A Sip of Serendipity Read online

  After I undid the final button, I placed my hands on his bare skin, over his rock-hard abs, around the small of his back, and felt shivers roll throughout my body. Undressed, he was everything I could’ve wanted.

  The next time he kissed me, he didn’t start with my lips anymore. He found the side of my neck instead, and began unzipping me out of my dress.

  He then laid me on the open bed and slowly crept up to meet my gaze. His body, barely above mine, made me ache between my legs. I could feel the heat emanating from him and mixing with my own.

  As his hands made their way toward my bared breasts, I could feel my breath catch in my throat. Squeezing gently, he brought his lips close and kissed them both passionately. Then he started pinching and licking my hard nipples, causing sizzling pleasure to shoot up my spine. I wanted him, badly.

  “Please...” I begged, “I want you in...”

  I could tell he was delighted at the torture he caused. I knew he’d love teasing me longer, pushing me to the very brink of sanity. But I demanded satisfaction and couldn’t take it another second longer. I needed to feel him deep inside me, so I could have him all for myself. So I can finally be one with him.

  Just then, as though in answer to my plea, I felt him parting my legs, and I bit my lip at the thought of him fulfilling my desire. I held onto his broad shoulders tightly as he steadied himself above me. His shallow breathing told me he wanted me just as badly. Turning my head toward him, I held his face in one hand as I guided him in with the other, and then my mind went blank.

  Slowly, but surely, I began to sway my hips to his tempo, lifting them up with each of his powerful thrusts. I could feel his sizable hardness moving in and out of me at his leisure. All throughout our rhythmic dance, my heart never stopped racing. Waves of pleasure welled up within me, forcing me to meet each thrust midway, holding him close with both hands, feeling the sweat bead up on his rippling back.

  “Turn around,” he then said to me, his voice all but a whisper.

  When I looked up at him, I could see the way he strained to control himself. I grinned, feeling happy to have been able to make him feel that way. He clearly wanted me, just as much as I wanted him.

  I turned around on the bed, stealing a glance at his engorged member. I smiled with glee at all the things I would do with it from then on. I laid my breasts on the bed and arched my back high into the air toward it. I could hardly see anything from that position. All I felt was the cool air on my slick back and the feel of his hands as he spread me wide open while bringing himself closer to my throbbing center.

  He didn’t tease me at all that time. I could tell he was ravenously hungry for more. Instead, he went straight in, trying to use as little force as he could while pushing his entire length agonizingly slow into my body. Feeling him take control of me that way made me grab onto the sheets to keep myself from screaming.

  At that moment, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. My legs were getting stiff by then, and any shred of coherent thought was all but gone. I believe he must have sensed it too.

  He started moving harder and faster than before, his thrusts reaching deeper and deeper into my very being. My insides were tightening in knots, and I could hardly do anything to stop it. In fact, I craved it!

  Suddenly, I felt him release himself inside of me with a loud groan. Feeling his warmth building up within, I came hard too, biting the sheets and squealing with unrestrained pleasure.

  It was like my entire body had been thrown down in a heap from over a tall cliff. I could feel myself falling, but I wasn’t screaming anymore, nor was I frantic. I was entirely at peace. For a moment, I thought my heart had stopped, and I’d found my way to heaven.

  Joseph had already crashed down next to me. And with all the strength I could still muster at that moment, I turned myself to face him. The man that had caused me to feel so alive, and so serene.

  I couldn’t say it just then, but I knew the feeling he’d awakened within me.

  Chapter Six

  Evelyn

  “We’re still way behind...” I said, and the look on Emily’s face mirrored the feeling in my chest.

  We were nowhere near paying off our loan, and we only had a single month left. Two months had passed since we’d been given the ultimatum, and we had implemented every marketing strategy we could think of.

  “I don’t know what else we can do,” I whispered. We’d tried everything. Nothing was working to the extent that we needed.

  Joseph was looking at me from the chair next to Emily’s. After the first month had come and gone, I’d asked for his help because our profits were still off the mark.

  He’d done his very best. He’d given us numerous ideas, and he’d even taken over the payment of the kids’ salaries. Even so, it was still not enough. We continued owing the bank a whole lot of money we just didn’t have on hand.

  The look Joseph gave me then was one of complete understanding. When I’d gone to him for assistance, he immediately agreed to help us out, but only under one condition.

  ***

  “I’ll help you out, babe! I just have one condition, though,” he’d said.

  “What? You want me to dress up for you every night from now on?” I’d asked teasingly, but the look in his eyes told me he was serious. Joseph took both my hands in his.

  “If things get bad... and you’ve run out of other options... I’ll pay off your loan completely,” he said slowly, looking deep into my eyes.

  His offer had me frowning as I considered its implications.

  “Just listen to me. I won’t be buying out your place, not at all. I’m just going to pay off your loan so that the danger of losing your dream will finally be gone, and then you can pay me back whenever... or, however,” Joseph explained in a lighthearted tone.

  “That’s far too much for me to accept. The money we owe the bank is a lot, you know that...” I replied, shaking my head.

  “I truly care about you, Evelyn, and I want you to always be happy,” he added.

  ***

  Joseph was still looking straight at me as my thoughts rejoined the present. Letting me know that his offer to pay off our loan was still on the table. Maybe it was just my pride, but I didn’t want to take the money from him.

  I shook my head, and he looked away from me toward the office window.

  “I think I’m going to go back to the bank,” I started. “I should be able to convince them to give us a little extension. We’ve been making good progress these last few months. That might convince them to be more lenient,” I continued, but even as I said that, I knew there was every chance my plea would fall on deaf ears.

  “All right, then... I’ll stay here and hold down the fort,” Emily conceded.

  “I’ll come with you to the bank,” Joseph intervened, but I shook my head.

  “No, you should stay here. Emily might need your help,” I said, reaching for my jacket.

  I could feel tears stinging my eyes, so I turned around and walked as fast as I could out of the shop. Just the thought of seeing bank officials come to remove us all from the premises and then lock up the Eve for good got me weeping profusely. Stopping outside next to the road, I’d never felt so pathetic and helpless as I did then.

  Out of nowhere, a pair of strong, comforting arms closed all around me. I suddenly felt better because of the way those arms smelled. Like expensive cologne, and the man I loved.

  “Let me help you out, Evie...” he whispered into my ear and then kissed my hair like he loved to do. I turned around in his arms and started sobbing into his chest.

  I really didn’t want to resort to that last option. But my love for the coffee shop was more important than my pride. The Eve provided not just for Emily and me, but also for the kids from the orphanage. I had to think of them too. Of the customers who commuted to us from faraway places every single day, simply because they loved our coffee and the way we treated them. All of those things far outshined my selfish sense of pride.r />
  So, I finally nodded my head in acceptance.

  “Thank you for letting me help you,” he said, and I could only sniffle in response. I lifted up my head and he wiped away my tears. Joseph was everything I’d hoped the man I would finally fall in love with would be.

  “I want forever with you, babe,” he said, and my eyes went wide as they filled up with tears again.

  “I love you,” I replied, and I kissed him dearly. How could I not? I wanted those words to become ingrained in his memory the way they were embossed all over my skin.

  “I love you too,” Joseph said, smiling. Then he resumed kissing me back, again and again, in the golden afternoon glare.

  Epilogue

  Joseph

  “Pass me the meatballs,” I said to Emily.

  Chris and Emily had been dating for two years by that point. My best friend had finally met someone who could keep him in check and match his endless energy. It was all a bit funny how it all turned out. Thinking back on it, anyone would have thought those two just hanged around one another for the sheer fun of it. But by then, Chris and Emily seemed to want something more from their relationship.

  “I’ll have some too, please,” Evelyn said, stretching her hands to reach for the bowl.

  “And I’ll go get us some refills!” I added, standing up to head to the bar.

  Just then, Chris said something funny, and they all started laughing.

  I often wondered how the four of us managed to work everything out all the time. It’d been just two years since our collective paths had crossed, yet there we were. Sitting beside one another, enjoying a relaxing vacation after all the effort we’d put in through a busy, busy first half of the year.

  As I came back with freshly opened drinks, Emily attempted to come up with something witty, but Chris relentlessly cracked another joke at her expense. She makes it too easy for him, the devil!

  “Are the two of you sure you can leave Michael, Amber and Caitlin in charge of your shops?” Chris asked, making a vain attempt at stopping himself from having a laughing fit. “I mean, Michael could just as well divert a distribution truck to some orphanage or other,” he chuckled.

  “Oh, come on, Chris!” Evelyn intervened. “Michael would never do that, he knows better. They’re all responsible adults now, and besides, one truck would hardly make a dent in our bottom line. With the three coffee shops we own, we could easily take it out from his yearly salary and move on. At least, that would seem like enough of a punishment given the circumstances,” she added with a reassuring smile.

  Even though Evelyn tried making light of the whole issue, Emily still had her hands gripping at Chris’ throat in mock annoyance. Chris, on the other hand, was yelping and stretching his hands toward me, seemingly for help. Instead, he merely grabbed the opened beer I was holding out to him, then winked.

  “Joseph, my good man, you are always there when I am most in need!” Chris laughed.

  “I am afraid not for long, mate,” I replied, turning my face away. “A man must ultimately reap what he sows, you know.”

  It was now his turn to feign disbelief. Noticing Emily nodding her head and grinning with those mad eyes of hers, what else could he have done? I struggled to control my laughter, as did Evelyn.

  We were having such a great time that I never wanted the night to end. The evening breeze felt cool on my tanned skin and carried with it the scents of freshly turned soil and rich, high grass.

  To us four, a vacation meant staying away from the usual bustle of the city that never slept, eating home-cooked meals, and having plain fun together. That particular summer, we were seated on the lawn of a vast ranch in Portville, which our real estate consortium managed. Once Evelyn paid off the original coffee shop’s loan with my help, their little enterprise had begun to steadily grow with newfound confidence. Within the next twelve months, she and Emily had even managed to branch out into several other parts of the city. One struggling little coffee shop had somehow blossomed into three successful ones.

  All is well that ends well, I would often tell myself. Just then, all that was left for me to do was what I’d always planned from the very beginning: making Evelyn Stafford truly mine.

  “Excuse me, everyone,” I said, drawing their attention toward me. “I have something important that I would like to say. Actually, I’ve been planning on saying this for quite some time now,” I added.

  To my knowledge, only Chris was supposed to be aware of what was about to happen. I pulled my chair back, got down on one knee facing Evelyn, still seated just to my left, and slowly brought out the ring that I’d been carrying in my back pocket for close to a month.

  “Evie, I have been thinking about this very moment for so long. Every time I came up with something to say, all it took was one look from you to render me utterly speechless. The way you make me feel day after day, the way you make me feel right now, I want it to continue for as long as I can possibly hold on to you.”

  I paused to catch my breath, and I could see the love shining in her bright, beautiful eyes.

  “Evelyn, I love you more than I could ever put into words, and I want to make us last forever. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

  Oh, was she beautiful just then... In more ways than I could have ever imagined. I didn’t know how else to tell her how much I cared for her. It seemed that, no matter what I would say, it would never be enough to express just how I felt about her. And, so, I resolved within my heart that I had to demonstrate my feelings to her instead. I was going to love this woman with everything I had for the rest of my entire life.

  “Yes... Yes, I will!” Evelyn replied, no longer fighting to hold back her tears of joy.

  I took her left hand in mine, placed the ring on her graceful finger and proceeded to give her the kiss of her life.

  “Chris... when is it going to be our turn?” Emily asked coyly, her arm suddenly around her boyfriend’s back.

  “Soon, babe. Very soon,” Chris said, and we all continued laughing.

  ***

  Thank you for coming this far, dear Reader!

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  With all my love,

  Olivia

  About the Author

  Olivia Quint is a passionate romance author hailing from the picturesque city of York, in chilly Northern England, UK.

  Her short stories touch the heart, excite the senses and leave readers convinced that one's true love can be found in the most unexpected circumstances.

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