The Anniversary Gift (Re-Connections) (11 page)

Inside of the room, soothing music fills my ears, the scent of vanilla fills my nostrils and those senses are heightened by my inability to see.

Is Rebecca here?
Is she not? I can’t tell, and my husband isn’t ready to let me in on the secret.

I feel him take the night bag off of my shoulder and hear it being laid to the side.
Then he’s back in front of me, and his hands trail up my arms, over my shoulders, up my neck and into my hair.

I sense his head lowering
as his hand moves up to my chin to lift my face. “You look beautiful,” he says as he kisses me. His hands move into my hair, removing the pins I so recently inserted.

His lips meet mine, in the
most tender of kisses. “I love you,” he murmurs as his mouth moves against mine.

“I love you too, so much,” I breathe, allowing my own hands to creep up his back.

He moves away from me but is quickly back. I feel cool glass meet my lips. “Drink,” he says.

I do as I’m told
, and he tips the sweet, sweet wine into my waiting mouth. He kisses me again, savoring my wine-sweetened mouth. “Drink,” he commands again. I do, swallowing the beautiful flavor and allowing the alcohol to calm me.

“
Ethan,” I begin but he hushes me, with one finger he covers my lips.

“
Ssshhh,” he commands me again, as his whisper lowers and caresses my ear.

I’m at his mercy…totally and completely and I glory at how much trust I have in him.
I remember his desperate plea to “trust me” in our bathroom not two weeks ago. I was hesitant to do so then, I freely do so now.

“I want you,” he whispers.
“All of you, every inch of you. I crave you, I’m consumed by you, I need and desperately want and desire you.”

I sway toward him, leaning into his strong chest.

“I’m yours,” I say as my arms snake around his waist. We stand there holding each other forever. Gently, he begins to sway. Lifting my hands from his waist, he begins to dance with me, as my favorite song,
Possession
, starts to play.

As the music fills me, as the sway of our bodies together soothes me, I whisper sing the words along with Sarah.
“My body aches to breathe your breath. Your words keep me alive. And I will be the one to hold you down, kiss you so hard, I’ll take your breath away.”
His head lowers to kiss me and I hum into his mouth, “
Just close your eyes, dear
.”

With that, he glides his hands up my face and pulls the mask up and over my eyes.
Blinking as the soft glow of the lighting intrudes upon the darkness, I gaze up and into his face. He lowers his head to kiss me again, deepening the kiss, making love to my mouth with his tongue.

When he lifts his head, he crushes me to him, arms tight around me
, holding me close. I realize we are alone. Totally and completely alone in the room.

He steps back from me and lowers
himself to one knee. My breath halts, and he reaches into the pocket of his jacket.

“Kate
.” His eyes fill with tears. “You are the only person I ever want, the only person I ever need, the only person to have captured my heart, my mind and my spirit so completely. Marry me again. Please.”

I drop to my knees, sobbing
, as giant tears leak through my lashes.  I can only find the ability to nod my head a happy yes.

He crushes me against him once more, kissing me with a desperation that leaves me breathless.

“I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with only you,” he says as he slips the ring…a beautiful match to my bridal set…on my finger.
“I want to grow old with you, be that elderly couple at the restaurant holding hands. I promise to love and honor you, I promise to excite and cherish you for all the days of my life.”

“Oh
, Ethan, yes…just yes,” I say, my throat barely allowing the words to come out of me. “I promise to love you, cherish you and stay away from my damn comfort zone for all the days of our lives.” I laugh, and he grins a wide gorgeous smile with me.

I lift my hand up to caress his beautiful face
. “Wait a second.” I crawl over to my bag. I unzip it and pull out my gift to him, then move back over to his waiting arms.

“Happy anniversary,” I say as I hand him the
small box. He unwraps it slowly, glancing up at me as the Tag Heuer logo is revealed. He opens the lid and his gasp of surprise lets me know that he really loves it.

I take
the watch, his very own timepiece, out of the box for him, turning it over to let him see the engraving on the back.

Anytime.
Anywhere. Always.

I place it on his wrist, bringing his hand up to my lips
. “I promise to love you, and crave you, and be tender to you from this day forth. I promise to be understanding and accepting and to focus on all the good inside of you. I promise, promise with everything inside of me, to look at you with the same eyes I’m looking at you now.”

I lean into his kiss, a sweet joining
of our breath, knowing that we will make it, that what I thought was impossible is possible, that with this anniversary gift, we’ve crossed over to a place of pure joy and romance and peace.

“I’ll be on time
.” He laughs.

“
Liar.” I grin.

As we stand in the garden, surrounded by a circle of our friends and family, I face the man I love and repeat the vows of long ago.

“I, Katherine
Dawn, take you, Ethan Dwayne, as my beloved husband once again…”

As the ceremony continu
es, those around us are humming the words of Sade’s
By Your Side
, and hundreds of candles glow to illuminate us all within the darkness of the night.

The family I love, and the friends I hold so dear…Amy, Renee, Melanie, Lila…so many more who have blessed my life.
Rebecca is here too.

“I now pronounce you…
re
-pronounce you…husband and wife. Ethan, you may kiss your beautiful bride.”

A single tear slips down my cheek as he moves his hands up to the sides of my face.
Leaning down, he whispers, “I love you,” before touching his lips to mine.

The ci
rcle of people I love part to allow us through. As we exit the sphere of friendship, I grab Amy’s hand, pulling her behind me. She grabs Chuck, who grabs Renee and there begins a linked chain behind us, joined by hands and deep affection. As we near the silk tents, where dinner will be served, holding onto the man I love with one hand and the friends and family I adore with the other, I wonder if it is possible to burst with happiness, to be consumed with love.

As dinner leads to dancing, I’m moving in the arms of my husband, leaning my head against his chest as we slowly circle the floor.
We don’t say a word. Words aren’t necessary. His happiness is as great as mine.

When it is time to go, I turn to my friends and hug and hold each one in turn.
When I reach Melanie, she whispers, “We need to talk.”

I hold her back, arm
’s length, to look at her closely. “When you get back, I need your advice.”

“I promise,” I say to her, pulling her into my arms again for a comforting hug.
She’s smiling as I release her and turn to Ethan, and refocus my thoughts on him.

Aboard our plane to St. Thomas, our refuge for an entire ten days,
Ethan holds my hand and whispers, “Sex on the beach.”

My
back arches involuntarily, and I allow a low groan to escape my lips. “Yes,”
I say.

From The Author

Thank you so much for
joining me on this journey.  I hope you were able to escape for a brief while into the world of Kate and Ethan … I invite you back anytime.

I’d love and appreciate hearing from you about your experience with
The Anniversary Gift.  Would you please take a few minutes to let me know your thoughts by providing a quick review at the link below? 

http://elledawson.com/Reviews

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in touch to learn of new releases and other exciting news at:

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or

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Much l
ove,

Elle