by Zoe Dawson
“By the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride”
Jared breathed a sigh of pure joy. It was done. His Poe was finally as bound to him in law as she was in spirit. He bent his head and pressed his mouth to hers, felt her lips trembling, and realized he wasn’t so steady either. Then he simply held her for a few moments.
He had to admit that he was just a bit worried about being a father. Shoot, what did he know about babies? They were so tiny and fragile, and he got a scared feeling in the pit of his stomach thinking about holding his child. He would have to think about planning for college and make sure to work hard enough to grow his business to support his wife and child…children, eventually.
Then there was night feedings and diapers, braces and teenage angst. And, if they had a girl….another whole slew of emotions and worries.
Now he was married. That meant something to him. He wasn’t the kind of man who gave his commitment lightly. He was dedicated to Poe every step of the way. But they’d had such a fast, whirlwind of a relationship, he wasn’t sure they’d ever gotten a moment to catch their breath.
He’d barely gotten out of the military and had to deal with all the crap from his wounding. But she’d bowled him over. There was no turning back, and he didn’t want to. He was just thinkin’ about things.
And he was starting to feel a little freaked out.
Pushing the worries to the back of his mind, he decided that dealing with them would be important, but he could wait. Wait until they were finished with their wedding and honeymoon. He didn’t want to make Poe feel any more on edge than she probably was already.
He’d noted that she’d been a little distant since she’d discovered she was pregnant. It wasn’t anything overt. She still melted into him, gave him everything he wanted. But that closeness they had experienced when first they’d pledged their love was absent.
He hadn’t asked her about it because he wasn’t sure he was ready to hear what she might say. He wasn’t sure how she really felt about any of this whirlwind ride they were on. Maybe that lack of communication was making things a bit tense between them.
When they stepped back out of their hug, everyone clapped.
The reception went very smoothly and the bat cake was a big hit. When it came time for their first dance, Jared took Poe’s hand and led her onto the dance floor.
He took her into his arms, and the rightness of the moment was like waking up Christmas morning, getting that job you knew was yours all along, walking on the beach at sunset and sunrise all rolled in one. He loved this woman more than he loved life. His worries seemed like dark nightmares that had evaporated in the bright light of day.
His one and only Poe.
Poe.
Poe.
He pulled her close and, even though there were so many eyes on them, he only had eyes for her. He stared down into her midnight blue eyes. Poe was now his whole life. Just a few weeks, and he was hogtied and branded by her searing and total love.
“You’re looking at me like I’m a mission that you have every intention of taking on until it’s quite complete.”
“If you’re asking me if I can wait for our wedding night…um, the answer is no. Yeehaw, darlin’,” he whispered.
“You’ll have to wait. I want to wear my gorgeous wedding dress for a bit longer…then, my beautiful, wonderful, hard-as-a-rock husband, I’ll be wearing you.”
He let out a heated breath, and she closed her eyes pressing her face into his chest.
“You trying to make me harder?”
“Is it working?”
“Affirmative. And, it’s a good thing this tux is a bit loose in my nether parts, otherwise everyone else would see how well your teasing is working.”
“Can you wait until we get to Gonzo to consummate?”
“Gonzo?”
“Ooops. I keep thinking it’s Gonzo. He’s my favorite Muppet.”
“Muppet?”
“OMG! The Muppets, Jared. Surely, you know Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy…Fozzie.”
“Wait. Are you kidding? I can’t wait another five minutes. I’m a man.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I think it would be like dangerous to my….”
“Ego?”
“No. You know, to my dick.”
“Ooooh, if you’re going to start talking dirty, that’s a challenge. And, there’s no waiting until we get there.”
“Well, I want my dick deep inside you. How much longer you gonna wanna wear that dress?”
She pulled up on her toes and placed her lips against his ear. “Oh, you mean, this pretty, gorgeous ballerina dress that I waited my whole life to wear at my wedding. That dress? Or are you talking about the garter rig I have under the skirt that’s holding up these stockings? Or the barely there strapless bra, that’s lacy, black and sheer covering my ginormous pregnancy breasts? Or could it be the thong I have on that’s snug against my full girl hard-on because my husband is so sexy, so muscled, so, so fuckable right now? Or maybe these spiky heels that make my legs look a million miles long even though I’m rocking a slight mommy belly?”
He groaned softly and buried his face in her neck. “I think I just came in my pants, and if I didn’t, I just had a mind orgasm. Fuckable? Poe, you had go there when we still have the rest of this reception to get though?”
“You started it. You know how I have the tendency to blurt out whatever is on my mind.”
“Well, now, I’m hurting bad.”
She pressed up against him. The torture almost unbearable.
“Well, I think this reception hall is only one flight below the roof. Who would be up there?”
“We haven’t cut the cake yet. That’s, like, going to be soon.”
“I think we can make it.”
She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the dim hall, while the slow song they had been dancing to still had another couple of minutes on it.
She might have a baby belly, and 4-inch heels on, but the girl could move. He was so hard, so ready for her, every movement was pure agony.
As soon as they hit the roof, with Vegas spread out below them, the neon like a huge kaleidoscope, he was panting, and it had nothing to do with the breakneck pace up those stairs.
He pushed her against the wall right next to the door, unable to wait another millisecond. “Poe,” he said softly, urgently.
There was no need to give his girl orders. Her hands were already at his waistband. Her eyes stayed on his, full of the knowledge that when his voice sounded like it had just sounded, he needed her now, fast and…just fucking now.
This was it, the consummation of their love on a roof in Vegas. Is that what he wanted? He grabbed her hand and she frowned. “Jared? What….?
“This is our first time as a married couple. I don’t want to take you on a roof….”
She looked up at him with eyes swimming with desire and sudden tears, her skin flushed and feverish. “Oh, Jared, I love you so much. It doesn’t matter where we are. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you. Just you.”
“Ah, sugar. I love you, too.”
“Good, now let go of my wrist.”
He complied as she rasped the zipper down and delved inside, sliding her hand over the hard length of him. He gritted his teeth, thinking frantically of basketball to keep himself from losing it.
She nipped at his jaw and massaged him with her fingers, and he groaned, losing his focus. She grabbed his hand and guided him beneath the tulle of the skirt, slid his hand up her leg, past the lacy band of her stockings. “Jared, touch me.”
She groaned and trembled when he slipped two fingers beneath the throng strap and pushed it aside, delving into the moist heat of her.
She came immediately, biting her bottom lip as her release pulsated against his fingers.
Then she slipped her hands around his backside and pushed at his pants. He couldn’t even wait for her to push them off him.
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“Wrap your legs around me,” he said, his tone low and rough.
Curling his hands under her bottom, he pulled her forward, spread her legs, and lifted her all in one smooth motion, till her thighs clamped against his hips. He shoved forward, entering her in a long, hard thrust that took him deep, deep into his beautiful, welcoming Poe.
She came again, crying out softly, and his restraint nearly shattered.
She wrapped her arms around his neck so tight it was hard for his heaving chest to expand. Every time he took her, every time they came together, it was so good. He tried to make it last, but this time he lost control of himself. Her breath was hot and moist against his throat, labored; and with a hard, convulsive shudder, he let go and went over, drowning in his release and the feel of his beautiful wife, holding him to her.
For a moment he stood there, his breathing ragged, his face buried in her neck. She caressed the back of his head. He turned his head to kiss her throat and the pulse of her heart beat against his mouth.
Her life was his, and a hot pressure formed at the back of his eyes. Her life and the child that grew inside her.
His for life.
Chapter Six
“What are we going to do about Harper sleeping with Nate, Jared?”
They were sitting on the plane, on their way to Malta, where they would catch the ferry over to Gonzo. She giggled to herself. Poe was excited about spending seven days on the smaller, sleepier, more tranquil sister island to Malta.
“I think you’re worrying about it too much. Harper told you it was a wedding hook-up. That’s all it was, and if anyone is able to compartmentalize, it’s Harper.”
“Don’t I know it? One day a man is going to come along that she won’t be able to resist. She deserves the best, but it’s going to take a pretty strong man to tame Harper.”
“You love those women, don’t you?”
“Yes. I do, and I’m going to miss them so much.” She brushed at her eyes. “Damn these pregnancy hormones. And, they weren’t kidding about the memory problems and fuzzy brain. I forgot to pack my toothbrush, and I haven’t had a chance to buy anything new for this trip.”
“Sugar, you aren’t going to need any clothes.”
She gave him a heated look. “Don’t you start. I’m not a member of the Mile High Club, but mister, if you keep looking at me like that, we might have our initiation right here.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he said, leaning over and brushing his mouth along her jaw.
“Are you getting worn out?” she smirked.
“Never.”
“Do you think, between the screwing that you’re apparently planning—based on your comment about me not needing clothes—that we could do some shopping? Pretty please. At the very least I need a bathing suit.”
He tilted his head and frowned.
“Okay, I’ll make it a bikini.”
He smiled. “Yes, and you can get a of couple pretty dresses. We’ll pop over to Malta for dinner a couple of nights so you can wear them. Deal?”
“You are the bestest husband.”
Poe needed a nap when they finally made it to Harper’s beautiful villa. Phaedra Cangelosi and her cute little greyhound, Helu, greeted them at the house. Phaedra was an adorable, willowy blond with riotously curly hair. She gave them a quick tour and said she planned to prepare all their meals herself. When Jared mentioned they were going to eat out, Phaedra, with her beautiful Maltese accent that sounded very close to Italian, let them know that was biss multa, just fine.
While Jared made some neglected business calls, Poe went to the well-appointed bedroom and stretched out on the bed. She fell asleep pretty quickly, but raucous voices woke her. She rose and looked out the window. Down on the beach were four children roughhousing past with a woman who was chasing them in and out of the surf, making them laugh.
Poe stood there frozen for a nauseous moment, then ran for the bathroom, emptying her stomach into the commode.
She closed her eyes at the sick sensation that consumed her, trying to get her rolling stomach to settle. Without warning tears threatened, but she pushed them back. Her freaking hormones were making her lose it.
She was not going to ruin Jared’s time here. It was only for a week. She could handle that. She really hadn’t been plagued with morning sickness.
Those children and that mother had looked like they were having so much fun. She had to wonder if it was as simple to be a mother as that idyllic scene she’d just witnessed implied. She very much doubted it.
Oh, God. Fear like she’d never felt before settled in her tummy, and she closed her eyes. Being a mother…Oh God, that couldn’t be easy. Could it? What if she sucked at it? What if she was so terrible that her poor children were scarred for life?
With that thought, all the uncertainties Poe had been trying to keep at bay washed over her. She pressed her back against the wall and fought them off, an anxious, nauseating feeling settling in her abdomen.
She gathered her broken composure like picking up shattered glass, very carefully. Then she dumped all those emotions into a compartment marked. Fragile. Handle with Care. She would pretend she was just tired, and her ability to cope was at a low point. And the upset stomach was just morning sickness. That would work. It had to work.
She rose, rinsed out her mouth, and went to find Jared.
He was in the pool, lying on a raft in the sun, when she finally found him. “Well, it didn’t take you long to find the beer and get into lazy bum mode.
“Nope,” he said, chuckling.
“Could we go shopping for that bathing suit now? I really want to play in the ocean.”
He slipped off the raft, swam to the edge of the pool across from her, set his bottle on the lip of the pool. Facing away from her, he placed his hands on the lip and with a mighty heave, he pulled himself out.
Poe sighed. The man did have a yummy back.
He came around the pool and kissed her. Then his smile faded. “You okay?”
She stayed far away from that well-labeled box and said, “Yes, why?”
His attention still fixed on her, he said. “I don’t know. You looked peaked.”
“Oh, I’m okay.”
Catching her under the chin, Jared tipped her head back and solemnly studied her. He stared into her eyes, concern in his. “Are you sure?”
She nodded, feeling suddenly close to tears, again. Geez, enough already with the hormones. His earnest expression almost made her spill. It was on the tip of her tongue to just tell him how she was feeling, but at the last minute she smiled and slapped his wet butt. “Yes, hurry up. I want to explore Gonzo.”
“Yes, ma’am. And, are you going to call it Gonzo the whole time we’re here?”
“That was my crazy Poe plan.”
He chuckled as he walked into the house, but once he was out of sight, she pressed her hand to her stomach. Her apprehension ticked up a notch, but she swallowed it down. She tried to loosen her shoulders. But even that didn’t help. She was getting wound up, and that wasn’t good, but she could handle it. She was a vet and very good under pressure.
Thinking about her job and the opportunities Mrs. Craig had bestowed on her escalated to a feeling of desperation.
How was she even going to explain this to her?
She closed her eyes and stewed, pulling herself together only when she heard Jared walking back out of the villa. Harper, bless her, had also provided them with transportation.
For the rest of the afternoon Poe thoroughly enjoyed herself with Jared. She dragged him to shop after shop until they walked into one that had a ton of bathing suits.
Jared groaned softly.
But, she squealed with delight. “OMG! A Gonzo suit.”
Jared chuckled and shook his head when she ran to the rack, pulled the bright cobalt blue suit out and held it up to her. Then she saw the smile fade from his face replaced with a healthy dose of male interest. He got closer and reached out to tug on one of the strings…
and it came undone easily.
She looked down at the suit. “Oh my, it will barely cover my hoo-haw.”
“I like the strings,” he said softly. “Easy access.”
She nudged him. “You are a bad man.” She gave him a wicked grim. “I like that about you.”
After paying for the suit they had lunch. Poe was feeling much better. She pulled out the information Harper had written down about what to do and see on Gonzo and laughed to herself. That Harper never missed a detail.
Jared agreed that they should explore the megalithic Ġgantija temples, believed to be even older than the Egyptian pyramids, and they were spectacular. There was even an audio of the history that they listened to, spending about an hour there, walking around hand in hand and enjoying each other’s company.
Back at the villa, Phaedra made gozitan ravjul, a ravioli stuffed with the local cheese. It was delicious. Once she’d left, Poe and Jared donned their bathing suits and headed toward the beach. The sun had gone down, and the night was warm with the scent of salt in the air, the water looking turquoise in the moonlight. There was a steady breeze blowing off the ocean as the waves made a soothing, lapping noise that helped Poe find some relief from her terrible, twisting anxiety.
She lay against Jared’s chest as he propped himself comfortably against a rock.
“How did it go with your phone calls?”
“Business as usual. Everything seems to be running smoothly. But I told Lacy not to bother me for anything.”
Poe snuggled closer.
She couldn’t suppress the thoughts that popped into her head. Once again, she thought about how nothing was changing for Jared. As soon as he got back to New York City, he would go off to work, happy as could be.
She would have to make a decision about what she was going to do. Torn again between her job and her child. She didn’t want to work full time. She wanted enough flexibility to be there for the baby. But then her Columbia education, the one her mother sacrificed for, would be for nothing.
“Sugar, you all right?”
Poe heart jolted and then started racing. “Yes. Why?”
