“Jas,” Knox says so low it was barely auditable.

I open my eyes to the sound of his voice only to feel a tickle on my right shoulder. I don’t move an inch because I know what it is. Out of the corner of my eye I can see a beautiful black butterfly with four spots, white and then blending into purple, on each side of the wings. The end of the wings are all jagged but the intensity of the colors draw away from them.

Knox is able to slip away as the butterfly just sits perched on my shoulder, lightly fluttering her wings. I hear the sound of Knox’s camera snapping pictures as he walks around capturing different angles. I turn my head inch by inch so I can get a better look at the beauty sitting on my shoulder.

A lady who’s wearing a uniform with a patch that shows that she works here comes over to my other side and wipes something cool on the top of my left hand which is resting on my thigh. When she’s finishes she simply walks away. What the hell was that about?

Minutes later the butterfly sitting on my shoulder flies away and another tiny white butterfly lands on the top of my right hand in the exact spot that the employee rubbed whatever it was on my skin.

Knox takes his seat beside me again. “It’s sugar water. The butterflies love it.” He nods to the sign in front of the waterfall. “I read it on that.” Knox adds after I give him a look of disbelief that he would know such a fact.

I lift my hand in the air and the butterfly takes off to a nearby flower. I place my hand on Knox’s leg and give it a little squeeze. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

He places his large hand on top of mine, “You’re welcome, Beautiful. I’m glad you like it.”

Knox stands and holds his hand out to me, “One more surprise, but first, are you hungry?” At the mention of food my stomach growls loudly. Knox laughs and leads me out of the butterfly house. The sun is just starting to set as we make our way to the restaurant which is on the other side of the garden.

We are seated after a short wait and we ordered wine with our meals. Knox hands me over his phone so that I can see all the shots he captured. As I tap the power button, his phone lights up and he already has a picture saved as his background. It’s the one where the butterfly was perched on my shoulder and I’m looking straight ahead so you only see my profile.

“That’s the best one I think.” Knox says as he brings his glass of wine up to his lips.

He got a lot of really good ones. I hand him his phone back and he says he’ll email them all to me. Eventually our dinner comes and we eat while exchanging stories about Summer and Rex. We stay clear of our own backgrounds. We’re having such a great time and I don’t want to ruin our date.

After Knox pays for our meal he leads us back out of the restaurant. When we step outside I turn to him to thank him for dinner and the amazing night but my words freeze at the sight before me.

Everything within eyes view is glowing, glimmering and twinkling. We walk around the side of the restaurant, the opposite way we came. There is an old oak tree that has lights cascading from the branches giving it a weeping willow effect. The pathways are all lit up with luminaries, there are Chinese lanterns strung from tree to tree in some areas. Every pond has floating candles and all of the water fountains are colored with lights under the water. Archways are decorated with lights and in some areas the beds of ivy have lights scattered throughout. Some trees are wrapped in white lights and some even have spotlights placed around the trunks giving the tree a glowing look.

Once I’ve had a few minutes to take everything in, I look back to Knox who’s just standing back with an adorable smile on his face. “It’s memorizing, Knox. I can’t believe places like this exist.”

He pulls me close to his side, “I know, you go from living in a city that never sleeps to something so peaceful and quiet. I love the city life, I do, but this is my home. Here in South Carolina, where places like this exist.”

We walk around taking in all the lights. Our stroll is coming upon a huge fountain with floating candles and Knox halts me with an iron grip around my waist. He stares so intently into my eyes, and then rests his forehead against mine. “I’m trying so hard Jas, so hard.”

I swallow hard, “How’s that working out for you Champ?” I lick my lips, “Because I’ve tried and I’m getting nowhere.”

Knox mutters, “Fuck it,” before his rich, plump lips descend on mine.

Jasmine has no idea just how beautiful she is when she lets go of everything. I want her to be mine but how can I make that happen? She can’t be mine. Once she finds out the truth about what I had planned she’ll never forgive me. I set out to hurt her and her family. I’m mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted after all these years. I just want to find peace again in my life and right now, everything is pushing me to Jasmine.

13

Knox’s tongue swirling in my mouth has my blood pounding in my ears, my heart is beating so hard against my chest, I swear Knox can feel it, and my knees are trembling. Reluctantly I pull my now swollen lips from Knox.

I rest my forehead against his chest, “Knox,”

He takes a deep breath, “I know. Let’s get out of here ok?”

I lift my head, give him a smile and he grabs my hand. We get about halfway to the car and the clouds decide to open up on us.

I squeal, “Its freezing.” The rain is cold against my heated skin. Knox hits the unlock button to his car and takes a few steps ahead of me to open the door for me. I slip in and reach over to open his door. He climbs in and runs a hand through his rain soaked hair and now it’s standing up all over the place.

I laugh because he has one piece on the top of his head that reminds me of alfalfa, so I reach over to brush it down but he grabs my wrist and pulls me into his embrace. His tongue traces the soft fullness of my lips. His hands are everywhere on me. Running down my shoulder to my waist, he slowly brings them up to rest just below my bra. He waits for approval before taking the next step.

I grab the back of his head and bring him in for a hard kiss and he takes that as an answer to move his hands. He cups my right breast and gently brushes the pad of his thumb over my nipple, causing it to strain against the lace.

My breathing accelerates and that’s all the courage Knox needs to make his next move. He reaches up, tucks a finger under the strap of my tank top and slips it off my shoulder. It hangs at my elbow now and Knox reaches for the cup of my bra to free my breast. He stares at it for just a second before taking it into his mouth.