A Week for Love to Bloom (23 page)

“Lauren, umm
... I guess we know when this happened.”

She smiled sheepishly. “The table.” They both laughed.

He planted a kiss on her lower neck. “I know we still have decisions to make.” He kissed her neck a little higher. “And we have a lot to do.” Justin breathed in the fragrant smell of her hair. “But right now I just want to make love to my fiancé.” He nibbled on her ear. “I’ve missed your soft skin ... your enticing smell ... and your sweet taste,” he whispered.

“You know I can’t resist you when you say things like that,” Lauren whispered back.

“Then don’t,” he said before he captured her mouth.

There was no self-control as their craving became too strong to resist.
Passion took over, spiraling down to the depths of their soul. The place they could never come back from until they gave each other all of themselves.

She lay on top of him with ragged breath, still stuck to him from their glistening sweat. Goose bumps were rising to the surface of her warm body from Justin’s fingers lightly trailing down her back.

“God, I missed you.
I’ll never get enough of you, Lauren. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”
Quietly she listened to his angelic heartbeat.

“Justin.”

“Yes, baby?”

“
I get to do this with you forever.”

Ten Months Later

Lauren glance
d in the mirror before she picked up the bouquet of flowers. “Ashley, you make the most beautiful bride. I couldn’t be happier for you and Andrew. Thank you for being there for me, especially over the last year, and I hope you know how much I love you. Are you ready?” Lauren asked as she handed Ashley her bouquet.

“Y
ou’re going to make me cry, Lauren. I love you, too. The last year was wonderful for the both of us. I’m marrying the love of my life. I got to see my best friend fall madly in love with her soul mate, and I became an aunt. Can it get any better?”

Lauren leaned in to give Ashley a light hug. “
They’re signaling for us.” Both women took a deep breath before they walked to the entrance of the chapel. Walking down the aisle, Lauren gazed into Justin’s eyes as he stood next to Andrew as his best man.

When Justin saw how beautiful she looked, he thought of their October wedding.
Even though it was a small, outdoor ceremony at her property, he had insisted they wear formal attire. He’d felt disappointment over Lauren not getting to experience a large wedding, so he had Claire and Ashley accompany her to a bridal shop to surprise her with a dress. He told them he’d pay for whichever one she wanted, but Lauren being modest in every way picked out a beautiful, yet inexpensive gown.

Justin was unable to take his eyes off of her their entire
wedding day, and seeing her walk down the aisle at their friends’ wedding, he realized that day would be no different.

“What a beautiful ceremony,” Lauren said as she peered out the window on the drive to the reception.

“You’re beautiful and wearing yet another dress that I get to remove from your irresistible body.”

“I was distracted by your sexiness during the wedding. You look very handsome in your tux, so how about we help each other out of our clothing,” she said.

Justin glanced over at Lauren. He wanted to see her twinkling eyes and the adorable grin he knew she’d be giving him. “I reserved the nicest room at the hotel. We’re way overdue for a night alone,” he said.

Upon entering the reception room off of the hotel, Justin and Lauren quickly searched the room. Their eyes lit up as they approached Claire, who was holding their baby girl. Justin stole her from Claire and gently kissed her forehead before he noticed his friend Max walking up.

“I’m guessing this is your pride and joy?” Max asked, smiling.

“This is her. Grace Rose Garrison is her name and keeping me up at night is her game,” he said, pulling her blanket open a little to show off her fancy dress.

“I hated when you left California, but seeing you with your gorgeous wife and your baby girl, I’m happy that you left when you did. It was meant to be, dude,” Max said as he grabbed Justin’s shoulder.

Andrew’s father, Fred, approached them. “Let me see this beautiful baby I keep hearing about,” he said as he leaned in to take a peek at Grace Rose. “She sure is pretty. I see she has a ton of thick, dark hair like you and Lauren, and look at those big, blue eyes. Andrew told me you got a job testing soil samples.”

“Yes, I just graduated with a degree in soil science. I’m hoping to go to graduate school when Grace gets a little older, but honestly I couldn’t ask for my life to be any better than it is right now. I have everything I ever wished for,” Justin said as he beamed down at his three month old.

“My turn,” Lauren said. An excited grin spread across her face as she took Grace from Justin’s arms. “My dad wants to hold her before he leaves.”

“My parents want to take her home shortly, so don’t run off with her for too long,” Justin said.

“I see he’s the overly protective one,” Max said.

“If you only knew. He goes a little overboard, but it’s cute,” Lauren said as she gave Justin a chaste kiss on the cheek before she went to show off Grace Rose to Tom.

After several hours of wedding festivities, Justin and Lauren retired to their hotel room. Lauren sat on the bed and removed her heels, rubbing each foot after.

“Hey,
woman
, I thought I was doing the removing.”

“Sorry, babe, but the sexy heels have to go. I’m glad to see my lustful husband return, though. You’ve been gone too long. I’m not just a mother, you know.”

“I feel we’ve had a good sex life, even while you were pregnant and since Grace was born.”

“I know that, but you hold back. I can tell. Am I going to have to drag you to the table in the greenhouse?” she asked with a provocative look.

Justin sat on the bed next to her. “Don’t worry. You’re all mine tonight, and I intend to take full advantage of that, but first I have a surprise for you. I could be wrong, but I think you’re going to like it.” He took her hand into his as he positioned his body more to face her.

“You’ve given me so much, Lauren. You and Grace made me whole, so I want to do whatever it takes to make you as happy as possible every day. I want to build a house on our land, but not for us.”

Lauren sat silent for several seconds. “What do you mean, Justin?”

“I want to build a home for Claire to live in. Then one day it could possibly be Grace’s house if she wanted it, or maybe … another child of ours.”

“Where the heck would we live?”

“Where we do now
. The place we call home.”

“It’s old. I know that’s not what you want. You were so excited about building on your property.”

“I do want to live there. It holds special memories for me. I think about that first week we met and the time we spent there falling in love. We were married there. We lived there when I graduated college, and most importantly we brought Grace there from the hospital. I can’t imagine moving her from there whether she’s young or not. It doesn’t feel right. The nursery is your world, Lauren. I want Grace to grow up there. It’s warm and already full of memories for me.”

“Mom will never go for it,” Lauren said as sh
e shook her head nervously.

“She already agreed. I didn’t want t
o get your hopes up and then she say no, so I spoke with her first. I made it very clear that she needed to be truthful with me, and she insisted that it’s what she wants for you … for our family. The change might be what she needs. We’ll do some renovations on the house. You can decide how you’d like it, and we’ll make sure the changes flow with the older character of the home.”

Lauren’s green eyes
filled with tears, causing them to glisten. “You’re the most thoughtful and loving man. This is another moment I’ll cherish forever. If you’re sure it’s what you want then I’d be thrilled to stay there. I love you, Justin.”

She grabbed the back of his hair and pulled h
im down on top of her. He growled and kissed her passionately, running his hand up and down the side of her curves before sliding the silk of her dress up above her waist.

Justin
ran his hand down between her thighs to her moist center. He slid two fingers between her panties, pushing them inside of her while he ravaged her neck with his greedy mouth.

“Baby,
you feel so good.” He felt the lust surging through him.

Lauren pushed him off of her. “Clothes—off—now,” she said between breaths.

Within minutes, Justin was plunging inside of her, succumbing to the erotic urges he’d kept contained for his wife. Both became enthralled in the intoxicating spell they held over the other, the deep rooted desire that habitually simmered in their core, waiting for its chance to erupt.

***

Lauren rested her head on Justin’s chest. Once again they were bound to each other by their damp, sultry flesh and the unwavering love they shared.

“I love you, Justin.”

He ran his fingertips along her arm. “I love you, too, Lauren. I’ll always love you. And I get to do this with you forever.”

Thank you for reading
A Week for Love to Bloom (Soul Mates 101 series, Book 1)
. I’m looking forward to sharing
Brett and Hannah (Soul Mates 101 series, Book 2)
due to be released summer 2013. Discover how Brett’s crush on his boss Lauren affects his dating beliefs during his college years at Vanderbilt University. Follow Brett on his journey to finding his soul mate.

For the latest release information, teasers and discussions f
ollow me on the web at
www.scarletwolfe.com

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorScarletWolfe

www.twitter.com/authorscarlet.

Author Scarlet Wolfe

Chapter One

“Are you staying over tomorrow night?” Brittney asked as she sat up in her bed with a sheet wrapped around her chest.

Brett pulled up his jeans. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, call me when you want to hook up again,” she said.

“Yeah, sure.” When he finished getting dressed, he walked to the door and froze for several seconds. Feeling like an asshole, he turned around and ran his hand through his messy blonde hair. “Brittney, I can’t do this anymore. You’re sweet and pretty, but I don’t see us together long-term. For the first time I think I want a girlfriend, and I want one closer to my age. In no way do I believe you’re old, but I’m only twenty-one. There’s a big age difference between us.”

Brittney smiled. Her long, dark hair was tangled and draped over one shoulder. “I figured as much.”

Brett tilted his head and raised a brow. “Then why do you repeatedly let me in your bed?”

“You’re hot and fun. Men my age are boring.”

“You’re thirty-four. It’s hard to believe men your age are boring.”

“All they want to do is watch sports. I know you like sports, but that’s not what you’re focused on when we’re together,” Brittney said, grinning.

Brett walked back to the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Keep looking. He’s out there, but to find him you’re going to have to give up the college guys.”

She gazed
up at him from her bed. “You know where I am if you get lonely.”

Brett smiled and shook his head before he walked out of her apartment. When he got into his work truck, he realized he’d missed a call from his boss. He was due to be at work in thirty minutes. Brett Adams worked for Wilson Rock Landscaping since he moved to Nashville, Tennessee the beginning of his freshman year of college. He returned his boss’s call.

“Hey, Jay. What’s up?”

“Steve quit today. He said he wanted a couple of months to do nothing after graduation, and now I got this big contract. I mean big. You’re the only employee who can handle this job. Have you heard of Lorna Ray Mason?” he asked.

“Really? I mean, she’s just one of the biggest country music stars of all time.”

“We’re landscaping the entire backyard of her mansion.
They didn’t seem to care how long it takes. Since I have a bunch of other jobs going, I’m sending a few guys to help you get started, and then you’re on your own. I know I don’t need to say this, but this job is too important for me not to. No matter what, be polite to that family.”

“I won’t be rude, but I really hope I don’t have to deal with them. I heard her daughter goes to Vanderbilt with me, and I’d rather her not know a fellow student is working for her family.”

“You’re a nice, quiet guy, so I’m sure you’re not going to have any problems. Let me give you the address, and I’ll meet you there in thirty minutes. There’s a guard that will buzz you in.