“Amazing. Well, they can all keep trying, but I doubt Harl will give them the time of the day. From what she’s confessed, she’s only been with one white man—Jason Keeton. He’s the other half of the sibling duo who made a fortune in the downturn of the Miami real estate market. Each one of us was dating a brother and that’s how we became fast friends. Others than that, she’s been on a steady diet of black cocks ever since she started dating.”
“And she’s not looking for a change?”
Not in this lifetime.
“Not as far as I know.” I smile. “Trust me, honey, it’s best not to go there when it comes to my best friend.”
Not even her recent love debacles with Darius and Lamar could curb her appetite for black men.
I sip the last of my champagne and Nikolaj does the same with his cognac.
“So this family dinner hasn’t scared you off? You still want to marry me, or do you plan to wait until I’ve passed out tonight to escape back to Paris? Or will you seek refuge in the Big Apple?”
“Not a chance, buddy. I’m the mail-order bride you’ll never be able to get rid of,” I mock. I sit up, move closer to him, shift until I find a comfortable position and curl my feet underneath me.
“You love me that much, sweetness?” His boyish laugh takes me by surprise.
“Nah. What’s love got to do with it? I’m only interested in your money and your very big cock.”
“Well, you’re lucky I can satisfy you in both departments and leave you begging for more.” Yes, you can. He leans in and sweeps his tongue across my lips.
Damn. I love it when he does that.
Nikolaj looks down at his watch before locking eyes with me again. “It’s one o’clock in the morning now. That means only thirty-four and a half more hours to go.”
“Look who’s counting,” I tease.
“I thought I was going to be too impatient to enjoy these past few days we’ve spent together like lovebirds combing the streets of Paris. I also didn’t expect to be so moved by this day, but I was wrong. Today is one of those days I’ll remember for the rest of my life. At some point tonight, when I looked around at all of the people who traveled from all over the world to share this amazing day with us, I realized wishing the time would pass quicker is a futile exercise. It would’ve prevented me from soaking in every single incredible moment.”
Wow. “I agree. Everything we’ve shared since the party Diego threw in our honor has added so many layers to our already fantastic story together.”
“We’re so close, baby.”
“You’re right. After all, this is the last night we sleep together before becoming husband and wife.”
Nikolaj grumbles. “Don’t remind me. I know I went along with it, but this family tradition sucks.”
I tilt my head back, roaring with laughter. “I was wondering which one of us was going to suffer most. Now I know.”
“Tomorrow night you’ll sleep in Harley’s room so I won’t be able to cradle you in my arms. I’ve become used to holding you close to my heart all night long since we’ve moved in together. I already know I’ll have a shitty night and I’ll wake up cranky.”
I unfold my legs, lean in and reach out to comb my fingers through his thick hair. “It’s important to your mom and we have the rest of our lives to wake up next to each other.”
“You’re right,” he answers grudgingly. “Nevertheless, thanks for going along with her wish.”
“Of course. I’ll miss your body as well, baby, but your mom only had one request and I wanted to honor it.”
About one month ago, Nicoline called me to ask if I’d agree to a family custom. Her eldest sister Gertrude, who passed away many years ago, pioneered a tradition when her youngest daughter Elka was about to get married. Since Elka had been living with her then boyfriend Damian for months before the wedding, and obviously they had consummated their relationship well before the ‘I dos’, Gertrude, aware of the changing times, had asked Elka to consider spending her last night as a bachelorette back home with her and her sisters as a way of creating a sense of mystery by forcing the fiancés to long for each other, even for just one night. Every one of Nikolaj’s sisters respected the tradition and when Nicoline came to me, there was no way I was going to say no.
“Yeah, it means a lot to her.”
“She was so shy in asking in the first place, how could I ever refuse her?”
A small, knowing smile pulls at his mouth and he nods. “I guess it’s not a bad thing to have one night apart. I’ll make it up to you in a few days when you officially become Mrs. von Henningsen. Not to mention, I’ll have you locked up, naked, ready and all mine for an entire month in a sex chamber as my love slave.”
I curl up my lips. “You mean our honeymoon in the Seychelles?”
“Sure. We can call it that if you prefer.”
We both laugh.
“So you’re still not willing to consider becoming Mr. Echevarria-Herrera?”
Unexpectedly, Nik pulls my left leg and glides my body until it collides against his. I screech, giggling, aware that my question will lead to a sweet punishment.
“Ciara,” he warns.
“What?”
I know exactly what I’m doing. I straddle him and gyrate my hips against his lap.
“I’m starting to think you bring this name thing up at the most opportune time because you know damn well it works me up so much I’ll end up fucking you ten ways ’til Sunday.”
Duh.
“Only ten? You’re slipping with age. Should I be worried?” I dig.
“I’m so going to nail you for being this cocky.”
“And there’s no time like the present,” I say suggestively. “Since I’m already on top, why don’t I fuck you?”
Slap.
He spanks both cheeks before placing his hands on my hips. “In your dreams, sweetheart.”
“So it’s a flat no to becoming Mr. Echevarria-Herrera and to me fucking you? You’re being extremely inflexible tonight, Nikolaj.” I bite off a smile.
Nikolaj pushes me slightly away from him. His eyes radiate with such burning lust, there’s no hiding where this is going. In response, he sucks in a sharp breath while he fumbles with his zipper between my legs and pulls out his cock. He ditched his boxer briefs when he traded his dress pants for these jeans and I’m so happy he did. Thank you, God. I drink him in, my eyes dragging their way along his torso until I land on my favorite part of his anatomy—his V muscle. The lopsided grin that curls up one corner of his mouth is a telltale sign that he reads my thoughts. Bastard. He knows me too well. As if to prolong my suffering, he flexes, taunting me, and I salivate at the thought of clenching my pussy around his cock.
“Sit on my dick and I’ll tell you all about it, love.”
“With pleasure.”
Along with demanding I wear his shirt, Nik had me strip out of my underwear the second we got back. I lean forward slightly and angle my body until I mount him. We both groan as I swallow every inch of his erection.
“Fuck, you’re so sexy right now,” he murmurs, his eyes focused on my nipples pressing against the soft cotton of his shirt.
Damn, this is getting in the way.
I bring my hands up to his shirt and I start impatiently unbuttoning the first few buttons, but his words stop me.
“Allow me to do the honors.” He brushes my hands aside, fists the top of the shirt and rips it.
Not again. I tilt my head back and laugh. “What is it with you? It seems I can’t wear one of your shirts or any of my panties, for that matter, around you without you destroying them.”
“How can I not? I’ll do whatever it takes to get to you.”
With a growl, he claims my mouth. He kisses me like he’s a man drowning and I’m his savior. It’s hard, exhilarating and heady. He intoxicates me with his raw passion. Not that I needed any help, but now I’m completely drenched.
I had no intention of resisting him, but once his tongue de
lves into my mouth and I taste his expensive cognac, I’m a goner. I groan in wanton heat and return his greedy kiss with as much fervor. Jesus Christ. I bow my back so my chest presses to his, my hard nipples tingling as they brush against his warm nakedness. Nikolaj swallows the moan he induces from me before fisting my hair and pulling me away from his lips.
“Why did you stop?” I lament.
He rests his forehead to mine as we both draw in long breaths of desire. “Since this is the last day I’ll fuck you before you become my wife, I want this to be for my eyes only. I know we’re removed from the castle, but the reality is that we’re both very loud and I’d hate for a security guard to hear us and come poking around. I don’t want an audience tonight.” He smiles. “There’s a huge bed calling out our names and behind closed doors you can scream out your climax to your heart’s content.” I nod my consent before he pushes himself off the couch, taking me with him. He grabs my butt firmly in his hands and I close my arms around his neck. “Brace yourself, sweetness. I warned you I’d fuck you ten ways ’til Sunday, but we’ll be married by Saturday. That means I have to make good on my promise to you tonight.”
Oh, boy.
“Please have mercy on me. I can’t wobble inelegantly on the day of my wedding day perched on my high heels,” I beg, fully knowing it’s a waste of my time.
“Nice sentiment, but not a chance. You have tomorrow to recuperate, love. I’ll even be generous and allow you to sleep in a bit in the morning before I go at it again for several more rounds before my sisters come to claim you and drag your pretty ass to Harley’s room.”
“Is that your way of saying you’re going to blow my mind?”
“You better fucking believe it.”
Yes.
BOOK 6—ALWAYS & FOREVER
Chapter Eleven
The eve of the wedding
I oscillate between consciousness and my semi-comatose state. There’s a noise in the background threatening to disturb my peace, and I try to shut it out. I don’t want to wake up just yet. I want to remain nestled next to Nik a little longer. I fold the sheet over my head with one goal—fall back asleep.
There it is again. The banging on the door is becoming more irritating. Groggy, I roll over to see if Nikolaj is also awake, but he’s still asleep. I grab my iPhone to look at the time. “Fuck, it’s only seven o’clock in the morning. What’s going on?” I grumble, softly enough to avoid waking up Nikolaj.
The banging continues and whomever is on the other side isn’t going away. Who the hell is knocking at the door like that? Annoyed, I fling the covers away impatiently and I pull my exhausted body from the bed. I take one step forward and falter. Shit. Nik always takes me hard, but last night was epic. He fucked the living daylights out of me as if to make up for the fact we’ll be sleeping in different rooms tonight.
The banging persists. “I’m coming. I’m coming,” I mumble under my breath. This better be a matter of national security. I teeter to a chair in the corner of the room and grab a hotel robe to cover up before walking as decidedly as my body permits towards the door. I swing it open ready to lash out at the person who dared to wake me up after only four hours of sleep, but I freeze when I recognize the women standing in front of me.
“Clara? Katrine? Emma?”
“Good morning,” they all answer in unison.
“Is there another von Henningsen wedding tradition you forgot to tell me about?”
Clara is the first one to answer. “I wish.”
I know it’s very early in the morning, but these women look like they’ve had even less sleep than I’ve had. Maybe they should’ve stayed in bed a little longer.
“What’s going on then, Clara? It’s so early.”
“I’m so sorry to do this to you, but I’d never dream of imposing at this ungodly hour after a night of partying unless it was critical.”
Uh-oh! I open my mouth to ask her what’s gotten her so worked up, but Nik’s youngest sister Emma chimes in. “Clara, things were critical an hour ago, we’re now in full code red emergency mode.”
Jesus, these are not the words I want to hear the day before my wedding.
“Emma, give Clara a chance to explain. We don’t want Ciara to panic just yet.” Nikolaj’s middle sister Katrine adds her grain of salt.
Oh, I think we’re past that. “Okay, I’m officially freaked out. Why are you all here instead of being in bed with your better halves? Was there a tornado overnight that blew the entire wedding setting into the garden? If that’s the case, I’m sure hotel staff can figure something out.” I’m grasping at straws here. There’s no way these women would be knocking at my door if it were for something that minor.
“Is Nikolaj up?” Katrine asks.
Well, that doesn’t answer my question. “No. Not yet, but please talk to me.”
“Ciara, you need to wake him up immediately.”
What’s going on?
“Yeah, Katrine’s right. He needs to know. Now.”
I can’t even blame language as a barrier for this confusing-as-hell conversation. Although Nikolaj’s three sisters didn’t attend a prestigious school in London like my fiancé did, they were all enrolled in extended English lessons.
“Okay. I’ve had very little sleep and one of you has to tell me what this is about to dissolve the knot in my stomach.”
There is a long silence as they each glance at each other. The tension in the air is unmistakable. It’s as if they’re trying to determine which one will drop the bomb on me.
Clara sighs deeply before speaking. “Mom and Dad have been missing since last night.”
Confusion swamps me. “What?” I ask, shocked. This cannot be happening. Not today. “You mean they’re up and about and possibly they’re already touring the area? I mean, there are tons of wineries and flower nurseries a few miles away. Maybe they just got an early start to their day.”
Please God, let it be that simple an explanation.
“I wish.” The expression on Clara’s face is deflating.
“Okay, so what makes you so certain they’re missing?”
“Peter and I took advantage of the fact the kids are at home in Copenhagen with his parents to do things we don’t normally have a chance to do…” She hesitates.
Huh? What does that have to do with anything?
“What sorts of things?” I ask, quizzical.
“You know.” She lifts her eyebrow as if what she’s talking about is obvious.
“No. I don’t.”
She rolls her eyes and dances from one foot to the other. “Couples without kids never have to worry about or plan out these things…” She tilts her head to the side, presses her lips together and frowns. “But Peter and I have to take advantage of any minute we have alone.” It takes me a few seconds but when I see the expression on Clara’s sisters’ faces, it hits me.
“Ah. I see.”
Clara’s beet-red cheeks tell the whole story. “We didn’t sleep much last night because it hasn’t been just the two of us in such a long time.” She brings her hand up to her mouth to hide her smile. “By five o’clock this morning we were both starved and we made our way to the kitchen hoping we could beg for some food. The second we got to the main floor, Michel Daudet, the general manager, approached me. He recognized me from the reception last night and he knew Nikolaj was my brother. He handed me my mom’s clutch and her Pashmina shawl, explaining he had found them a few minutes ago when he was walking through the garden on his way to the restaurant.
“Since what he handed me was a little damp from the morning dew, I figured they had been sitting on the table all night long. I was a bit puzzled at first because Mom never, and I mean never, leaves her handbag behind and since she’s always cold she always drapes her shoulders, but then again, everyone had a little too much to drink last night so maybe they went up to their room absentmindedly. Since my parents have always been very early risers, Peter and I decided to take a stroll up to their room, drop off my
mom’s belongings and invite them to breakfast with us. After knocking on their door and not getting an answer I decided to pull out my phone and call Mom.” Clara laughs and shakes her head before continuing. “Funny, although I was holding onto her clutch, it didn’t hit me at the time that she might not have her phone with her.”
“Maybe she didn’t answer because your parents are still sleeping,” I interrupt, still hoping there’s a logical answer to what seems to be a disaster in the making.
“One would think so. Unfortunately when I rang her mobile, the bag in my hand rang. I decided to call my father’s mobile, but my mom’s bag rang again. My dad has this bad habit of losing his phone and when they’re out together Mom often carries both phones in her bag.”
“That still doesn’t mean they’re not in their room sleeping.”
“I was hoping they were still tucked in under the sheets, but something in my gut was screaming at me to make sure everything was okay. I asked Peter to stay at their door while I ran back to the reception area to ask if Michel could open the door. I mean, what if they both suffered from a stroke in the middle of the night and they were in desperate need of help? The general manager read the worried look on my face and he obliged. When he opened the door it was clear my parents had not slept in that room. I instantly panicked and I called my sisters to wake them up. Katrine’s husband Bertram, Emma’s boyfriend Sander and Peter accompanied a few hotel employees and they scoured the grounds while my sisters and I followed Michel and four other staff members. We combed this entire hotel from top to bottom. We checked every corner, we poked every bush and we looked behind every tree, but we can’t find either of them anywhere. After an extraordinarily stressful hour, we had to face the fact that something very bad had happened.”
“Do you see now why we’re here and why Nikolaj needs to know about this?” Katrine interjects.
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