Sun-Kissed (Love In All Seasons 1)

"No,” I tell her. "We're taking her with us back to Tahoe. Surely, we can find a better place for her there, somewhere with fresh air and sunshine, where you can see her every day, make sure she's getting the care she needs."

"Really?"

"I'm planning on being your husband, Lucy. I sure as hell hope I can take care of you and our family."

Lucy flings arms around me, and I breathe her in. We may be in the back room of a strip club, but she smells like sunshine and strawberries and a happily ever after.

"Now, let me look at you, bride," I say.

She steps back and smooths down her dress.

"Do you like it?"

"Lucy, I love it. It actually looks like you. A long train, a veil, it's perfect."

We walk hand in hand outside to where the limo is waiting. Her manager, Carlos, gives her a hug, triple checking that she's all right and she nods, letting him know that she’s okay in my safekeeping.

The other dancers squeeze her tight as well, giving her their best wishes and telling her she better come back and let them know how it went.

"I don't know how you managed to catch that girl," one of the dancers tells me. "She's the sweetest thing I ever saw in the city of sin."An Elvis Presley impersonator marries us. He's all swagger in his white suit and sequins. The music is classic Elvis ballads, and my brother and his motley crew are all there in the chapel. In the limo, Lucy texted some friends from the Little Black Dress to meet us, and now there are several cocktail waitresses sitting with the guys.

I'm standing up front with Elvis, my brother at my side.

"I can't believe you're really doing this, you just met her," Luke says. "Tammi is gonna freak out that you married a girl she's never even heard of."

"When you know, you know," I tell him. And then the music changes and the wedding processional begins.

Everyone stands as Lucy walks down the aisle. She has a bouquet of white roses and a puffy white dress that sweeps the floor. She has a veil covering her eyes and her long hair hangs around her shoulders.

I may have known her for a day, but now I get to know her for the rest of my life. Elvis asks us to repeat after him and we do. When I pull back Lucy's veil I'm startled by her beauty. Her grace. Her innocence.

For better or for worse. Until death do us part.

"I do," I tell her.

"I do," she promises.

And then Elvis tells us to exchange rings. Thankfully, they sold a few simple bands in the chapel. I promise her I'll replace it with a big diamond soon enough. She shakes head. "A simple gold band is more than enough, Levi."

Then I kiss my bride, and when our lips meet, our souls collide.

"You're the most romantic mountain man I've ever imagined," she tells me.

"And you're the naughtiest old-fashioned girl."

My brother and his buddies are all hollering, and her girlfriends are all cheering and wishing her well.

I lift her up off her feet and scoop her into my arms.

It's time I carry my bride over the threshold.Chapter TenLucyWhen Levi carries me across the threshold of his hotel room at the Millennium, I swear I've died and gone to heaven.

I could say I never expected this to happen but that's not true. I think part of me, since the moment I met Levi, knew he was the one for me.

Now, with my arms wrapped around his neck, looking up into his eyes, all I can think about is the fact that I am finally going to have sex.

"No regrets?" he asks as he sets me down.

"No regrets." My breath catches as he runs his hands over my shoulder, my eyes melting, his hands shaking.

"Are you nervous?" he asks. "Because Lucy, I've never held something so precious in my hands. I never want to let you down."

I shake my head "I'm not nervous. Levi, I won't break. And if I fall, I know you will catch me."

He exhales a sigh of relief and he spins me around, his hands on the buttons on the back of my dress.

"I love you, Lucy," he breathes into my ear.

"I love you too, Levi," I tell him. My back is bare, and he lowers the straps of the gown past my shoulders.

I pull in my breath as the dress drops to the ground. This is happening. Even though Levi saw me up on stage, naked, that wasn't intimate. This is. It's just him and me now.

The dancers backstage gave me a white satin thong and a beautiful white corset. My breasts are pushed up high, and it makes my waist look nice and narrow.

When I turned to face my husband, I hope he likes what he sees.