On the beach
"Shouldn't we be going back?"
Emily slid her fingers playfully over his naked, moist body. "Why? I could stay here forever." She still couldn't believe that they had just made love on the beach. It had felt so natural and right. And she could hardly believe her luck that Daniel felt the same way.
"Well, there might be people passing by, and then we are arrested for indecent behavior. Sex on the beach is a crime," he said, smirking.
She looked around. "There's no one here. And if so, it was worth it."
He laughed softly and pulled her closer to him. "So adventurous, Mrs. Grayson?"
Mrs. Grayson. What a wonderful thought that she was married to the man with whom she just had made passionate love. But suddenly a thought flashed through her mind. Where were their clothes? Where were the rings? She sat up abruptly and looked along the beach. "Daniel ..." she said hesitantly. "Where are our clothes?"
He also sat up and shrugged his shoulders as he couldn't see anything. "I think the ocean has it."
She looked at him, horrified, and realized that her behavior made him suspicious. He couldn't know that she had just drowned half a million dollars in the ocean. Why had she put the rings in her pants pocket? She bobbed up and wiped the damp sand off of her body. "We really have to go now."
"Oh, now you do?" He said, grinning, then pulled her out of the water. "Wait a minute ..." He narrowed his eyes when he saw something floating in the water, not far from them. "Well," he said, as he reached the object of his interest. "There we are!" It was actually her clothes, but incomplete.
Emily slipped on her bra and panties and watched as Daniel put on his pants.
"Are you ready?" He asked, frowning.
Emily didn't react. She searched the water, hoping to find her trousers. But apparently the sea had really swallowed them. She sighed softly and ran a hand through her wet hair. What was she going to tell him when he asked? Now that they really were husband and wife, in the truest sense of the word, he would surely expect her to wear her rings. But maybe she could just tell him that she had lost them a few weeks ago when she fell into the sea.
"Emily, are you coming?"
She grabbed Daniel's hand and let him pull her into his arms. "Just one more kiss," she begged, teasing and laughing as he planted a lot of kisses on her face and neck. Immediately her body reacted. Sighing softly, she threw back her head, waiting for him to continue with his caresses, but instead he stepped back and looked at her amused.
"Didn't you have enough kisses for one day?" He said, smirking.
Emily put her arms around his neck and looked deeply into his eyes. "I have a lot to catch up with." She saw his eyes darken and recognized that her statement had probably ripped a wound again. "Hey," she said gently, stroking his cheek tenderly. "I know how bad the weeks must have been for you when you didn't know whether I was dead or alive. But now I am here. And I'm not leaving anymore." She knew every word was meant seriously.
"Come on," He reached for her hand again. "We'll go for a quick shower, and then I'll take you to the beach house."
Emily glanced at the sea, a last longing look. She thought of her rings, somewhere out there, on the ocean floor. Was it a bad omen? She tried to expel the gloomy thoughts and wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Where have you been?" He asked suddenly, after they had been on their way for a while.
For a moment she thought about to lie to him, but she chose to tell him the truth. "I was at Nolan's manson," she admitted. She looked at Daniel's questioning look and continued quickly with her story. "I thought he could answer some questions about my past," she concluded.
"And did he help you?"
Emily remembered Nolan's words. He hadn't left out anything. She was now well informed about the life of Amanda Clarke before she became Emily Thorne, and afterwards, after the change of identity. But she also knew that Daniel had no idea. For him, she was Emily Thorne Grayson. He would never associate it with David Clarke. Unless she would tell him one day. But at what price? Wasn't it better to be quiet and let the past rest?
"Emily, is everything all right?"
She looked up and looked into his dark, worried eyes. "Yes, I'm fine. Just hungry and tired."
"A visit on the beach can be quite exhausting sometimes," he smirked.
"Did we do that before?" She asked curiously.
"What, having sex on the beach?" He raised his eyebrows amused.
She lightly punched his shoulder. "No, not that," she said, laughing. "I mean, were we often here for a swim in the ocean?"
Daniel nodded. "Yes, very often. You were like a mermaid. You didn't want to leave the water."
So that was the reason why she felt this magnetic pull. She loved the beach and the waves. "By the way, I didn't want to kill myself," she clarified. "I just wanted to go swimming."
"Fully dressed?" He raised his eyebrows doubtfully.
"Yeah, that was a stupid idea," she admitted, sighing. "Next time I'll take a swimsuit."
"That reminds me of your wish to go shopping," Daniel said. "Do we want to go to the big city tomorrow? I can show you the rooms of 'Voulez' and we can visit my father at 'Grayson Global'."
So now my life would start as a woman by the side of a rich heir, she thought. She didn't care what Daniel did, as long as he didn't neglect her. She thought of his father, who was more in his office than at home. She hoped Daniel was different. She remembered Nolan's statement, however, that he had once been at the head of Grayson Global after successfully eliminating his father from his position. So there was another, darker side of Daniel, she might have to face some day. Just as he had to learn to live without her past.
"You're so quiet," Daniel said, after a moment's silence.
"I just wondered where we'll live in the future," she lied. A lie was better than telling the truth. She knew, even if she couldn't remember, her past as Amanda Clarke could destroy her relationship with Daniel once and for all. And she was grateful that he hadn't asked about the real reason she wanted to meet Nolan.
He looked at her astounded. "I thought it would be clear we were going back to the beach house."
She nodded. Yes, that was it. The beach house, built by her father, would certainly help her to remember. With this reassuring thought she clung to his arm, and together they went home.