He was also sure it was the happiest day of his life.
He was standing at the altar of the only church in Destiny, a priest next to him, and everyone he loved in the pews, looking at him with smiles on their faces. Jackson was there with Faith. Grant was there holding Lacey’s hand. Forrester was there with Elle. Even Hunter and Kelly were there, and Deacon and Savannah. Everyone who was important to him was standing there, the men looking handsome in their tuxedos and the women looking beautiful in their fabulous gowns.
He felt as if he’d somehow entered heaven early.
There he was, waiting for his prize, his bride, the girl who stole his heart. Autumn Lane.
Her mother hadn’t been able to attend this happy occasion but her Aunt Shirley was there, along with a few cousins, and that was enough for Autumn to feel the support of her family.
Grady was thrilled that she’d taken to the wives of the other brothers so easily. They’d all met for the first time during the past few days and already, he knew that they’d all be great friends. They’d made plans for him and Autumn to go out to California for a few months so that she could get a taste of where he was from. The women were super excited to take her shopping, show her the vineyard, and give her an education in the fine art of drinking too much wine under the California stars.
He knew it would be good for her. Things were isolated at the cabin and could get lonely at times. It was their life, the life they’d built together, and they both loved it, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t go to California and enjoy some warm weather and civilization every once in a while.
He heard the music change and that snapped him back to the present.
The church organ player started playing a beautiful Bach piece and the door at the back of the church opened. Sunlight poured in through the doors and then, as if she was descending from heaven, out of all that brilliant light, Autumn appeared.
She looked so startlingly beautiful that Grady barely dared to keep his eyes on her. She was draped in rich, white silk and lace, a small bouquet of flowers in her hands, and he felt his knees tremble as her beauty completely overwhelmed him.
“Good God,” he whispered, and the priest smiled when he heard him.
Each step that Autumn took down the aisle toward him was like a miracle. His heart grew with every step she took, his happiness expanding, his love burning like the fire in a furnace.
He was in a daze when she stepped up next to him. He went through the ceremony in a trance.
He wanted this woman more than anything he’d ever wanted in his entire life. With every ounce of his being he wanted to be her husband and he wanted her to be his wife.
When the priest finally pronounced them husband and wife, he grabbed her and lifted her into his arms, kissing her longer and more passionately than was appropriate for a house of God.
“You’re mine now, Autumn,” he whispered in her ear as the crowd cheered for them.
“I was yours the moment you set eyes on me,” she said.
The ceremony was followed with congratulations, and each of the brothers hugged Grady so heartily that he wondered how he had ever managed to feel alone during the dark period in his life. How had he felt overwhelmed when he had such strong support and love from so many good people?
He thanked them all and then went out to the steps of the church with Autumn. A photographer was waiting for them there and they took photo after photo, some serious and formal, some funny and ridiculous. In some it was just the two of them, in others they were joined by Destiny, and in others they had the brothers and their wives and babies, and Autumn’s aunt and cousins.
There weren’t many fancy restaurants in their little town to hold a grand reception but somehow, Autumn had gotten around that detail by organizing the most amazing feast imaginable right at the cabin.
She’d done all the planning herself and the result was just perfect. White flowers covered rows of tables in the field that sloped down from the cabin. An army of caterers served champagne to the guests, and placed real silverware on the white tablecloths. They lit candelabras and even had chandeliers hanging over the tables. Grady took one look at it all and kissed Autumn so hard she had to gasp for air.
“How did you arrange all this?” he said.
“You aren’t the only one who’s been planning a surprise,” she said.
The guests took their seats and they were served the most amazing meal Grady had ever tasted.
Through the entire feast, the speeches and the toasts, the champagne and the delicious food, he hardly took his eyes off his new bride. He was captivated by her. Infatuated. And he finally knew that he was free to gaze at her to his heart’s content for the rest of his life.
Chapter Forty-Six
Autumn
It wasn’t until close to the end of her perfect wedding that Autumn began to wonder about Grady’s surprise. All day she’d been certain it was coming. When they were in the church she was looking for a sign of something spectacular, maybe he’d surprise her by playing something on the organ, or he’d have a performance of some sort arranged, but the church service went off without incident. Then at the dinner celebration, she kept expecting something. A band maybe, or an extravagant gesture during the speeches, but again, everything passed completely normally.
She kept eyeing Grady, trying to tell if he was up to something or not, but every time she looked at him he was looking right back at her, smiling, his eyes filled with love.
When it got dark, a band prepared to play at the dance floor in front of the cabin. Grady and the brothers had spent the past few days building a stage for the dancing and setting up thousands of white light bulbs above it. They gave the whole area a magical glow.
Autumn was holding Destiny and she passed her to Lacey, who she’d been having a pleasant conversation with.
“I think it’s time for the first dance,” Lacey said.
Autumn nodded and gathered her courage. The thought of dancing in front of all those guests made her a little nervous, but when she thought of who she’d be dancing with her nerves melted away.
Grady came up to her and took her hand.
“You ready, my darling?” he said.
She nodded and he led her to the edge of the dance floor. She held his hand and looked around at the faces of all the guests who’d formed around the stage. Everyone was there, their entire world, and she was thankful for all of them. She knew she and Grady had a community around them that would support them through a long and happy marriage.
Grady made a sign to the bandleader to start playing, and immediately, the most beautiful music began. Autumn had no idea what it was, it sounded traditional and exotic at the same time, and as Grady led her onto the dance floor, she was transported to a different world.
She twirled and danced with him and the entire crowd disappeared from her mind. It was like she’d been taken into a fairy tale. The music played and the lights above them shone and twinkled, mingling with the millions of stars in the sky beyond.
“Grady, this is the most magical moment of my life,” she said to him.
“You’re the most magical thing that ever happened to me, Autumn, or should I say, Mrs. Cole?”
She laughed. Autumn Cole. The name had a nice sound to it.
“Are you ready for your surprise?” Grady said then.
Autumn looked at him. Just when she’d forgotten all about it, the time had come.
“What surprise?” she said, trying to sound as innocent as she could.
“Oh come on. I know you’ve been watching me like a hawk these past months. You’ve been doing your darnedest to find out what I’ve been up to.”
“I’ve been doing no such thing,” she protested.
“Oh really?” Grady said, looking at her knowingly. “Then you won’t want to watch that big man on the stage.”
Autumn looked up to the stage. The band was still playing, their mystical exotic music growing more and more impressive as they got more
carried away by the rhythm. At the center of the stage stood a tall and very old man. He was Native American, and Autumn noticed then that all of the men on stage were Cheyenne, from the surrounding country. The music, with it’s mix of tradition and exoticism was Cheyenne too. The man in the center was wearing the traditional clothing of a chief, and he rose his hands into the air.
Grady held her tight and when the Chief’s hands stopped, he brought them down with a sudden flourish and at the very same moment, fireworks started exploding over the valley.
“Oh my goodness,” she cried, the sky erupting into a million different colors, the sound deafening, mixed with the ever more frantic music.
“Grady, you did this?”
“What did you think I was up to?”
“I had no idea.”
He smiled. “It’s not over yet, my love.”
As the fireworks continued, the music grew louder and faster, building to a climax. At its final crescendo, the chief leapt into the air and the very second he landed, the music and the fireworks stopped.
Autumn was breathless. Grady pulled her close against his chest and they stopped dancing. The crowd around them applauded, more at the theatrics of the musicians and the fireworks than at her and Grady’s dancing skills.
“Grady, that was amazing.”
“It’s not over,” Grady said, leading her to the edge of the dancing area where they could look out over the crowd.
The chief on the stage let out a low, guttural chant. It sounded somewhere between music and prayer and the haunting beauty of it gave Autumn goosebumps.
“What’s he doing?” she whispered.
The chief was looking out at the clearing and the crowd around the dance floor followed his gaze. Grady held Autumn as she looked out down the sloping meadow toward the town. At the end of the meadow was the forest and she thought she could see something move. The light of the moon was strong enough to make out something coming out of the trees, something white.
The chief’s chanting grew louder and two more white shapes appeared at the edge of the forest. As they grew closer, the crowd gasped, Autumn gasped, throwing her hand in front of her mouth.
Standing there, just a few dozen yards away, were three full grown wolves, white as snow.
“Grady,” she whispered, unable to take her eyes from the magnificent creatures.
The chief’s chanting stopped and in a high wail, he cried out, “Autumn and Grady, forever and ever.”
As one, the three wolves rose their heads to the moon and howled. Their howls were magical and mystical, filling the entire valley with their sound, and from the forest in every direction they were answered by the howls of other wolves.
“Grady,” Autumn said again, “how on earth did you do this?”
Grady squeezed her hand in his.
“Wolves are loyal,” he said. “They stick by one another. That’s what we do.”
“You’re amazing,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.
They continued to watch the wolves for a few moments, every guest mesmerized by the sight before them.
“Come on,” he said, leading her back across the dance floor to the musicians stage.
“Thank you,” Autumn said when she came face to face with the man dressed as a chief.
He bowed to her and Grady moved her on, along the stage, across the front porch of the cabin and into his car. All the guests were still watching the wolves, captivated by the sight of them as the happy couple made their escape.
“Mister Cole,” Autumn said when she got into the car. “Where are you taking me?”
“It’s your wedding night,” he said to her with a wink. “Where do you think?”
Autumn had no idea but she didn’t have to wonder for long. Grady drove down from the cabin, onto the road into town, but before reaching the town turned off the road.
“What?” Autumn said.
Grady turned and nodded to her. “That’s right. You didn’t think we were going to pass up the opportunity to stay in the best hotel in town, did you?”
Autumn hit him on the shoulder, laughing.
“Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Grady shook his head as he pulled up outside the entrance to the hotel in which they’d first met, the Raven’s Nest.
She looked at him, completely dumbfounded.
“Grady, what are we doing here?”
Grady shrugged and got out of the car. Autumn had no choice but the follow. It was late but there was a light on in the lobby and they walked in through the big old doors. Autumn was surprised at how she felt. She thought she’d have been terrified to return to the hotel, the place that held such strange memories for her, but she found at Grady’s side that she felt right at home there.
She looked at the front desk and saw Mrs. Hildegard’s grim face confronting her. The look on Mrs. Hildegard’s face was one of surprise, but she quickly regained control of herself and drew herself up as tall as she could.
She looked them up and down sternly.
“What can I do for the two of you?”
“We’d like a room,” Grady said, as if it was the most normal, natural thing in the world for the two of them to go in there.
“A room?”
“Yes, it’s our honeymoon,” Grady said, giving Mrs. Hildegard a sly wink. “So you better make it number seven.”
“Very funny,” Mrs. Hildegard said, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment.
“I’m just kidding,” Grady said. “We just popped by to thank you for introducing us.”
“I never introduced you.”
“Well, we met here,” Grady said, “and we just got married, so thank you for that, Mrs. Hildegard. This girl is the best thing to ever happen to me.”
He took Autumn’s hand and led her back to the car, leaving Mrs. Hildegard on the steps, watching them leave with a look of utter confusion on her face.
When they got back to the car, Autumn hit Grady on the arm and laughed. “I can’t believe you brought us in there,” she said.
“I couldn’t help it.”
They both laughed as he drove them to their actual hotel room, which was at the inn in town.
He carried her into the bedroom and lay her down on the bed. She looked up at him and couldn’t believe she was lying in a wedding dress, staring up at her new husband.
“What are you going to do with me now?” she said seductively.
Grady took off his tuxedo jacked and let it fall to the floor. Then he opened his shirt and Autumn let her eyes take in his sexy chest.
“You’re so hot, husband,” she said.
“Oh, you have no idea, wife,” he said.
He tore off his pants and climbed onto the bed, crawling up over her. She tried to get up but he pushed her back down. He stopped when his cock was right over her mouth.
“Oh, I see what you’re after,” she giggled.
She opened her mouth and ran her tongue over the head of his cock. It throbbed with desire as she took him into her mouth. Grady slid in and out of her throat and his cock grew and throbbed as his desire rose.
“I want to eat you too,” he said.
He turned so that they were in a sixty-nine position and pulled her dress up over her waist. She was wearing a garter and sexy lingerie and she gasped when she felt his mouth on the outside of her satin panties.
She sucked his cock as his tongue worked its way inside her panties, finding her clit and pussy lips.
He licked and sucked her clit while she worked his cock, letting it slide deep into her mouth, running her tongue along the shaft.
She felt herself getting closer and closer to orgasm as his cock throbbed in her mouth. She knew it wasn’t going to be long before he came.
She felt him pulse and just before he came in her mouth he pulled out and turned around.
“You ready, wife?” he said, looking into her eyes.
“Always, husband,” she said.
He put his mouth on hers and k
issed her with so much love, so much passion, she felt as if she was in heaven. He was naked, she was in her wedding dress. As he kissed her, his cock slid inside her and started convulsing in orgasm almost instantly. As his cum poured into her, she clenched her legs around his waist and felt her body being overtaken by the strongest, most pleasurable orgasm of her life.
“I love you, wife,” Grady said. “I love you and I always will.”
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I'm not an average girl. I’ve never been like the others. It’s gotten me in more trouble than I can tell, but what can I say? I am who I am.
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A thick, Boston accent? Check.
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Hunter is everything I'd always been warned against. He's the man they always told me to steer clear of. And he's the man I want more than anything I ever saw in my life. I don't care if he's trouble. I don't care if he swears more than a sailor. Everyone can get used to it. Because no one tells me who to love.
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