Page 21 of The Cloud Catcher

She looked at him in the dreamiest of ways, and in that suspended moment, time surrendered to the gravity of their connection. He instinctively knew that so much of her would forever be mysterious and infinite, like the sea from which the seashell had emerged, and he wanted that for her, so she could always have a piece of herself that was hers, and hers alone. She’d told him she didn’t want to speak of her childhood, ever, and although it pained him to never know of that portion of her life, he would respect her wishes. Always. No matter how much he longed to learn all there was to know. He didn’t want to own her; he wanted to celebrate her, every single day, for the rest of his life.

Remaining silent, Zara brought her delicate fingertips to trace the back of his hand as they reclined on the blanket of soft, grainy sand. Stretching his arm out, he cradled her head on his shoulder and drew her close to his side. The sky above was embroidered with stars, twinkling and winking with each passing second as the world beyond the beach faded away.

‘Oh wow, look at that constellation over there,’ Zara breathed as she pointed upwards. ‘Orion seems to be watching over us.’

‘The Greek god that can walk on water, very fitting for the occasion, Miss Monroe.’ Jay followed her gaze, his thoughts lost in the magnitude of the sky. ‘Maybe he’s envious,’ he mused softly, his thumb drawing gentle circles on the back of her hand. ‘Of what we have.’

‘I love the way your incredible mind thinks, Maverick.’ She rolled a little and popped her chin on his chest. ‘Are you ready to take me to bed?’ she asked, her eyes shining with reflected constellations and overflowing with love for him.

‘I’m always ready to take you to bed,’ he replied. ‘But how about we have a little nightcap, first?’

‘Ooh, I’d love a glass of red, so yes, that sounds perfect.’

Rising from their sandy perch, they strolled side by side along the shore. The journey back to their hotel room was silent yet filled with a comfortable quietude that could only come from true intimacy. Once inside, Jay poured them each a glass of wine, its rich aroma mingling with the lingering scent of saltwater on their skin. The bedside lamp cast a warm and comforting glow around them as they snuggled up on the bed. He watched as Zara took a pleasureful sip, then he did the same, feeling the warmth of the merlot spread throughout his body. In their quiet room, every second stretched out as if to allow them to savour this treasured evening. And hours later, when they were sated, as Zara nestled into the curve of his arm and he felt the soft fabric of her pyjamas against his bare chest and the steady thrum of her heartbeat against his, he felt like the luckiest man alive. Here, in this embrace, sharing breaths and dreams, he understood what it meant to truly feel at home. And he hoped she’d found the same certainty in him, too, because he wanted to make her feel the safest she’d ever been.

And then some.

‘Your heart,’ she murmured against his chest, ‘sounds like it’s beating in sync with mine.’

‘That’s because it is, and always will,’ he affirmed with a soft smile.

He placed a kiss on her forehead and they snuggled deeper into each other and the plush, inviting king-size bed. The cool sheets welcomed their warm bodies, enveloping them in a comfortable Egyptian cotton embrace — one of the perks of being an aircraft captain was the upgraded rooms they got to share. Drifting in from outside, the faint sound of crashing waves lulled them. Yawning, Zara nestled closer still, her head finding its natural place in the crook of his shoulder. His arm enveloped her in a secure embrace, the same arm he knew would be numb with tingles before the night’s end because he dared not move, for it was where she slept the soundest. Using his free hand to switch off the lamp, he felt the night stretch out as the serene darkness wrapped them in a blanket of tranquillity. Eyes closing, their breaths fell into a slow and steady rhythm, each matched inhale and exhale an unspoken declaration of the bond that now tethered them together.

Always.

And forever.

The night air caressed their faces through the slightly open window, carrying with it the salty tang of the sea, mingled with the subtle aroma of night-blooming flowers from the lush gardens below.

Zara’s fingertips traced aimless patterns on his chest as she drifted into sleep. All the while, Jay blissfully replayed moments that had led them to this point — the laughter when they were together and the tears when she had to part from him, the challenges and the triumphs, the quiet times when they lazed the day away and the rowdier ones where they’d dance around her apartment singing into salt and pepper shakers — all woven together to create a beautiful tapestry of their shared existence.

‘I will love you forever, Jay Maverick,’ Zara whispered ever so softly into the peaceful darkness, her words lingering like feathers drifting on a breeze.

‘And I’ll love you forever, my darling Zara,’ Jay echoed back.

Zara wouldn’t need to see his eyes to know they shone with the same unwavering certainty and depth as hers. He knew that she comprehended the depth of his love for her. And as time lost its urgency, granting them the peace to simply be, for a few seconds they teetered on the edge of reality, hovering blissfully, then slipped into the land of slumber, where their souls conversed in a language older than words. And all through the night they remained tightly entwined, their bodies a tangle of limbs and shared warmth, allowing the stillness to speak for the united love. Even in sleep, with each passing moment, their love only grew stronger, for there was a powerful force at play, one beyond the realms of the living. A force that would shape their future and carve out a path that only they could walk together.