by S. E. Rose
“Oh yes, of course, that was my first consideration,” I laugh, rolling my eyes at him.
“Have you given more thought to what we talked about this weekend?”
“A little,” I say.
“Good. Keep thinking.”
I laugh. “Aye, aye, captain!”
“I want to take you somewhere this weekend.”
“Where?” I give him a quizzical look.
“Somewhere.”
I roll my eyes again and he laughs. “You are impossible.”
“But you love me anyway,” he says with a smile.
I lean back against him and flip through photos on my new camera.
Friday rolls around fast and before I know it Lance has us in a cab going to a heliport. I raise my eyebrows when I hear him give the cabbie directions. As we pull up, I look out and see a helicopter with Ryder Enterprises written on the side of it. I groan.
“Is my uncle here?” I ask him.
“No, but he offered his services since my company doesn’t have one yet.”
“Yet?”
Lance waggles his eyebrows and I laugh. “Boys and their toys,” I mutter as we make our way over to the helicopter. Lance helps me in and speaks with the pilot for a few moments. Then he climbs in next to me and we are off and airborne. The city is bathed in stunning hues of red and orange as the sun sets and we fly over Manhattan and to the north. Eventually, we set down at a heliport near the ocean. It’s beautiful from what I can see. It’s getting dark out earlier as fall has set in and the evening air is crisp. Lance wraps his arms around me as we walk over to a car.
Lance speaks with the driver and then we drive down some winding roads and arrive at a gated property. The driver punches in some numbers at a small number pad by the gate entrance and the doors swing open. We pull up to a large Victorian-style house with a picturesque wraparound porch.
“Wow, this is beautiful!” I bellow as I exit the car and walk up the stairs to the porch.
“It belongs to a friend of mine. He lent it to us for the weekend,” he says as he unlocks the front door.
The entryway has an ornate, inlaid wood floor and a curved wooden staircase leads up to the second floor. He steers me straight to the back of the house and pushes open double doors into what looks like a family room. And then he pulls me out onto a large back porch overlooking the ocean in one direction and a bay in another direction.
“This is breathtaking!” I say as I place my hands on the railing and stare out at the waves.
“I’m glad you like it, Lily,” he says. “I’m buying it.”
I spin around and face him. He laughs when he sees the look of shock on my face.
“I just made a deal with a larger company and we are going to merge. I am making quite a bit of money from the merger and, well, I wanted to buy a property outside of the city.”
“Which company?” I ask. He smirks, and I know right away. “Ryder Enterprises.” He nods. I just shake my head. I can’t believe my uncle and Lance are merging their companies.
“But this is…I mean…do you really need so much space?” I blurt out as I try to form a coherent thought.
“Well, I think so,” he says softly as he wraps his arms around me and kisses me gently on the lips. “You see, I have plans.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Plans?”
“Yes, plans, Miss Stevenson.”
“And what pray tell are these plans you speak of?”
I see a faint flash of nervousness cross his face. And then he’s on his knee before me as the last hints of pink paint the sky behind us.
“Lily, my gorgeous Lily, I’m so in love with you. I don’t want us to be apart ever. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Here, New York, wherever, as long as we are together. Marry me?”
I am stunned into silence. I gasp as he produces a small box and pops it open to reveal a beautiful platinum band with an emerald in the middle and diamonds surrounding it. I’m seemingly unaware as I reach out toward it. I look up to his eyes and I smile. I don’t hesitate in my response because in my heart I know I could never love any man more than I love the one kneeling at my feet.
“Yes,” I whisper so quietly I wonder if he has heard me, but then when he goes to stand and pulls me into his arms, I know he has.
He takes my hand and slides the ring onto my finger. He taps the emerald.
“It’s from Colombia,” he says.
“Really?”
“Yes, I bought it in Bogota.”
I smile knowing that even back in Colombia he had wanted this, he had wanted me.
He leads me over to an outdoor wicker sofa that faces the ocean. The sky is now darkening into night and I smile as I lean my head against his shoulder and look down at my ring. He’s holding my hand and playing with the ring, and I smile up at him.
“I want us to make this our family home,” he says as he looks out at the ocean. “It’s close enough for us to get into New York by car, train or even helicopter.” He laughs at the last word. “But it’s also a beautiful property with good schools nearby and plenty of space for any kids we would want to have.”
I sigh a contented sigh. “I’m not going to wake up from this dream, am I?”
He laughs again and kisses my forehead. “No, never.”
He leans down and kisses me and then I feel him lift me up and carry me upstairs.
“There are two master suites in the house. I’d like you to choose which one you want.”
“Two?” I look at him with curiosity.
“Yes, and four other big bedrooms, plus a few smaller ones on the third floor. There’s two down the hall to the right that share one bathroom and two down the hall to the left and they share another bathroom.”
“Mr. Cunningham, are you implying you want a lot of children?”
He laughs. “Honestly, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead yet.”
“Well, you clearly thought farther ahead than me,” I say as I gaze around the palatial room. He lets me explore for a while. This room has a beautiful balcony that overlooks the ocean. It has a giant, and I mean giant, like the size of my apartment bathroom, soaker tub. I particularly like this big soaker tub next to a window that looks out to the ocean. There are two walk-in closets off the bathroom. “Where’s the other master?”
He leads me back down the stairs and to the left of the stairwell, and then down one hall and down another, that leads to a more private part of the house. I open the double doors and suck in a breath. The room is slightly larger than the first one with a sitting area and fireplace area that open onto a side porch which wraps around to the main back porch. I smile as I note a small railing that separates this part of the wraparound porch from the rest. There’s a giant bathroom about the same size and same flow as the other one that looks out over the ocean and another two walk-in closets.
“Can I see the rest of the house?”
“Sure, gorgeous,” he says as he wraps his arms around me and presses my back against his front. I can feel how badly he wants this tour to be over. I smile.
“I won’t take long. I just want to see this perfect house you want to buy.”
He leads me to a library off the hallway outside this room. And then we see a formal living room, dining room, an eat-in kitchen that any chef would die for, family room, game room, movie room, mud room with a walkway to a four-car garage. He points out the two-bedroom apartment above the garage that the property staff use.
“Staff?”
“Yes, the property has an older couple that maintains it year-round. Leslie and Ellis Golden. They do the yard work, cleaning, buying things we would need. Leslie cooks as well if we want her to. They’ve lived here for years. They even had a son that grew up in that apartment.”
“I’d like to meet them.”
“Tomorrow, I promise.”
He shows me the other bedrooms upstairs and then up on a small third floor there are four more rooms and a bathroom. “These can be used as bedroo
ms or sitting rooms, game rooms, whatever. I think they were originally staff quarters.”
I laugh. “That sounds very pretentious.”
He smiles at me. “So, which room do you want?”
I tilt my head from one side to the other as I consider the options. “I like the view from the upstairs bedroom, but something about the downstairs bedroom. It just seems more…” I trail off as I search for the right word.
“Private?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Well, then downstairs it is. I’ll move our bags into that room.”
I follow him downstairs. He picks up our bags as he leads me back down the hall to our master suite. He stops just before walking inside and turns to me. Before I know it, I’m swept up in his arms and he’s carrying me inside.
“I have legs you know,” I laugh against his chest.
He looks down at me with so much love in his eyes that I feel tears build in my own. “I know, but I wanted to carry you over the threshold into our room.” I can’t help letting the tears flow now as I hear the love in his voice. His face changes and I can tell he’s concerned. He sits us down on the bed with me still in his arms.
“Hey, gorgeous, what’s wrong?”
I smile at him. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’m just…I’m so happy.”
He laughs and kisses me. “I’m glad. You deserve to be happy.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’ll take it.”
He kisses me again. Our kisses go from gentle to passionate in under a minute. It doesn’t take long for our clothes to come flying off in various directions. Lance leans over me as he settles between my legs.
“You are perfect. You know that, Liliana?” he says, using my full name. I smile at him.
“I think you might be blinded,” I answer.
“Blinded?” he replies.
“Yep, but maybe I am perfect for you,” I whisper as I lean up and kiss him again. He makes love to me slowly, worshiping my body. When we finish, we lie in each other’s arms, staring out at the night sky and moon hovering over the ocean.
“When do you want to get married?” he asks.
“Whenever,” I say.
“What about this weekend?”
I bolt up in bed and look at him. “This weekend? As in tomorrow?”
“Well, tomorrow night to be more exact.”
“But I don’t have a dress, and our families and rings and…” I trail off as my mind explodes into thought.
“Whoa, slow down there,” he says smiling again. “What if I told you all of that was taken care of.”
My mind snaps back to the present and my mouth gapes as I stare at him in total confusion. “What?”
“I may, or may not, have dealt with all of this.” He is grinning even more as though watching my face is bringing him great joy. Finally, I slump down onto my feet and look at him with even more confusion. “Relax, gorgeous. I took care of everything. I was hoping you’d be OK with it. Well, actually you’ve sort of helped along the way.” I know he’s grinning at my face now because I am beyond confused.
“Remember when my friend who owns the bakery asked us to try new flavors?” I nod. “That was for our cake.”
My mouth drops open.
“Remember when my mom asked you what dress you liked better because my cousin was having a hard time deciding?” I nod again. “That was for your dress. The measurements I had you take for the gala dress a few months ago were actually for your dress. Remember the caterer for the gala and how we tried some dishes?”
I nod. “Our food,” I whisper.
He nods. “And your favorite colors, well that was easy. And obviously, our families are coming tomorrow. The rings, well, that was harder, but I found the perfect set when I bought you that,” he motions to my engagement ring, “and I just went ahead and got them too. Cody’s friend’s wife plays in the Boston Symphony and she agreed to come play music for us. Her family lives not far from here. And well, the photography, that was harder, but I managed to make some contacts with one of your work colleagues that you raved about and he volunteered to come take photos for us in exchange for a weekend at the Manhattan apartment.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe you thought of everything!”
“I wanted it to be special. And when my friend told me his family was selling this house, I just knew that this was the place.” My head is literally spinning.
“What time does everyone come tomorrow?” I ask suddenly dizzy with excitement and trying to remember to breathe.
“First thing in the morning. Your mother arranged for you ladies to go get pampered at a spa nearby and then the ceremony will be out back at sunset and we’ll eat and dance and there’s enough space here for everyone to crash. There are some paperwork formalities, but I took care of most of those already and the rest we can deal with on Monday.”
“I can’t even believe this.” I literally sit speechless. “How am I going to sleep?”
He laughs again and kisses me. “I think I know a way to tire you out.”
He lays me back on the bed and gently, lovingly removes my clothes, one article at a time. He covers me with light kisses as he exposes each section of my body. When I’m in just my bra and underwear, he removes his own clothes and then reaches around my back and unclasps my bra. His mouth hovers over my nipples as the fabric pulls away. He delicately takes each nipple in his mouth, sucking and grazing with his teeth. I squirm beneath him trying to contain my pleasure.
It isn’t long before I feel his hands against my stomach. They caress my skin until they reach the fabric of my panties. He cups my sex through the fabric.
“You are always so wet for me, gorgeous,” he murmurs against my breast. I sigh as I feel him hook his thumbs through the sides of my panties and slowly pull them down. His body follows my undergarment. He gently massages each foot as he pulls them through the holes to remove them. His light kisses continue from one foot up my calf and my thigh as he deftly pushes it to one side and then starts the same process on my other leg until I am fully exposed to him.
He looks like a chiseled sex god as he hovers over me. His muscles are tight and sculpted. I try to contain a grin of joy at the fact that this amazing specimen of a man wants to marry me. I feel incredibly small underneath him and instead of the frustration I normally feel at my size and stature, I instead feel protected, loved, and cherished. Lance bends down and takes my clit in his mouth, sucking and kissing it. He takes his time, bringing me higher and higher. I can feel myself physically aching for his touch and as though he can read my mind, he skillfully slides two fingers into me. He has my body so figured out, so memorized that he finds that perfect spot inside me instantly. I’m a Rubik’s Cube and he has mastered me. I can feel myself losing control as his fingers scissor deep inside and his tongue laps at me.
“Let go, gorgeous,” he murmurs against me and the vibration of his voice against my clit is my undoing. I cry out his name as I feel my muscles clench around his fingers. But he doesn’t stop when my body goes rigid, he keeps moving his fingers in and out and then adds a third finger. I’m coming undone yet again as he slides his fingers deep into me, only moving them on the inside against that one spot, the one that will send me soaring over the edge. And then it’s all too much.
“Lance!” I scream as I feel my whole body shake with pleasure. I can feel myself coming on his fingers and he now slides them in and out of me slowly, painfully slowly. He does this all again and again until I’m nearly crying out for him to take me. Just when I think I can’t orgasm again, he pulls his fingers from me and replaces them with his stone-hard erection.
He thrusts into me over and over and then flips me over and does it again after I come. As though I’m a rag doll, he flips me again and then rolls over, so I am on top of him, impaled by him. I’m so exhausted I can barely hold myself up and as if sensing it, he pulls me down against him. I lay my head against his chest and feel his heart pounding as he thrusts up in
to me. I feel him grow larger inside of me, stretching me further. I’m so full of him that I think I cannot take any more of him. Then I feel his head swell slightly more inside of me and he stills for a moment and the sensation is too much for me. I cry out again and clench him, and with one final thrust, he empties himself inside of me as my muscles continue to milk out every last drop of his orgasm. He rolls over and pulls me against him. His heart slows and lulls me to sleep or perhaps I just pass out from too much sex. My mind goes blank before I can contemplate this.
I wake up early as the sun comes over the horizon of the water. It’s absolutely breathtaking. I grab my camera and slip on the nearest piece of clothing which happens to be Lance’s shirt. I walk out onto our porch and start snapping photos. Our porch, I think to myself with a grin. I’m so engrossed in my photography I don’t even hear Lance come out and I jump as his arms circle around me.
“Easy there,” he whispers in my ear. “Just me.”
I sink back against him and put my camera on the railing. We stand and watch the sunrise. The rest of the day is a blur. Our families and closest friends descend upon us. I’m whisked off to the spa at 11:30 and then back in the house by 4:00. My mom, Rose, Mal, my grandmother, Aunt Kristen, and Zoe are a swirl of action around me. I take a breath as I view my gown for the first time. It’s as lovely as it appeared in that magazine.
“For you,” my mother says with tears in her eyes. I raise an eyebrow as I spot a small box in her hand. The box is made of wood and has intricate inlaid wood patterns on it. “Lance left it here for you.”
I slowly unwrap the fabric inside the box. As the fabric falls away, I see an antique hair comb with beautiful sapphire stones in it and a small note card.
To my gorgeous bride,
This was my great-grandmother’s. It is now your something old, something borrowed, and something blue.
Anxiously awaiting you out back.
Love,
Your soon-to-be husband who adores and loves you more than words can describe,
Lance
I try to hold back the tears of joy as I shakily take it out and hand it to my mother to place in my hair.
“I have something for you, too,” she says and hands me another small box. I hear a click of cameras yet again and see my friend Taylor snapping the moment. I smile at him and he nods and gets back behind his lens. I open the box and now the tears roll down my cheeks and I thank God I put on that waterproof mascara. Inside, is a bracelet made from my father’s favorite cufflinks.
