by Ladew, Lisa
Katerina blushed and thanked him.
Jordan handed out the last glass of champagne and found a spoon to bang on hers. “Another toast! Who has something else to say?” she cried.
Brody sat forward and held up his glass. “A toast to love and laughter and happily ever after,” he said, then clinked classes with everyone in the backseat.
“Ooooh, good one,” Jordan said. “Who else?”
Blaise and Agnes only smiled at the happy couple when Jordan looked at them so she took center stage again. “Okay, I have a few.” She pressed her lips together in a look of determination and then started.
“Here’s to the groom with bride so fair, and here’s to the bride with groom so rare!”
Katerina laughed and clapped her hands together. This was a side of Jordan she had never seen before. “More,” she said to her friend.
Jordan didn’t even miss a beat. “May your love be like the misty rain, gentle coming in but flooding the river - that’s your department, eh West?” She waggled her eyebrows at West and everyone laughed.
Katerina felt the stress of a lifetime fall from her. She knew the darkness was over now. Nothing could touch her ever again. Her friend would speak blessing after blessing over them and they would have the perfect life. “Another,” she pleaded.
“Without love, the world itself would not survive,” Jordan said, looking like she was just warming up. “May the saddest day of your future be no worse, than the happiest day of your past.”
Katerina saw Blaise looking at Jordan with a new, amazed light in his eye. She caught his gaze and winked at him. He was getting a little more than he bargained for. Probably a little more than he knew how to handle.
Jordan had a few more toasts to give. “May the most you wish for be the least you get. May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.” She took a swallow of her drink. “Ok, one more for all!”
She looked around at each of them in turn. “May God be with you and bless you, May you see your children’s children, May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings. May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.”
Everyone held their glasses out and clinked in the center. “Hear, hear!” West boomed and Katerina felt a new, powerful emotion bloom in her chest. Had a wedding day ever been more perfect?
Jordan had been right, this was a day she could look back at and unpack carefully, no matter how bad things got, and remember that there was perfect, divine light in this world.
***
West pulled Katerina into the nightclub next to their hotel excitedly. He’d rented them a balcony away from much of the noise and crowds, a place where they could relax. But he planned on partying a little, on shaking things up. He remembered back to the first night he ever met Katerina - they’d danced that night, but they had never done it since. Now they had a lifetime of dancing ahead of them and she would be his one and only dance partner.
Fierce longing and protectiveness rose up in him. He would never let her go. She was his - she’d stood before God and witnesses and pledged to love him forever, then taken his name. He couldn’t wait to get Mrs. Shepherd alone - couldn’t wait to slip that silky, white dress off of her and worship the body beneath it. He planned on making sure their wedding night was as memorable as their actual wedding.
As West threaded his way through the throngs of people, he pulled out his phone and sent off a quick text. He led his small group up to their table on the second floor where they could see everyone and everything. “Put your stuff down, dance if you want to, we have this balcony until they close.”
He watched Jordan pull Blaise away with a huge smile on her face. He was glad to see those two getting along so well. He’d never seen Blaise so happy, even in the face of the devastating injury he’d recently suffered. But Jordan had nursed him back to health quickly. Or maybe that had been all Katerina’s doing.
His father tapped him on the shoulder. “Agnes took off. She said she can’t handle loud places like this.”
“Oh that’s too bad,” West said. “Is she feeling okay?”
Sam looked out over the dance floor. “She seemed fine. I’ll check in on her later.”
“Thanks, Dad,” West said. Sam looked him in the eyes and West saw something simmering underneath the surface. But Sam didn’t say it, he hugged his son and moved away. “I see some chicas on the dance floor I want to say hi to.”
West laughed. His father thought he was still a young buck sometimes. West approved, thinking it might keep him young and slow the awful disease that had him in its grips.
Brody had already disappeared, saying hi to a stunning redhead on the way in and never even making it up to the table. West bet he’d have her back at his hotel room within a few hours. But it didn’t matter - no one would be happier than he was tonight. He’d married Katerina, and that meant his happiness was assured for a lifetime.
And kids! She’d said two. A boy and a girl maybe. Or maybe two girls – two tiny replicas of their beautiful mother. Maybe they would start trying tonight. Could life get any sweeter?
He turned to Katerina and saw her tapping her feet to the music as she watched the crowds on the dance floor.
He took her hand and pulled her away from the railing, turning her to him. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, telling her with his eyes how much he loved her.
“Mrs. Shepherd, may I have this dance?”
She brought her hand to her mouth and covered it like a seventies pinup girl. “Why Mr. Shepherd, I’d be delighted.”
West pulled her in close, unable to resist her coyness. He covered her mouth with his own and kissed her deeply, tenderly, but only for a moment. They had to get down to the dance floor and quickly.
When they reached the first floor, people parted easily for them, some whispering and pointing, probably because they still had on their wedding outfits.
The music stopped and the voice of the DJ filled the room, finding its own beat. “All right, all tight, my babes and busters. I’ve got one tiny request for you. Clear the dance floor one and all, stand back and feast your eyes on the first dance as husband and wife of Mr. and Mrs. West Shepherd.”
Katerina’s hand stiffened in West’s and he pulled her close, then stepped onto the dance floor and invited her to follow. The first chords of Better Together by Jack Johnson filled the room and West saw Katerina’s eyes move nervously over the crowd, who had indeed cleared the dance floor.
He tugged her gently to him and she finally looked at him. He smiled, and she smiled back. She was his. Silky strands of her hair fell around her face, framing it in a bewitching manner. She softened and went to him.
West pulled her to him, and they flowed around the dance floor, as people clapped and whistled.
“West, when did you do this?” she whispered in his ear.
“The moment we set the date and decided for sure it would be here in Hawaii. I knew we wouldn’t have many people here to celebrate with us, so I wanted to give you the feel of a big wedding, even if I couldn’t give you the big wedding.”
“You’re amazing,” she sighed.
“I am,” he told her.
“Don’t get a big head, now.” she laughed.
“Never.”
They danced and they danced, and even when the crowds came back on the dance floor and pressed against them, West felt like they were the only two people on the planet.
Chapter 10
Katerina allowed herself to be led away from the nightclub, back to their hotel. The hotel she had almost started to think of as home. They’d lived there for weeks now, eating every meal out, having other people clean up after them, relaxing, and delighting in their love for each other. But she would follow wherever West went.
The humid night air pressed against them. It was just after midnight, and Jordan and Blaise were still dancing the night away. Katerina was on too much of a high to feel tired herself, but she knew wh
ere they were going. To their marriage bed. Their first night of passion as husband and wife. A secret thrill went through her as she relished the thought. West always brought her to new levels of ecstasy and she knew he had something planned tonight. Something big.
He pulled her into the lobby and right past the elevators. “Aren’t we going upstairs?” she asked.
“Not just yet,” he said. He pulled her out the back door and she noticed at once the entrance to the pool was blocked by large partitions. In fact, the entire area of the pool that she could see was blocked from sight. A sign read, Pool area closed for private party. Katerina could see a soft, flickering glow bouncing off the partitions, into the sky. The ocean breezes picked up her hair and rustled the flowers behind her ears.
West took her around the first partition to where a man was sitting in a chair. The man nodded. “Mr. Shepherd,” he said, and stood, then put a key in the lock on the gate, letting them in, then swinging the gate shut behind them.
West led them around another partition. Beyond it lay the pool, and what Katerina could only guess to be at least a million candles, all lit, creating a soft, seductive radiance that took her breath away.
“West,” she began, the tears starting in her eyes again. She’d never been romanced like this in her life. She carefully packed the memory away in the hope chest of her mind, just like the memory of the wedding. Even if he never did another romantic thing for her in her life, which seemed unlikely, she would remember this one and own it forever as proof of his love for her.
He smiled at her, cutting off her thoughts, and led her down a candle-lined path to a large cabana with a couch, table, and chairs. On the table sat more candles, strawberries, two slim glasses with an ice-bucket and champagne, and a chocolate fountain. A table in the back was lined with other food, more solid stuff, but Katerina ignored it. The only thing she was hungry for was West.
West placed her gently into one of the chairs, then fed her a strawberry. He held a flute of champagne to her lips and watched her take a sip. “Mrs. Shepherd, your wish is my command this evening. Anything you want, it’s yours. All you have to do is say the word.”
Katerina sighed, her breath mingling with the breeze coming through the open flaps of the cabana. “It’s so lovely, West.”
“Not as lovely as you.”
Katerina caught his fingers and pulled him to her. He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Mrs. Shepherd, what is your desire?”
“Only you,” Katerina said softly. “You forever and ever.”
West dropped to his knees in front of her and spanned her waist with his hands. “You have me. Forever. I swear it.”
He claimed her mouth, his intense need and desire obvious. Katerina ran her hands through his hair, feeling her breath flying from her lungs in pants and gasps. Their wedding had been foreplay, the dancing almost sex with their clothes on. But here they finally were, alone. West plundered her mouth, the sensual feel of his tongue sliding against her winding through her body, making her shudder with sensation.
Finally, he released her mouth and gazed into her eyes. She could feel the humid night air pressing on her. He inclined his head towards the bench at the rear of the cabana. “I brought your swimsuit.”
Katerina stood, feeling her body throb with need. West stood with her and slid his hand down her arm as she walked to her suit. She turned back to him. “You want to swim?”
He shrugged. “I want to do anything you want to do. I thought you might enjoy candlelight swimming on your wedding night. Or we could walk down to the ocean. They’ve cordoned off our section of beach, so it’s completely private.”
Katerina thought of Jordan and Blaise and the experience they’d shared out on the naked beach. Did she dare? She gave West the tiniest of grins and sashayed over to him. “Unzip me,” she said, turning around.
West pulled her zipper down, slowly, his hand caressing the skin of her back. Katerina stepped out of the dress carefully and folded it, placing it on the bench next to her bathing suit. She heard a quick intake of breath behind her. She turned to see West gazing at her, lust and desire written clearly on his face.
“Now unhook me,” she ordered, turning again. She could have stepped out of the corset, but she wanted his hands on her.
West did as he was told, finally pulling the corset from her body. Katerina bent, hoping he was watching closely, and rolled her panties down to the floor, stepping out of them neatly. She pulled the flowers from her hair, then the pins, and placed everything on the table, clearly feeling the masculine energy pulsing behind her as West watched her movements. Then she walked out of the cabana, bold as love, completely naked, and dove into the deep end of the pool. Katerina opened her eyes underwater, loving the flicker of the candles above the surface of the pool, looking so much like uncertain moonlight.
She reached the far end of the pool, flipped, took a practiced breath, and headed back towards where she had left West.
She surfaced, water flowing deliciously off of her, and looked for West, still standing in the shadows of the cabana. She crossed her arms on the side of the pool and kicked her feet. “Come on in, I won’t bite.”
West chuckled hotly but didn’t move. She saw his jacket come off, then his vest and shirt. She watched the outline of his muscles move fluidly with his actions. God, he was hot. Over six feet of muscled, man-candy. She could watch him all night. Off came his shoes, then his pants. Katerina held her breath. He pulled off his boxers, standing naked and sumptuous, only hesitating for a second. He walked toward her and Katerina could see him in the candlelight. Her eyes focused on his erection and satisfaction spread through her.
He lowered himself into the water, his cock jutting magnificently out in front of him. Before it could disappear under the surface, Katerina caught it in her hand, her tongue aching to taste him. To tease him.
She positioned herself in front of him and he groaned in anticipation.
“I’m surprised at you, Katerina,” he choked out before she could get her mouth on him. Her grip and her resolve wilted.
“Surprised?” she asked.
He looked pointedly at her hand, then looked straight up at the hotel. Katerina followed his gaze. There were less balconies on this side of the hotel, only the most expensive suites faced the ocean directly, but they did exist. In her brief glance, Katerina did not see one person, but her heart leapt into her throat. She hadn’t thought of the balconies!
“Oh my God!” she squeaked, grabbing West and pulling him into the water and ducking so her bare breasts dropped under the surface. West chuckled, his deep voice reverberating around the enclosed area.
“Is this what you were planning?” she hissed at him.
“I thought maybe we could take a moonlight swim, then have a little fun in the cabana,” he told her, taking her in his arms. “It’s open to the night air, but no one can see us in there.”
“Oh,” she said, laying her head on his chest.
“But I like this idea too,” West said, gathering her wet hair over one shoulder and kissing her neck on the other side.
“No, West, no way,” she breathed, her core heating up again, even through the cooling effects of the water swirling around her.
“No one is watching,” West rasped, the sandpaper in his voice fueling her ever-present desire for him.
“You don’t know that,” she offered weakly as he kissed her collarbone, his stubble raking deliciously over her soft skin, causing tingles to slither up and down her spine.
“Just give me a minute,” he breathed, pulling her in closer. “You feel so good. Now that I’ve got you naked against me, I don’t want to let you go.”
Katerina allowed herself to be pulled up close to him, feeling his erection pulse hotly between them. Her skin slipped liquidly against his, the sensation only increasing her desire.
She tilted her head back, giving West greater access to her neck, but also looking up, searching for someone watching them. She saw no one, but that di
dn’t mean anything. West’s lips increased their pressure on the spots he knew to be the most sensitive on her and she sucked in a breath, caught on the cusp of a decision. No one could see anything right now that they wouldn’t see on any street in the country.
She dropped her attention back to West and his talented lips. His hands slipped under her ass, pulling her closer. Katerina wrapped her legs around him and surrendered herself to him, letting him ply her with kisses, with words of love, with hot passion that threatened to undo her.
West ran a hand up her back into her hair and she gazed directly into his eyes.
“I love you,” he said, as if the words came of their own accord, as if he couldn’t not say them.
“I love you too,” she responded, and dropped a hand between them, finding his cock, loving the way the expression on his rugged face hardened at her touch.
With one deft movement, Katerina grasped his erection and slipped it to her entrance, feeling it throbbing there.
West’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, seeming to ask her, did she really want to do this?
She did. “Yes, West,” she breathed. She could do something out of character just this once. She could tack on a night of wild, public sex to the memories of this day she never wanted to forget.
He needed no more encouragement. He pulled her hips down sharply and filled her completely. She moaned into his neck as the sensation of fullness went on and on. She tried to wriggle her hips, create friction that would send her over the edge, but West pushed her against the wall of the pool, then pinned her wrists to her sides, effectively holding her completely still.
He locked gazes with her, demanding her complete surrender, telling her he was in charge of their love-making. He would decide when and how she could respond. It made her mad with desire when he behaved like that and he knew it, slowly ramping it up each time they made love, trying to find her limit. So far, they hadn’t found one.
Katerina whimpered and bared her neck to him. She was completely and totally his to command. Whatever he wanted, whatever he needed, whatever he demanded.
