Attainment (temptation)

by K. M. Golland

  I manage a small smile and give her a hug. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” She pulls away, gives my arm a quick reassuring squeeze and then finds her seat.

  As I contemplate what she just said, Maryann approaches. Her demeanour is both excited and anxious. “She’s just outside,” she explains.

  Feeling my pulse pick up a beat, I look toward the door, noticing Alexis’ bridesmaids lining up ready to walk down the aisle. “Bray, Nate, come here,” I call to the boys. Nate grabs Brayden’s hand and they make their way over. “Okay, Mum is just outside those doors. Nate come stand next to me just like we practised.” He does as he’s told. “Now, little man, see your special pillow,” I say to Brayden as I bend down to his eye level. “I want you to hold it tightly and go with Nanny, okay?” I hold out my fist for him to bump.

  He rears his hand back and then slams it into mine. “Bang!” he says and then laughs, our fist-bumps now becoming a playful game.

  Maryann takes his hand and leads him along the aisle, and just as she reaches the door, I catch a glimpse of Alexis. The sight of her, as per usual, steals what oxygen I have left in my lungs. Fuck!

  The first thing my overwhelmed mind deciphers is that I’m marrying her today. I’m marrying her today. I’m really marrying her today.

  Completely stunned and spellbound by her presence, I can’t help but start to mentally count my blessings. You see, I’ve lost a lot in my life, suffering heartache and accepting the fact that I was destined—and deserved— to be alone in love. Don’t get me wrong, yes, I’ve managed to build a hugely successful business and brand, and I never take my fortune where that is concerned for granted. It’s just ever since Alexis came into my life, I’ve learned how to truly aspire. I learned to love, and to live life as it should be lived. And it is for this reason that I will be forever grateful.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I properly absorb for the first time since walking into this room that today is my wedding day. Today—after a few years of sharing my life with the woman of my dreams—is the day she becomes my wife. This day is the fucking icing on the cake—the pièce de résistance. This day cements what I have known all along, that Alexis is mine and that she always will be.

  Maryann passes Brayden to Alexis and my heart skips a beat as it usually does when I see them together. Watching Alexis and our son interact with one another does things to me that I never thought possible. For one, I can’t take my eyes off them, and secondly, I can’t help but smile like the fuckin’ Joker.

  Brayden points in my direction, and both he and Alexis hit me with two earth shattering smiles, smiles that like hundreds of times beforehand pierce through me like a bolt of lightning. According to everyone in our life, Brayden looks like me—I must admit...I tend to agree. The force is strong in my family. The thing is he may be a mini-me but the beam that plasters his 18-month-old face is 100% his mother’s.

  Alexis places Brayden on his stubby little legs. He grabs hold of Maryann’s hand and begins to walk toward me. It’s in this moment that I finally understand why Alexis wanted to wait two years to get married. She’d pleaded and convinced me the wait would be worth the while. ‘Charli will be at my side and Nate at yours,’ she’d said. ‘Brayden will then walk down the aisle holding the rings on a cute little pillow...it will make the day perfect. Please can we wait, I’m not going anywhere, remember?’

  I knew that she wasn’t going anywhere, that wasn’t the point. The point was we were together and had a child of our own therefore I wanted to be able to call her my wife. So, giving in to her pleas had almost killed me, especially after what we had both been through. Waiting was the absolute last fucking thing I had wanted, instead wanting to marry her as soon as I possibly could. After all, I had waited my whole life for her.

  Without admitting it to her though, she was right. Watching Brayden as he walks down the aisle toward me is definitely well worth the wait—it’s perfect...the kids are perfect...Alexis is perfect.

  Brayden stops and smiles, obviously pleased with his ‘special job’. I bend down and hold my fist out to him, preparing for another right-hook. He indulges me and laughs, then sits down with Maryann.

  As the music kicks in, I quickly stand back up and watch Alexis slowly make her way toward me. I’d been picturing and dreaming about this very moment for years, and it is now that it’s finally happening. In my dreams, Alexis was angelic...beautiful...exquisite. But in reality, watching as she smiles at our family and friends with each step that she takes, she is just pure perfection—fucking breath taking.

  The instrumental music piece that is playing as she walks down the aisle is one that Lucy, the boys, and I composed especially for this moment. We’d spent months on it, making it flawless. I sneak a look over at Derek and watch as he performs an air guitar action, prompting Carly to laugh at him. Friggin’ show pony.

  Shaking my head in amusement, I roll my eyes with a smile. He is definitely whipped whether he admits it or not.

  Alexis stops only feet away from me and has a few moments with Graeme. Part of me envies her having her parents here, wishing mine were here, too. Mum would no doubt be crying happy tears and Dad would be patting her arm. Lochie and Gareth would be standing right by my side, and the day really would be complete. But, as incredibly perfect as that sounds, it is not how it was meant to be. Fate had other plans, plans I would never understand.

  Graeme gives Alexis a quick kiss on the cheek before she turns, faces me, and steps up to the altar. Fuck me, she is gorgeous.

  ‘Hi,’ she mouths, her lips moving seductively yet with a hint of shyness. Shiiiit! I want at those lips.

  “Can I kiss her now?” I ask, desperately.

  The room erupts into an amused chuckle. I’m glad you all find it funny. I sure as hell don’t. Frustrated at my lack of control, I clench my fist then open it again.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Clark, not quite yet,” announces the celebrant. Now, if he wasn’t the very man who was going to legally bind me to Alexis for the rest of our lives, I would physically remove him from the room for stopping me from kissing her. He should consider himself lucky.

  Fighting to refrain from glaring at him, I move my stare back to the love of my life, finding Alexis staring at me, her beauty filled blue eyes looking deep into mine. ‘I love you’, I mouth, having to do or say something to show her how I feel. Apparently, kissing her in this moment is not allowed.

  “I love you, too”, she replies quietly as her gaze drops to assess my suit. The way she takes me in with her eyes nearly snaps my dick to attention—nearly. This is my wedding day after all; I do have some form of control.

  Alexis hands her bouquet of roses to her sister Jen, then turns back to face me, holding her hands out for me to take a hold. Shit! My palms are still sweaty.

  Wiping them on my trousers as quickly and inconspicuously as I am capable of, I take both her hands in mine. She strokes her thumb across my knuckles and again, my dick nearly snaps to attention. Bloody hell! Alexis will always have the ability to charge me with her touch.

  Screw this! I raise her hand to my mouth and kiss her wrist, the smell of her perfume intoxicating me. The fight within to cease my lips further progression up her arm is excruciating. She smiles lovingly at me and like a magnet leans in closer. I want to take her in my arms and merge us into one, but the celebrant clears his throat then begins the ceremony.

  After exchanging rings and confirming that I never owned my heart to begin with, my heart having always belonged to Alexis, I am now at my absolute last bit of tether. I need to kiss her. I need to taste her. I need to feel her in my arms.

  Desperation now plaguing my mind, body, and soul, I mentally give the celebrant a nice big ‘fuck you’ and take her in my arms before he has a chance to finish pronouncing us husband and wife. I kiss her like I’ve never kissed her before—I finally kiss my wife.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Our reception celebrations are a small affair which we decided to ha
ve in one of the function rooms at City Towers. Alexis wanted our entire wedding celebration to be at our hotel complex.

  As much as I pride myself in our establishment, if Alexis had said that our first night as husband and wife was also going to be in the hotel, I would have probably gagged her—I drew the line at that. Little does she know, we are flying directly to Paris after the wedding reception, and I have a few secrets up my sleeve that I can’t wait to surprise her with.

  “Excuse me ladies and gentleman,” Derek announces through the microphone. “Can I ask the groom to bring his bride to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife?”

  Alexis has her head on my shoulder while we sit at our table having a quiet moment to ourselves. As she lifts it up and hits me with yet again, another dazzling smile, I notice something change in her expression—a look I have seen many times before.

  “I hope you are wearing that red G-string, Husband,” she drawls.

  My eyes widen at her suggestion, and I laugh loudly as I pull her to her feet, leading her to the dance floor. “That was a one-off, Wife. I happily destroyed the uncomfortable piece of arse-floss.”

  Placing her hands around my neck, she stands up on her tippy toes to kiss my lips. “You once told me that nothing was absolute.”

  “Some things are,” I say with complete reaffirmation as I return her kiss and wrap my arms around her waist.

  A familiar sound filters my ears when the music begins, as Derek starts to sing the song I wrote for Alexis, “Thief of My Heart.”

  Pressing her head against my shoulder, she squeezes me tightly. “Loving you is absolute.”

  “It better be,” I say with a smirk.

  Alexis pulls away and wipes a tear which has begun to slide down her happy face. “Bryce, I just want you to know that deciding to go back to work three years ago was one of the best decisions I have ever made.”

  Another tear leaves her eye, heading on a journey south.

  “I can’t argue with you there,” I agree, wiping it away.

  “Giving you permission to kiss me was another.”

  “I married a smart woman.”

  She scoffs and drops her head for a second then looks back into my eyes. “Spending that week with you and allowing myself to believe that what we had was real, well...that was another.”

  I hug her tightly, thankful that she took that very leap of faith. Because when I look back on it now, that decision must’ve have been extremely difficult for her.

  Derek picks up the pace, singing the lyrics to the bridge of the song. I too, mouth them to Alexis:

  ‘Let go and feel it.

  Just let go and feel it.

  You and I, we are it.

  Please let go.’

  The timing of those lyrics couldn’t be more perfect, emphasising what we had just been talking about. Alexis smiles and sings the chorus back to me:

  ‘You’re all that I want and nothing else.

  I’ve fallen hard and will never get up.’

  I swear that if I die in this very moment, I will die a happy man. Not that dying is an option at this particular point in time, we have a marriage to consummate, and I have some pretty good ideas about how I plan on doing that.

  As visions of our honeymoon start to dance across my mind, I feel that all too familiar movement in my pants. Alexis feels it, too.

  “Your feet are not the only thing dancing right now, are they?”

  I laugh and press her harder to my front. “No, they are not.”

  She stretches up, her face now level with my own, prompting me to lift her off the ground. I don’t hesitate, gripping her tighter and raising her like her body suggests—her feet now dangling centimetres from the floor. She kisses me hard, and during that kiss it’s as though we are the only two people in the room. We move across the floor to the music, her feet dangling, her arms wrapped around my neck, my lips and tongue still connected to hers—I’m the happiest I have ever been.

  Hearing the song subside and Derek’s voice no longer singing, we both open our eyes and come back to the moment.

  “Mrs. Clark?” I ask, completely transfixed by her radiant aura.

  “Yes?” she answers with a giggle.

  “Nothing, I just wanted to say your name.”

  Alexis blushes. I fucking love it when she does that.

  “Did you just blush, Mrs. Clark?”

  Her blush and smile disappear. “No, I don’t blush.”

  “Oh, yes you do.” I chuckle at her obvious denial.

  “I do not,” she states tersely, affirmation assisting her stubborn tone.

  “Do you want me to prove you wrong, right here, right now?”

  She blushes. I rest my case.

  Derek interrupts our moment and asks if anyone else would like to join us on the dance floor. He then hands over the microphone to the lead singer of a band that we often play gigs with, and then makes his way toward Carly.

  Before I know it, we are joined by our family and friends, even Arthur and Geraldine, Arthur giving me a fatherly slap on the back and kissing Alexis on the cheek with congratulations.

  Once again, swaying with Alexis still happily content in my arms, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

  “Do you mind if I cut in,” Rick asks, indicating that he wishes to dance with Alexis.

  I give him a nod. “Sure, I need to find that sister of mine anyway.” I lift Alexis’ chin with my finger and press a quick kiss to her lips before leaving her to dance with her ex-husband.

  * * *

  Moments later, I find Lucy sitting with Nik and Alexander, Al driving his toy cars on top of the table. I pick up a car and perform a high speed manoeuvrer then crash it into the one Al is holding. He laughs and yells ‘Boom’.

  “Luce, come and dance with me,” I request, gesturing toward the dance floor.

  “Where’s your wife? Your wife!” she squeals “How does that feel?” She stands up and gives me a quick hug.

  I lean in closer. “Fucking perfect. And, she’s over there, dancing with Rick.”

  Lucy looks over my shoulder. “Oh. Well, come on then, let’s go and keep an eye on them.”

  “I don’t need to keep an eye on my wife,” I reassure her, knowing deep down that I will always keep an eye on my wife.

  “Fine, don’t. I’ll keep my eye on her.”

  I know damn well that she will.

  Shaking my head at my devoted sister as we start to sway to “With or Without You” by U2, I tell her that she can finally stop looking out for me. “You can stop with the creepy research now.”

  “Never,” she cackles like an evil witch.

  Knowing this request is falling on deaf ears, I change the tone of the conversation and squeeze her tight. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” she asks with incredulity as she tilts her head up.

  “For always being there for me.”

  “Bryce, it’s the other way around,” she scoffs.

  I pull her back to my body and spin us both around. “That’s what you think.”

  “Okay, you don’t have to convince me twice,” she answers nonchalantly but in a teasing tone. Cheeky shit.

  I smile into Lucy’s hair, and just as we are about to settle in, the music changes and I hear Alexis groan.

  “You did this on purpose, Rick!” she exclaims with frustration.

  I’m just about to head over there and see what fuck is going on when Rick laughs.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he fires back, feigning surprise. Then, with a grin on his face he pulls Alexis to him and they both began to Jive to “Jailhouse Rock”.

  My tension alleviates.

  “It’s like riding a bike,” Rick teases.

  “Have you ever tried ridin’ a freakin’ bike with a wedding dress and heels on?”

  I laugh.

  “She’s got an answer for everything, hasn’t she?” Lucy mutters with a smile while shaking her head.

  “She sure ha
s.”

  “I’m so happy for the two of you. Mum and Dad would’ve loved her.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Especially Mum.”

  I pull Lucy in for another tight hug, when I notice Brayden spot the wedding cake. “Shit! Gotta go.”

  I take off and catch him right before Jake does.

  “Jesus, he’s quick,” Jake complains, slightly breathy.

  “Of course he is. He’s gonna play football for the Cats aren’t you, Bray?” I declare proudly, picking him up and placing him on my hip.

  Brayden looks from the cake then to me and makes a ‘meow’ noise.

  I laugh.

  Screwing up his face, Jake smiles like the cheeky fuck that is. “Not if Lex has anything to do with it. According to her, he was born a Bomber like his siblings.”

  “She won’t have anything to do with it. Brayden will support the Cats.”

  Jake belly-laughs, “Bryce, you are fucked,” he says, right before slapping me on the back and walking off. Fucking smartarse!

  I like my brother-in law, but he is a cocky son of a bitch at the best of times.

  * * *

  Not before long, Alexis and I are cutting our cake. My lips are deliberately pressed to hers, so that she cannot see what I have coming. “Remember when you told me how much you loved cake and cream?” I whisper, still keeping her attention fixated on me.

  “Yeah,” she blushes.

  “Is this just as good?”

  I quickly move my hand to her face and mush a bit of cake into her mouth, cream smearing on her nose and chin.

  The room fills with laughter and shocked gasps, together with Tash’s unmistakable bellow. “Bout time someone gagged you, Lex.”

  Alexis stumbles back in surprise, her eyes wide open, her mouth agape with cake and cream filling it. “You didn’t just do that,” she mumbles as she closes her eyes and swallows her mouthful.

  Laughing and somewhat surprised that I actually went through with it, I reply. “Yeah...I did.”

  Her eyes flick open again, a renewed sense of retribution covering her face. Crap! I’m gonna fucking regret this. She raises an eyebrow and forcefully ploughs her hand into the top of the cake, grabbing a fist full before taking a step closer to me. I know what she is going to do—obviously, I deserve it—but she looks so damn sexy, so I’m willing to let her.