I sucked in a breath. Everything he said made my heart pound, made it feel like it might explode. A baby? It should have freaked me out. I was too young. I was recovering from shooting my parents’ killer in front of my old man and his brothers, but yet, the thought calmed me. Made me smile on the inside. No, beam on the inside.
I had it. Family. Forever.
“Breathe,” I whispered to my reflection.
I sucked in a huge breath, trying to use the air as an instrument to quell the butterflies fluttering in my stomach.
“You can do this,” I told my reflection again. My reflection, that didn’t even look like me. Well, I guess it did. My pixie cut had grown out a bit but I had kept it short and choppy. Most of the time it was artfully mussed in the ‘I just got out of bed look,’ mostly because I didn’t do it when I got out of bed. Lately, my thoughts were not of taming my hair, I was mostly skipping around the house in a post orgasmic glow—Hansen, a firm believer in morning sex and it was safe to say I was a convert.
But now, my usually messed hair was curled into soft curls while a daisy crown graced my head, in my true flower child style. My makeup was subtle though I was wearing false eyelashes because a girl always needed a hint of glam. It was the dress that did it. The pure white, long sleeved, vintage lace gown and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. The v-neck hinted at cleavage while still being demure, the soft lace hugged my body until it met my waist, tulle replacing the lace and flowing down in a soft waterfall. It was almost completely backless. It was my dream dress. I was getting married to my dream man. The past year had been a blissful fantasy. It wasn’t easy, nor was the relationship with the love of my life always smooth sailing. But it was real. Magical. Not the kind with elves and wizards, but the real life kind, the stuff I didn’t even know existed.
That’s why my hands were shaking. Why the butterflies were churning in my stomach. You woke up from dreams. They ended and reality came seeping back. I was terrified one person couldn’t be this happy. That happiness wouldn’t always follow me wherever I went, that real life would catch up and shatter it all.
“Holy fuck,” I heard a masculine voice mutter from the doorway.
I whirled around and my breath left me. Hansen was standing across the room from me, in black slacks, a white shirt and his cut over the top. A single daisy poked out from the pocket. He was drool worthy.
“Didn’t think you’d get any more beautiful to me, babe,” he whispered, stalking toward me. “But now I know beauty is not a word that can be used to describe how you look… how you radiate. Word hasn’t even been invented yet,” he murmured, making it over to me. His eyes never left mine, his hands spanned my waist.
“You’re not supposed to see the bride before the wedding, it’s bad luck,” I protested vainly, my eyes locked in his stare. My heart nearly exploding in the love in his gaze, the reverence. His eyes were softening, opening up for me and me only. The devotion in them was something I’d woken up to every day for a year. The thing I’d dreamed of when I first set foot in the club.
The hands at my waist tightened. “Think we’ve both had our share of bad luck, Macy,” he said against my mouth. “My luck changed the moment I set foot into the club…” his finger trailed against my jaw, “…hit the fuckin’ jackpot the moment I tasted those lips in the middle of the night a year later.”
He pushed me back, so I hit the table in the room that was designated as my dressing room in the big lodge in the middle of nowhere, where we were getting married. Before I knew it, he had lifted me, gently pulling my dress up.
“Wha-what are you doing?” I whispered, my breath catching as his finger pushed passed my panties.
Ice blue eyes met mine. “Gonna fuck you, baby,” he told me, his eyes flaring.
I let out a little squeak as his finger pushed into me. “But we’re about to get married,” I protested weakly.
“Yeah babe and this memory is going down as the best day of my life. Wanna be standing up there, tying myself to you forever, knowing the flush on your face is from me fuckin’ you senseless,” he half growled, pushing his pants down and positioning himself at my entrance.
No way in hell I could argue with that.
He paused, one hand on my neck. “This ain’t ever gonna go bad, Mace. This… us… it’s always gonna be solid. I’m always gonna love you with every inch of my soul. Nothing will change that,” he promised fiercely.
“I love you, too, forever,” I whispered back, with tears in my eyes.
He plunged into me the same moment his lips met mine, his mouth gentle against mine while he pounded into me.
“Gonna plant our child inside you, babe,” he grunted, lifting his mouth from mine.
I was deep in a sex haze, already transfixed by his previous words, I barely registered the statement. All I knew was the orgasm I was chasing was set to shatter my world. Somewhere deep inside, a warm glow settled at the image of having a family with Hansen, growing his child inside me. Right now, I couldn’t focus on that.
Hansen kept going, clutching my collarbone as he pressed his nose against mine, his eyes holding me captive. I cried out as my orgasm hit me unexpectedly, fireworks exploding through my body, I clutched onto Hansen as I rode the wave. I felt his body tighten at his own release and he pressed his lips against mine.
We stayed locked together, connected, while we both caught our bearings, breathing heavily.