Forgiven (30 page)

“The Wentworth Mansion.”

I open my eyes wide. “I have always wanted to stay there. It’s gorgeous. Did you know Reese Witherspoon stayed there on her honeymoon night with Ryan Phillipe?”

He chuckles. “I didn’t know that, but I’m impressed you do.”

“Well, you know.” I shrug. “I love Hollywood gossip.”

He kisses my forehead. “We’re here.” He gets out of the carriage and takes my hand to help me down. “How much does that dress weigh?” he asks.

I laugh. That was kind of random. “A ton.”

When I’m beside him, he whispers into my ear, “Well, then I’m about to take a load off of you.”

My heart starts to race, and my entire body feels like it’s in a sauna. “I look forward to that.”

He pulls my hand and walks us up the pathway. Then with each step, he patiently waits as I grasp all the layers of my dress and slowly make my way up to the entrance. The foyer of this mansion is exquisite. The details in the wood work is impeccable. I gasp. “This...this place is amazing. It’s beautiful.”

“It’s perfect.” He leads me to the elevator. “Now the elevator is tiny. That dress is going to nearly take up the entire thing.” He chuckles looking me up and down.

“Hmm, should we take the stairs?” I point to the spiral staircase. I don’t know why I even recommended that. It would take me all night to make it up those stairs. I shake my head as Bradley bursts out laughing. “No, babe. We’ll fit.”

The elevator dings, and the door opens to the small entrance. We squeeze in, and Bradley presses the button for the third floor. He pushes me up against the wall, and the fabric of the dress makes crackling noises from all the movement. He puts my face between his palms and brings me into a kiss that takes my breath away. He’s kissed me so many times, but today every kiss has been different. It’s like we’ve just met, and this electricity between us is festering waiting to explode into a grand finale of a fireworks show.

“Mmm. More, please,” I beg when he pulls away.

“Patience.”

We step off of the elevator. Bradley pulls the gold key from his pocket. “Wow. A real key. That’s rare these days in hotels.”

“This isn’t a hotel.” He grins.

“Yeah, you’re right. Definitely not a hotel.”

He removes it from the door and slips it back into his pocket. As the door opens, it takes my breath away. The lighting is all from candlelight around the room, and there is a fire crackling in the fireplace in front of the king sized bed. There’s a bath drawn in an oversized whirlpool tub with bubbles along with rose petals that match the flowers from the wedding. Romantic music is playing just subtly in the background. The bed has been turned down, and there are chocolate covered strawberries and the same champagne he always gets for us on the bed.

There are flowers everywhere. And I thought he went all out at The Carriage House Inn for our proposal night. That was nothing compared to this. This...this is incredible. I realize I’ve not said a word, and I’m still standing there, probably looking quite awe-struck. I glance up to Bradley who is watching me amused. “You like it?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

He shakes his head. “No. Your face is everything and then some of what I had hoped it’d be when you saw it.”

“It’s...there are no words. Thank you.”

He leans down and kisses me before sweeping me off of my feet. “You’re going to get lost in all the crinoline,” I giggle as I wrap my arms around his neck.

“No. I know exactly where I’m going and what I’m doing.”

He carries me over the threshold and gently places me down on the other side. He wraps his arm around me and starts to sway with the music. “How do I get you out of this dress?”

“Carefully,” I whisper.

He twirls me around. “I had this vision of what you’d look like today.”

“You did?”

“I did. And in my vision, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.”

He starts to kiss the exposed skin on my back, which sends shivers down my spine. “Oh.”

“And if you can believe it.” He nibbles my ear. “You’re even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.” He traces down my back. “This dress...as fabulous as it is...just weighs too much.”

“Ha. It does weigh a lot. Do you see the zipper?”

“Nope.” He kisses my shoulder. This teasing is already killing me.

“That’s because it’s on the side,” I say as I turn my head over my shoulder.

“Ah. Tricky.” He turns me a quarter and pulls my left hand to his lips. He takes my pointer finger and right before he places it in his mouth he says, “Mind.” He sucks it and I can barely breathe. There are sharp, shooting pings making waves through my body. He removes it and takes my middle finger. He mirrors what he’s just done, except this time he never takes his eyes off of mine as he huskily whispers, “Body.” My knees are becoming more and more weak because he’s making me languid. When he gets to my ring finger, he kisses my ring instead of sucking. “Soul.” He moves my arm above my head and plants kisses going from my hand down. “Forever.”

I throw my head back and enjoy the bliss he’s creating. When he gets to my shoulder, he finds the zipper to the dress, and he deliberately moves it at a snail’s pace. As he does, I hear the whistle of his inhale. Below my dress is a white strapless, lace corset. I roll my eyes into the back of my head as I enjoy the weight and the tightness of the dress being relieved.

When the dress is finally undone, he lets go, and it pools at my feet, but comes all the way up to my knees because of all of the fluff. He backs up and looks me up and down. He’s never seen me in lingerie like this. It’s all white lace. The hose have lace at the top where the garter belt clips onto them. These heels have nearly been the death of me, but I know when I step out and he can see all of me, it will all be worth it.

“You look mighty sexy like that.” He takes my hand and helps me step out of the dress. He moves my hand above my head and twirls me. “You look...sensational, Mrs. Banks.” I laugh because finding words right now is difficult. Not just because my mind is fuzzy, but because my mouth is so dry from this anticipation. “You know what else?”

“What?” I whisper.

“I need to drink you in right now because as fantastic as you look in this...” He runs his hands up and down my bodice. “This has to go, like now.”

I take a deep breath because his words, each and every one of them, are nearly my undoing. “Do what you need to do, then.”

“Oh I fully intend to do just that.” He reaches around my back and starts to undo the hooks. When he’s done, he lets it fall to the floor.

“Aren’t you wearing too many clothes?” I ask as I push his jacket off of his broad shoulders.

“Why, I think I am.”

He undoes the buttons of his tux and I lean back on the bed propped up on my elbows, waiting and watching. “I love watching you undress.”

“Do you?”

“Mhmm.”

When he’s completely naked, he moves the strawberries to the side and puts the champagne on the nightstand. “Well, I like undressing you.” He haltingly pulls my panties down, taking the stockings and garter belt with him. When he reaches my heels, he gently takes them off. “These really are impressive. I didn’t picture you in such stilletos.”

“The girls all talked me into it. Said you’d think they were sexy,” I breathe.

“Oh, and I do. One day, I’ll make love to you while you’re wearing them...only them.” He drops everything to the floor. “But not tonight. Not our first time.”

“Okay.” I don’t know why I feel so shy. It’s not like he’s never seen me before. Maybe it’s nerves. I’m not exactly sure what to do.

He pushes me back so I’m lying flat and then starts to plant soft kisses on my ear lobes, then my neck, and then he moves to my chest. He swirls his tongue around my navel and then farther down. “Mmm. Like cake,” he breathes onto my skin. He flicks his tongue around my opening. “On my wedding day.”

I arch my back as a moan escapes. With each swirl and flick he arouses me. I am so captivated by him that I can’t focus on anything else. I feel every movement, every touch, all the way to my very core. I’m climbing closer and closer to my release. I run my fingers through his hair. Finally I can’t hold it in any longer. Shock waves pulse through my body. “Oh Bradley,” I whimper. He firmly grips my hips until I have come down from my high and kisses his way back up my belly.

He caresses my face. “You ready for this?”

“I’m more than ready.” I wrap my arms around his neck and rub my nose against his.

“I’ll go slow. It’s probably going to hurt a little, okay.”

I nod.

He holds my hand beside my hand as he slowly enters. Then he stops when I suck in because he’s right, it does hurt. “You okay?”

“Uh huh.”

He creeps in a little more. “Still okay?”

“Keep going, please.”

“You don’t have to say that twice.”

He gently thrusts in and out. I watch his face as he clenches his eyes closed. “Gabby,” he murmurs. I savor this moment. This moment that I’ve waited on for so long. This man that I love so much is my husband, and he’s making love to me. Tears well up in my eyes as I am overcome with emotion.

When he looks at me again, he stops immediately, “No,” he says.

I shake my head. “Keep going.”

“You’re crying.”

“I’m crying because I love you so much, and I’m thankful for you...for this.”

He crushes his lips into mine and starts to move again. Our foreheads are touching, and he whispers, “I love you.” as he stops. I can tell that he’s trying to keep his eyes open, but he’s squinting. “Gabby. You feel so good. Are you okay?”

I cup his face in my hands and begin to kiss him. “Yes,” I breathe between kisses. I am okay, but this does hurt a little more than I expected. It’s hard to relax. I just want to squeeze my legs closed.

He caresses my hair and then takes one of my hands into his and rests it on the bed. He slowly starts to move again, but it’s not long before he groans, and then stills. “I will never get used to this. I will never get enough of you.”

I have a feeling that he could sense that I wasn’t all that comfortable. He deliberately pulls out of me and collapses onto the bed beside me and lifts his arm. “Come here,” breathlessly whispers. I roll over into his side. “How do you feel?”

“Sore.”

He lifts my chin and plants sweet kisses on my sensitive lips. “Let’s go enjoy that bath over there. It’ll make you feel better.”

He gets up and scoops me into his arms, which is nice because all I could think of was how there was no way I could stand on these legs right now. He gently places me into the water that is quietly moving in the whirlpool. I was worried it would be cold, but it’s not. It’s perfect. I move to the side thinking that he’s about to climb in, but he doesn’t. He walks over to the champagne and pours two glasses. He places the flutes on top of the tray of strawberries and walks them over to the tub. He puts them on the ledge by the bathtub and puts one foot over and then the other, sinking his body into the water. Then he pulls me between his legs. His front to my back.

He takes a glass and hands it to me. “For you.”

“Thanks,” I say as I take the glass from him, bringing it to my lips to take a sip. “So delicious.”

He picks up a strawberry. “Try it with this.” I open my mouth and he puts it in as I bite. I cover my mouth as I speak. “Mmm. So good. I don’t think I realized how hungry I am.”

“I knew you’d be hungry. I have no problems feeding you all night.”

“Really? Is that so?”

“Absolutely.”

“Because I thought you’d want to be doing other things all night.”

He throws his head back laughing. “I have a full week to do that. I don’t want you to be so sore tomorrow you have trouble walking through the airport.”

“Yeah, where are you taking me anyway?”

“Surprise. My lips are sealed.”

I lean in and kiss those lips. “You and your surprises.”

“It’ll be worth it, Gabby Girl. Just you wait and see.”

He turns my body around as he picks up the loofa and pours body wash onto it. The smell is heavenly. “What kind of body wash is that?” I ask.

“Um.” He turns the bottle over. “It’s Bath and Body Works, Jasmine Vanilla.”

“Oh,” I mutter as I inhale. We need to get some of that when we get home. “So no hints on where you’re taking me?” I glance back over my shoulder because I just want to see his beautiful face.

“Hmm.” He puts his fingers on his chin like he’s thinking. I wonder if he knows what that does to me when he does that. “Nope. No hints.”

I pout and cross my arms. “No fair.”

He starts to rub by back and it’s so relaxing that I nearly forget my name. His lips graze my ear. “I want to see your face when you find out where we’re going. You’ll know soon enough. In the meantime, enjoy this.”

I decide I should probably turn my cell phone on and let my family know where we are now that the secret of the honeymoon destination is out of the bag. When I do, there’s a text from Sam. I open it. It’s me standing on the round step in front of a bunch of mirrors. I’m wearing my wedding dress, and my eyes are filled with tears.