by Marie Force
Much later, as the party began to wind down, Dan was relieved that Kara’s brothers had behaved for the most part. As he was half drunk on champagne himself, the last thing he wanted to deal with was unruly in-laws. Thankfully, that wasn’t going to be his problem tonight.
He and Kara were talking to Slim and Erin when Judith and Chuck approached them.
“Welcome home, you guys,” Dan said to their friends. “So glad you could be here today.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it,” Erin said.
“It’s good to be home,” Slim said, putting his arm around Erin to lead her away.
“This was a lovely day,” Judith said. “Well done.”
While Kara stared at her mother, seeming dumbfounded by the unexpected compliment, Dan answered for both of them. “Glad you enjoyed yourselves. We’re going to say our good-byes, and we’re leaving in the morning, so we won’t see you.” He shook Chuck’s hand and kissed Judith’s cheek. “But we’ll see you again soon.”
“I hope you’ll come to Bar Harbor to meet our friends at some point.”
“Sure, we’ll see if we can make that happen.”
Kara hugged and kissed her parents. “Thanks for coming.”
“So happy for you, sweetheart,” Chuck said.
Hand in hand, Dan and Kara made a trip around the room to say their good-byes. As soon as he possibly could, he guided her out of the room toward the stairs that led to the honeymoon suite where they’d spend their wedding night.
“You just basically told everyone we know that you can’t wait to have sex with me,” Kara said as they went up the stairs from the second to the third floor.
“So? We’re newlyweds. That’s what we’re supposed to do.”
“You don’t need to be so obvious about it.”
He stopped on the third-floor landing and scooped her up and into his arms. “Why can’t I be obvious about how crazy I am about my new wife?”
“You’re more than welcome to be obvious about it from here on out.”
“Excellent.” He opened the door to their room and swept her inside, kicking the door closed behind them. “Alone at last.” The first thing he did was pull off his tie, unbutton his shirt and remove the sport coat, tossing it over a chair in the elegantly appointed room.
“Feel better?” Kara asked him, amusement dancing in gorgeous brown eyes with the flecks of gold that made them sparkle.
“Much, but I’ll feel way better when you tell me how to get you out of that stunning dress.”
“It’s really simple,” she said. “Up and over.”
“I can handle up and over, but come here first and let me take another good long look. I won’t want to forget a single detail.”
She took his outstretched hand and let him bring her closer.
“You’re beautiful every day, but today you were…” His throat tightened, and for once, he didn’t have the words.
“I wanted to be beautiful for you.”
“Mission accomplished, my love.” He kissed her softly, giving her all the love and tenderness he felt for her. He’d give her the stars and the moon if she’d let him. “You own me, Kara Torrington. Heart and soul.”
“I was thinking today about the day you found out Kelly was here and planning to confront me.” As she spoke, she released his belt and undid his pants. “How you ran to me while still badly injured from the boat accident, and took me away so she couldn’t find me. Remember?”
“How could I forget? That was the day you agreed to marry me.”
“You’ve owned my heart and soul from the very beginning, but that day… That was it for me. You’re it for me.”
“I should certainly hope so now that I’ve shackled myself to you for life.”
Smiling, she kissed him with such sweetness, he wanted to drown in it. “How about you do that up-and-over thing now.”
“Yes, dear. Whatever you want.” He squatted to grasp the hem of her floor-length gown and rose to bring it up and over her head, blinking several times to get his brain around what she was wearing under it. “Holy shit,” he whispered. “Are you kidding me?”
Kara laughed at his befuddled reaction to the sexiest lingerie he’d ever laid eyes on—ribbons and bows and hooks and skin, lots and lots of lightly freckled white skin.
Dan placed a hand over his chest. “Am I having a heart attack?”
“I really hope not, because I have plans for you.”
“Mmm, suddenly I’m feeling much better.” He ran his hands over the lace and silk that covered her. “What’s the secret to removing this thing?”
She turned her back to him so he could see the laces that held it together.
“How’d you get this on?”
“With a little help from my matron of honor.”
“Remind me to thank her the next time I see her.” He finished unlacing the contraption and revealed the rest of her magnificence. With his hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face him and took a long look at his beautiful wife. “I wonder every day what I did to get lucky enough to find you, but today…” He leaned his forehead on hers. “The word ‘lucky’ doesn’t begin to describe it.”
With her hands inside his shirt, she pushed the two sides off his shoulders and wrapped her arms around him, her soft skin brushing against his making him crazy with desire for her. “I think all the time about how lost I was until you found me.”
“Thank God I found you.” He held her tight, probably too tight, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. Not now or ever. Slowly, he began backing her up to the bed, letting his pants fall as he went. They fell onto the bed together, him on top of her, her body opening to welcome him. He usually prided himself on his finesse, but he had the rest of his life to worship her. Tonight, he just needed her.
“Dan…”
“I’m right here, baby, and I’m dying to make love to my wife.”
“Then please do, because your wife loves you so much.”
He gazed down at her, brushing the hair back from her face as he entered her for the first time as her husband. “I love you, too. More than anything else in this world.”
Kara wrapped her arms around him and held on tight as he set out to show her how much she meant to him.
“A whole lifetime of this,” he whispered. “Can you believe we get a whole lifetime of this?”
“I can’t wait for every minute of it.”
Kissing her, he said, “Me, too.”
Be sure to get Book 17, Episode 2: Victoria & Shannon’s story here!
Also by Marie Force
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Other Books By Marie Force
Contemporary Romances Available from Marie Force
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Book 14: Celebration After Dark
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Book 16: Light After Dark
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Book 17: Victoria & Shannon (Episode 1)
Book 18: Kevin & Chelsea (Episode 2)
A Gansett Island Christmas Novella
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About the Author
Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the indie-published Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. Duchess By Deception is the first in her new historical romance Gilded Series, that will continue with Deceived By Desire in September 2019.
Her books have sold more than 7.5 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list 29 times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Speigel bestseller in Germany, a frequent speaker and publishing workshop presenter as well as a publisher through her Jack’s House Publishing romance imprint. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award for romance fiction.
Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.
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