Amber: I’ll try to contain and push off. Would recommend statement 1st thing. The website is flooded with comments. Good and bad. We need to control this.
Declan looks at me waiting for my response. I nod my head and text them all back.
Me: All–Confirm. Put together statement and let us review. Details not important unless someone already released. Need to also tell the magazine so they can make changes to the article and get our story out ASAP.
Amber: Got it. Will have it ready soon.
Me: On our way to ARUBA!!! I will have access tonight to review but can’t make any promises after that. Sun, sand, sex on the beach–the cocktail ?
Jay: RJ–We’ve got this. Go enjoy. By the way, you make a beautiful bride.
Declan: Yo! I’m right here. Don’t flirt with my wife.
Jay: Can’t be flirting if it’s the truth.
Declan starts to reply, and I yank his phone out of his hand. I send a response that we are boarding and get in line. I shouldn’t be surprised that we are in first class. At first, I think it’s ridiculous, but when the other passengers pass us a few look at Declan with recognition, I’m thankful. We get a quick text from Amber telling me to check my email. She’s put together a press release and wants our approval.
Declan Collins, lead singer for the local rock band Sayge, married his longtime fiancée Ravenel Hayes on Saturday. The two exchanged vows in a small ceremony on a beach in Florida surrounded by family and friends. Sayge currently has a Top 40 hit, “Surviving” that is climbing the charts...
She goes on to tell about the upcoming summer tour and gives the website for more information. I reply that we are fine with it and to let Charlie know, so she can inform our families then turn off my phone. Declan orders us a drink and we sit back and enjoy the flight. For the next six days, it’s the two of us in a tropical paradise.
*****
The sun shining through the small break in the curtains wakes me. Declan is wrapped around me snoring lightly. This is our third day in Aruba, and we have spent the majority of our days on the beach and our evenings enjoy the local nightlife. So far, Declan has only been recognized once, and the couple didn’t make a big deal out of it.
I had only talked to my mom once to make sure everyone got back to Nashville okay. As suspected, once the news of our marriage released my parents were again bombarded by calls and emails. But now it was people congratulating us and making sure we were still having the party in May. We only talked a few minutes before Declan insisted I hang up.
Today, we set up snorkeling lessons and then were going on an excursion to the reef. I personally was scared to death of water creatures, but I was assured sharks were only on the other side of the island. Not sure why this made me feel better, but I figured the locals knew what they were talking about. I knew we only had about two hours before our lessons, so I needed to wake Declan up.
Since we got here on Sunday night, Declan was insatiable. Each night I thought I may get to sleep in my new lingerie but once he saw it, he peeled it off and attacked me. Then we fell asleep wrapped up in each other.
“Declan, sweetie, we need to get up.” I nudge him gently. He groans and pulls me tighter. I run my hand behind me over his hips and to his growing erection. When I touch the tip, I slide up and down with my fingernails and feel his breath coming in pants against my shoulder.
“Is it that time again?” his sleepy voice is soft and quiet.
“If you want to have sex before we get up and go to our lessons, I think we have to wake up now. If not, then you can go back to sleep.”
Pressing his hips against my lower back, he kisses my shoulder blade. “It’s not a question of if I want to. I meant is it that time again for me to slip into you, which has become my favorite place to be in the world. Sex three and four times a day is spoiling me.”
“Yeah, baby, it’s that time again. And I’m getting spoiled too.” He rolls me under him and slides right into me. My body is in tune with everything that’s him. I get wet with just his voice, his whispers, or the feel of his breath against my skin.
He kisses me deeply and takes his time. By the time he finishes, I’ve had two awesome orgasms and am unsure about getting out of bed at all. I’m high on all things Declan. He smirks and pulls me to the shower.
Thursday and Friday we don’t leave the resort. I finish several books that I’ve wanted to read, and Declan writes. At one point I doze off in my lounge chair, and he slides in next to me. He pulls me close and lays my head on his chest. We watch the sunset, and I decide between Florida and now Aruba, I definitely want a beach house.
For our last night, we’re going to a local upscale restaurant suggested to us and then a casino. When we finish showering, I kick him out of the bathroom and start my process. I think about how Harper would do my makeup and try my best to replicate it. After an hour, Declan knocks on the door and tell me he has a glass of wine waiting for me. As tempting as it sounds, I’m not walking out until the last possible minute. I open the door a little and snatch the glass before he can see me.
“Sparkle, what are you doing in there? We have to leave in fifteen minutes.”
“I know babe, trying to finish up. I’ll meet you on the balcony in a few minutes. Why don’t you call Cooper back and tell him about our ideas for the Festival next month?”
“Because I’m on my fucking honeymoon. He can wait. I cannot! Hurry up.”
“Okay.”
I get the dress out of the bag and slide it over my head. It is a strapless form fitting baby-blue mini-dress with cut-outs along the stomach. The dress has a shimmer because of the silky material. My shoes are silver platform wedges. I open the door a sliver and peek out. He’s on the balcony drinking a beer and watching the water.
When I slide my arms around his waist, he turns around to kiss me and goes still.