Be My Forever: The Complete Series Box Set

by Lauren Wood

  “Do you mind if I join you?”

  Her lips moved like she was going to say yes, but then her eyes went downcast for a few moments and she shook her head. “Maybe another time Keenan. I have to get ready for a thing. The water is nice though. You should get in for a while.”

  She pulled herself up out of the side before looking sideways at me one last time. Gemma practically ran away and I was determined to get more time with her.

  “Well since we are married now, I should go to that thing with you.”

  Gemma stopped in her tracks and looked back at me to see if I was being serious or not.

  “Um, okay, but I don’t think it is going to be your kind of thing.”

  “Try me.”

  “Okay then hubby. I will meet you in the foyer in an hour. I would dress down, way down if I were you.”

  I looked down at the slacks and button down. I didn’t get much more dressed down than this.

  Chapter 9

  Gemma

  When I saw Keenan waiting for me at the door, I knew he was going to stick out like a sore thumb. I doubted that he had ever been to anything like what we were about to go to. It certainly wasn’t going to be something that he was going to like, but I didn’t like this marriage so I figured it was only fair.

  “Gemma, you look, um…”

  I smiled at him and I knew that he liked what I was wearing. It was scanty and his eyes took it all in. I was not unaware of his attraction to me. It was hard to ignore when I was staring up at it in the pool, but now I was better put together and I didn’t even look.

  “I am going to take that as a compliment.”

  “You just look so different. You look like a…” He was struggling to find the words, but I wasn’t going to listen to him stutter, so I helped him out.

  “A hippy? That is what my father calls me anyways.”

  “Yes, that is what it is you look like. Where are we going?”

  “Are you already changing your mind hubby? You were the one that said we needed to spend some time together, just newlyweds and all.”

  There was a moment that I thought he was going to back out of it. There was no way that he was going to have any fun at the festival tonight and I almost didn’t blame him. I had really done it up, put beads and floss in my hair just for more of an effect. I was going to be unrecognizable, which of course was another good thing about keeping a low profile. I didn’t have to worry about being noticed. Once he realized where we were going and what we were going to be doing, I was sure that he was going to worry about who might see him there.

  “I am still going to go. I just think that I should go change first.”

  I looked at the slim gold watch on my wrist and shook my head. “No, that isn’t going to work. We are going to miss the first act if we don’t leave now. It is quite a ride down there and I don’t know what the roads are going to be like.”

  He was looking at me like I was speaking Greek and I had to laugh at him. He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

  “If you say that this will be okay, I will just take your word for it.”

  I had a feeling that that was about as much as he was going to let go, so I just agreed, whatever I could do to get him to agree to it. It started out because I was being a smart ass, but now I was looking forward to it. I had a feeling this was going to be his first time doing something like this.

  We got to my car and he looked around.

  “Where is your driver?”

  “I don’t have one.”

  Another look like I was a space alien and I just ignored it. It wasn’t that hard to drive, most people did it. Just because I came from a rich family didn’t mean that I was going to let it change me. I wanted a normal life, something my father had never understood because he knew no other way. I was a little wiser to the world and didn’t want to live like the privileged few, even though I was one of them.

  “So your father just let you go wherever you wanted to without a driver and without any kind of protection?”

  Why was he so surprised?

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Nothing, I just don’t understand how he would be so trusting. My own mother won’t leave the house without her bodyguard and I don’t think she has driven since I have been alive, I don’t remember a time anyways.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that at all, but I was starting to see what he thought women were capable of, which was not much at all. I thought my dad was old fashioned, but I had a feeling now that my husband was even worse.

  “Well it is a new world Keenan and women drive nowadays without a man to keep them safe.”

  He blushed and I was interested. I didn’t think a man of his stature could do such a thing, but I had to say if nothing else that it looked good on him.

  “I didn’t mean it like that Gemma. Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?”

  It was not out of concern that he asked me to drive, it was because he was more than likely afraid of how I drove. I declined ever so eloquently and thanked him for the offer.

  He was barely able to stand it as he sat in the passenger seat.

  “When is the last time you sat there?”

  “I can’t remember a time since I have been an adult.”

  I giggled at him and just shook my head. For a man that was so sure and in charge in most of his life, I liked the idea that I could throw him off a little bit. It wasn’t like he didn’t need it. He was wound tight and I knew just what he needed to calm down. Keenan just needed to relax and I hoped that he was able to tonight.

  There was still hope that we could at least be some sort of friends or at least something better than strangers. If we were going to have to be married, we might as well be civil. Keenan’s words had stuck with me and the more I thought about it, the more I knew what he’d said was true. I was going to try to get along with him. If not, I could at least laugh at his expense if nothing else.

  ***

  Keenan was quiet a lot of the way and I knew it was because of my speed. I loved to drive fast and he grabbed the bar above the window several times and gritted his teeth. But I will say that he didn’t say a word. Instead he just kind of stayed tight lipped and I turn the radio to one of my favorite classic rock stations. I don’t think he liked that either.

  I turned the music down and asked him what kind of music he liked.

  “What do you mean?”

  Now I was confused. “I mean, what kind of music do you listen to?”

  ‘I don’t.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He chuckled and told me that he thought we had a communication problem. I was starting to think that as well. That or we were far more different than I ever thought possible. How could someone not listen to music? It just didn’t seem natural.

  “I don’t know what I would do without music. It is just a great way to forget about everything for a little while, don’t you think?”

  I don’t even know why I asked the question. I just turned the music up and realized that this evening was going to be even harder for him. This was a classic rock music festival and I thought that he was going to be put off because of the fact we were staying overnight in a tent. I didn’t imagine that the very music playing in the air was going to be a bother.

  “My parents wouldn’t let me listen to music. It was a waste of time as far as my father was concerned. You can’t make money from music, so I guess I just never worried about it.”

  “Wow, that sucks.”

  He shrugged like he didn’t know what he was missing and I was now determined to get him liking music. There had to be a band or a song that would move him. There were so many to choose from, I knew that he was going to like something by the end of this trip or hate music altogether because there was a lot to sample.

  “We are almost there. I think you will find some new bands to listen to. Have you ever been to a music festival?”

  “What, like Woodstock?”

  I giggled that
this was his only reference. It made sense, but I almost had to bet that he learned about Woodstock from a book or something like that.

  “Yeah, something like that, but not near as big and I am sure there won’t be as many good drugs there.”

  His brows raised and I smiled to myself. I liked having him a little off kilter. It only seemed fair after he had me feeling so crazy inside. Keenan was due an evening that wasn’t dictated by him, I was sure of it and the more I was around him, the more I saw us being together as an opportunity.

  “Drugs?”

  “Yeah, whatever you like. I don’t really partake in all of the hard stuff, but some like to. I don’t really know much about you. Do you have any vices?”

  “Women.”

  That wasn’t the answer that I was looking for or expecting and I think that it wasn’t something he had meant to say.

  “I can see how that can be a vice. There will be plenty of them there as well, though I would prefer you not do it in front of me or when we are out together.”

  The conversation had changed so quickly, I was trying to keep up. I thought of Charla and the way Gemma just assumed that I was going to cheat on her. She was right, but I didn’t want her to be right. I didn’t want her to think that of me.

  “I have no plans to be with anyone else Gemma.”

  “Come on Keenan, I have read enough about you to know that it isn’t true. I don’t mind, not really, I just don’t want to be in gossip columns because I can’t keep my man happy.”

  “I see your point. It isn’t necessary though Gemma, really it isn’t.”

  I wasn’t going to say anything one way or another. While I wanted to believe him, I knew that after a time he would stray. How long could I keep a husband if I wasn’t giving him what he needed? Not long I assumed and I knew that I was just going to have to accept that fact one way or another.

  “Enough about that Keenan. We are here.”

  I smiled at the look on his face. “We are here?” He sounded absolutely horrified with the prospect and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  Chapter 10

  Keenan

  Here was what looked like a field, a very big field, but a field nonetheless that was littered with tents and people. There was a band playing in the far off distance on a stage as we drove through a recently made road from previous tires.

  This was not a place that I would ever choose to go on my own and I looked over at Gemma, half-expecting this to be some kind of joke on her part. When she stopped and waved at a couple of people that called out her name, I knew I was in for it. This wasn’t a joke. She expected me to stay here and listen to half-wasted bands playing on a stage I couldn’t see. She couldn’t possibly think I would stay the night here, right?

  “So how long is this thing for? I remember reading something about Woodstock being for days.”

  “Just the weekend. I wish it was longer, those are better, but this is just a short one before fall hits. Last one of the summer sort of deal.”

  I nodded my head and tried my best not to look horrified as we drove through the masses of people that didn’t seem to realize that we were on a road. This was a whole other world and I was certainly not dressed for the occasion.

  “Are you nervous?”

  Her face was alight with joy and it was easy to tell that it was because of my discomfort. She was enjoying it a bit too much, but I had no comeback. I was out of my element and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do.

  “No I am not nervous. How bad can it be?”

  “Well I am glad you are thinking about it that way. I was afraid you were going to go heading for the hills by now.”

  “Is that what you wanted?”

  She smiled for a minute and shook her head before Gemma got serious. “I never wanted any of this Keenan.”

  Gemma got out, leaving me in the car to think about what she said. It was only when she knocked loudly on my window and pulled me out of it that I took a deep breath and opened the door. I wasn’t ready for this, but I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

  ***

  I have to say that I enjoyed my night there far more than I had expected to. It was a different environment and it was the first time in a very long time that I was surrounded by people and they weren’t talking about money. Instead it was ideas and new places to see, there was nothing of mergers and stocks and the future. It was all about the now and though I wasn’t wired that way, it was intoxicating to be around.

  Gemma showed her true self and it made me even more attracted to her. She danced like no one was watching and smiled easily. I had never been around anyone like her before. There was no talk of cars or vacations. It was about the music and the night.

  It was only later that I realized we were staying the night. It had been a question when I first got there and saw the tents, but I had quickly forgotten that when I was taken aback with my surroundings. It was like another world and now I was going to go camping in it.

  The music was still playing from a band on the stage and we searched through rows of tents until we found the one with the number she was looking for.

  “Here we are Keenan. I know it isn’t as posh as you like it, but it will do for the night, don’t you think?”

  I didn’t know what to say. The inside was tiny and there was a small mat on the floor that I assumed was supposed to be a bed. She wasn’t serious, was she? Looking at Gemma, I knew the answer before it was even a full question in my brain.

  “Come on, it won’t be that bad.”

  “I didn’t say anything Gemma.”

  “No hubby dear, your face says it all. You look like you are about to come out of your skin.”

  She was laughing again and I felt my face getting hot. I mumbled something about being tired and asked her where I was going to sleep.

  “I guess we are going to be sleeping together here Keenan. The tents are all booked and it is too far to go to a hotel. We can make do, can’t we?”

  My eyes flared with need and I felt the response of my body at her suggestion. I was more than willing to make do with the tiny bed if I got to share it with Gemma.

  I took off my shoes and shirt, as well as my pants while her back was turned getting a few candles lit. It made the shadows longer in here and the look on her face was priceless as she saw me standing there in my boxers.

  “Oh, you are quick.”

  Her eyes ran up my hard chest and I was glad that I kept up with weight training for once. Gemma saw too much and finally turned away with a red face. “Well as long as you keep your boxers on, we should be okay.”

  I don’t know who she was talking to about being okay. Lying next to her, I was going to be just fine.

  ***

  An hour later, I found out that the statement was far from the truth. I wasn’t going to be fine. I was going to lose my mind very soon. The woman next to me had started out a ways away. She made sure that we didn’t touch or say anything as we lay together. For a while, she stuck to that, but when she went to sleep, her body curled towards mine and I was left with her pressed against me.

  Gemma had changed into some kind of pajama thing. She had been prepared for this and forgot to mention it to me. While my meetings tomorrow that I was going to miss were on my mind for a while when we first lay down, all of my thoughts were quickly pulled to the blonde next to me.

  She made small sounds in her sleep and rubbed her body up against me long enough that I thought I was going to burst. Every time I tried to move away from her, Gemma would move closer. I think she was trying to use my body heat because the temperature had dropped considerably, but it didn’t matter the reason. All that mattered was her soft body pressed up against mine and the way she sighed when our bodies touched.

  “Gemma?”

  I couldn’t take any more of this slow torture that she was dishing out. It was impossible to think with her so close and the way I felt about her only seemed to intensify the feelings. There was nothing I could do but try
to wake her up and see if I could manage to get some distance between us.

  “Huh?”

  “You need to scoot over Gemma. You are taking over the bed.”

  She giggled at me and threw her arm around me. “It will be okay Raphael. I need to sleep a little longer.”

  I growled under my breath and shook her with my hands. “I am not Raphael.”

  She didn’t seem to hear me and instead of backing away like I wanted her to, she was more intent to get closer. The man’s name that she said before was poised on her lips just before she kissed me.

  It wasn’t at all like the one that we had shared for the wedding. That one was just her trying to deal with me. It was a defensive kiss and certainly lacked the passion that I was looking for. Now though, whoever she thought she was kissing got a whole other kiss. This one was nothing but passion. There was no form and no reason, just lust.

  My mind wouldn’t let me enjoy the hot body rubbing against me as she moaned into my mouth. I wanted this woman, more than I could imagine, but I wanted her to want me, not someone else. There was no way that I was going to be second to anyone. I had to figure out who this Raphael was.

  Pulling away, I heard her whine and a part of me broke inside from the pressure of saying no. She didn’t even know it was me and Gemma was half asleep. As easy as it would have been, I knew that I didn’t want her this way. This was not the submission that I wanted from her.

  “Gemma you have to wake up. I think you are having a dream.”

  Again she whimpered in that tiny voice of hers and tried to move closer. This time I spoke louder and shook her with the words. I didn’t want her to think that I was being rough with her, but she needed to wake up right now. There was only so much that I could take and I couldn’t take any more of her soft body molded against me when I couldn’t touch her in return. It wasn’t natural and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was not that strong of a man.