Anything For Love

by Melissa Foster

  “Baby, the kids were only alone for a few minutes. They were trying to decorate it, to make the dress less plain.” Why did this sound at least a little better in his head?

  “Wh-what…?” Tears brimmed in her eyes as she gathered the dress in her arms and hugged it to her chest. Layers of tulle bunched beneath her trembling hands.

  “My father was watching them, and he turned away to change the babies’ diapers.” He felt like he was tattling. He didn’t even want to say the boys’ names. “I’m sorry. I wish I could have stopped it.”

  She didn’t say a word, which was harder to take than if she blew her top. Blinking away tears, she reached for his drawings, looking them over for a long moment. The air in the room seemed to disappear. Or maybe that was just his lungs constricting.

  He touched her chin, bringing her eyes to his. “I’ll fix it right now if you want me to. I’ve got everything I need. I was just coming to discuss it with you.”

  “When did this happen?” she asked just above a whisper.

  Josh’s chest tightened even more. “This afternoon.”

  “And you thought you could redesign and fix the dress tonight, after sleeping only a few hours last night?” She lifted the dress between them. “With all these layers?”

  A disbelieving laugh bubbled up from her lungs, but it was the tear sliding down her cheek that tore open Josh’s heart. He brushed it away with his fingertips and nodded. “I’ve got Charlotte’s mother’s sewing machine and what I hope is enough white thread, but that’s a little iffy. I figured even if we had to use cream, it was better than—”

  She pressed her lips to his, and he gathered her close, confused and thankful at once. Her dress crumpled between them, and tears slipped into their lips, turning their kiss as salty as it was sweet.

  “I love that you would do that for me,” she said through her tears.

  “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t cut the dress. Not without your approval. Every time I tried, something stopped me. I remembered the night we were designing the bodice and how when I suggested rose appliqués, your eyes lit up like I’d just promised you the world. And all those mornings I woke up and found you poring over our drawings, tweaking and rethinking, with so much energy it was like you’d already had three cups of coffee.”

  He touched his forehead to hers and said, “I’m so sorry, Riley. I’m sorry we had to sneak away from the Bahamas, and I’m sorry about your dress, and, God, you’re shaking.” He searched her eyes, and there were too many emotions looking back at him to pick them apart. “We can do this all over again. Skip the wedding and do it next weekend, after we fix your dress—”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head emphatically. She spread the dress over the table and turned back toward Josh, fisting her hands in his shirt. “I don’t want to wait to get married. We’ve already waited forever.” She looked forlornly at the dress again. “We worked so hard on the dress, and this…” She ran her hand over the children’s drawings, breathing harder once again. “Maybe we just need to spin it positive. Wouldn’t the paparazzi get a kick out of this? It makes our wedding very different, don’t you think?”

  “No, babe. It makes it very Josh and Riley.”

  She smiled at that, and the pieces of his heart scrambled back together.

  “Now it makes sense that we had to run from the photographers and ditch your extended family to hide away in a big house where my mother and your sister and all the girls got so freaking high from Elisabeth’s brownies that they were skinny-dipping and banging holes in walls and chanting and—”

  Josh couldn’t tell if she was angry, upset, or being sarcastic, but she was rambling about nonsense. He placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to slow the words flying from her mouth like bullets. “Riley, slow down. You’re not making any sense.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, I am. Those brownies Elisabeth gave me were meant for a client, and laced with marijuana. Luckily I didn’t eat any.” She covered her belly with her hand. “But everyone else ate them, including my mother. They ate everything else in the kitchen, too. Then they proceeded to lose their freaking minds. I had to wake up the guys to take control of them. Oh, and Dane said you made arrangements for Beau to do some work for Charlotte?”

  “Yes. I called him when we were looking over the terrace. We noticed there were some…” Josh was still trying to process what she’d said. “Wait. Holes in the wall? Really? Are they okay?”

  “Yes, but wow. It was wild. I thought they were drunk, but Elisabeth texted and said she’d made medicinal brownies for a client and accidentally gave them to me.”

  Josh laughed, then quickly tried to school his expression. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but—” Laughter bubbled up again, and before he knew it, Riley was laughing, too. “Your mother was high?”

  “As a kite.” Her smile reached her eyes, and when she glanced toward the dress, Josh’s heart beat a little harder.

  He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, walking her over to the bed, where she sat on the edge. “Do you have any idea how much I love you, Riley Banks?”

  “You must have a thing for girls with bad luck.”

  “I only have a thing for you, babe. Bad luck, good luck. I’ll take it all. I hate what happened to your dress, but at the same time, it’s apropos, don’t you think?” He gently laid her down on her back and rolled her shirt up, exposing her belly.

  She watched his fingers move softly over her belly, followed by his lips. She pushed her fingers through his hair.

  “I missed you today,” she whispered, breathing a little harder.

  He moved over her, propping himself up on one forearm, and stroked her cheek as he kissed her. Several long, slow kisses later, he gazed into her eyes and said, “I’ve missed you, too. I’m sorry your pre-wedding night got messed up.”

  Pushing her shirt up further, he unhooked the front of her bra and pushed the lace cups to the side. “But I plan to make it up to you.”

  He slicked his tongue over one taut peak, and she inhaled sharply. Moving his mouth to her other breast, he ran his tongue in circles around her nipple, knowing how it drove her crazy. She writhed beneath him, rocking against his arousal.

  “Josh,” she pleaded, pulling his mouth down to her breast.

  Sliding one hand down her hip, he clutched her ass as he pressed his erection against her center. She was trembling again, but this was a familiar tremble. An I-need-you all-over body shudder that he dreamed of and craved, and memorized. Her breathing shallowed as he teased her nipple with his teeth and tongue while thrusting his hips. She spread her legs wider, lifting her knees so her body cradled his. Damn, he wanted to strip her bare and take her fast and hard, but the frantic beat of her heart and the sexy, needy whimpers escaping her luscious lips were worth the slow burn.

  “This is my last night with you as my fiancée, and I intend to enjoy every moment of it.” He slanted his mouth over hers, taking her in a deep, passionate kiss and earning more greedy moans. As their mouths parted, he trapped her lower lip between his teeth and gave it a gentle tug. Their sex life had no boundaries, just the way he liked it. There was nothing they hadn’t done, and tonight he wanted all of her.

  He lifted her shirt over her head and made quick work of removing her bra and his shirt. She reached for the button on her jeans, and he took her wrist and placed it beside her hip.

  “Let me.” He kissed her again, a little rougher than before, just the way he knew she liked it. Her nipples pressed against his chest, and her hands moved up and down the back of his arms. “Love when you touch me, baby.”

  He kissed his way down her body, spending extra time on each breast, teasing her until she was panting with desperation. He dragged his tongue down the center of her belly and used his teeth to pull open the button on her jeans. He unzipped them slowly, loving the quickening of her breath with each tick of the zipper. Riley curled her fingers in the sheets, straining as he hooked his fingers
in the sides of her waistband and tugged her jeans and panties off.

  “I will never tire of looking at you, baby.” He stood at the end of the bed, drinking in the sight of her gorgeous curves and the sweet, slightly shy expression on her beautiful face as he removed his shoes and stripped her bare.

  She sat up and wrapped her delicate fingers around his cock. When she lowered her mouth, taking him in deep, greedy pleasure burned through Josh’s veins. She knew just how to touch him, with a tight grip following her lips as she took him to the back of her throat and then withdrew slowly. She repeated the motions, taking him right up to the edge of release. He squeezed the base of his cock, and she drew back.

  “I want to come inside you, baby.” He laid her down on her back, then ran his hands up the outside of her legs while kissing her inner thighs. “After I devour you.”

  She trapped her lower lip between her teeth the way she did when she was trying not to beg him to take her. He liked it when she begged; he also liked it when she took and gave. Sealing his teeth over her inner thigh, he gave her sensitive skin a hard suck.

  “Josh,” she pleaded, her hips bolting off the bed.

  He held her hips, licking and sucking and kissing his way up to the juncture of her thighs, inhaling the seductive scent of her desire, and pushed her legs open wider. Her eyes were closed, her heart pounding so wildly her breasts moved with each beat.

  “I love you, Riley June,” he said before taking his first taste of her sweetness, and then there was no holding back. He loved her with his mouth and hands, moving with her as she bucked and writhed, begging and digging her nails into his shoulders as he took her up, up, up, until she finally lost her last shred of control. She came hard and loud. Thank Christ they were a wing away from the others. He craved the way she gave herself over to him, surrendering to their passion without embarrassment. He moved up her body, kissing every inch of her hot flesh, lingering around her belly, taking pleasure in knowing that deep inside her their baby was growing. When they were eye to eye again, the head of his cock resting against her slick heat, he gazed into her eyes and his heart swelled to near bursting.

  “You are my life, baby. My love, my hopes, my dreams. My everything.”

  “Josh,” she whispered. “You’ve always been my everything.”

  As their mouths came together and their bodies became one, the chaos of the day faded away.

  Chapter Six

  FROM THEIR PERCH on a lounge chair on the patio of the suite in the east wing where Riley and Josh had made love into the wee hours of the morning, Josh watched the sun creep over the mountains and pulled the covers around Riley. She snuggled closer, twining her legs with his. After too few hours of sleep, they’d taken a warm bath together—their last as an unmarried couple—and had gathered pillows and blankets and gone outside to watch the sunrise. The air was crisp, bringing the scents of pine, dew, and love.

  Last night, when Riley had found out about her dress, she had been so edgy from the brownie madness, she hadn’t felt the full impact of her ruined wedding gown. But on their way out to the patio she’d taken a good long look at her dress, mourning the loss of the perfect gown she and Josh had designed together. Josh had held her while she cried, whispering memories they’d created while they were designing the dress, and she’d realized, it wasn’t the clean white skirt of the gown that had made the gown so perfect. It was the time they’d shared when designing it, the way they’d combined both of their ideas and poured their love into every aspect of the design process. It was heartbreaking for sure, but how upset could she really get over two sweet little boys trying to help her make her dress even more beautiful. Max and Bree might have little designers on their hands.

  “We’re getting married,” Riley said softly, dragging her fingers along Josh’s abs beneath the blanket.

  “You’re going to get lucky again if you keep doing that.” He leaned down and kissed her.

  She laughed, warmed by his adoration of her. His affections were endless, his gaze seductive, and his touch, well, her body was already stirring in all the best places just thinking about being naked beneath him again. But she had things to do this morning. With the craziness of the night before, she’d left the cake on the counter and she wanted to put it away before the kids or Josh saw it.

  She pushed up, putting a little space between them before she changed her mind. “I have to go put the cake away.”

  He slid his warm hand up her arm. “I’ll help you.”

  “Nice try.” She leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss. “This is my surprise to you. You’ve already indulged in one thing that was supposed to be saved for our wedding night. You’re not getting the cake.”

  He tugged her back down on top of him. “I’d rather have seconds…I guess I mean sevenths…of you than a cake any day.”

  “Glutton,” she said, thinking of all the ways they’d made love. Not an inch of her body had gone untouched.

  “Only for you, babe.”

  His entrancing dark eyes summoned her closer, and he guided her hips over his. He rocked beneath her, pressing temptingly against her as he took her in a torturously slow, insanely electrifying kiss. Then his hands were on her ass, holding her tight against him as he thrust harder, and thoughts about the cake spiraled away. He pushed his hands down the back of her jeans, clutching her bare ass, and groaned into the kiss. God, she loved the way he made her world spin and her heart flutter. A flock of birds flew past, stirring the air and chipping away at her lust-addled brain.

  “Josh,” she said, breathless, as she pushed from his grip. “We can’t.”

  “Oh, baby, we can.” He pulled her close again, and she giggled as she struggled to be set free.

  “The kids will see the cake,” she said as he nibbled on her neck. “And then they’ll want it, and their parents will be stuck trying to make them forget about it. We can’t do that to them.”

  He looked up at her with a sinful, and somehow pouty, gaze that did hot and twisty things to her insides. The rising sun reflected in his eyes, and her mind drifted back to the reason she’d said no in the first place.

  “I’m sure I’ll hate myself for this.” She peeled his hands off of her and pushed to her feet. “But we already have a decorated dress, and the girls will all have puffy eyes in our pictures from lack of sleep, I’m sure. At least let me hide the cake before we have crying kids to deal with, too. I’ll come right back. I promise.”

  He held her hand as she moved away, and with a long sigh, he rose to his feet instead of letting go and tugged her against his chest again. His mouth claimed hers, making all of her best parts beg to stay. When their lips parted, she was dizzy with desire.

  “I’ll be waiting.” He undid the button on his jeans and began unzipping them.

  “Oh Lord. I’ll be fast.” With her heart sprinting in her chest, she turned and bolted from the room. Taking the stairs two at a time, she mentally planned how she would relocate the cake from the kitchen to the dining room and close the heavy wooden doors. When she reached the landing, she slowed her pace so as not to thunder through the main section of the house and wake anyone up. Walking quickly through the living room, her mind drifted back to Josh, and goose bumps rose on her flesh. She could still feel his lips on hers, his hands on her skin, his erection against her—

  A high-pitched shriek snapped Riley out of her daze. She ran through the archway to the kitchen and stopped short at the sight of Max standing on a chair—and a handful of hissing raccoons scrambling off the counters and out of cabinets, sending the plates from last night’s munchyfest—and what was left of Riley’s wedding cake—careening to the floor with a loud crash as the four-footed savages scurried out the door to the terrace.

  Max continued shrieking, and Treat barreled into the kitchen, followed by Rex, Jack, and Dane. Treat swept Max into his arms and carried her out of the room, passing Hugh and Hal on their way in.

  “My cake!” Riley yelled, teetering on tiptoes. As if
that would do any good against ravenous raccoons.

  “Out of the kitchen,” Jack commanded, and she was quick to obey, despite her ruined cake. She watched from just beyond the entryway as Max tried to catch her breath within the safety of Treat’s arms just a few feet away. Jack and the others threw open cabinets and checked under furniture for any lingering rascals.

  “We have to check the house,” Rex said, and pointed to the living room, dining room, and the stairway that led to the bedrooms. Hugh, Hal, and Dane each took off in a different direction.

  Please, please don’t let there be raccoons near the children.

  Jack reached for the door, and cursed loudly.

  “What?” Riley backed up farther, fear rippling through every inch of her body. She envisioned droves of raccoons running toward Jack.

  He turned dark, apologetic eyes toward her. “They climbed the canopy.”

  Her heart sank. The canopy? The drapes Josh sent back four times, until they were dyed the exact color he envisioned? Her eyes shifted to the bits of cake and broken dishes strewn across the counters and floor, and she reached for the wall to steady herself.

  “Oh, Riley,” Max said from behind her.

  Riley couldn’t stop the rush of tears springing from the corners of her eyes. A thick arm circled her shoulder, and Treat pulled her against his broad chest as she sobbed. She was vaguely aware of voices and footsteps as the others came downstairs. It was like all the forces of the universe were against their wedding taking place, and the raccoons were the straw that broke the camel’s back. Suddenly all the sadness, all the confusion of the last twenty-four hours, which had been simmering somewhere deep inside her, hit the boiling point.

  Nothing was going to stop her from marrying Josh.

  Not a hole in a wall. Not decorations drawn by sticky little hands or a ruined cake. Not even a horde of raccoons would keep her wedding from taking place. Goddamn raccoons. Ruined my cake. Ruined our canopy. What the hell else can go wrong? She pushed from the safety of Treat’s chest and wiped her eyes.