Payback Time, Baby

by Sabel Simmons

  Her tears dried up and her eyes shone like stars in the night.

  “I love you, so much and I will be the happiest woman on this earth, the day you make me your wife! Yes, Tristan, I will marry you and give you here and now all my love … unconditionally.”

  He took her hand in his and pushed her ring on her finger, only it felt heavier and when she looked at it, she gasped, it was the most beautiful ring imaginable. It was white gold with a wide band with a large green diamond in the center, surrounded by smaller baguette shaped diamonds and round diamonds down the side of the band. She lifted her eyes to his, love and wonder shining at him.

  “Oh Tristan, it is beautiful! But you did not have to …”

  “I know, but I wanted to … I needed to, for our new life together, our new beginnings.” He lifted her hand and kissed her finger where the ring hugged it.

  They both rose and she looked at him shyly. “My other ring, could I still wear it on my right hand? I don’t want to let it go.”

  He smiled and pulled the other ring from his pocket and pushed it on the ring finger of her right hand. With a small frown he decided to still keep the pregnancy from her until after the wedding. He achieved this one milestone … he would tackle the other later, once she safely belonged to him.

  They joined the party again and the rest of the night was filled with laughter and joy.

  “No … I am not going anywhere on Friday night! Nor is Savannah. This is our home and we will spend the night here, together.”

  “Now, now, Tristan, that is just not on! A wedding is all about tradition and tradition says the groom is not allowed to see his bride on the day of their wedding until she walks down the aisle. We have all waited so long for this wedding; I will not allow anyone to upset it. Not even you!”

  “Mom, nothing will upset the we …”

  “Enough, Tristan! You will come directly to our house from work on Friday night and I will pick the twins up earlier. Leandra and David is spending the night here and Georgina will arrive early on Saturday to assist with Savannah’s make up and dress. No further arguing.”

  “Yes, Mom, but I want you to know I am not happy about it!”

  “That is very clear to all of us! But you are going to have her for the rest of your life, so you can suffer for one night … I am sure you will survive!”

  Savannah smiled happily and hugged her mother and father when they prepared to leave.

  “Mom, will you and Dad also spend the night here on Friday? I’d like you to help me get dressed.”

  “Of course we will. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am that the day you have dreamed of for so long has finely arrived.” Her mother had tears in her eyes.

  “No more than me, Mom!”

  That night Tristan made love to her so tenderly she cried, then so passionately and wild, she cried and then he could not stop and they spent the whole night proving their love to each other.

  When Tristan pulled her into his arms in the early morning hours, he kissed her softly on her temple.

  “I’ll love you forever and after, love of mine. Promise to never leave me again.”

  “Never, my love … my love will carry us forever and a day.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tristan’s heart stopped when his two beautiful children skipped towards him, smiling happily. When they reached him, he bent down to hug them and kiss each smiling cheek.

  “You look smart, Daddy! Just like Jason.”

  “Thank you, Poppet, and you look beautiful, just as I am sure your mommy does.”

  Leandra took their hands and they went to stand by her side. The wedding march started playing and Savannah took his breath away when she walked down the aisle on her father’s arm. They were getting married outside, next to the pool where they had set up rows of white linen covered chairs, under a white gazebo where he stood waiting for her.

  His eyes shone with admiration and he could not believe that she was even more beautiful than ever. She wore a white figure hugging dress that molded her breasts and waist down to her hips to fall in a soft sweep to the ground. The bodice was covered by the softest lace, which embraced her breasts like lovers hands and drew attention to their beautiful fullness. Her hair was swept up in loose curls on her head with soft tendrils escaping and hanging down to her shoulders. She wore the diamond earrings he gave her as her wedding gift on Friday morning and her smile was blinding and meant only for him.

  Her father kissed her on the cheek, hugged her and handed Tristan her hand. Tristan shook his hand and promised him he would make her happy.

  He took her hand in his and his eyebrow rose questioningly. With a naughty smile she turned around and looked at him over her shoulder. His breath got smothered somewhere between his lungs and his mouth. He only had one stipulation for her wedding dress and that was that her back must be bare. She had the most beautiful, smooth and perfectly formed back and the dress enhanced that to the fullest.

  Her back was totally bared with colorless lace and the soft lace on the sides and top to form a very low V in her back. He let out a long breath and pulled her back against him, kissing her at the base of her neck between her shoulder blades.

  “Exquisite, you are just too beautiful for words!”

  The priest cleared his throat and said jokingly and tongue in the cheek.

  “It appears we should hasten the procedures on, somewhat, Tristan?”

  He pulled her around and drew her hand through his arm and faced the priest. He caught the twins’ eyes, and gave them a quick wink, causing them to smile happily. Tiffany blurted out loudly causing a rupture of appreciative laughter.

  “You look so pretty, Mommy!”

  She smiled at her two beautiful children, never thinking she could be so overcome with happiness as she was right at this moment. She looked into Tristan’s eyes and the look he gave her confirmed his agreement. The ceremony was a haze and only when Tristan turned her towards him and looked deep into her eyes, did she realize they were now husband and wife.

  “My beautiful wife … how long I have waited to say these words!”

  He hugged her tight against him and took her lips in a breathtaking passionate kiss that had all the guests applauding.

  “My gorgeous husband! How I love you!”

  Savannah thought their wedding was the best there has ever been. Everything was perfect, the weather was perfect, the flower arrangements were perfect, the food was perfect and everything just fell into place.

  She hugged her parents and then her in-laws before she went down on her knees and pulled the teary-eyed twins close.

  “Please don’t cry honeybuns! We will be back in a week! We are only taking this short week together and then we will pick you up for our family honeymoon! The week will fly by, I promise. We’ll be back before you miss us!”

  They nodded and hugged her tight and then turned to Tristan, who just could not let them go. She eventually had to pull Tiffany from his arms and hand her to Leandra.

  “They’ll be fine, honey. Just a warning for future reference, Tiffany knows how to use her tears!”

  “Must take after her mother then.”

  He mumbled, but allowed her to take the twins from him. He threw them kisses and turned to lift her high in his arms, ignoring her screech and then giggles. He got into the limousine with her on his lap and together they waved at the guests lined up down the driveway.

  “So, my wife, are you ready for our honeymoon?”

  “Oh, my husband, I have been ready for four years!”

  He kissed her deeply and she struggled to keep his wandering hands at bay, cognizant of the driver of the limousine.

  He looked at her, his expression serious. “Are you sure you are not mad that I want to spend the rest of our honeymoon with the twins?”

  She stroked his cheek and kissed him tenderly.

  “No, my love, I’m not. As a matter of fact, I thought it was an excellent idea. Now, are you going to tell me where we a
re going?”

  “I thought you would have guessed. I promised to take you there four years ago.”

  “Hawaii? We’re going to Hawaii?”

  “Where else would I take my sexy wife, where she can wear a string bikini the whole day, every day for me to look at?”

  “Oh … and here I planned to go naked … but if you insist on a string bi … Tristan!”

  She screeched softly when he tipped her on her back and started nibbling on her sides, causing her to go weak from the giggles and laughter as he tickled her mercilessly.

  The week in Hawaii was utter bliss. They were happy and so much in love, nothing could put a damper on their feelings. Savannah knew Tristan forgave her for the twins and totally embraced their lives together.

  She felt loved in everything that he did and said to her. Every touch, every smile and every hug told her he loved her and she blossomed under his attention. Tristan felt like the four years apart disappeared and they have been together forever.

  The only thing that still put a damper on their happiness was the pregnancy. He knew she was past her menstrual time and might not have noticed because of the excitement of the wedding, but he also knew that he should tell her and tell her soon.

  Even if she realized it herself, he would still be honest and admit to her that he already knew, but he feared what her reaction would be.

  On their last morning Savannah was already dressed and finished packing while Tristan went for his usual morning run. She planned to go to the spa for a massage and have a haircut at the salon. His cell phone rang and thinking it might be the twins she answered the call.

  “Oh, this is Doctor Meyer, the specialist that treated you after the shooting. Mr. Wade told me your memory came back?”

  “Yes, and I wish to thank you for everything you did for me.”

  “Please, it is not necessary, it is all in a days’ work. I just wanted to check in and make sure everything is fine with the pregnancy. I know we decided it was best not to tell you at the time, but I am sure your husband told you the good news straight away once your memories returned.”

  She was in absolute shock. She was pregnant and Tristan knew. He knew from when she was shot, which meant she was already nine or ten weeks along, and he never told her.

  “Mrs. Wade? Are you alright?”

  “Oh, yes and everything is fine. Thanks for calling. I appreciate it.”

  “Well then, let me know if it is another set of twins! Send my regards to your husband … and congratulations on the wedding.”

  She put the phone down as if in a trance and walked to the mirror. She pulled her sundress up and turned sideways. She stroked her slightly swollen tummy and tears burned her eyes. She had no idea! No signs, except her period … but with everything that happened recently she did not even notice. Her breasts were bigger and have been slightly tender, but she thought her period was close and didn’t even give it a second thought. She did a quick calculation and realized she was about ten weeks along.

  She caught her own eyes in the mirror and recognized the devastation there. He did what he set out to do … he made her pregnant. Is that also why he married her … not because he loved her, but because she was carrying his baby!

  “Oh God! No! How could he do this to me?”

  The tears ran down her cheeks at the same time as anger slammed through her heart. She grabbed her handbag and the suitcase she just finished packing and ran out the door. He just left for his run which was normally an hour and a half; add her spa and hair appointment he knew about, she had enough time to get away. He would probably only realize something was amiss two hours after he returned from his run. She took a taxi to the airport and managed to get hold of Tristan’s pilot, who already arrived the previous day to fly them back to New York this afternoon with his private plane.

  “Hi Adrian, Tristan had to fly to Washington urgently this morning, so it is only me, but if you mind and can arrange it, is it possible for us to leave right away? I miss the twins terribly. But they are waiting for me in Los Angeles. Will you be able to change the route?”

  “Of course, there should be no problem arranging it and we should be able to leave within ten minutes.”

  They agreed where to meet and she only drew a normal breath once they were in the air, hoping they would be too far away to turn around when Tristan realized she left and with his private plane on top of that.

  They just landed and she gathered her bags and stood waiting for Adrian to open the aircraft door. He approached her with his cell phone in his hand, his face white.

  “Mr. Wade wants to talk to you.”

  “I don’t have anything to say to him. Tell him he should share more stories with Doctor Meyer, they seem to have a lot to talk about!”

  She swung away and started pulling at the door. Adrian reached around her and swiveled the door open and waited for the ground personnel to pull the stairs against the plane, before he assisted her down the stairs.

  He still had his cell phone in his hand.

  “Please, just talk to him.”

  “No, and you can fill up the plane and fly back to fetch him. But take him home, I don’t want him near me!”

  She heard Tristan’s voice shouting her name over the phone but ignored it and followed the airport hostess towards the terminal for custom clearance. Once cleared she went to the business lounge and called her mother, with the request that Leandra and her fly with the twins to Belize, where they booked their family honeymoon. She would join them from Los Angeles and arrive roughly the same time.

  She already booked the tickets on the plane via the internet and would be in Belize already by the time Tristan arrived in Los Angeles, even if he took a public flight.

  Her mother did not understand, but agreed to it, thankfully without asking too many questions. She agreed to stay a day or two to help out with the kids. Within the hour Savannah was on a flight heading for Belize and still could not rid herself of the anger churning inside her. Her first reaction was to disappear, but changed her mind before that thought even took roots. She was still too angry to think everything through properly and to consider the repercussion of her running away from him again.

  She realized he probably already knew she was on her way to Belize and he would fly straight there. That would hardly give her any time to prepare facing him or getting her anger under control. She was bone tired by the time the twins, her mom and sister landed and her face was pale.

  “What’s wrong, sis? What happened?”

  “Nothing to worry about. I just needed the day or so to sort my thoughts and anger out before I face him.”

  “You ran away from him again?”

  “Not exactly. I did not hide my tracks. I am sure he is already aware where we are and should arrive sometime tomorrow. Where is mom and the twins?”

  “They went to the restrooms quickly.”

  The twins started running and screaming her name when they saw her and she hugged them tight, crying along with them.

  “Where’s Daddy, Mommy?” was the first question both asked in unison.

  “He was … delayed, but he’ll be here tomorrow. Come Muppets, let’s get going. Mommy is very tired.”

  Tristan rented a large lakeside cottage in Rio Dulce and the landlady was sweetness itself. She had another smaller cottage bordering the one they were in and offered to put Leandra and her mother there, which they readily accepted.

  They insisted that the twins stay with them, noticing how tired and upset Savannah was, and she did not even argue. All she needed was a long bath and then sleep.

  Tristan arrived a mere three hours later, having used his contacts with the Government and flew there by military jet. He was livid by the time he realized that something was amiss and went looking for Savannah. When the spa and salon confirmed she had not been there, the anger churned inside him. Realizing she took his private plane and flew to Los Angeles threw him into a cataclysmic fit and he nearly tore the room apart. Whe
n he heard her tell Adrian he should talk to Doctor Meyer his heart sank.

  He searched his call register on his phone and found the Doctors call and knew he must have said something to her, obviously under the impression he already told her the good news.

  The door to the cottage was unlocked, as was the norm on this side of Belize and he walked in and went in search of the bedroom. It was already after midnight and he was bone tired. Relief washed through him when he walked into the main bedroom and found Savannah sleeping on the bed. She did not try to cover her tracks, so at least she was not trying to hide from him.

  She was lying on her side with a sheet covering her. He pulled the sheet down and swallowed hard when he uncovered her beautiful nakedness. He sighed again and wiped his hand tiredly over his face. He went to the bathroom, took a quick shower and walked back to the bed, naked. He hesitated, not wishing to wake her, knowing she needed the sleep and that she was probably very tired from the two flights. The longer he stood looking at her, the bigger the lump in his throat got.

  He had the urgent need to be inside her, to make her his, to be one with her, to ensure himself that she was really there. To connect with her and to re-instate the bond they developed since the shooting. Just the thought that he was so close to losing her again was too much for him. He lowered himself over her, gently turning her on her back and spreading her thighs wide with his knee. He surged inside her slowly with a low growl. He kept his body above her with his arms straight with his hands next to her shoulders. He watched her eyes flutter open, and then widen when she recognize his feel inside her, his smell and his wonderful face hovering over her.

  She felt the wetness on her chest, then on her cheeks; she reached up and touched his face, realizing with a start that he was crying. His voice was hoarse and raw when he spoke.

  “How could you do this to me, Savannah? How could you run away? You promised! You promised never to leave me again!”

  She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down on her and held him tight, amazement and deep happiness sizzling inside her.