Moonlight: The Next Chapter

Chapter 1, Happily Ever After?

Author's note:  I was recently prompted (thanks, Apple TV!) to rewatch the single season of Moonlight and fell in love all over again. That led me to pull out and re-read a full-length novel, written to continue the story after the series untimely demise.

I decided that I would like to do some editing and publish the full chapters here. With so many years having passed, these may fall into a void, but I'm OK with that. It will give me a sense of closure to be able to publish the chapters here as they were written. Over time, I hope to complete the story arc of 3 books originally mapped out. 

One of the unique elements that I have retained for this first book are recommended songs at the beginning & end of chapters to set the mood. Music was so integral to the series that it seemed only right. Feel free to look them up & play them as you read.

This is the first chapter of Moonlight: The Next Chapter, a full-length novel, picking up where the Moonlight TV series ended, just because we loved it...

                                                                Intro: "A Love Divine" by Seal

Slivers of sunlight crept in through the slits between the blinds, casting a warm glow on the occupants of the bed.

Mick St. John's eyes snapped open and he eased his arm out from under the head of the still-sleeping woman beside him. Sitting up, he rubbed tiredly at his face and pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes, the light painful. With a sigh, he straightened, allowing his hands to drop into his lap. Penetrating hazel eyes, fringed with long lashes, blinked in an attempt to adjust to the light of the new day.

A smile tugged at his lips as he looked down at his companion, still not quite able to believe his fortune. After denying himself companionship for over 50 years, he had grown to love this woman whom he had watched over from afar for so long. And, miracle of miracles, she appeared willing to love him back, despite knowing what he was.

Despite the smile, his eyes held sadness, borne from a fear that this, like all good things in his life, would somehow disappear or be taken from him. This time, though, he dared to hope that it might be different – somehow, he felt like she made it different. He had already started turning turning to her, as if – or perhaps, because – she was his salvation. And that scared the shit out of him.

Beth was lying on her side facing him, cheek pillowed on one hand, her hair spilling across the pillow like a wave, shining in the faint light. Her shoulders and one bare arm were all that were visible on top of the covers, a hint of goose bumps forming on her silken skin. He noted this evidence of how blessedly cold the room was. It was one of her acts of kindness, turning the thermostat down as far as it would go, allowing him to rest more comfortably beside her.

His smile grew wider as images of the night just past, their first together, flitted across his mind. He had craved her touch, trying to make up in one night, what he had denied himself for so many years. As he lingered on these memories, his need to touch her again grew.

Underneath the mound of blankets, he knew the rest of her was as bare as her arm, the thought alone stirring him. He reached out to caress her cheek, smoothing a stray lock of hair back from her face. His touch prompted a smile from her, even while she still slept, as if she could feel him. He tentatively rested his hand on her bare shoulder, reassuring himself that she was really here, his touch was as light as a whisper of breeze on her skin as his fingers gently traced a line down her arm. He paused, then settled his hand over her breast, so he could feel, as well as hear, the beating of her heart.