Happily Ever After: 6 Marriage Romances In 1 (BWWM Romance)
Page 7
Kym stood there looking down at him, her dark brown eyes wide. “Julian, what are you doing?”
“I can’t see my life without you; I spent three days trying to see if I could and I discovered that I am miserable and lost without you.” He paused. “I want you to be my wife; you don’t have to change your lifestyle and I will give you space to exercise your creativity. I won’t interfere but just give me this.”
“We don’t know anything about each other-“ she did not get a chance to continue.
“We can change that, please say yes.” He stood up and took her hands in his, looking down at her. “I need you in my life; I don’t want to be without you.”
“I need time,” She told him slowly, her head spinning.
“I will give you three days,” he smiled at her grimly. “The same time it took to get my head on straight and stop running away from my feelings. How is that?”
She nodded. “Are you sure?” she asked him.
“Sure about giving you the three days?” he asked her grimly. “No, because it means that I am not going to be able to function while I am waiting for your answer. Have I mentioned that I have never been in this position before?”
“I mean are you sure about wanting to marry me?” she corrected.
“I have never been so sure about anything in my life.” He told her softly. “I want to kiss you but I am afraid if I start it will lead to me taking you right here, that’s how much I want you.”
She moved closer to him, her heart pounding. “I want you to,” she whispered her arms going around his neck.
With a groan he lifted her up and carried her the short distance to the house.
*****
He called her every day and did not mention the offer he had made her. They had made love desperately and with so much emotion that it had left them trembling in its wake. He had not left there until the morning and only because he said he wanted to give her space to make up her mind.
Kym could not think of anything else. He wanted to marry her and she did not know what she wanted. When she was with him she did not want him to leave and he made her feel as if her body was on fire and only he had the remedy for what was happening to her.
She had not told her parents about him yet and she was not sure what to tell them.
It was Friday and October was almost at an end. The cloud was leaden and heavy and the morning was very cold. She was supposed to give her answer to Julian tomorrow and she was still thinking about it.
“You look serious,” Gabrielle commented as soon as she opened the door to let them in.
She did not have court today and had taken the day off to deal with some personal matters when Kym had called her and asked her to come over.
“What’s wrong?” Marla asked shrugging out of her bright orange fall coat.
“Can we at least sit first before I start?” Kym asked walking into the living room. “Julian asked me to marry me.” She told them abruptly.
There was silence for a while as both girls stared at her.
“That’s the same reaction I had when he asked me.” She told them wryly.
“What did you tell him?” Marla asked her quietly.
“I told him I needed time and my time is up tomorrow.” She said with a sigh leaning back against the sofa.
“Why is it so hard to say yes?” Gabrielle asked her. “Are you in love with him?”
“That’s it,” Kym spread her hands helplessly. “I know when I am with him I feel as if my body is on fire but I love this,” she gestured around the place. “I love being on my own and doing my own thing. You know how I am sometimes when the bug hits me and I start writing; I go for days on end without talking to anyone and barely going to the bathroom or even to eat. What am I going to do with a husband?”
“Honey, does he know your habits?” Gabrielle asked her.
“He does, at least some of it.”
“Then you need to tell him the rest of it and let him decide whether or not he can deal with that aspect of your life.”
“What if he can’t?” Kym stood up and started pacing restlessly.
“Then I am sure he will let you know.” Marla told her. “From what you tell us, the man is in love with you and he is willing to try so it’s up to you.”
*****
He did not call her and she knew he was waiting on her to call him. She had got up early in the morning and despite the cold had bundled up in a thick blanket and gone on the porch with a cup of tea in her hand, still in her pajamas. She had spent the night staring up at the ceiling and thinking. She would never be a traditional wife that much she knew and even though she fancied herself married one day she knew she was too much of an independent and was too single minded to be thinking about another person. Sometimes she did not even think about herself.
She was also not prepared to give up her house, it was her solace and she had invested a lot of time and money into the place to let it go like that. On the other hand she loved how he made her feel and she did not want to lose that. She could talk to him about anything and he made her laugh and when he made love to her she did not want him to stop. But was that enough? She wondered, sipping the hot liquid thoughtfully. Was it enough to give up her freedom for?
*****
Julian prowled the length of his room as he waited for her to call. It was still early; a glance at the clock on the wall showed that it was only a little after eight but he had been up since four telling himself that if she said no he would just have to go on without her but he did not want to even think about that aspect of it.
He turned around as he heard a knock on his door. His father came inside and closed the door behind him. “You are going to wear out the carpet,” he told him mildly, taking a seat on one of the plump and comfortable sofas in the room. “Your mother wants to know if you will be joining us for breakfast this morning.”
“I am not hungry,” he said abruptly. He knew he looked a sight because he had spent the morning plowing through his dark hair and his green eyes looked bleak.
“Is it the same young lady? The author?” James Robinson asked him.
“I asked her to marry me and I am still waiting on her answer.” Julian said with a sigh as he came and sat beside his father. “I messed up when I slept with her and stayed away for three days and now it looks like she does not want to marry me. What am I going to do?”
“The day is far from over son.” James said with a small lifting of his lips. He had never seen his usually confident and carefree son like this and it was good to know that someone had finally clipped his wings. “Give her some time.”
“I am trying Dad but I am getting jumpy as hell,” he admitted with a short laugh.
“I am sure she is worth the wait and the anticipation.” He said with a pat on his son’s hand. “Come on down after she has called and give us the good news.”
*****
She called shortly after his father left the room and Julian snatched up the phone answering immediately not caring how desperate he seemed.
“I have thought about it and if you are willing to put up with my temperamental moods then the answer is yes, I will marry you.” Her voice was soft and subdued.
“I want to ask you if you are sure but I am not going to take the chance that you might change your mind.” He told her hoarsely, his shoulders sagging with relief. “I will put up with anything as long as you are with me.”
“Okay then it’s settled, are you coming over?” she asked him with laughter in her voice.
“My parents want to meet you. I will come over and then we come back here for dinner. “How does that sound?” he asked her quickly.
“Sounds good, I will be waiting.” She said before disconnecting the call.
He sank back against the sofa the phone still in his hands and closed his eyes with immense relief. She had not said she loved him or anything like that but that could come after. She wanted to be his wife and that was all that mattered!
&n
bsp; *****
She met his parents and was surprised to see how much like his father he looked. The house was a veritable mansion. Kym found herself looking at the large columns and structure of the place and the fountain in the middle of what looked like a special rose garden. The driveway was sweeping and circular and the grounds well kept and manicured.
“I have always admired you as an author my dear but the photo on the back cover of your books do you no justice.” Irene Robinson told her with a smile. They were in the large elegant living room where there was a fire burning in the hearth and a uniformed maid had served them refreshments.
“Thank you,” she smiled a little demurely, slightly intimidated by her sumptuous surroundings.
“My wife has been looking forward to your coming over so much that she has been looking out the window every few minutes.” James Robinson told her with a teasing smile as he looked at his wife.
“James!” she exclaimed touching her husband lightly on the thigh. It struck Kym that their body language was one of a comfortable love that had blossomed and mellowed over the years. “It’s true of course; I am after all, a fan.”
She liked them, and she told Julian so when they were alone as he was showing her around.
“I am glad,” he told her softly pulling her into his arms.
Chapter 7
He met her parents on Sunday. Gloria Rollins welcomed him with open arms and plied him with food and her stepfather Daniel insisted on showing him the garden even though it was drizzling and the afternoon was cold.
“You did not tell us you were seeing anyone let alone getting engaged dear, why the secrecy?” her mother asked as soon as the two men had left the room. Kym was helping her to clean up the leftovers from the meal they had just partaken and putting the dishes into the dishwasher.
“Because I wanted to be sure before I introduced him to you,” she told her with a shrug. She had spent a wonderful time at his parents yesterday and had found herself warming up to them as the evening wore on.
“That young man is quite taken with you.” She commented. “I see him looking at you when he knows you are not looking but I wonder if you feel the same way about him.”
She stopped loading the dishes and looked at her mother. “I am attracted to him and I want to be with him but I am concerned about the fact that I am not your typical wife and I don’t want to shortchange him.”
“Loving someone means making some sort of a compromise my dear and I think he will do anything to make sure you are comfortable.” She looked at her daughter for a moment. “It also means that you have to do some adjusting as well.”
*****
He gave her a ring on Monday when he came over. He had spent the night with her on Sunday and left from her house to the office. It was a Princess cut diamond set against a platinum background and it fit her finger perfectly.
“Do you like it?” he asked her anxiously. He had spent the entire afternoon calling all the jewelry stores he knew and had found one in a small jewelry store uptown.
“It’s beautiful,” She murmured twisting her hand this way and that and watched as the lights from the lamp caught the stones and sent off a dazzling array of white blue glare.
“How about a December wedding?” she asked him. They were on the balcony even though it was quite cold. She had provided a thick blanket to cover them both and she was in his arms.
“Sound very good, are you sure that gives us enough time to plan?” he asked her.
“Us?” she turned her head to look at him. “Men are not usually involved in the planning.”
“This man will be,” he bent his head and took her lips with his, moving his mouth over hers in a slow and drugging kiss that had her heart racing. “I am going to show you that I have changed.”
*****
He was true to his word. He told her that there were too many people around to help with the planning and he had also hired a wedding planner who along with his mother and hers took charge of everything.
They made the papers. Two very public people getting engaged was big news and the caption read: ‘Romance writer Kymonia Blake finally injecting some romance into her life with none other than handsome billionaire playboy, Julian Robinson’.
Her editor called her and offered her congratulations. “Your readers are going crazy over this twist of romance in your life darling, brilliant move.”
As the day approached, she started spending a few nights at Julian’s place but she found that no matter what she did she was not able to write a single line. Mostly because he distracted her with his very presence and as much as he wanted to leave her to her writing he ended up coming into the office where he would kiss her neck and then it would lead to other things.
“I can’t write when you are around Julian,” she told him. They were in his bedroom and had just finished making slow passionate love. The wedding was a week away and she was due for another fitting in the morning. Irene Robinson had been so supportive and helpful and had made sure that the dresses were brought to her.
“I promise to stay out of your way when you are here,” he trailed a finger down her flat stomach causing her to quiver.
“That’s what you said the last time and that did not happen,” she murmured huskily as his fingers continued down to her pubic area.
“I would not want to be the cause of you not making magic on paper,” he bent his head and ran his tongue over a nipple, his fingers dipped inside her. “That would be tragic,” he lifted his head to look at her. She was moving against his fingers and her lips were parted slightly, her black curls spread out on the pillows. “I promise to behave but not now,” he removed his fingers and climbed on top of her, slipping his penis inside her wetness. “Not now,” he whispered as he bent his head and took her lips with his, thrusting inside her with renewed hunger.
*****
The wedding was a crush and was highly and much publicized. The twenty-third of December dawned clear and wintry. There had been the promise of snow earlier in the week but so far there had not been even a drop.
The entire bodice was made of pearls and had a cinched in waist. The skirt itself was made out of filmy chiffon that spread out from the waist and drifted down to the floor. She wore a filmy veil caught behind her elegant chignon and flowed downwards to meet the dress, blending into the material. Her only jewelry was a pair of beautifully cut diamond earrings and gloves covered her from her fingers to her elbows.
There was a collective gasp as she made her way up to the aisle. Both her friends were wearing wine red dresses with rosebuds in their hair. Julian was wearing the traditional black tuxedo with a white rose in his lapel.
The ceremony was not long and only took about two hours. The reception was held at the manor in what they called the great hall and the festivities and dancing went on long after the bride and groom had left.
*****
“You have not told me where we are going,” Kym murmured as soon as they were back inside the car and heading out. She had changed into a light blue wool dress that hugged her figure closely and matching shoes. He had changed into dark blue pants and a light blue silk shirt and he looked magnificent.
“I know,” he told her mysteriously. “It’s a surprise.”
He took her island hopping. The experience was so incredible that she found herself almost crying that he would so something like that for her. They went to the Bahamas which was their first stop where they had dinner at the Bahamian club. Even though it was slightly crowded the Maitre D managed to find them a corner table where they had the lobster waldorf with sautéed mushrooms and drank Bahamian club mojito. They did not sleep in one of the hotels there but stayed at one of the houses there that was owned by his company. They walked barefoot on the beach and afterwards he made love to her on the soft white sand.
Their next stop was Bermuda where a tour guide took them into the depths of the caves at Blue Hole Park; they even went swimming in the natural pools in the cave.
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Their last stop was Montego Bay, Jamaica. He had made the reservation at the five star hotel for one day and they were able to tour the Rose Hall Great House and spend the rest of the day in the beautiful warm water of the Dunn’s River Falls.
“Any ideas for another novel?” he teased her as she rested back against the soft leather of the private company jet that was taking them back home.
“Lots,” she turned her head to look at him. They had been offered champagne and caviar by a smiling and pleasant stewardess but she had foregone the caviar, never getting used to the taste. “I can’t believe you did this,” she murmured looking at him with a smile curving her lips.
“I wanted you to have an experience you never had before,” he told her reaching for her hand with the rings on her fingers. “I know you have not said anything about it to me but I want you to know that I love you,”
“Julian-“ she began but he stopped her.
“I know you care about me and when we make love it's magic.” He laughed softly and brought her hand up to his lips. “I am not used to being on the receiving end of wondering if she is in love with me.”
“I am not sure what I feel.” She told him. “You have swept me off my feet and my head is still spinning.” She reached her other hand over to close on his.”You are doing something right my husband and it’s making me draw closer and closer to you.”
“I will continue to do so.” He pulled her as close as the arms of the seat would allow them and they stayed that way until the plane descended.
*****
Kym settled strangely into her married life. She still had not given up her house but went there most days to finish writing. For the first week after they came back from their honeymoon, she totally forgot that she no longer lived at her house officially and it was when her husband came to pick her up that she remembered. She had taken off her wedding ring when she had been typing and often did that and usually forget to put them back on.