Rayne. Thank you for allowing me to be your husband.” I kissed her cheek and closed my eyes relishing the feel of holding her close.

  Soon my father was cutting in to dance with her while I danced with my mother. The Beatles ‘In My Life’ to honor her parents, who were only with her in her heart played softly in the background. The look on her face as my father danced her slowly around the floor almost shattered my heart. Her eyes looked haunted, and I imagined it was from the memories she had of her parents and the fact they were not here for this. When the song ended my father took her hand and brought her back to me, kissed her cheek and smiled. “You’re one fortunate man, Son.”

  For a brief moment, Winter tensed before she caught herself. “Thank you, Andrew, for the dance and the compliment. I’m the lucky one.” She moved into my arms and sighed.

  I rubbed her back, willing the hands of the clock to move quicker. I was done with celebrating with the guests. I wanted her to myself now. I wanted to ravish her and love her for the next two weeks with no one else around. The minutes ticked so slowly that I wondered if time was ready to stand still. Song after song, dance after dance, laughter, and booze kept the guests partying.

  “Elijah, is that your boss motioning to you?” She pointed to a man standing by the bar. “He’s trying very hard to get your attention.”

  “He’s one of my coworkers, Tim. My boss couldn’t make it tonight.” A big disappointment that the man couldn’t take a few hours out of his life to attend the reception, hell even just the wedding. He told me I was one of his best employees all the time, so what would it have hurt?

  “I’m sorry he couldn’t make it. Should we go speak to Tim?” Winter smiled demurely, making my blood race. Damn she was beautiful.

  “Yes, we should. We work together on a lot of accounts.” I took her little hand and made my way through the sea of people. “Tim, my man. So glad you could make it.” I shook his hand before tugging her back to my side. “This is Winter, Winter, Tim.” Man, I was so proud for him to meet her. I could tell by the look on his face she was making a big impression on him.

  “So nice to finally meet you, Winter. I’ve heard about you for months now, and I’ll tell you Elijah’s description of you does not do you justice.” He kissed the back of her hand before he turned to me. “She’s stunni
ng. Don’t screw this up.”

  I grimaced when Winter shot me a look. Sometimes Tim had a big mouth. He’d worked with me for years and knew I’d been a ladies' man, never getting serious with any woman in the past. A few had tried to get me to settle down, and I’d moved on quickly. Tim thought I’d missed out on a couple ‘special’ ones and would not stop telling me so. I imagine he’s really happy that I was off the market now since it will leave more women for him.

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Tim, although I can’t say the same. Elijah never talks about his job or the people he works with. He said he likes to leave the job at the office.” She smiled. “I agree with him. I try to leave my job at my office as well.” She leaned against me. “I’m not so sure how I feel about being a topic of conversation at the office though.”

  “Oh, no.” Tim threw up his hand. “Don’t get me wrong. He doesn’t talk to everyone about you. Actually, I don’t think anyone but me knew about you.”

  Winter giggled. “It’s okay Tim. I know he isn’t a gossip.” She cupped her hand, and fake whispered toward him. “I just like to bust on him sometimes.”

  Now there was the spunky girl I had fallen for, front and center, teasing my friend and me. I wanted to see more of her, and I hoped I would over the next few weeks. I placed a kiss on her cheek. “There you are. I was worried I’d lost you,” I whispered in her ear.

  “No, I was just taking a little break. Sometimes I need to refresh.” She winked and smiled as the band started playing ‘Everything has Changed’ by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. “I love this song. Dance with me, Mr. Rayne?”

  We made our way to the center of the dance floor, and as I pulled her into my arms everyone around me seemed to disappear, and it was only the two of us once again.

  Finally, after what seemed like hours, the reception was starting to wind down. Some of the guests started to say their goodbyes while others were still partying and having fun. We’d finally reached the point where I figured we could leave and not feel guilty. Swallowing hard I asked quietly, “Are you ready to go, Winter?” Suddenly I was nervous as the weight of my choices landed firmly on my shoulders, what if she didn’t like where we were going?

  She nodded with a sweet grin and we went to say our goodbyes to my family. They were sad that we didn’t want to do the whole see us off with throwing rice or birdseed. They didn’t seem to understand that I wanted to slip out with my wife and start our honeymoon. Mom started crying as she hugged me goodbye. Winter stood back a bit until they turned to her and gave her the hugs and congratulations, I could tell made her feel uncomfortable again. “Hey guys, we aren’t going to be able to slip out if you don’t let us get out of here.” I laughed. “We’ll call when we get back in town.” I grabbed Winter’s hand and pulled her toward the door.

  “So do I get to know where we’re going now?” she asked, a hint of mischief in her tone, her eyes twinkling.

  I chuckled. “I guess I can tell you now.” I led her out the door to the limo I had waiting to whisk us to the airport. “We’re spending two weeks in Bora Bora. I rented us one of those houses over the ocean. Its private, quiet, and the type of beach destination you requested.” -

  She squealed and threw her arms around me. “Oh my god! Are you serious?”

  Pulling her closer I whispered in her ear, “I’m very serious. I want you all to myself for the next two weeks. No work, no distractions, just you, the ocean, the amazingly beautiful sunsets and me. You game, Mrs. Rayne?”

  “Yes, I am, Mr. Rayne. I love you.”

  I opened the door to the limo and helped her in. “I love you, too. Now you know the real reason I had you get the passport.” I laughed. “Although I’m sure we will use them again I wanted to surprise you with this exceptional honeymoon destination.” I climbed in and pulled her into my arms kissing her with a hunger I didn’t really understand. “You drive me crazy, Winter, in the best possible way,” I whispered.

  She snuggled against me and sighed. “No crazy allowed Elijah, only happiness.”

  I silently agreed. I only wanted to spend the rest of my life loving her and giving her the life that I promised. I wanted her to feel like a fairy princess every single day of our lives together. I prayed I could make all my promises come true. I’d work hard at it and keep every one of them even if it killed me to do it.

  Chapter Three

  Winter

  The flight took over nineteen hours. It was much longer than I’d expected, although I’d never flown anywhere but in the United States, so I wasn’t really sure why the thought even crossed my mind. As soon as we got off the plane and out of the airport, I knew the flight had been worth it. The ocean breeze danced over my arms, and the warm sunshine felt so good on my skin. Elijah was right; I was going to love this honeymoon destination.

  In true form, he had rented a small buggy to take us to our home for the next two weeks. The ride to the house was so visually exciting, coconut trees, mountains and beautiful blue water that I could not wait to play in. Not to mention the smells of everything blooming mixed with the salty air. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I turned to say something, and Elijah was grinning at me. “What?” I returned the smile.

  “I’m enjoying watching my beautiful wife so happy and excited about being in Bora Bora.” He kissed me gently. “I know you have to be as tired as I am from the excitement of this last twenty-four hours. What do you think about getting settled into our house and I’ll have the chef make us a light meal, and we can rest for a little while?”

  “That sounds perfect to me. I think I’ll enjoy the ocean and sites better once I’ve had some alone time with you.” I snuggled closer, the anticipation of what was to come sending tingling sensations from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I glanced up at my handsome husband. His chiseled jaw was covered with the perfect amount of impeccably groomed beard that I loved to stroke when we cuddled. I’d never been a beard woman, but wow, his reddish-brown hair and beard just make him so freaking sexy. Add to that his rock-hard abs and I think he is pretty damn near the perfect male specimen.

  We rounded a bend in the road, and I thought my jaw was going to fall into my lap. There in front of us was a beautiful home built right over the water. I mean literally over the water. There was a wooden walkway from the island to the front of the house, and I could not wait to see the inside. When the buggy stopped, Elijah helped me down as the driver waited, once he had his attention, he handed Elijah a large envelope. They spoke for a moment while I strolled onto the front porch. I couldn’t believe we were here, and this was where we were going to be staying for two entire weeks. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I would be able to come visit a place so beautiful and pristine.

  Elijah opened the front door, swept me into his arms, and carried me over the threshold. I’d never felt so special or loved before. As he set me down, I threw my arms around him and pulled him to me for a long slow kiss. “Thank you,” I whispered against his lips. “I’m glad you kept this a secret. I wouldn’t have slept from the excitement of coming here.”

  He beamed down at me. “You’re welcome, beautiful.” He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “You want to explore for a few minutes before we call the chef?” I nodded. “Good. Me too!” He took my hand, and we made our way into the open room before us.

  The living room was amazing. There was a cerulean sofa and chair almost the perfect shade as the ocean and pool glimmering outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Beyond was an amazing kitchen that held all the amenities we could want. We walked down a small hallway, and I took a sharp breath, the wood floor in the bedroom had a glass window opening to the ocean below. A fish swam by right under my feet. I laughed. “Did you see that? Did you? How cool is this?”

  I turned to find him smiling at me again. “I did, Winter. It’s very cool.”

  There were two oversized chairs by the floor-to-ceiling windows again offering the view of the ocean outside. I could almost believe we were the only two people on this island. I peeked into the bathroom, which held a rounded soaking tub large enough for two and more of the spectacular views of the ocean. “I can’t believe this house Elijah,” I whispered.