by Alyse Zaftig
My heart soars. I feel like I’m jumping over a rainbow right now.
Right there, in my little bedroom and with his son asleep upstairs, Jeff sinks to one knee.
“Elia, I promise to take care of you for as long as we’re married. I’ll make sure that you’re in a good position when you leave. I’ll pay for your years of college, as many as you want. Will you marry me?” He fishes a ring box out of his pocket and opens it. It’s a small diamond in a fabulous setting.
I always thought that I would get married when I was madly in love. Maybe I’m young, but I always believed in the forever kind of love, the sort when the prince goes hunting for you and heals you with true love’s kiss.
What he’s offering is temporary. It’s only to save his son. Oh, I know that sleeping with him has something to do with it, even if my dad doesn’t. This proposal isn’t because he’s overwhelmed by love for me. He’s just doing it for the sake of expediency.
I don’t care. I will take what he’s offering before it’s gone.
“Yes.”
He takes the ring out of the box and slides it on my finger. The band fits me perfectly.
“How did you even get this? Did you just run to the jewelry store?” I look at the clock. There’s no way he could’ve called my dad and driven to the nearest jewelry store. They’re probably closed right now anyway.
“It’s my grandmother’s ring.”
I swallow hard. “I’ve never seen it before.”
He sighs and rises. He sits on the bed. “With my first wife, she dragged me to a diamond dealer and had a custom design so that it suited her personality. My mother was kind of devastated, actually.”
I swallow even harder. “So you’re giving me something that you’ve never given anyone else?” My stupid little heart is flying like an eagle, soaring where the air is thin, even though I know that this engagement is not real. The marriage will end. I can’t get my hopes up.
“Yup.” He looks down at the ring on my hand. “I remember the smell of lemon,” he tells me. “She loved lemon bars and would bake them all the time. She’d serve them with tea, but I always got 90% milk and 10% tea. She’d like you. She’d be happy to have you as Danny’s stepmother.”
I’m trying not to cry. It shouldn’t feel this real, but it does. He’s just given me his grandmother’s ring.
“I promise to take care of it for as long as I wear it.”
“I know you will,” he says. “I know.”
When he leans in for a kiss, it’s so gentle and tender that my entire body melts as quickly as a popsicle on a hot July day. Warmth is spreading through my whole body. He kisses my neck and bites me hard enough to make my back arch.
Not long ago, I was messing around on my computer. Now my clothes are coming off and he’s yanking open his pants, the buckle clinking as it slides to the floor.
“I have to make you mine.”
His big hand is sitting between my thighs and pets my clit.
“You’re wet,” he observes.
“Yes,” I whisper.
He gets back on the ground, kneeling between my thighs. The touch of his tongue feels like a paintbrush that’s on fire. My hips jerk forward as he continues to consume me, two fingers circling my clit around and around. I can’t scream, so I just breathe heavily and as quietly as I can.
When my body goes hurtling into the stratosphere, Jeff pushes his cock into my entrance. The slide forward is slick from my orgasm.
Our eyes meet as he slides all the way in. His hands go to my hips, forcing me to move with his rhythm. He’s breathing hard, chest rising and falling rapidly. He leans forward and bites the top of my right breast, which makes me come. I’m trying very hard not to scream as my body clenches again and again around him.
He yanks my feet up and puts my ankles at his shoulders. He’s even deeper now, touching me so far inside that I think he’s going to pop out of my throat. My head is whipping from side to side as he grunts and lets go. I can feel his warmth spreading through my body.
Too soon, he withdraws slowly enough that I feel a shiver of pleasure.
“You’re perfect,” he tells me, looking at the come spilling out of my body. “Perfect.”
He dives to the side and brings my hand to his mouth for a kiss before I can even blink. He’s kissed the ring he put on my finger.
“We’ll get married as soon as we can," he tells me.
Chapter 19
Marriage
Elia
TWO DAYS LATER
I’m wearing an ivory dress, even though I’m not a virgin. Butterflies are camped out in my stomach. Is this really the future that I want?
I look at Danny, who is sitting in the corner of the dressing room. He’s playing with a pink bear. He’s not old enough for someone to take it away from him.
The sight helps settle my stomach. It will be one of the greatest honors of my life to be Danny’s stepmother.
“Let me fix your tiara,” Kelly says. She and Camilla are my bridesmaids. I couldn’t choose a maid of honor, but they’ve been taking care of everything that needed to happen.
I thought that we’d just go to a courthouse and get a justice of the peace to pronounce us man and wife, but Jeff insisted on a real wedding. I thought anything legal would count as a real wedding, but we’ve invited a bunch of his business associates and my friends to attend. Cost isn’t an issue, so it’s pretty much a huge party with an open bar. The ceremony will take a very short time. It’s all about the party that we’re having tonight.
I can hear the band starting up. It means that he’s getting ready to walk.
“How do I look?” I ask them.
“You look fabulous,” Kelly says, wiping a tiny smudge of lipstick from the corner of my mouth. “You’ll knock them dead.”
“Remember to breathe,” Camilla says.
I’m dressed in the sort of white dress that little girls dream about. It’s fluffy and the bodice is covered in tiny seed pearls. One shoulder is bare. My veil barely covers my face and attaches to my very small tiara.
“Here we go,” they tell me. My dad still isn’t back from China yet, so my uncle is giving me away. He’s waiting outside the door. He’s taken all of this in stride, not asking a bunch of questions about the hasty circumstances. I think that he thinks that I’m pregnant, but I’m really not sure. I don’t know if it matters.
“Ready, kid?”
“Yep,” I tell him. “All set.”
He walks slowly in consideration for the heels I’m wearing. They are dream shoes, even if I know my feet are going to screaming at the end of the day.
There are gasps when I appear in the doorway, Camilla and Kelly helping carrying my train. I’m happy, looking at all the beaming faces. Nobody seems unhappy or upset about everything. They’d only had a day’s worth of notice, but people had come for their lunch break.
I walk up the aisle, going straight for Jeff. He looks extraordinarily handsome in a tuxedo. When we get to the end, my uncle pats my hand and goes to sit down with my aunt. Jeff lifts my veil and flips it over my head.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here…” the officiant starts, and I look at Jeff. Most ministers don’t do hasty weddings like this, so I suspect that Jeff bribed somebody to make it happen. I don’t know if I should be exasperated or happy.
I can’t even hear while I’m up there. I’m trying not to cry happy tears and ruin my makeup, but this is as close to a fairytale as I’m going to get. Other girls wait and agonize for a year to taste different cake samples and think about the exact shade of the tablecloths. Jeff just asked around for wedding planners with cancelled weddings and slid right into a slot with a runaway bride who jilted her groom with one day to go. With him around, everything was easier.
The priest asks me to say “I do”. Then he asks Jeff. Now we’re man and wife.
Jeff kisses me softly on the lips and I can hear happy sighs in the crowd.
Then we turn to the audience. I am bl
inded by flashes, but I keep a smile on my face. No matter what the future brings, I will never forget the happiness of this moment. Danny’s asleep in a carrier in the front row next to my aunt.
Five hours later, my feet are screaming and my stomach is full. I’ve been kissed by Jeff so many times my mouth has swollen to twice the normal size. And still people are clinking their forks against their glasses.
“You want to get out of here?” Jeff asks as he watches me surreptitiously rub my feet.
“Yes,” I say gratefully. I look out at the room. “But the party’s in full swing.”
“They won’t even notice.” Jeff takes my hand and kisses my new wedding band. “Let’s sneak out. I’ll tell the DJ to make an announcement that the free bar is open until 5 AM.”
He goes to the DJ and tells him what to say. As soon as the DJ announces it, there’s a stampede for the bar that only free booze can create.
Jeff and I sneak out through a side door.
“That was crazy,” I say, the cold air hitting my face.
“Let’s go home,” Jeff says. Danny is staying with my aunt and uncle tonight. I shiver at the tone of Jeff’s voice.
Chapter 20
Wedding Night
Jeff
Elia looks unbelievable. I had to hold myself back from kissing her shoulder all day. The smooth brown skin looks so soft and inviting. It doesn’t help that I already knew what it felt like. I drive us both home, feeling myself getting harder, thinking of what she’ll look like when I’ve stripped her.
And then we’re home.
“Wait for me,” I tell her. I get out of the car and run around the front. She opens her door before I can, but then I’m pulling her out of the car and nudging the door shut with my shoulder. My arms are full of her.
“What are you doing?” she squeals. Her arms wrap around my neck.
“Carrying you over the threshold, babe.” I kiss her ear and then her soft shoulder before walking to the front door. Thank God I had the foresight to keep it unlocked because I knew that I’d be carrying her in.
My foyer has motion detecting lights which blaze on as soon as we get in. I take a moment to adjust to the brightness of the light before taking her upstairs to the master bedroom.
I set her down gently on the bed then say, “Turn.”
She leans forward, exposing her back to me. There are little pearl buttons going down the back. I undo them one at a time, watching the smooth flesh revealed just a little bit of the time. I think I might die of anticipation on my wedding night, but what a way to go. I kiss my way down her back until I’m kneeling next to the bed.
“Let’s get you out of those. Stand.” I get back to my feet and pull the entire dress over her head. There’s way too much fabric flying around everywhere. It feels like a snowstorm, but then I’m throwing it to the side and advancing on her.
“Get naked,” she tells me.
I yank off my tuxedo. If I were a patient man, I’d hang it up so that it didn’t wrinkle. But I’m too impatient to do anything that will slow down what I’ve been wanting to do all day.
She’s still wearing her diamond earrings that were something new. She has a blue bracelet on her wrist that was her something borrowed, as well. My grandmother’s ring was something old.
“You’re incredible,” I say to her, parting her thighs with a gentle hand on the inside of each knee. “And I’m going to eat you.”
Before she can say anything, my head is lower so that my tongue touches her inner folds. She immediately writhes under me. I push her knees a little further apart so that I can get access. After letting go of her knees, my fingers are rubbing her clit as my tongue flits in and out of her warmth. Damn, she tastes so good and sweet. I took her virginity, but our wedding night also feels sacred. I feel like tonight is the foundation of the rest of our lives together.
I eat her through one orgasm, then another. And still, I feel insatiable. I want to feel her coming on my tongue until neither she nor I can move anymore.
Chapter 21
Bubble Bath
Elia
I’m gasping for air as Jeff picks up the pace between my legs. He’s not exactly a slouch in the bedroom department on a normal day, but on our wedding night, he’s making me fly apart in this bed. I’m not exactly sure that I can speak in full sentences at this point. He’s making me orgasm over and over and over. I can feel the wetness on my thighs but he doesn’t stop.
“Fuck me,” I beg. I want more than his tongue inside of me.
“You’re so sweet,” he tells me, putting his hard naked body on top of mine. He’s heavy, but it’s a good feeling. It’s kind of like being under a sexy slab of rock.
Tonight is not the first time we’ve had sex. But when he enters me and maintains eye contact, it feels like the first time. We are making love right now, tender and sweet. His hands are on either side of my shoulders as he rides my body to our mutual completion.
I’m worn out by the quantity of orgasms I’ve experienced, but somehow I fall over the cliff earlier than he does. With a grunt, he fills me with his seed. I love watching him lose control on top of me, swinging his hips just a little bit harder as he finishes his orgasm.
When he’s stopped spurting inside of me, he rolls off of me and puts an arm around me.
“I love you,” he tells me.
“I love you.”
I can smell the scent of sex in the room as I fall asleep after a very long day and too many orgasms to count.
I wake up to the smell of bacon and coffee.
“Morning, wife.”
I open one eye. “Morning, husband.” My voice is sleepy. I reach for a mug at the side of the bed and sip the coffee. It’s my French roast. After finishing a mug, I feel more human. I put the empty mug back on the nightstand.
“When do we have to pick up Danny?” Jeff asks.
“Noon. They figured that we’d be getting up kind of late,” I tell him. “So we have a few hours.”
“Let’s shower,” he says.
“What about the bacon?”
“It’s pretty hot. It can wait.”
He picks me up, throws me over his shoulder, and walks into the bathroom. I can feel the stickiness from last night dripping down my leg.
He puts me into the giant tub in his room and pours in bubble bath before coming in with me.
I look at the width of his shoulders. They’re twice the size of mine and I think I have man shoulders. I lean forward and kiss the indent of his collarbone.
“You’re insanely gorgeous,” I tell him.
“Everything’s under the bubbles,” he protests.
“Not everything.” I catch his mouth with mine and move to his lap so that I’m straddling him. With my tongue in his mouth, he feels like we might go another round. His hands land on my backside.
Chapter 22
Shower
Jeff
I guide her to my erection, but it’s hard to see anything right now. I put one hand under the water so I can put my dick next to her entrance. As soon as she feels it, she slides down in a move so perfect I feel pre-come shooting out as my eyes close and head falls back.
“Fuck,” I say.
Her hips move on top of me as she rides me. She was a virgin not long ago, but she knows how to make me moan. Her tits are bobbing at the surface of the water, covered in bubbles. I play with one of her nipples as she picks up the pace and uses my shoulders to stabilize herself as she starts going at me with a wild rhythm. My heart feels like I’m running at full speed right now. Her vanilla scent and the light strawberry essence in the bubble bath are mixing in my nose.
“Turn around, sweetheart,” I tell her. Without disconnecting her from my cock, I urge her to spin. Now her back is to my chest and I have unrestricted access to her clit.
She moans loudly as I flick the slick nub. When I bite her shoulder, she lets go, screaming and clenching like crazy around my cock. She is breathing so hard right now. I can feel every breat
h she takes.
“Now me,” I tell her. I force her body to rise and fall on top of mine. She’s limp from her orgasm. My head falls back as I scream wordlessly from coming inside of her.
When I can think again, Elia says, “We need another bath after our bath.” She giggles a little bit. My cock is still inside of her.
“We need to rinse off,” I tell her. I ease her off of me, climb out of the tub, and then give her a hand out. We’re tracking soapy water on the ground, but I don’t care. We move into the shower stall in the corner. It has a detachable shower head. I spray her with water, paying extra attention to the area between her legs.
Without asking, she steals the shower head from me and hoses me down, too. Between the bubble bath and the water, we should be somewhat clean. I turn the water off and grab a towel to wrap around her. Then I get my own and we go back into the bedroom.
“I’m starving,” she says the second that she sees the bacon and pancakes waiting for her. I called the diner closest to my house the second that I woke up this morning. She’s eating buttermilk pancakes like her life depends on it. The bacon must have been inhaled, because it’s gone already. I go to my side of the bed and get the box of hot coffee so I can refill her mug.
When the pancakes are gone and she’s had two more cups of coffee, she pushes the plate away and falls back on the pillows at the head of the bed.
“I wish every day was like this.”
“Wouldn’t that be perfect?” I ask. I kiss the top of one perfect, full dark-skinned breast. “But we both have responsibilities.”
Chapter 23
Morning After
