by S. L. Scott
“I can give you that,” she said, then laughed.
Standing up, he said, “Give me ten minutes and we can go.”
“I’ll give you a lifetime, if you give me yours.”
“Deal, baby.” He walked into the bedroom.
Jude sat on his couch, waiting, debating if she should tell him she knows.
Pro – If she tells him, he’ll know she married him despite his illness.
Con – If she tells him, he may change his mind about marrying her.
Pro – If she doesn’t tell him, one day he’ll know she married him despite his illness.
Con – If she doesn’t tell him, he may change his mind about marrying her.
Ugh! This was getting her nowhere. She would have to go with her gut.
Hazel came out and spun for her with some fancy footwork added for special effect. Smiling she said, “That’s my favorite suit on you.”
“It’s now my marrying suit.” He stuck his arm out for her. “You ready to go?”
“Ready.”
They spent three hours getting a birth certificate for Jude and then headed to the bureau. After some research online, they applied for the license and left, but Taylor still felt like he should apologize. “It’s only twenty-four hours.”
“We can wait twenty-four hours.”
They walked hand in hand down the street. “Hey, Jude?”
“Yeah?”
“What if you didn’t return home tonight? What if we started our life together now? What will happen?”
She tugged him closer. “They’ll be upset, but they’ll have to deal with it. We’ll be married when they see me again.” Stopping, she faced him. “We can petition for my rights or if I can’t get them, as my husband, you can.”
The tips of his fingers ran from her temple down her neck. Goose bumps covered her skin. “We’ll go to court and get your rights back. I promise. I’ll do everything in my power to give you your freedom back. I’ll do anything for you.”
“And I you. Do you know that? Anything. In sickness and in health,” she said quietly prodding for him to open up to her. She didn’t understand why he wouldn’t tell her about his disease or that Katherine was the one he was apparently supposed to marry at one point. But for some reason, he wouldn’t open up about those two things. Jude felt like she knew him—knew everything that was important—and she would marry him based on that, despite his secrets.
His eyes began searching hers as if she was onto something. “Yes, in sickness and in health,” he repeated then turned away, taking her hand and starting for home.
“I’M WARNING YOU, as your husband, beautiful. I’m going to want all of you. I want all your secrets and your soul.”
She squirmed beneath him, forgiving him of his own sin of denying her his secrets, as he lowered himself. “Don’t you know, Hazel? You’ve had all of me all along.”
He kissed her just above where she really wanted him. Teasing her. “You’re getting demanding.” Kiss. “Is this how marriage is going to be?”
“I can’t help it. You created a monster.”
“You’re lucky I find you so delectable.”
She knew exactly how fortunate she was. “I am. I’m the luckiest girl in the—” She gasped when he kissed her exactly where she had wanted. “Oh God, Hazel. I’m so lucky.” The tips of her fingers dragged slowly up her body as she murmured, “Lucky. Lucky. Luck! E.”
Shortly after, the starburst whitened the insides of her lids, and she returned the favor. He was left helplessly at her mercy until his body was teetering on the edge of ecstasy and what felt like death. Jude got up and kissed his chest. “I want you, babe, inside me.”
He sat up. “You want me? You get me on my terms. On your hands and knees.”
Her body clenched in anticipation. Even though they have had passionate sex, even some rough, play that was fun, he had never made demands of her. But she liked it. She liked feeling wanted sexually. Positioning herself, she felt his warm palms glide over her back and bottom before she felt a gentle pressure. Her breath was pushed out as he pushed in, holding her steady by the hips.
“God, Jude. You feel…” His words trailed off as he picked up his pace.
It didn’t take long before he slowed down, out of breath, and reached around her leg. Touching her between the legs, she needed him to move. “Please, Hazel. Faster. Harder. Move. Please.”
He stilled completely and chuckled. “I thought you said you never want it quick?”
“That was before you started torturing me with pleasure like this. God, please. I’m so close.” She squeezed, tempting him into action.
“You are very bad, Jude. So bad, but feel so good.” He grabbed her shoulders, and said, “Hold on.”
Minutes of beautiful torture were shared until they collapsed together onto the mattress. He moved to her side and kissed her cheek, tasting her sweat. “It’s almost tomorrow.”
She turned to look at the clock. “It is.” She smiled. “Are we going first thing?”
“We are.”
“Then what?”
“Then we tell your family and get your stuff.”
Rolling onto her back, she moved against his arm with her arm resting over him. “Can I go back to school?”
Watching her face as she kept her eyes lowered from his, he asked, “You want to finish your degree?”
“I have two years, but I missed too many days to get credit for the other courses.”
“Yes, I think you should finish school. I think you should do everything you haven’t gotten to do.”
The silence engulfed her gulp and she kept her tears at bay. They were happy tears but she didn’t want to cry again, not right now. “I don’t spend much.”
Kissing her cheek again, he leaned back on the pillow and stretched his arm behind his head. “I can afford it if you do.”
“I don’t know anything about your financials.”
“If my financials concern you, we should talk about them.”
Tilting her head down, she said, “I can’t contribute. I’ve never had a job and I don’t have my degree yet.”
His fingers went to her chin and he lifted her up. “I have a solid job and a large stake in my family’s company. We don’t have to worry about money, Jude. You don’t have to worry. You can leave your family behind, everything, and we can replace it all. You’re twenty-two. I had friends who didn’t graduate until they were twenty-six because they partied so hard in college. You can start this summer or fall and finish up. Then you can do what you want.”
She smiled at the thought. “I used to want to be in publishing. I wanted to be an editor. But I might want to be a librarian now. I like the calm environment.” His body tensed under her hand. “Oh my God, are you hard?”
“The librarian fantasy is a very real thing.”
She burst out laughing. “Good to know. Maybe you can check out my books.”
He rolled on top of her. Pushing her hair back from her face so he could look at her, really look at her. “I’d rather place my books in your slot.”
Grinning bigger than the sun, she lifted up, and kissed him. “You are a dirty, dirty boy.” They rolled over and made love again.
Taylor woke up to sunshine staring in from the outside and Jude ironing inside. He rubbed his eyes, and with a groggy voice he asked, “What are you doing?”
She spread the skirt of the chartreuse dress out on the board the best she could and replied, “I want to look pretty.”
“You’re always pretty.”
“I want to look extra pretty.” She ran the iron over the dress a few more times. “I’m going to the store in a few minutes. I want to buy some makeup.”
“I don’t want you to wear makeup. You don’t need it.”
Her eyes met his sleepy ones. “I have dark circles.”
“So do I.”
“My lashes are lighter.”
He shook his head. “I have no idea about my lashes.”
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nbsp; “I have a pimple. I don’t want a pimple in our wedding photo.”
“Where? Where is this so-called pimple because I’m pretty sure I covered your entire body with my mouth at some point or another and didn’t see one… or lick one.”
“Ew.”
He laughed and rolled onto his back, then yawned, closing his eyes and going back to sleep. When he woke up, he smelled food. Muffins to be precise. Lazily, he flipped the covers off and walked into the other room with a smile on his face. “Good morning.”
Jude turned around and presented a platter of muffins. “Good morning.”
“What kind of muffins did you bake?” he asked taking one, then taking a bite without waiting for a response.
“Blueberry. You had them in the fridge.”
“It’s really good. Thank you for making these.”
“My pleasure, soon-to-be-husband.” Her voice had an excited lilt to it, which made him smile again despite his mouth full of food. “The courthouse opens soon. I’m going to shower if you’re so inclined to join me.” She swaggered past him, naked, and so very tempting.
He shoved the rest of the muffin in his mouth and followed her.
An hour and a half later they stood in line with the number fifty-five in their hand. Jude was nervous and starting to take her anxiety out on Hazel. “You’re not allowed to take showers with me anymore.”
Teasing her, he tapped her nose. “Was I a water hog or a Jude hog?”
“Both. We lost an hour to your antics.”
“You didn’t mind those antics when we were in there.” His sexy arrogance was showing.
“That’s my point, Hazel. It’s like I have no self-control around you. Forget about saying no. I have no desire to turn you down, like ever. I could lose myself to you if I’m not careful.” She stated this as if it were of real concern.
“Nothing wrong with losing yourself in something you love.” He nudged her. “Anyway, that will just put us on an even playing field.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his thigh. “They are up to twenty-four.”
Thirty minutes later…
“What’s that?” Jude pointed to the small leather-bound notebook Taylor carried.
His hand stilled with the small pencil in it. “That’s the sunroom.”
“Ohh. I like that.”
He watched her smile over his blueprints, and felt happy she liked the plans.
She pointed to another rectangle room on the pad. “What about this room?”
“That’s your library.”
She sat back with her mouth open and looked at him in disbelief. “I get a library?”
With an easygoing grin on his face, he said, “Of course. I have the plans at home, but I like to work on it when I’m out.”
“I can’t believe you’re creating our house.”
“So you like it so far?”
She kissed his cheek. “I love it.”
They both looked up when an announcement came out overhead. “Thirty-one.”
Forty-five minutes later…
Jude slid down in her chair, her arms hanging over and her legs straight out. “They sure do know how to suck the fun out of getting married.”
Taylor tapped her leg, then bent over and rested his forearms on his knees. “Not much longer. I can feel it.” With his body stationed, he lifted his gaze up to the number board. Forty-seven.
Thirty-eight minutes later…
“Fifty-five,” Taylor said, shaking Jude. “That us.”
“Thank God!”
“I thank God every day,” he added, taking her hand.
They turned in their number and were escorted down a short hall to a small room and told to wait.
In that moment, they looked at each other but the moment seemed to have stolen their voices.
Three minutes ticked by, the clock on the wall loud. Jude finally said, “I have no doubts, just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t wondering, but is this like reverse psychology where you’re really reassuring yourself?”
She laughed, and it felt so good in the moment. “No, I really meant I have no doubts. We haven’t known each other that long, but I think you said it best when we first met. It feels like we’ve known each other our whole lives.”
Just as he leaned down to kiss her, the door opened and they stepped apart, not used to sharing what they mean to each other in public.
A man in a black robe stopped as if he was walking in on something he shouldn’t, but then he continued and said, “It’s okay to kiss her. She’s about to be your wife, son.” He set a book down on the table in the corner and introduced himself. Looking at the young couple, he went through his standard protocol. “So you want to get married?”
Taylor answered, “Yes, Sir. We do.”
He smiled, then looked at Jude. She returned a sweet smile, and squeezed his hand. “Yes. I very much want to marry him.”
“Very good. I reviewed your papers. Are you ready, Taylor and Judith?”
“We are,” they answered together.
“Repeat after me.” He went through the civil ceremony vows they had chosen.
Facing each other with their hands held tightly together, Jude looked into the eyes she fell in love with, the ones that held hope and possibility, an impossible sexiness. “I, Judith Ann Boehler, take you, Taylor Hazel Barrett, to be my husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward through sorrow and joy, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live.”
The justice reassured her with a nod, then turned his attention to Taylor and repeated the vows that Taylor had memorized already. He faced Jude. “I, Taylor Davis Barrett, take you, Judith Jude Boehler, to be my wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward though sorrow and joy, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live.”
“By the power granted me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now’s a good time to kiss her, again.”
Jude stared into her own forever, her heart racing, and her chest swelling with love. Taylor cupped Jude’s face and leaned down to her. When their lips were almost touching, her eyes closed, and he whispered, “I will always love you, Jude, and I will always protect you,” and he kissed her.
“YOU’RE A BARRETT now.”
“Shh. I’m not sure what to make of that yet.”
Taylor’s pursed lips slid to the side, and then he said, “So it’s not a good thing?”
“It’s a wonderful thing, but now there are two of us we have to save from a certain fate.”
“Ohh, like attending charity events to be seen, instead of for the cause?”
“Precisely. And as a Barrett, I will never abandon the love for my husband to make an impression on strangers to gain social standing.”
Taylor added, “As a Barrett, you will not only make the world a better place, but my world a better place.”
She smiled, her happiness brighter than the sun. She touched him, not able to not touch him. “I will always be here for you. I promise, as a Barrett.”
He took her hand and kissed each finger. “You already did that as a Boehler.”
“Maybe Barrett is just Boehler 2.0, a better version.”
“I think you were pretty spectacular already.”
“Charmer.”
“You know it.”
An hour later, Taylor was sitting at the bar, watching Jude as she made omelets. “Why do you have to go today?”
“I don’t. But I want to get it over with.” With the spatula pressing down on the eggs in the pan, she turned to look at him. “I’m nervous and my stomach’s upset over this. I just want to get it over with.” Focusing on the food, she turned off the stove, plated their lunch, and joined him.
His hand rubbed her back and brought her closer for a kiss. “You know you don’t have to cook for me all the time.”
“I like to cook for you.�
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“I appreciate it. I just want you to know—”
“Eat before it gets cold.”
He took a bite and chewed, savoring the taste. After he swallowed, he asked, “You’re not going to eat?”
“I’ve lost my appetite.”
Taylor set his fork down and rubbed his hands through his hair, then turned his body toward her. “Look, I’ll go with you. It will be easier with both of us there.”
Picking up her fork and knife, she cut a small bite, but right before she ate it, she paused to think through her plans. She needed him safe and if that meant staying here, she would make sure he stayed. “It’s our wedding day. Let’s not ruin it with talk about this. I’ll go tomorrow or the next. There’s no hurry. We’re married now. There’s nothing they can do to hurt me anymore.”
They spent the afternoon between the sheets, marrying their bodies. As they lay on their backs, trying to catch their breath, Jude rolled over and smiled. “I feel like I’ve been let in on a great secret and now I want to tell everyone.”
Taylor smiled despite how exhausted he was. Peeking over at her, he asked, “Are you going to share your secret with me?”
“You’re the one who shared it with me, my love.”
Reaching over, he rubbed her thigh, his fingertips dipping between her legs. “And what’s that?”
She closed her eyes, her body relaxing under his touch. “Sex.” She wriggled so his fingers were closer to where she wanted them. “It’s the greatest secret of all. I can’t believe I waited so long to feel this good.”
His hand stopped moving and his brow furrowed. “Hey, hey now. Let’s not go that far.”
Touching his cheek, she laughed. “I don’t mean it like that. I just mean it feels so amazing. You feel amazing and you will be the only one I will ever feel this way with. That’s even more powerful than the orgasms you give me. And those are pretty damn amazing.”
He made her feel so good that she wanted more of every sensation, every kiss they shared, and every touch that bonded them in ways a piece of paper never could. Soon she was astride him seeking more of everything this secret revealed. And with each round of love they made, they felt even more sure of their decision to wed..