by Marie Force
Most of all, he’d remember when Joshua declared her his wife and told him he could kiss her. Luke would never forget the moment when his lips met hers or the surge of love and desire that filled his heart and soul.
Finally, finally, finally.
Mac cleared his throat next to them, reminding Luke they had guests and a party to see to before they could be alone. Reluctantly, Luke stepped back from his wife and noticed the high color of excitement in her cheeks as he squeezed her hand.
She returned the squeeze and smiled at him, happier than he’d ever seen her. Nothing made him happier than her happiness.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Luke Harris,” Joshua said.
Their friends applauded as Mac said, “Let’s party!”
They posed for pictures, they ate, they drank, they danced, they laughed, and when Owen and Evan picked up their guitars, they sang—loudly. It was the most fun Sydney had had in longer than she could remember.
And when she asked Owen and Evan to play “Love of a Lifetime” one more time so she could dance with her husband, they gladly complied.
“I can’t believe you remembered this song,” Syd said, looking up at her gorgeous husband.
“I remember everything.” He’d removed his suit coat and tie as soon as he could, and Sydney had teased him about breaking his personal record for the most hours in a tie. He’d done it for her, he’d said. Looking down at her now, he said, “Are you happy?”
“So happy? You?”
“What’s the word for beyond happy?”
“Thrilled.”
“Yes,” he said, kissing her softly. “I’m thrilled.”
“Good.”
As all the noise and laughter from the party faded away, they moved together with the easy grace they’d known together since the very beginning.
“When are they going to leave?” he whispered in her ear, making her laugh and shiver in anticipation.
“Soon, I hope.”
“I told you we should’ve booked a room somewhere so we could leave.”
“And I told you I wanted to wake up here, in our home, on Christmas.”
“If you’d listened to me, we could leave right now.”
“It won’t kill you to wait another hour.”
“It might.”
The party broke up right after midnight. Mac and Maddie stayed a short time longer to help clean up the worst of the mess.
“We did what we could,” Maddie said, taking a wary look around at the carnage in the kitchen.
“Don’t worry about it,” Syd said. “We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“I can come back to help if you want.”
“Absolutely not! Have a wonderful Christmas with your family, and don’t worry about us.”
“Are you having dinner with your folks?” Maddie asked.
“Later in the day.” Even though Syd would’ve preferred to spend the entire day with only Luke, she’d never leave her parents alone on Christmas, a day that reminded them all of what they’d lost so tragically. This year was a time for new beginnings, and Syd was determined to get through the holiday looking forward rather than backward. She gave Maddie a hug. “Thanks again for all the help with the wedding.”
“It was so much fun. I couldn’t be happier for both of you.” She drew back from Sydney and reached for her husband. “Come on, Mac. The newlyweds want to be alone.”
“Can we play newlywed when we get home?” Mac asked his wife.
The slight slur to his speech had Maddie rolling her eyes as she patted his face. “If you can stay awake while I drive you home, we’ll see.”
“I can stay awake, baby.”
Luke closed the door behind them, locked it and waited until they were in their car before he turned off the outside lights.
“Well,” Sydney said, eyeing the wreckage that was their kitchen, “that went well.”
“Very well,” Luke said, coming toward her with intent in his eyes. He took her hands and backed out of the kitchen, bringing her with him.
“We should do something about the mess.”
“Tomorrow.”
“But—”
He stopped her with a passionate kiss. By the time they came up for air, her arms were looped around his neck and his were tight around her waist. “Tomorrow,” he said again, walking backward to the bedroom.
“Oh,” she said at the sight that greeted them. Someone—probably Maddie and Janey, if she had to guess—had sprinkled rose petals on the bed and filled the room with candles. “Wow.”
“What’s in the bag?” Luke asked, pointing to a gift bag on the bedside table.
Sydney went over to look. “It’s from Tiffany. The note says, ‘A few things from my new store to get your marriage off to the right start. Much love and happiness, Tiffany.’”
“Why am I a little scared of what’s in there?”
“Maybe because it’s from Tiffany?” Syd said with a laugh as she withdrew a red silk nightgown, a bottle of massage oil and an object Syd couldn’t identify. “What the heck is this?” It was a purple piece of rubber with one wide end and another narrower end.
Luke busted up laughing. “Ah, it’s a vibrator, babe.”
“Oh.” Sydney felt heat creep from her chest to her face as she dropped it back into the gift bag.
Luke laughed again at her reaction. “What kind of store, exactly, is Tiffany planning to open?” he asked as he pulled off his dress shirt and came around to her side of the bed.
“I think we just got a sneak peek.”
“That ought to be interesting on this island.”
“No kidding.”
“Let me see that nightgown.”
Sydney handed him the slinky red concoction.
He held it up for inspection, which was when she noticed the material that would cover her breasts was entirely sheer.
“Very nice,” he said. “Put it on.”
“I don’t know. It’s not really my style.”
“Oh, yes, it is.”
“How do you figure?” she asked, perplexed.
“It’s sexy. That makes it your style. I want to see it on you.”
“You’re awfully bossy tonight, Mr. Harris.”
“I’m your husband now, Mrs. Harris,” he said with a sexy grin. “You have to obey me.”
“That was not in the vows.”
“Well, that was an oversight. How’d I let that get by me?”
She shook her head at his silliness. “Will you unzip me?”
“With pleasure.” He kissed and nibbled her shoulder while he pulled down the zipper. “You were so beautiful tonight, Syd. Mac had to remind me to breathe.”
“That’s sweet of you to say.”
With her zipper open, he slid his work-roughened hands over her back and around to her belly, making her quiver with anticipation. “I had this image in my mind of what you might look like as a bride, but you blew me away with the real thing.”
“Was the wedding okay? You’ve never done this before—”
“It was perfect.” He rested his chin on her shoulder. “Want to know why?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Because you were the bride. That was the only part that mattered to me.”
“Luke…”
“Go get changed,” he said, his lips skimming her neck. “Hurry.”
After he released her, Syd’s legs were unsteady as she went into the bathroom to remove her dress and put on the scandalous concoction Tiffany had left for her. It was even more scandalous on. Sure enough, her breasts were easily visible through the sheer fabric, and the hem barely covered all the important parts, ending at the very top of her thighs.
“I look like a porn star in this thing,” she said.
“That I’ve got to see. Come on out and show me.”
“Patience.”
“I have none left after this endless day.”
Syd let down her hair and ran a brush through it. She washed off her m
akeup and brushed her teeth, all the while feeling like a trollop. What had Tiffany been thinking? Well, Syd thought, here goes nothing.
The moment she stepped into the bedroom where Luke reclined on the bed in his boxers Sydney got what Tiffany had been thinking. The look on her husband’s face was positively lecherous.
“I think I’m having a heart attack.”
“Do you need some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?”
“Desperately.” He held out his arms to her. “Revive me.”
She eyed the significant bulge in the front of his underwear as she came down on top of him “One part of you is already revived.”
“This thing was made for you,” he said as he smoothed his hands over the silk that covered her back until he was cupping her buttocks.
“It’s trampy.”
“It’s gorgeous. You’re gorgeous. And all mine. Forever. Do you know how happy that makes me?”
“How happy?”
“The happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
“Knowing that makes me happy,” she said, kissing him. He deserved nothing less. “So I’ve been thinking a lot about something we talked about a long time ago, and now that we’re married…”
“Uh-oh. Is this the part when you become someone totally different now that you’ve gotten me to the altar?”
“Haha. Not at all.”
“What’ve you been thinking about, love?”
“I might want to try to have another baby.”
The hands that had been moving so seductively on her bottom stilled. “I thought you couldn’t.”
“I want to look into having the tubal ligation reversed.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure. I’d made peace with the fact that we wouldn’t have any children, and I’m fine with that.”
“Don’t you want kids?”
“The bigger question is whether you do. You once said you didn’t feel like you could take that risk again. That you’d always be worried about something happening.”
“I’ve thought a lot about that and about what you said then—that we don’t know anyone else in the world who lost both their kids the way I did, so maybe I’ve had my bad luck. At least I hope so. I can’t live in fear, you know?”
“You’re so courageous, Syd. The most courageous person I know. If you want to try this, we’ll try it.”
“Really? You’re sure?”
He nodded and brought her down to him for a deep kiss full of love and longing. His arms tightened around her as he turned them so he was on top. Looking down at her, his eyes skimmed over her face as if he were memorizing every detail.
“What?” she asked, reaching up to caress his cheek.
“I can’t believe you’re my wife.”
“Believe it. You’re stuck with me.”
“I feel like the luckiest guy in the world tonight.”
“I feel pretty darned lucky, too. I thought my life was over, and there you were to show me there’s still so much more.”
He gathered her up and held her so tightly she could feel his heart beating in time with hers. When he raised his head, the love she saw shining down on her made her lightheaded and giddy and so very thankful.
She smoothed her hands over his back and under the waistband of his boxers, edging them down as she went.
“Is there something I can do for you, wife?”
“Yes. You can love me.”
“Already do.”
She pressed her pelvis against his erection. “Prove it.”
“Happy to.”
“Hurry,” she said as she helped him remove his underwear.
His erection lay heavy, hard and hot against her belly as she squirmed under him, trying to get him where she wanted him.
“I want you,” she said, in case she was being ambiguous. “Now.”
“So demanding. I never saw this side of you before I married you.”
“Yes, you did. Now hush up and do what you’re told like an obedient husband.”
Laughing softly, he said, “Yes, ma’am,” and slid into her in one smooth thrust.
“Yes.” She arched her back and curled her legs around his hips. “That’s what I wanted.”
He bent his head to nuzzle her nipple through the fabric of the nightgown, if one could call it that.
Syd was so ready for him that it took only a few tugs of his lips on her nipple and a few thrusts of his cock to get her primed and ready to fly. “Luke…”
“What, honey?”
“Faster.”
Grasping her hips, he gave her what she wanted until they came together in a moment of perfection so sweet it brought tears to her eyes.
She descended from the high to find him placing soft kisses on her face and lips.
“So beautiful,” he said reverently.
“Yes, it is.”
“I meant you.”
“I meant us.”
“That, too,” he said, smiling.
Syd wrapped her arms tight around her new husband, thrilled that she got to spend forever with him.
***
Keep reading for Longing for Love, Blaine and Tiffany’s story!
Chapter 1
Tiffany Sturgil stood outside her new shop and watched two workmen secure the hand-carved sign over the display window. Drivers on Ocean Road slowed to take a look at what was going on, but there wasn’t much to see yet. Tiffany had kept paper over the store’s window to maintain the surprise until the last minute. But once the sign was in place, it would be time to unveil her beautiful new shop.
Her heart raced with excitement and anticipation and a tiny bit of dread. What if she failed? What if she’d poured every dime she had—and then some—into the store, only to fall flat on her face?
“I can’t let that happen,” she muttered, determined to believe in herself, or no one else would. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what her mother and sister would think about the shop, not to mention Jim, her soon-to-be ex-husband, who’d definitely have something to say about it. Not that she cared about his opinion. Not anymore.
“Ready?” one of the men called to her.
“Absolutely!”
At those words, excitement immediately trumped her insecurities. This was it—the moment she’d waited for since that horrible night with Jim, the night she’d landed in jail, and then let the island’s ridiculously hot police chief get her off in the kitchen. A tingle of desire heated her core as she remembered that explosive moment.
Tiffany shook off the memory, as she had every day since, to focus on the store.
“Here we go!”
The two men tore the paper cover off her sign and stared at it, dumbfounded.
“Seriously?” one of them said. “On Gansett Island?”
“What?” Tiffany asked.
“Naughty & Nice?” the younger of the two men said, snickering.
“It’s catchy,” she said.
“It’s raunchy,” the older one replied, to guffaws from the other.
Suddenly, she wanted them gone. No one was going to rain on her parade. Not today, not on the day when all her dreams were about to come true. “How much do I owe you?”
“Fifty bucks.”
“I’ll get you a check.”
She stepped into the space that had occupied most of her waking moments for months. Working long hours seven days a week in between her mothering duties, she’d painted and buffed and polished until the place gleamed. Scented candles burned throughout the store, sending a hint of spicy cinnamon apple into the air. Everywhere she turned there were racks of luscious, frothy lingerie in every style, shape and color, bins of panties, baskets of bras, lotions, potions and candles…
Everything she’d imagined, and then some. Through a beaded curtain, other treasures awaited, designed to bring ultimate pleasure.
“What do you need, boss?” asked Patty, the nervous young woman Tiffany had hired to help
her out a few hours a week.
Her mousy brown hair was cut into an unfortunate style that only exacerbated her other unexceptional features. Tiffany had makeover plans for her assistant as soon as things let up a little.
She handed Patty the business card the men had given her. “A check for fifty dollars, please.”
“Coming right up.”
Patty had been the only one to apply for the job. Tiffany hoped she’d eventually be able to leave the store in the other woman’s hands so she could take an occasional break to spend time with her daughter. Her mother and future stepfather Ned had been great about helping out with Ashleigh while Tiffany was getting the store ready to open and were willing to keep her whenever Tiffany needed help.
Once she got the store up and running, she also hoped to jump-start her social life. If the explosive orgasm she’d experienced at the hands of Blaine Taylor had taught her anything, it was that she’d been missing out on far too much during her years with Jim. She was determined to do something about that, as soon as she had some free time.
Tiffany leaned over to sign the check and tore it from the ledger. “Thanks, Patty.”
On her way back outside to pay the men, she pulled the brown paper off the inside of the store window and went out to find the two idiots ogling the nearly naked mannequins dressed in racy lingerie. She’d gone with a red theme for her first window—lacy teddies and silk nightgowns, sets of bras and panties, a large bottle of massage oil and lube that heated on contact.
“Holy smokes, lady,” the older one sputtered. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, but this ain’t that kind of island.”
Tiffany forced a smile, when she really wanted to scream. “What kind of island is it?” she asked sweetly. “The kind where no one has sex?”
He stared at her as if he couldn’t believe she’d said that. Snatching the check from her hand, he tilted his head to tell his partner to get in the truck.
Tiffany happened to glance down to find the younger man sporting an erection. She smiled when his startled eyes met hers. “Come on back soon,” she said in her best baby-doll voice, “and buy something sexy for your lady—and yourself.”
Flustered, he bolted to the truck. The men left rubber in their haste to get out of there.