Winter

by Michelle Love

  Alexis

  Madge was completely ticked off that I told her I was taking a four day weekend to get married and have a little bit of a honeymoon. She told me I was not holding up my end of the contract and I told her I didn’t give two flips about it. My soon to be husband could buy me out of that easily and if she wanted me to return after the four days to finish I would or she could find someone else. It didn’t matter to me at all.

  She caved and said she’d see me on Tuesday. I sit next to Max on his private jet as we cruise at a high altitude to Las Vegas. My stomach is a little jittery as I think about becoming his wife and all that entails. I look up at him then lay my head on his broad shoulder.

  His hand runs through my hair. “You ready for this, love?”

  “More than ready. I want us to be married like yesterday, Max.”

  His soft lips brush the top of my head as his hand takes mine and squeezes it. “Me too. I find myself thinking about how long we’ve been together, with all the stupid things in between. I’m thinking how, if we would’ve gotten married in the beginning how much could have been avoided.”

  “How dull is that, Max. Then there wouldn’t be any ups and downs and I think every couple should experience them, don’t you?” I ask.

  He laughs and his chest vibrates and I remember how much I love this feeling. “Okay, whatever you say, princess. I guess you didn’t mind all the near death stuff, but I kinda did.”

  I laugh. “You’re so sensitive. Near death you call it, I call those experiences life changing. I know it brought me to a whole new level of understanding and I think it did a lot for you too.”

  “I never told you this, but your new found love for all things and acceptance of the most horrific things I found to be annoying.” He ends his insult with a sweet kiss to my cheek.

  “Wow! Annoying, huh?” I look at him and find him smiling.

  “I don’t anymore, Lex.” His lips touch mine and take all the ire out of me.

  As he pulls his lips from mine I ask, “Do you suppose a day will come when your kiss doesn’t make me forget everything but you?”

  “I hope not,” he says with a laugh. “Yours does the same for me. You don’t know how hard I fought not to run to you when I told you to leave. I knew if you kissed me I would change my mind. In hindsight, I wish you had.”

  The pilot comes on the speaker, “Please fasten your seatbelts you two because we’re here!”

  “OMG!” I say and find I’m so giddy.

  Max gives me that monster great smile he has, and it’s time.

  Max

  I’m waiting in our hotel room for Lexi to change into the dress that we picked out, and it’s making me crazy how long she’s taking. I had my tux on an hour ago. I should have taken her to get her hair and make-up done, but she wouldn’t allow it, stating I needed to be looking at a version of the real her and not something someone created on her face.

  The door cracks open a bit and I spot her, then she almost shuts it again, but I jump up and run to grab it. “Just come out here and let me take a look at you. I know you’re being hard on yourself, like you always are.”

  She moans and lets the door go so I can pull it open. My eyes look up and down her gorgeous body as the white dress clings in places it should and flows over the areas it needs to. I smile and she smiles back. “So you like it?” she asks.

  I shake my head and see her frown. “Lexi, I love it, baby. You look gorgeous.” I take her in my arms and quickly grab the boxes with the rings in them and hurry her out the door.

  “Goodness, Max!” she says as I hurry her down the long hallway. “What’s the rush?”

  “Seriously?” I ask as I pause, but then hurry along again. “I have to get us hitched before something goes wrong and stops us again. I wish I had some power to teleport us to the little chapel thingy.”

  “What could happen?” she asks as I pull her along.

  “Don’t even ask that!” I say and pick up my pace.

  “I have on heels, you silly nitwit.”

  I slow a bit. I’d pick her up and carry her if she’d let me, but I know she won’t let me go that far. We chose a hotel only a short distance from the little white chapel where we decided would be the best place to get married in. It looks a lot like a tiny church.

  With only one street to cross I pray one of us doesn’t get hit by a bus or something worse. I stop at the street corner and see cars coming from both directions. “Damn traffic!”

  “Max, really the cars are far enough away, we can make it across.”

  I look at her in astonishment. “Lexi, this is you and me we’re talking about here. Only the worst things happen to us, remember. No, we’ll wait until there are no cars.”

  “But look, the signal says we can go.” She points up at the sign that tells us we can walk.

  “Look at those cars waiting at the red light. They could take off at any time and that would be just our luck. No, we wait until there are no threats.” I look nervously around to be sure there are no other hidden dangers lurking around to mess this up.

  My cell phone rings and I take it out of my pocket. “Who is that?” she asks.

  “Hilda,” I say as I answer. “Hello, Hilda. No, not yet. We’re waiting to cross the street. I’ll call you when we’re married, I promise.”

  “You have her nervous too, Max. Calm the diddly do down Mr. Fraidy Cat!”

  Finally I see cars, but they’re far away. I look at Lexi and decide I can take no chances, so I scoop her up and walk quickly across the street as she pounds at my chest and yells, “Put me down!”

  Once safely across I do as she demands and take her hand and hurry to go inside the chapel. As we enter the small thing, I close the door behind us and say, “Safe!”

  Lexi smooths out her dress as an older woman approaches us with a sweet smile. “I suppose you two want to get married.”

  I nod and say, “We do. How long will it take?”

  “Well, it’ll be a bit. The minister just stepped out for lunch. You can wait or come back in about an hour or so.” The woman looks so sweet and I have to fight the urge to strangle her.

  I take Lexi’s hand and hold it to my heart. “But the sign says, open twenty-four hours.”

  “We are, darlin’ but the man was starving. He’s been real busy today. I have some champagne if you care to wait.” She gestures for us to follow her and I look at Lexi.

  “I guess we wait, or should we go on to the next one?” I ask.

  “Let’s wait. I like the way this one looks,” she says. So I lead her to where the lady has gone and we sit on one of the pews as she pours us something to drink and we wait.

  My heart is pounding and I drink the awful tasting stuff down in one long gulp. “How much longer do you think?” I ask the lady who smiles.

  “I’ll get you the papers to fill out so as soon as he gets here he can get started, okay?” She walks away and I get up and pace back and forth then decide that’s a dangerous thing to do. I could fall and break my leg, get a blood clot and die.

  Lexi is so damn calm and I can’t see how, she must be hiding her fears. “Don’t worry, Lexi, everything will be fine.”

  “Duh, I know,” she says with a laugh. “Come on, Max. Chillax a little. I know you don’t want me to say anything to tempt fate, but we’re here already. We made it.”

  I pat the pocket with the ring boxes in it and pull them out to look at them to be sure they’re in there and that hasn’t been messed up. As I open the boxes I blink to be sure I’m seeing what I’m seeing. “Look, Lex.” I hold the boxes out for her to inspect.

  “Yes, Max, the rings are there, safe and sound.” Her hand touches mine and she closes both lids and then her lips touch mine.

  It all goes quiet in my head and my arms wrap around her. Lost in her sweet kiss I finally calm down.

  Someone clears their throat behind me and I reluctantly pull my mouth from hers and turn to find a short, old man. He’s holding a Bible and
has a smile on his round face.

  “Looks like you two are in a hurry to get married.”

  “You have no idea how long we’ve waited and how much we’ve been through,” I say. “The story is long and there are way too many sad parts. So if you could get us married already, it would be such a blessing.”

  Lexi holds out her hand and the old man shakes it. “Hi, I’m Alexis Mathews. This mess is Max Lane and you might think he’s a little crazy and you’d be right, but he’s my crazy so if it’ll make him happy, can you do your best to hurry? Don’t leave anything out though. I want the full deal. We’re only doing this once so I do want it to be memorable.”

  The lady hands Lexi a bouquet of flowers and I smack my head as I forgot to get her some myself and that’s such a terrible thing to have done. “Sorry, Lex, I forgot about flowers.”

  The lady smiles. “They’re part of the package, don’t sweat it kid. We have rings too if you forgot those.”

  I pull out the boxes and hand mine to Lexi. “No, I have them.”

  “So are you ready?” the man asks as he makes his way to a little stand then stands behind it. “Take your places here in front of me and let’s see if we can’t get you two hitched.”

  My knees feel weak as I take Lexi’s hand and walk up to the man with her. I look at her and then back at the man then at the lady and I can’t believe it’s happening.

  It’s finally happening!

  Alexis

  Candles bring a dim golden glow to the hotel room. Max and I lie in bed and breathe rugged breaths. “Wow!” I say. “Who knew just getting married could make it so much better?”

  “Me,” Max says and turns to look at me. “I knew, Mrs. Lane. I knew all along.”

  His hand runs up and down my arm as I look into his deep emerald green eyes. I take a chunk of his long dark hair and twist it with my finger. The silkiness of it is a thing I love. “So, you’re a smarty pants I see. I’m not sorry we waited, Max. We know each other much better than the first time you asked me to marry you. It feels right now, don’t you think?”

  “Damn right, it feels right. You are too delicious, Lexi. I need another taste of you,” Max says as his eyes grow dark with desire and I find I’m desiring him just as much.

  He kisses slowly down my neck. I giggle and ask, “Is this how it will always be? Like we can’t get enough of each other?”

  “That would be great, but I doubt it so we should enjoy it while it lasts.” His tongue moves over my breast and down my stomach.

  The moment his lips touch my clit my stomach clenches and I moan, then push his head down to take more of me in. He does and I arch up to meet his hot, wet lips. He runs his tongue through my folds until he finds my vagina and pushes his tongue in and out of it.

  My body gets a light sheen of sweet covering it and I let go of his head and grab the sheets, clutching them so I don’t pull his hair out with how crazy hot he’s making me feel.

  Up to my clit he goes again and as his tongue taps it I come undone and cry out in ecstasy. Before the orgasm is over, he flips me over and pulls me back to him where he slams into me from behind and the orgasm not only continues but multiplies.

  One long groan I make then I have to put my face in the pillow and scream as each thrust makes me explode inside over and over until he sends his hot juices inside me. I pulse around him, drawing out every last ounce of his cum.

  Our bodies finally stop pulsating and he pushes me gently to the bed. Moving his body to lie beside mine he whispers, “Thank you, Mrs. Lane. That was some encore.”

  “Thank you, my dear husband. I didn’t know I could climax so many times.” I turn over and lie my head on his large bicep and he wraps his body around mine, in a protective semi-circle.Max

  Sun shines into the hotel room and I cover my eyes. “Wake-up, sleepy head,” Lexi’s cheerful voices calls out.

  “You opened the curtain,” I mumble. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “When did you become a vampire, my sweet husband?” She laughs and plops down on the bed just as my cell phone rings.

  Reluctantly, I sit up and answer my phone. “Max Lane, here.”

  Someone is speaking some very chopped up English and then I realize it’s the man I’ve been talking to in Germany. “We need you here, next week, please.”

  “Next week. Umm… Well… I just…. Oh, man…. Got.” I stop and look at Lexi as she laughs.

  “Wow! My stammering rubbed off on you.” She smiles and gets up and makes her way to the bathroom.

  “What you try to say, Mr. Lane?” the man says.

  “I got married yesterday. Next week is a bit soon. I can’t get my wife a passport that quickly. I mean I may be able to but she has things to do. I don’t want to leave her so soon.” I sit up and pull the sheet up as my mind spins on how to handle this.

  “We need you here. To help us with the process. It won’t take long a week to a month.”

  A week to a month without Lexi!

  “Damn it. I’ll see what I can do and get with you early next week. Perhaps I can make it by the end of next week,” I say and already hate that I have to do this.

  “Okay,” the man says then hangs up.

  Lexi comes out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a smile. “Come, let’s take a shower then go do some sight-seeing or take in a show or gamble, though I doubt I’m any good at it.”

  I get up and go scoop her up and take her to the giant shower and try to think of how I’m going to tell her that I have to leave the country for a week to a month. Her lips touch mine and take all the thought from my head.

  This can be dealt with after our few days of honeymoon time. What could it hurt to wait to tell her?

  Part 11 Secrets of Luxury

  Alexis

  Whup, whup, whup, the helicopter’s blades cut through the air as Max makes his way back to me, after two very long months in Germany. I rush to the door and go out by the pool to wait for him to land.

  After a tiny honeymoon, my new husband had to leave me and go to Germany where he helped some German engineers develop a bullet proof glass cheap enough to install on all their cars.

  I guess the German’s know something we don’t!

  Lucky for us, Max has used our cars as the prototypes for the new glass. So in case of a zombie apocalypse we’ll be safe. Fingers crossed!

  I’m officially out of the modeling business. I wrapped up the book cover job and quit. Instead of finding a home in Dallas, I decided I wanted to come back to Max’s mansion in Houston. It feels like home to me. And with the news I have for Max, I’m all about making a home, and sticking with it.

  The helicopter lands and here comes my handsome husband. In his hand is a fancy gift bag.

  Yes! A present!

  I find myself running to meet him as butterflies romp around in my stomach. His smile runs clean across his face.

  “Happy to see me?” He holds his arms wide open and I run into them.

  I hug him tight. “I missed you so much.”

  I’m lifted up in his arms. “I missed you too, princess.” Then his lips touch mine.

  Another place, his kiss takes me to. A world with no pain, or suffering. A place only he can take me, and I’d never leave it if I didn’t have to. I run my hands into his shoulder length waves and relish the silkiness of them. My tongue twirls with his.

  His kiss softens, and he pulls his mouth from mine. I rest my forehead on his as he carries me towards the house. It is night already and the lights outside are gorgeous, yet they pale as I look into his emerald eyes. “I love you, Max. I’m so glad you’re home. Don’t leave me alone that long anymore, promise me.”

  “If I have to go anywhere again, you’re coming with me, baby. I’ll not go that long without you ever again. It was supposed to be a week to a month, and it went much longer.” He stops at the door and puts me back on my feet.

  “Hilda made you her famous enchilada dinner. She’s been waiting for you to come home so she co
uld cook more food. She complains I don’t eat enough,” I say with a laugh.

  “That’s sweet of her, but I’m afraid food is the last thing I have on my mind.” He looks at me hungrily and a shiver runs through me.

  His arm wraps around my waist and I lean my head on his shoulder and wrap mine around his. “Well, that will have to wait until you eat, or she’ll bang on the bedroom door until you do. So, I’d say it’s best to get dinner out of the way.”

  He hands me the bag as we make our way to the kitchen. I smile and look in it, then reach in and pull out a T-shirt that has something written on it, ‘My husband went to Germany and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.’

  With a look that says, ‘you’re a jerk’ I say, “Nice, babe!”

  “Keep digging in the bag, princess.”

  Stopping, so I can really dig, I find a black, velvet case. I open it to find a large diamond necklace with intermittent sapphires, a matching set of ear rings, and a bracelet, plus a ring.

  My eyes must be sparkling as I look back at Max. “Max, this is beautiful! What did this cost?”

  He shakes his head. “You’re never allowed to ask me that question, princess. In the helicopter I have some gorgeous gowns I bought you. This set will go amazingly with the dark blue one I found.”

  “You went shopping for me while you were over there, supposedly working?”

  He moves us along again. “I had to do something with my free time and as I was always thinking of you, it had me looking at things for you, my love.”

  My heart fills with how wonderful this man is. He makes me feel as if I’m the most special thing in his life.

  Hilda’s face lights up when she sees him. “Mijo!” She runs and grabs him, hugging him. “We all missed you so much!”

  The smile on his face lets me know he really loves this woman. “I missed you all too. I hear you’ve made me my favorite meal.”

  “I sure did. I have it all, the queso and the guacamole, plus my homemade chips.” Her eyes go to me and she smiles then she looks back at Max. “And I made a tres leches cake, just to celebrate your return.”