by J. A. Coffey
"Gladly." She felt his strong grip enfolding her hand and embraced the quiver of joy that raced her skin.
He slid back onto his own seat and sipped the last of his drink. He checked his watch and knocked on the table before motioning towards the door. "I think we should leave now so that you have time to change before the ceremony."
She looked at her phone and nodded.
"Everyone is meeting us at the Town Hall."
She nodded, feeling another rush of anxiety. He must have sensed it, for when he pulled her up, Darius claimed her hands and placed a kiss on her lips. "It will be fine. Everything will be fine. You'll see. Save it for the real wedding in the fall. Pretend this one's just the rehearsal."
She smiled at that. "And then, when I get all crazy over everything going wrong for our 'official wedding,' you'll tell me not to worry, since we're already legally wed."
He winked and tapped his temple. "See? We already think the same. What great partners in life we'll be."
He guided her out the door and squeezed her fingers in parting, and as Jess stood there and watched him walk away, she knew that everything was going to be all right.
*****
Timothy offered her his elbow, and Jess felt incredibly self-conscious as she walked down the courtroom aisle to her awaiting groom. Jeremy walked ahead of her, marching beside Bigsby, who looked as happy as she had ever seen him. So happy, in fact, she was positive he verged on a smile. He took his place beside Darius, and Jeremy eased off to the left, taking his place as her promised "maid" of honor.
Kimi had managed to braid a beautiful reverse French twist into her hair, even weaving in some of the flowers that David the gardener had brought with him.
The entire staff from home was here, as well as her shop. She saw a few faces in the room that she didn't recognize, and a surprising one she did. He was the photographer from the zoo. He waved cheerfully as he began snapping photos while she walked down the aisle, eager to document their big day.
"Oh," Timothy said after a few steps. "I don't think you'll have to worry about Beauregard coming after you anymore. We found his car abandoned at the side of the road, and word on the street is he owes Vito a whole lot more money than he could ever pay back. I don't think you'll be seeing him or his goons again."
She smiled up at him, relief rolling off her shoulders in such a wave that she swore the gathered masses would hear the crash. "That's just perfect. Thank you."
"Consider it my wedding gift. For now." He winked.
She squeezed his arm, grinning wider than she thought possible. Darius looked as handsome as ever as he stood patiently waiting for her. Timothy took her right hand and placed it into Darius' warm one, and then he enfolded both their hands in his own, granting them a warm smile before he took his seat.
Jeremy showed her his phone, all lit up with a call, and whispered, "Your parents are here, in spirit, if not in flesh."
Fresh tears welled, and she placed a grateful hand on his forearm. "Thank you," she whispered and handed him her bouquet.
Her heart raced with a vigor she never knew as she gazed at Darius, reciting the words she was told and thinking she didn't make too many errors along the way.
The judge looked at them. "Do you have the rings?"
Rings? Stark terror filled her as she met Darius' concerned gaze. "We...um...."
The judge smiled and patted his breast pocket. "I have them here for you." He pulled out a handkerchief and unwrapped the ornate pair of golden bands therein. "This was Ollie's," he said as he handed it Jess, "and this," he placed the smaller one in Darius' palm, "you may recognize as your mother's."
Jess looked at them and saw they matched. She felt more tears welling, and saw the same forlorn look mirrored in her groom. "Mum wore this on the ring finger of her right hand." He turned it over and over, as if looking for answers. "She said it was a graduation ring from university and she never took it off."
Jess squeezed his hand and softly added, "I'm sure it did come from her happier college days."
They exchanged an emotion-filled glance.
Judge Abel cleared his throat. "May these rings bring you the same level of love and joy they brought their predecessors." He leaned forward and winked, "Without all the difficulties."
They smiled.
"Please place these rings on the third finger of the left hand of your betrothed and repeat after me: With this ring, I thee wed."
They took turns putting the rings on each other.
They both fit. Mostly.
Judge Abel leaned in to Darius. "Would you like to kiss your bride?"
"And how." He gave her a predatory look just before he grabbed her and dipped her low.
She could get used to the idea of growing limp in his arms.
Laughter filled the judge's voice as he watched them kissing and said, "I would like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. B. Darius Covington, Baron and Baroness of Insley...if they ever come up for air."
Darius continued to kiss her with a leisurely passion, as if they had only time and not a care in the world.
And really, with two months of vacation time left over, Jess kind of figured they did.
Chapter Fourty-Six
Nerves of steel she had not, Jess realized as she and Darius got ushered into the head of their receiving line. Faith gave her a gigantic hug and whispered, "I can't believe you're not marrying Jeremy," but when Jess snapped away, Faith scanned Darius up and down and said solemnly, "Mr. Huggybear better be good to you."
Darius must have heard her, for he wrapped a possessive hand around Jess' waist and called out, "Where's Duncan? Faith needs a good spanking."
When Faith turned beet red, mouth opened to protest, Darius tugged her young protégé close to his side in a one-armed crunch. To Faith he said, "Jess might think she can do better than me-"
Jess choked at that.
"-but there's not a man on the planet who will love and protect her more than I."
Faith melted at that and faced Jess. "Forget about what I said earlier. Except for the part about you being the luckiest woman on the planet."
They both smiled down at her at that.
The photographer was next in line, and Jess couldn't believe how happy she was to see him again. She took his hand in both of hers.
"Jake Owens. Zewspaper."
"I remember. It is so good to see you again. We love the picture you took of us. It's perfect. I want to get it framed."
Jake smiled at them and asked, "So, I guess my headline was right? Love rekindled?"
They grinned, and Darius amended, "Love resumed."
"What brings you here?" Her curiosity seemed to bubble up on its own.
Jake patted his cameras. "When I saw Mr. Oliver Covington's name in the paper, and the internet, and all over the radio," he grinned, "I remembered how you two had reconnected over the inheritance, so I thought I would attend."
They nodded, and he continued, "I thought I would take a few pictures for work, maybe something for our wall of sponsors. But when you stated that you were getting married in two hours, I thought I would donate my services...as a wedding present, if you didn't already have a photographer."
Jess took his hands. "That is so sweet of you. But we can certainly pay you for your time."
He pulled away and put his hands up. "Nothing doing. I got a huge bonus for that picture. With your permission, I can enter it in Nationals. Win some serious photography fame."
She looked to Dar, and he shrugged. "Sure," she told him. "We don't mind."
"I'll drop off or mail the release forms." He shook Darius' hand with earnest. "Congrats, man. Seriously, congrats to you both."
As the receiving line ended, Jess felt her nerves gather into a tight clot in her pelvis. Of course Darius must have sensed it, for he stepped close, looked at his watch, then called out, "Everyone, reception at our house, seven-thirty tonight." He wrapped his arm around Jess' waist and drew her to his side. "We're heading out, and we hope to s
ee you all there."
Just like that, Jess found herself racing to her marriage bed.
Jeremy drove them home, insisting they sit together in back. "I'm the chauffeur, Cookies. You two get all snuggly back there. Just don't fog up my windows."
He must have thought Jess didn't get the reference, because Darius leaned in and whispered, "From all the panting. You'll learn soon enough."
She swatted him, and Jeremy grinned in the rearview and said, "Wow. Look at your blush."
They swept into the drive, and Darius scooped her up and carried her over the threshold, even as she waved goodbye to Jeremy. "Bigsby must still be partying," Darius said as he opened and then kicked close the door.
He carried her upstairs and slowed at his door, then stepped towards hers. "Your choice, my love. Which room?"
She looked between their two doors. "Is there a room that can be ours? Together?"
"Actually...." Darius carried her to the end of the hallway, where a set of heavily-carved antique tiger oak double doors filled the back wall. "This is the master bedroom. It was Ollie's. I told myself I would only move into it if I ever got married."
Jess couldn't believe he still carried her, and he calmly awaited a reply. "Ollie's, huh?"
He nodded once, eyes locked on hers.
"Would he mind?"
He seemed to consider her words. "I'd have to think he would be happy for us. I mean," he waggled his left hand, "he left us their rings."
Now she considered. Moving into Ollie's room would make his death so...permanent. But she knew also that only one master bedroom existed in this house, and she had heard it was lovely. She held his eyes. "I told you on our first date that I wanted a partner, and that does not mean staying in separate bedrooms." With her head she indicated the doors. "I think we should."
"Me, too." He grinned and stepped through the portal.
Chapter Fourty-Seven
It was beyond lovely. It was magnificent. She wanted to look around and touch the marble fireplace, the gold damask-covered 70s couch, the golden urns that aspired to be Egyptian. But Darius seemed intent on keeping his promise, and really, Jess was good and ready to learn what she had been missing. He lowered her to the mattress, and she sank into the plush comforter. "Wow."
"Ollie did luxe the way I do Aikido. No half measures."
He walked around to the other side and pulled off his shoes, and Jess grabbed her feet to do the same.
He shared another wolfish grin. "That's the only item of clothing I'm letting you take off. From this point on, I do all the undressing."
"Oh, yeah?" She leaned on her elbow. "What about you?"
He eased next to her and stroked her cheek. "You may remove mine, if you so wish."
"Perhaps I do."
"Then perhaps I'll let you."
They both smiled at each other, and suddenly Jess felt another race of anxiety. But Darius sat her up on the bed and moved behind her, taking her braid in his fingers. "This has to come down. I've dreamt of being wrapped in your hair for ten years, and I'm not ready to give up that fantasy." He found the end and began undoing the braid, the flowers, the bobby pins, sending shivers down her spine when he stroked nerves she never knew she had.
When he was done he stood in front of her and cupped her cheeks, then combed his fingers into her hair to draw it around her shoulders like a red-gold cape. With a tug, he brought her lips to his.
She sensed his passion held in check by his inordinate control. He inched closer, holding her head still as he nibbled on her lips. When she opened her mouth to whimper, he slanted his lips across hers for a deep kiss.
His tongue touched hers, and a solid jolt of electricity zapped straight through her, all the way down to her toes, making them curl with his touch. He moaned deep in his throat, angling over her, and she found herself dropping deeper into the mattress.
He pulled back, his eyes dark with an emotion she thought might be lust- or pride- and said, "I want you to remember this day for the rest of your life, so don't harass me if I want to take my time to seduce you senseless."
She studied him, her eyes wide. "Okay."
His hand edged up her ribs, sliding into each bump before stopping at her breast. Her white wedding dress was off the rack, embroidered and buttoned but form-fitting and quite nice. She rather liked it, except she noticed that the thickness of it made it difficult to feel the heat of Darius' hand. She raised a hand to undo her buttons.
"Ep," he chastised, wagging a warning finger at her. "I do all the undressing, remember?"
She opened her mouth to tell him to speed it up before she recalled she had just agreed to not harass him. So she said, "Okay. You want to?"
"I will."
He dragged his fingernails over her breasts, and even through her bra she could feel herself harden and pebble. "You're making me tighten."
"Good." He stroked up and down, up and down, then undid her top button and placed a kiss there. "Oh, look, a freckle." He kissed it, then nuzzled along her opened fabric and murmured, "Another one." He licked a line between the two, and Jess felt her skin flutter along to the skipping beat of her pulse.
He popped another button free, and Jess hitched her breath at the rush of cool air on her heated skin. How many buttons did this dress have? Seven? Three hundred? Somewhere in-between? He popped out another one, exposing her pink bra, and she watched his fingers nestle under the material and tug her nipple free.
He toyed with her skin, pinching the rosy tip and smiling when he noticed her harden and perk.
Jess closed her eyes when he rolled her nipple with his teeth. "Darius."
"Shush."
A very warm hand danced up her side, starting at her knee and ending at her breast. He undid the rest of the buttons until he was able to expose her bra fully to his gaze, at which point he leaned back and quietly pulled her to a sitting position. Muted by his intense stare, Jess made no movement as he slid the fabric off her shoulders and let it puddle at her hips.
"Do you want me to-"
"Nope." Again, his intensity drove words from her lips, merely watching as he eased her knees apart and smiled before unclasping her bra.
He crushed her in his arms, his mouth latched to her nipple as if it were the only sustenance in his world. A cry sounded somewhere in the room, and Jess noted her mouth made a second one that sounded just like the first.
Could she really be making such lustful noises?
He pulled back with a snap and yanked off his tie, tossed his jacket to the ground, and undid his top two buttons. Jess honed in on that fresh patch of skin and pressed her lips there, drawing a deep moan from Darius. He tipped back his head, and Jess speared her fingers into his hair, tugging him close and sucking the flesh of his throat.
He growled and pushed her to her back, sparing a grin before taking her dress in two fistfuls and shimmying it down her hips, where it soon became an airborne cloud of cotton sailing through the master bedroom. The bra he stretched like a rubber band and slung off his thumb, where it landed somewhere on the other side of the room.
Her abdomen quivered with either fear or anticipation; she was unsure which.
"How are you doing there, Mrs. Covington, my lady Baroness of Insley?"
She stared up at him for a second as she processed this new information. "I am, aren't I?"
"You are." He waggled his brows. "Ready for more?"
She grinned, and that was all the encouragement he needed. He gathered her breasts into his palms and kneaded and licked and suckled her thoroughly, moaning along with her every cry of pleasure. He then eased down, nipping her ribs, kissing her belly, licking along the hem of her panties.
Damn. She should have skipped the underwear.
Two fingers traced along each bottom edge, outlining the v of her crotch, and she squirmed at the rush of fluid making her crave a primal touch she could not yet name.
"Ooh, somebody's wet." He traced the growing damp circle on her panties to mark what he no
ticed.
"Isn't that what's supposed to happen?"
"It is." She felt his lips on the lacy edge, then his tongue trailed as well, making her quiver yet again.
He tugged them off and hooked his hands behind her knees, drawing her buttocks off the mattress. Firm kisses landed on her knees, and her thighs tickled from his hair as he lowered his lips for a very intimate kiss.
She arched into him; she couldn't help it.
Just as she couldn't help the cry that came from her lips.
He moaned as he attended her, his tongue and lips and then fingers doing wondrous things to her body and soul.
He pressed one finger inside her, then two, and she braced with the stretching sensation.
"Jess, you're so tight. It's going to hurt, but not for long. Okay?"
Words left her. How could anything that felt this wondrous possibly hurt her? She thought she may have nodded, but his finger stroked with surety along her cleft and clitoris, and soon no rational thought lived in her head.
Her hips bucked, and the wondrous feeling she was beginning to associate with Darius made hot searing liquid spill from her, along with a throaty cry. He chuckled in a confident, manly sort of way and drew alongside her, burying his lips into the crook of her neck to kiss her.
"Ah, my Jess. I love making you come."
Her lids felt heavy, but he didn't stop this time. No, this time Darius gathered her into his arms and kissed her long and slow, and she had enough sense to realize he still wore clothing.
Rectifying that situation took very little time, as Darius seemed all too eager to comply with her frantic fingers. Now when he collected her in his arms, she felt his hot skin scorching hers everywhere they touched, and the heady feeling alone made her woozy.
One of his knees slid between her thighs, and she parted them, instinctively knowing this much. Soon his other knee was there, and Darius leaned up on his elbows to gaze at her. They held each others' eyes for a long moment before he slanted his mouth along hers.
She felt his erection press against her swollen flesh and parted her thighs a bit. One of his hands reached down, and Darius took his time to stroke her clit, part her lips, guide himself by drawing little circles around her opening.