by Margaret Kay
Elizabeth couldn’t keep her eyes off her reflection during the cut, blow dry, and style. She changed into the dress, speechless from her appearance. After the makeup artist finished with applying the pallet of colors to her face, she gazed into the bright blue eyes of the stranger returning her gaze. The girl in the mirror was beautiful.
“Wow, Doc is going to be bowled over when he sees you!” Angel said, giving her a hug. “Elizabeth, you are stunning.”
Elizabeth felt her cheeks heat. “I can’t believe the difference.”
“Holy hell,” Doc said aloud.
“Fuck,” Garcia seconded. “That’s your Elizabeth?”
“I’m going to say yes, given that she’s with the other women, otherwise, I’d never have recognized her,” Doc replied.
“Close your mouth and stop drooling,” Garcia said.
“I’m not fucking drooling,” Doc argued.
“She doesn’t look young or innocent any longer, does she? You’re welcome, by the way,” he remarked.
Doc gave Garcia a sideways glance. Then his eyes slid to the other women. Yeah, they definitely had something to do with this transformation. He rose and met the women half-way, taking Elizabeth into his arms. He placed his lips beside her ear and whispered. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but damn do you look beautiful.”
A wide smile spread over Elizabeth’s peach tinted lips. “Thank you.”
Doc let his eyes take her in. Her hair was cut, falling to just above her breasts. It looked thicker and there were highlights of lighter blond in it. It was parted on the side creating a sexy effect on her face, which literally glowed. She wore tinted, shiny lip gloss, her eyebrows were defined in a perfect arch, and she wore eye makeup. When his gaze lowered down her neck, he found her creamy white skin was exposed from the off the shoulders, deep cream and gold sweater dress Angel had lent her. It hugged her pregnancy-blossomed curves. Thank you, Angel!
“Please tell me you bought some of the makeup they used on you.”
She giggled shyly. “I bought the moisturizer only because it is a very good product and I loved how it felt on my face. I also bought the lip gloss. I’ve never worn color on my lips, but I really like how it looks.”
“You could have bought everything,” Doc said, disappointed she hadn’t.
“Well, Angel bought me the eye shadow pallet. Madison said I needed the face powder to set the moisturizer, so she bought me that, and Sienna insisted on buying me the eyebrow kit. They said it was because they didn’t get to give me a personal shower before we were married.”
Doc smiled wide. Thank you, ladies! “That was nice of them. Did you enjoy the day?”
Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck. A fresh, delicate scent wafted from her and invaded his senses. “I did. It felt absolutely decadent to have all the beauty services, but what I enjoyed most was spending the day with the three of them. They are all such wonderful people.”
“Hum, hard to believe sinners who spend that much money on self-pleasure can be so wonderful,” he said jokingly as he embraced her more tightly.
“Okay, you were right about that. I’ll admit it.”
Doc laughed. “Let’s go eat as fast as we can. I can’t wait to get you home and feel for myself how soft these lotions and oils have supposedly made every inch of your body.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I do feel incredibly soft.”
Doc groaned. She had no idea how turned on he was. This would be the longest dinner of his life. As they ate, he had a hard time keeping his hands off her. He noticed his teammates had similar difficulties. The atmosphere in the private dining room was definitely sexually charged. You’d think they’d just gotten back from a long mission. The other thing he noticed was how comfortable Elizabeth seemed. She smiled and laughed, looked confident and sexy. She had come a long way in the three weeks since she’d reentered his life.
The drive home though short, was painful for Doc. His mind imagined in detail what he planned to do to her once they were through the door. Even though it was ten degrees out, he was hot. His pants were uncomfortable with his swollen member straining against the zipper.
After they’d passed through the door from the garage into the kitchen, he helped take her coat from her, and then he took the remainder of her clothes from her as well, right there in the kitchen. His hands glided over her silky soft flesh, over every inch of it. His lips took hers in what he knew was an aggressive kiss. No, there was no way he could hold anything back tonight.
“Oh, fuck, Elizabeth, if you aren’t the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he groaned. “I’ve been hard all night.”
A smile curved Elizabeth’s lips, appreciating that she did that to him. “Let’s take this to the bedroom.”
“No, right here,” he insisted. “I want to put your ass print on the fridge by making love to you against it and get hard every time I see it.” His hands roamed over her naked body more. “You are so damned soft. I can’t get enough of feeling you.” Then his lips followed his hands and she exploded in two intense orgasms, one after the other.
He begged her to get on her knees and orally pleasure him, which she did, feeling more okay with the act than she had the first time she had done it. “We didn’t have dessert at the restaurant,” he said. He took a bottle of chocolate syrup from the cabinet and squeezed some over his hard penis. “Lick all of it off, slowly, tease me, and make me plead with you to let me come.”
She wasn’t sure how to do that, but she tried her best. Judging by his moans and his imploring, painful groans to go faster, she knew she had done what he asked. He let fly a string of curses unlike she’d ever heard, pulled her up and pressed her against the refrigerator. Then, he did what he said he would. He drove into her hard and was relentless until he came and collapsed against her.
After he recovered from one of the most intense orgasms of his life, he sat her on the kitchen counter and poured chocolate syrup on her pussy. He licked her, making sounds of enjoyment, his eyes locked on hers. She watched him with intrigue, and he knew she’d never seen anything like it, had never watched porn, and he had a momentary resurfacing of those gut-wrenching feelings of taking advantage of her. Where had that come from? He hadn’t felt that way in weeks. When her eyes rolled back in her head and her body quaked, those ridiculous feelings of his disappeared. This was his wife, pregnant with his child and there was nothing wrong with having sex with her the way he liked it as long as she liked it too, and she obviously did.
The intensity of doing the act in the kitchen, was startling to Elizabeth. Why did it feel so different out of the bedroom? All that was missing were the words of love that she longed to hear from him. They had gotten so close through the phone calls and text messages while he was away on the mission. Their conversations were honest and meaningful. And even the love they’d made since he got back from the mission was connecting. If this wasn’t fueled by love, she wasn’t sure what drove it to be so different than the love they’d made daily, before he left.
Doc swung by the OB’s office on his way home from work after receiving the call that the blood test results that would indicate the gender of their baby were in. The receptionist handed him a sealed envelope. He knew a lot of people did what was called a Gender Reveal Party, in which the envelope was given to a baker to have the color blue or pink baked into the center of the cake, so no one would know the gender until the cake was cut. Or, a trusted friend was given the envelope to get a mini cannon that would fire pink or blue confetti to make the announcement.
He and Elizabeth would do none of those things. They would tell their friends personally, with little fanfare. He brought the envelope home and sat it in the middle of the kitchen table. Elizabeth made a special dinner for them, a roast with potatoes and carrots. The table was set beautifully. He was amazed daily by the household skills she was acquiring.
Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Alexander’s neck. “Are you as anxious to know as I am?”
Doc
chuckled. “You want to open it right away, don’t you?”
Elizabeth smiled wide. “Yes. I’m not going to be able to eat, not knowing.”
Doc sat, pulling Elizabeth onto his lap. He handed the envelope to her. “Open it, but we view the results together.”
Elizabeth ripped it open and pulled the slip of paper out, holding it up in front of their faces. Relief flooded her. A girl! They were having a baby girl. Not that she wouldn’t have loved a baby boy, it was just that she didn’t want any reminders to Alexander of the family he had lost.
Doc embraced her. A part of him wanted a son, not that one would have replaced Daniel, but what man didn’t want a son to carry on the family name? But he was thrilled with a girl. He suspected Elizabeth wanted a girl. Didn’t all women want a little girl to deck out in pretty pink dresses and bows in their hair?
Valentine’s Day was a few days away, creating a dilemma for Doc. Standing in the card aisle reading all the cards, none were right. He did not love Elizabeth and all the cards to ‘my wife’ spoke of love. No matter how badly he wanted to love her, he did not. He liked her. He was content living with her. He was proud of the woman she was becoming, confident and comfortable in his world. He was thrilled she was pregnant with his child. But that was where his feelings ended.
He finally found a card that was appropriate. It talked about looking forward to the future with heartfelt joy, but the word love was never mentioned. Now a gift. He wracked his brain on that one. He ended up at the jewelry store on the first floor in the Shepherd Security Building. He picked out a plain gold cross on a delicate chain. He’d bring her flowers too. Certainly, that would be enough.
Doc reached the conference room for the briefing. Both Alpha and Delta Teams were there, as was Yvette. Doc knew Delta was heading back out for an assignment the next day. He hoped that didn’t mean they were heading out with them, not that he should complain. Since the first of the year, besides the two weeks in Montana, his team had one, three-day mission close to home, so close, he was able to sleep in his own bed. They had a second personal security four-day mission in South Beach at a resort, that had been more like a vacation. Three weeks away during a five-week period of time was nothing to bitch about.
“Let’s get started,” Shepherd announced, quieting the group. “As you know, Delta was scheduled to leave tomorrow to test out a new Rapid Response Team that was recently put together. These Operators have never worked together, so we are going to put them through multiple simulations. The majority are newly graduated from several different training establishments. Due to several other nonoperational constraints, I have decided we will put it off one more week and deploy both Alpha and Delta next Monday. The simulations will run more smoothly with eight of you putting them through their trials. Jackson, you will remain in Ops with Yvette for this one.”
Jackson nodded. He appreciated the accommodation to allow him more time at home, though this one would be fun, and it was a no-brainer. Simulations were great, paintballs instead of real bullets being fired was always desirable.
Cooper smiled at Garcia. “This weekend all teams will be inhouse. If you still want to get married, Saturday would be the day.”
Garcia grinned and nodded. “It’s about fucking time!”
Everyone at the table laughed. They all knew how much he wanted to marry Sienna and have a baby, but Sienna wouldn’t try to get pregnant until they were married. As a teacher, it was frowned upon.
“And Doc has a birthday this weekend too that we’ll celebrate. The big four-oh!” Cooper added.
Doc groaned. “If it’s all the same,” he began.
“Not happening,” Garcia interrupted. “I’ve already got the ‘Doc is older than shit’ balloons. We are celebrating it.” His voice was firm.
“That number is something. Not many men can do this job at the level you do it at, at your age, Doc,” Jackson threw out, an obvious barb.
Doc flipped both him and Garcia the bird. Laughter erupted in response.
Shepherd continued, pulling them back on topic. “The simulation exercises and our timeline for this job has been pushed to all your tablets. Memorize them and your role in each of the six drills. Cooper, Lambchop and I have put a lot of work into them. You will leave the following Monday at zero-six hundred, full tactical gear, both black and desert fatigues, and paintball loads. Plan on being gone a full week. Jackson, you and Yvette will pull shifts in Ops that align with the simulations.”
Saturday morning, February fourteenth, Valentine’s Day, would be a busy day. It was Garcia and Sienna’s wedding day as well as the evening of Doc’s fortieth birthday party. So, Doc brought the flowers home Friday night and gave Elizabeth her card and gift then.
“This is such a beautiful cross, Alexander. Thank you,” she said, gazing at it with admiration. It was plain but the edges were beveled. The chain it hung on was delicate and very feminine. She reread the card.
She went into the closet that held the washer and dryer and brought the card and gift out that she bought for him. She had been out with Angel when they stopped to buy the cards and gifts. Elizabeth found the perfect card for Alexander right away. It talked about being grateful for having him in her life and praised him as a husband. Coming up with the gift idea was harder.
When Alexander finished reading the card, he glanced up at her and smiled. “That’s very nice, thank you.”
“I mean every word. You have already proven yourself to be the best husband I could have asked for.” She held herself back from saying I love you, words she felt, but had not vocalized.
Doc pressed a kiss to her lips. “Thank you.” Then he opened her gift. “Oh, wow, Elizabeth, this is nice.” In a five by seven frame was the Fisherman’s Prayer over a beautiful picture of a calm lake at sunrise.
“It’s for your office at work. Or you could take it out of the frame and roll it up to take on missions with you to always be able to feel at peace like you do when you’re fishing.”
A pang of appreciation hit Doc’s heart. “Thank you. You’ve always gotten it, even when we were in the cave talking about it.”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “Everyone needs to do what feeds their soul. I will try very hard to be understanding and support your fishing trips, but I do hope once in a while you will take me with. I’d love it if you teach me to fish.”
Doc embraced her tightly. “It’s the perfect gift. Thank you. Yes, we’ll go in the early fall and take the baby to my favorite spot.”
Angel and Madison helped Sienna with the arrangements for the wedding and looped Elizabeth in to help plan Doc’s fortieth birthday party that would occur the same night, following the wedding. Elizabeth was embarrassed. She didn’t remember that his birthday was approaching. They were able to book the clubhouse in the townhome complex for the event. BT and Caleb Smith were tasked by Garcia with providing security and a tie-in to Ops.
They got access to the clubhouse that morning and positioned battery operated cameras at strategic locations. It was always risky, having an event that was attended by most of the personnel off-site. The women arrived shortly after it had been secured to decorate. One side of the room was decorated for the wedding, the other with black balloons for Doc’s fortieth birthday party.
There was a side room the ladies would use to change into more formal attire. Although Sienna wanted it kept simple and informal, Anthony insisted she wear a white gown and wanted to see her walking down an aisle with a bouquet of flowers. Sienna would of course give Anthony the wedding day he wanted.
Both her parents had died years before, her father suffering a fatal heart attack, what is known as a widow maker and her mother following a year later from an undiagnosed brain aneurism that ruptured. Sienna had a brother. They had a falling out after their mother’s death and hadn’t spoken in years. She didn’t even know where he lived now. She had a few close friends outside of the agency but knew how much complication it would add if nonagency personnel were there. She’d t
ell them that she and Anthony eloped.
Garcia wasn’t close to his family. They knew nothing about his life since he had joined the DEA prior to being recruited by Shepherd Security. He wouldn’t even tell them about his wedding. As far as he was concerned, his coworkers at Shepherd Security were his family. They were the only ones he cared about being there to celebrate his wedding to Sienna.
Michaela and Yvette joined the other ladies to help decorate when they were about half-way done. Elizabeth didn’t know either one well, so she welcomed this chance to get to know them. Although they had very different personalities, Elizabeth liked them both.
Landon Lambchop Johnson stood in his Dress Blues with his Wedding Officiant Clergy Stole draped around his neck. He held his Bible in his hand. He stood beneath the arch the women had decorated with red and white balloons to celebrate the Valentine’s Day wedding.
The groom and other male guests wore dress pants, dress shirts and ties. The women all wore dresses. The bride had a lovely long-length white gown she’d bought as soon as the couple had gotten their marriage license. It was a designer gown that she would be able to wear for any other formal occasion.
