Big Girls Do It Married (17 page)

"I, Anna, take you, Jeff..."
 

I repeated the words, and my voice broke on "I do." I'd held it together up till then, but at those two words, I fell apart. Jeff's thumb swept my tears away, and his palm cupped my cheeks as he repeated the same words. His voice went low and rough at the "I do," his hand around the mic, still held between us, trembling.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
 

My arms went around him, my fingers curling in the hair at the base of his neck, our lips meeting, our bodies crushing together. I lost myself in that kiss, drowned in the revelry of belonging. He was mine, and I was his.
 

Cheering erupted from the entrance to the chapel, too many voices raised and hands clapping to be just the three people in attendance. We broke the kiss and turned to look: a crowd had gathered at the doors to the chapel, drawn from the hotel by the sound of our singing, our amplified vows. We laughed together, and I wiped my eyes on the shoulder of Jeff's tuxedo coat.
 

My throat caught again as I scanned the chapel. I saw Darren, Jamie, and Jared, and there at the back, nearly hidden in the crowd of onlookers, was my mother. I looked to Jeff.

He shrugged, shaking his head. "I didn't know for sure if she'd be here. I called and invited her, but...I wasn't sure she'd come. I hope it's okay."

"I'm glad she's here." I stared up into his rich brown eyes. "Thank you for this. All of this. Thank you, so much."

He kissed me lightly. "I wanted to give you a wedding you'd remember. I know this wasn't a traditional thing, but—"

I shut him up with a kiss. "This was perfect. Absolutely perfect. It's exactly what I wanted. I can't believe you got Jared here to give me away!"

He turned with me, and we moved down the aisle toward the doors. "It was tricky, but I knew a guy who has an uncle in the Corps. You needed someone to give you away."

We made it to the end of the aisle. I felt Jamie fiddling with my train behind me, but I only had eyes for Mom. Suddenly I couldn't remember why I hadn't seen in her in so long; I knew I'd remember as soon as we tried to have a real conversation, but in that moment it didn't matter. She'd shown up for my wedding, and to the part of me that was still a little girl wanting her mother's approval, it was enough.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi, sweetheart," she said, kissing me on both cheeks, European-style. "I'd say thank you for inviting me, but you seem surprised to see me."

"Well, it's a bit of a surprise wedding. I'm glad you're here, though."

Mom laughed. "What's a surprise wedding? You didn't plan this?"

I shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I knew I was getting married, but Jeff surprised me with pretty much everything else."

"Wow. Quite a surprise, then," she said, with a wry arch of her eyebrow.

Jeff seemed to sense my discomfort with the direction the conversation was taking. "I'm glad you could make it, Laura. I know it means a lot to Anna for you to be here. We'll see you at the reception. Jamie will make sure you know where you're going."

He pulled me into a walk, and I squeezed his arm gratefully.
 

When we were out of earshot, I leaned up to whisper into his ear. "See what I mean?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, subtle digs. I can see how that would wear on a person."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, you have no idea. She was just warming up. And she's more forthright than Ed. Eventually she'll just come out and say what she's thinking. Ed won't. He'll just keep digging, keep poking." I craned my head to search the crowd. "I don't see Ed, speaking of whom."

"Guess he couldn't make it."
 

"Guess not," I said. "Fine with me. Now, where's the reception?"

"Oh, I reserved a private room downstairs. Cake, catering, that kinda stuff. Nothing fancy. Just an excuse to eat and get tipsy before we go on our honeymoon."

"Speaking of our honeymoon—"

"Nope. Still not telling." He glanced at me and grinned. "You're more than welcome to try and...convince me again, though."

I laughed. "Hmmm. Not a bad idea. Although I have something a bit more...involved in mind. And I'm not sure I can get on my knees in this dress anyway."

We were moving through the crowd of onlookers, who were enthusiastically calling out encouragement and congratulations. Apparently someone heard my comment about not being able to get on my knees, and I heard several bawdy suggestions to give it a try. Jeff and I laughed them off and made our way to the private room where the reception would be held.

It was one of the smaller conference rooms of the hotel, but something told me even a relatively small room like this wouldn't be cheap to rent out, even for an hour or two.
 

"Jeff, how'd you afford all this?" I asked.

He winked at me. "A man's gotta have his secrets, doesn't he?"

"Not from his wife, he doesn't."

He laughed. "I had a bit of money saved. I put it to good use. And that's all you'll get out of me."

"But all of this had to have cost—"

He spun me to face him. "It doesn't matter. It was worth it. You're worth it. It's just money."

"But, Jeff—"

He kissed me silent. "Honey. Let's not have this conversation now. Just relax and let me take care of you. Please?"

I relented with a sigh. "Fine. But only because you look so hot in your tux."

He ran his hands over my hips, pulled me flush against him. "You know, Jamie was right about the dress. I did almost faint when I saw you. All the blood rushed south."

I ground my hips against his, feeling the evidence of his arousal. "Wish we could sneak away somewhere and...take care of your...problem down there."

He chuckled. "I'm not sure that's physically possible in a wedding dress. All that tulle seems like it'd get in the way."

I laughed. "I don't think it's tulle, actually. But you're probably right. We'll just have to wait."

It was a long wait. The food was good, the drinks were plentiful, and the music loud. We were only half a dozen people, but we had fun. Jeff had even arranged for a small cake, two tiers, red velvet with thick buttercream frosting.
 

After a couple of hours, Jamie announced, in her brash style, that the party was over and we were leaving for the airport. I hugged Mom, said goodbye, and promised to call her when we got back. I spent the longest goodbye with Jared.

"I wish we had more time together," I said, hugging him.

He squeezed me tight, spoke into my hair. "I know. Me, too. But we'll see each other again soon. I've got a longer leave coming up over the holidays. I'll spend it with you and Jeff."

Jamie came next. "Have fun, Anna. Make sure you get up off your back at least once during the honeymoon, huh?"
 

I snorted. "Honey, real women do it on top. You should know that."

"Well, then, at least let him up every once in a while. Go swimming or something."

"Yeah, I'll give him breaks to eat. But not many."

She shook her head. "You're making me horny. Go. Get out of here."

I pinned her with a glare. "Remember your vow. Make it worth it."

"Don't remind me," she said. I lifted an eyebrow. "I will. I
will
. I promise. Quit worrying about me. You have a plane to catch, Anna. Get going."

Jeff had a limo waiting for us. We changed in our hotel room, leaving my dress and Jeff's tux for Jamie and Darren to take care of. We climbed into the limo and were soon speeding out of downtown Las Vegas for the airport.

Once we were underway, Jeff turned on some music, locked the privacy window, and then turned to me. "You were saying about later?"

The heat in his gaze sent quivers of desire fluttering through me. He'd put on a tight T-shirt, and his muscles strained against the thin cotton as he reached for me. We were sitting on opposite benches of the limo, our knees brushing. I felt an electric tingle shoot through me where his leg nudged mine, his touch as thrilling now as the first time I'd made love to him, in his shower at his house.
 

I had a flash of that encounter, his tanned skin and broad muscles sluicing with hot water, steam wreathing around him, his eyes wary and full of desire. He reached for me now as he had then, with gentle and implacable strength. He pulled me to sit on his lap, but I moved out of his reach, kneeling in front of him on the floor.

I'd changed into a calf-length skirt and T-shirt. I lifted my skirt slowly up past my thighs, swaying to the music. Inch by inch I showed Jeff—
my husband
, I thought, tasting the phrase—my bare thighs, my bare hips, my bare pussy. I stretched back in the seat, spreading my thighs as Jeff crawled across the limo to kneel between my legs. He ran his fingers up my calves to my thighs, parted my folds to press his mouth my cleft. He lifted my legs onto his shoulders, and I pulled him closer to me, tangling my fingers in his hair.
 

His tongue speared into me, and I let him lap at me a moment or two and then pulled him up to kiss him, fumbling with his belt, button, and zipper. He sprang free, and I pushed him to a sitting position and sat astride him. I lifted myself up and poised there, one hand braced on the roof, the other grasping Jeff's thick shaft.
 

I pushed his tip into my folds, nudged my clit with the broad head, and moved him in circles against my stiffened nub, eliciting small gasps from me. Jeff slid his palms up my belly and my sides, pulled the cups of my bra down to free my breasts. His fingers pinched my nipples, rolled them, and then his soft lips found my skin, and he kissed his way over the mounded flesh to graze his teeth over my nipples. My thighs trembled with the effort of holding myself up at an awkward angle, and with desire. I moved his cock in quickening circles around my clit until my knees were buckling with the rhythm, and when I could bear it no longer, I sank down on him, impaling him deep inside me. We gasped in tandem, a Muse song drowning our voices.

I felt the limo slow and move through a series of turns, telling me we were moving through the airport.
 

"I think we're almost there," I said, rising and sinking on his shaft slowly.

"Not yet," Jeff said. "I'm not there yet."

I giggled. "No, I meant at the airport."

"Oh." Jeff pulled my head down for a kiss. "Well, that's awkward. I'm not done with you yet."

I leaned onto him, my arms around his neck, looking down into his molten chocolate eyes. He thrust up into me, slow, deliberate strokes. He reached over with one hand and hit the intercom. "Give us a few minutes before you drop us off, please, driver."

"Yes, sir."
 

I thought I detected a faint trace of amusement in the driver's voice, but then Jeff's pistoning hips took on an increased urgency, and I lost all capacity for thought. I pressed my face into his neck and rolled my hips, keeping my weight on my shins to allow Jeff room to move. His hands slid down my hips to cup my ass and lift me up, then let me lower down onto him, driving him deep.
 

Climax washed through me, slow, powerful waves sweeping me away. I heard my voice whispering Jeff's name into the sweat-salted skin of his neck. His teeth nipped my earlobe, his hands on my ass moving me faster and faster now, and the rolling wave of orgasm crashed over me, so intense I could only cling limp to Jeff as he pushed, pushed, pushed into me, gritting his teeth to keep from roaring aloud as he came with a series of savagely powerful thrusts.

We shuddered together through the aftershocks, and then Jeff rolled in place to set me down and pulled out of me. He rummaged in a console, found a box of Kleenex, and used them to clean us both.

"You can drop us off, driver," Jeff said into the intercom.

"Very good, sir."

I pulled my skirt down and smoothed the wrinkles out, then stuffed my breasts back into my bra.
 

"You may want to, ah, fix your hair," Jeff said.

I rummaged through my purse and found a compact. "Oh, god. I have just-fucked hair." I pushed and pulled at the loose curls for a few seconds, then gave it up as a lost cause and pulled it back into a ponytail.
 

"Hey," Jeff said, "I happen to like the just-fucked look on you."

"Yeah, I bet you do," I said, grinning at him. "You give it to me often enough."

"I don't hear you complaining."

"Hell, no," I said. "You can give me just-fucked hair whenever you want."

"I'll hold you to that," Jeff said, pinching my ass as I moved toward the door.
 

The driver opened the door and we slid out, our bags waiting for us on the sidewalk. Jeff tipped the driver, and we moved through the crowd, Jeff in front, leading me by the hand. We checked our suitcases, and Jeff pulled me through the bustling airport to international departures, and from there to a gate buzzing with waiting travelers.
 

"Wait a second," I said, after scanning the departures screen. "You said we were going to an island. This says Paris."

Jeff smirked. "Surprise?"
 

I smacked his arm. "You lied to me!"

He laughed. "I didn't lie. It was...deliberate misinformation." He leaned close and whispered in my ear. "Besides, you had my cock in your mouth. I told you what you wanted to hear so you'd keep doing it."

"You're a sneaky bastard," I said.
 

"Yeah, well, you didn't think I'd actually tell you what I was planning, did you?"

I frowned. "Yeah, I kind of did."

He kissed me, laughing still. "Well, obviously it didn't work. You can try again later, though. Maybe I'll give up some of my other surprises, if you're...persuasive enough."

My arms slid around his waist. "Other surprises?"

"Yep. You never know what I might have planned."

"We're going to Paris. What else could you possibly have planned?"

He shrugged. "Like I said. You never know. You'll just have to wait and find out. Or you can try and...coerce it out of me."

I snorted. "You're really pleased with yourself about that, aren't you?"