by Lewis, L. K.
Winter in Paris is beautiful, but the ice-covered sidewalks have made walking a little treacherous. Although I never need an excuse to hold Morgan tight, I am holding on to her a little more tightly knowing that if she falls on the ice, our baby could be hurt as well.
“Although I love how protective you are of me, I’m not fragile now that I’m pregnant,” Morgan says as she looks up at me. I pull her even closer, kissing the top of her head.
“Maybe I just want to hold you close. I just got you back, baby. I’m not ready to be too far from you at any given time just yet,” I say.
“I’m not complaining, mister, I’m not ready to be far from you either….Ooh!” She exclaims brightly as she eyes a shop with macaroons in every color adorning the window, “Let’s stop in here for a moment and warm up!”
We get a few sweet treats to snack on while we continue our walk back to the hotel. The sun has started to set as we walk along the Seine, and Morgan pauses for a moment to take in the sight. The light touches her face, making her hazel eyes shine brighter than ever, and in this moment she has never looked more beautiful. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for all day. Without thinking, I drop to my knees at her feet and reach out to take her hand, and as she turns to look at me I’ve never felt so much love and sheer terror in my whole life.
“I can’t live another minute without you agreeing to marry me.” The words stumble out of my mouth. I had a romantic speech prepared but it’s kind of shot now, so I’m going to go with the moment.
“What? Drake, are you serious?” Morgan asks, clearly me telling her I just wanted to be her boyfriend for a little while threw her off. This was all part of the plan of course.
I pull the blue velvet box that Garrett overnighted to Zurich out of my pocket and look up deep into her eyes as I continue, “Morgan Lane, in all my life I’ve never met someone so beautiful, loving, forgiving, intelligent, and pure of heart as you. Every day is better than the one before because you’re in my life. I can’t wait to raise our child together and have new adventures as a family showing him or her all of our favorite places in this world. I love you, Morgan. I’ve never known love like the love I have for you. I never even thought it was possible to find a love like this after the mistakes I’ve made. If you agree to be my wife, I promise to make you and our child happy every day. I promise to honor your needs for independence and let you take care of me as much as I want to take care of you. I want to live the rest of my life with you as my wife,” I continue as I open the box, extracting the ring and placing it at the tip of her left ring finger. “This was my mother’s ring. I know if she had the chance to meet you she would have instantly fallen in love with you as I did, and would not want it to grace the finger of any other woman but you. I’ll never love anyone as much as I love you, Morgan. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?” I ask as tears stream down Morgan’s cheeks and she covers the gasp that’s escaping her mouth with her hand.
“Yes!” She exclaims, and I slide the ring further onto her finger. Morgan throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck as she sobs. When her breathing has calmed, she pulls back and stares deep into my eyes as though she’s searching my soul. “Nothing in my life is complete without you, Drake. Succeeding in my career, having your baby…if you were still off somewhere without any contact with me I would still have been happy with those things in my life, but without you I wouldn’t feel whole. I can’t wait to be your wife, to be the mother of your child…children hopefully. I will take care of you and our family and do my best to make you happy. I couldn’t think of spending the rest of my life with anyone but you,” she says, and I throw every emotion from this moment into our kiss.
I thrust my hands into her hair, deepening our kiss as I massage my tongue with hers. A few people try not to stare as they walk by, but I couldn’t care less about anyone else in this moment. My focus is only on Morgan and our future together as a family. I get up off my knees and take Morgan into my arms for one last searing kiss, and before I lead her back to the hotel I say, “Let’s go back to the hotel, my love. I need to make love to my beautiful fiancée.” Morgan giggles and takes my hand as I wrap my free arms around her waist and guide her back to the Hotel Banke.
Chapter 20
Morgan
“Has the baby gotten bigger in the past few days?” Drake asks as he explores my body. We’ve made love twice since returning to our hotel room and are lying lazily in bed trying to muster up some energy for dinner.
“Maybe, although I doubt you’d be able to tell in a matter of a few days. I think I’ve just stopped sucking my belly in to hide the bump. The cat is out of the bag and I don’t have to hide our baby from you so why bother?”
“Morgan, why were you hiding the baby in the first place?”
“I just didn’t know how to tell anyone yet. I think I was still in denial that you were gone and was waiting for you to get back so we could tell people together. Plus I knew my parents would go ape shit,” I say.
“Not your dad,” Drake says.
“How do you know?” I ask
“Because he can’t wait to be a grandfather, he told me so.”
“I thought we were waiting to tell my…hold on… when did you talk to my dad?”
“Last night after you fell asleep. You don’t think I’d have the balls to propose to you without asking your father first do you?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it. I love that you did that though, thank you for respecting him that way.”
“Morgan, I’ve known your father longer than I’ve known you. I have a great deal of respect for him. He was very kind on the phone and had been expecting my call. I guess my father called him after we spoke after all. He told me that my father had called to warn him that his one and only child is now a soon-to-be mother by a no good asshole bum, and your father defended me to him.”
“He did?”
“Yes. He told me that he’s always felt horrible about the way my father treated me after my mom’s death and said I could always count on him and he can’t wait for me to be a part of the family.”
My eyes tear up thinking of how Drake must have felt so abandoned as a child. No wonder he sought out affection the way that he did. I vow to myself never to let this beautiful man, the father of my child, my soon-to-be husband, starve for love or affection ever again.
I pull Drake close to me, tangling my legs with his, and start kissing him first on the lips, then along his jawline and down his neck. I wrap my arms around his shoulder, slowly massaging his upper body as I kiss my way down his chest, nibbling on his nipples as I move my way south. Drake lets out a groan as my tongue circles his nipple, and wraps his arms around me holding me even closer. I lick my way down his abs, and kiss the sexy v that paves the way down the happiest of trails. I move my hands from his shoulders down his slender hips, reaching around to grab his firm ass, and Drake lets out a chuckle.
“You love to grab my ass.”
“It’s a mighty fine ass,” I say, “but that’s not the only thing I like to grab.” I continue as I leave one hand on his ass, but gently grab on to his cock as I guide its large entirety into my mouth.
“Ahh, baby, you’re so good at that, keep going,” Drake encourages. I continue to stroke him while sucking the round tip.
After a little while Drake’s moans and pants become more intense and he reaches down to lift me up his body. “I need to be inside you, baby,” he says as he pulls my lips down to his. “You taste better,” he says, and he continues to kiss me as I slide down onto his massive girth.
“Oh God, that feels good, Drake,” I pant as I find my rhythm. Drake’s hands are on my hips, guiding me back and forth at a glorious pace.
“God I love you, baby. I can’t believe I get to do this with you for the rest of my life,” he moans as his hands help to accelerate the pace of my gyrations. Drake grabs my leg with one hand and wraps his arm around my back with his other arm and quickl
y rolls me onto my back, kissing my jawline then down to the base of my neck right above my collar bone. “I’m getting close but I want to enjoy you a little more,” he says as he pulls out, and I instantly feel his absence.
“I need you, Drake,” I pant, pulling at his hips to encourage him to slide back into my entrance.
“I need you too, my love,” he says as he reaches a hand between my legs, sliding a finger in to give my aching some relief. He continues to worship my body with his hands and lips, moving all over to massage and kiss and lick. He moves his way down to the apex of my thighs, licks my glistening lips a few times then licks and gently nibbles my throbbing clit. My hips answer by bucking at him as I start to breathe more heavily, almost reaching my climax. “I love how sensitive you are now, it turns me on so much,” Drake says. “Come for me, Morgan, I want to you to at least once before I lose myself inside you,” Drake continues, and I completely fall apart.
“Drake!” I cry as I find my release, falling into complete euphoria as he continues to lick my folds as I come. Drake sits up into a kneeling position, looping his arms around my knees and pulling me closer to him. He lifts my legs so that my feet are around each side of his head, and thrusts himself into me. I’m immediately at the edge again and I can feel Drake’s length grow inside me as he reaches the edges as well.
“Oh God….Morgan…so good…ahhh!” Drake pants, and as he falls over the edge he takes me with him. Drake collapses over me then rolls us onto our sides, facing each other both with sweet, sated looks on our faces.
“Drake…” I start to speak once I’ve caught my breath, “You will never again feel abandoned. I’ll never let you feel unloved, or leave you needing affection. The baby and I will show you all the love in the world, and we know you’ll do the same for us.”
“Thank you, baby. You already do.”
****
Drake wakes me the next morning with the breakfast cart pulled right next to the bed, and a gleaming look in his eyes, planting soft kisses on my cheeks and the tip of my nose.
“What are you up to?” I ask in a sing song voice.
“Well, first I thought we could have a little breakfast in bed just like our first Sunday morning together. Then I have something special planned for you,” he says, lifting the silver trays off of our breakfast plates.
“Mmm, that smells so good. I’m so glad to be over the morning sickness thing, I could barely brush my teeth before work let alone eat anything, and you know how much I love breakfast. What are we having?” I ask as Drake places a tray over my lap.
“How does a veggie omelet, roasted potatoes, and pain au chocolat sound? There is also a carafe of hot chocolate if you’d like that along with your water. I read that it’s important to drink a lot of water and stay hydrated during pregnancy because your body actually produces more blood to accommodate the baby’s needs as well and it needs extra fluids.”
“You’ve started to research pregnancy?” I ask, so completely touched that tears threaten to breech my eyelids. My pregnancy hormones are in full gear, I think everything makes me cry these days.
“Of course, baby, I promised to keep you and our baby safe and happy. How else am I supposed to do that without reading up on the subject that I honestly know nothing about?”
“Don’t worry, mister, I know nothing about it either. I have some books and websites I can show you when we get home,” I say as I take a bite of omelet.
“Sounds good. Eat up, my love, we have a very special appointment that we can’t be late for,” he says as the same “up to something” look crosses his face. Oh yeah, this is going to be good.
Drake
I may have been raised for the majority of my life without a mother or other female figure, but I am aware of just how important a wedding dress is to a bride. I watched enough girls sketch dress ideas during class in high school and college while they talked to their girlfriends about their dream weddings. I know they come in a ton of shapes and sizes and every girl has a specific idea in mind. Luckily I’ve had a wild card in my back pocket for a while that I played while in Zurich just before flying to Paris.
“Drake, where are we?” Morgan asks as our taxi pulls up to an unassuming little shop on the outskirts of the opera district.
“This is the appointment we can’t be late for,” I say as I look at my watch. “Right on time. Shall we?” I’m being very vague about our actual plans because I want to see the look on Morgan’s face when we walk through the doors. I pay the cab fare and help Morgan out of the cab, holding her close as we traverse the icy sidewalk. I ring the door and we wait for the shopkeeper to appear.
“Drake, Bonjour! It’s been years!” says the beautiful shopkeeper as she kisses both of my cheeks.
“Bonjour, Marie, it’s been too long,” I say, returning her greeting. “This is my fiancée, Morgan,” I beam as I look at a very confused Morgan.
“Of course,” Marie says as she grabs Morgan’s hands, kissing both of her cheeks as well. “My mother has said such wonderful things about you.”
“Thank you,” Morgan says, still trying to figure out what the hell is going on. It’s kind of adorable to watch her wheels spin. Still confused, Morgan looks at me and I start to laugh.
“Morgan, this is Marie, Grace’s daughter. She came to Paris to study fashion and this is her shop.”
I can see the light go on in Morgan’s eyes, but it’s still a little flicker. To clarify, Marie chimes in, “When Drake found you in St. Moritz he called my mother to ask for my number. He called me to say the love of his life was back and would soon need a wedding dress. You’re here today so I can take your measurements and we can look at some sketches I’ve started based on how Drake described your style. Of course, this is your dress, so I’d like to create exactly what you’ve always dreamed of.”
“Drake, you did this for me?” Morgan says as tears fill her eyes.
“Of course, my love. You deserve nothing but the best and I want you to feel as beautiful as I know you’ll look on our wedding day,” I say.
“But I’m pregnant, my measurements will keep changing.”
“We’ll get your measurements today, and you’ll update me as I go. For the final fitting you can fly here or I’ll come to you based on how far along you are and where you decide to get married. I need to visit my mother anyway, it’s been too long,” Marie says.
“I can’t believe I’m having my own wedding gown designed and created for me in Paris!” Morgan exclaims, and I can see her excitement growing.
I decide to give them some space and privacy to talk about the dress design. “I’m going to head out for a bit to give you ladies time to discuss the design. I want to be surprised when you walk down the aisle,” I say as I head toward the door of the shop. “I’ll bring some lunch when I come back along with something to drink. Would you like anything besides water, baby?” I ask Morgan, reminding her that she needs to stay hydrated.
“That sounds fine, thank you,” she says, and I give her a small peck on the cheek and rub her belly before I leave.
****
“So what do you think about Marie?” I ask Morgan on our way back to the hotel.
“She is wonderful. Thank you for arranging for her to make my dress. You are so incredibly thoughtful, I don’t know how I got so lucky,” Morgan says as she snuggles into my shoulder.
“I’m the lucky one, trust me,” I say as I kiss the top of Morgan’s head. “Did you come up with a design you like?”
“Yes, it’s perfect. The waistline is forgiving and Marie is sewing in some extra support for my belly. Those are the only details you’re going to get though, mister. I want you to be surprised when I walk down the aisle as well. By the way, Marie mentioned I could do my final dress fitting here. Are you planning on coming back before the wedding?”
“I don’t know, we haven’t started to work out the details,” I say as our cab pulls up to the curb of our hotel, and the valet is quick to open the door and hold
his hand out for Morgan. I follow her out of the car and escort her to the elevator. When we get into our room, Morgan has a seat on the couch while I order some tea and a snack from room service.
“I told you in Vegas that when I’m finally able to propose I won’t want to wait. I’d marry you tomorrow if I could.”
“Then why don’t you?” Morgan asks, shocking the hell out of me.
“Then why don’t I what…marry you tomorrow?”
“Yes. I can’t wait to be your wife, Drake. It’s all I could think about during our separation. When you told me in Vegas that you wouldn’t want to wait, I was thrilled. Then you left and I was more confused than I’ve ever been. I couldn’t figure out why you said you couldn’t wait to marry me, then in a matter of days you left me.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. I meant it when I told you I couldn’t wait for you to be my wife. I’d love to marry you tomorrow… What about your parents though? What about Amanda? Don’t you want them to be a part of your big day?” I ask.
“They will be, Drake. I still want a big party, and I want to say my vows to you amongst our nearest and dearest, but a wedding is just a day. I want to start our marriage.”
“Oh my God, Morgan, you are by far the most amazing person I’ve ever met. We are going to have a wonderful marriage,” I say as I stand before her and then get down on one knee, grasping her hands with mine.
“Morgan Lane, I love you. I have since the day we first met. Will you marry me tomorrow?” I ask.
“Yes, Drake, nothing in the world would make me happier.”
Morgan
I wake with a smile, knowing today is the day I will marry the love of my life. I never in a million years thought I’d elope, but I’ve never been so excited to do something like this in all my life. At first Drake and I talked about keeping this our little secret, but then figured we’ll be so excited that we won’t be able to keep it in. Plus, why keep such wonderful news to ourselves?
