Forever Love (Love Collection)

by Natalie Ann

  “You haven’t. What is it about them you like so much?”

  One was going between her legs, the other cupping her breast. “That you are so strong and gentle at the same time.” He pinched her hardened nipple. “But can be a little aggressive when I need it.”

  “I want to give you what you need.”

  “Just like any good husband should do, right?”

  She laughed when she said that, then moaned as he slid a finger inside of her. So warm and welcoming, so he slid in another, her back arching and her butt sliding closer to his pulsing member that wanted to change places with his fingers.

  “I can be a good husband when I need to be. Were you thinking of me the other night when I was downstairs and you were in the tub doing this?”

  “I was.”

  “Tell me what you were thinking,” he whispered.

  “That you’d move your fingers faster. That you’d lose a bit of your control that you always seemed to maintain.”

  “Control is important when you’ve always got eyes on you,” he said.

  He could feel her body building. Her muscles were starting to tense as he moved his fingers in and out, so he brought his other hand to her swollen nub and gave it a few not so gentle rubs.

  “No one has eyes on you but me, and I want to see you lose that control.”

  Yep, she was the devil. A gorgeous one at that.

  “Come for me now. Let me watch you do it while I send you over.”

  Her hands were gripping his thighs, her legs going a little wider for him and his fingers were moving at a speed he wasn’t sure he could maintain. Waves were developing with their movements, but he could care less if the floor got wet. He wouldn’t even care if all the water leaked out and flooded the room below them.

  All he cared about was watching his wife’s face as she came.

  He pushed his fingers in all the way, so deep, then bent the tips just enough and found the spot he was looking for. She almost jumped out of the tub, her hands going to the edge to hold on while he massaged her clit at the same time.

  “That’s it,” he said. “Lose some of your control.”

  “Oh God,” she said, her voice rising, her muscles grabbing on tight and then pulsing around him. She was moving against him so much in the tub that he felt he was going to let loose like an inexperienced teen if she didn’t stop.

  But she did. Her body stilling, her breath being sucked in and out rapidly. “Wow,” she said. “That was much better than I could do for myself.”

  He burst out laughing. “Good to know that you do need me around.”

  “I want you to feel the same way,” she said, turning and facing him. “Stand up.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. Stand up.”

  He did and before he could figure out what she was going to do, she got on her knees and put her gorgeous mouth on him. She wasn’t gentle to start at all. Nope. She was aggressive.

  Her mouth was moving up and down, her hands following suit. He was anything but relaxed or in control. “Leah.”

  “Stop talking. I want you to come for me. I want to watch too.”

  He closed his eyes as her mouth went back to work. She gave him permission and that was all he needed. She was sucking on him hard and fast and the minute he let go, she moved her mouth away, but kept her hands going. His eyes opened and he watched her watching him as he did indeed let go like she’d told him to do.

  Stand Out

  At the end of September, four months into their marriage, they finally had their reception that Gabe’s mother had arranged.

  Leah had found it funny that she could plan the wedding she had in just four short weeks, out of town, in a place where she knew no one and had never visited before, yet Delia Richards took almost four times as long to plan what should be a small reception at Gabe’s house.

  It was only at Gabe’s house because he’d insisted. “My house is smaller than my parents’, we can control the numbers better here; otherwise my mother will be planning this for another year.”

  “We can’t have that,” Leah said. “Then it’d be a divorce party.”

  She’d meant it as a joke, trying to remind herself as often as she could that this whole thing was temporary. Gabe had laughed, but it hadn’t reached his eyes.

  It had been hard for Leah to not give her input on the party planning, but she’d kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t asked what she wanted or liked and neither was Gabe. When she’d complained to her own mother about it, she’d been told, “You and Gabe decided to sneak away on your own to do this and you made your choice, taking this away from his mother and me. You’re going to have to let Gabe deal with this, and if he isn’t, then sit back and enjoy it, whether you like what Delia does or not.”

  Leah hadn’t complained after that, knowing her own mother wasn’t going to support her. It wasn’t lost on her that her own mother must still not be thrilled over the secret wedding. What was done was done and there was no going back and unfortunately going forward was going to cause some concerns for both sides of the family too.

  “Are you ready for dinner?” Gabe asked her when she walked downstairs. She’d been in her office trying to get some things done. Last she knew Gabe was too, but he was sitting in the kitchen working on his laptop when she walked in.

  “I was getting hungry. You?”

  “I am. We haven’t seen much of each other lately. Sorry if I’ve been preoccupied.”

  “Not a problem,” she said. “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate.”

  “Most of it is off now,” he said, standing up, pulling her in and hugging her tight.

  “I bet you’re relieved those airline contracts were finally signed.” She loved feeling his arms around her and told herself she had to stop looking forward to it.

  “I didn’t expect them to need an extension and then play hardball. But in the end, we got the better end of the deal. The contract was longer, just a little less upfront. We can swing it and I’d rather have it that way.”

  She knew he’d been sweating it and the possibility of having to lay staff off. He’d told her in all the years the company had been running, they’d only had one layoff and it was twenty years ago that lasted six weeks and everyone was called back. He remembered it from when he was a kid and the company was under his father. He didn’t want to experience it himself, he’d told her a few times when she knew he was troubled.

  “I’m glad it all worked out for you,” she said and she meant it. She’d done her best to help him during that time, but she really had no clue what he did. She was a sounding board more than anything else.

  “Me too. Are you ready for Saturday?” he asked.

  “Don’t remind me. This place will be crawling with people tomorrow setting up. Maybe I should have kept my apartment so we could have snuck away.”

  “We’ll both be working, but if you want to get away, I’m sure we can snag a hotel for the night.”

  “No. It’s all good. We’ll both be at work while they’re here and your mother is supervising everything. Saturday shouldn’t be that big of a deal. We just need to get up and get dressed, then mingle.”

  She hoped that was all that was needed to be done. What she really wanted to do was not show up until the party started because she knew she’d want to walk around and see what was being done. She’d never been much of a control freak before, or so she thought, but she supposed she was when it came to something that might represent her.

  “You’re nervous, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Not about the party. I’ve been to two events with you and they were fine.” He stepped back from her and pulled her toward the fridge while he looked around for dinner. “Shrimp sounds good tonight. I’ll chop the veggies if you want to get some pasta out of the pantry.”

  He did as she asked, and the two of them went about preparing dinner and continuing with their conversation.

  “Then you’re nervous about what my mother is doi
ng?” he asked, knowing her better than she thought he would.

  “A little. She has great taste and I fully expect it to be beautiful.”

  “Just not what you would do and you’re afraid people will think you planned this and it might reflect on your business.”

  She turned and wrinkled her nose at him. “Kind of.”

  He leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Kind of yes. Don’t worry. My mother will make a point to let everyone know she did one hundred percent of everything. No one will think you had a hand in it at all.”

  “That makes me feel better, I think.”

  “How do your parents feel about coming for this?”

  Her parents had been to the house a few times. She and Gabe made a point to have them over for dinner. They were a little bit in awe of the estate, but had gotten used to it. Her family was going to be thrown into a world they’d never experienced before though.

  “I think they’ll be fine. My mother and father are worried they’re going to stand out like a sore thumb. I took my mother shopping and helped her pick out a dress. My sister went and got one too.”

  She wasn’t going to tell Gabe she’d bought them. She’d had several dresses picked out prior to shopping for them both, and they trusted her taste. She’d asked the store to take the price tags off and told her mother and sister it was going to be her splurge and allowed them to help pick her dress out too.

  Again, a handful she’d had pulled already for herself that she knew any would work.

  Her mother and sister were having so much fun, they didn’t pay attention to other dresses in the shop, nor did they look at any price tags, so it worked out in the end. It was well worth it in Leah’s eyes to share that time with just the three of them and have no worries or stress over the costs.

  She finally started to realize that she did rob these experiences from her mother and she wanted to try to make that right. Even if Leah ever married again, and since she wanted kids someday she figured she would, it wouldn’t be the same. It was true what they say about your first wedding. You can only have one.

  ***

  Gabe knew that something might be bothering Leah, but he didn’t know what and was afraid to ask. It was probably something he couldn’t fix and he always needed to fix problems. That was what he did and did well even if it made his blood pressure rise or put an ulcer in his stomach.

  His mother had been driving him batshit crazy with the plans for this reception. He wished she would have asked Leah, but her answer of, “I don’t want her to take control of this. She does these things for a living. I want her to sit back and enjoy this,” was enough for him to know he had to suck it up.

  His mother’s heart was in the right place and he told her that. Then he said he didn’t want to know anything that was going on, because if it was something he thought Leah or he wouldn’t like and he told his mother, but she didn’t change it, it’d annoy him.

  So he did the only thing he could do—he tried to take Leah’s mind off of it. What they needed was a nice quiet night where they could relax and put the rest of the world behind them.

  “Everything will be beautiful tomorrow. Just wait,” he said. “Then we can drink champagne and kick everyone out so we can have a second honeymoon.”

  “There is that. My mother showed me the invitations and she said it is ending by six. Do you think people will linger longer since it’s here?”

  “Some will want to, but my mother will make sure they’re gone. One to six is plenty enough time.” He figured he’d throw her a bone, even though he wanted to stay out of the planning. “My mother wanted a night reception, but I told her day was better.”

  “She asked your opinion?” she asked, turning to look at him from where she was slicing peppers.

  Oh boy, he put his foot in his mouth. “She asked a few. I told her to keep me out of it. She really just wants to make this perfect for us. She wanted you to be able to not worry about a thing. Would you have preferred a nighttime reception?”

  “No. I want it over with. You made the right decision.”

  “Thank God. I don’t need for us to have our first fight right before everyone is supposed to be celebrating our nuptials.”

  She giggled. “You know what? We never addressed fighting in the contract. Can I kick you out of the bed if I’m ticked at you?”

  “You can try,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “It’s more likely I’d just go find another bed. But honestly, I always told myself I’d never go to bed mad at my future husband. I think that’s a strong thing to have in a marriage.”

  “I think it’s a smart thing to have, period. So if we fight, let’s make up before bed.”

  “It’s a deal. But what’s better is not fighting at all. We’ve only got ten months to go. Think we can make it that long without me wanting to scream at you?”

  There she was, trying to make light of it again. She was always doing that and he had to tell himself to get over that fact. That they had an agreement and they were both going to honor it. Developing deep emotions would only muddy things up.

  Too bad he was already finding dirty footprints in his wake.

  Loving Wife

  The night wasn’t going nearly as bad as Leah thought it might.

  Gabe wasn’t glued to her side like he had been at the other two events they’d gone to, but at least here she had reinforcements in her own family and friends.

  Some of her friends hadn’t been so thrilled over her rushed nuptials and they’d been dying to come see her house, but she hadn’t felt right inviting them out here.

  This gave them the excuse to see how she lived and meet her husband. For now, she was just going to bask in the glow of the night and know the food was wonderful and plentiful, not that she expected any differently.

  Delia had even come over once and held her hand lightly to ask, “Did I do okay?”

  There was no way Leah was going to tell her mother-in-law no. But the truth was, she did a fabulous job. Though it wasn’t Leah’s style, it was stunning.

  Gabe’s backyard had been transformed under a white tent. Everything was white. Tables, chairs, flowers. It was more like a fairytale, even down to little LED lights strategically placed throughout. A little winter wonderland in the middle of September almost.

  The weather was wonderful and she really couldn’t have asked for a better day.

  Well, maybe a few things she wished could have changed.

  The two old geezers who’d pulled Gabe away from her at the gala cornered her at one point. She was waiting to get some nasty comment, but all they did was give her a hug. One of them said, “Whatever you’re doing, keep it up, honey. This is the most relaxed we’ve ever seen Gabe. I had my doubts, but he pulled those contracts through like a pro. Even his father couldn’t have handled the situation that well.”

  She felt the need to defend her pretend husband and did so. That was what a loving wife would do anyway. “As much as I’d love to take credit for whatever magic Gabe might have pulled off, that was all him. I don’t know much about his business, just like he doesn’t know about mine.”

  “You can’t compare your two businesses,” the other older man said. She didn’t catch their names and wasn’t going to. In her mind they were disrespecting Gabe’s abilities. Now they were insulting hers.

  “No, you’re right. I only make sure I please a bunch of women all at the same time as keeping them calm. Are those your wives over there with their heads together pointing at people?” she asked sweetly.

  The first one that told her to keep up the good work with Gabe said, “You’ve got us there. Got any pointers for us?”

  “No, boys, you’re on your own.” She kept her smile in place and walked away wishing she could escape to her bedroom for a breather.

  But she couldn’t because the minute she stepped into the house, she was crowded by family members of Gabe’s. There were so many she really couldn’t keep track. Normally good at names, she was more
stressed over this party than anything else in her life and just tried to keep a happy disposition.

  “Leah, darling,” one of his great-aunts said. The other three women were cousins, she was guessing. “When can we expect a little bundle of joy from you?”

  She really hadn’t anticipated that question at all. The minute she opened her mouth, she felt an arm around her waist and the familiar scent of musky cologne that clung to Gabe’s pillow that she hugged when he wasn’t in bed with her. “Aren’t we allowed to be newlyweds before we start decorating nurseries?” he said.

  She held her smile in place over his comment. It was the right response and it’s not like she’d jump in and say, “Soon. We are trying like crazy.” Even if she wanted this to be a real and not pretend marriage.

  “You’ve got plenty of rooms in this house for it. You aren’t getting any younger, Gabe,” his aunt said.

  “You’re right. Maybe I’ll take Leah upstairs and get working on it.”

  His aunt gasped and his cousins all laughed, but thankfully Gabe grabbed her hand and pulled her into his office.

  “That wasn’t very nice,” she said. “Funny, but still not nice.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect questions like that tonight. Is that the first time you were asked it?”

  “Tonight, yes.” She didn’t want to tell him how often she’d heard baby comments in the past few months, which is probably were all these ridiculous thoughts were coming from. “I already feel really bad about deceiving so many people in this room. I guess I didn’t think it’d be this hard.”

  “Don’t think about that. You’re doing great. Everyone loves you.”

  “Until we’re done,” she said, laughing and wrapping her arms around his neck. If she didn’t try to tease about this, she’d probably end up crying. “Then everyone will hate me.”

  “Or they’re going to hate me for making you leave.”

  “Oh, so I’m leaving you now?” she asked. None of that had been decided yet and for the life of her, she had no idea why she was even asking that question right now.