After I buckle the straps of my satin stilettos, I glance up. Lizbeth pins a long veil to the top of my head and I get choked up.
“No, no, no! Don’t cry. Your makeup is flawless.”
I sniffle and try to push the tears away. Oh my God, is this really happening? Am I really going to marry Aiden?
“I’m sorry but I don’t have a capelet or anything to put over your shoulders.”
“Are you crazy? This dress is beautiful. I’m not covering it up with anything.”
“It’s about twenty degrees outside and the temperature is falling.”
“Outside?”
“Yes, we’ve set up out there. Everyone’s waiting.”
I shake my head and cover my lips with my hand. After one last glance in the mirror, I follow her down an unfamiliar hallway.
“Your wedding will be in the garden, just out back,” she explains. I thought I got to know this place pretty well over the past few days, but I had no idea it had a garden.
She takes me to the double doors and lets me peek outside. My heart skips a beat. And then another and another. More tears start to well up in my eyes. But Lizbeth pinches me and tells me to knock it off.
“You look gorgeous. You don’t want to ruin it by giving yourself raccoon eyes.”
I smile and then crack up laughing. Brie comes out of a nearby room, dressed in a floor length black dress.
“Oh my God, Brie.” I wrap my arms around her. “You look stunning.”
“So do you. I love you, Ellie. Is this beautiful?”
I peek outside again. People are starting to file through another door to the right of the garden. They are taking their seats. As more snow flurries start to fall and the lights start to flicker, the garden looks like a winter wonderland straight out of a fairy tale.
“I feel like a princess,” I whisper.
“Here comes your prince,” Brie says. I peek outside and watch as Aiden Black walks toward the altar in a perfectly tailored tuxedo. The suit is a perfect fit, for a perfect man. He walks with the confidence of a man who had never been inside of a hospital, in a bed, and any trace of him being in a coma is all but gone. He’s my Mr. Black again.
“I’m going to go take my seat,” Lizbeth says. “You look gorgeous.”
Music starts to play. People turn around in their seats and face the aisle. There are my parents in the front row. Aiden’s parents are on the opposite side. Everyone looks happy. Bursting with anticipation. There are no more resentments, no more protestations. Are they really happy for us? I wonder.
“It’s my turn now,” Brie says. “You come when you’re ready.”
I nod and tell her I love her. I hold the door open for her and then let it go so that no one sees me.
“Okay, okay,” I say to myself. “You can do this. This is everything you have ever dreamed of.”
I inhale and exhale deeply to slow down my heart rate. My hands are shaking and my knuckles are turning white. And it’s not just from the cold. I’m holding a white bouquet of lilies. I bring them up to my face and inhale their sweet scent. You have nothing to be nervous about, Ellie. You are walking toward Aiden. The love of your life.
“Ms. Rhodes?” an unfamiliar voice calls my name just as I’m about to open the door. I turn around and see two men dressed in police uniforms standing next to me.
“Yes?”
“Ms. Rhodes, you need to come with us,” the taller one says, taking off his hat. I narrow my eyes. What is he talking about?
“Ms. Rhodes, you are under arrest. Please come with us.”
I stare at them dumbfounded.
“Under arrest? For what? This is my wedding. I’m about to walk down the aisle. Can’t you see that?”
“We are here to arrest you, Ms. Rhodes, for the murder of Blake Garrison. I’m sorry but you will not be getting married tonight. You are coming with us.”
I shake my head and turn toward the door. I look at Aiden’s strong jaw and his hopeful eyes looking down the aisle. He’s waiting for me.
“I’m sorry, I can’t come with you. I’m getting married,” I say, still not fully grasping the situation in its entirety. When I reach for the door, one of the cops grabs my arm and pulls it behind me.
He holds onto my wrists tightly until he secures them behind my back with handcuffs and then pushes me down the hallway, away from Aiden.
“No, please, you don’t understand. I’m getting married.”
“No, you don’t understand. You, Ellie Rhodes, have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”
I shake my head no. No, no, no. I don’t understand anything. My head starts to buzz. My legs go limp. I trip and the cops put their arms under my elbows and practically carry me out of the hospital. The cold wind hits me like a ton of bricks. Tears run down my face. What is happening? Why are they doing this to me?
Chapter 23 - Aiden
As I wait…
I stand at the alter waiting. I wait and I wait. The temperature drops and eventually I wipe the smile off my face. Brie is standing opposite me with a perplexed look on her face.
Where is she? I mouth to her, hoping that no one else sees it. Brie shrugs and looks around.
She’s supposed to come right after me, she mouths back.
Is she really not coming? Dark thoughts start to swirl around my head. No, not Ellie. She wouldn’t just stand me up. She wants to marry me. Right?
I stare at Brie and she stares back at me. Finally, she looks back at Lizbeth. I follow her gaze to the back of the room. Lizbeth is nowhere to be found either. I saw her come in, but now she’s gone.
I prop up my smile even though I’m starting to hear the guests starting to whisper. My mother is about to approach me, but my father has the good sense to keep her down. Finally, Lizbeth appears again. She has a crestfallen expression on her face. I hold my breath as I wait for her to walk down the aisle.
“Ellie has been arrested for murder,” Lizbeth says and my world turns to black.
Thank you for reading HIS TO PROTECT!
I hope you love Aiden and Ellie. Their story continues and finishes in His to Bind! It’s the last book!
Are you ready to meet the real Mr. Black?
Our love wasn’t like everyone else’s.
There were no flowers or firsts dates. I bought her. I do bad things to her.
Innocent, gentle, kind Ellie loves every last dirty thing that I do to her.
But beyond the lust, there is the love.
Deep. Passionate. Mad.
So, when they take her from me at the altar, right before she is to become my wife, everything breaks.
I will do anything to free her. I will do anything to make her mine for good.
But is that enough? Will we finally have our happy ending?
One-Click His to Bind Now!
Enjoy a preview of His to Bind…
I’m holding my breath. My heart is pounding in my chest. About to pop out. I inhale and my throat seizes up. She’s about to be my wife. It’s almost time. We’re going to be together. Forever. Despite everything. In spite of everything. We’re finally going to have our happily ever after.
Snow is starting to fall, covering the ground in pure white. Seconds melt into minutes. Time is passing like molasses and flying by at the same time. I’m about to see her. We’re about to begin our lives together.
My thoughts drift back over everything that has happened since I met her. I remember the way she looked standing on that stage on my yacht. She was the last person in the world who would have auctioned herself off to the highest bidder. It’s just not the type of game that she was going to play. But I’m glad she did. As soon as I saw her standing there, the bright spotlight blinding her, I knew that I had to have her. I had to make her mine. And that was before I even got to know her.
As we started to spend time together, I got to know a whole different side of her, Ellie. Kind. Sweet. Loving. A wonderful friend. Someone who did not deserve any of the heartbreak that followed. It’s the darkness that pushed us apart at first, but then brought us closer together. I was there for her. Through what happened to Caroline. And she was there for me. Through me losing my business, the thing that I’d built up from the beginning and the thing that I’d thought was my whole life, until I met Ellie. And then she was there for me after what happened with Blake. He tried to push us apart. He tried to take her away from me. Agh, just thinking about this now, makes my blood boil. He put me in a coma, nearly taking my life. And then…then he did something even more unforgivable. He went to take Ellie’s life. Ellie’s, and our unborn child’s life.
My throat clenches up with anger. I ball my fists. I shouldn’t be thinking about this at a time like this. It’s in the past. It’s all over. I’m standing at the altar waiting for my love to walk down the aisle and begin our lives together. This is a good day. I’m going to put Blake out of my mind. Completely.
I wait and I wait. Then I wait some more. People start moving around in their seats looking around. The atmosphere in the garden is starting to lose its magic. She should be here already. Why isn’t she coming? My heart sinks. Is she having second thoughts? Cold feet? What if she doesn’t want to marry me at all?
No, that’s not it. I know that she wants to be with me. Deep inside, beyond all the doubts, I know this much is true. I may not know much about anything anymore, but I know that Ellie loves me.
Of course she loves me. But marriage? A sudden wedding? I sprung that on her out of the blue. I was so happy to be alive again, to be breathing and talking, that I needed to grab life by the horns. The trauma had left me feeling lost. I needed to get back my confidence. My arrogance even. I wanted to be Mr. Black again. And in order to become Mr. Black, I needed to make a statement. To make her my wife.
And now, standing here at the altar, waiting for her, I wonder if that, too, has been a mistake. In my long line of mistakes. Perhaps, I was forcing her. Pressuring her to make this commitment that she didn’t really want to make. I know she loves me. She wants to be with me. But marriage? That’s not necessarily something you want to jump into after a near-death experience. Or maybe she did want to jump into it at first, but then she started thinking about it all in more detail and that’s when all the doubts started to creep in.
My hands are starting to freeze. I press my fingers against my sides to try to warm up. The guests are no longer hiding their concern. Some are straight out standing up and looking around. My mom, the perfect specimen of a mother (I’m being sarcastic, of course), is twirling around and whispering to whomever will listen. I can’t really make out what she’s saying, but by watching her lips move I can tell that she sure is saying Ellie’s name a lot.
I inhale deeply and exhale even longer. How long should I stand here before giving up? I don’t really know. I peer into the back of the aisle in search of a sign. What if the hold up has nothing to do with cancelled plans? What if she had some sort of wardrobe malfunction and I ruin the entrance by leaving my post too early?
No, if that was the case, someone would’ve come up here and told me. Right? Okay, i’m going to give it a few more minutes. That’s probably as long as I can bear standing up here with all of their eyes on me. Pity. Sadness. Sympathy. That’s what the guests are all saying with their downcast looks and their jittery bodies.
I glance at Brie, who gives me a brief shrug. I search the room for Lizbeth. She was just here and now she’s not. Suddenly, she re-appears. No smile. Not even a wink. There’s a sadness that’s settled onto her porcelain face. A heaviness that’s resting on her shoulders. What is it? What’s wrong? I want to yell out. Her walk down the aisle takes what feels like forever. Finally, she’s within earshot. She leans closer. I can see her labored breaths against the cold air. Puff. Puff. Puff. Little clouds that escape her lips and disappear before reaching mine.
“What?” I ask, not fully grasping what she says. She repeats herself.
“What?” I ask again.
“Ellie has been arrested for murder,” she says again. This time, I hear her. I hear her, but I don’t exactly process it.
One-Click His to Bind Now!
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If you love Ellie and Aiden, I know that you will love Sophia and Jax. One-Click DEBT Now!
“Her words make me ache and yearn for more.” - Dancer in the Dark
“Dark and addicting!” - Lexi Rae, bestselling author
I owe him a debt. A big one.
A dark and dangerous stranger paid for my mother’s cancer treatment, saving her life.
Now I owe him. But I can’t pay it back with money, not that I even have any.
He wants only one thing: Me.
His for one year.
Will I walk away in one piece?
One-Click DEBT Now!
Turn the page to read an excerpt from DEBT….
Chapter 24 - Aiden
When snow starts to fall…
I’m holding my breath. My heart is pounding in my chest. About to pop out. I inhale and my throat seizes up. She’s about to be my wife. It’s almost time. We’re going to be together. Forever. Despite everything. In spite of everything. We’re finally going to have our happily ever after.
Snow is starting to fall, covering the ground in pure white. Seconds melt into minutes. Time is passing like molasses and flying by at the same time. I’m about to see her. We’re about to begin our lives together.
My thoughts drift back over everything that has happened since I met her. I remember the way she looked standing on that stage on my yacht. She was the last person in the world who would have auctioned herself off to the highest bidder. It’s just not the type of game that she was going to play. But I’m glad she did. As soon as I saw her standing there, the bright spotlight blinding her, I knew that I had to have her. I had to make her mine. And that was before I even got to know her.
As we started to spend time together, I got to know a whole different side of her, Ellie. Kind. Sweet. Loving. A wonderful friend. Someone who did not deserve any of the heartbreak that followed. It’s the darkness that pushed us apart at first, but then brought us closer together. I was there for her. Through what happened to Caroline. And she was there for me. Through me losing my business, the thing that I’d built up from the beginning and the thing that I’d thought was my whole life, until I met Ellie. And then she was there for me after what happened with Blake. He tried to push us apart. He tried to take her away from me. Agh, just thinking about this now, makes my blood boil. He put me in a coma, nearly taking my life. And then…then he did something even more unforgivable. He went to take Ellie’s life. Ellie’s, and our unborn child’s life.
My throat clenches up with anger. I ball my fists. I shouldn’t be thinking about this at a time like this. It’s in the past. It’s all over. I’m standing at the altar waiting for my love to walk down the aisle and begin our lives together. This is a good day. I’m going to put Blake out of my mind. Completely.
I wait and I wait. Then I wait some more. People start moving around in their seats looking around. The atmosphere in the garden is starting to lose its magic. She should be here already. Why isn’t she coming? My heart sinks. Is she having second thoughts? Cold feet? What if she doesn’t want to marry me at all?
No, that’s not it. I know that she wants to be with me. Deep inside, beyond all the doubts, I know this much is true. I may not know much about anything anymore, but I know that Ellie loves me.
Of course she loves me
. But marriage? A sudden wedding? I sprung that on her out of the blue. I was so happy to be alive again, to be breathing and talking, that I needed to grab life by the horns. The trauma had left me feeling lost. I needed to get back my confidence. My arrogance even. I wanted to be Mr. Black again. And in order to become Mr. Black, I needed to make a statement. To make her my wife.
And now, standing here at the altar, waiting for her, I wonder if that, too, has been a mistake. In my long line of mistakes. Perhaps, I was forcing her. Pressuring her to make this commitment that she didn’t really want to make. I know she loves me. She wants to be with me. But marriage? That’s not necessarily something you want to jump into after a near-death experience. Or maybe she did want to jump into it at first, but then she started thinking about it all in more detail and that’s when all the doubts started to creep in.
My hands are starting to freeze. I press my fingers against my sides to try to warm up. The guests are no longer hiding their concern. Some are straight out standing up and looking around. My mom, the perfect specimen of a mother (I’m being sarcastic, of course), is twirling around and whispering to whomever will listen. I can’t really make out what she’s saying, but by watching her lips move I can tell that she sure is saying Ellie’s name a lot.
I inhale deeply and exhale even longer. How long should I stand here before giving up? I don’t really know. I peer into the back of the aisle in search of a sign. What if the hold up has nothing to do with cancelled plans? What if she had some sort of wardrobe malfunction and I ruin the entrance by leaving my post too early?
No, if that was the case, someone would’ve come up here and told me. Right? Okay, i’m going to give it a few more minutes. That’s probably as long as I can bear standing up here with all of their eyes on me. Pity. Sadness. Sympathy. That’s what the guests are all saying with their downcast looks and their jittery bodies.
Black Limit Page 8