When he crawled back into bed Natasha started yawning obviously tired from those three orgasms he’d given her. He secretly puffed up his chest with male pride behind her where she couldn’t see his expression. She’d never let him live it down if she thought he was all strutting like a damned peacock over turning her on that many times. “You’re a fucking idiot Rothman.” That little voice inside told him.
He pulled her back towards him until his chest was against her back and kissed her gently before moving away from her again. “I’m sorry baby, but I’ve got some work related things I need to take care of. I’m trying to make sure everything is organised so I can take time off work for our wedding and honeymoon plus there’s no way in hell I’m going anywhere near the office once our babies are due.”
He heard her sigh. “Eric will you stop worrying. I’m not going to be alone anyway. Alice is here to keep an eye on me.”
He cut her off before she could say anything more. “I don’t care if the entire population of Sydney is here baby. I need to be here to make sure you’re ok. Don’t bother arguing with me, you’re not going to win on this one.”
She turned her head to smile sleepily at him. “Ok Mr CEO whatever you say.”
Amazing, she wasn’t putting up too much of fight like she could sometimes and feeling like he’d won that round and figuring he’d better get out of there before she came up with anything else, Eric pulled on his jeans, not bothering with a t-shirt and turned to find her watching him through eyes that were little more than slits.
He saw a spark of interest light up in her beautiful eyes and she licked her lips which was enough to make his body start responding to her again. “Dammit baby, don’t look at me like that. I need to work, you need to sleep and if you keep looking at me like that I’m going to want to be back inside that hot tight body of yours again.”
He bent down to her and ran his tongue along her bottom lip giving her a quick kiss, pulling back before there was any risk of her responding or him being a weak motherfucker and hopping back into bed. “Sleep well baby. I’ll be holding you when you wake.” And with one final glance at her, he left the room.
When he got downstairs he booted up his laptop. He did have some work to do but the main thing he wanted was to get up the list he’d been compiling of things he knew would mean a lot to Natasha on their wedding day. He wanted Christina Perri’s Thousand Years song to play as she walked down the aisle since he knew she loved it, she was a fan of the whole Twilight saga and she said the song reminded her of them, that it had taken them awhile but in the end they’d found each other, that it had been their destiny to be together.
She’d once joked that as a child she’d been fascinated with ice sculptures and had wanted to have an ice sculpture as a part of her wedding. Whether she still wanted it or not, if she now thought it nothing more than a childish dream, he was getting her, her fucking ice sculpture, like it or not.
There were several other things on the list including what food he’d want the caterers to prepare, knowing there’d have to be seafood in that list to keep his fiancé happy.
Once he’d added some of his requirements to the list he quickly emailed it to Francine and then got back to the work he had to do. When he finally finished a couple of hours later he headed back upstairs to bed and stripped out of his jeans before carefully sliding onto the bed trying not to wake Natasha. He curled himself against her back, slipping an arm around her waist, his fingers spread over her stomach, cradling their babies. She stirred slightly and he told her he loved her before she drifted back off to sleep and he kissed her neck before his own fatigue claimed him and he drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER 23
Two days before their wedding Maggie and Thomas flew up from Tasmania. Maggie wanted to help out with the last minute wedding plans and Thomas was there for Eric.
Eric roped Maggie into coming out shopping with him the day before the wedding, but his purchase was to be kept a secret from Natasha. She was curious as to what he needed to go shopping for and in particular why he needed Maggie to accompany him. “Patience baby. All will be revealed on our wedding day.” He grinned pulling her into his arms and dropping a hard kiss on her lips.
He wanted to buy something that she could wear with her bridal gown and something that would be his wedding gift to her too. He’d managed to squeeze enough details about the wedding dress out of Alice so he’d have some idea what to shop for and later that day when he and Maggie were pouring over cases of expensive necklaces, they both agreed one in particular was perfect. It had a price tag of $250,000 but Eric didn’t care, Natasha was worth every cent to him and more. Chances were she’d give him hell over spending such a lot of money on a piece of jewellery since she’d never given a shit about his money or asked him for anything but he was prepared to put up with her wrath to see her wearing this necklace when she walked down the aisle. It was absolutely stunning.
It was made up of four strands of diamonds that did up around the neck. The centre piece was like a bow, diamonds all along the bow and the middle of it at what would normally be the knot of the bow was one large diamond. The four strands of diamonds that did up around the neck threaded down through the loops of the bow before branching out to petal shaped diamonds either side of each strand. The centre diamond of the bow also had a row of petal shaped diamonds that ran down from it.
“Oh lad, it’s stunning. Your lass is going to look so beautiful wearing this.” She reached out and hugged him. “My lad, my sweet lad. What did I tell you? I told you that you deserved to be happy and not to push love aside, to stop feeling like you weren’t worthy of it and I’m so delighted that you listened to me. I can’t tell you what it does to me to see you so happy, so content and you have the perfect woman. She adores you Eric, she always has. You make sure you never let her feel one single moment that she isn’t loved and I know you’ve worried about becoming a father, but you’re going to be a wonderful father lad. I just know it.”
He felt his eyes fill with tears at her words and he wiped a hand impatiently across them, embarrassed that he was getting all emotional in a public place. “Thanks Maggie. I love her so much. I can’t wait for her to be my wife. She’s everything I could have dreamed of having in a perfect woman. She’s beautiful, sassy, smart and she loves me. I don’t know why it took me so long to realise that the perfect woman for me was working alongside of me every day.”
Maggie laughed. “Well you’re a man my lad and sometimes you men are a little slow on the uptake.”
“Oh shut up Maggie.” He kissed her on the cheek to soften his words. “Come on, lets get out of here.”
Later that day, back at the house Eric pulled Natasha aside to tell her he and Thomas were going to spend the night at her townhouse.
“What the hell for?” She gaped at him.
“Call me crazy baby but you know about my past, you know how I never thought I’d be worthy of any kind of happiness and now that I have you and I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life, I don’t know why, I just know that I have to be as traditional as possible for our wedding. It might not make sense to you but I can’t shake the feeling that if we stray from tradition something will go wrong.”
“That’s crazy Eric. Following tradition isn’t what will give us a happy marriage, that’s up to us.”
“I’m sorry baby, but this isn’t open to discussion. I’m staying the night in your place. I don’t want to see you until you’re walking down the aisle to me tomorrow.”
“I know what you’re saying Eric, but I’m going to miss you. I like sleeping in your arms. The bed’s going to feel so empty.” She moaned.
He couldn’t help smiling at her words. Oh she wasn’t playing fair now trying to get him to stay but she just didn’t get why he felt the way he did. “I love you baby and I’m going to miss you too but it’s one night and then the next time we lie in bed together it
will be as Mr and Mrs Rothman. I think you can survive one night.”
“What about the babies? What if I go into labour and you’re not here?”
Eric laughed. She was playing dirty now but he hadn’t forgotten what the doctor had told them on her last check up. “The doctor says you’re fine, Erica and Nathaniel are fine. They aren’t ready to make their appearance on our wedding day baby. The doctor assured us of that and anyway, like you’ve said before, you won’t be alone. Your Mother, Maggie and Alice will be here.”
“You’re really not going to be here are you?” He heard the resignation in her voice and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her.
“No baby, I won’t. Stop sulking. It’s one night and then we’ll be together for the rest of our lives.”
Later that day Eric and Thomas left for Natasha’s townhouse in his Porsche. He’d left Francine at the house organising all the various workers who were setting up the marquee, decorating the house with arrangement after arrangement of orchids. He’d chosen orchids as they represented love and he was doing anything he could to give them a great start to their marriage.
Natasha didn’t look too happy about being left with Francine since she’d had little to do with the woman and there was definitely some tension between the two although he had no idea why.
That night he paced downstairs in the townhouse, back and forth, his body filled with nervous tension. He hoped everything was going according to plan with the set up for the wedding. He had arranged for a limo to pick up Natasha and her Mother so they could be driven around while he was arriving back at the house. It might have been a little over the top but he wanted to make sure there was no risk of them seeing each other until the actual wedding ceremony. Henry was picking up the necklace in the morning to drop off at the house so Natasha would have it in time to wear with her wedding dress.
He had everything planned about as much as he could. The rest was up to fate, destiny, whatever tomorrow would bring. He couldn’t wait, he missed Natasha so badly. One night without her was one night too many but the thing that kept him from rushing back or ringing her was the fact that the next time he saw her, she would be walking down the aisle to him. Thomas had agreed to give her away and in less than 24 hours she would be marrying him. Eric felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness at the thought. He wasn’t nervous or doubtful about marrying Natasha but he couldn’t help stressing that something would go wrong or that she might change her mind and break his heart.
* * *
The day of their wedding dawned bright and sunny and Eric grinned when he saw it. That had to be a good sign to have clear skies and brilliant sunshine for their wedding day.
He and Thomas cooked themselves some breakfast, although Eric had a sudden attack of nerves which robbed him of his appetite but he forced himself to eat anyway. “You do have yourself in a state don’t you boy?” Thomas studied him from across the table while they ate.
Eric’s smile was rueful. “I didn’t expect this when I’ve been waiting for this day to come but I’m worried something will go wrong and what if she changes her mind Tom?”
Thomas snorted. “What’s this crap you’re coming up with boy? That girl loves you so much. There is no way in hell she’s backing out. Stop letting your insecurities in. You don’t need the past interfering with your future, not today.”
Henry arrived to take the necklace to Natasha and Eric handed it over complete with a note he’d written for her. He quickly read through what he’d written and satisfied, he tucked it in with the jeweller’s box.
‘This is my wedding gift to you my beautiful wife to be. Please do me the great honour of wearing this on our wedding day. Stop worrying about how much I spent as I know that would be one of the things you’re thinking about as you look at the necklace. I want to see this around your neck when you walk down that aisle to me. See you soon baby. I love you with every fibre of my being. You are my heart, my soul, the very reason for my existance. Eric. xx’
“Look after it Henry. Give it to Maggie. I want her to give it to my fiance ok?”
“Very good Mr Rothman.” Henry took the jeweller’s box and left for the drive to Point Piper.
Once Henry had left with the necklace Eric showered and shaved before finally dressing in the suit he was wearing. He’d gone with a black suit, cream shirt, tie and vest so he would be in keeping with Natasha’s dress. He pinned a dwarf orchid to his lapel and he was ready to go and get married.
Thomas turned up dressed in his black suit and Eric looked at him in surprise. The older man cleaned up ok. He’d never seen him so formally attired before, but he was certainly looking ready for his job of walking Natasha down the aisle.
When they were both ready, they climbed into the Porsche to begin the drive back to his harbour side home where his beautiful bride to be was waiting for him.
Eric and Thomas arrived back at the house half an hour before the ceremony was due to begin. There was no sign of Natasha or Kathryn and Maggie told him that they were already in the Rolls Royce he’d hired and driving around to keep them out of the house while he arrived.
“Is she wearing the necklace?” He asked.
Maggie smiled. “Oh yes lad. She was blown away by it and very emotional. She had to have her make up touched up afterwards. It looks stunning on her.”
“Did she complain about me spending money on it?”
“What do you think lad? Of course she did. You know that lass has never been attracted to you for your bank balance. It’s just as well she doesn’t know how much it cost or you’d be in trouble I suspect.”
Just then Francine turned up, looking her usual impeccably groomed self. She smiled at him, her eyes moving over him as he stood there in his suit. “Would you like to come and check that everything is to your satisfaction Mr Rothman? Also Vladimir wants to get some photos of you before the ceremony begins.
“Sure.” He followed the wedding planner as she headed off out onto the back terrace. The marquee was all decorated inside with the tables and chairs for their guests. A sea green carpet ran from the french doors across the terrace and down the stairs to the lower level where the marriage celebrant would be marrying them. Either side of the carpet on the lower level had white chairs arranged with large satin bows.
In the marquee were more of the white chairs and tables, each table decorated with arrangements of orchids. In one corner stood the ice sculpture of a swan that Eric had insisted be there despite Francine trying to talk him out of it saying ice sculptures weren’t exactly that popular anymore.
On another table stood the wedding cake. He grinned as he looked up at it. It was 5 tiers high, cream with ornate patterns all around it that swirled and twisted around each tier. Every layer had arrangements of flowers, most of them in shades of yellow. They looked like orchids but when he leaned in for a closer look he realised they weren’t real, they were edible. The cake was overkill just a little. No way they’d ever get through it all but Natasha had admired a photo of a cake similar to it one time and that had been enough for him to want their wedding cake to be like the one in the photo.
Francine walked up and put her hand on his arm smiling up at him. “The photographer is ready now Mr Rothman. If you could come with me and let him take his photos before your fiance and her Mother arrive. They will be here soon.”
He followed Francine to the staircase and for the next 10 minutes suffered through having his photo taken. He wasn’t keen on being photographed but this was his wedding day. He insisted on having Maggie, Tom and Alice join him for some of the photos and just as Vladimir finished with them Francine turned up to tell him that Natasha and Kathryn were back so it was almost time for him to take his place down on the lower terrace. They had to have their photos taken from the car first, so there would be a few minutes delay before they came inside.
With his heart pounding he started to head fo
r the french doors that led out onto the back terrace but Tom stopped him first, pulling him in for a hug and a lot of back slapping. He’d no sooner extracted himself from his arms and it was Maggie’s turn, tears in her eyes as she hugged him and told him she loved him. Finally it was Alice’s turn to hug him but they chose to stay in the house to greet Natasha and her mother leaving him to make the walk down the aisle alone to where their guests and the marriage celebrant were waiting.
He’d been standing there nervously shifting from foot to foot wondering why the music wasn’t starting up and panicking that Natasha wasn’t going to show when he saw Maggie and Alice hurrying down the aisle to take their seats. Maggie gave him a big beaming smile and he smiled back with relief. Surely she wouldn’t be smiling like that if Natasha had changed her mind?
Just when he was starting to tear himself apart mentally again, he heard the song A Thousand Years start up and his eyes shifted to the house as he waited for his first glimpse of his bride to be.
He anxiously scanned the carpet waiting for her and suddenly there she was. She was hanging onto Tom’s arm like she was terrified of falling and she looked so nervous. As she drew closer he got his first real look at her wedding dress. For all her worries about looking too big and pregnant to get married, she looked stunning. Her dress was strapless, cream rather than white. It seemed to be more figure hugging over her breasts before flowing loosely to her feet. There was some fold, or additional fabric in the front which helped to cleverly disguise her pregnant stomach and as she walked towards him, he could see there was a train that trailed along behind her for a few metres. Her hair was piled up on top of her head in a riot of curls that cascaded down her back. Fuck but she looked so beautiful.
With every step that drew her closer to him, his heart felt like it was getting bigger and bigger inside his chest. He held his breath when Tom brought her down the few steps to the lower level and finally she was close enough and their eyes met for the first time. He smiled at her, all the love he felt for her shining in his eyes and he could see her nervous look fade away and her lips curved up in a warm, loving smile when she met his gaze.
Taming Eric Page 50