Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Still, he could quit being a dick and tell her she looked good. “Well?”
“You don’t look gross.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks.”
Before he could respond, her father stepped into the room and came to an abrupt stop. Their usual stoic father’s eyes seemed to fill with tears. It took him a second or two to recover. He cleared his throat as he shut the door behind him.
“Autumn, you look just like your mother.” The emotion in his voice told her how much seeing her in her wedding dress affected him.
She smiled. “Yeah?”
He nodded.
“Thank you. That’s one of the nicest things you could say to me.”
It was true. As complicated as her feelings were for her mother, Autumn knew she had been a beautiful woman—inside and out. After Sam rescued her, he showed her all the pictures he had of her mother. The tired beauty Autumn had remembered had sparkled in those pictures.
“I guess we’re about ready?” Ian asked.
Autumn’s stomach flip-flopped. She wasn’t scared, but this was a big step. “Yes.”
“I’ll go make sure your fiancé doesn’t freak out and run.”
Then he slipped out of the room. Her smile faded.
“Don’t. You know that Ian is just screwing around with you,” her father said. “I have never seen a man so ready to be married in my life.”
She smiled. “Yeah?”
He nodded. “You know, the first time I saw the two of you together, I knew you were meant to be together.”
She rolled her eyes. “We weren’t even dating then.”
“No. That’s true, but it was the way he looked at you.”
“Looked at me?” He nodded. “How did he look at me?”
“Like he couldn’t quite figure you out, but he wanted to. And I had a feeling he was ready to spend eternity trying to do it.”
“That doesn’t sound romantic at all.”
“I think it is romantic. Take advice from an old man. You want someone around who likes change.”
Sam had lost his wife about a year before he found out about her. Recently, he had started dating Merri Lee, the widowed mother of his supervisor. Autumn had been glad that he seemed to find someone at just the right time.
“Change is one thing. I mean, we just had to deal with an asshole from the Joyous Wave cult yesterday.
“And he handled it just fine. Listen, you are both going to grow and change. It’s the nature of things. But for both of you, I have a feeling you will embrace those changes and love each other even more.”
She swallowed past the lump that had risen. “Thank you.”
“Now, do you have all the things you need? Something borrowed, something blue?
“Yes.” Jin had helped her with that before she left Oahu.
He held out his arm for her. “Then, I say we get this show on the road.”
She picked up the simple nosegay of pink roses. Taking his arm, she leaned up and kissed his cheek.
Surprise lit his eyes. “I’m so glad you’re my father.”
His eyes filled with tears that he blinked back once more. Yep, she didn’t fall far from that tree.
“I’m beyond happy to be your father.”
Then they opened the door so she could get on with her life.
Seth was nervous. He was standing at the altar waiting for Autumn, and of course, she didn’t pick a normal Vegas chapel.
Was there a normal for that? Probably just with an Elvis impersonator as the officiator, but his woman picked a place called GlowUp.
This chapel featured drag queens as the officiants.
Their officiant had been featured on that drag show on TV. Autumn had been beyond giddy over it, and well, when she was happy, he was pleased.
“You look so handsome,” his mother said, patting his chest.
“Didn’t you think that it was odd that she asked you to bring my whites? And by the way, how did you get them?”
“I have a key to your house, and I have learned—just as you have, I’m sure—that letting Autumn be Autumn is the best way to handle her.”
His mother had worked for the Pentagon for years. She had to know precisely what Autumn had been up to. Of course, she went along with it because she adored Autumn.
His mother kissed his cheek, then returned to sit beside his father.
Ian came from the back with a smile on his face.
Autumn had insisted on changing at the chapel.
She said it was the normal thing to do. Yep.
That was them, alright. Normal. As he stood in front of an altar that featured a drag queen.
“Where is your sister?”
“Calm down, SEAL. She’s coming.”
“You have our rings?”
“I have answered that five times since you first asked it. Same answer as before.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but music started to play, and he looked down the small aisle to the door at the back of the chapel and promptly lost all the breath in his body.
She stood next to her father, her hair a riot of curls dripping over her shoulders. The green dress fit her so well that he was sure she had it custom-made. He knew it would bring out her green-blue eyes and the freckles across her nose.
She walked down the aisle to Elvis singing The Hawaiian Wedding Song. He let out a chuckle. Of course, she would work Elvis in some way, and this was the perfect way to do it. She was smiling at him, as if they were sharing some secret joke. It was just that they understood each other so well.
The aisle was short, but even after she joined him at the altar, they waited for the song to end. They were facing each other and holding hands; they faced their future together.
“You’re the best sister,” Ian said as they danced around the floor. And by dancing, she meant that Ian was twirling her around the floor so fast that she might lose all the pasta she had eaten at their dinner.
“Thank you,” she said with a chuckle. She couldn’t really be mad at him. He was so damned drunk he was adorable. Ian hardly ever let loose, so this was fun. Also, she had Seth record this all on her phone so that she could share it with everyone back at TFH. They were going to love it.
Finally, the song ended.
“Let’s dance to this one too!”
Oh, God, if she had to do that again, she would probably barf on him. Seth, being the perfect husband, saved her by stepping in.
“Hey, do you mind if I take a moment with my wife?”
“Of course.”
Then, completely un-Ian-like, he grabbed Autumn by her face and gave her a large smacking kiss on her lips. She was laughing when he pulled back, then gave Seth the same treatment. She was laughing so hard she was crying.
“I need another drink,” Ian said.
“How about you just get some food first? I hear they have burgers,” Seth said.
“Yes!”
Then he wandered off, but she saw her father sidle up to him and steer him back to their table. Seth pulled her into his arms. She settled her head on his shoulder.
“Have I told you how beautiful you looked today?”
“Several times. Have I told you that I really like your uniform?”
“More than a few times.”
She smiled as they danced, barely moving, but she yawned. Seth laughed. “Come on, love. This has been a long day.”
He led her off the dance floor to their parents. After kisses, hugs, and promises of brunch in the morning—not to mention another kiss for Seth from her brother—they walked hand in hand to the elevator.
“Are you sure there is nothing else you need to tell me, love?”
He had asked her that the day before. “I told you no.”
He cocked his head as he studied her. “Have you wondered why you’ve been a little emotional?”
“This is an emotional weekend.” The elevator opened, and thankfully, there was no one on it. He ushered them into the lift and, after hitting their floor, he wrapped his arms around her.
“You’ve been off on some food that I have never seen. Like ever.”
She shrugged. “Maybe it was guilt. I felt guilty about lying to you about the weekend.”
Although it didn’t sound right. Autumn knew she had a habit of telling people fibs. Most of the time, it was to protect them, although since taking down Joseph, the cult leader, she’d found that she didn’t have to do it that often.
“You want to know why I saved you from your brother?”
“He’s a bad dancer. Well, not normally, but apparently when he’s drunk, he dances like a five-year-old.”
He didn’t smile. “You were turning as green as your dress.”
“Well, that’s a sweet thing to say to your new bride.”
Again, he didn’t smile like she wanted him to. Ice slipped down her spine. She fought against a shiver, but she failed. And of course, being who he was, Seth tracked it. He tightened his hold.
“What are you getting at?”
“Is there a chance you might be pregnant?”
She blinked at the question. “What?”
“You’ve been off some of your favorite foods, and while you always love a good nap, you’ve been sleeping more and more in the last couple of weeks. And I know that you won’t admit it, but I know that you’ve been light-headed from time to time.”
Autumn loved that he knew her so well, but there were times when she hated it. He always seemed to understand what was going on with her, and that was good because sometimes she didn’t even understand it. But this felt like an invasion of privacy.
She opened her mouth to blast him, but he settled his forehead against hers. “I’m just worried about you. Is it that you were worrying about this trip, or is it that you could be pregnant?”
Panic filled her chest. Yes, there was always a chance she could be pregnant. But…she wasn’t mommy material. Granted, she wanted to have kids. Specifically, she wanted to have kids with Seth because he would probably make up for her lacking, but…
“Listen, how about we take a pregnancy test. I mean…are you late?”
Again, she blinked. As she counted in her head, she realized that she was two weeks late. How had she not noticed? It was planning this trip, hiding things from him. She had concentrated on that and not on the fact that she was two flipping weeks late.
“I take that as a yes. I’m sure there is a way we can get a pregnancy test here at the hotel. I mean, it is Vegas.”
Why was the entire elevator spinning? “I…um.”
Her stomach seemed to turn over. Oh…no. There was a good chance she would end up losing her dinner all over Seth if she didn’t get her head screwed on straight. Or her stomach back under control. That didn’t sound right. Whatever.
They arrived at their floor, so Seth led her to their suite. After unlocking and opening the door, Seth bent at the waist, slipped one arm under her knees, then the other under her back. He carried her into the suite bridal style.
“Seth!”
“It’s tradition. I have to carry you over the threshold.”
The door shut behind them, and he strode to the bedroom.
“I thought we were going to take a test.”
“First, I think we need to celebrate being married.”
He set her on her feet, then he cupped her face. “Thank you for marrying me, Autumn.”
Tears filled her eyes. There was one person in the world she would cry in front of, and he was her best friend and now her husband.
“I’m the one who should be thankful that you haven’t run, no matter how many times someone has popped up from that damned cult.
I mean, they tried to ruin our wedding.”
“But they didn’t. At some point, they’ll all go away.”
He kissed her then, one of those long, wet kisses that she always felt to the bottom of her soul. No matter how bad her day had been, Seth could change her entire world with one. Every time he made her feel precious, as if she were the most important person in the world to him.
Slanting his mouth over hers, he took the kiss deeper, his tongue spearing into her mouth.
Heat singed along every nerve ending in her body.
The simmer of heat sparked and seemed to be turning into a raging fire.
Her nipples were hard, her panties were damp, and she couldn’t think of anything other than Seth.
Before she was ready, he pulled back. Before she could complain, he turned her around.
Gently, he lifted her hair so he could kiss her.
She moaned. Seth knew her so well, knew just what to do to make her insane for him.
Hell, all he had to do was breathe and give her that crooked smile, and she wanted to jump him.
As he kissed her neck, Seth slid the zipper down. Then, her dress fell to the ground. Her bra went next, as did her panties. “Up on the bed.”
She was so damned needy that she did as he ordered. He had only kissed her, but she was shaking.
She settled on the bed and watched him strip out of his uniform. Before Seth, she had never really gone for a man in uniform. When she had decided to surprise him with the wedding, Autumn had decided she wanted to see him in his uniform. The man was so damned fine.
He slowly stripped for her, using no flair, but still keeping his gaze locked with hers.
It was one of the sexiest things she had ever seen.
Soon, he was standing before her, golden and naked.
He crawled up on the bed, skimming his mouth over her flesh, his fingers dancing over her skin.
Using his mouth and his hands, he had her screaming his name so fast her head was spinning.
He covered her body with his and kissed her.
She could taste herself on his tongue as he teased her.
Then, he was centering his cock against her sex.
His gaze was once again trained on hers as he entered her, hard, fast, and in one thrust. Wrapping her legs around her waist, she held onto him as their lovemaking turned wild.
“Come with me, again, Autumn. I want to feel you squeeze me tight, love.”
Then he attacked her throat as he continued his hard, deep thrusts.
One…two…then she splintered again.
“Seth!”
“Fuck, that’s it. Heaven.”
Then, he thrust into her once more and joined her in bliss. He collapsed on top of her, and she wrapped her arms around him.