A Beautiful Wedding(21)

As soon as we stepped into the hall, my heart began to pound. When we reached the door, I struggled with keeping Abby in my arms and getting the keycard out of my pocket.

“I’ll get it, baby,” she said, pulling it out and then kissing me while she unlocked the door.

“Thank you, Mrs. Maddox.”

Abby smiled against my mouth. “My pleasure.”

I carried her into the room and lowered her down to stand at the foot of the bed. Abby watched me for a moment while she kicked off her heels. “Let’s get this out of the way, Mrs. Maddox. This is one article of clothing of yours that I don’t want to ruin.”

I turned her around and then slowly unzipped her dress, kissing each piece of skin as it was exposed. Every inch of Abby was already ingrained in my mind, but touching and tasting the skin of the woman that was now my wife made it new all over again. I felt an excitement I’d never felt before.

The dress fell to the floor, and I picked it up, tossing it over the back of a chair. Abby unsnapped the back of her bra, letting it fall to the floor, and I tucked my thumbs between her skin and the lacey fabric of her panties. I grinned. I’d already had them off once.

I leaned down to kiss the skin behind her ear. “I love you so much,” I whispered, slowly pushing her panties down her thighs. They fell to her ankles, and she kicked them away with her bare feet. I wrapped my arms around her, taking a deep breath in through my nose, pulling her bare back against my chest. I needed to be inside her, my dick was practically reaching out for her, but it was important to take our time. We only got one shot at a wedding night, and I wanted it to be perfect.



Abby

Goose bumps formed all over my body. Four months earlier, Travis had taken something from me I’d never given to any other man. I was so hell-bent on giving it to him, I didn’t have time to be nervous. Now, on our wedding night, knowing what to expect and knowing how much he loved me, I was more nervous than I had been that first night.

“Let’s get this out of the way, Mrs. Maddox. This is one article of clothing of yours that I don’t want to ruin,” he said.

I breathed out a small laugh, remembering my buttoned-up, pink cardigan, and the pattern of blood spatters down the middle of it. Then I thought about seeing Travis in the cafeteria the first time.

“I ruin a lot of sweaters,” he’d said with his killer smile and dimples. The same smile I wanted to hate; the same lips that were making their way down my back right now.

Travis moved me forward, and I crawled onto the bed, looking behind me, waiting, hoping he would climb on. He was watching me, pulling off his shirt, kicking off his shoes, and dropping his slacks to the floor. He shook his head, turned me onto my back, and then settled on top of me.

“No?” I asked.

“I’d rather look into my wife’s eyes than be creative . . . at least for tonight.”

He brushed a loose hair from my face, and then kissed my nose. It was a little amusing watching Travis take his time, pondering how and what he wanted to do to me. Once we were naked and settled under the sheets, he took a deep breath.

“Mrs. Maddox?”

I smiled. “Yes?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to call you that.”

“Good. I kind of like it.”

Travis’s eyes scanned my face. “Do you?”

“Is that a real question? Because it’s kind of hard to show it more than taking vows to be with you forever.”

Travis paused, confliction darkening his expression. “I saw you,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “In the casino.”

My memory instantly went into rewind, already sure he had crossed paths with Jesse, and he’d possibly seen a woman with him who resembled me. Jealous eyes play tricks on people. Just when I was ready to argue that I hadn’t seen my ex, Travis began again.

“On the floor. I saw you, Pidge.”

My stomach sank. He’d seen me crying. How would I possibly explain that away? I couldn’t. The only way was to create a diversion.

I pushed my head back into the pillow, looking straight into the eyes. “Why do you call me Pigeon? I mean really?”

My question seemed to take him off guard. I waited, hoping he would forget all about the previous topic. I didn’t want to lie to his face, or admit what I’d done. Not tonight. Not ever.

His choice to allow me to change the subject was clear in his eyes. He knew what I was doing, and he was going to let me do it. “You know what a pigeon is?”

I shook my head in a tiny movement.

“It’s a dove. They’re really fucking smart. They’re loyal, and they mate for life. That first time I saw you, in the Circle, I knew what you were. Under the buttoned-up cardigan and the blood, you weren’t going to fall for my shit. You were going to make me earn it. You would require a reason to trust me. I saw it in your eyes, and I couldn’t shake it until I saw you that day in the cafeteria. Even though I tried to ignore it, I knew it even then. Every fuckup, every bad choice, were bread crumbs, so that we found our way to each other. So that we found our way to this moment.”