Torn (Connections #2)(7)

His gaze captures mine and although we're having a conversation with his brother, we've somehow moved from playful touches to sensual caresses. His hand rests on my stomach and his fingers are under the hem of my shirt resting on my bare skin. I'm drawing lines back and forth across each muscle of his washboard abs. The lower I get, the heavier he breathes. Leaning down, his soft lips meet mine and I wrap my arms around his neck and press harder. We get lost in each other for a moment and a small moan escapes my throat. 

Xander clears his throat. "The windows are steaming up. Could you stop acting like a couple of teenagers?" Then he turns the radio up.

It's shortly before dawn when Xander drops us off at home. With coffees in hand we sit outside and watch the sunrise. I'm content to sit near him quietly and appreciate the company, but in the calm of the bright crisp morning River asks me, "Why are we waiting to get married?"

He kisses my hair and continues, "It seems like all I was really doing was waiting for you my whole life anyway, and I don't want to wait anymore."

I shift so I'm lying on my side and can look up at him. "I'm not really sure. But, when you put it that way, I don't want to wait either."

"How would you feel if we charter a plane to Las Vegas and get married today? I can have it arranged in a matter of hours. We can fly up there, get married, and be back here by sunset."

"You don't mind if your family's not there?"

He hesitates only a moment before pulling me closer. His arms tighten around me as the green depths of his eyes stare into mine. "I won't be satisfied until I wake up next to my wife every morning. Dahlia, all I want is you and me forever. We can celebrate later once you're feeling better. We can even have another ceremony here, but what happened in the hospital I never want to happen again. So will you marry me today?"

He's romantic, fearless, and full of life and I love every inch of him. I loop my arms around his neck and my lips find his. Smiling at him as the sun rises and with the Hollywood sign as our backdrop, I say, "River Wilde, I would love to marry you today."

He groans against my mouth and the sound echoes through my skin, making me smile even more. He kisses me. Then he kisses me again. Then some more. Once we're both breathless he moves me enough to stand up. His smile, the real one, breaks across his face. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

I have no intention of going anywhere, so he's safe. When he comes back he has Stella firmly in his clutch. Joy radiates from him and there's a familiar gleam in his eyes as he sits down at the end of the lounge chair with the guitar. The slight breeze in the air blows his hair. I move toward him and rest my chin on his shoulder, my front to his back. His hot skin awakens all my senses.

I peer down and watch as his hand dances over the strings and he starts singing "You and Me." As he plays I can feel every motion of his body as if I'm the one playing. Curling my hand around his hip I feel him shudder as heat travels through my arm. My eyes shift to his face and it's a picture of what is real, what is right in my life, and what we have . . . true love everlasting.

He sings the final verse, "The clock never seemed so alive," into my ear and I shiver as his warm breath grazes the skin of my neck. I could watch him play and listen to him sing a thousand times over and never grow tired of it. Not ever. He cocks his head to mine and picks the last notes on his strings as the sound of his music fills the air and I can't help but think how lucky I am to get to spend the rest of my life with him.


***

A few hours later I'm sitting at the breakfast bar having just finished up a security system lesson with Caleb, when the doorbell rings. I know who it is before River has answered it. Aerie screams, "There you are! How are you?"

It's only been sixty minutes since I called to tell her we were home and she's already here. She runs over and I stand up slowly. My body aches much more today than it has since the incident, probably from sitting in the car on the ride home. "I'm okay-really! I look much worse than I actually feel."



       
         
       
        

"I'm so sorry I didn't come to see you in the hospital. Work has been crazy," she says before throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace. I wince a little and she pulls away. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you!" Her face is full of concern-this woman who has helped me in more ways than I could ever count. Of course she's here now. And she's a vision of perfection in her red shift dress and black high heels, with a matching headband.