36. Marcus
36
MARCUS
“O kay, seriously, Dad. You’re getting married in a hospital?” Lily stood in her bridesmaid dress with her arms folded.
“If you didn’t know this was a hospital,” I said, gesturing to the atrium around us, “you would think it was a lovely location.”
“But the hospital, really?”
I didn’t see anything wrong with where we were, and I knew that Emma found the atrium to be a calm and soothing location. After all, that was one of the reasons she picked it.
“Yes, really,” I responded. “Where else would we have found such a lovely location on such short notice?”
She shrugged.
“I think it’s pretty,” Jason said as he stood patiently while I adjusted his tie.
“It is pretty,” I agreed.
“And when you get married,” I continued, speaking to Lily, “you can pick the location.”
“I still think the hospital is a weird place to get married.”
“That just means you won’t be getting married in one.”
She rolled her eyes in typical Lily fashion. “You should get going. It’s going to start soon.”
I shooed her out of the vestibule where Jason and I finished waiting before we walked down the aisle of folded chairs. It really was a beautiful location, and it was only obvious that we were in the hospital because we knew where we were. Otherwise, it looked like we were in a park on a lovely, cloudless day.
An arch made up of balloons and flowers indicated where the officiant would stand and Emma and I would exchange vows. I hadn’t felt this nervous in a very long time.
Emma’s friend Sarah walked down the aisle first. She was all smiles and clearly happy for the two of us to be getting married. Next down the aisle was Lily.
I was so pleased when Emma asked her to be the maid of honor. It was one of those things I could have only hoped for. Their relationship had continued to heal and bloom. It made my heart light with joy to see the two of them bond.
Getting ready for the day seemed to have taken forever, and my nerves that morning in anticipation made everything drag out. But the ceremony was over before I knew it. The head chaplain at Manhattan Memorial was telling me to kiss my bride before I realized the ceremony was over, and we were officially married.
“It doesn’t exactly seem real, does it?” Emma said as we greeted our guests one at a time.
Half of our friends were still in scrubs. One of the reasons we held it at the hospital was so that people who were important to us would at least be able to see the ceremony before they had to return to their shifts at work.
The reception was small. We really had only organized to have cake and a kind of fruit punch cocktail that made me think of old ladies and church picnics. Champagne was off the menu since many of our friends and guests were technically still on duty.
The hours went by in a flash, and the next thing I knew, Emma and I were alone in the honeymoon suite at the Four Seasons. I swept her into my arms and carried her through the door. She protested through giggles the entire time.
“Put me down! You’re gonna throw out your back!”
“My back is just fine,” I said as I set her down.
“How are you feeling?” I asked as I kicked the door closed behind us.
Her morning sickness had been pretty intense in the week leading up to the ceremony.
“I feel fine. No morning sickness.” She shook her head. “I’m pretty sure that was just nerves.”
“And now?” I asked.
“Nothing to be nervous about,” she said. “We’re married, and you’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”
“Why would I want to do that?” I said as I stepped in close and slid my hand around her hips. “I’ve got you exactly where I want you.”
“Why, Dr. Walker, are you trying to take advantage of me?”
I shrugged. “You’ll have to answer that for yourself, Dr. Chen.”
“Well, I would.” She giggled as I dropped my head and began placing kisses down her neck and across the exposed skin of her neckline. “But you are distracting me, and I don’t remember what we were talking about.”
Her words dissolved into a soft groan. She wrapped her arms around my neck, encouraging me to continue kissing the soft skin along the exposed tops of her breasts. I unzipped the back of her dress. This time when I scooped her back into my arms, she wasn’t giggling.
Her dark eyes were locked on mine as I carried her across the suite to the bedroom.
“What are you thinking?” I couldn’t help but ask under her intense scrutiny.
“How much I love you,” she said in the softest voice.
I set her on the bed and lowered my lips to capture hers. The kiss was intense. The physical touch was thrilling, and the emotions behind the touch made everything much more potent. “I love you so much,” I said between gasps for air and the pressing of our lips together.
Words were not enough to express the depths of my love for this woman. She healed me and brought my family back together at a time when we were falling apart. After slipping the dress from her, I proceeded to demonstrate exactly how much I valued, worshiped, and loved her.
Her skin was soft and smooth under my touch. She tasted like berries and cream, and as my fingers skimmed across her, I followed the motion with small kisses and gentle nips of her skin.
Emma writhed and arched under me. As she lifted her chest, I accepted the invitation to taste and tease her breasts with my lips and tongue. I pulled her nipple into my mouth and continued to caress and touch the rest of her body.
Emma grabbed a fist full of my hair and tugged until I released her breast. I let her drag me back up so that she could capture my lips again.
Our tongues twined. She moaned into my mouth as my hand slid up her inner thigh. I found her core. She was wet and rocked her hips against my hand. I teased her folds and ran my thumb in gentle circles around her clit until she was begging.
“I need you inside me now,” she moaned.
It was the sexiest command, to be told to get inside the woman I loved. After all, that was my intention, and I was driving her crazy by not delivering on the promise of our bodies merging and rocking together.
She spread her legs apart and tried to hook one around my hips to drag me into position. I chuckled at her desperation. I wanted her equally, if not more, but knowing that I could reduce her to this somehow made me proud.
I nestled between her thighs and ran my cock over her swollen folds. She pulsed and begged, and it was getting harder to resist her. I relented to her wishes and my needs. Sliding into her depths was perfection. There was no other place I’d rather be than making love to this woman.
I gave up my ego and stopped teasing her. She told me to go harder, and I did. And when she asked me to go faster, I tried my best. As I thrust into her, I reclaimed one of her nipples.
“Kiss me,” Emma demanded.
And I complied, abandoning her sweet nipple for her demanding mouth. She sucked on my tongue as our bodies thrust and rocked together. Her inner walls tightened, and her entire body clenched before she reached the pinnacle of her ecstasy.
She stopped sucking on my tongue and threw her head back with a triumphant cry as she crashed and came around me. I followed her lead, and my release ripped through my body. It was intense and it was all for Emma. I held myself tight against her, keeping our bodies together until I felt like a limp noodle. I rolled to the side as I fell against the bed.
“I love you,” I said. I was ready to pass out and simply hold Emma in my arms for hours.
“Today has been…” Emma stretched and let out a very satisfied sigh. “Today has been the most amazing day ever.”
I leaned up on my elbow and looked down at her. “Are you so sure about that? You know, Lily kept pointing out that we were getting married in the hospital.”
“So?” she said. “That atrium is beautiful, and now I will have fond memories every time I sit down there and work.”
“Sounds like you almost did that on purpose.”
“Almost.” She placed the tip of her pointer finger on my nose. “Now, what were you saying about taking me on a real honeymoon?”
“I thought maybe after the baby was born, we could get away. Just you and me.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing right now? Besides, we’re not gonna be able to get away for a couple of years once the baby is born, and after that, all trips are gonna have to involve all the kids. So, I’m okay with this being my real honeymoon.” She paused. “But I will let you sweep me away on exotic vacations as you see fit, and I won’t complain about them at all.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “That sounds almost like a devious plot to get me to take you on many, many vacations.”
She lifted her brows at me. “Almost like I planned it. More like I love you and can’t wait to see the world with you.”