Holding You (39 page)

ELLIE WALKED UP
to me and smiled as she reached out for my hands. Looking down I noticed I couldn’t keep them from shaking. “Take a deep breath in, darling, and slowly blow it out,” Ellie said as she handed me a bouquet of red roses.

Doing what she said, I closed my eyes. “Why am I so nervous?”

Chuckling and dropping my hand, Ellie placed her hand on my arm and said, “Let me tell you a story.”

Opening my eyes, I focused on Ellie. “Right before I married Gunner, I had a serious panic attack. I couldn’t breathe and no one could calm me down except for him.”

Grinning, I asked, “Really?”

Nodding her head, I watched as her eyes filled with happiness as she recalled the memory. “The way you’re feeling right now, sweetheart, is so normal, but I promise you, the moment you look into those beautiful eyes of Colt’s and he smiles at you, your fear will melt away. The nerves will disappear and you will feel nothing but contentment. A sense of peacefulness will wash over your body.”

And I’ll wanted to do was jump on him and probably hump his leg. I guess we had gone too long without sex.
What in the hell was I thinking? Why did I tell him I wanted to wait? Oh my glitter.
He’s going to be in a tux. Colt in a tux. The last time he was in a tux was at Alex’s wedding and it was all I could do not to attack him and undress him on the spot.

Shit. Shit. Double shit.

Placing my thumb in my mouth I began chewing my nail like mad. Ellie reached up and pulled my hand down as she chuckled. “Lauren, you’ll be fine.”

Standing up, I nodded my head. “Right. I’m going to be perfectly fine. I just need to not look at Colt, cause if I look at him I’m going to want to have sex with him and—”

Slamming my hands over my mouth, my eyes widened in horror. My mother walked up and reached with her finger to close Ellie’s mouth that was gaped open. “I didn’t need that visual, Lauren,” Ellie whispered.

Closing my eyes, I shook my head.
Where is the closest rock?

“Well, now that we know what’s on my daughter’s mind, shall we get her married off?”

Ellie attempted to hold in her laughter but lost the battle. Soon, all three of us were laughing as my father walked into the room. Stopping dead in his tracks, his eyes traveled over my body as tears began to form. “Lauren, my God you’re beautiful.”

Kissing me on the cheek, my mother placed her hand on the side of my face. “My baby girl, getting married. I don’t believe it.”

My mother’s touch instantly warmed me. She always had a way of making me feel so loved. “Mom, I love you.”

Pursing her lips together, she nodded as her voice cracked. “I love you, too.”

Ellie walked up and adjusted my blonde curls one last time before she kissed me gently. “Lauren, I’m so excited you’re going to be my daughter-in-law. I love you, darling.”

Oh no. The tears. The tears are coming. Move this wedding along before I lose all control.

“Ellie, I . . . I . . .” Lifting her hand up to my face she shook her head.

“I know, Lauren. I know.”

My mother and Ellie both turned and left the room. Closing my eyes, I prepared myself to look at my father who I knew had tears rolling down his face.

Feeling his hand on my shoulder, I turned to him.
Yep. There they were. Tears. Keep. It. Together. Lauren. Mascara. Don’t smudge. Don’t look in his eyes.

Placing his hands on my shoulders, I felt his body shudder briefly. Peeking up, I looked into his eyes and saw a single tear roll down his face.

Oh my glitter. Blinking rapidly I tried to keep my tears at bay.

“Oh, Lauren. You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

Laughing, I rolled my eyes as I carefully wiped a tear away. “Mom would be really pissed if she heard you say that.”

Letting out a strained chuckle he nodded his head. “Your mother was breathtaking. I can close my eyes and still see how beautiful she was.”

“Daddy,” I whispered.

“I need you to know something, Lauren. Before you walk down that aisle and become Colt’s forever, I need you to know you were mine first and you’ll always be my little girl. My life is for you and your mother and no matter what you need, I will be there for you. Always.”

Throwing myself into my father’s arms, I held onto him tightly. “Daddy, I’m so happy you’re here!”

“Me too, baby. Me, too.”

My father held me for a few minutes before there was a knock on the door. “It’s that time!” came a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

Stepping away I turned to the mirror to check my makeup. My mother was of course a step a head of me. She used waterproof makeup.

Holding his arm out for me my father asked, “Shall we?”

Lacing my arm over his, I smiled. “We shall.”

STANDING NEXT TO
my father, I attempted to calm my beating heart. “Jesus, Colt. I can hear your heart from back here. Take some deep breaths in.”

Blowing out some quick breaths, my father laughed. “I said deep breath in, son. Not blow all your air out in quick bursts.”

Taking in a deep breath, I looked around. The wedding was taking place on the terrace. It was simple, with just a few decorations of white candles and red rose petals. I prayed Lauren liked it. The doors to the terrace were closed as we waited. When the music played, I felt my knees wobble.

“Breathe, Colt.”

Not realizing I had been holding my breath, I slowly dragged in a deep breath and blew it out just in time for the French doors to open. My eyes immediately fell on Lauren. She was dressed in a lace gown with her hair pulled up. Curls hung down and framed her beautiful face. There was a lightness in my chest, and my senses heightened as I watched Lauren make her way to me. The smell of her perfume engulfed me as I took a deep breath in.

As she got closer, I noticed my mother’s daisy necklace hanging around Lauren’s neck. Quickly looking at my mother, she smiled and wiped a tear away as she watched Lauren make her way to me.

Stopping in front of me, Lauren smiled the biggest, brightest smile I’d ever seen. Scott turned to me and winked as the pastor asked who was giving Lauren away.

Placing Lauren’s hand in mine, Scott said, “Her mother and I.”

Lauren turned to face me, and my eyes moved across her entire body and back to her amazing blue eyes. “You look stunning, sweetheart. Absolutely beautiful.”

A single tear rolled down Lauren’s face as I reached up and wiped it away.

The pastor began the ceremony as Lauren and I held each other’s hands. I wasn’t even sure what he was saying; I couldn’t pull my eyes from Lauren. Before I knew it, he was pronouncing us husband and wife and I was kissing my bride as our parents cheered us on.

Pulling away, I searched Lauren’s face. Her face was relaxed and she wore the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. It was her eyes that held me captive though. They were filled with nothing but love and desire. Leaning down, I placed my lips at her ear. “I’ve never in my life been as happy as I am at this very moment.”

Placing her hands on my chest, her breathing picked up as she closed her eyes. “Colt. We need to ditch our parents. Fast.”

Pulling back, I looked at her. She was totally serious. “W-what?” Jessie walked up and took Lauren in her arms as they both held onto each other. My father shook my hand, then pulled me in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Colt. So very proud.”

Smiling at my father, I said, “Thank you, Dad. Thank you for everything you and Mom did to make this happen. I don’t know how you did it all on such a short notice, but I’ll never forget it.”

Wrapping my mother up in my arms, I told her how much I loved her. Jessie waited patiently for my mother to step aside before she walked up and hugged me. “Take care of my little girl, Colt. I’m counting on you.”

Giving her a reassuring nod and smile, I said, “Yes, ma’am. Lauren will always be my number-one priority.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear you say that.”

Reaching out, I shook Scott’s hand as he pulled me in for a quick hug and a slap on the back. I wasn’t sure if he meant for the slap to be that hard, but when he pulled back and narrowed his eyes at me, I knew for sure he meant for it to be that hard. “You take care of her, or I’ll break both your arms and legs.”

“Um . . . I um . . . yes, of course I’ll take care of her, sir.” My mind was spinning as I let Scott’s casual threat sink in.

After heading to the bar and ordering champagne, to which both my father and Scott said a little toast to, we headed to the Italian restaurant Levo and ate dinner. I loved watching Lauren soak in the attention, and the glow on her face made my heart feel so happy. Taking a sip of my tea, I began to daydream about making love to her. My dick had already begun to get hard the moment we sat down and she started running her hand up and down my leg mindlessly as she talked. I needed to get her back up to our room and quickly.

An Italian cream cake was served after dinner. Each of our parents took a turn giving us a few tips on keeping our marriage a happy and healthy one. Scott was the last to speak. His words of advice caused both Lauren and I to laugh and to cry. Soon our parents got wrapped up in their own conversations as Lauren and I sat there, the heat building between us until I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Well, I think Lauren and I are going to head out and enjoy the evening . . . um . . . the evening—”

Lauren jumped in and tried to save me. “Air. We’re going to go for a gondola ride, I think, and then maybe a stroll . . . outside.”

Clearing my throat I spoke, when I probably should have just kept my mouth shut. “In the evening air. Cause the air is outside. To enjoy it you have to be . . . you know . . . outside.” Lauren turned and gave me a dumbfounded look.

My father and mother stared at me as they pressed their lips together in an attempt to not laugh. Jessie turned to Lauren and smiled while Scott glared at me with evil lurking in his eyes.

“The evening air huh?” Scott asked as he looked at Lauren, then me. “I would really hope that you wouldn’t be spending your honeymoon night with my daughter walking around the strip of Las Vegas, Colt.”

My heart went up to my throat. “No! No, sir, I fully intend on taking her up to the room and—” Lauren dug her nails into my leg as I quickly stopped talking. Standing, Lauren smiled and let out a nervous chuckle.

“Dad, Mom, Gunner, and Ellie. I can’t even begin to tell you how much it means to have y’all here. To spend this day with us was just amazing. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us. But, honestly, I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. I want to be alone with my husband, so if you’ll excuse us.”

Lauren grabbed my hand and pulled me up as I felt my face turn fifty shades of red. “Uh . . . thank you again!” I called out as Lauren walked off, dragging me along with her. “Dad, Mom, I’ll see y’all tomorrow? Scott, Jessie thank you for everything!” I called back over my shoulder. All four of them laughed as I turned back to Lauren.

“Lauren, my God. Our parents know where we’re going.”

Laughing, she turned to me. “Oh my glitter, Colt. Like they don’t know what we’re going to be doing tonight. I’ve waited patiently, and now I’m done waiting. I want my husband to make love to me.”

I want my husband to make love to me.

Yep. I’ve officially had all my dreams come true. Well . . . almost all my dreams.

COLT’S EYES BURNED
with desire as he gazed at me in the elevator. My heart had never beat so fast in my entire life.

Oh my. Wow. Just wow. I’m Colt’s wife. Mrs. Colt Hunter Mathews. His. Forever. I’m pretty sure I just pissed in my pretty new lace panties.

Glancing at the people standing in front of us, I willed the elevator to go up faster. It stopped on the third floor and a family of three got on. The little boy turned and began hitting every single floor as Colt and I both shouted out, “No!”

The little boy jumped; the mom gave me a dirty look and the father apologized to us and the other couple in the elevator.

Colt reached out and pulled me over to him and placed me in front of him. “We have a long ride up, sweetheart.”

Letting out a low whimper, I rolled my eyes and mumbled under my breath about never having kids.