“You are?”
“Oh yes, and you are too. And I’m keeping you in bed for an inordinate amount of time.”
Waves of yearning swept through my belly. “How do you plan on doing that?”
“Because I’m bigger and stronger than you and you’re going to be under me, with me claiming my bride in every way possible.”
I groaned just thinking about it.
“By the time I’m finished, you’ll be so thoroughly fucked, you won’t be able to leave the bed for days.”
I slipped a hand between my legs and circled my clit through the mater
ial of my gown. It had been too long. One month too long. “Mmmm.”
“I’ll let you sleep for a few hours then and when you wake up, I’ll take you again, but I’ll be slow and gentle.”
I closed my eyes, imagining it. Nathaniel and I. Cool crisp sheets. A fireplace with a blazing fire. My finger circled faster. It’d been so long.
“Abigail?”
My eyes snapped open and my fingers stopped. “Yes.”
“I’ve been trying to get your attention. What are you doing? You aren’t touching yourself are you?”
I looked down at my hand. Shit. “Um, yes.”
“Did you come?”
“No,” I said, glad that he’d gotten my attention in time.
“Need I remind you this abstinence idea was all yours?” His tone grew lighter. “This from the woman who claimed she wasn’t into long-term sexual deprivation.”
I laughed. “What can I say? It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“It’ll be your fault if I don’t last longer than five minutes tonight,” he said, joking about what I’d told him concerning Todd and Elaina.
“In that case, you’ll just have to spank me,” I said.
My only reply from him was a low moan and a mumbled curse.
“Want me to change the subject?” I asked.
“Yes, please.”
“What time are you leaving the house?”
“About an hour,” he said. “I’m meeting Jackson and Todd for breakfast. I’ve also invited your dad to join us.”
My father still lived in Indiana where I grew up. We weren’t very close, I’d always been closer to my mom. She’d passed away several years ago, though, and I’d been trying to have a better relationship with dad.
“Thank you, he’ll like that. I think Felicia’s stopping by in an hour. We’re going to meet Linda and Elaina.”
Linda, Nathaniel’s aunt who raised him after his parent’s death, and Elaina were going to meet up with us at the spa where I was getting my hair done. They’d spent the morning making sure the church was ready for tonight. Since Nathaniel and I only had three months to plan the wedding, it’d taken a lot of work on everyone’s part to get everything together.
It was hard to believe the day had finally arrived. After all the nonstop planning and worrying and picking out this and deciding on that, it was time. I just hoped the last few hours passed quickly.
“That didn’t sound like a happy sigh,” Nathaniel said.
“It was an impatient sigh,” I said, not even remembering sighing in the first place. “I’m ready to be your wife.”
“Six o’clock won’t come fast enough for me.”
“Me, either.”
“It’s not too late,” he said. “We could just elope.”
“You should have suggested that back in September. If I’d known then what I know now . . .”
“Yes?”
“I’d have been Mrs. Nathaniel West months ago.”
“Don’t tell me that,” he said. “I’ll start thinking about all the fun we could have been having in the last month.”
“Okay then. I wouldn’t have changed my mind; I’d have done everything the exact same.”
He sighed. “Is it six yet?”
“Not even close. Do I get to see you before I walk down the aisle?”
“Not if Linda has anything to do with it. She won’t admit it, but she’s horribly superstitious.”
I glanced out the window and saw it was snowing harder. “Note to self, either stay away from Linda or keep her occupied.”
His chuckle was warm and low. “Good luck with that one.”
“The good news is that no matter what, I’m seeing you at six o’clock.”
“Then, starting tomorrow, it’s nothing but you and me for an entire two weeks.”
***
Getting ready, it felt like two thousand butterflies were throwing a party in my stomach. It was almost dreamlike to think I was marrying Nathaniel. All those years ago, I would never have believed there would be a day like this that would bind us together forever. And when I left him months ago, I never thought I’d see him again.
Fate had a different plan though, and our hearts couldn’t be content without each other. Finally, after all our struggles, here I stood, hours away from becoming his wife. I couldn’t remember a time I felt happier. I closed my eyes and tried to commit the feeling to memory.
“Ready for me to lace you up?” Felicia asked.
I knew I was probably grinning like an idiot when I turned toward her and nodded. She simply smiled back, perhaps remembering her own wedding day.
“I’m so happy for you.” She hugged me. “And I love this gown.”
It was nothing like the gown I’d imagined getting married in, but I knew the moment I’d put it on that it was mine. The sweetheart neckline accentuated my chest, making the most of my small size. A full skirt flowed elegantly from the tapered waist. But it was the top that had sold me. The top was made like a corset, with tiny pearls and crystals sewn in between the lace.
Nathaniel had me wear a corset a few times during our weekends. He loved the sight of me in one and I had to agree. They made me feel elegant and sexy and completely feminine all at the same time. To find a wedding gown that would both make me feel that way and leave Nathaniel speechless? I was sold.
I held still while Felicia did the laces and I shivered with the knowledge of who would be undoing them. I imagined his fingers, slowly working on the ties, his lips grazing the back of my neck, the whisper of cool air as my skin was exposed, and the rush of heat as he claimed me forever.
Chapter Three
Nathaniel
There’s something to be said about being the last of your friends to get married. Being the first is hard. I remembered how horrible Jackson and I were to Todd when he and Elaina got married. Of course, we were much younger then, and we assumed no man could get married without a proper bachelor party.
We had mellowed out by the time Jackson got married. Plus the fact that Abby and I were following along less than a year later toned down the hysteria a bit as well. As it turned out, the prewedding party boiled down to the three of us hanging out at a local bar.
Much better, I thought to myself hours before the wedding. I stood in a tiny back room of the church, too full of nervous energy to sit down, but not able to walk the halls because according to Linda, doom and gloom would be sure to follow if I laid eyes on Abby before she walked down the aisle.
Jackson was outside talking with someone about the reception on his phone. Todd had left earlier to run some unknown errand for Elaina, so for the first time in hours, I finally had a moment to myself.