Was it possible to love a woman so much that you couldn’t breathe every time you looked at her?
It took every ounce of willpower I had to turn away and escort poor Mindy to the front of the church.
Then it was Ash’s turn. Ricki walked proudly on his arm, and he leaned down to whisper something in her ear, causing her to shoot me a curious look. I had no idea what he’d said, but I was sure I would get an earful later.
And then Kate.
She was beautiful in her wedding dress. It was a simple white dress that had cap sleeves and a narrow waist, flowing down into a bell skirt just below her knees. Beautiful. And Donovan was clearly lost when he looked at her.
I winked at Ricki when I caught her eye, as we both watched the bride and groom step up to the priest. It would be our turn next.
Chapter 42
Ricki
There ceremony was beyond beautiful.
It wasn’t just, “do you take this woman” crap like it was on television. It was a full Mass complete with a double rosary, something I’d only seen once before at the wedding of a coworker years and years ago. Kate was radiant despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. And Donovan? There was no doubt in my mind that he was deeply in love with his bride.
“Kate, a tragedy broke us apart too many years ago to count. But a new tragedy brought us together and reminded us what it was we saw in each other to begin with. You are my friend, my lover, my confidant. I can’t imagine wanting to spend my life, have children, and walk into the future hand in hand with anyone but you.”
His vows broke my heart.
But then the sentimentality was over and it was time for fun.
The wedding reception was held in the ballroom of a local hotel. There was a live band and a dance floor and a four-course meal. It was elaborate but beautiful. Intimate but casual. I loved it.
“I want our reception to be just like this.”
David tugged me against his chest. “If that’s what you want.”
It was still difficult to get used to looking up at David. He was so much taller than I’d imagined he would be. I had thought it would be frightening. My stepfather often terrorized me by the sheer power of his height. So the idea of being with a man who was so much taller than me had always been something I wouldn’t even consider. I preferred my men to be weak in some way. David was anything but weak, even when he was in a wheelchair. It took our separation for me to finally realize that. He was still David—whether I had to look up at him or not.
We danced, our bodies moving together on the crowded dance floor as if we were alone in our own little world. No one could intrude on us. No one could come between us but ourselves, and I was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen again. Not any time soon, anyway.
We stayed until the groom cut the cake and the bride tossed her bouquet. And, guess what? I caught the bouquet. They said that the one to catch the bouquet was the next to be married. I guess it was convenient that David and I were already planning a winter wedding.
David watched his brother as the reception unfolded. I knew he was worried about him.
“He should find someone,” he said more than once, sometimes to me, sometimes under his breath. “He shouldn’t be alone.”
“You should use your amazing skills to find his fiancée,” I suggested almost offhandedly at one point. This light came on in David’s eyes.
“I should.”
Chapter 43
David
I could feel the curiosity in Ricki’s stare as I turned the car toward the opposite side of Santa Monica. She thought we were going home—my little cottage at the compound—unaware of the luggage I’d snuck into the back of the car before leaving for the wedding. I waited for her to ask, but much to her credit, she didn’t.
We pulled into the airport and drove straight to the tarmac.
“I thought Donovan and Kate were taking the private jet.”
“Ash arranged a special trip for them that didn’t require flying.” I reached over and took her hand, running my thumb over her engagement ring. “They’re going on a cruise…to Alaska of all places.”
“Sounds romantic.”
“Sounds cold to me.”
She laughed, thinking I was joking. But I was serious. I hated being cold. Maybe it was the Texas in me.
We were greeted by the pilot who reassured me the flight plan was filed and we were ready to go. The flight attendant walked around to the back of the car to retrieve the luggage and we were set to go.
Ricki shook her head as she walked onto the jet and took in the luxuries that my father so generously chose. He’d wanted a plane that he could use to fly between Texas and Washington, D.C. if he became a congressman. He never got to use it but for one or two flights, but it was one of the assets Ash made a decision about without waiting for me to be ready to decide. He confiscated it to be used as part of Gray Wolf Security. He thought Father would approve.
He probably would, but I was pretty sure he would approve of this flight, too.
“This doesn’t seem to fit the image of Gray Wolf.”
“What image does Gray Wolf have?”
She touched a finger to her chin as if she was really trying to decide. “Rough-and-tumble military style. Not luxury.”
I took her hand and pulled her down onto a wide loveseat tucked into one corner of the cabin. “Is that how you see us?”
“That’s how I see Ash and Donovan. And Kirkland from time to time.”
“What about Joss?”
“Joss is in a category all her own.”
“And me?”
She touched the side of my face, her touch lingering. “You can’t be categorized, my darling.”
“I’ll take that.”
I kissed her gently. It was my turn to linger, and I chose to linger there, on the softest part of her body, on the place where I wanted to live for the rest of my life. I couldn’t wait to get her home; I couldn’t wait to undress her and share some of those other places, those soft places that she showed only to me. But, for now, I was content to linger on her lips.
The pilot informed us we’d be taking off momentarily and should fasten our seatbelts. I tugged her seatbelt tight around her waist, assuring her that I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, before doing my own. She was a seasoned flier, so the takeoff was nothing to her. I hadn’t flown in a while, and the last time had been in the back of an air ambulance, so I was a little unnerved. But I stared into her eyes the whole time and that made it tolerable.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she finally asked.
The flight attendant came over with a couple of warm drinks made of cream and schnapps and something else I couldn’t quite decipher. Ricki took hers politely and tasted it, her eyebrows rising and a low hum slipping from between those full lips.
“Wow!”
I laughed.
The flight was a little over two hours, and I managed to evade her questions the whole time. When we landed, the warm air hit us hard in the face. It was humid, but it was familiar. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
I was home.
There was a car waiting, a Mercedes, ironically enough. I think Ricki had caught on because she didn’t ask again. I drove, my heart pounding as we approached that curve that worked its way around a small pond. I pulled to the side of the road on a whim, content to just sit behind the wheel and contemplate. But Ricki got out and crossed to the memorial that had been placed without my knowledge at the place where my parents died.
She touched the embossed letters with respect.
“The people of this city loved my parents.”
She nodded. “It’s touching.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “I didn’t know this was here.”
“I’m glad it is,” she said. “It shows how loved they were.”
Her words were profound to me. She’d just proven to me why I loved her so much.
We got back into the car an
d finished the journey I never was able to complete that night three years ago now. Ricki didn’t react to the outside of the impressive house, and I was grateful for that. I didn’t want her to say anything until she’d seen it in the light of day. It was late now, too dark to truly appreciate the English-manor style of the stone house.
The caretaker had left the lights on. We walked hand in hand through the front door. The smell of the house, the sight of the familiar furnishings and the pictures on the wall hit me harder than I expected. I hesitated at the entrance to the living room.
“You okay?”
I shook my head. No, I wasn’t okay.
But I was better than I had been.
“Let’s go to bed,” I said. “We’ll talk about this later.”
She followed me up the stairs and moved ahead of me as we reached the doorway of my childhood bedroom. But I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“There’s one fantasy that I’ve had since the moment I met you. Would you indulge me?”
She turned into me and kissed me in the center of my chin as she stood on her tiptoes.
“Anything you want.”
I don’t know what she expected. An erotic moment in the hallway, maybe. But she was clearly surprised when I swung her up into my arms and carried her over the threshold.
“That’s a little premature, isn’t it?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re supposed to do that on our wedding night. This isn’t that.”
“It could be.”
She groaned. I’d been begging her to make the whole thing official sooner rather than later, but she was set on a winter wedding. January, she’d said. I don’t know what the fascination was, but I wanted her to have what she wanted. So we were waiting.
But you couldn’t blame me for trying.
She took my hand and led the way to the bed. We’d been back together for weeks, but I didn’t think I was ever going to get used to the new dynamics in the bedroom. I didn’t have to lie still and watch her pleasure herself on my body as I had before. I could lift her onto the mattress and undress her before undressing myself. I could move anywhere I wanted over her body, pleasing her with anything and everything she would allow. And I could set the rhythm and please her without making her do all the work.
I loved the touch of her body. I loved seeing the pleasure in her eyes.
She turned into me and began to unbutton my shirt.
“Let me,” I said, reaching around her to unzip the back of her bridesmaid dress.
“No. I want to.”
I held my hands up out of the way. She unbuttoned my shirt slowly, her fingers lingering here and there. I watched her, watched the slight tremble in her hands. How could she be nervous? We’d been here so many times, but then I let my fingers slide over her bare arms and realized there was a little shake to my hands, too.
Watching Donovan and Kate commit to their lives together, listening to them pledge their love to one another for the rest of their lives…it was humbling. And inspiring.
“I love you,” I said, lifting her chin and realizing she was crying for the first time.
“I never thought I’d find someone like you,” she said.
“Like what?”
“Someone who would love me for me. After everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve done…I never thought someone as good and gentle and beautiful as you would want me.”
I slid my hand over the back of her neck, teasing the curls that had been carefully placed in her hair.
“I hate what’s happened these last three years. I hate that my parents died, that Ash lost his fiancée, and that we’ve all suffered so much. But I wouldn’t change it.”
Her eyes came up to mine. “Why not?”
“Because it brought me to you.”
###
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DAVID: A Standalone Romance (Gray Wolf Security) Page 16