Simon laughs at me, pulling me so I am standing in front of him with my back to his chest and his arms around me.
“It’s incredible, isn’t it’s it?” he whispers against my ear.
But I’m no longer thinking only about the strength of the storm around us. I’m thinking about my body against his and his arms locking me in place. Heat is building between us. I feel small but safe in his arms.
“It’s amazing,” I whisper, as my body becomes a storm in its own way. Soaking up the energy from the sky and from him, a bolt of desire shoots through me, threatening to become as uncontrollable and unpredictable as the storm.
I clench my teeth and try to ignore it, but it’s difficult.
“Nature is so raw, so passionate,” Simon says.
I nod, not trusting my voice.
Lighting pierces from the clouds and stabs like a blade into the ocean in the distance in front of us. It snaps me back into myself, and I scream in fright.
Simon laughs again and starts pulling me backward, back toward the villa.
“Come on, let’s go have some food and watch the storm from inside,” he says.
***
Our second night on holiday, and I’ve forgotten about the things that woman said to me at the gala. I’m relaxed, body, mind, and soul, and enjoying every moment of being with Simon. He’s taken me to all his favorite places, including a bar where everything is served in coconut shells and a little beach shack where a lady handmakes colorful dresses in soft, flowing fabrics. We walk through the little villages and avoid the commercial areas, savoring the quiet and the beauty of this place.
Simon is so relaxed out here, and so attentive and sweet, that I can’t help but forget about my insecurities, too.
We go snorkeling and have dinner on the beach, eating fish caught in the ocean and cooked on an open flame.
Simon stretches his legs out in front of himself and leans back in the wooden beach chair, looking up at the stars. “No storm tonight,” he says thoughtfully.
“It’s so quiet. All I can hear is the ocean,” I say, looking up at the stars too.
“The ocean and the crackle of the fire. It’s how life should be. No city noises and chaos,” he replies.
I smile, realizing how happy my heart is in this moment.
“Thank you for this, Simon. It’s been really amazing. You were right. We did need a reset.”
“I’m really glad that you’ve enjoyed yourself. Maybe we should sell everything in Miami and move out here,” he muses.
“When I was little, I always daydreamed about owning a cottage in the forest,” I laugh quietly.
“What about a little villa on the beach?” he asks.
“I think it would work just as well,” I say.
“When I was little, life was all about learning to stay safe and be vigilant. All my life has been around the bratva and trying not only to survive in that world but to thrive in it,” he says.
“Your family seems to have done really well at that,” I reply. “Thriving, I mean.”
“We did. I think it’s because we stuck together. A lot of Bratva families don’t make it this far because the greed seeps in like a virus. That taste for power… it can become so deadly it ripsfamilies apart. We never let that happen. Not one of us would choose money over family.”
“It must be amazing to have that kind of trust in your own family,” I say quietly.
“You, uh, you left your parents when you were quite young. Did something happen?” he asks, his eyes drifting onto me, filled with quiet curiosity.
I sigh. This is something I haven’t spoken about for years. In fact, since I left, I haven’t told anyone. I wanted to walk away from everything and forget that any of it had happened.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about,” he says, noticing my hesitation.