He lay on the hotel bed, wishing sleep would come and give him some peace from the myriad of thoughts going through his head. Instead, Nic’s words played through his mind like a movie on repeat.
“Juan lost a lifetime with Reca and his baby. You felt responsible so you didn’t feel you deserved to be happy either. You had to make it up to him, and in your grief worn mind, you sacrificed the one thing you loved the most.”
“Oh, Nic, I did. I punished myself by giving up the thing I loved most. You.” Tears he never noticed fell from his eyes.
“I did this to us, Nic, me. I hurt you so much. I promised you. I promised never to hurt you again and I broke that promise.”
The first time he’d promised that had been the day he took her virginity.
“Nic, are you sure?”
“Yes, Will. I love you and I can’t imagine doing it with anyone but you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I know you don’t but you said it would only hurt a little, and then it wouldn’t hurt again.”
“That’s right. But you know I’ve never done this before either.”
“That’s what makes it so special.”
“Nic, I promise I will never hurt you again.”
“Oh, Will. I trust you with my heart and my body. You’d never intentionally hurt me.”
She had been so wrong. He had hurt her over and over. And yet she came to him in New York to forgive him. And once again, he’d deserted her. “Oh, Nic, I’ve hurt you again, but I promise…that was the last time.”
The next morning, Will picked up a coffee and bagel, got back into his car and continued south. He knew what he had to do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Since Nicole had arrived back in Sweet Ridge the day before, she’d tried to keep busy. She had debated on whether to come back to Will’s house or go home to Dirty Ankle. She hoped once he’d had time to think and get things worked out in his mind, he’d come back to her. To them.
That was what she’d hoped, but she also knew Will. If he wasn’t ready to accept what happened and move forward, then she would go back to Alaska and wait. But she wouldn’t give up.
That evening she fixed a salad and ate a few bites. Tired of doing nothing, she dumped the salad in the trash and washed the plate. It was late. Will wouldn’t be coming today.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Nicole’s world righted itself. Whether in her dreams or in her subconscious, she felt Will surround her. She felt the warmth of his lips as he kissed and caressed every inch of her skin, particularly the freckles on her chest he loved so much. His hand roamed and claimed what had always rightfully belonged to him. She’d gladly given Will all rights to pleasuring her long ago, and in her dream world it was no different.
Her dream morphed into reality when she awoke from the touch of his finger finding the exact spot that sent her stomach spinning. She moaned in ecstasy while tears rolled unheeded down her cheeks. You came back. She felt him spread her legs and nudge at her entrance, pressing in and waiting for her to adjust to his size. He was always afraid of hurting her, but she didn’t want sweet and slow.
Planting her feet on the bed, Nicole pushed up, impaling him deep inside, smiling when she was rewarded by his groan and her name on his lips. Nothing else mattered but the steady rhythm of their two bodies as they became one. Spiraling up to the heavens and then falling freely back to earth and finally landing softly into each other.
His strong arms pulled her body into his, and then sleep claimed them. A sleep so deep and peaceful, it was far into the morning before she woke with a start and then smiled into the loving eyes of her man.
Will lay on his side, propped up by an elbow. “I always loved watching you sleep. You make the cutest little snoring sound.”
Nicole frowned. This had always been a contention between them. “I do not snore.”
They both smiled at that denial. She did.
Will’s eyes darkened as they moved down to her breasts. “I got in late last night and I couldn’t make myself walk past your door.”
Nicole stretched and smiled while giving him that cat-that-got-the-cream look. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
Will pressed his lips to hers, taking the kiss deeper until she reached for him. He pulled back enough to gaze into her eyes, and she saw their future swirling inside his.
“You were right. I’ve been punishing myself. I never should have made the decision to marry Reca on my own.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
“Nic, when I think of what I put you though, that day, waiting for me…I can’t even imagine the pain you must have gone through.”
Nicole cupped his cheek and brought his eyes back to hers. “I think you do, Will. I think you went through the exact same pain.”
Will closed his eyes willing himself the courage he needed to say everything that must be said. “The day I married Reca, I remember hearing the justice of the peace saying the words, and I looked into Reca’s brown eyes, screaming inside my head that they weren’t yours. She was so scared, being in a strange country and mourning Juan. I needed to be there for her but I couldn’t be. I said the words that made her my wife and I felt nothing. It was like a part of my heart died that day. I’m sorry, Nic, but in order to live the life I felt it my duty to live…I had to erase you from my mind. It wasn’t a conscious decision; it was a survival tactic.”
“Oh, Will. You needed help to deal with Juan’s death.”
“I never realized I did. Mom and Dad tried to get me to talk to someone, but I brushed them off. Matthew and I had some of the worst fights of our lives, but nothing could get me to admit that anything was wrong. Denial, I know now, is a classic symptom.”
“We’ve both been through so much.”
“We have, and I still have some work I need to do. But this time, we do it together.” Will leaned in and nipped her bottom lip. “I’m so glad you came to New York. If you hadn’t pushed me and refused to accept anything but honesty between us…I’m not sure I would have been strong enough to find the truth on my own. I always thought I was the strong one in our relationship. But it’s you, you’re the strong one, Nic. I am in awe of the woman you’ve become.”
“The woman I am today feels much more capable of standing beside you.”
Will closed his eyes and nuzzled her palm. “So, we’re okay now?”
Nicole nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her body into his. She briefly wondered where her nightgown had gone, but Will always could make her clothes disappear into thin air. And she didn’t have a problem with that. “We’re more that okay.”
Nicole reached up for another kiss and growled when Will broke the kiss and pulled back.
He kissed her forehead. “Honey, if this house holds too many bad memories, we can live wherever you want. I know you have friends in Alaska. If that’s where you want to live, I can move my headquarters there. I don’t really care where we live as long as we’re never apart again.”
Nicole’s eyes teared up once more. This was her Will, always thinking of her. “Thank you, but I love this house and I love the house in Alaska.”
“How about we live in Alaska during the summer while the kids are out of school and then here during the winter?”
Nicole’s stomach quivered at the thought of having Will’s children. “The best of both worlds.”
Will rolled over and fit his body to hers just so perfectly. His eyes sparkled with mischief and…love. “So…this thing about Vegas?”
Reaching up she kissed his chin and smiled; she liked where this was going. “Uhh hum.”
His eyes became serious for a moment. “You don’t want a big lavish wedding like before.”
“Will, that was never really my wedding. That was my grandmother’s wedding. I would be happy with a small ceremony in the backyard. That is after all where it all started.”
“That was the happi
est day of my life, the day I found my forever girl.”
EPILOGUE
“Goodbye! Thanks for coming.”
From their front porch, Will and Nicole waved to the car full of guests.
“That’s the last of them.” Will pulled his new wife in for a kiss.
“Yes it is. It was a beautiful wedding, Will. I can’t thank your mom enough for all she did.”
Nicole laid her head on his chest, and his hands roamed over her back and down to her perfect bottom. He was one lucky guy, and he knew it. “I think the whole town pulled together to give you exactly what you wanted.”
“Can you believe Grandmother? She never made one suggestion or comment the entire time.”
“She’s trying, Nic.” Will reached down, picked up her legs and cradled her in his arms.
Nicole squealed. “What are you doing?” She grabbed his neck and held on tightly.
He didn’t have a problem with that. “I’m carrying my bride over the threshold. It’s tradition, you know.”
“Oh, Will. I love you.”
“I love you too. Now here is what I need you to do. Go upstairs and shower and then put on what you find in the box on the bed. Then come out to the backyard.”
“You’re not going to join me in the shower?”
Will chuckled; he couldn’t believe it either. But what he had in mind was just as tempting. “As much as it pains me to say it, not this time. Now get a move on, wife.”
***
Nicole hurried through her shower, shivering with anticipation the entire time. Whatever Will had planned for their wedding night, she knew would be epic. After wrapping a towel around her body, she padded barefoot from the bathroom and cautiously opened the expensive looking box on the bed.
Pulling gold tissue paper back, she found the most beautiful soft cotton negligée set. “Oh my!” The white fabric had tiny pin tucks and lace on the bodice and Nicole love it. Will knew her so well. She hurriedly slipped it on and made her way down the stairs and out into the darkness of the backyard.
Lighting her way, a trail of lanterns decorated the yard from the porch steps to the hedge. Nicole followed them and squeezed through the hedge where she found more lanterns on the other side. She looked at the back of Will’s parents’ house and found it dark. They must have already gone to bed.
Nicole turned back to the lanterns and followed them into the woods. She didn’t need the light they gave off any longer; she knew the way by heart. She stepped into the forest of trees and caught her breath. Twinkle lights were strung from the branches surrounding a new and improved treehouse, and waiting for her at the bottom stood the man of her dreams.
Will, in his suit pants with his white dress shirt unbuttoned, leaned against a tree and was the sexiest sight she’d ever seen. Her heart raced the closer she came to him. The look in his eyes could devour her.
She walked right into his waiting arms. “When did you do this?”
“Matthew did most of it, but we all pitched in. We wanted it to be a surprise.”
The treehouse she’d demolished had looked nothing like the beautiful structure before her. “I miss the old one.”
Will chuckled and helped her up the ladder. “Me, too. We upgraded this one a wee bit.”
“A bed!” Nicole remembered the bed she’d made for them the night he was supposed to return and never did. She pushed those sad thoughts away. This was a new bed she’d share with her husband.
“Just for the night. Tomorrow it will go back to being just a treehouse, hopefully for our kids.”
The bed, the candles flickering around the room, a bucket filled with ice and champagne and trays of…Nicole blinked and stepped in for a closer look…peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, and all the treats Will used to sneak her when they were children. She turned back to Will and fell into his arms. “Oh, Will, this is perfect.”
“Now it is. Now that my girl’s here.”
A note from Liz.
Thank you for reading You Promised Me Forever! I hope you enjoyed Nic and Will’s story as much as I loved writing it. If you did, please consider helping other readers to find it by leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads..
Join my VIR (Very Important Reader) Team to receive Hot & Trending news about my future releases as well as a bonus chapter or two thrown in as a thank you! PLUS, just for subscribing I’ll send you a short story, Christmas Dreams with includes Book Samplers of all my books. FREE!
SUBSCRIBE to Liz Scott's VIR Team
Special thanks to my author friend Elizabeth Lennox for encouraging/nagging me to write that first chapter in 2013 which eventually became my first book, Sweet Surrender.
A huge thank you to my manuscript evaluator/trailer creator/promotion nudger Kathy Golden for turning my grammarless sentences into comma perfect books and for helping me to realize what I really meant to say. Sometimes Southern just doesn’t translate.
Thank you to my two awesome Beta Readers Shannon Peeples and Jean Whitesell. You both have been my cheerleaders and biggest Liz Scott supporters from the start.
Thanks to all you marvelous readers for taking a chance on a new Indie author over the past few years and embracing The Royal Vow Series, The Hearts of Gold Series and The Dirty Ankle Series. Because of you I get to have fun everyday bringing stories and characters to life on the pages of your ebooks. Stay tuned, with God willing and the creek don’t rise, there’s much more to come!
xoxo
Liz
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MAY I SUGGEST…
Other Books by Liz Scott
The Royal Vow Series
Sweet Royal Beginnings
Sweet Surrender
Sweet Denial
Sweet Seduction
Sweet Temptation
Sweet Destiny
Hearts of Gold Series
A Sheik for Rose
A Star for Annie
A Cowboy for Mary – Coming 2016
Dirty Ankle Series
You Promised Me Forever
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Keep reading for a sneak peek at the first two chapters of The Royal Vow Series – Sweet Destiny.
SWEET DESTINY Preview
Chapter 1
Mari finished her last mile on the treadmill in the palace gym and guzzled a bottle of water, not even caring that most of it spilled down the front of her sweat-drenched t-shirt. As she tried to catch her breath, she used the bottom of her shirt to wipe beads of perspiration from her face, a very unqueenly thing to do. She looked around cautiously, hoping none of the council elders were lurking nearby.
She grimaced as she walked on wobbly legs by the wall of mirrors on her way to the dressing room. Her baby was almost a year old, and Mari couldn’t lose the last ten pounds of baby weight. No matter how much she dieted or worked out, those pesky pounds refused to leave her.
Pushing open the door, she was instantly greeted by Gena, her secretary and the group of people that transformed her into Queen Mari for palace appearances. Gena followed her into the shower room and updated her on her schedule for the day. Mari only half listened as she quickly washed and pulled on a robe. Once she sat in the make-up chair, Gena opened the door and allowed Kevin and Dalia in.
Usually, she enjoyed sitting and planning her day while they worked their magic with her hair and make-up. Today, all she could focus on was the way Ki had kissed her good-night and then rolled over and gone to sleep. Normally, she wouldn’t have thought anything about it. After all, he was king and had been working long hours lately on new eCommerce contracts for their country. But he hadn’t even noticed the new peignoir set she was wearing. She was just being silly. He’d been so busy that they hadn’t been able to have any alone time in over a month, and she was missing her man.
An hour later, Mari’s hair and make-up finished, Keshia, her dresser, entered pushing a rolling closet filled with Mari’s outfits for the day. No matter how much she insisted, the publicity committee wouldn’t allow her to wear the same outfit at different functions. That seemed like a total waste to her. What did it matter if she was photographed wearing the something twice?
She checked the time; if she hurried she could get one more hug from her children before she left for the first appointment of the day. As the residing queen of Tanistan she missed not having time to devote to her children. Ki had insisted she cut back her schedule after Janel was born, but with Kaden and Shala in school now, taught by their aunt Kassie, they didn’t need her as much so Mari had increased her workload.
Keshia held out a tailored black skirt for her to slip into, zipped it up, and then pulled the matching coat from the rack.
“Oh, Keshia, you missed a tag.” A garment tag was pinned to the bottom of the skirt. Mari’s bottom lip began to tremble. “Keshia, this says a size ten. I wear a size six.” She stared at those double digits, willing them to be the incorrect size but so afraid they weren’t.
“Well, ma’am,” Keshia began to fidget. “Perhaps the sizing is off.”
“How long, Keshia?” Mari looked from the tag to the woman who had been dressing her for years, the woman who would do anything to keep from hurting her feelings.
“Ma’am, you’ve just had a baby.”
“A year ago, Keshia. I had a baby a year ago.” Mari slumped down in a chair. “I just don’t know why I can’t lose those last fifteen pounds.”
“If I may say, ma’am, your curves are very attractive. My mother says a man likes more of a woman to love.” Keshia’s smile turned into concern as she grabbed a tissue for the Queen. “Please don’t cry, ma’am. Your makeup; remember your makeup.”
“Have all of my clothes been replaced with larger sizes?” Mari asked tearfully, but she knew the answer when Keshia was much more concerned with the clothes remaining on the rack than answering her question. “Never mind. I’m just going to have to work harder.”
You Promised Me Forever (The Dirty Ankle Series Book 1) Page 20