If Forever Comes (30 page)

Chills flashed across my skin, his touch
igniting deep within me. No longer was it unknown. This need I knew
well. It was something only found in him, a safety and a charge of
desire.

He knotted our fingers together as we turned
to face the minister who stood in front of the simple floral
arbor.

Natalie stepped forward, kissed my cheek as
she took my bouquet. My Matron of Honor stepped back behind Lizzie.
Her smile was wide, as if she were fighting a grin, uncontained
delight rising in her as she looked at Christian and me, as we
began a new leg of the journey we’d started so many years
ago.

And with my family surrounding me, the people
who’d seen me through so much, I promised my life to
Christian.

Our vows were simple.

I will stand by you
forever.

We already knew what that meant, that there
would be difficulties we would face, that there would be sorrow.
But there would also be joy.

And I was going to live every day of those
with Christian.

The minister pronounced us husband and wife.
Christian turned to me, and for a few moments, we just stood there
looking at each other. This beautiful man who had touched me, who’d
changed me and shaped the person I had become.

His hold was gentle as he reached out and took
my face between his hands, his fingers splayed wide as he tilted my
face up to meet his penetrating gaze.

The wind gusted around us, the smell of the
ocean riding on the cool, spring breeze. Errant strands of my hair
blew all around us, whipping at our skin and stirring up our
spirits.

Blue eyes blazed as they looked down on me.
For a flash, his hold tightened, and in it, he made another
promise.

I will never let you
go.

Then his mouth descended on mine, his hands on
my face and his grip on my soul. This kiss was slow, maddening,
fire and ice, always too much and never enough. My fingers found
their way into the jacket of his tux as he bent me back. Passion
ripped through us before we tripped into this consuming joy. And
then he was grinning at my mouth, and I was laughing and crying as
I wrapped my arms around his head. He pulled me off my feet and
into his arms, spinning me around.

“I love you, Elizabeth Davison.”

I leaned back so I could see his face. “I love
you, Christian. Forever.”

Lizzie giggled, rushed to our side as
Christian set me back on my feet. He hoisted her up in his arms.
Today, she didn’t seem to complain, but just grinned as she wrapped
herself around his neck, Christian’s grip firm around my
waist.

I stood there swaying in the arms of my little
family. Cheers rose up from the small gathering, those who were
there because they loved us, because they wished the best for our
lives, as they showered us with their blessings, supported our
hopes and these undying dreams.

And I was happy. Intensely. Wholly.

Giggles rolled up my throat as I buried my
fingers in Christian’s hair. I lifted my face to the mirrored
ceiling, his mouth at my neck. He had me pressed up against the
elevator wall as it lifted and sped toward the top floor of the
hotel.

“Mmm…you smell so good.” A brush of his mouth,
a nip of his teeth.

I moaned as I tightened my hold.

A groan rumbled in his chest, and he kissed
along my collarbone.

The elevator dinged and the doors parted.
Christian’s head shot up, just as fast as the smirk shot to his
face. He grabbed my hand, hauling me behind him as he fumbled for
the keycard, as if he couldn’t make it to our room fast
enough.

He suddenly swung me around in front of him
and whisked me into his arms. I yelped before I snuggled into the
perfection of his hold, winding my arms around his neck.

He maneuvered so he could slide the keycard
into the slot, and then kicked the door open wide.

“Aren’t you supposed to carry me over the
threshold of our house, not our hotel room?” I flashed a teasing
grin up at him, my mouth curved with the force of this
love.

He angled to the side so we could fit through
the door. Amusement sparked in his eyes, glinted with his joy.
“Well, I’d be happy to do that, too. But tonight, I’m carrying my
wife through this door, and once I get her behind it, I’m going to
make love to her again and again. You don’t have a problem with
that, do you, Mrs. Davison?”

I laughed a little more, not able to
comprehend this bliss, the way I felt, a buzz of energy burning
below my skin as Christian carried me into the suite at the highest
point of Downtown San Diego.

He brought us into the expansive suite.
Candles glowed all around the living area, flickering as they
jumped and twinkled against the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the
bay. Black waters rippled and danced in the moonlight that hung low
in the darkened sky.

“Who did this?” I whispered.

“I might have had a little help from your
sisters and Natalie. That’s why they left the reception a little
early.”

I bit my lip to bite back my awe, turned my
red face into the collar of his white button-up and breathed in
this magnificent man. Hours ago, he’d rid himself of the stuffy
jacket and pulled off his tie.

I still couldn’t decide if I liked him better
in a tux or in his low-slung jeans.

His dress shoes echoed on the marble floor as
he crossed the living area into the bedroom. Here, too, candles sat
on every surface. Flames flickered and danced, casting shadows
across the large bed covered in plush, white linens, the bedding
turned down and waiting for us, and a mass of floral bouquets
filled the space.

In the background, our song played.

“I didn’t need all of this,” I whispered into
the calm of the room.

“No, but I can give it to you, so why would I
not?” His expression shifted, his jaw held taut. The playfulness
that had followed us all the way from our reception party, into the
limo, and here to our suite faded away. In its place was a distinct
intensity, his expression severe. Lines deepened on his brow. A
dense weight filled the room, and, in the short flickers of the
flames, I watched the emotion gather on his face.

Slowly he lowered me to my feet.

A thick knot formed in my throat when
Christian stepped back, his brazen gaze caressing my
body.

The hair piled high on my head was beginning
to fall apart with the play of this evening, the dancing and the
kisses and the hands that Christian couldn’t seem to keep out of
the intricate twist. Pieces hung loose, brushing down over my bare
shoulders and tumbling to the top of my strapless gown.

It was the same dress that had hung in a
garment bag in the back of my closet for many months, the one I’d
been so eager to stand before Christian in as I promised him my
life. It had to be altered, the dress originally made to
accommodate my swollen belly, but this dress had always been for
him.

I felt beautiful wearing it in front of him
now.

He trailed his fingertips down my jaw, let
them linger at the hollow of my neck. “You are the most exquisite
woman, Elizabeth. No one compares to you. Not a single
soul.”

I trembled at his touch, shook with his
words.

How was it possible he still made me feel this
way?

He took me by the shoulders and guided me to
turn. His breath washed against the back of my neck.

The fine hairs at my nape lifted, and chills
sped down my spine.

Adept fingers worked on the tiny pearl button
at the top of the gown’s zipper. Goosebumps flashed across my flesh
as Christian freed it and began to drag the zipper down, my skin
slowly exposed.

The gown pooled in a heap at my
feet.

“Beautiful,” he whispered.

I wore a white bustier that dropped low in the
back, the satin-lined bodice pressing my breasts together in the
lift, matching panties that were all satin and lace, and a pair of
white heels I’d slipped on when we left the beach.

For a moment, we just stood there, Christian’s
presence burning into me from behind.

Finally, he touched me, his palms gliding down
my hips to my thighs, before he trailed them back up, applying
pressure as he turned me around. His mouth curved in gentle
affection when he took my hand and helped me step from the mound of
fabric bunched on the floor.

Christian took a step back, let his eyes
wander as he contemplated every inch of me.

A blush blossomed across my chest and spread
all the way to my cheeks. The man had seen me at my worst and seen
me at my best, and he’d made love to me countless times. Still, his
gaze slipped over me in a slow appreciation, as if he were
undressing me for the very first time.

A strip of bare skin was exposed between the
bodice and my panties, and Christian’s attention dropped to it. He
reached out, his right thumb making a tender pass over the tattoo
that rested on the front of my left hip.

The tiny black bird had spread her wings, her
spirit free.

My Lillie.

Christian had one that matched.

We’d gone together, another step that felt as
if we were slowly healing. I’d come to realize that I was scared
that moving on meant I had to let her go. Now I knew that wasn’t
true. Even though we hadn’t been allowed to keep her here, she
would forever live in our hearts.

Our forever.

She would always hold a piece of
that.

I would always feel the loss of Lillie. Her
memory would always hurt, but I’d learned to find joy in her, in
the love that Christian and I shared for her, in the unending hope
that I realized we needed to carry on in her name.

Christian cupped my face between his hands, a
storm of intensity brewing in his eyes. “I love you, Elizabeth.
More than you will ever know. You have absolutely made me the
happiest man alive.”

I smoothed my fingertips against the sharp
angles of his jaw, let them flutter up to trace the curve of his
lips. “But I do know, Christian. Because there is no way to love
you more than I love you now. No greater joy than this.”

His hands slid down my neck and over the cap
of my shoulders. He leaned to reach behind me, ticking off the
little clasps that held together the lingerie.

A rush of cool splashed against my skin, and
my nipples pebbled as they met with the air. Christian dipped his
head, took over my mouth, his kiss strong and slow as he circled my
breasts with the pad of his thumbs.

A tiny moan slipped up my throat. Christian
devoured it as he intensified his kiss, stroked my tongue with
his.

I nipped at his bottom lip as I sought out the
button on his waistband, worked it free, rushed through the buttons
on his shirt. My palms came flat to his chest, and I pushed his
shirt free from his shoulders.

Kicking off his shoes and socks, Christian
twisted out of the shirt. I edged down his pants, taking his
underwear with them.

My eyes wandered and traced, adoring this
beautiful man that I loved with every ounce of my life.

He scooped me up and placed me in the center
of the bed, his muscles rippling as he crawled up to me. He grasped
me by the knees, slowly pressing them apart as he ran his palms up
the inside of my thighs.

A trail of fire burned in his wake and
throbbed between my legs.

He twisted his fingers in the edges of my
panties and dragged them down, leaning in to brush his lips in a
tortuous path behind them.

“Christian, please.”

The man was always making me beg.

A soft chuckle rolled from him as he moved to
hover over me, dipped down to kiss me, long and hard. He hummed,
the sound a vibration from his mouth that shot straight through me.
He let his fingers wander between my thighs, brushed his knuckles
across the sensitive skin.

I moaned.

“Look at you,” he whispered as he settled
between my legs. His erection slipped against my folds. One hand
cupped my jaw, and he tilted my chin up to him. “My
wife.”

Then he took me whole, body and soul. All of
me. Always.

Our bodies bonded, we moved slowly. My fingers
were woven in the promise of his, and he kept them nested between
our chests. We were nose-to-nose, breath-to-breath.

Christian stared down at me as he made love to
me for the first time as my husband, the man I was giving all of my
days.

Our lives had taken us in so many directions.
We’d been granted so much joy and burdened with so much sorrow.
We’d been forced down roads we didn’t want to take, blinded by the
unforeseen, taken detours that had led us to the
unexpected.

My eyes were locked on the one who waited at
the end of my every path. My destiny. The one I could never
escape.

“I love you, Christian,” I whispered, a
promise, an oath.