Here Comes The Bride

by Sadie Grubor

  After I was showered and feeling a little more relaxed, I opened the door to my room wrapped only in a towel.

  "Aidan?" Lilli marched into my room.

  When she saw me she stopped and her eyes went wide. I stood frozen, thinking she would run out at any minute but she didn’t. Instead, I watched her breathing hitch and her eyes linger over my body. I couldn’t help the smug smile spreading over my face. She was affected. Her eyes met mine and she turned around quickly, blushing.

  "Never mind," she mumbled and walked away.

  "Lilli, wait," I shouted. "What did you need?" I wanted to keep her in my room with me but she was already in the hallway.

  "Nothing, I’ll get it." She started to walk again.

  "Lilli –"

  "I can’t get the back of my dress to unbutton at certain spots but I’ll take care of it." She tried to leave again but I caught her arm. "It’s okay, I’ll –" She wouldn’t look at me, keeping her eyes averted.

  "Just stand still." I ordered and started working on the buttons. Once the buttons were undone, I realized there was a zipper. I started to unzip it, letting my finger graze her skin. She shivered at my touch. I stepped a little closer to her.

  "I can get the zipper." She said quickly and turned around, taking a step back. "Thank you, and…um…sorry for barging into your room," she turned back around to walk away.

  "Well, technically it’s your room too, now." I chuckled. "And we’re supposed to be sleeping in the same room, according to the conditions."

  She froze at her doorway.

  "Nice try." She shouted over her shoulder and walked into her room.

  Laughing, I went back to my room. My night was filled with images of Lilli’s bare leg and the way her skin felt against mine.

  Chapter Two

  Honeymoon, the First Night

  Lilli

  I got to my room and closed the door. Leaning back against the door, I sighed. Sweet baby Jesus, his fingers were like velvet orgasms on my skin.

  Shivering at the thought of his fingers on the skin of my back, my mind started to wander to other places his fingers could travel. I shivered once more and shook the thoughts off. They would only get me in trouble.

  Slipping out of my dress, my mind wandered to the sight of him in only a towel. My knees got weak thinking of the flushed tone of his damp skin. I climbed into the hot shower and rinsed away the make-up, hair products and the damn body glitter Phoebe insisted on dusting over me. Once clean and relaxed, I brushed my hair and teeth before climbing into bed.

  My dreams were vivid and steamy. Visions of Aidan in a towel, his fingers dancing across my upper thighs and sliding down my back. Just when the towel was about to come off there was a loud knock on my door.

  "No," I groaned. "Go away!"

  His familiar chuckle was muffled by my closed door.

  "Come on, we have to get going." My door opened. "You hope you’re decent!"

  Lifting my head from my pillow, I looked at him questioningly.

  "Isn’t it ‘I hope you’re decent’?"

  "Not in my case. I rather hoped you slept nude."

  He grinned and dodged the pillow I tossed at him. Without warning, he pulled my blanket away from me.

  "Damn it, Iverson, go away!" Half amused, I threw my arm over my head.

  The shift of my mattress made me peek to my left. There he was lying next to me. Damn he smelled good.

  "Come on, Mrs. Iverson, it’s time to get ready for our honeymoon." He smiled wide.

  "Who said I was taking your last name?" I teased.

  "You signed the agreement, Mrs. Iverson." He chuckled.

  "Shut up," I growled and rolled away from him.

  Though we were only joking around, I didn’t need to look at him lying next to me and smelling the way he did. Unexpectedly, he slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me back toward him. My gasp only made him shake silently with laughter.

  "Okay, we can always start the honeymoon here." He snuggled against me.

  Internally groaning, I battled between knowing better and the heat between my thighs. Getting control of myself, I played it cool, using sarcasm as my cover.

  "Fine, since you’re threatening me with that, I’m getting up."

  The moment I moved away from him a groan resonated through the room, I couldn’t tell if it was him or me. Not waiting to find out, I headed to my bathroom and started getting ready.

  Phoebe and Viola had already sent a majority of the luggage ahead, so I just had to grab my carry-on bag.

  Once cleaned up, I walked back into my room. He had left. A relieved sigh escaped me, or was it disappointment? I dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a sweater, I knew layering was my best bet, leaving January in New York and arriving into tropical heat. After packing a few last things, books, iPod and laptop, I headed downstairs.

  The smell of coffee led me to the kitchen where I grabbed a mug and poured. Sitting down at the bar in the kitchen, I sipped on coffee while eating an apple. I sent a couple of text messages to Phoebe, my mom and dad, Celia, Viola and Maggie, thanking them all again for everything and saying goodbye, even though they were, most likely, still sleeping.

  "Ready?"

  I jumped at the sound of his voice. He laughed.

  "Don’t do that!" I laughed. "Yeah, I’m ready."

  He grabbed my hand and we headed out the door.

  Exhausted from my restless night of vivid dreams, I almost fell back to sleep on the car ride to the airport. Before I could really pass out we arrived and Aidan nudged me to open my eyes.

  "I’m awake." I yawned.

  "Barely," he smiled. Climbing out, he stuck is hand out for me.

  Taking it, I stepped out into the cold. Icy air whipped around me and I shivered. Aidan wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards him.

  "Come on." He led us to the jet.

  The smell of him surrounded me and I wanted to tilt my head just slightly and lick his neck. My will power was failing miserably, but I fought to stay strong. Sex only complicates things and this was complicated enough. Aidan looked down at me, noticing my frustrated sigh.

  "You okay?"

  His warm, freshly brushed, mint, scented breath washed over my face.

  "Just tired," I shrugged. We got to the stairs and he nudged me to go up first.

  Once on the jet, I walked toward the couch and lounged back into the soft cushions. Aidan walked around for a few moments and then sat next to me, setting a tray on the table in front of us.

  "Here," he stated. I sat up straight. "I had them get this ready for us." The tray had eggs, pancakes and bacon.

  "Mmm…it smells good, but don’t you typically have to wait until after takeoff before eating?" I raised one eyebrow at him.

  "Yeah, well…eat quickly." He jabbed his elbow into my side and laughed.

  "You don’t have to tell me twice." I grabbed a pancake and put eggs and bacon on it before rolling it up. I looked at him and winked. Leaning back, I ate my makeshift breakfast wrap.

  "Did you just make that up?" His face looked curious and surprised.

  I shrugged.

  "I guess." I took another bite.

  Watching as Aidan repeated my creation, he settled in next to me. We ate quickly and finished just as the flight attendant came over to clean everything up and prepare us for takeoff.

  The engines started and I pulled my book out of my bag before sitting back into the couch. After we took off and we were ‘free to move about the cabin’, I lounged back and started reading. I’m not sure how far I got before I fell asleep.

  The plane jolted as we landed and woke me. Hearing Aidan laugh before I felt it, I realized I was leaning on Aidan and had grabbed onto his chest when the plane abruptly landed.

  "Sorry," I mumbled and pulled myself away.

  "Don’t worry about it." He smiled.

  "So, we’re here?" Picking up my book, I put it back in my bag.

  "Sort of, we’ll have to
take the boat the rest of the way to the island." He stood up and grabbed his carryon bag before holding out his hand for me. I took it and stood up, then I let go and grabbed my bag. Following him off the plane, we got into an awaiting car. It was definitely warmer here, so I took off the sweater, leaving me in my t-shirt. I was still warm, but would have to wait to change until we got to the island.

  Twenty minutes later we reached the marina. Luggage was being loaded onto the boat as we approached.

  "Here we are." Aidan climbed onto the boat and then grabbed for my hand to help me on board.

  Boat, was an understatement. It was like a mansion on water. It had two floors and I could see a room with couches, tables and a bar from where we stood. Aidan motioned for me to follow him into that part of the boat.

  Throwing our bags onto one of the couches we sat down.

  "There’s a bedroom through there," he pointed to a door, "if you want to change into something more weather appropriate."

  I nodded.

  "Thanks." I got up and grabbed my bag.

  After changing I went back out to the large sitting area. The boat engines started up.

  "You better sit down." Aidan patted the seat next to him. He’d already changed into shorts and a t-shirt.

  "So, tell me about this place?" I settled into the couch. "Is it as over the top as everything else?" I smiled playfully.

  "Over the top?" He cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

  "That’s what I said." I giggled.

  "Well, it’s a pretty large island and it’s completely private. So, it’ll just be the two of us, except for a couple of days a week there will be two guys who come to clean up and do maintenance around the place. Also, once a week a housekeeper comes." He paused. "What do you want to know?"

  "Um…how about, what is there to do on this island?"

  "Swimming, sun bathing, lounging around, snorkeling, hiking, and, of course, we can go to the main land to some restaurants and stuff." He shrugged.

  "Okay…" I sighed. Getting into my bag again, I pulled out my IPod and book. Lying across a couch on my stomach, I put my ear buds in and held my book in front of me.

  I’d gotten one chapter finished when I suddenly felt self-conscious. Looking up, Aidan was watching me, so I pulled out my ear buds.

  "What?" I wrinkled my eyebrows.

  "You’re just interesting to watch." He shrugged. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

  "It’s okay, I guess." Looking back to my book, I still felt his eyes on me. Looking up again, I raised my brows at him.

  "What? You said it was okay."

  "I meant it was okay for making me uncomfortable, not to keep doing it." I shook my head laughing lightly. "I mean, come on…aren’t you bored with looking at me yet? You’ve seen me before." I laughed harder.

  "True, but no." I looked at him confused. "No, I’m not bored looking at you." He grinned.

  "Well stop. You’re making me self conscious." I scowled playful.

  "You have a habit of sucking your bottom lip," He blurted. My face heated up as I fought the reflex to suck my lip. He started to laugh. "You’re trying to do it now, aren’t you?" He laughed harder.

  I tossed my book at him.

  "Shut up!" I laughed. He doubled over in laughter.

  I stood up and walked out onto the deck of the boat. Leaning on the side, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and absorb the warmth surrounding me. The air and sun were so warm. I opened my eyes and looked out into the turquoise and light blue water surrounding us.

  Aidan approached in my peripheral vision.

  "Hey," I smiled and turned back out to the water.

  "Hey," he leaned next to me.

  "The water is ridiculously pretty." Not hiding one ounce of the awe I felt.

  "It’s definitely a break from the murky skies and water surrounding New York." He stood tall. "You want a drink?"

  "Sure." I shrugged.

  "Have a seat, I’ll go grab…what do you want?"

  "Water’s fine." I sat on a lounge chair.

  Aidan returned a few moments later with two bottles of water. We sat talking about the island and how his grandfather had acquired it through a bet.

  "You’re kidding, right?" I looked at him in disbelieve.

  "Nope," He shook his head. "At least that’s the story my grandfather always told us and to be honest I haven’t heard anything to conflict with the story." He chuckled a little.

  "What the hell was the bet?" I exclaimed, with utmost curiosity.

  "Not quite sure. Once he said it was over a woman, another was a poker game and another time it was a horse race." He shrugged and his smile seemed to falter a little.

  "I’m sorry." He looked at me confused. "It must bother you to talk about him. I mean, you were close, right?" Completely aware I was sucking on my lip, I would probably always be aware now he’d pointed out my habit.

  "It’s okay." He smiled bigger. "It’s kind of nice to talk about him. I just…" he stopped.

  "Just what?" I pressed.

  "I guess I feel guilty for being so pissed about his conditions." He looked at me nervously.

  "Well…in your opinion, what do you think your grandfather thought your reaction would be to this?" I raised one brow.

  "He knew I would flip the fuck out." He laughed loudly.

  "Then I think you are safe from feeling guilty." I kept my smile large as I wiggled my brow line.

  "Lilli –"

  "Is that the island?" I blurted as green and brown appeared on the horizon. Aidan’s eyes moved to where I was looking.

  "Yeah, I didn’t realize we’d been sitting here that long." He sighed and stood up.

  As I stood the boat’s engines changed into lower gear, causing me to stumble. Reaching out for the railing, I caught it just as Aidan wrapped his arm around my waist to steady me.

  "Thanks," my cheeks warmed.

  "No problem." Without removing his arm from my waist, he grabbed the railing next to me. I shifted a little uncomfortably, mostly because the feel of him so close was doing dangerous things between my thighs.

  The boat shifted again and I focused out in front of us, we were pulling up to a dock. I could just make out the house set back off the beach.

  "Huh." I breathed out.

  "Not what you thought it would be, huh?" His warm breath on my ear caused me to shiver.

  "Um…no. It’s not –"

  "Over-the-top?" He finished for me. With a nod, I smiled.

  The boat came to a complete stop and we grabbed our things. Aidan led the way to the house.

  As we approached I got a better view of the house. It was more like a beach bungalow, though it clearly cost a great deal of money. It was one story and most of the walls of the house were made up of windows.

  We entered through large glass doors into an open living room, dining area and kitchen. Everything was cream, tan and white. The doors we entered were large glass panels that folded into each other, opening the living room up completely to the outside and the patio. You could literally open up the whole side of the house this way. It was amazing, simple, yet completely beautiful. Aidan showed me down a hallway with four doors. He pointed out rooms as we went.

  "This is the storage and maintenance room. The laundry machines are in there as well." He pointed to a second door across from it. "This is the bathroom." Pushing the door open, I peeked around his body. It was a simple powder room, no bath or shower, just a sink and toilette.

  Reaching a third door, he opened it as well.

  "This is the study or office."

  Looking in, it was in the same color scheme and large wall of window doors. The only difference was the shelves lining the walls with books, a desk and a couple of chairs.

  "This," he moved across the hall, his hesitation sinking in, "is the bedroom." One bedroom.

  He walked in and threw his bag at the end of the bed. I could almost physically see my body do a happy dance, while my head was screaming ‘holy shit’.<
br />
  "Through there is the master bathroom." His arm was outstretched and motioning toward a large white door. I walked over and opened the door, looking inside. It was all white and simple again, but it was lovely.

  "It’s really nice." I choked out, trying not to sound nervous.

  "Lilli," Aidan raised an eyebrow at me.

  "Hmm." Keeping my eyes off of him, I walked over to the large window doors and looked out.

  "I tried to tell you there was only one bedroom when we were on the boat." He paused.

  "It’s fine, Aidan. I mean, we have to sleep in the same bed eventually anyway, I guess." I shrugged still not looking at him, afraid he would realize I wasn’t as disappointed as he thought.

  The weight of his eyes were becoming too much. I was never happier to hear a knock on a door. Aidan walked toward the living room. I followed.

  "You can take those to the bedroom, please." He ordered two tall, tanned and very well built men.

  Stepping back, I let them go around me. Once they had followed Aidan’s instructions, they appeared in the living room again.

  "Anything else?" The man had a heavy Portuguese accent.

  "No. Thank you Devan, Bradley." He smiled at them. "Oh, wait. Lilli."

  Aidan walked towards me and took my hand, introducing me to the two men.

  "Devan, Bradley, this is my wife Lilli. Lilli, this is Devan and Bradley. They handle most of the maintenance on the island." He turned to me. I’m not sure what he saw on my face, but I doubt he realized that I was feeling quite thrown by the fact that I was now someone’s wife. I told you about them, they’ll arrive about twice a week."

  "Yes. It’s nice to meet you both." The words finally came out after I got past my mini freak out.

  "Our sister, Carmen, will be in once a week to clean, unless needed more frequently." The one, I think was, named Devan smiled at me.

  "I think once a week is fine. I can clean up after myself." I gave Aidan a questioning look.

  "I clean up after myself." He laughed out at my insinuation.

  "Okay guys, thank you for all your help. We’ll see you tomorrow, right?"

  "Yeah, see you Aidan. Oh, and congratulations." Devan stated. "Yes, congratulations to you and your wife," Bradley added. Aidan and I both smiled and said goodbye.