by Katie Ashley
“Emma, I’m almost speechless. I mean, you’re like nothing I ever could have imagined.” He sucked in a ragged breath and shuddered in her arms. “You’re like a fucking vision.”
Once again, a flashback filled her mind of the night she met him for their first baby-making session. He had crossed the crowded hotel lobby, kissed her, and then told her those words. “God, Em, I love you so much it hurts,” came his pained whisper in her ear.
“I know. I love you so much, too.”
The minister cleared his throat. “I don’t believe we’ve gotten to that part yet.”
Remembering where she was and how she was totally blowing the carefully scripted plan, she jerked away. “Oops,” she replied, a warm flush filling her cheeks.
Laughter rang through the crowd. Stepping back, she slipped her arm once again through Granddaddy’s. “I’m supposed to give you away, Emmie Lou, not have you run away as fast as you can,” he quipped.
She smiled at him through her tears. “You’re never giving me away, and you know that.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Baby Girl. Especially not with you carrying that fine, strapping great-grandson of mine. He’s gonna need a man to teach him a few things.”
“Granddaddy!” Emma hissed as Earl winked at Aidan.
The minister once again cleared his throat. “Dearly beloved we’re gathered here today in the sight of God to join together Aidan Patrick Fitzgerald and Emma Katherine Harrison in the bonds of holy matrimony.” Emma began to tune the minister out and drown herself in the smiling image of Aidan before her.
She barely noticed when Granddaddy officially gave her away and left her side to go sit with Grammy. She even had a hard time focusing on her cousin, Dave, as he sang a twangy rendition of John Lennon’s Grow Old Along With Me. There was no one for her in that moment but Aidan—the man who had made all of her dreams come true.
Emma jolted back into reality when the minister called her name, and she then repeated her vows as he prompted her. “I, Emma Katherine Harrison, take you, Aidan Patrick Fitzgerald, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer until death us do part.”
In a booming voice, Aidan repeated his vows with complete and total assurance, which made Emma’s heart flutter. He then took her wedding band from Patrick, his best man, and slid it onto her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”
When she glanced up at him, he winked at her, and she couldn’t help grinning at the glimmer of his cocky side rearing its head. She took his ring from Casey and slipped it on his finger and repeated the words.
They then turned to the minister who smiled. “By the power vested in me by God almighty and the fine state of Georgia, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He gave Aidan a pointed look. “You may now kiss your bride.”
“About time,” Aidan replied before bringing his hands to cup her face. His lips met hers in a chaste, yet passionate kiss. Thunderous applause echoed around them as Aidan pulled away.
Linking her arm through his, they started down the aisle and down the hill to the barn to celebrate.
***
As Dave and her cousins’ band perfectly harmonized the lyrics to her first dance song, Emma swayed in Aidan’s arms. Glancing up at the canopy of twinkling lights, she couldn’t believe how Marie and her team had transformed the barn into a winter wonderland. It was utterly breathtaking, and she couldn’t help sighing with contentment at how perfect everything had turned out.
Working on their tight schedule hadn’t been easy, but Grammy, along with her aunts and cousins, had whipped up a meal better than any catering company. Just the thought of the delicious BBQ she had consumed sent a small burp escaping from her lips.
With his blue eyes twinkling with amusement, Aidan gazed down at her. “Excuse me,” she peeped.
“Eat a little too much?”
“Maybe.”
“Damn, it was good.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Everything has been good. Well, this song could be a little better.” Aidan wrinkled his nose. “How in the hell did I let you talk me into John Denver for our first dance as man and wife?”
“For You is a beautiful song. Did you even bother listening to the lyrics? It’s about how the rest of my life is for you and you alone!”
Aidan grinned at her outrage. “You’re right. It is a beautiful song. And Dave is knocking it out of the park. But still…”
“And just what would you have preferred?” Emma asked as the last chords of the song finished.
Before she could press him again, Dave interrupted her thoughts. “Our next song was especially picked out by Aidan. He wanted Emma to know how much the lyrics mean to him and their relationship. So Em, here’s You Save Me.”
Emma gasped as she jerked her gaze from Dave to Aidan. His signature cocky smirk curved on his lips. “You really did that?” she asked as Dave began singing the Kenny Chesney classic.
“Yes, I did.”
As she stilled in his arms, she let the familiar lyrics echo through her mind. She felt Aidan’s breath warming her cheek. “And it’s the truth, Em. You do save me. I would still be lost if you hadn’t come into my life, and I thank God everyday that you gave me another chance to show you how much my soul cries out for you. There will never be anyone else for me in the world.”
Tears welled in her eyes as he tilted her chin to look at him. His jaw was hard-set with determination. “I mean it, Em.”
“You saved me too,” she whispered.
He kissed her tenderly before pressing his face to her cheek. “If you would have told me this time last year I would be a married man with a kid on the way, I would’ve laughed my ass off and called you crazy,” he mused. When she tensed, he pulled away and smiled. “Boy, I was a crazy bastard then.”
She returned his smile. “I would have done the same thing if someone had told me I would not only be married but carrying the child of the creep who hit on me at the Christmas Party.”
Aidan laughed. “Fate has a funny way of working things out, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does.”
He tightened his arms around her as the song came to a close. “So why don’t we hurry up and cut the cake, so we can get the hell out of here and start our honeymoon?”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Are you really that impatient?”
He grunted. “You cut me off ten days ago. I’m going to explode.”
“I wanted our first night as man and wife to be special,” she countered.
A smirk twitched on his lips. “Then let’s make it special sooner.”
“Patience is a virtue, Mr. Fitzgerald. I’m not going to miss out on dancing the night away with you because of your libido. Besides, I want to dance with Granddaddy and your father, and I want you to dance with Grammy. We’re only going to have a wedding reception once.”
“Okay, okay,” he grumbled.
Leaning in, she whispered in his ear, “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
Aidan chuckled. “You don’t have to promise me anything, babe. I’m so crazy in love with you I’ll do anything you ask—including waiting to get laid.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she said, “Oh, who needs poetry when I have you to say romantic lines like that?”
He grinned. “You know I’m one hell of man, babe!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
As sparklers lit the way through the dark, Emma and Aidan ran to their car while being pelted with birdseed. Emma only gave the shaving cream covered and condom decorated Mercedes a fleeting glance before throwing open the door and collapsing onto the seat. She swiped off the pieces of birdseed stuck to her hair and dress.
Aidan grinned as he cranked up the car. “Sure hope we don’t get attacked by a flock of militant birds with all this shit on us.”
Emma laughed. “So how far is it to your buddy’s cabin?”
With Emma in her last trimester, Aidan had put his foot down about them flying anywhere for their honeymoon. He had been able to get a week at a secluded cabin that belonged to one of his work buddies.
“I’m sorry it’s not somewhere exotic like the Caribbean or romantic like Venice,” Aidan said as they pulled onto the highway.
“After Noah is born, I’m holding you to that Italy promise.”
“It’s a deal. And since I know you won’t get on a plane without him, we’ll make the Little Man an international traveler before he’s a year old.”
“Aw, I love it.” Reaching over, Emma took Aidan’s hand in hers. “It doesn’t matter where we go as long as I’m with you.”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I feel the same way babe.”
After taking a turn off the interstate, they drove along the dark and curvy mountain roads. Glancing at the directions on his phone, Aidan made a final turn. “Greg had maintenance come out this afternoon and get things set up for us.”
“Like sex up the place?” Emma asked with a grin.
Aidan grinned. “Maybe. They delivered some food as well. We’ll go out to dinner a couple of times too if you want.”
“With us out here in the middle of nowhere, how do I know you won’t hold me hostage as your sex slave?”
Aidan threw his head back and roared with laughter. “No babe, you’re my wife, never my sex slave.”
“Pity,” she murmured. When he jerked his wide-eyed gaze from the road to meet hers, she giggled. “Just kidding.”
He exhaled a noisy breath as they turned into the driveway. Floodlights momentarily blinded her. When Emma stepped out of the car, she fought to keep her mouth dropping to the ground in disbelief. She glanced at Aidan and shook her head. “What?” he asked.
“You said your buddy was letting us have his cabin. That,” she motioned to the giant mansion, “is not a cabin. It’s a lodge at least. I bet it has eight or ten bedrooms.”
“And we can christen every one of them while we’re here,” Aidan remarked.
She laughed. “Yeah, we’ll just have to see about that one.”
“Come on. If you think this is amazing, wait until you see inside.” Taking her hand, Aidan pulled her up the front walk-way and up the porch steps. Once Aidan unlocked the door, he glanced back at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
“Whatever you’re thinking, I can without a doubt say the answer is no!”
Aidan chuckled. “Come on. I just wanted to carry my bride over the threshold.”
She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Your bride is seven months pregnant. Besides, you’re supposed to do that at your home, not your honeymoon destination.”
Ignoring her, Aidan swept his arm underneath her knees while the other went around her back. She shrieked when he swept her off her feet before kicking open the front door. “Oomph,” he muttered as he staggered across the threshold.
Emma burst into laugher at both his determined expression and his purple coloring. “Don’t go incapacitating yourself before we can get the honeymoon started, babe,” she teased.
“Yeah, yeah,” he replied as he gently set her on her feet in the foyer.
“Aw, my hero,” she said, leaning up to kiss him.
He grinned at her. “Go on and explore the ca—”
“Lodge,” Emma corrected.
“Whatever. I’m going to go get our luggage.”
“Be careful. I wouldn’t want a city boy like you taken off by a bear or a coyote.”
He shook his head. “Always that mouth of yours.”
Once Aidan headed out the door, Emma turned her attention to the living room. It was outfitted with large, overstuffed couches and chairs. A floor to ceiling stone fireplace sat in the middle of the room, and after picking up the remote on one of the tables, a press of a button sent it roaring to life. Tilting her head, Emma took in the high ceilings with their crisscrossing wooden beams. As she walked around the room, she saw the large circular staircase leading to the next floor.
Aidan came huffing inside with three of their bags. “Need some help?” she asked.
“No, I got it,” came his muffled reply from behind the luggage.
When he started down the hallway, she followed him. At the end of the hall was the master bedroom. Her eyes widened when Aidan flipped on the light switch. Not only did it boast a huge four poster bed, a sitting area with a couch, loveseat and chair, but its own fireplace with a furry rug in front of it.
“Is that…?” she asked, pointing down at the floor.
Aidan grinned. “No, it’s fake bearskin or some other politically correct fake fur.”
“Good to know.”
“I bet it feels soft against your skin though,” he murmured, his breath hovering over her cheek.
“I bet it does.” She leaned in and gave him a lingering kiss. When she pulled away, her gaze fell to the bags at their feet. “Wait, that’s not everything.”
Aidan scowled. “Isn’t it enough to get us started?”
She shook her head. “You didn’t bring in my treat case.”
His brows shot up. “You’re what?”
A sly grin stretched on her lips. “You heard me. It has all the treats that I got at my lingerie shower. Handcuffs, massage oil, some edible underwear—”
Aidan held up his hand. “No need to explain anymore. You had me at handcuffs,” he replied before hurrying out of the bedroom and down the hall.
Shaking her head, Emma then turned her attention to the far wall of the bedroom. It had floor to ceiling windows with glass doors that opened onto a balcony. Emma gasped as she stared out of the window at the magnificent view. Even with just the glow of the porch light, she could see the mountains for miles and miles. She couldn’t imagine how breathtaking it would be when the sun came up.
The sound of more luggage dropping to the floor alerted her of Aidan’s presence again. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her back against him, while another hand slid up to caress her breast. “Isn’t the view amazing?”
“Yes, it is,” he murmured into her neck as his erection dug into her backside.
“Would you stop being a horndog for just a minute and look out there?” She gestured to the wide expanse of pine trees.
“Five seconds ago the words massage oil and edible underwear were coming off your delectable lips. I don’t want to look at anything but your body until I’ve had you at least twice.” When she started to squirm out of his hold, his breath scorched against her earlobe. “You.Naked.Hot tub.Now.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him and rolled her eyes. “You sound like a caveman!”
He chuckled. “I feel like one too. Making me go almost two weeks without sex is torture, Em.”
“Actually, it’s good practice. After Noah’s born, it’ll be at least five or six weeks before I’m operational down there again.”
Aidan groaned. “Oh God, don’t remind me.” Taking the hem of her dress, he pulled it over her head. “Take your shoes off,” he instructed. Gladly, she stepped out of the low heels that were already causing her feet to swell.
Taking her hand, he started to lead her out into the hallway. “But I’m not supposed to get in a hot-tub when I’m pregnant,” Emma protested.
“I’ve got it all taken care of, babe. I made sure they took all the necessary precautions to lower the water temperature. It’ll be about the same as lukewarm bathwater.”
“Really?”
He nodded and pulled her closer to him. “Besides, I figure with you riding me, you won’t be totally submerged in the water anyway.”
Emma shook her head. “You always have a devious little sex plan, don’t you?”
“Yep.”
She laughed as Aidan opened the door to the room across from the master bedroom. With just a flick of a switch, dimmed candlelight illuminated the room. “Electric votive candles? W
ho is your friend? The Ladies Man or something?”
Aidan laughed as he started unbuttoning his shirt. “Actually, he’s married with five kids.”
“Guess he likes to keep the romance alive, huh?”
The hot-tub sat bubbling in the corner of the room against more floor to ceiling windows. In the daytime, she imagined the view would be almost as impressive as the one in the bedroom.
After ripping off his shirt, Aidan started for his pants. Emma took the cue and started helping him. Once she slid off his belt, she doubled it over in her hands. While Aidan bent over to slide his pants and boxers down, she took the opportunity to smack his bare ass with the belt. The cracked echoed through the room.
Aidan whipped up in surprise while rubbing his ass cheek. “Emma, what the hell was that about?”
She giggled. “You don’t like a little spank every now and then?”
The corners of his lips curved up in a smirk. “Now I didn’t say that.”
Without taking her eyes off of his, she smacked his other cheek. She shivered when his blue eyes burned dark with desire. “Why are you spanking me?”
“Because you’ve been a naughty boy.”
His blonde brows arched up. “Have I now?”
“Mmm, hmm. All you’ve cared about since we got here is getting your pleasure.” She brought her hand to her chest. “What about mine?”
“Ah, so I should attend to your pleasure first?”
“Yes, please.”
“And what would you have me to do?”
Emma’s sassiness began to waver, and suddenly she didn’t think she could say the words. “Um, well…I want us in the hot-tub.”
“And?” Aidan prompted as he reached around to unhook her bra with quick, expert precision.
“I want your mouth on me.”
“You do?” He whisked her panties away, leaving her feeling very vulnerable under his hungry gaze. He brought his thumb to her mouth and traced her bottom lip. “You want my mouth here?”
