Renewed (Awakened Book 2)

by Watkins, CN

  “Jennifer,” Stefan whispered. I snapped out of my trance and raised my eyebrows. “Are you listening? I have to recite my vows.”

  Don’t cry…don’t cry!

  “My dearest Jennifer,” Stefan begun, squeezing my hands and pulling my eyes into his own. “All my life I have wandered, looking for someone or something to fill my void, my broken void. When I first saw you, my world paused. It was you. Only you. Forever, it will be you. I want you to know that no matter where life takes me, you will always be by my side. I am so honored to have found you. You’ll forever be mine, and I’ll forever be yours. You are my Heaven, my abyss. I can’t let go of you, I can’t let anyone else have what I have. I’ll love you forever and an infinite amount of days, baby.”

  Don’t cry…

  Oh God! I’m crying!

  Stefan reached in his pocket and pulled out a tissue for me. I mouthed thank you as I wiped under my eyes, trying not to smear my make-up.

  “Stefan, it’s amazing how quickly a person’s life can change. You have awakened my soul, forced me to open my eyes and made me appreciate life for everything it is.” I stopped and took a deep breath, trying not to cry.

  “Stefan, you are my everything. I can’t imagine my life without you. Thank you for taking me, all of me, and making me whole. I promise to honor and cherish you for as long as I’m breathing. I love you.”

  A tear fell and Stefan reached up, wiping it away.

  We’re really doing this…

  “And now we tie this love together with wedding rings. Stefan, if you will please slip Jennifer’s wedding ring on her left finger.” Stefan reached in his pocket and pulled out a diamond band. The band was covered in diamonds; it looked nice next to my engagement ring, but still too much. “Jennifer, if you will please slip Stefan’s wedding band on his left hand.”

  I looked back at Kennedy who handed me Stefan’s wedding band. I had picked it out right after I found my wedding dress. It was a dark silver band with a single diamond in the middle of it. It reminded me of him because I was only his, and he was only mine—we were one. I slipped on the wedding band and watched him look it over, his eyes swimming with emotions.

  “Now, with the power vested in me, Stefan, you may kiss your beautiful bride.” Stefan pulled me into his arms and dipped me down, making me throw my arms around his neck.

  “I’ve been waiting a very long time to do this, Mrs. Long,” Stefan said as I felt his fingers trail up my back to my neck, holding me still. Stefan touched his lips to mine and kissed me, slowly dipping his tongue into my mouth. I moaned against his lips as his other hand trailed down and squeezed my backside.

  I can now die a happy woman.

  After a moment, Stefan twirled me back to my feet and put his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

  “I now introduce to you to Mr. and Mrs. Stefan Long,” The preacher said to nobody, but I heard every word. I looked over at Stefan who was smiling.

  “Let’s go get you fed before I have my way with you all night,” Stefan whispered in my ear as we walked down the imaginary isle. I turned around and looked over my shoulder at Ayden as he dipped Kennedy and planted small kisses over her lips and nose. She was giggling as she tried to keep her dress down.

  “Congratulations again, sir,” Charles said as we crawled into the back of our SUV.

  “Thank you, Charles,” Stefan said before grabbing my chin and giving me another deep, passionate kiss. He pulled back and eyed me, running his eyes over my lips. I was panting, waiting for him.

  “We need to get you out of that dress...how the hell do I unhook it?” Stefan asked as he pulled me onto his lap to look around me.

  “Undo the bow,” I whispered. Stefan trailed his finger down my spine following it with kisses. I was going to melt.

  “Done,” he whispered.

  “Now you’ll find the zipper.”

  I heard the zipper slowly pull down, then Stefan stopped. “Charles, please drive around until I tell you to stop.” Charles nodded as Stefan put up the shield, blocking out Charles.

  “What about Kennedy and Ayden?” I asked.

  “I told them to go to the restaurant and wait for us.” Stefan had begun to pull the lace straps off my shoulder and was gently placing kisses on each shoulder.

  Stefan pulled my dress down, revealing my white corset.“What the hell are you doing to me, baby?” he asked as he moved out from underneath me. He laid me down on the seat and began gently pulling my wedding dress off.

  “I love your dress,” he said as he pulled it off. “But holy shit, I love what you’re wearing underneath it.”

  He tossed my dress aside and looked me over. “I’m not even going to take these off.” He ran his fingers over my stockings. “I can’t wait to be inside of you.”

  I spread my legs open, showing him I was ready. He ran his hands up my legs, to my thighs, over my stomach and stopped when his body was on top of mine.

  “Hi,” I whispered.

  “Hi. You ready, Mrs. Long?” He smirked. I hooked my leg over him as he ran his hand down my body, grabbing my butt. I was so wet for him, yet he’d hardly touched me. He lifted himself up and unzipped his pants, pulling his long erection out.

  Oh, he was ready!

  Stefan pulled my panties to the side and circled his finger around my entrance, spreading my lips apart. “Baby, I love how wet you are.” He plunged two fingers inside of me, causing me to gasp for my next breath. He pulled his fingers out and shoved them in his mouth, sucking on them. “You taste delicious.”

  He grabbed my thighs and plunged into me, filling me completely. I moaned as I arched my back, pressing my breasts against him.

  “This is going to be fast, baby.” Stefan pounded into me, holding my thighs tight. “I will never get enough of you,” he said as he continued to drive into me. I moaned out, feeling my body squeeze around him.

  “Stefan!” I cried as I felt my orgasm hit me.

  “Scream my name, baby.”

  I moaned his name over and over as he brought me down from my orgasm. I felt his cock throb inside of me, signaling he was close as well.

  “Fuck!” Stefan cried out as he released himself inside of me. He laid his body on top of mine, nuzzling my neck.

  I love my sweet, compassionate Stefan.

  After a moment, he pulled out of me and sat down at the end of the seat, pushing himself back inside his pants. “You’ll leave this on, but here is another dress.” He handed me a plastic bag. Inside I found a white, short dress with a beautiful sweetheart neckline and little jewels accenting the top. I wiggled myself into it and looked down. It came to about my mid-thigh and looked beautiful. He handed me a shoebox with a pair of white high-heeled peep toe’s that were also covered in jewels. I pulled them out and found the bottoms of the shoes were red.

  Oh my…holy shit!

  “Stefan,” I whispered.

  “Do you like them?”

  “Do I like them?” I peeled my eyes off of the Christian Louboutin shoes that sat on my lap to look at him. “Stefan, I love these!” I wanted to kiss my shoes—maybe even sleep with them tonight.

  He helped me pull my stockings off, and I leaned down, slipping on my shoes as Stefan rolled the glass down between Charles and us.

  “You can take us to eat now,” Stefan said as Charles nodded.

  I stared down at my beautiful shoes. Kennedy was going to shit a brick!

  “I’m so glad you love them.” Stefan kissed my cheek. “Thank you for making me the happiest man on this planet.”

  “Thank you for making me the happiest woman.” I smiled back at him.

  “Are you sure we can’t stay longer?” Kennedy asked as we got onto the plane.

  “Kennedy, you guys are more than welcome to stay longer, but I have a doctor’s appointment and Stefan still has plenty of work to get back to.” I wished that we could stay forever. It was truly paradise here, and I wasn’t ready to go back to the real world.

  Kenned
y shrugged as we all sat down and took our seats on the airplane. First class was something special; extra leg room extra storage room, blankets, pillows—the works! I got comfortable and buckled my seat belt. Stefan had been busy on his phone since we left the hotel; I had to remember that he still had a company to run.

  A flight attendant came by and asked us if we were interested in anything to drink. We both replied no; I planned on sleeping this whole flight. I was worn out from our vacation, and my body was sore.

  As I looked out the window, I realized how I would miss this place, but I was so excited about getting home and getting everything ready for Bean.

  “I have a proposition for you,” Stefan said as we began taking off. I squeezed his hand and closed my eyes. I hated take off; I always got nervous.

  “What’s your proposition, Mr. Long?” I asked.

  “My proposition for you, Mrs. Long, is to work for me.”

  My jaw hit my lap, and I opened my eyes.

  “What?”

  “I want you to work for me,” he said calmly.

  Work for him?

  No, no, no, no! There was no way! I was his wife, what would people at his office think?

  But a job at Long Publishing?

  “Why do you want me to work for you?” I was sure he could hear the hesitation in my voice.

  “Because before we left for the trip, someone in our accounting department left, and I figured it would be nice to have you at work.”

  “I don’t know how I feel about that. I mean, first off, I’m your wife now. Second, we have a child on the way, and I really need to get everything together for that.” That was a pretty pathetic excuse; I still had seven months, but I just couldn’t work for him.

  “Just shut up and say yes.” Stefan leaned over and kissed me, causing my insides to melt, and any rational decision making flew right out the window.

  “Two conditions,” I responded. Stefan raised his eyebrows, waiting for what I was going to say next. “One, this is only temporary. Once Bean is born, I would like to stay home.”

  “Of course,” Stefan said as he rubbed circles on the inside of my hand.

  “Second, I want to work from home, not the office.” I looked at him, waiting for him to respond.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because, I’m your wife, and I don’t think it would look good for me to be working at the office.”

  “Jennifer, I don’t care about what anyone else thinks. I will trample anyone who gets in my way. I will fire whoever. You working for me is my business, no one else.” Stefan was stern, but I was sticking by my decision.

  “Well, if I’m working for you, it’s from home.”

  “Are you making demands now?”

  “Yes.” I was getting shaky.

  “I’ll show you demands, Mrs. Long,” Stefan whispered into my ear.

  “Take the deal or leave it,” I replied, trying to maintain self-control.

  “You drive a hard bargain.” Stefan nuzzled my neck. “Fine! If it gets you to work for me, I’ll take you however I can get you.” I smiled and did an internal dance. It wasn’t often that I got my way..

  “When do I start?”

  “Tomorrow. I’ll need you to come up to the office to see how everything works, and then we can set you up at the house. I’m having Nancy order you a desktop computer and anything else you might need.”

  “Stefan, I already have the laptop.”

  “No, you need a desktop. End of it.” He looked at me, his eyes lit with fire, so I dropped the conversation. I wasn’t pressing it.

  I leaned my head up against the window and pulled my legs up under me. I started drifting off when Stefan laid a blanket on me and began rubbing my leg. “Get some sleep, baby,” he whispered as I began drifting off.

  Working for my husband…here goes nothing.

  Chapter Thirteen

  We pulled up into the driveway, and I noticed something on the front porch...flowers? I hopped out of the SUV as soon as Charles put it in park and ran to the front door.

  “Who the hell is sending flowers?” I heard Stefan ask Kennedy. I bent down and looked for a card; the aroma of the bright yellow flowers filled my nostrils.

  My dearest Jennifer,

  Here are some flowers for you. I hope we can meet soon and catch up, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.

  See ya soon!

  xo Dad

  My heart fell into my stomach as the card fluttered to the ground. I was going to be sick. I put my hand over my mouth and another hand on my tummy, protecting my unborn child.

  “Birdfoot Deervetch, it means…revenge.” Ayden’s voice quickly transformed into a whisper. Kennedy grabbed my waist, and I stared at the flowers—the bright yellow death flowers.

  He knew where I lived…where my family lived.

  “What the fuck is happening?” Stefan was behind me, putting his arms around me. Kennedy unhooked her arm from my waist and I turned around, pushing my face into Stefan’s white, Ralph Lauren polo. The tears started to fall. Stefan wrapped his arms around me, smoothing out my hair.

  “Her fucking dad!” Kennedy said.

  “What?” Ayden asked. Stefan squeezed me tighter.

  “Her dad! Her dead beat dad is after it again. Jennifer, baby, he has to go through a lot of people to get to you.” Kennedy rubbed my back as the endless sobs continued.

  “Charles!” Stefan yelled.

  After a moment, Charles was next to him. “Sir?”

  “I want you to find George White. I want to know cell numbers, address, where he’s employed…I want to know what he is fucking wearing and eating every day. Got that?”

  “Yes, sir,” Charles replied.

  “Any resources you need, make them available to you or anyone on my staff. Also, I want round the clock security at our house until I know of his whereabouts.” Stefan squeezed me, kissing the top of my head. “Get these fucking flowers out of my sight, please.”

  I had calmed down, but now my head was pounding.

  “Got it, sir.” Charles picked up the vase of flowers and walk off.

  “Mind telling me what’s going on?” Ayden asked.

  “I’ll tell you on the way home. Jennifer, I love you. If you need me, call me.” I still had my face in Stefan’s chest when Kennedy kissed the side of my head.

  “She’ll call you,” Stefan told Kennedy.

  I heard them drive off as we stood by our front porch. What if he came here, what if he tried to kidnap me…or worse, what if he tried to kill Stefan?

  “Jennifer?” Stefan pulled me away from him. “Please believe me when I tell you that nobody will hurt you. I will kill whoever even tries to lay a finger on you.”

  “I don’t want you to kill him, Stefan.” He was still my dad…my awful, murderous father who kicked me out and abandoned me.

  “Jennifer.” Stefan’s eyes were dark. “If he lays a finger on you, I will take whatever actions necessary to protect you. If that means inflict pain on him, so be it. You,” he placed his finger under my chin, pulling me closer to him. “Are my primary concern and that will never change. You trust me?” he asked as we started walking to the garage.

  “With my life.”

  Stefan smiled as we made our way into our home, our unbreakable home. Stefan led me to the living room, sitting me down on the couch. “I need to feed you,” he said as he kissed my forehead and walked to the kitchen.

  “Stefan, really…I’m not hungry.” I just wanted to sleep.

  “Jennifer, you are carrying a child. You need to eat,” he said, digging through the refrigerator.

  I ignored him as I got up and made my way to our bedroom. I kicked off my flip flops and threw my lifeless body onto the huge, king sized bed. Why couldn’t my father just stay out of my life? Hadn’t he done enough to destroy me?

  I turned over on my stomach and screamed into my pillow as my tears began flowing. I hated him! I hated the secret he made me keep all my life! I hated that I stil
l loved him and wanted a normal father daughter relationship with him. I had spent my whole life running from him, and he always found me. I just wanted him gone! Out of my life!

  I punched the mattress with each fist again and again, screaming into my pillow as the tears flowed. I wanted to disappear; take Stefan and our baby and get far away from here.

  I heard Stefan open the door, but I couldn’t stop. My body was on autopilot, and there was no turning it off anytime soon.

  “Jennifer, for Christ sake!” He threw his body on top of mine, pinning me down so I couldn’t move.

  “Get off of me!” I yelled. I wormed my way out from underneath Stefan and grabbed a pillow, throwing it at the dresser and knocking over cologne.

  “I hate him!” I yelled, throwing another pillow at the mirror right beside me trying to get my reflection. “I hate what he has done to me, Stefan. He ruined my entire life!”

  “Baby, calm down. Let’s talk about this.”

  “I’m done talking. I have so much hatred towards that man! I could kill him with my thoughts!” I gripped my stomach as shooting pains rocketed through me.

  “Jennifer!” Stefan leaped across the bed, grabbing me as I fell to the floor, putting myself into the fetal position. “You need to calm down, or you’re going to hurt our baby with this stress. Let it go! Let it fucking go, Jennifer…give him up. You’re better than this. We’re better than this. You have a full life ahead of you, with me and our baby.” Stefan placed a protective hand over my stomach.

  The tears consumed me. I couldn’t live like this anymore. I was always looking over my shoulder for him. I deserved better, so much better! I let it go, I let him go as I cried so hard into Stefan. I let him go for me; for us. I forgave him for every bad thing he did in my life—including killing my own mother.

  “I forgive you! I forgive you for touching me. I forgive you for beating me. I forgive you for killing my mother. You took my guardian angel, but I forgive you.” Tears were still flowing. “I hate him, Stefan, I hate him more than I could ever describe in words, but I,” I took a deep calming breath and pulled away from him chest. I looked at Stefan. “I forgive him,” I whispered.