I was so tempted to say something. To tell her how I felt. Maybe we should talk about this. Maybe I should tell her what I was feeling, come what may afterwards, and if she was upset or felt like I was pressuring her then I would apologize and I wouldn’t even touch her again if she didn’t want me to. But the truth of how I felt was weighing in my chest like someone had stuffed my lungs with cement.
I opened my mouth… but Trudie seemed to read my thoughts and put her finger over my lips. “Let’s just go to sleep, okay? I’m tired.” She yawned. “I… I know what you’re going to say, and I… let’s just have fun in the moment and not overthink it, all right? We can discuss it after the wedding, after we get through this.”
Ah, great. My yearning had been that obvious. I was grateful that she was being gracious about this and that she was being understanding, but I still felt… more embarrassed than I had ever felt in my life before. “Of course.”
I settled down next to her into an uneasy sleep.
21
Trudie
It was only about an hour’s drive to the wedding, so we had plenty of time for a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast before we drove over. I was so nervous I had to force myself to eat. It was hard to choke down the food, but I knew that if I didn’t do it now, my empty stomach would make me feel even more nauseous later.
Today was the day that I met all the rest of Laird’s family—specifically, his parents. I was terrified. What if they didn’t like me? What if I fell apart? What if I said the wrong thing and everyone realized it was a sham?
As if last night hadn’t already made me nervous. Laird had gotten this look in his eyes afterwards, this nervous look, and when he’d opened his mouth, I’d known what he was going to say. That this was all nice, that I was a great girl, but he didn’t feel the same way about me that I felt about him. It was practically radiating off of him how uncomfortable he was. I felt so awful. All this time I’d been trying hard to keep my feelings to myself but something must’ve slipped. Our sex last night was passionate and powerful, and I’d let my guard down. That must’ve been how he figured it out.
Well, at least we didn’t have to deal with it until after the wedding. We’d get through this, and then we’d go home and part ways and he wouldn’t have to ever see me again if he didn’t want to. I’d been already planning to use the money to get myself a proper place to live and take a bit of time off to find a local college to get a degree in, and find a better job. I hoped that telling him that we could just have fun and relax helped him to see that I wasn’t going to force anything onto him, I wasn’t going to make him stay with me and I wasn’t expecting anything from him.
When we pulled up to the whisky distillery where we’d be having the reception, I could feel myself shaking. I hadn’t been this nervous since I’d run away from Pete. Granted, my life certainly wasn’t in danger now the way it had been then, but it was still nerve wracking.
Laird took my hand as we got out of the car. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered. “They’re all lovely people. And they’ll love you.”
I let myself indulge and keep holding onto Laird’s hand as we walked into the distillery, Liam and Alana ahead of us. I clung to his hand like a lifeline as two older people immediately rushed us to hug Laird.
Without an introduction, I still knew who these two people were. Laird had shown me a couple of pictures and they both looked so much like their son that I could’ve guessed anyway. These were Laird’s parents.
“Who’s this!?” Laird’s father said, catching sight of me and seeing that Laird and I were holding hands. “You didn’t tell us you were bringing a date.”
Laird held up his left hand, showing off the ring. “Not a date, Da, this is my wife, Trudie.”
Laird’s mother looked like you could’ve knocked her down with a feather. “What? You got—but you didn’t say—”
“Seeing as you decided to have me be married without my permission, I figured, why should I get married and tell all of you about it? Now the shoe’s on the other foot. Luckily Trudie understood why I was impatient to get married when I told her the story. We’d only just started dating when I found out about our little falsehood, but I already knew she was the one and I’d hate to disappoint my cousins by showing up unwed, so, here we are.”
Laird’s smile was sharp, a smile I’d never seen from him before. It was gleeful, because he knew he had finally gotten one up on the people who had so inconvenienced him.
“You never told us!” Laird’s mother eyed me. “How did you two meet?”
“At the coffee shop where I work. Laird would stop by to get a pastry with Jack, although God forbid he actually drink the damn coffee.” I looked over at Laird, smiling and squeezing his hand. Thank God we’d practiced our cover story a dozen times. “He’s such a snob about it.”
“Where are you from?”
“Um, New Mexico?” I wasn’t sure why where I was from mattered all that much.
“What do you do, just work as a barista?” Laird’s father was now jumping in on the conversation.
“I was hoping to go back to school and finish getting my degree,” I told him coolly. “When I lost my mother I had to drop out.”
“Do you not have any family then?” Laird’s mother asked.
“No, I’m afraid it’s just me, myself, and I,” I said. “I’ve been excited to come here, Laird’s told me so much about his big family. I’ve always wanted something like that for myself.”
“Sorry it was a bit of a whirlwind, but just like Liam, eh? And I don’t remember you interrogating him as much as you’re interrogating us,” Laird added, a protective growl in his voice.
“What, we heard nothing about this!” Laird’s father protested. “At least Liam told us he was starting to date Alana, we didn’t even know this girl existed.”
“Maybe you would have if you hadn’t shown me that you don’t care a bit for my private life and that you’ll just make up whatever you want about me, decide what’s best for me.”
“Well…” Laird’s mother started, but I’d had just about enough.
“If it would be easier for everyone,” I said, “I can just give you my social security number, and you can do all of your research from there, will that satisfy you?”
Laird’s parents gaped at me for a moment in shock, and then Laird’s father started laughing. “Ah, well now, she’s got a right tongue on her. I like it.”
Laird’s mother laughed. “Well, I can see the attraction. C’mon, we’re having a bit of a pre-wedding get-together with everyone, you can meet the family!”
“Um, right, let me just run to the bathroom real quick.” Or the loo, as they called it here.
Laird followed me—because of course I didn’t really need to use the bathroom, other than to sit down and hyperventilate for a second. I could’ve really insulted his parents, and I was just glad that wasn’t how it had worked out.
“You were fantastic,” Laird told me, hugging me tightly. “That was great. Just relax, okay? We’ve gotten through the interrogation, everything will be fine.”
I nodded. “Sorry I’m nervous.”
“No, you’re amazing. Don’t worry about a thing.” He kissed my cheek. “I’ll see you out there. Take your time.”
Well, at least I had gotten through this relatively unscathed, I supposed. Hopefully the rest of the time would go this well, too.
22
Laird
After being away from everyone for a while, I forgot how fucking fast news could travel. It felt like between one moment and the next, everyone knew that I was married. My phone was blowing up from cousins and other family members that had heard the news but hadn’t arrived yet, and the people who were already there were grabbing me to demand that they get to see my new wife.
“This shouldn’t be news to you,” I kept telling them. “Mum already said I was married.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t say you were bringing her!”
; “Well who else was I gonna bring as a guest, the bloody Pope?”
I did feel a bit bad, seeing as I knew Trudie struggled with all the attention, but also because this was supposed to be Colleen’s big day, not mine. Colleen was my cousin who was getting married, and a more sweet-tempered girl you wouldn’t find anywhere. Well, sweet-tempered by Irish standards. She could cause a commotion with the best of us.
Trudie looked absolutely stunning today, in her lilac dress with her hair all done up. I had been so fucking tempted to follow her into the loo and mess her up, have a little fun with her, but I knew that everyone would give us shite for it and I didn’t want her to be embarrassed. It was almost as fun to show her off to everyone, honestly. Trudie was quieter than the rest of my family but just as sassy, as her exchange with my parents had proven, and she didn’t let anyone steamroll her.
I only wished that she really was my wife and that I was getting to show her to my family for real. That when I got to stand there and say, “Isn’t my wife amazing,” that I was speaking the truth. She was amazing, and I wanted her like that.
Despite my drawing all the attention away, inadvertently, everybody settled down for the ceremony. Colleen looked stunning, and her groom (I’d never met him before but he seemed like a decent bloke) had a look of adoration and shock on his face as he watched her walk down the aisle. He looked at her the way I felt when I looked at Trudie, I realized.
Fuck, I was in deep.
The ceremony was short—short by Catholic standards, anyway—and the castle setting was fucking gorgeous. I knew the photographer was having the time of their life getting these shots.
And then the reception could begin.
There are a lot of things you could say against the Irish and I wouldn’t blame you, but one thing that we do know how to do well is that we know how to party. Hell, we have fuckin’ party every time someone dies and we get drunk off our arses celebrating their life.
Trudie didn’t drink too much, and she was more subdued than the rest of us, but that was just her nature. She was a bit quiet inside, the way that I was. It was how we fit together so well. She still had fun—we danced together under the party lights, and Liam pulled her in and she danced with him, and a few of my other cousins introduced themselves and chatted with her.
“I like her,” Da said to me as Trudie and Alana joined in teasing the unmarried women huddling together to try and catch the bouquet.
“Not that I need your approval,” I reminded him, “but I’m glad.” My point had been made, and so I could start softening towards him and my mum. “She’s a good person and I’m glad you like her. I figured you all would.”
“If she makes you happy, then of course we like her,” Da assured me. “But I’m glad that we also like her just for who she is. She seems like a bit of a timid girl, though.”
“She’s been through a lot.” I still didn’t know the details, but I was pretty sure that something bad had happened to Trudie, something still fairly recent, and that was what made her so skittish. “She’s had to struggle. But she’s happy now.”
“You make her happy,” Da countered. “She can’t stop smiling when she looks at you. I always hoped you’d find a girl who looked at you like that. It’s how you deserve to be looked at. You’re a good person.”
“You raised me,” I pointed out.
“Ach, it was all your mother. I just paid the bills.” Da winked at me.
We were all being put up in rooms for the night in the castle, since it was still functioning in half of it and regularly had people staying over for school sleepovers, tourist nights, that sort of thing. Trudie was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, and I’d had a bit too much trying to keep up with all of my cousins, so we were definitely tipsy by the time the night was winding down.
“We have to be quiet,” I shushed her as Trudie leaned against me, letting me guide her out of the main hall where we were all dispersing and down another corridor towards our rooms.
“Don’t you shh me,” Trudie replied.
“I’ll shh you if I want.”
“Make me shh.” She stuck her tongue out at me.
I laughed. I knew of a surefire way to shut her up, all right. I grabbed her face and kissed her, pressing her in against the wall.
Trudie moaned, opening her mouth to me at once, her tongue hot and slick and tasting of champagne. I pressed my body up against hers, shuddering. She was so warm and beautiful, so sexy, and I wanted to be inside her more than I wanted my next breath.
Catcalls greeted us and I pulled away in time to see Colleen and her husband making their way to their rooms. “We’re the one who’re supposed to be randy!” she said.
“Ah, fuck off, Colleen, not my fault he can’t get it up,” I shot back.
Colleen laughed while Trudie hid her face in my chest, mortified. “Sleep well, don’t let the sound of all my orgasms keep you up!”
“I’ll be too busy having mine!” I replied.
“This is not how normal people talk,” Trudie moaned.
“When they’re Irish and drunk it is,” I replied. “C’mon, let’s get you into the bedroom.”
We stumbled inside, and I practically slammed the door closed behind us before I shoved her against it. I had no patience for a bed, no patience to take my time. I wanted her so badly I was throbbing with it.
Luckily, Trudie seemed to be of the same mindset. “Off,” she chanted, yanking at my pants. “Off, off, off.”
“You look so bloody hot in this dress,” I told her, undoing my pants and letting her shove them down, then yanking her dress up and out of the way before I hoisted her up.
Trudie wrapped her legs around my waist. “Speak for yourself, in this suit, you’re—you’re so handsome, oh my God, you know the first thing I thought about you was how handsome you were—”
She stroked my dick a few times, smearing the precome that had dripped from it, getting it good and wet, and then I lifted her up a little farther and helped hold her as she guided my cock inside of her.
I groaned loudly, unashamed, as I entered her. She was so fucking tight, so wet, perfect for me. I was sure that I was never going to find a woman who was so goddamn perfect, so clearly made to fit with me, emotionally and sexually. It was like we were two ends of a battery, perfectly charged, and I couldn’t stop myself from setting a harsh, rough, fast pace as I fucked into her.
“Yes!” Trudie screamed out, clawing at the backs of my shoulders. Her head fell back against the door and I kissed and sucked at her neck, biting at her collarbone. “Yes, Laird, yes, yes, yes!”
Each scream, especially of my name, sent another jolt of arousal through me and I kept fucking her, wanting her to be so swept up in pleasure that she couldn’t even form words anymore. The door was rattling in its hinges and I was sure that anyone near us could hear everything, and then they would know exactly what we were doing, but I didn’t care.
“You’re so hot,” I groaned. “Fuck, you have no idea—fuck—you’re so hot, I want you all the time, want to fuck you until you can’t walk, you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met—fuck yes—”
I was babbling, and part of me was worried that I would let something slip, that how much I loved her would be revealed, but I wasn’t even sure if Trudie could hear me anymore. She kept crying out, sobbing my name, and I couldn’t hold it in anymore, I had to come, spilling into her.
“Oh my God,” Trudie moaned, and I kept fucking her, my come sliding out of her, and it was so obscene and so goddamn hot, my orgasm going on and on, and I felt her clenching around me and coming, orgasming because I had come into her, and my knees nearly gave out with how overwhelmed I was.
But I wasn’t finished. Not yet. I still had one more thing I wanted to do to her.
23
Trudie
I thought that was the end, as Laird came inside of me, shoving himself into me hard and fast, and I felt myself coming from the feel of him filling me up, hot and greedy, making a mess
of me.
But then Laird picked me up and turned me around, tossing me lightly onto the bed, and got down on his knees. I realized what he was doing and moaned all over again, my hands diving into his hair as Laird made sure my dress was shoved up out of the way and licked inside of me.
He was licking my come and his out of me, licking himself out of me, and it was so fucking hot I could feel a new orgasm starting to build, even as my last one wasn’t finished fading. “Laird,” I cried out. It was so much, too much, I was still so sensitive…
Laird twisted his tongue inside of me, scraping against my clit, and I orgasmed again, squeezing his head with my thighs, sobbing, thrusting mindlessly, everything draining out of me and I collapsed onto the bed.
We shouldn’t have done that. I knew that even as we were doing it. But God, Laird was like a wild animal in the best kind of way, fucking me so hard I was screaming for him. I had never screamed like that before, never had felt totally and completely overwhelmed with wanton desire like that. I had felt completely overwhelmed, giving over to my sexual passions, letting go completely, and I loved it.
As I lay in bed, quickly falling asleep, I had enough time to wonder how my heart was going to recover when all of this was taken from me, and then I was out like a light.
When I woke up, my mouth tasted like death. Ew.
Ah, being hungover. I hadn’t felt like this in ages. I never drank a lot, not even when I was first legal, I was just really scared of getting too drunk and embarrassing myself. And then with Pete I was scared about what he might do to me while I was out of it. So I just stayed sober, which is why I was now such a lightweight.
Ugh. The sunlight coming in through the gap in the curtains felt like it was trying to kill me, hammering away at me.
Laird was still dead asleep, one arm draped over me, a heavy weight against my back. I luxuriated in the feeling for a moment, enjoying it, and then I made myself slide out of bed to inspect the damage.
Fake Bride: A Fake Marriage Billionaire Romance (Forbidden First Times Book 2) Page 14