Beautiful Ever After

by Georgia Cates

  “I am a lucky man. If I ever forget to say it, don’t think for a single second that I’m not aware.”

  “I’m the lucky one.”

  I lower myself and lie on top of Lou, pressing my forehead against hers. I close my eyes for a moment and savor the memories of this special day. Lou in her wedding gown. The vows she swore to me. The tears in her eyes and sincerity in her voice. I want to always remember the way I felt today.

  “This castle has been here for more than 450 years. How many marriages do you suppose have been consummated in this room? Maybe even on another rug in front of this fireplace?”

  “I don’t know but one more is about to be added to the list.”

  I lower my lips to hers, and a soft moan finds its way from her chest to her mouth. Not breaking our kiss, I adjust my position so my lower arms on each side of her head take the brunt of my weight, and her legs move apart, allowing me to press deeper against her.

  Instinct urges me to move faster. I yearn to slam my throbbing cock inside of Lou but I make myself go slowly. Tonight is about being unhurried and making love to my wife for the first time.

  I still and look at Lou’s face illuminated by the flames of the fire. Warm, golden light dances upon our naked bodies as the fire crackles, and I can’t think of a more perfect way to consummate our marriage.

  Lowering my head, I press soft kisses against the upper swell of her breasts, first one and then the other. They’re just kisses at first, until my tongue begins to lave her skin and nipples.

  I’ve made love to Lou. I’ve fucked her. I’ve even been inside her bum. But we’ve never experienced this kind of intimacy. Tonight is going to mark us forever. Not only to be etched in our minds but way down into the center of our hearts where we connect—our souls. Because we belong to one another.

  This woman makes me forget all of the terrible things that came before her. Only with Lou have I ever known this kind of love. And I’ll never tire of the feeling.

  Because this is home.

  I move up again and kiss her mouth slowly. I grip her bottom lip between my teeth and tug gently. When I do, her back arches off the floor and she presses her breasts against my chest.

  Her hands move from my neck to my shoulders and down my back. Her fingers grip my arse. Our kiss deepens, and she tightens her legs around my waist.

  I don’t want this woman in this moment only because of how hard she makes me. I want her because of the way she softens my heart. I want her because of the way she has taught me to love.

  Positioning the swollen head of my cock against her core, I enter her slowly. Husband and wife become one.

  “I love you,” I whisper.

  “I love you too.”

  I move slowly, my cock sliding back and forth through her soft, slick flesh at a slow, steady pace. And I don’t just feel her body squeezing mine. We connect upon a primal level, just man and woman. It’s wonderful, but I know Lou’s body as well as I know my own. She needs something more to bring her to orgasm. And I can’t get off until she does as well.

  All of my weight moves to one of my arms and I push my hand between our bodies, searching for that sensitive nub at the top of her slit. Using the pads of my fingers I pull up a little, exposing the hooded nub from its hiding place. A gasp catches in her throat and her mouth forms a perfect O, and no words are needed. I’m right where I need to be.

  My cock moves in and out of her while my fingertips rub her clit and she rocks her hips in perfect synchronization. In no time at all, her eyes close, her mouth widens, and her breathing picks up. And then I feel those magical rhythmic contractions pulsating around my cock.

  I try to hold back but my dick can’t take another stroke without exploding. The climax initiates in my abdomen and pulsates into my bollocks. I’m unable to contain the groan in my chest because the pleasure of coming inside of Lou is too great.

  Lou is the only woman in the world who can make me feel this way. The only one who holds my heart in her hand. The only one who wears my ring. The only one who bears my name.

  My wife.

  18

  Caitriona Hutcheson

  This is an unusual morning. Unusual for two reasons—first, I’m wearing a wedding ring on my left hand and second, I’m awake before Hutch.

  I study the sleeping figure of my husband—oh damn, it’s a fine one—and I can’t believe it. I married the man who booked my inamorata services for the entire summer. The man who paid me to fuck him. I was his eighty-one-day whore. I can confess that sin and give it the label that it truly deserves. And I can also admit that it was the best decision of my life. Hutch is my husband—forever mine—and I couldn’t be happier.

  We began as strangers—as most couples do—but our beginning was very different from most. The majority would consider our introduction a perverted one. Even I did in the beginning, but then Hutch and I became so much more than either of us intended. We’re Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell Hutcheson and this is the beginning of the rest of our lives. We’re venturing into the world to write our own fairy-tale love story.

  I look at my husband’s face and see his eyes fluttering beneath his lids. Oh, he’s dreaming.

  I wonder what a man like Hutch dreams about. Whatever it is, I don’t want to wake him so I slide to the edge of the bed in slow motion and place my feet on the cold floor. I look over my shoulder to make sure I haven’t disturbed his sleep. He’s unmoving, and I continue to ease out of the bed.

  I descend the narrow, winding staircase to the kitchen on the first floor and find the breakfast pastries and fruit left for us by the staff. We opted to leave off the catering services because we wanted to be alone in the castle for the entire weekend. Hutch has to return to the firm on Monday morning and we wanted no interruptions. This is the only honeymoon we’ll get for a while.

  Ascending the narrow, winding staircase carrying a tray of breakfast is a little harder than it sounds. I’m winded and my muscles are burning by the time I reach the third floor where the laird’s room is.

  I place the tray on the table and take my time sliding back into bed. I’m so pleased with myself because I’ve managed to slip into bed next to Hutch without waking him. And then he suddenly rises, pinning me beneath him, a huge grin wide across his face.

  “Mornin’, wife.” He lowers his mouth to mine and kisses me as his grin grows larger, a sweet kiss just on the surface of my lips.

  “Mornin’, husband.”

  He places his forehead against mine. “Wife. Husband. I think I like the sound of that.”

  “You better love the sound of it.”

  “Hmm. Maybe it’ll grow on me with a wee bit of time.”

  I push against Hutch’s chest and we roll so I’m on top straddling him. I lower my mouth to his as close as possible without our lips touching. “Maybe you’ll grow on me.”

  Slowly I grind against him and his hands creep up my thighs until they’re on my waist. “Something is growing.”

  “That mouth of yours, Mr. Hutcheson.”

  “You love this mouth of mine, Mrs. Hutcheson, along with everything it does to you.”

  “I guess it’s okay.”

  He grins and quickly flips us over so I’m on my back again. His mouth begins a journey at my neck and leaves a trail of wet kisses on its way down until reaching my belly button. “And this tongue of mine? Don’t forget how much you love what it does to you as well.”

  He laves his tongue over my pubic bone and I lace my fingers through his hair before dragging my nails across his scalp. “I could never forget how talented your mouth and tongue are. Or how good it made me feel last night.”

  He places a kiss against my skin and looks up at me. “Our wedding night was everything you wanted it to be?”

  I can’t believe he thinks he has to ask. “It was perfect—everything I wanted plus a whole lot more I couldn’t have possibly imagined. I didn’t know I could be so happy. And I didn’t know it would feel so different as husband and wife.”<
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  I beckon for him to come closer and I cradle his cheeks when we’re eye to eye. “It was a level of intimacy that we’ve never shared, and I couldn’t have felt more connected to you last night. Or now.”

  He tucks each side of my hair behind my ears before pressing his forehead to mine. “You are my world, and I’ll do anything to make you happy.”

  “You. That’s all it takes to make me happy.”

  He nuzzles against my neck, and I feel the rough scruff on his chin. “This got rougher overnight.”

  He reaches up and strokes his chin with his hand. “Too rough for you?”

  “No. I love it. It’s sexy. I wouldn’t mind if you grew it out a little.”

  “A beard?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen you with a beard.”

  “I keep it short because it’s starting to get gray in it.”

  I grab his face and turn it to the side for a better look. “Really?”

  Hutch chuckles. “Didn’t you know you just married an old man?”

  I turn his face back so he’s looking at me. “You’re thirty-four. That’s not old.”

  He playfully rubs his nose against mine, giving me an Eskimo kiss. “Sorry, mo maise. I got my hair from my dad’s side of the family. I’m afraid that I’m destined to be an early grayer. I’ll probably be more gray than dark brown by the time I’m forty.”

  I try to picture what Hutch will look like with gray hair, and I only see him getting better looking with age.

  “So people will think you are my father instead of our children’s father?”

  “How many children are you talking about?”

  Oh no. I hope he isn’t rethinking his decision to have children.

  My heart pounds in my chest. “I was hoping for three.” I lower my voice. “Maybe four.”

  “In total or addition to Ava Rose?”

  “In addition.”

  “Up to five total?”

  “Yes.”

  Hutch chuckles. “Do you know how old I’ll be when the last one is born if we wait three to four years between each bairn? Have you done the math?”

  “Yes. You’ll be sexy years old.”

  “Sexy years old. All right. I like that but, mo maise, I’ll be approaching fifty.”

  “Then maybe we have them two years apart instead of three or four. You’ll still be early forties when the last one comes.”

  “And you’ll be thirty-ish with five wee Hutchesons.” His mouth moves over my ear and his breath is warm on my canal. “You’ve turned my world on its head, making me change everything I thought I wanted for my life. You know that, right?”

  “I do and it doesn’t go unnoticed.” And to know that I hold that kind of power over him shows me how much he adores me.

  He runs his nose down the length of my neck and his breath is warm on my skin. He knows how much that turns me on. “Maybe we should practice making babies so we’ll be really good at it when the time is right for trying.”

  This beautiful man wants to create life with me. Another little life.

  “I’ve heard it said that practice makes perfect.”

  “That’s right.”

  He kisses my mouth so lovingly. It isn’t urgent like so many of our kisses are. It’s sweet, and he makes me feel so loved.

  And breakfast is forgotten. At least for now.

  19

  Maxwell Hutcheson

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Brady says, standing in the doorway of my office. “You said you’d be here today, but I didn’t believe you actually would be.”

  This morning was a strange one. Lou and I got up and returned to our lives as though we didn’t get married on Saturday and spend the rest of the weekend in each other’s arms as newlyweds.

  Damn. Walking away from her this morning was so much harder than I thought it would be.

  “I’m not here because this is where I want to be. That’s for damn sure.”

  Lou and I have a difficult task ahead of us, and we can’t afford to call attention to ourselves. As much as I despise it, I have to play the dutiful Lochridge investment firm employee for a little longer in order to buy the precious time we need to build Lou’s character.

  I beckon Brady to come into my office. Too many ears around this place. “Shut the door.”

  “I assume you enjoyed the weekend with your bride?”

  “Definitely not the honeymoon I would have chosen to give Lou but it was still grand. We enjoyed our time at the castle.”

  “I know it’s very early on but how does marriage feel with a different woman?”

  “It’s amazing this time. So very different than before.” I never doubted that it would be.

  “No regrets?”

  “Not one.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever marry again.”

  Brady is afraid of getting it wrong a second time. And I understand that feeling all too well.

  “I think you’ll feel differently when you meet the right woman.”

  “I don’t know, mate. I think I could be fucked up in the head where women are concerned.”

  “I don’t know the answer. I only know that I almost lost Lou because I wasn’t receptive to falling in love with her. My advice is to keep an open mind.”

  “It’s been a long time since I was with a woman who wasn’t paid to be with me.”

  I’m surprised Brady hasn’t grown tired of inamoratas. He was once a faithful, loyal husband. “If you’re content then continue doing what you’re doing. If there comes a time when you’re no longer happy with inamoratas, do something else.”

  Brady rubs his palms over his face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m suddenly questioning my life and what the fuck I’m doing with it.”

  “I think we all do that from time to time.”

  “I was fine until I saw how happy you were with Lou, and I became restless. If I’m being honest with you about it, I envy what you have with her.” Brady chuckles. “Fuck, I sound like a pussy talking this way.”

  “Maybe you should talk to Cora about finding a long-term inamorata for you. Someone like Lou who will give you the full girlfriend experience.”

  “That’s not the worst idea you’ve ever had.”

  “Who knows? You could find the one just like I did.”

  My phone rings and I pick up the handset. “Yes, Mary?”

  “I’m sorry to bother you but you have a visitor. Miss Blair is here and wants to see you.”

  Motherfucker.

  I haven’t seen Blair since she gave me the marriage ultimatum. I’ve been avoiding her like the plague she is. And now she’s here at the firm, making it impossible for me to evade her. She’s cornered me inside of her father’s lair.

  But I’ve had time to plan out how I’ll handle this with her, and I’m prepared. “You can send her in.”

  I lower the handset to its base.

  “Client?” Brady asks.

  “No, it’s Blair.”

  “Do you know what you’re going to say?”

  “I have a plan but who knows how she’ll respond. This all goes to shite if she doesn’t go along with it.”

  The door opens and Blair smiles when her eyes meet mine. And then she notices Brady. “Mary didn’t tell me you were with someone. I hope I’m not interrupting business.”

  It would be the first time she didn’t want to interrupt.

  “No interruption. Our meeting was over so I was just leaving.” Brady nods at Blair. “Lovely to see you, as always.”

  “And you as well,” Blair says.

  Brady stops in the doorway and turns around. “You’ve not forgotten our twelve o’clock lunch meeting with Gillespie?”

  Brady is a fast-thinking son of a bitch, and I’m proud to call him my best mate.

  “Aye, I haven’t forgotten.”

  “We need to leave in about fifteen minutes if we’re going to make our reservation on time.”

  Thank you, mate. I owe you a big one.
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  “I’ll be a few minutes with Blair, and then I’ll swing by your office.”

  “Grand.”

  Brady leaves the door open on his way out, I’m sure to annoy Blair. He hates her as much as I do, but this latest stunt of hers has deepened his hatred.

  She goes to the door and closes it. “I guess we don’t have long to talk.”

  “We don’t.”

  “I came to your house every day this weekend and you were gone. Where were you?”

  Fuck. I hate the way she presumes to have the right to question me about my whereabouts. She’s like Mina in so many ways.

  “My family took a weekend holiday.”

  “Special occasion?”

  “We haven’t been on holiday as a family in a while and Mum wanted to spend the weekend together.”

  “So close to Christmas?”

  “The timeline wouldn’t allow us to wait.”

  “What timeline is that?”

  “Ian is going to be a father soon. The bairn is scheduled to arrive next month. Mum wanted to do it before the baby comes.”

  “Isn’t Ian still at uni?”

  “Aye, he is. One more semester to go. He’ll graduate in May.”

  Blair looks as though she’s smelling something putrid. “Your parents must be humiliated.”

  “They weren’t ecstatic about it at first, but they’ve come to accept it. And they’re happy about getting another granddaughter.”

  Blair laughs and shakes her head. “You’ve been a part of our family for so long that I sometimes forget what kind of people you really come from.”

  I would ask her what the fuck that means except that I already know it’s an insult targeted at my family. Mina did the same thing, often jabbing me with insults about my family not being from the same stock as hers.

  “I don’t think you came here to talk about my family holiday.”

  “You know why I’ve come. You’ve had plenty of time to think about my proposition. What is your decision?”

  I don’t like this. I don’t like pacifying her. I don’t like not telling her to go fuck herself.