Royal

by Tina Martin

  Gemma, in full tears now, covered her mouth with her hand while he still held onto her left hand, preemptively sliding the ring onto her finger.

  “Oh my God!” Gianna said, bursting through the back door like she was the law, then ran over to Gemma. “Are you guys engaged?”

  “She has to say yes, first,” Royal said, staring up at Gemma.

  Ramsey, Regal, Romulus and Felicity stepped inside to which Ramsey said, “Gianna, baby, I think they’re having a private moment. Maybe we should all go back outside.”

  “No,” Royal said. “Don’t go outside. I want you all to witness this.” He kissed Gemma’s hand and stared up into her eyes when he asked again, “Gemma, will you marry me?”

  Gemma sniffled and said, “Yes. I will marry you.”

  Royal slid the ring onto her finger and then stood up tall to leave a kiss on her lips.

  “Wait. We couldn’t hear that from over here,” Regal said. “Was that a yes or a no?”

  “She said, yes,” Felicity told him. “I heard her loud and clear.”

  “Yeah, that’s your job ain’t it?” Regal teased. “To keep an eye out for men on their knees.”

  “Ugh…Gianna, I’m going to head on out,” Felicity said. She couldn’t take any more of Regal. “Congratulations, Gemma and Royal. I’m happy for you.”

  “Thank you,” Royal said, and then he resumed kissing Gemma like no one was in the kitchen except the two of them.

  Chapter 35

  The wedding happened exactly a week later at a Lake Norman banquet hall that provided magnificent views of the lake. Even though it was officially winter in North Carolina, the temperature was a perfect seventy-two degrees. Gemma was dressed in an off-the-shoulder, tiered A-line gown with a sweeping, decent-length train. Her hair was done in beautiful curls and she wore a veil that matched her dress.

  Royal wore a black tuxedo as he stood on stage with the minister, glancing over at his parents. Their example of long-standing love would surely help him in his marriage. He was sure of it and appreciated their example over the years.

  He cleared his throat and watched the wedding party begin to make their way down the aisle. The men were dressed in black tuxedos. The women wore shimmery gold-fitted dresses and gold heels. Everything – their outfits, the decorations, the flower arrangements – it all looked perfect like this wedding had been planned for a year and it only took a week to pull everything off, especially with the help of Bernadette who did all the flower arrangements and decorations. She also accompanied Gemma, Felicity and Gianna to a local bridal shop where she helped Gemma find the perfect gown.

  First, walking down the aisle was Romulus and Gianna…

  Gemma had requested that in lieu of her father, Ramsey – the man she still credited for saving her life and giving her hope – walk her down the aisle. Therefore, Romulus stood in for Ramsey and escorted Gianna. Pregnancy had her glowing and the gold dress brought out the radiance of her skin.

  “Ramsey warned me not to get too close,” he whispered to Gianna as they began walking over pink rose petals.

  Gianna giggled. “Whatever. You know Ramsey’s only kidding around, Rom.”

  “No, he’s not. He also told me if you trip or fall, or if anything happens to you or the baby, he would have my head.”

  Gianna could only smile although she wanted to laugh, but the guests were all staring so hard, she couldn’t just burst out into laughter.

  “So, pay attention so you don’t trip over anything,” Romulus told her.

  “What am I supposed to trip over, Romulus? Rose petals?”

  “I don’t know. What I do know is, I value my life and I do not want Ramsey coming for me.”

  Next came Regal and Felicity.

  “Stop holding my arm so tight,” Felicity grunted. Why couldn’t she walk down the aisle with one of the normal brothers?

  “You’re the one with a tourniquet around my arm,” Regal said. “Nobody told you to wear those six-inch heels.”

  “Like I need anyone’s permission,” Felicity said then plastered a smile on her face.

  “Well, you should’ve planned ahead if you wanted to be comfortable,” Regal told her. “It’s your own fault, Dub. Look at Gianna. She has on flats.”

  “And she’s also pregnant, doofus. She’s supposed to be wearing flats.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I’m doing this for Gemma. I’m doing this for Gemma,” Felicity chanted softly.

  “Don’t front like you don’t like being seen with ya boy.”

  “Oh, puh-leese. I’m counting the steps to the stage so you can let go of me.”

  “You mean so you can let go of me.”

  “Ugh. What-the-freak-ever. Can you just be quiet?”

  “Nope. I like annoying you. You make it so easy.”

  Felicity glanced at him, taking in his striking good looks in the tuxedo. And he was clean shaven, smelled good, but Regal…gosh, she could choke him.

  And then came the moment everyone, especially Royal, had been waiting for – Gemma appeared, being escorted by Ramsey down the aisle while the guests rose to their feet. Some even gasped at how beautiful she was as they walked toward Royal.

  “Are you ready for this?” Ramsey whispered, “Because Royal sure looks ready for you?”

  Gemma looked up at Royal, then said to Ramsey, “Yes. I’m ready.”

  “Good,” he said.

  When Gemma took position next to Royal, Ramsey gave him a single nod of approval then stepped back.

  Shortly thereafter, they exchanged vows, slid rings on each other’s fingers and the minister announced them to the crowd as Mr. and Mrs. Royal St. Claire.

  * * *

  Regal kicked off the reception by popping the first bottle of champagne. “Woo!” he exclaimed when it foamed up. “Now, it’s a party!”

  Carson walked over to him and said, “Sir, you do know there are bar stations situated all around here. There’s no need to pop your own bottle.”

  “Look-a-here, old man. This bottle right here…this is all mine,” Regal said. “My lil’ brother just got married. It’s time to celebrate.”

  “Hey, I can’t argue with that.”

  “Congratulations, Royal and Gemma,” Siderra said, hugging them both at the same time.

  “Thank you, Siderra,” Royal told her.

  Bernadette walked over and embraced Gemma warmly. “Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”

  “Thank you, Bernadette.”

  Eyes filled with tears, Gianna circled her arms around Gemma. And then she all out started crying. Like a toddler. Like a toddler who’d lost her mommy in a crowded store.

  “Gianna, why are you crying so hard?” Gemma asked.

  “I’m so happy for you,” she said.

  “Okay, but you don’t have to do all this boo-whoing.”

  “I’ll take care of this woman,” Ramsey said, wrapping his arms around Gianna. “I hate seeing you all emotional like this.”

  “I know,” Gianna said, pinching the corner of her eye. “I’m just so happy.”

  “I am, too,” Gemma said.

  Chapter 36

  Gemma smiled. A girl couldn’t ask for a better day. Perfect weather, a most perfect man and a feeling of elation – the excitement of starting a new life. Of having a new second chance. A new beginning.

  Instead of driving back to Charlotte from Lake Norman since it was so late, they stayed at a fancy bed and breakfast right on the water and was sitting on the bed with a basket full of snacks. Since he was sure they would be too busy celebrating to actually eat at the reception, he prearranged for the basket to be delivered to their room.

  “This strawberry jam is good, Royal. I’m glad you did this. I’d be starving right now if you hadn’t.”

  “And you know I wouldn’t let that happen,” he told her, staring at her adoringly, then smiled. “When I saw you walking toward me with that beautiful gown on, I literally bit my tongue to make sure I wasn’t dreamin
g.”

  “Stop it,” she said, her blushed enhanced cheeks rounding.

  “I kid you not. You’re so beautiful Gemma.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself, Prince Royal,” Gemma said, finishing the last of her bread, then hopping up off of the bed.

  “And that dress is amazing on you.”

  “Your mother helped me pick it out,” Gemma said, doing a twirl in it.

  Royal smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked at her with elation. “Are you tired?”

  “Tired. No way. It’s my wedding night.”

  Royal glanced at his watch. It was 3:16 a.m. “More like wedding morning, bae.” He stood up and stepped in front of her, interlocking their fingers while they swayed back and forth like they were reliving their wedding dance even though there was no music playing.

  Gemma went with it, then rested her face against his chest. “Royal, this was the happiest day of my life.”

  “Mine, too.”

  “And I know I told you this a thousand times today, but I love you.”

  “I love you.”

  She smiled. “Okay, now help me get out of this dress. We have some love to make.”

  “Um, excuse me,” he said, “But where’d my shy, innocent wife go?”

  Gemma giggled. “Right here, loosening your belt.”

  “Alright, I warned you what would happen if you wake up the boss.”

  “What? He’s gonna make me work overtime?”

  He smiled while unzipping her dress. “Yes. Overtime.” He lowered his mouth to hers, took a kiss while lowering her dress down her arms, past her waist and on down to the floor. And then, he picked her up, listening to her giggle her way to the bed where he lowered her. He removed his clothes while she watched until he was standing there, completely nude in all his glory.

  Her eyes grew big. She’d seen his muscular chest before, but doggone if this beautiful man didn’t have the body of perfection. The smooth caramel skin of his did something to enhance the beauty of his rigid muscles and strong, taut thighs. And her eyes nearly rolled right out of her head when she stared at ‘the boss’. He was definitely large and in charge. Royal’s body was so well built, it was as if someone had laid out some plans to have him designed and sculpted.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked when she stared at him without so much as a blink.

  “Um, yeah. You didn’t tell me the boss was big enough to have his own room.”

  Royal looked down at himself and chuckled. Then he walked over to the bed and slowly pulled her panties down her legs, saying, “He does have his own room. He’s just never been in it.”

  “From the looks of it, I don’t think he can fit in it.”

  “Shh,” Royal said, climbing on the bed, hovering over her and said, “Don’t you worry about that. That’s for me to worry about.” He swooped down on her lips, kissing them and sucking on them until he felt her breaths become quicker. He lowered his mouth to her ear, feasted on her lobe and grazed his teeth across her neck, feeling her body jerk.

  Using one hand, he unlatched her bra and took in the beauty of her breasts. The shape of them.

  Gemma watched him as he observed her body like an exhibit.

  “You have a beautiful body, Gemma,” he told her. Of course, she had scars – surgery will do that to you, but those were beautiful, too.

  He lowered his head to her pillowy bosom and used his tongue to tease her in a way that no one ever had. And he took his time getting acquainted with her taste – with this part of her body suckling just so before he moved to her other breast and repeated that same sensuous torture.

  He growled.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, stopping to look at her.

  “You just growled like…” she took a breath. “Like an angry wolf.”

  “More like a hungry wolf,” he said, kissing a path straight down the center of her flat stomach and stuck his tongue in the concave of her navel. Her body jerked when he did it so he made sure to do it again. Over and over again.

  While he paid ample attention to her navel, he used his hands to explore her what she liked to call her biscuit. Well, her biscuit was now his biscuit. He had a good grasp on it, giving her a firm, passionate massage there, feeling her writhe beneath him, causing a cataclysm of explosions to hit her all at once. She arched her back and moaned.

  “Oh, Royal!” she exclaimed, her body trembling seemingly in an uncontrollable way.

  “I love pleasing you,” Royal said, watching her in the throes of ecstasy. He could see love all over her face. Hear it in her moans. “I thought I would have better control over myself, but I want you so much, I need to be inside of you. Like now.”

  “Okay,” she said breathlessly.

  Royal reached for his wallet where he took out a small, square-shaped gold package. “You keep those in your wallet?” she asked, and it’s a wonder she could ask anything while she was still trying to recover from release.

  He ripped open the package and asked, “Where else am I supposed to keep ‘em, Gemma?”

  She shrugged, watching as he sheathed himself.

  “You know what…I think it’ll be better if you were on top so you can control what’s about to happen to your biscuit—I mean, you.” A wicked, cute smile touched his lips.

  She gnawed on her lip as he laid on his back, then she straddled him. “Okay, so tell me what to do first.”

  “Kissing me would be a good start.”

  “Okay, Royal.” She lowered her lips to his, then moaned when she felt his large hands cup her naked bottom. It only enhanced her desire and made her want him more. “Alright. I’m ready,” she said after tearing her lips away from his, coming up on her knees, taking a hold of the boss and attempting to guide him to his room.

  “Whoa, whoa, wait, Gem.”

  “For what?”

  “You don’t know what you’re doing, do you?”

  “No, but I gotta learn one way or another,” she said, lowering gentle pressure on him until her body slowly began to accept him. She gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked quickly.

  “It’s happening!” she said in an excited, dramatic way. “Do you feel that, Royal?”

  Royal laughed. “Okay, Gemma, this is not how this is supposed to go down.”

  Gemma let the weight of her body come down on top of him, squeezing her eyes tight while trying her best to accommodate the invasion of ‘the boss’.

  “Wait,” Royal said, grabbing her hips, stopping her. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

  She opened her eyes, looked at him and said, “I’m fine. I’m not fragile. I’m not going to break. I finally have you—my very own husband and best friend—and I want to know what this feels like. Make love to me, Royal.”

  “Okay, baby,” he said. Somehow, he was able to get up and switch positions with her until he was on top of her, gently lowering her to the bed again.

  Gemma nibbled on her lips, anticipating what he was about to do. She could still feel their bodies connected somewhat but not fully. She could see love, care and concern in his eyes but she could also see desire of the most potent kind building and building until he, by his own admission, couldn’t handle going slow any longer, especially since she didn’t want him to. And so he filled the space that separated them with one firm push until he settled deep within her soul, feeling the most intimate part of her hugging and gripping him. The immense pleasure was far beyond anything he’d ever experienced, and from the way she was panting and holding on to him, he was sure it was just as pleasurable for her after the initial sting of pain was over.

  Carefully, he allowed his weight to capture her and with moist lips brushing against hers, he asked, “Are you still okay?”

  “Y-ye-yes,” she whispered and followed up by lifting her head from the pillow to kiss him, affirming her answer. She placed her hands on his beard, angling her head to accept his kisses, fully aware of his
presence inside of her.

  With the satisfaction of knowing he was pleasing her, Royal settled deeper before giving her a sensual massage. And her muscles automatically gripped him. Squeezed him – returning the favor.

  “Royal.” She gasped his name and when she did, he took her opened mouth as an invitation for his tongue, kissing her deeply, tangling his tongue with hers while they stayed snugly connected below. And then he began increasing his rhythms by reading her and determining what she liked while balancing what she could handle. She could definitely handle this, he thought as he listened to soft whimpers float away from her lips – a delightful noise to his ears that amplified his desire to please her. And please her he did, causing her body to jerk in a way it had never jerked before.

  Gemma couldn’t control the convulsions overtaking her body. All she could do was wail his name and grab sheets to confirm in her mind that she wasn’t floating. And then she held on to him and cried out as those foreign sensations ripped through her body with such intensity that all she could do was hold on to him while he toppled over into a release so potent, for a few moments, it actually felt like the room was spinning. He squeezed his eyes tight and threw his head back, letting the incredible feeling overtake his being and claim everything out of him. She was taking everything.

  “Gemma!”

  “Oh, Royal,” she uttered loudly, feeling her body jerk into another passion-induced seizure, courtesy of Royal. He had the sexiest body and all the right tools to please her with.

  And it seemed that her trembling body encouraged yet another spasm as he whispered in her ear, “Oh, Gemma. This has never happened to me before, baby. You’re making me…making me…” He closed his eyes and collapsed on top of her – his breathing heavy. His body shuddering – giving as she took, squeezed and wrapped her legs around him. It only drove him mad with passion – made him love her that much harder – pumped extra power into him to keep going, giving her what she wanted. What they both needed.