by J. L. Beck
We walk back down the aisle toward the door, and when we reach the threshold, I swing her up into my arms.
She lets out a squeal and fumbles with her bouquet.
“Are you ready?” I ask, nibbling on the outer shell of her ear.
“Almost. I have to get out of this dress first… and these shoes. They look amazing but feel like they are trying to strangle my toes.”
“All right, but hurry. I’ll be waiting at the door.” I don’t particularly want to let her out of my sight, but I have to talk to Soo and my men one last time before I can leave. Setting her back on her feet, I lean down. I kiss my bride on her painted lips softly before I watch her walk toward the staircase.
My stellina.
My bride… until death do us part.
18
Celia
I hate the fact that one of the first things I say as his wife is a lie, but I know he wouldn’t have let me talk to Lucas. Especially not on my own again.
Instead of heading upstairs, I spin around and speed walk back to the other side of the house. I saw Lucas go out to the terrace, and I hope that’s where he is now. My high heels click on the tile floor, somehow louder than before.
Stopping, I quickly slip them off to carry them the rest of the way. Wife or not, I don’t think the guards would listen to me and not rat me out to Nic.
Pushing open the terrace door, I step outside and immediately spot Lucas at the edge of the garden. He turns to look at me as I approach and shakes his head, almost like he is disappointed.
“Don’t you have a honeymoon to go on?” He pulls out a pack of cigarettes, flips it open, and places one between his lips.
“I do, but I didn’t want to leave without talking to you. You’ve been ignoring me,” I accuse. “You’re not supposed to ignore the bride at a wedding, you know?”
Tucking the pack back into his pocket, he pulls out a lighter and lights up the cigarette. “It’s not like I wanted to be here. Nic basically forced me to show up.”
“I figured as much. I’m still glad you came, though.”
“Whatever.” He shrugs, blowing out a big cloud of smoke between us.
“I didn’t know you smoke.” I shouldn’t be surprised. After seeing his body all beaten and bruised, it’s clear he doesn’t care much about his health.
“There is a lot about me you don’t know.”
“Maybe I want to know more.”
“We talked about this. We’re not friends, and we’re not family. We might share some genetics, but I couldn’t care less about you.”
I wish his words wouldn’t hurt. I wish I could just brush them off and move on, but something inside me is holding onto the idea that we could actually build a relationship.
“Look. I know what you said before, and believe me, at first, I didn’t want to consider you family either, but things have changed. You might not see me as family, but you do Nic, and I did just marry him.”
“Why did you?” He takes another drag of his cigarette, letting the question linger in the air for a moment.
“Because… I wanted to.” It’s the most honest answer I can come up with at the moment. There are many reasons I shouldn’t have, he’s done more bad to me than good, but I said yes anyway. Why? Because even through all the bad, I feel like we belong together.
“That’s a dumb answer.”
“I guess I don’t have anything smart to tell you. I just feel like we were meant to be. I can’t explain why exactly. Maybe I’m just naive or stupid.” I shrug. “Nic makes me feel alive and free, which is ironic, since he’s basically locked me up since he kidnapped me. Hell, maybe I have Stockholm syndrome.”
“Or maybe you got hit in the head one too many times,” Lucas huffs.
“I’m not the one fighting on the weekend for fun.”
“Is there a reason you came out here, or do you just get a thrill out of getting on my nerves?”
“I just wanted to thank you for coming, even if you didn’t want to be here. It meant a lot to me you were here, and I hope that maybe in the future we can be… friends?”
“I don’t have friends.”
“Then maybe you need me more than you know.”
“I don’t need anyone, and I still don’t like you,” he snaps, flicking his cigarette several feet away.
“Do you still want to kill me?” At my words, Lucas tips his head back and looks into the sky like it holds all the answers. He doesn’t say anything for so long, I think he is done talking to me.
Right before I’m about to walk away, he says, “I don’t hate you anymore.”
A smile tucks on my lips. It’s a baby step, but it’s a step, regardless. Lucas is still looking up into the sky, his arms hanging by his body. Taking the opportunity of him not seeing what I’m about to do, I drop my heels to the ground, throw my arms around him, and pull him in for a hug.
With my cheek pressed against his chest, I can hear his heart beating, which is the only sign that he is alive at all. His whole body is stiff, completely unmoving. I might as well be hugging a tree.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t push me away. For a long moment, we remain in the most awkward hug of the century.
“You’re so fucking annoying,” Lucas finally breaks the silence, making me giggle.
I release him and step away, just in time to see the terrace door fly open.
Shit, I’m in trouble.
19
Nic
“For the tenth time, Nic, everything will be taken care of,” Soo assures me. “Go to your little honeymoon and enjoy a moment of peace.”
“Fine.” I nod. “Where the hell is Celia. How long does it take her to take a damn dress off?”
One of the guards clears his throat to get my attention. “Sir, I think your wife went out onto the terrace.”
“Motherfucker,” I curse, pushing past Soo, who is already shaking his head.
I stomp through the house like I’m on a warpath—because I am. How could she lie to me? Today of all days.
I shove the terrace door open, and my eyes fall onto my brother and Celia, standing closer together than I appreciate. With my blood boiling, I cross the terrace and head for them. Celia takes a few more steps away from Lucas, her eyes pleading with me apologetically.
Too late for that princess.
“What the fuck?”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to talk to him, that’s all.”
“You lied to me.”
“I know. I was sure you wouldn’t let me go if I hadn’t.” She isn’t wrong, but that doesn’t mean I’m any less furious.
I tear my eyes away from her and direct my glare at Lucas, who immediately shakes his head. “Don’t even fucking look at me like that. We both know I didn’t want to be here. I just came out here to enjoy a smoke.”
“Nothing happened,” Celia assures me while picking up her shoes from the grass. “We can go now. Let’s just leave and start our honeymoon.”
“Fine.” I grab her hands and start pulling her away from Lucas. “But don’t think I won’t punish you for lying to me.”
She doesn’t say a word as I march her back inside and across the house to the front door. The car is already waiting for us. “Where are you taking me this time?” she asks as I settle her in the backseat.
Instead of answering her, I give her a punishing kiss and shut the door in her face. But sitting here, riding through town, isn’t all I have planned for my little princess, not after what she did.
Once the car pulls away, I unbuckle my slacks and free my already hardened cock.
“What are you doing?” Her voice is breathy.
“Shut up and get your mouth on my cock,” I order. When she doesn’t move right away, I grab her by the back of her neck and force her head toward my dick. “Open.”
She obeys, parting her lips for me to feed her my cock. I tilt up my hips and shove her head down, making her gag. Her manicured fingernails dig into my thigh, but she doesn’t push me away. Instead
, she moans around my cock.
“That’s right, take me down your throat,” I grunt, fucking her face in earnest. It doesn’t take me long to come. Knowing she is my wife and now mine in every way has my balls tightening and jets of hot cum shooting into her throat.
“Fuck!” I pull out just a bit while I’m still coming, wanting her to taste my semen. “Don’t swallow yet.”
I pull her up to a sitting position. Her lipstick is smeared, and her mascara is running down her flushed cheeks in black streaks. She is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.
“Show me.”
Celia opens her mouth and shows me my cum on her tongue. “Now you can swallow.” Again, she obeys me without question, and even though she doesn’t quite deserve it, I want to reward her for sucking me off so well.
Tucking myself back into my slacks, I shift her hips sideways on the leather seats and slowly raise the hem of her white wedding gown.
I smirk as I work the dress up around her hips so I can remove her panties and open her thighs wider. When I settle my mouth over her heated flesh, she finally gets the picture.
Her hands cup my head as she leans against the car door for support. I don’t give her lead up, going straight for her clit and sucking it between my teeth. She is so hot. In fact, she seems to burn hotter than the sun. The look in her eyes says she wants more, and when she whimpers, it feels like I’ve won something.
I angle her legs over my shoulders to make more room for me between her thighs without breaking contact with her cunt. She’s dripping wet for me, and her legs are heated every time she involuntarily presses them to my cheeks. I delve my tongue into her opening and fuck her with it, leading her up to her orgasm with force. By the time she reaches the edge, she is shivering in my arms, and I’m fighting the urge to flip her over and plunge into her tight little channel. I was planning on taking my time with her tonight, making it all about her pleasure, but that ship sunk when she lied to me.
I plunge my tongue into her and add my hand to work on her clit with my thumb. She struggles and grinds into my face, her fingernails digging into my scalp, and I feel the first rhythmic pulse of her orgasm. She shatters with it, screaming and thrashing against me as I lick her hard to draw out the sensations.
When she’s nothing but a pile of lace on the seat, arm draped over the edge of the leather, I finally lift my head. “Don’t get too comfortable, stellina. I’m only getting started. You belong to me, forever, and I’m going to show you exactly what you have to look forward to.”
20
Celia
When the car stops, Nic exits to come around to my side and lifts me out.
“I can’t walk, you know,” I tell him, but truth be told, I’m not so sure. My entire body is still pulsing from the orgasm he gave me, and I’m not sure my knees know how to hold my weight up at the moment.
I stare up at the hotel we’re walking into. It stretches far up into the sky until the ceiling of the hotel lobby cuts the sight off. Nic doesn’t stop when we get inside, instead marching us straight to the bank of elevators on the far side of the lobby.
Inside, the soft lighting illuminates a beautiful space. If I had more time to sit and stare, I’d love to explore the art and the people. “This place is lovely. How did you find it?”
He nuzzles my ear and hits the elevator button. “It’s my hotel. Well, I own a portion of it.”
I rear away from him so I can see if he’s serious. “You own a hotel?”
“Part of a hotel,” he reminds me, carrying me into the elevator.
I shake my head. Who is this man? And where is the line in his life between the mainstream and the criminal? The thought that this lovely hotel might be a front for some kind of nefarious purpose makes me sad. Everything in my life turns out to be a facade.
“What’s wrong, you were smiling, and then you weren’t?” he says.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. I was just thinking.”
The elevator dings loudly, and the doors slide open. He walks us inside, straight to a single door opposite the shiny chrome elevators. He balances me expertly as he scans the keycard and pushes the door open with his knee. Then he carries me into the hotel room and lets the door shut behind us.
The suite is even more beautiful than the lobby. The immediate room is a living room, complete with a bar and a big-screen TV. Off to the side is an enormous bathroom, a bedroom next to that, and opposite the door, one long bank of windows baring the city below in an incredible view.
“Wow,” I breathe. “Look at that view.”
I squirm in his arms to get him to put me down so I can explore. He carefully sets me on my feet before kneeling and carefully removing my shoes.
“Go, look. I’ll order some food. I want you sated in every way tonight.”
I can’t help but think that declaration sounds naughty, and I like the possibilities. When he steps into the bedroom to call room service, I cross to the window. It’s such a beautiful view. I can’t wait to see it at full dark later. The sun has already sunk below the horizon, but there are still bright streaks of light in the sky right now.
The dress feels itchy across my shoulders. It’s so beautiful, but the lace can chafe so easily.
Nic comes up behind me and boxes me in, his hands against the glass. “The food will be here soon. Do you want me to help you out of this dress?”
I nod. He goes to work on the zipper, and soon I’m standing in a pool of couture. My lingerie doesn’t cover much, and of course, it’s also white lace. A ridiculously impractical color, but I enjoy the way Nic is dragging his gaze up my body like he’s never seen anything so beautiful.
“You’re stunning,” he whispers.
I slide my hands under the lapels of his tuxedo jacket and wrench it off his shoulders. His bow tie joins it. As he smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkle, and I can’t help but smile back at him.
“Anything else you want me to help you slip out of?” he teases.
I shake my head. “Not until after we eat.” My belly lets out a low rumble to punctuate my statement. We spend a few minutes just looking at each other, and for the first time, while I admire the hard lines of his body, I don’t feel guilty.
Every other time he’s touched me, and I enjoyed it, or when he kisses me, and I want more, it’s always tempered with guilt and shame for wanting him, despite our too short and too rocky history.
But right now, I’m going to enjoy the way my husband is looking at me, and I’m going to enjoy touching him in return.
The doorbell rings, and he nudges me toward the couch while he goes to answer the door and collect the food.
When he returns, he carries a tray and sits it on the couch between us. They loaded the plates with various foods: steak, chicken, carbs of all shapes and sizes. A huge piece of cheesecake sits in the corner, and I eye it.
“Eat it if you want it.”
I smile and grab the cake off the tray. He hands me a fork, which I use to devour half of it in a few big bites.
He’s working on the steak when I dig into the chicken. It should feel ridiculous to sit here eating all this food in my underwear. And yet, I can’t bring myself to care.
“Was it everything you wanted?” I ask him between bites. He’d made the wedding how he thought I wanted it, but was it what he wanted too?
The fork pauses on the way to his mouth. “The only thing I wanted at the wedding was you. I’m happy.”
I consider his answer while I finish eating. Part of me thinks I shouldn’t be so pleased by the way he said, ‘I’m happy.’
After he finishes his food, he takes the tray to a table by the door and washes his hands in the bathroom sink.
I head into the bedroom and inspect this new space. The view in this room is equally lovely, so I climb up on the bed and lie down so I can stare out at the skyline. It makes up the entire view past the end of the bed.
Nic enters a moment later, now only in his boxer briefs, and walks a
round the bed to climb in beside me. He lies down next to me and gathers me into the curve of his shoulder.
When I place my hand on his chest, I feel the heavy thump of his heart under my palm. Feeling bold and deciding that for once, I’m not going to wait for him to turn me inside out, I run my hand down his chest to his belly.
“What are you doing, stellina?” he asks, his tone full of humor.
I shrug. “Exploring my husband, I suppose.”
He doesn’t say anything more when I tuck my hand under the waistband of his boxer briefs. His cock is already hard, and I reach in and draw him out. To make it easier, he wiggles out of his underwear to toss them away.
Now, I can really look at him. He’s thick and long and growing harder as I explore him with my fingers.
I sit up and shuffle down so I can take him in my mouth. When I look up the line of his body, he locks eyes with me. I’m not sure what I see in his gaze, but it’s different from the way he usually looks at me. There’s something softer there, something warmer.
I gently lick his head and slide my mouth around it and give him a lingering suck.
He arches his hips toward me. And in that moment, for the first time, I feel a sense of power, of control, I’ve never felt before.
I want more. More of the salty taste of him. More of his ragged breathing. More of his fingers tangled in my hair. Bobby pins slip out of my tresses and pool around us on the white bedspread.
I lower my head and take more of him. When I gag, he tugs me back up. But I don’t give up that easily. I try again, this time taking him deeper.
“Relax your throat, princess, and you can take all you want. Remember when you did before?”
I grip the base of him and shift to anchor over the top of him. Then I slide my mouth down his length again until, finally, I can brush my nose against his hip. His ragged pant turns into a grunt as I rise up and repeat the motion.
