House of Payne: Steele (36 page)

Essie should have put her foot down at the very beginning. It would have stopped the madness. Now it was far too late to even think about eloping.

But it sure was nice to fantasize about.

The one subject her mother couldn’t touch was Essie’s wedding gown. Essie had never been a fan of all-white, so while the dress’s base layer was white—a form-fitting, hourglass halter dress with a flaring mermaid hemline—she had overlaid the material with shimmering champagne organza. The bodice and hemline were heavily decorated with crystal-studded appliqués, giving it an almost evening gown appearance. It was stunning, and even her mother couldn’t complain about it too much, despite her continued attempts to push the more traditional poofy white wedding dress down her throat.

Considering that she and Steele had two thriving six-month old babies on their hands,
traditional
wasn’t exactly a thing with them.

“Welp, it’s a sign of the apocalypse.” Carla swung into the Bridal Suite, a lovely, over-the-top girlie room that had everything a bride could possibly need, including slipper chairs, overstuffed chaise lounges, arrangements of roses everywhere, a crystal chandelier overhead and a well-lit vanity where Essie sat, as well as a three-way mirror in the corner. “My parents are here and they’re actually being civil to one another. Any bets on how long that’ll last?”

“Even your parents are here?” Essie tried not to gape. The makeup artist was brushing deep red tint onto her lips, and she didn’t relish looking like The Joker. “Holy crap, I’m beginning to think my mother invited every human I’ve ever met to this thing.”

“Considering that we’re reaching maximum capacity out there, I’d have to say that’s not an unreasonable statement.” Dressed in a slinky gold halter dress with an organza bolero jacket that Essie had made for her Matron of Honor, Carla came to lean on the vanity. “Damn girlie, you look hot. Steele’s going to jump your bones the moment he sees you.”

Her nervous stomach jittered at the thought. She just hoped her man had the patience to put up with this insanity. “Have you seen him? Is he okay?”

“I caught a glimpse of him upstairs with his crew. And what a crew. Have you noticed that they all look like James Bond wannabes?”

“Depends. What do you mean by James Bond wannabes?”

“Like they’re up for fucking you, fighting you or assassinating you, depending on the mission parameters, and all without blinking an eye.”

“Then yes. I have noticed that they all look like James Bond wannabes.” Except that the people employed at PSI weren’t “wannabes,” and never would be. They were as delicious and dangerous and volatile as Carla sensed, but that didn’t bother Essie in the least. When it came to her and the twins, her man was the gentlest, most loving soul on earth.

Life had changed with the arrival of Victoria Helene and Maddox Ryan. That was to be expected, of course, but what Essie hadn’t expected was the change in Steele. He was still as plainspoken and hard-edged as ever, but once he was home with his little family, his softer side came out in a big way. Almost from the moment he was through the door, he had either Victoria or Maddox in his arms, sometimes both. And without fail, he sought Essie out to get his welcome-home kiss, a fact that made her heart skip with joy.

Overnight, Steele had turned into a family man, and seemed not just happy with the change, but downright content. That edgy restlessness that she’d always sensed prowling inside him seemed to have vanished, and in its place was a peace that had settled over him as he held her and their children close.

She hadn’t thought it was possible to love Steele more than she already did. But when she realized how happy he was with the life they were building together, there were times she thought her heart might actually burst.

With a sigh, Carla glanced at her watch. “We’d better get you into your dress, since the ceremony’s scheduled to start in about fifteen minutes. Can you imagine your mother if you were late for your own wedding?”

Essie opened her mouth to respond when the door flew open and suddenly Lynette was there, decked out in a dress that she’d had Essie make with that same shimmery champagne organza over a darker bronze sheath. She looked beautiful, but before Essie could tell her so, her mother took one look at her, pressed her hands to her cheeks and gasped. “You’re not dressed yet? Why aren’t you dressed yet? It would be a disaster if you were late, you need to get dressed!”

“See what I mean?” Grinning, Carla handed the stylist a bottle of hairspray from off the vanity. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Since Essie already had on the corset, undies and stockings under her robe, getting dressed was simply a matter of getting the dress on. The rest of the time was her mother fussing over every non-wrinkle and straight seam, until finally she handed Essie her bouquet of flame-colored calla lilies, creamy roses and crimson chrysanthemums—a lovely fall bouquet for an October wedding.

“There we are.” Her mother took a step back to take her in, and as Essie watched, her mother’s dark eyes shimmered with a slow buildup of tears. “You’re breathtaking, my girl.”

Her smile wobbled. “Thanks, Mom.”

“This is a dream come true for me, you know. I’ll never forget the first moment I laid eyes on you, this tiny little girl so precious and perfect—my daughter. When they placed you in my arms, I thought to myself that at that very moment, there was probably already a little boy somewhere out there in this great big world, destined to be your prince. I’m so happy you found him and made my dream come true. But even more than that, I’m happy you’ve risen above every trial that’s challenged you, and you’ve made your own dreams come true.” A stifled sob broke her last word in two, and she put hand to her mouth to put the brakes on what appeared to be a threatening flood. “I couldn’t be prouder of you, sweetheart.”

“Mom.” Her own eyes prickled, and she wrapped her arms around her mother to squeeze her tight. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now don’t cry, you’ll ruin your makeup.”

Angel poked her head in. “They’re playing the prelude. Time for you to get ready for your last walk with your dad as his little girl, Essie, and time for us to get our butts out there, Carla.”

After that it was flurry of motion. Her mother kissed her on the cheek before heading out, even as the wedding planner got Carla, Angel and Kara in place as Matron of Honor and bridesmaids, then shepherded Essie to take her father’s arm. The ladies went out on cue, and for a moment it was just Essie and her father. He reached for the hand she’d settled in the crook of his arm.

“You happy, honey?” he asked as the first strains of the Wedding March played.

She smiled brilliantly at him. “I don’t think I could be any happier, Dad.”

“Let’s find out.” Keeping his hand over hers, he led her to the top of the aisle. To the left at the front with her mother, the sight of the side-by-side stroller holding Victoria and Maddox made her heart take flight. Thankfully both her beautiful, dark-haired babies were asleep, and after the twins had fussed over being dressed in a teeny tuxedo and a pint-sized organza gown, she supposed she couldn’t blame them. Despite the fact that she couldn’t seem to stop from making all sorts of adorable little outfits for them, the twins weren’t huge fans when it came to clothes.

Hopefully that would change with time.

Then her attention drifted to the twins’ father standing at the front waiting for her. In a heartbeat the rows of chairs, people standing to watch her entrance, the petal-strewn aisle and the familiar march playing over the sound system disappeared.

All she saw was Steele.

He stood with Luke, Twist and Nick by his side, wearing a tailor-made suit of charcoal black, along with a black silk vest and a gold silk tie. His cufflinks were her gift to him, just as the diamond earrings and matching pendant at her throat were his gift to her.

But his real gift was the expression on his face as he watched her approach. She’d had just enough time to glance at herself after her dress was zipped up, so she knew she was as presentable as she could manage. But the way Steele looked at her, as though she was the most extraordinary woman he had ever seen, made the joy already bubbling inside her boil over until she could hardly contain it. This man, this outrageously sexy, charismatic man was hers because that was what he wanted. She was his choice. That thought always astounded her, but never more so than now.

How did she ever get to be so lucky?

Because Steele wasn’t big on preachers—with a crazy-ass, snake-handling, fire-and-brimstone father like his, who could blame him?—they had arranged for a judge to perform the ceremony, a round, middle-aged woman by the name of Louise Milton. After inviting the guests to be seated and offering a word on the sanctity of marriage, Judge Milton then gave them a chance to say their own vows. Essie smiled into Steele’s pale eyes and spoke aloud the words she’d memorized just for this moment.

“I’m proud to take you as my husband, my professor, my partner and my best friend. You saw that I was stuck in my cocoon and helped me find a way out. You gave me the courage to be in the world, and you showed me how to be strong. Thank you for being my off-ramp. I promise you today that I’ll do my best to be all of that for you and our children, for the rest of our days.”

“Sweetness.” Before she knew what to expect, his hand caught her around the neck and pulled her close as he pressed his lips to her brow. “Baby.”

“No kissing yet,” Judge Milton chirruped, causing a ripple of laughter to roll across the room. “But we are halfway there. Now, for the groom’s vows.”

To her surprise, Steele didn’t let her go, instead lowering his head and narrowing her world down to just the two of them. “I was going to offer up some shit about promises and whatever. I swear I’ll keep those promises, but right now I need to say something else. You say I brought you out of your cocoon, but what you did for me was an even greater miracle. You brought me back to life, Essie. Before you, I was dead inside. In fact, I was so far gone that I actually
liked
being dead and not feeling anything. Then you came into my world and made me feel. Made me
want
to feel. You brought light into my world, because you brought me hope. I’m now that guy that everyone hates when I go into work because I’m in such a good mood. How can I not be? I get to wake up next to you every morning. I get to listen to our kids wake up in the next room and fill the world with the sound of life. I get to feel again. And it’s all because you saved me, when I didn’t know I needed saving. For that alone I would love you forever, but with all the beauty and joy and hope you give to me as easily as breathing, I’ve learned that a man can love his woman all the way to his soul and back. I love you, Sweetness, and not even this lifetime together is going to be long enough for me.”

The sweetest, most beautiful anguish of love stormed inside her so hard it clenched her heart and tightened her throat. Not caring that they hadn’t yet exchanged rings or concluded the ceremony, she arched up to touch her lips to his. “I love you too, Professor.”

Note From The Author

Hi again! I hope you enjoyed reading Essie and Steele’s story!

For those of you who’ve read TWIST, you may have noticed a teeny little overlap. Specifically, TWIST’s epilogue had a cameo appearance in STEELE’s book, and it was a cameo that I put together during the writing of TWIST. A couple of you sharp-eyed readers spotted Essie in that epilogue, and wondered at the time why she was there. Hopefully, that’s now been made clear. Essie was there because I needed her to see Angel’s baby revelation. Witnessing this moment kick-started her own realization that, as she put it, lightning had struck. Hope that makes sense.

Now, as for the next House of Payne book… it’s going to be a while, probably the spring of 2017. Why is that? Well, next on my agenda is the long-awaited two-part story belonging to a slightly insane character that showed up in RUDE. That’s right, you guessed it—it’s finally time to put a spotlight on Marco Polo Scorpeone, a.k.a. Scorpio, the most deadly
torpedo
, or contract killer, in the Vitaliev
Bratva
. YEAR OF THE SCORPIO, Part 1 will be out by the beginning of September (if I can keep everyone in my family healthy, myself included).

Fair warning: YEAR OF THE SCORPIO is going to be a departure from anything I’ve ever written. For one thing, it’s going to be in first-person. For another, there’s going to be violence, and blood, and probably more trigger warnings. There’s also going to be lots and lots of yummy, modern-day fairy tale obsessive-Alpha love, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into that. I’m going to put Polo through soooo much… But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I LOVE hearing from readers, just as much as I love interacting with them. Please feel free to drop me a line at
[email protected]
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Look for Year Of The Scorpio: Part 1 later in 2016!

There’s more lust, lies and love to be had in the House that Payne built. Look for Max’s and Talon’s stories in 2017:

House Of Payne: Max

House Of Payne: Talon