Chapter Thirty-Three
Huxley
Grace seems bright and carefree as we have another dance and mingle with the guests. The responsibility and financial burden of the hospital bills must’ve been suffocating, even though she never let on. She shouldered it with love and hope for her mother’s full recovery. Although I swore my wife wouldn’t get a penny from me, setting up the trust feels right. Who should she turn to if not her husband? Adam? Ha! I feel satisfaction at being her provider, giving her what that loser can’t.
He acted like the wedding was killing him. I have no patience or sympathy for a man who has no balls to go after what he wants. He left without saying anything to Grace, his shoulders slumped. Still, what could he complain about? He got to drown his grief in some of the most expensive top-shelf liquor around.
We head home, leaving the staff to take care of the cleanup. No honeymoon has been planned, since I wasn’t in the mood before and Grace never asked. But perhaps we can do something. Hit Florence or Japan. Aunt Akiko offered to recommend some of the most beautiful places in Japan, ones most foreigners don’t know about. “So romantic, too! You’ll love it. Even though you met your wife in an arranged marriage, with proper effort, you can have a good life together. People still do those in Japan and live very happily. And lots of people in history didn’t even get to meet their spouses before marriage.”
She probably added the last part to show that I did better than those people. At least I got to see my bride before the actual wedding. Still, the sentiment is sweet, and I too hope that my marriage isn’t a complete disaster. My home is my sanctuary, and should be without drama or emotional upheaval. I have enough of that at work, dealing with difficult and demanding clients.
“Is this the car you drove when we first met? On that rainy day?” Grace asks, touching the seat with her hand. If the silk and train around her were traditional white, she’d look like a cream puff.
My cream puff.
“Yes.” Because I’m feeling just a bit sentimental and mellow, I add, “I like this car. Even if I didn’t, I couldn’t get rid of the vehicle where I did my first good deed.”
She laughs softly. “I doubt that. You can be surprisingly generous.” Her eyes shine as she looks at me.
“It’s nothing,” I say gruffly.
“Maybe to you. Remember—what you call nothing is something that could change everything for someone else. If you hadn’t given me that ride, I don’t know what I would’ve done. If you hadn’t created the trust, I’d be at Nelson and his family’s mercy for…” She shrugs. “I don’t know. A long time.”
“He’s nothing to you. He’s not your family, he’s not even your father, not in any way that counts. If he or his family ever bother you, just let me know.” I’ve never had a high opinion of Nelson or Karie, but now it really couldn’t go any lower. On the other hand, sometimes people surprise me. Nelson and Karie might take out a shovel.
When we reach our home, I exit and the door on her side rises. I go around the car and extend my arm. “Wife.”
She lays her small, delicate hand on my palm. With a grin, I pick her up, one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees. She yelps, then puts an armlock on my neck.
I laugh. “Relax. I’m not going to drop you.”
“Aren’t I heavy?”
“You kidding? You’re like a cream puff.”
“A cream puff, huh? Even though my dress is black?” Her eyes twinkle.
“Okay… A chocolate cream puff.”
She laughs. “So we won’t make the Internet news for being that couple who threw out his back and broke her hip?”
“Never.”
“Man. I always wanted to be famous.” She flutters her eyelashes.
I laugh. “Fame is overrated, but if you want it, I can arrange something.”
“Like what? Call Joey the Fairy Godmother I Didn’t Know I Had?”
“Please.” A small shudder runs through him. “I can do a thousand times better.”
She’s all curiosity now. “Okay, impress me. What are you going to do to make me famous?”
“Outdoor sex comes to mind.”
“ What? ”
“I mean, if you want me to throw out my back and break your hip, we might as well have some fun while we’re at it…”
She lets out a shriek of laughter, the blue of her eyes brightening a shade or two. Her body is warm and soft against me, and the light, citrusy perfume she was wearing earlier has faded, leaving only the mouthwatering fragrance of her feminine scent behind.
I really missed this woman in the last three weeks. Not just her body but her humor and pluck. And the amazing way she handled my father so that he actually behaved like a somewhat normal human being at the wedding, despite my misgivings.
My skin hot and prickling, I kiss her, our lips touching softly as I carry her across the threshold, up the winding stairs, to our bedroom. My tongue flicks out and licks the seam of her mouth, only to have hers come out to do the same, her hand now cradling my cheek. She strokes my skin tenderly, her eyes full of gratitude and affection.
It’s nice…but not enough. I want her eyes to burn with lust as well.
I place her on the bed and deepen the kiss. She plunges her fingers into my hair, holding me tight as she returns my kiss with open carnality. I run my hands along her bare arms, feel goosebumps against my fingertips. She shivers and sighs.
“I know it sounds weird, given that we’ve had some rocky moments…but I think I missed you,” she whispers against my mouth, which still tingles with the taste of her.
I put my forehead on hers. “I won’t be gone for so long again, not for a while.” I press a dozen kisses on her face. “I missed you, too.”
A small smile curves her mouth. I trace the line with my tongue and—
My home security system beeps twice, a signal that somebody is at the gates.
Who the hell could it be? My brothers know better than to plan a gag gift or prank on my wedding night. And Joey values his life too much to disturb me right now.
Probably some idiot who’s at the wrong house. I claim Grace’s mouth again—
The system beeps again. Damn it .
“Isn’t that a visitor?” she says.
“Fuck ’em. Nothing’s more important than this.” I go back to kissing my wife.
Her phone starts ringing, and she pushes me away gently. “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.”
“Let them leave a voice—”
“It might be about my mom.” She tries to smile, but falters. Anxiety cools the heat in her eyes.
I hold her hand as she picks up her phone. A small frown creases the skin between her eyebrows.
“What is it?”
“It’s Adam.”
What the fuck? The bastard’s transparent attempt to screw with me amplifies my frustration. “Ignore it.”
“It might be important. He wouldn’t call me this late if it weren’t.”
“He’s trying to cock-block me.”
She gives me an are you serious look. “That is just beyond ludicrous.”
“Fine,” I grind out, realizing she isn’t going to give in. “We’ll see who’s right.”
She answers the phone, putting Adam on speaker, as though that will prove me wrong. I sit behind her, wrap my arm around her belly, place kisses along the sensitive skin on the side of her neck, then suck, just the way she likes.
Her breathing hitches. She clears her throat. “Adam, is everything okay? It’s so late.”
“Am I interrupting anything?” he says, his words slightly slurred.
“It’s our wedding night. What do you think?” I demand, cupping her breasts.
The line goes silent. Perhaps he got the hint and hung up.
Grace bites her lip, then bats at my hand, but I shake my head. “You said he isn’t trying to cock-block me. Prove it,” I whisper into her ear, then nip the earlobe so she knows I’m serious.
Air shivers in her lungs. I lick the spot I nipped. She trembles with need and digs her fingers into my wrists, trying to fight for control. I pull down the bodice of her gown and flick my fingers across her beaded nipples. Her back arches; her ass subtly grinds into me. She feels amazing against my hard cock. It’s been so long.
“I’m at your house,” says Adam.
Grace stops with a gasp. Rage shoots to the top of my skull.
“The one owned by that man, I mean,” he adds.
“What the fuck ?” I thunder.
The bastard ignores me and talks to her again. “I have to talk to you. Now. My Uber left, so I can’t go home.”
“Unless you want to hear my wife screaming my name as she comes, stop calling.” I kill the call and plunder her mouth. Jealousy is an ugly beast that rides me as I plunge my tongue into her mouth, like I’m fucking it. But what the hell? How’s a man supposed to be calm when another man who obviously covets his wife shows up on their wedding night?
Her phone rings again. And again. The security system beeps over and over. I ignore them, but Grace grows too tense. Every time I stoke her fire, the phone and security system going off throw a bucket of water on it.
Finally, it’s too much. “I’m going to murder that son of a bitch!” I grind out, pulling away from her to beat the absolute shit out of this guy.
She wraps both arms around my waist, momentarily preventing me from getting up off the bed. “Huxley, stop. Please. Give me five minutes to deal with Adam,” she says in a small, half embarrassed half cajoling voice. “And we can do whatever you want afterward.”