by Alexis Anne
“You act like it’s a bad thing, Dad,” Cassandra laughed. We always gave him a hard time because if he had his way, we’d still be eight and living at home.
“No, you both picked fine men. I’m proud of both of you and the lives you’re building. It’s just… I don’t like change.”
I lifted my head up. “Now see, if you all had let me get married in Vegas instead, I could have spared Dad all this drama!”
He shook his head and put his arm over my shoulder. “Oh no, you can’t rob me of my opportunity to walk you down the aisle.”
My mom rushed toward us with bouquets in each hand and June right behind her. “Everything is ready. You say the word and we’ll get started.”
I smiled at my family. We were only missing Jake. “I’m ready.”
It was the middle of January so the weather was chilly and the blue skies were completely clear. An arch covered in wild flowers stood at one end, with a semicircle of white chairs around it. There was an aisle of sand carefully raked for the procession.
My dad wasn’t talking, I knew he was too choked up. He’d rather just keep things quiet, besides there was no need for words between us. I, on the other hand, was quite ready to get this over.
I smiled, looking back and forth, taking a moment to say hello, until my eyes fell on Jake.
So many guests standing had hidden him from me until we were halfway down the aisle.
It didn’t matter how many times I’d spied on him throughout the day, seeing Jake this close took my breath away. I could see the creases around his eyes from smiling, and his dimple.
I was deliriously happy and so was he. In a few minutes we were going to officially be married. No more feeling like we were already married and no more promises or expectations. This was it.
Time seemed to slip away from me, moving at breakneck speed one moment and crawling the next. My heart was racing and everything seemed surreal, like I was floating, not walking.
Greg was standing beside Jake with an equally silly grin on his face, and beside Greg was Tom, who was as choked up as my dad.
My father stopped me at the end of the aisle, physically holding me back from joining Jake at the altar. “Not yet daughter,” he winked.
I nodded, catching his eye, but completely incapable of saying anything.
“Who gives this woman to this man?”
My father smiled and I bet he could guess what was going through my head: no one was giving me to this man but me. “Her mother and I do.” Then he took a deep, deep breath, turned to me and kissed me on my cheek. “I love you daughter. Always and forever.”
I kissed him back on his other cheek and we hugged as if this simple act of marriage were somehow tearing me away from my family and sending me to the other side of the world, never to be seen again.
Then I turned to Jake—who was smiling and waiting patiently—and my heart took off in a whole new direction.
Jake looked damn sexy in his tux. Somehow he looked taller than normal, stronger, and he smelled amazing. It made me lightheaded and giggly like we’d just met. It was ridiculous.
I put my hands inside Jake’s and took a deep breath, but I couldn’t wipe the enormous grin off my face. I thought brides were supposed to cry, but that was the last thing on my mind. Sure I was completely overwhelmed standing in front of three hundred people with the man I loved, but I was so happy I couldn’t stop smiling.
Jake’s smile was just as big as mine, we probably looked crazy. I never once looked at the preacher, and I barely registered the first few rows of people. All I saw was Jake and his enormous, handsome smile. I was lost inside his green eyes and he was just as lost inside mine.
As the preacher spoke the vows, Jake nodded and squeezed my hand.
Then he repeated the words to me. Jake was so sincere and passionate about his vows, there was an unshakable truth to his words.
“I, Jake Spencer, take you, Eve Maria Daniels, to be my wife.” He smiled, then suddenly took my hand and pressed it to his heart the way he sometimes did when he was telling me how much he loved me. The feel of his heart beating so strong and steady beneath my palm, with his larger, rough hand holding it in place was probably the most intimate thing I’d ever felt then or since. “I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad.” He paused and pressed my hand against his chest harder, and added, “I promise.”
I nodded, my eyes locked onto his. His promise had somehow traveled the space between us, threading itself under my skin and nestling around my heart like Jake was personally protecting it.
“… in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”
The crowd around us was so quiet I could feel them. And as I started my vows I heard random sniffling from the audience. Jake hadn’t just taken my breath away, he’d taken everyone’s.
“I, Eve Maria Daniels, take you, Jake Spencer, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love,” I breathed the word. It just wasn’t strong enough for how I was feeling. “… and honor you forever.”
Jake smiled at my little variation on the end of my vows. But it was true. I wouldn’t just love Jake all the days of my life or his.
I would never stop loving Jake.
Seconds later, the preacher was asking us for the rings. I slid Jake’s ring on and whispered, “All mine now… last chance to run.”
He shook his head and leaned in closer, “Not on your life. You are stuck with me.”
Then he pulled out my ring and slid it onto my finger. But before I could admire how it looked to wear his symbol of marriage, Jake pulled my hand to his lips and placed a slow, careful kiss on my ring. “Forever.”
The preacher was talking, but I didn’t hear him, not until he said, “You may kiss the bride,” and Jake swept me up into his arms with my feet off the ground with my hands around his face, and we kissed.
A long, long kiss. My lips pressed firmly against his.
This time I finally heard something other than Jake. I heard the roaring crowd around us as they cheered on our kiss. It made Jake chuckle, it sent vibrations up through my body. Suddenly I wanted the crowd to disappear so Jake and I could be alone.
But instead he set me down and shook his head, “Later Mrs. Spencer. We have a party to attend first.”
I shrugged my shoulders and turned, my hand tucked into my husband’s elbow as the preacher announced, “May I present Mr. and Mrs. Jake Spencer,” to our friends and family.
We walked down the aisle on a cloud and ran (yes, ran) to the guest house for a moment of privacy.
***
The microphone was the most popular thing at our reception. Everyone wanted a crack at it. Some told silly stories, others simply wanted to wish us the best. My sisters both made me cry. They made really touching speeches about growing up together and how perfectly Jake fit into our family.
From that point on I laughed and cried until I was completely exhausted. Jake’s arm was around my waist at all times and his other hand was wrapped around mine in his lap. The only time it was free was for drinking champagne. Which, I might add, was refreshing and delicious.
During Greg’s speech, which was admittedly enhanced by a good amount of whiskey, my nephew Teddy wiggled his way over to us and settled himself in Jake’s lap. Those two together—it did things to me. Teddy adored his new uncle. They had an instant and special bond, the kind that can’t be explained any more than my bond with Jake. The little boy was tired and curled up in Jake’s lap like it was the most comfortable place in the world. And Jake… he was grinning like a fool in love (with someone other than me) and gently rubbing Teddy’s back. He was instinctively rocking back and forth just a little.
When he noticed me watching him, he smiled and winked, squeezing my hand before turning back to listen to Greg’s blubbering.
“… I just, can’t tell you how proud of you I am, man. Really and truly. After all these years to finally
see this woman I’ve heard all about. Eve is everything you said she was, and, well fuck—sorry!—I’m just so happy for you both.”
Greg came around and hugged Jake so he wouldn’t have to disturb Teddy who was nearly asleep. Then he hugged me (I don’t think he was sober enough to realize how hard he was hugging me) and whispered in my ear, “Welcome to the family, Evie. I hope to have a little nephew like Teddy very soon.”
It wasn’t the first time something like that had been said. It seemed to be a wedding tradition. Once the ring was on your finger it was time to talk babies.
The thing was—I wasn’t ready. Jake and I had only been back together a few months. Sure we had four years together, but that was a lifetime ago. We were different people with different lives back then. I wanted time with him, all to myself. Kids changed everything, I knew that.
Looking at how Jake was blissfully snuggling our nephew though, I knew it was something we were going to have to talk about sooner than later. We’d successfully avoided it up until this point, along with a lot of other things. It was a silent pact between us to avoid subjects like that until after the wedding. Maybe it was stupid. We were two intelligent, level-headed people. Surely we could discuss things as important as our future. But I was secretly terrified those topics would be grounds for fighting and disagreement. I desperately wanted to avoid disagreement at all costs. I just wanted to be happy with Jake for a little while longer.
So, I pretended no one had mentioned kids, and when I looked at Jake holding Teddy, all I saw was a man madly in love with his adorable nephew.
Between the champagne and the emotions, I was jonesing for some emotional relief. So the moment Tim whisked Teddy away, I whisked Jake away. It was no small task to disappear from your own wedding, but thankfully it was dark, so with a little maneuvering I was able to sneak us out the side of the tent and down the walkway to my mother’s rose garden.
“Where are we going, darlin’?” Jake was laughing.
“I need you,” I replied with my own giggle of mischief.
If there was one thing that would relax me, it was Jake. The house was off-limits, so we couldn’t go there. The guest houses were being used for entertaining and the luxury portable bathrooms were set up right beside them. It was almost as busy there as it was inside the reception tent.
So I was taking Jake to the only place I could think of where we might actually be able to find a few moments of peace.
“You seriously can’t wait another hour? We’ll be in a limo, we could do it there…”
“Too cliché!” I yelled over my shoulder. And no, I seriously couldn’t wait an hour.
“We have a gorgeous hotel room waiting for us, babe. I can lay you out and do you right. Any which way you want, your choice!”
“No, I need you now.” I repeated. We were in the garden now. It was small and surrounded on three sides by a hedge. There were brick pavers with a giant water fountain in the middle, and three stone benches around it. The rose bushes were in pots artfully arranged around the garden.
I pulled Jake around to the back side of the fountain where we would be hidden even if someone else followed us down here. “Sit,” I commanded.
But he didn’t. No, instead he pulled me into his arms and pressed my head to his wide chest. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”
I burrowed in a little closer. “Emotional overload. Too many people saying too many things.”
He squeezed me to him, it felt so nice. Being inside Jake’s arms was the most relaxing place in the world.
“I haven’t even gotten a chance to give my speech yet,” he said as he kissed the top of my head.
I sighed, “I don’t think I can take any more speeches tonight.”
Jake laughed, “Babe, they’re just happy for us. Let them have their chance to tell us. Weddings are only one night. We have a lot of years ahead of us, you may regret not having these memories to fall back on when times get tough.”
“Can’t we avoid tough times for the rest of our lives?” I knew it was a stupid question. But really, reality had no place existing on my wedding day.
He shook his head slowly, tilting my chin up so he could look into my eyes, “Nope. I will try my damnedest to keep them as far away from us as I can, but it will happen. And I want you to have memories like this—your family and friends telling you how much they love you.”
“They’re our family and friends now, Jake. Not just mine.”
Jake’s jaw stiffened and a look flashed through his eyes. He took my face in his hands and kissed me. No more time for chaste kisses. His tongue wove deep into my mouth as he pulled my body firmly against his. Suddenly Jake didn’t seem so opposed to my desperate plea for relief.
I repeated my earlier command to sit, and this time he did.
I sat on his lap facing him, with my legs wrapped around his waist. I had to gather up a lot of white skirt to get there, and Jake helped, arranging my skirt around us like a blanket as I settled against him.
He groaned and I felt him begin to harden. “What are you doing to me, Eve?”
“What you and I do.” By now he was nice and firm inside his tuxedo pants. “Why, Mr. Spencer, I do believe you are attracted to your bride.”
He seductively ran his nose up my throat and nuzzled behind my ear where I loved it so much. I was growing wetter by the second and I could feel the heat building between my legs. I was so desperate for relief and it wouldn’t take much.
He kissed the hollow of my neck and ran his hands up and down the bare back of my dress. “Babe, can I just say… when I told you to wear a sexy white dress… well, I had no idea. You look amazing. It’s been hard to keep my hands off you all night.”
“Good,” I whispered in his ear.
He squeezed me tighter and pulled my body down on his hard cock. It made me flutter deep inside where I wanted to feel him.
“This is pushing things, even for us, darlin’.” He said it pointedly and looking straight in my eyes. I think he was asking me what was really going on without actually saying the words. He wanted me to talk to him, but I couldn’t bring myself to say the things swirling inside my head.
“We’ll be quick,” I whispered, my hands digging down beneath my skirt to his pants.
“Eve! Jake!”
The sound of Jennie’s voice froze both of us where we were. I swallowed, knowing my bid for relief was being abandoned. Even if Jennie didn’t see us over here, there was no way Jake was going to finish what I started.
“Oh, for the love of all!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air the minute she found us. “You two are seriously humping in the garden during your own wedding reception?”
I smiled sheepishly and slid my hands back out of Jake’s lap so I could shrug my shoulders. “There should be no doubts that Jake and I are hot for each other.”
Jennie put her hands on her hips and faked a scowl. “Eve, no one on earth doubts that. Now, pull yourselves together and get back inside that tent. If we don’t have cake soon there’s going to be a riot.”
Five minutes later we posed for pictures around an enormous white cake. “You smear this on my face and sex is off the table tonight,” I warned him under my breath.
He wrapped his large hand around mine as I put the edge of the silver knife against the smooth white frosting. He whispered in my ear, “I can think of much better places to put this cake, darlin’.”
My whole body quivered and I bit my lip as I looked back at my new husband, “Promise?”
He nodded slowly, his green eyes locked onto mine. “I never joke around when it comes to eating cake.”
“Mom!” I yelled, turning over my other shoulder. I knew she was standing right on the edge of the crowd.
“What do you need Eve? Is the knife ok?”
“Yes, the knife is ok. I need two slices of the chocolate cake boxed up for us to take to the hotel.”
“Taken care of!” she scoffed with a wave of her hand and immediately flag
ged down a waiter who scurried off to get us a box.
“Ready, Mr. Spencer?”
“Indeed, Mrs. Spencer.” He pushed the knife through the cake, slicing out a piece for each of us. We carefully fed each other, all while giggling mischievously. Wedding day sex was getting more and more exciting.
Chapter 16
-Jake-
I’d had to fend off my new wife all night. My dirty girl tried to seduce me in the garden and then she tried to bribe me into leaving the wedding early. She was ridiculous. It was awesome.
But I had plans for her.
I wanted her to have the perfect wedding and then I wanted her to have the perfect wedding night. We agreed to leave the past in the past and most of the time I was content with our agreement.
But sometimes I couldn’t. I think I would always feel a little bit of a burden to make my disappearance up to her. I would always carry that guilt around with me. So there was no way I was getting talked out of the perfect wedding for Eve and there was absolutely no way she was ruining my plans for our first time together as husband and wife.
“Do you know this is a fantasy of mine?” I asked. Eve was standing across from me as I closed the door to the honeymoon suite.
“The wedding night? Claiming your bride and making her yours?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Too old fashioned. I like to think a little more progressively.”
She arched her eyebrow and pursed her lips.
Hot.
“Ok,” I relented. “So I’m stretching the truth a little.”
She smiled wickedly and it was all I could do to stop myself from shredding her wedding dress right then and there. “What’s your fantasy, Jake?”
I shivered every time she said my name. “The white dress.”
Her breathing hitched and her eyes narrowed. “Oh…”
It was my turn to smile. She had no idea what she was in for. “Yeah, oh. It only happens once. I only get to defile you in that sexy, perfect, white dress once. And I’m going to enjoy every second.”